TOPIC: Study Routine: PMBOK + PrepBook + PrepCast

Hello fellow project managers,

I have recently started my PMP studies. As I was watching the first PrepCast lessons, it was recommended to buy an additional PMP Prep Book in order to complement the PMBOK and the PrepCast.

I am particularly interested to know how you have organized your studies with these different materials.
Have you read all books and watched the PrepCast in parallel?
Have you read the PMBOK only after completing the PrepCast and the Prep Book?

Hi Leonardo,

Good day. I am also preparing for PMP exams. I have subscribed to PM Prepcast, PM exam simulator. I have PMBOK5 and Sean whitaker's PMP training kit(this is a Prep book for Microsoft press).

I start with listening to Prepcast videos chapterwise twice (listen to each video twice) and read Prepbook for better understanding. Finally read PMBOK once. I use Google side by side as additional reference and lookout for better explanation where I find it difficult to understand the definition/concepts. After reading PMBOK, I attend 15 questions which comes in pdf for every prepcast lessons. During this exercise I go back to Prepcast or Prep book to address the gaps. Then I attend the chapter end tests from prepbook and some online mock questions(including few from PM exam simulator). I have made a good progress and I will be completing my studies by end of May 2015 and move on to full time mock tests/revision from 1st week of June 2015. I regularly visit pmzilla.com, linked in "I wanted to be PMP " group, Prepcast forum for lessons learnt by successful pmp and mock questions.

Warning : When reading the lessons learnt you may find different suggestions. You may find it very tempting to follow the prep books or other materials suggested in the LL. Stick to your Schedule/study materials and dont look back. you may lose time and confuse yourself which will increase the stress. Be confident about your knowledge and dont doubt it yourself. Initial results from mock tests may not be good. Never worry. That is how PMP exam is.

Tip : I have read loads and loads of LL and I decided on Prepcast and Prepbook before I started and I stick to them strictly. I created a WBS(breakdown of PMBOK) and I concentrate on reading by Processes (knowledge area wise). 2 Process groups per day on weekdays and 3-4 on weekends and I find it very easy.

Finally my advice/experience may not be a expert guidance. I leave it to other group members to add more.

I have applied for exam and my application was selected for audit, which I had cleared succesfully. I am planning to schedule the exam by 1st week of July 2015.

Dears,
I highly recommend that you check the PMP Emax lessons learned Forum .
you will find plenty of professionals who have successfully passed the PMP exam sharing their lessons learned, study materials, tips and tricks. I am sure you will find what you are searching for in that forum.

Good Luck

Hello Sathish,
I believe that read the PMBOK after the Prep material is indeed a good approach.
Being familiar with the PMP topics will make easier the reading of such a technical book like the PMBOK.
Thanks for sharing your experience!

Hello Ahmed,
Sure, I will check the LL forum in this case.

Hi Leonardo,

I used the PM PrepCast as my primary tool for studying for the exam. I supplemented this with Rita and he PMBOK (although I got so frustrated with how poorly edited the PMBOK is, that I stopped reading it altogether and still passed the exam!).

My strategy was:
1 do all the PrepCast modules for a subject area and take the mini exam. If I felt I understood it I moved on.
2 if I did not feel I understood it, I read Rita for that section and did another mini exam.
3 each week I did a mock exam (from week 1, so you have a baseline)
4 once all the modules were complete, then I did another baseline exam.
5 the remaining time was spent brushing up on my weak areas and doing mock exams.

Many people will tell you that you need to read the PMBOK at least twice. If you are not an editor at heart then I would recommend reading it, but I found that it detracted from my learning.

However, you do need to find the strategy that works for you. The main piece of advice I would give is do not overload yourself. Pick two or three key sources and use them.

Good luck.

Hello Sarah,

I personally find that read the entire PMBOK twice will be the most chalenging part of my studies. Hopefully I will not need a lot of time to read everything.
I have decided to use Rita's PrepBook as well, I have read some good reviews about it. A friend of mine have also used it and recommended.

I have planned my studies as the following so far:
1. Watch the complete PrepCast alone.
2. Read Rita's PrepBook followed by the related content again in the PrepCast.
3. Read the complete PMBOK
4. Answer questions related to the previously studied content. Once all content is covered, start with the 200 questions exam simulation.
5. Review the contents I need to improve and try new questions until I can answer 80% of NEW questions correctly several times.

My only concern with this approach is the time needed to read the PMBOK and if it will somehow negatively affect what I have already studied.

Hello Leonardo,

I recommend that you skim over the PMBOK parallel with watching the Prepcast. It will speed reading the PMBOK as the content of the prepcast is organized in a way that is very close to how the PMBOK guide is organized. also it will be some sort of review after watching the Prepcast.

I personally did the same and it was very helpful.

I used Rita Mulcahey's PMP Exam Prep book, and quite liked it. I agree with the recommendations to check out the lessons learn forum -- there is much good information there.

I personally would not recommend trying to read the PMBOK from cover to cover. I would use it as a reference for any topics that are not clear during your studies, and perhaps to skim over sections that are the same topic as what you're covering in the Prepcast or in your other book. Stop and read anything that looks interesting. But I personally found that trying to just sit and read it was not an effective way for me to familiarize myself with the information -- it was much too dense for me!