TOPIC: Attempting PMP Exam 2nd Time on 28th September

Hi There PrepCast Team,
I failed for the 1st PMP exam in April 2016. I must admit that lack of preparation was the cause of the failure. I took only 2 weeks to prepare that time. My score that was MP for initiating and closing, and BP for the rest of the process groups. I'm attempting to seat for the exam for the 2nd time on 28th September 2016. The following was the revision plan that I did since Mid June.

1. Read the RIta's book 1 time cover to cover from Mid June to Mid July. Tried all of the questions behind the all the chapters with scores ranging from 69 - 85%
2. Went through quickly the PMBOK book once from Mid of July to to End of July(About 2 weeks). Find it to be rather dry compared to Rita's book.
3. Started doing Mock exams from RITA's PM Fastrack simulator since the beginning of August. So far I've done 4 sets and I'm getting around 70-78%.
4. I also tried Christopher Scordo mock exams (50 Qs). Tried 5 mock exams and consistently scored above 80%. Find it to be easier compared to Rita's questions.

However, based on my 1st PMP exam experience, I felt the questions were not equal to the real difficulty of the exam. So decided to check if there is any other good PMP exam simulator over the net and saw alot of forums mentioning about the PMP PrepCast simulator. Decided to purchase 2 weeks ago. I did the 1st Mock exam last weekend and i got 74.5%. I must say that your questions are very much similar in difficulty just like the real PMP exam. I'll be trying the remaining mock exams for the next few weekends and hope to complete all of it before the exam.

I've got a question.

I find it difficult to remember most of ITTOs. I'm able to answer ITTO Qs based on the key ITTOs. But at times when some non-key ITTOs are asked, i get it wrong.
What would you suggest for me to improve on this?
I plan to attempt the PMP Mock Exam 9 (ITTO) after doing my 4th Mock exam in your simulator. If you feel that I should do it last, please advise me.

Ganavel

I ran into the same situation as you when I was prepping for the exam. My approach was the get the "Process Table" from Chapter 3 down for my dumpsheet. Once I did that I went back to the Rita book and redid her exercises in Chapter 3, I like the way she broke it down to less formal terms. I then took that same approach to the ITTO's Although this was very time consuming process, I typed/wrote out the ITTOS for each process and talked through them as I did it, to understand they why's it was being used. I reviewed this many times over the following days/weeks. Seeing them written out and reading them out loud a few times made them click with me, and I better understood the flow. The key is not to memorize them but to understand them. Once I understood them, I was able to recall them much easier.

Having my dump sheet as a crutch, while doing the sample questions, especially with the PrepCast simulator helped me alot. It improved my confidence level greatly prior to exam day. I actually found that once I created the dump sheet, I actually used it only a few times.

I hope this helps you and good luck with your studies.

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

Thank for your response. I'll follow your tips and hope it will improve my ability to answer ITTOs related Qs.
I'll update my mock exam results progressively and check if there is any improvements to be advised by the PrepCast team.

Ganavel

Hi Ganavel,

I used PM Simulator extensively for 3 weeks prior to my exam, and I found it very helpful in assessing the likelihood that I will pass the exam on my first try. Also, I found the questions and the simulation similar to the real exam. I used PM Simulator to improve my test taking skills as well as an additional knowledge base to add to my test preparation. Good luck! You can do it!

Best,
Michael

Hi Team,

I've completed 4 exams from the simulators and my results are shown below. I've also attached some details of the exam performance for discussion.
Exam1: 74.5%
Exam2: 80.5%
Exam3: 81.5%
Exam4: 82%
I do observe improvements but its not that significant. There are some knowledge areas that i need to focus on based on the ranking in the exam simulator.
My questions are:
1. I've observed that the number of questions according to the breakdown by process groups doesn't reflect the actual breakdown as explained in the PMP exam content outline. Shouldn't it be same according to the PMP exam content outline?
2. I also observe that the proficiency grading are based on <75%: Below Proficient, 75-85%; Moderately Proficient, >85%: Proficient.
In my 1st real PMP exam, I got Moderately Proficient for Initiating and Closing. The rest of the process groups, I got Below Proficient.
Since the number of questions breakdown are not the same as the PMP exam content outline, I see some significant proficiency grading fluctuations in my Initiating and Closing domains based on the first 4 exams. Should this be a concern for me?

Please advise.

Ganavel,

I think the % breakdown of questions are very close to the actual exam and should not be a concern. You definitely had lower scores on Initiating and Closing on the last exam compared to the others and the areas where you have been most inconsistent. You are staying consistent on the Planning, Executing and M&C categories which is good. You should spend the necessary time to review the questions on Initiating and Closing from your last exam and see why you missed them. Looks like Procurement should be another area of focus. I believe that you are able to select questions from specific areas in the PM Exam Simulator. You might try just focusing on questions for Initiating and Closing and do other timed tests just on those areas.

Keep working at it and focus on reviewing the weaker areas. Don't get discouraged. Good luck!

Mark

I believe pmp exam simulator will give a good idea of how would the real exam will be, also will show your competencies gaps that you need to foucus on. The best thing is to answer the 1800 questons and review the answers of failed questions' asnswer.

Good luck

Salah

Hi Team,

I attempted the following 6 exams + ITTO exam on the simulator and the following are my results:
Exam1: 74.5%
Exam2: 80.5%
Exam3: 81.5%
Exam4: 82%
Exam5: 76%
Exam6: 78.5%
ITTO Exam: 89%
The 5th exam I did it at night after work. When I reviewed the next day, I realized that I did silly mistakes on a few questions.
So I attempted the 6th exam after 2 days revision on my weak areas and aimed to get >85% but I only manage to get 78.5% .
After exam 6 I tried my hands on the Oliver Lehman 175Qs and only manage to get 77% .
Since I'm just 5 days away from the real PMP exam, I decided to try on the ITTO exam just now. Got 89% but when I checked other exam takers scores here, I feel like I'm at the "borderline". I saw 1 person got 100% for the ITTO exam!
I'm kinda worried with my performance. Any tips from experts here?
I'm not hoping to score high proficiency in the real exam but as long as I get at least moderately proficient in all domains, I'll be more than happy.

Ganavel

Ganavel,

By all means do not panic. Keep working on your weaker areas per the exam statistics. My simulator exam scores were in the same ballpark percentage as yours prior to my exam and I passed. Of course, that is no guarantee you will pass but you seem to be doing fine. Persevere and be confident. Remember to give yourself some kind of break before the actual exam to relax and enjoy life a bit.

Cheers,

Mark

Thanks Mark.Hoping for the best.

Hi Team,

I attempted all the 8 exams + ITTO exam on the simulator and the following are my results. Last 2 exams showed improvement after revising on my weak areas.
Exam1: 74.5%
Exam2: 80.5%
Exam3: 81.5%
Exam4: 82%
Exam5: 76%
Exam6: 78.5%
Exam7: 84.5%
Exam8: 84%
ITTO Exam: 89%

Just 2 days away from the exam. I'm just going to review on my weak areas and go through my notes for the next 2 days.
I'll probably stop studying by evening before the exam day and relax a bit as proposed by some of the moderators here.
Next update will be on the exam results. Can't wait for the exam to be over!

Ganavel

Ganavel

Good Luck with the exam! You can do it!

Kevin

Hi Team,
I just passed the exam! Wow what a great feeling and relieve! Till the end of the exam I didn't have the confidence but the result just made my day! I will post my lesson learnt the soonest. Thanks team. You guys are great!

Ganavel, MSc, PMP.

Ganavel,

Congratulations!!! Really happy that you passed the exam. I knew you could do it. Looking forward to your lessons learned post. Take a deep breath and celebrate your success!

Cheers,

Mark

Congratulations.
Ganavel, PMP

Ganavel

Congratulations on passing the exam!!

Kevin

Congratulations Ganavel !
would you please, while writing your lessons learnt, focus on the experience of taking the exam for a 2nd time (spotting the weak areas, study plan, practicing, etc.)