TOPIC: Project dates overlapping question

I have a question about the PMP exam application. I have been a PM for 12 years, 7 of them have been with a software implementation company. We would do several projects at one time, therefore having overlapping dates. These projects would vary in the amount of hours. Some of them took 20 hours of PM time and some took 60 hours of PM time. The PMP handbook states this; "For each month in which you worked on multiple, overlapping projects, you can only count the time spent on ONE of those projects toward fulfilling your eligibility requirements." A little further down there is this statement; "Consider all of the projects that you have worked on and identify how many hours you spent leading and directing the project. For this section of the application, if you worked on multiple projects at one time, all the hours count toward the total." I created a spreadsheet of all of my projects over the past 7 years and have 697 individual projects totally over 11,000 hours. When calculating the hours is it by project or can it be by product. Could the total amount of hours for each individual product be used instead of individual project. The scope and my involvement was the same for each individual product. Thoughts on this being possible? Thanks

Overlapping hours do not count. Yes, you do consider all the projects, but again, the overlapping will not be counted. If I remember correctly, when the experience is applied for, the PMI website will truncate your time accordingly.
The hours have to be based on leading and directing a project according the PMP exam content outline. See the PMI PMP handbook.
You need to focus on the project, not the product. A product is usually the result of a project or operation, so make sure it is actually a project by the PMI definition.

Hi,
I am in similar situations. Most of my projects are similar which I have been doing for last 10 years. And I worked on multiple projects simultaneously. So confused how to document them in the application.