TOPIC: Exam in a month

Hello,

My exam is exactly in a month now and I am starting to get nervous. I have read Rita's book couple of times and PMBOK once but am still not very confident. I have recently purchased the Prepcast Exam Simulator and just to look at the kind of questions, attempted some 20 question learning quizzes (Integration, Scope, Schedule and Risk KAs). Scores ranged from 75-90%. But those were in learning mode and with the hints.

So, now I have exactly a month and am confused on how to utilize it best. How do I get through all of the 8 full mocks and revise side by side? Also, for recent test takers, how important it is to remember the trends and tailoring practices from exam POV? Because I have not focused on them. Please advice on a revision and mock exam plan for the next 28 days.

Thanks,
Parevi

Hi Parevi,

Don't be nervous. Stay focused. What you need now is a good study plan that works best for you. To answer your first question about how to get through all 8 mock exams...

1. If you are a full-time employee and not having a lot of time at night, I suggest do one mock test in one night and then review the questions you answered incorrectly the next night. You can do more in the weekends. If you are not a full-time employee, then you can do one mock test and then review the questions all in one day.

2. When you are reviewing your incorrect answers, have your notebook , Rita's and PMBOK next to you. Each question has a PMBOK reference page at the end, go to the reference page, read it and understand why your answer is incorrect or not the best answer (note that some situational questions are asking for best answer). If you don't understand what the PMBOK is saying (yes, PMBOK can be vague sometimes), then use the Rita's book, if Rita's book is still confusing, then post your questions in the forum. Lastly, write down why the correct answer is correct; what is the distinct difference between your incorrect answer vs. the correct answer (e.g., Project Calendars vs. Project Schedule).

3. Know the elements of the inputs and outputs (e.g., what are included in scope management plan).

Your question on trends and tailoring practices... based on my experience, you only need to know the big picture, e.g., the trends in Scope management is that organizations are using Business Analyst to gather scope requirements which is a big part in PM plan. Since each project is different in nature, therefore, the things to consider are (1) knowledge and requirements management (2) development approach (agile or predictive) (3) Validate and control and so on (there are 5 things to consider), so know the board picture will do. In addition, when you do the mock exams, you should be able to learn these area pretty fast.

Hope this helps. Good luck on your upcoming exams .

Thank you Cynthia. Yes, I am a full time employee and have a 6 year old at home too. So I will follow your 1st point. One mock on one night and review on the other. SO by doing this, I will not need to revise or read the chapters again right? The mock exams itself would be my revision.

Parevi-

I agree with Cynthia's comments. I too am a working mom with little ones at home, so it was challenging to find the time between work, mom-life, etc. The exam simulators are so important to help you really understand how questions are asked and how to identify the right answer. Some things that helped me with the limited time I had:

1. Mini Quizzes - I took a lot of mini quizzes, given the time I had around work/kids. Reviewing the right and wrong responses and referencing them back to PMBOK or Rita's book were extremely helpful.
2. Process Groups/Knowledge Areas - I practiced writing down the process group and knowledge areas so that when I read a question I could immediately place where it was happening (e.g. scope management/planning). I then could think through what PMBOK says happen before or after. I didn't have time to memorize the ITTOs, but I found by using this technique I could easily figure out the ITTOs that applied through my work experience or through what I remembered in the PMBOK.
3. Take Breaks! - Don't go overboard in this last month. I had to remind myself that some nights I just needed to close my books and take a breather. It was good to push reset and start fresh the next day. It kept me from getting burnt out the last month and getting confused on different topics.

Hope this helps! Best of luck to you!

Amy

Hi Parevi,

Given only 28 days to revise, that's the best suggestion I could give you. From Amy's post, it reminded me a few more things that I would like to add:

1. On Amy's second point. She is right, it is important to practice and know Table 1-4 on page 25 of PMBOK, it will help you on the exam like the way Amy said. You can practice Table 1-4 whenever you have some free time or taking a break at work.

2. For each mock exam that you took, pay attention to Executing, Monitoring and Controlling process groups. Reason being most of the questions come from these 2 areas (Executing 62 MCQ; M&C 50 MCQ). So far what I see (but I may be wrong), to pass your exams you need to know these 2 areas well, understand the difference between Communications Management and SH Management in these 2 process groups.

Hope this helps in your preparation for the upcoming exams.

Cynthia