TOPIC: Just getting started

Hi all - I'm new to the PrepCast community. I appreciate all the contributions I've seen so far - and I'm probably only scratching the surface.

I scored about 50% on the Pre-Course Self-Assessment. Are there any indicators on success rates of people that score at that level or below to pass the final exam - given they follow the prescribed study plans?

Also, should I review the Pre-Course Self-Assessment questions now (with the explanations), or should I just dig in and get started with the lessons & PMBOK, and circle back to review the Pre-Test later?

Thanks so much,

Carl

Hi Carl,

You scored much better than I did on the Pre-Course Self-Assessment! When I couldn’t complete it, my exam coach advised me to start going through PrepCast’s video lessons, quizzes, tests, and an additional book (below). Following a study plan and reporting my progress to someone each week did the trick!

I’m not sure what you have in mind for your exam prep. Here’s my Lessons Learned about what prep helped me: Study Aides

My top 5 were prep tools were:
• Exam Coach
• PM PrepCast’s Online Video Lessons
• PM PrepCast’s Exam Simulator
• PM PrepCast’s Lessons Learned Forum
• Andy Crowe’s, The PMP Exam, 6th ed.

Depending on your timeframe, you can circle back to the Pre-Course Self-Assessment in a few weeks or in a month. What worked for me was taking PrepCast’s 4-hour tests (8 in all) and 40 or so quizzes along with the video lessons.

Go get 'em, Carl!

Hi Lisa, and thanks for your response! Carl, my responses are below in blue text. -Lisa

I appreciate this info. The preparation process is becoming a little clearer each day, although I started only last week. I've got a couple more questions - I hope you don't mind:

* How did you select a coach, how often did you communicate, and what should I expect to spend? I found my coach through Cornelius' podcasts: www.project-management-podcast.com/podca...pmp-exam-three-times . I spoke with him twice a week for a couple weeks via Zoom (like Skype), then it tapered to once a week. It sounds like you are in a better starting place than I was, so you may not need as much extra help. You can contact him about his current rates––see the above link to Cornelius' podcast.

* I don't think you mentioned reading PMBOK - is that right? I read the first 3 chapters. Then, I read sections of it as needed, both the hard copy and the free pdf (with PMI's membership.) For me, it was a really good reference rather than a good read. Refer to it quite a bit when you need clarification.

* I just learned that the exam is changing in about 6 weeks - I don't think I'll be ready by then - I have about 3 hours a day and was initially shooting for late January. Do I need to change course - am I wasting time, etc.? The PMP Exam is changing on July 1st, 2020. Here's a link about it: www.project-management-prepcast.com/free...pmp-exam-update-2019

Thanks I liked your tweet regarding the exam too!

Carl

Hi again Lisa!

Forgot to ask - do you think it would be more beneficial to review results from the Self-Assessment now, or would it make more sense after the videos?

Thanks!

Carl

Hi Carl,
I went back and reviewed Cornelius’ suggestions:
“Spend as much time reviewing the questions as you are spending on the sample exams.
So if you spend 3 hours on an exam, then spend 3 hours on reviewing all the questions that you had wrong. Learn from your mistakes.”

With that in mind, perhaps go ahead and review it. Your experience was different than mine. I was not ready to review it at the beginning.

What I did do is make my own flash cards for each incorrect answer on simulated tests–not negotiable. Learn from your mistakes. (Sadly, I wound up with 300+ notecards!)

Carl, my responses are below in purple text. -Lisa

Thanks again Lisa for all the good suggestions. I've read that the exam changes are taking place next month rather than next summer though. Here's an exeprt:

PMI® has announced that the PMP certification exam will change on December 16, 2019. This announcement gives you time to get your application submitted and to prepare to take the exam before the exam changes. The exam change is prompted by the expected June 2019 release of a new PMP Exam Content Outline. (This was posted in May of this year.). This info is outdated. See below.

How do you think this impacts my preparation and timeline, as I don't think I'll be ready to take the exam by mid-December?

Thanks!

The new PMP exam comes out JULY 1, 2020. The original exam release was December 16, 2019, but PMI moved it out several months to JULY 1, 2020. You have an extra 6 months (January–June) to be more prepared for the current exam. With the anticipated volume of new material for the new exam on JULY 1, Cornelius recommends you take it well BEFORE then. I scheduled my exam 3 months in advance to allow time for 2 retakes if I needed them.

Check out the really good link from PrepCast I sent you in message #18955. It’s a solid explanation of the matter: The PMP® Exam is Changing on 1 July 2020

Again, best advice from Cornelius: “Preparing for the PMP exam takes approximately 8-12 weeks. Therefore, if you are reading this before 31 March 2020 then you have enough time to do it. If you are reading this after 31 March 2020 then it is still possible but your window of opportunity is getting smaller by the day.”

Wish you the best, Carl! -Lisa

Carl,

If you are looking for a study method, I described the method I used called "Circular Review" in my PMP-Exam Lessons Learned here: www.project-management-prepcast.com/kune...t-multiple-resources . There I four primary resources: PMP-Prepcast and Exam Simulator, Head First PMP, Reed Integration PMP Success Sheet and home-made flash cards with the PMI Processes on the front and major Tools/Techniques and Outputs on the back. I did NOT attempt to memorize ITTOs, but rather attempted to learn the "why" behind each tool/technique and process output.

Good luck!

Harry