I took the exam and trust me, I was as nervous and worried as most of you might be and really wanted to pass on my 1st try, not only because its hard and stressful, but for the time you need to spend to prepare for it. well here is what I did and passed on my first try:
1. This is not a joke! it is 200 questions and you have 4 hours to finish it, so first get yourself in the mood and dedicate at least 3-4 hours a day for minimum of 2 months. This is my personal experience, so you might need more or less; something you need to figure out for yourself.
2. I talked to many friends and colleagues who passed it before me, but why? Everyone has a personal preference on methods of preparation for an exam and writing it and trust me; not only it is interesting to hear what they have gone through, but also you will start finding a common pattern between all the stories which makes it clear for you to know what to focus on more and save yourself time. It sure helped me, but if you are confident and think you don’t need that extra rout then be it!
3. I didn’t only focus on PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge). It sure is a great book to get yourself familiar with the concepts of project management and can be used as a Bible to refer to in your future on the job experiences, but I certainly don’t see is as the best and only source needed to prepare for the test. Have talked to people who nailed the book and reviewed 3-4 times before the test, but still failed!
I bought a book called The PMP Exam by ANDY CROWE. This book explained the fundamentals for Project Management as well as explaining the 49 PMI Processes you MUST master for the test, along with Inputs, Tools, and Output for each process which a project manager uses in real life from the start to end of every project. At the end of each Knowledge Group chapter there are 25 multiple-choice questions for that section for you to test yourself. At the very end, there is a 200 questions exam which I took as well (timed myself 4 hours) to see my general learning progress. I only got a 65% after marking myself! Was I worried? Yes. Did I give up? No
4. I went for the second round and this time wrote every single process down including INPUTS,TOOLS, OUTPUTS for each and every process and reviewed them.
Oops! Forgot to mention that book came with an online code to use on their website and access few quizzes only on selected sections (you need to purchase the full pass to access them all). I did those free ones as well and took the test again. Only got a 67% this time! OMG! What was wrong?? There I realized that I needed more practice of some sort, so took a friends advise (PMP certified) and purchased an online pass for a website which offered 8 simulated 4 hrs exams and bunch of quizzes on each process or knowledge group which you could pick from. 32 hours of tests which I actually didn’t completely use (only took 4 tests)
This whole process took me 2 and half months and my results did not improve significantly, but everytime I took a test, I went back and reviewed the wrong answers and read provided reasons on why it was wrong and explanations as the right choice. Did this help? Absolutely!
Not only I passed, but I also scored every part Above Target except for Planning which ended to be Target. I also brought myself up to speed to be able to finish on time because the first couple of rounds, I was slow and almost ran out of time.
Lessons learned:
• Stay focused
• Don’t get discouraged and never give up
• Practice! Practice! Practice!
• Don’t skip sessions and use every available resource
• DO NOT study/practice test the day before and do other fun stuff
• Rest the night before and have a great breakfast before the test
• Be confident
• Become PMP certified. GOOD LUCK!
Happy PMP perp.
