TOPIC: Experience Writing Exam at Home

For those of you that wrote the PMP exam at home, could you share your experience? Some are saying it's not recommended and there are still a lot of bugs. Would appreciate your thoughts!

I took the exam at home 2 weeks ago with no issues (thankfully) and passed! Below are things I did to help set myself up for success. This is long to read, but hopefully it helps.

What I did to prepare the room/environment:
- Read through FAQs & watched YouTube of details at [url= - https://home.pearsonvue.com/Test-takers/OnVUE-online-proctoring.aspx]PearsonVUE[/url]
- Ran a system test on my laptop before I committed to an at home test date. I wanted to be sure there were no computer/connection issues prior to signing up. I'm glad I did cause I needed to make a change so the webcam would work.
- I have a dog, so needed to set up a barrier so she didn't travel upstairs to try to bust into the room. We did a dry run a couple days before. First plan didn't work... LOL, so tried a different method the next day, which worked!
- I took the test in my home office. My desk was completely cleared except a lamp, laptop & mouse.
- Removed my 2nd monitor completely from the desk ( as to not get asked questions about it )
- I put away anything in the room that had writing on it, even it it was out of reach - books, motivational words, etc.
- Put cell phone on vibrate, so in case there were issues and the proctor needed to call me, I'd hear it
- Added PearsonVue's phone number to my phone, along with the receipt number of my test approval from them (in case my laptop got shut down)
- Used a ethernet cable to connect to the internet - as per PearsonVue's rules
- Prepared a snack of a few walnuts & cold bottle of water outside my room, so I didn't have to travel far and waste time during the 10m break


Test day:
- Removed FitBit from my wrist (per guidelines)
- Log into PearsonVue with your PMI credentials 30m prior to test
- Another system test will be run
- Received a text link - instructions are to take 4 pics of room (left, right, front, back) + selfie and respond to text
- Placed cell phone face down on a filing cabinet in vibrate mode - out of arms reach.
- Computer screen turns on webcam and there's a message about goal is to start test in 15m. You can't leave the view of webcam at this point. (This was good, cause I was able to just sit and do deep breathing while waiting for next steps.)
- Once they're done verifying your pics/info, the screen will change notifying you the test is ready to start.
- I took the tutorial which showed how to strikethrough, flag or highlight. (for strikethrough, you only need to cross out a word/ letter, not the whole answer - time saver )
- Test starts and then once I got to Q89, a message popped up stating I could take a break or review any questions I flagged
- I messaged / chatted the proctor (who I didn't see or hear) if I could leave the room for a restroom break - the person responded "Yes you may" and was cordial via the chat. I'd read where you're not allowed to leave the room, but that people asked the proctor and got confirmation first.
- Ate quick snack, drank some water, etc and came back to the room - only used a few minutes. I was worried about being late.
- Finished 2nd part of test, hit submit and then saw "Congratulations"! I wish the font was bigger to make it more exciting when you pass.

I'm glad I took it at home. It felt like how it was when I was taking the practice exams. Hope this helps you and anyone else planning to take it at home!

Congratulations!! All your hard work has paid off (hopefully this made your 2020 a little better ). Very happy for you!

Thanks for the detailed response. Really appreciate all the tips and insight. I'm sure others who happen to stumble upon this thread will feel the same way. I was feeling nervous about my upcoming exam at home, but you've made me feel better. Fingers crossed for a smooth experience.

Cheers!