Hello Lovely People
On Monday, I passed the PMP exam on my first attempt.
Now, I would like to share with you my stud materials, study plan, lessons learned and tips. I hope that they may be helpful to somebody.
Study materials:
• PMPrepCast Videos
• PMPrepCast Simulator
• PMBOK Guide 6th Edition
• One day before my exam, I found by coincidence the great video of Ricardo Vargas explaining the PMBOK Guide.
I also downloaded two mobile apps on my phone, but they were complete waste of time and money - most of the questions were incorrect and the style was inconsistent.
Study Plan:
• I spent one month only reading the PMBOK Guide. Once finished, I did the entry test of PMPrepCast that has around 100 questions.
• Afterwards, I spent a month of watching all of the PMPrepCast videos and taking detailed notes. After I finished a knowledge area, I immediately did the control test to check my level of knowledge.
• 6 weeks before my exam, I did a study plan: I was reviewing 2 knowledge areas per week, re-taking the test from the PrepCast per area and doing a full exam on a Sunday. I reviewed each each wrong and marked question on my exams.
• 2 days before my exam, I did the ITTO exam to make a solid review.
• 1 day before the exam, I watched Ricardo Vargas video and reviewed all of the tools & techniques. The rest of the day I spent relaxing.
Lessons Learned & Tips:
• I realized quite late that it is better to study by process group rather than knowledge area. I think that it would have been easier for me if I have studied this way.
• Studying only with the PMBOK Guide and PMPrepCast is completely sufficient preparation to pass the exam.
• If you can’t understand a chart or diagram, just google it for visuals – it really helps to remember what is an Ishikawa diagram (for example) once you see it
• Do the PMI Mock exam, but don’t panic! It is very likely that the results will be lower than on the exams in the Simulator. However, take only the positives – review the questions and build strategies for the real exam.
• It doesn’t matter if you take the 10min break on the exam, because you still won’t be able to review the first 89 questions after you accept / decline the break. I personally did not take the break and I had 55 mins left in the end of the exam.
• Practicing resilience is very important. The full-length exams in the PrepCast help build one.
• On the real PMP exam, you can strikethrough and highlight words / answers, so practice to strikethrough with the Simulator exams.
I wish everybody luck! Stay healthy!
Regards
