TOPIC: Passed PMP Exam March 19, 2021

I passed the PMP exam yesterday. My results were on target for process and above target for business and process. I studied every day for two months straight at least two hours a day. The first month was reading the second month was taking exams. I did learning for a couple of weeks since I knew nothing about Agile and then started taking the PMP timed quizzes which are much harder. I mostly improved my scores but technically did not pass the exams. My scores were:

PMP Exam 1: 60.6%
PMP Exam 2: 65%
PMP Exam 3: 67.2%
PMP Exam 4: 67.2%

1. Pretty much no math as I am sure you know (Expected Value comprehension)
2. I had no interpretation of graphs (phhewwwwww!)
3. At least 15 tiles that you had to move right to left. Many of them were understandable but a few were tricky
4. I would say about 10 were pick the best of 2 or three answers.
5. No ITTOs definitions just - understand the concepts
6. The rest was multiple choice that was completely situational
7. A lot of Agile but it was more based on leadership. Some technical terms and the understanding the role of the Product owner, Scrum Master and of course team. Nothing on the really technical terms so don't get too caught up on knowing all the definitions. It's more about practical thinking.
8. A good understanding of the importance of servant leadership and how you use those concepts and how to apply them to your team
9. The wording was more basic without knowing technical terms. The sentences were not too long and complicated.
10. No questions listing what they would not do or least of

I am sure a real project manager would have done better but I am still glad I passed. I used another company previously and their questions were not as good as Prep Cast that's for sure. I didn't pass the first time on the old exam with that company. I think because of Prep Cast which was referred to me by a colleague I passed because of the quality of questions. Overall I took the whole time to take the exam and only took one break which was only 5 minutes. I wanted to be able to review my questions which took time. I'm glad I did because a few I answered wrong I think. Everyone has a different experience. I used the whole time but again I am not a project manager I am a program manager. I think you will pass if you get to at a 70. The fourth time I took the practice exam I kept second guessing myself I think is why I didn't do better. After reviewing each answer on each test like people have said is worth it. Check all your right and wrong answers so you can continue learning it's really important. It's time consuming because it's as long as taking the test but you need to know what you did wrong so you don't keep making the same mistake. Check you answers the next day since you have to read the responses. It's like studying anyway.

Good luck to everyone you will pass as they say without worrying about passing while taking the test. Just do your best and of course watch the clock. For me I needed as much time as possible but it went fast because I just wanted to get them answered. I was also used to taking the test for long periods of time that really helped. Take the real exam as practice all 4 so you can get used to sitting there. It takes a lot but you get used to it. Let me know if you have questions. This has been a long journey for me but I'm glad I got it. It's been something I have wanted for a long time.

Congratulations ,
Did my PMBOK, rita once , started the prep cast quizzes and my first attempt average score was 64%. Then I started reading all the quiz questions and right/wrong answers and started doing 30/40 set questions and getting around 80%. Today I attempted my first prep cast mock exam and got 57%.
Need some suggestions /ideas/plan i should do to gain knowledge and increase my scores.
Thanks for your time and any info will be really helpful.

Elizabeth,
Congratulations on passing the exam and thanks for sharing your lessons learned. Your experience gave me some comfort as on my first prepcast mock exam I scored 67% and was feeling demotivated that its a low score as other folks were sharing their first time scores in high 70s and into 80s. My guess is that if someone is scoring (first attempt scores) between 65% -70% range in 4 mock exams, they will pass the real exam.

Congratulations Elizabeth....did u do any other material thank PMBOK and what was the weightage and topic for Agile.

Did you spend more time studying prepcast exams or quizzes?

Congratulations! Great work

I would say once again do many quizzes because you get much practice. As I said before take all tests. You can retake them but remember they are the same questions so don't get too comfortable. Don't memorize people for quality nothing like that was on there. No calculating critical path. It's all scenario based. Prep cast had many questions that were similar. I think Prep Cast was much harder which is a good thing so you will be better prepared. Agile don't memorize all those technical terms because they are not on there. Just be able to understand the methodology and how you will use them in real life.

Definitely. I think Prepcast over prepares for Agile which is good. You don't have to be an Agile expert to pass. The Agile was more generalist and not super specific. In general the wording is more generic and not specific just like when I took it last year. Don't get caught up on the terms because they don't use that many. Their questions are shorter and not as detailed. You just have to read it twice because a couple of times I realized I made some mistakes not reading it correctly. Don't take a break if you don't need it because you want to have time to go back over your answers. I took about 1100 questions and passed. If I can pass anyone can. This was my second time and it went faster for me because I practiced those questions over and over. Reading is fine but don't spend too much time on it. Answer the questions because in my opinion that is what prepares you the most. Good luck.

Elizabeth,

Congratulations on passing your exam!

Thank you for sharing your success and lessons learned. We are glad to hear that our products helped you prepare for and pass your exam.

Good luck in all your future endeavors.

Congratulations Elizabeth and welcome to the club!

Thanks for sharing your success and experience with the community; highly appreciated!

All the best for your career as a PMP.

Regards,
Markus