Preparing for PMP in addition to passing exam its more about developing a mindset (PMI-ism), Its more of Journey. I have jotted down how I studied & some tips which should be helpful.
Study Material
Books
Rita 10th edition - read multiple times
Agile practice guide - read multiple times
PMBOK 6th edition - read once
Videos/Courses
Course from Udemy (Andrew Ramdayal) for 35 contact hours
Percipio for some Topics
Youtube - great videos for few topic from Shree learning institute/Andrew/Amer Ali
Mock exam
PrepCast PMP mocks
Mocks from Udemy
How did I studied ( 7 weeks)
Completed the Udemy course 1st, got the 35 contact hours required. (1.5 weeks)
Started reading Rita - I read one chapter (knowledge area) in Rita then looked for corresponding video from Udemy course. (2 week)
Mock exam from Udemy to check where I stand (1 day)
Read PMBOK - couldn't complete it. Skipped the 2nd part (THE STANDARD FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT) (2 week)
Completed Agile practice guide + did some videos from Percipio regarding Agile topic (3 days)
Mock exam from Udemy (1 day)
Three weeks to exam
Daily schedule
Started Rita again - read one/day chapter (knowledge area) + corresponding videos from Udemy course + gave mock test w.r.t to knowledge area from Prepcast.
Got to know my weak areas in . Revisited the topic from Rita or PMBOK or video course
Read Agile Practice guide (one chapter/day) - read it twice in the whole duration
In free time - saw success stories from Shree Learning in YouTube -(people sharing their experience of passing exam) motivator + insights of exam
After completing all the knowledge areas
Gave 4 mocks from PrepCast (one mock/day) 5 days before exam
Mock exam timing was as per my planned time for exam
Gave mock in morning (10 AM - 2PM ) & reviewed the solutions rest of the day. Revisited the topics where I felt I was not confident or I was wrong.
My mock results were as follow - 70% , 73.34%, 80% & 78%.
Reviewed Udemy courses again (played in 2x - just to brush up concept)
Exam day
Before the exam
I couldn't sleep properly the night before the exam, was dam nervous!
I had selected proctor base exam - before the exam I cleaned my desk, removed all notes, sticky notes ,pen etc - only laptop/PC with accessories (mouse/keyboard/camera) is allowed
The verification process was smooth - I received a link to send photos of the surrounding + ID proof. The proctor also checked my room.
Exam
I found all questions difficult except for drag & drop.
Took the 60 & 120 questions break, the break are important. It gives you the rest time, you can reset yourself for next 60 questions
Most of the questions ~ 60% from agile/hybrid.
Got around 6-8 drag drop questions - the simplest one's
Didn't get "fill in the blank"/ "Hot spot" questions
All questions were scenario based, hardly any concept/definition/theory based question.
I had decided 75-80 min for 60 questions .
Completed the 1st 60 in around 80 min & took around 7 min to review all the marked question
Completed the 2nd 60 in around 70 min & took 5 min to review all the marked question
Completed the last 60 in around 60 min & Reviewed all the marked question until I was out of time
It takes couple of seconds to see the result on screen.
Tips
Fix a date for exam. The exam requires around 100 -150 hours of preparation (100 hrs of studying + 50 hrs of mocks
People might disagree but one can skip reading PMBOK now or read it once. More questions are agile/hybrid base.
Concentrate more people domain.
Mocks w.r.t to knowledge areas (Prepcast) wise were the most helpful it cleared most of my concept.
Once you have finished with concepts. Concentrate more on mocks then revisiting the books
Review both wrong & right answers for Mocks
I gave around ~100 - 200 questions/ knowledge area + 6 (180 questions) mocks. In short practice is the key.
I tried Prepcast Mock test - questions from test were similar to the PMP exam. I would say it was one single step that made difference.
The journey is exhausting, keep yourself motivated.[/li]
