My PMP Success Story
Hi All,
The key to my success at the PMP exam was total commitment to a realistic studying plan. Here are some tips on what worked for me:
Your ability to keep to plan is an essential skill required of a project manager. You need to be able to manage your personal life and studying as these are constraints in exam preparation
Williams (PMP Coach and Mentor) requested I have a study plan to completely read the latest version of Rita which I planned and succeeded reading in 13 days. Set out a realistic plan and follow through.
Complete another round of reading chapter by chapter after each class of knowledge area. This will make the topic sink into your long term memory which can be retrieved at any point in time.
Make yourself available for classes and take notes as instructed
Understand what is done in each process rather than memorizing them. Knowing Rita’s process chat on page 65 and been able to arrange them as in the table especially planning in its sequential order helps a great deal. I was creative in learning it by making a game out of it and can replicate activity without memorizing them.
Pay attention to key points the coach ask you to know for exam.
Complete as many mock exams as you can. I did 4 in my own case (200 questions, 4 hours each). Got low 60’s in all my mock exams and almost postponed my exam, williams encouraged me to dust it off and concentrate on my goal.
Practice as many questions as possible and review answers by digging deep into your Pmbok guide. I did all questions in Rita and mostly at the 3rd attempt was in high 90’s in all knowledge area. In all, I must have practiced and reviewed about 3000 questions.
Participate as much as possible in daily questions on the platform. Do not feel ashamed to fail a question. In fact, the questions you missed and researched the answer can never be forgotten.
Know the major difference between audit and inspection and in which process group they are used
While it is important to know most calculations, the interpretations are very important and cannot be over emphasized e.g CPI is 1.7 and SPI is 0.7 means the project is under budget and behind schedule
Go through your class notes twice before the exam.
Be prepared for at least 95% situational questions. There are little or no direct questions on the exams.
Stop reading a day or at least 12 hours to your exams
Have a good sleep to relax your brain, this will help you go through the 4 hours exam and enable you interpret questions correctly
Don’t spend too much time on a question and don’t double guess your answer. Your first choice is usually the best answer
Mark for review questions that seems difficult especially calculations and come back to it at the end
Take advantage of the 10 minutes break as it will help reduce your tension and gives you a good chance of passing when you resume the second half
More than anything, I believe in efficacy of prayers. Pray and commit everything to God. If you have done your part, leave the rest for Him. Example is been hail and hearty on exam day or not getting any news or distraction that may affect your reading.
I wish you all the best and hoping to see you on the other side (from student to a professional).
Thank you and wishing your all success in your coming exams.
Emmanuel Bailey
