I passed first time with all three domains in the above target range. Here's what worked for me and what I wished I'd done differently.
I took about 12 weeks to fully prepare for this exam.
I purchased the PM Prepcast and used that as my main learning modules.
Reading Materials
PMBOK I had already read through the 6th edition of the PMBOK for a graduate class, I purchased the 7th edition and would refer to it during studies, but I
didn't read this through cover to cover.
PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy
Agile Practice Guide by PMI
The 50 PMP Exam Prep Questions Everyone Gets Wrong by Cornelius Fichtner
I have a 40 minute commute each way, 4 days a week and during my commute I would listen to PMP Master Prep by Scott Payne
How my week would look
Mon - Thurs
Listened to Scott Payne on my commute 40 mins each way
10 - 15 mins. spent on flashcards (more on this later)
2 Hours of PrepCast Lectures each evening. Taking note of words I was struggling with, formulas I didn't know etc.
In the last month, I activated my exams module and then Mon - Fri I would answer 10 questions each day based on the domain I was working in. (This is something I wished I had started sooner, I would have used this the whole time if I had to do this over again).
Friday
Taking words, phrases, formulas I wasn't familiar with, or struggling with, I would make flashcards, with the name on one side
and a definition on the other.
Then everyday I would work on these flashcards.
Saturday
I would spend Saturday going over all the mini-quizzes, reading up why I got questions wrong, as well as why I got them right.
Sunday
I would take a full 180 question exam and then spend time going over all answers, reading why I got them wrong as well as why I got them right.
Flashcards
My cards would be split into 3 piles.
1. Those that I was confident on (these I would only go over every third day)
2. Those I knew, but struggled with (these I would go over every other day)
3. Those that I did not know. (these I would work on every day)
As I worked on them throughout the week, the cards could move from one pile to another. My goal was to have all cards in pile 1
(confident of definition) before I took my exam.
Exam Questions
I have test anxiety and the way I tackled the questions was this. I took advantage of the highlight and cross out tools available on the exam software.
Before I'd even read through the question I would look at the responses and cross out any responses that did not meet the standards of what a project
manager would do first. This usually eliminated 1 or 2 responses. In some cases it even eliminated 3 of the 4 choices!
I would then look at the question. If it was asking me to select more than one option I immediately highlighted the "choose 2" part of the question.
I found that during the practice exams on Sunday I was sometimes missing following that option.
Then I would read through the question and select the best option. I found that this boosted my confidence during the exam.
There were a few questions where I wasn't 100% confident in my response and I marked those for review so that at each session end I could review
those. I found though, that even though I wasn't fully confident in my response, I didn't change any of my answers.
What I would have done differently if I had to do this again
I would have started using the exam/quiz feature earlier and I would have focused the learning quizzes better, honing in on the topics I needed
the most help with
I would have not put off signing up for the exam, thinking I wasn't ready yet
I would not have read the Rita Mulcahy book cover to cover, instead focusing only on the areas I needed more help with
I would not have panicked at the end of the test when the message popped up telling me my results were being sent to PMI and I would get an
email within 48 hours. I thought that meant I had failed as I had heard you get your results immediately. That is true, and if you take the test
online then you get the pass/fail message. However, I took this at a Pearson Vue center and so after the exam finished and I left the testing
classroom I was told the receptionist had a paper for me. On that paper it told me congratulations and that I'd passed. I could have saved
myself a few minutes of desolation if I'd known that.
I hope this information helps someone. The biggest thing I can tell you is don't wait until you are 100% confident in your abilities to
register for the exam or you will never be ready. Good luck! You got this!
Donna