TOPIC: How I passed the exam with one-month preparation.

I thought, this article might be helpfull for those who wants to pass the exam with one-month preparation.

I passed the exam with one month of prepartion. I made use of Dec year end shutdown period.

I have spent 12 vacation days by studying average of 7 years per day . And another 2 hours average for 12- 14 weeknights


In short I have studied, in the following order :

1) Took free test from pmstudy.com. Scored 51% . Identified that I have to read PMBOK guide atleast twice.

2) Read the PMBOK guide twice. Second reading was faster by 60% when compared to first reading.
I felt the reading PMBOK guide as very interesting and lively as I could relate the contents in PBMOK with I did and have bee doing in my projects.
I read that first time not with an intention to pass the PMP exam but with an intention improve my Project Management knowledge and skill set.

3) Took the sample tests for 2 - 3 chapters at the end of Rita Mulcahy book . I was able to correctly answer approximately 75% of questsion in those chapters.

4) I bought one test from pmstudy.com and took the exam. I was able to score 71%.I identified that in some chapters my scoring was only around 30%.

5) I studied around 8-10 chapters ( where I was not comfortable with all the concepts )
from Rita mulcahy book once. I studied one or two chapters twice . I studied Rita's process chart ( it's there at the beginin of almost every chapter ) many times

6) I studies same 8 - 10 chapters PMBok one more time.By this time I was confident that I can score around 75%.

7) Day before exam : I glanced throught all pages of PMBOK guide for one last time.

On the day exam : I never felt the need for downloading the foumlas on a paper as I was clear on the logic of those formulas.
It is very important attention in the begigning as a screen will pop-up and says that if you don't start the exam in 1 minute, your exam will end.
I was nervous for first 1 hour as I was not able to answer most of the questions confidently . Then I took a break and told myself that I will take the exam as true test of my project management skills irrespective of the result of the exam.
As the test progressed , I became more confident as I was able more answer more questions condently.

9) Finally the result came . I passed the exam. I got 'proficient' in Planning, Executing and Control. Moderately proficient in intiating and Professional ethics and code of conduct.
Below average in 'closing' phase.

What went well :


There was consistency in my reading of PMBOK. The timelag between 1st reading and each additional reading was very less.



What I could have done better :

In the first hour of exam I realised that I should have read Rita Mulchay book completely atleast one time.
There are a few topics that came in exam , which are available in Rita Mulchay's book but not in PMbok. The questions at the end of each chapter in Rita Mulcahy are very helpful.
So are the test exam from pmstudy.com


What I would have done , if I had failed the exam:

I would appeared exam in another 3 - 4 weeks . I would read Rita Mulchay book one more time completely and took 2-3 tests in pmstudy.com.


What next for me:
I learnt a lot from PMP exam preparation. It has increased my power of concentration and confidence. I will try to implement the lessons I have learnt from my preparation in my projects.

Congratulations are in order!
Thanks for the LL it is very helpful.

Please pardon me for typos and grammatical mistakes in my article. I really apologize for that.

I see a lot of people "cram" like this to pass tests. I see it in Cisco
tests, Juniper, PM, and as a Amateur Ham radio operator, the radio exams.

What happens is similar to your experience. Congratulations, you passed the
exam! But clearly the concept it "Retention to make you a better XXX", in this
case a better PM.

So I ask you, when you are about to go under the knife do you
want a surgeon or an anesthesiologist that "Crammed" for their
boards and got a "Slightly proficient"?

You realize when you took lectures as an undergrad student
that after 10 years the retention rate is only 2% of the material
for the average undergrad? What do you believe the retention rate
of your "cram" session will be if you barely scrapped by with a 75%
aka 'C' the day of the test 6 months from the test date? How about
2 years? I suspect the same as the people I run in to that cram for
their Radio exams.... A year later they know almost nothing about
proper FCC requirements on various frequencies, and what certain
components do, or the difference between a Yolk, and a Yagi antenna...

I paid in to the PMP here because it is about "bettering yourself".
A good solid PMP manager, that knows his stuff, will see through
you like a paper tissue as I often run in to the same thing when
hiring network engineers and architects that appear to know nothing,
even basic CCNA or CCNP basics a person with 2 years experience would
have, yet they don't know the material. They crammed. A clear sign
of this is the CCxx, or PMP that has no undergrad degree. I won't hire
them. Their resume goes in the shredder.

You are fooling no one, or you will for a short period of time
which means I would suspect you to have a lot of "job hopping"
that looks bad, or you are with one company for a long time,
either way, I pass. It can't even be gratifying for yourself...

I find the PMBOK bland and boring. I have read through it, but I feel
much more confident that I know the material having watched the
PMPCast lectures. And no, I have no affiliation with this system,
and it is a lot of time and work but is a bargain for $99.
But there is some satisfaction that you actually know the material
rather than being "marginal"...

Good luck.

MJD

Sincere thanks for taking time in providing valuable feedback.

I forgot to mention that I bought pmprepcast which is where I got 35 PDU's.

shiva
congrats on ur success
dear can u plz tell me the difficulty level of questions.
does it seems like rita PM Fastrack or ....?

Thank you
The article is helping me to streamline things.

Please advice
Can i only read Rita mulachy twice

Very helpful