Preface: I’m unemployed so time to study wasn’t my constraint. I started the PMP prepcast course on 2/22/2012 and passed the exam on 4/12/2012. I expended about 225-250 brain-engaged hours on the effort.
1. I listened to the advice of an existing PMP regarding
a. Whether my past experience is relevant enough for PMP (yes)
b. And what study material to buy
2. My full of compliment of study material was:
a. PMP Prepcast from OSP Int’l
b. Exam Simulator from OSP Int’l
c. Pocket formula guide from OSP Int’l
d. Rita Mulcahy’s PMP Exam Prep study guide
e. Q & A’s for the PMBOK guide from PMI
f. PMBOK guide from PMI
g. Searchable PDF of the PMBOK guide from PMI
h. The PMP Exam Quick Reference Guide from Anthony Crowe
3. Prepcast was the first pass thru the PMP material. I started on 2/22 and passed the OSP Int’l “final exam” on 3/16. I viewed the Prepcast on the left side of my 25” screen and took prodigious notes into MS Word on the right. I also grabbed screen shots of relevant diagrams and graphics and pasted them in to Word (don’t worry Mr. Fitchner, the screenshots never went anywhere and they’re already deleted!).
4.Mulcahy’s study guide was my second pass through the PMP material. You “experience” this rather than “read” it as she keeps the student mentally engaged with learning games, exercises, stopping to think about this! or that!, practice tests, and other learning tricks.
After both passes the PMP material was beginning to gel and make sense.
5. I populated a spreadsheet with the following columns of data: Process Group, Knowledge Mgmt #, Knowledge Mgmt Name, Process Name, Inputs, Tools & Techniques, and Outputs. This was a very useful tool. By filtering and sorting in ad-hoc ways I could discover and comprehend process relationships and ITTOs that were otherwise hiding in the data.
6. I got audited. Not a problem…As Fitchner suggested in his Prepcast, I had already contacted my old boss to show him what I was claiming for my previous experience, which he would be asked to verify. The audit process took 6 business days. Had I not overnight mailed the audit papers back to PMI It would have been a day or two longer.
Comments:
• All of the study materials I bought were necessary.
o The prepcast and Mulcahy present the material in their own way and it helps a person comprehend better when it’s told in two different ways.
o The test exams from OSP, Mulcahy, and PMI were hugely helpful as they accurately reflected the style and level of difficulty of the real exam questions.
o The searchable PDF of the PMBOK guide is very helpful to find specific definitions and specific mentions of certain words or phrases.
• Adivce: Regarding PMP exam questions found on the Internet. I would suggest against spending any time on them because the quality is uncertain. Example: I found a question that required using Net Present Value to calculate the answer. However, OSP, Mulcahy, and Crowe all state outright that the PMP exam would not require NPV calculation.
• Advice: You must read the verbiage in the PMBOK guide. Don’t bother trying to comprehend the mind-bending process flow diagrams. But reading the words is necessary because there are specific words and phrases that PMI wants you to recognize. Reading the PMBOK guide it will help you recognize those specific words and phrases when they show up on the test exams and the real exam.
