TOPIC: Certified PMP, February 2014

You can pass the PMP exam. Here's a recipe for success. First, be confident. The path to success starts with your own determination that this goal is for yourself, not for your boss, your organization, your friends. Certainly the benefits of certification may be shared on all these parties, but the work to achieve success must be borne by you and you have to invest the time. So it is important to know why you are seeking this certification.

Second, understand the process. There are several components to realize. PMP certification has a past, present, and future. You have to measure your past Project Management experience for the application, choose the right training for 35 credits that fits your schedule and budget, design a study plan, and think how you will maintain your certification.

Third, Study. It sounds simple, but the time management aspect is critical to success. If this means studying over 8 months, then so be it, but be honest with yourself and your family or support network who depend on you. Cornelius Fichtner has some excellent video podcasts about study tips. Here's what I did. I treated this like a project, established a charter, project management plan, and executed it. I used a multitude of study books, but I recommend Kim Heldman the most. If you have access to Books 24x7 through PMI or your company, take advantage of the resources there.

Fourth, I found the exam to be everything people said it would be: Challenging. I used several exam simulators that I felt prepared me for the accuracy of the challenge, including PM Prepcast. Repitition and re-learning will ingrain the significant amount of material you will need to retain for the exam, which brings me to my last lesson learned.

The exam assesses your logic capability and memory. I recommend you memorize ITTOs, Quality Management and Human Resource Theories, Math Formulas, closing procedures, and project document updates to the best of your ability, in addition to understanding the abundant material in the PMBOK.
all the best
Michael

Hi Michael,

I just completed reading your piece of advise on how to achieve the PMP exam. It was very interesting.

Congratulations for your PMP Certificate that you got February 2014. Move on and make life easy.

All the best