Hello Everyone,
First, thank you for taking the time to read about my PMP journey. It's been a challenging year trying to balance work, studying, and family life, but it was well worth the effort.
I've been a Project Manager for almost 15 years and have always enjoyed it. However, I never had any formal training in this field, so my projects were always planned and executed based on my own best practices. I felt it was time to find a more formal framework that is internationally recognized to help me manage projects more consistently and structured. I learned about the PMP certification through colleagues and decided to embark on the PMP certification process after doing some research.
Fortunately, I came across Edward Chung's website, which helped break down the PMP journey for me. I highly recommend visiting his website (edward-designer.com/web/pmp/) as he has a lot of great content to guide people through the various steps of becoming a PMP. Thanks to him, I discovered the PM PrepCast and Cornelius. If you're looking for a comprehensive, flexible, and cost-effective PMP "study partner," this is the solution for you! Being a father of three, with frequent evening conference calls, the PM PrepCast enabled me to tailor my study plan to fit my schedule. I also liked that I could access it anytime from any PC or mobile device.
I'm the type of person who likes to watch a movie before reading a book, so I took a similar approach with the PM PrepCast (watching the "movie") and the PMBOK Guide (reading the "book"). This approach helped me absorb the PMBOK Guide better, and it felt more like a review since the PM PrepCast does a great job of going through everything in detail.
I started the PM PrepCast in April and had to stop completely over the summer due to work commitments. I resumed my studies in September and decided to schedule my exam as my goal was to be PMP certified before the end of the year. Scheduling the exam pushed me harder to commit to completing my study plan. I chose November 27th, which was perfect because it allowed me to focus without work distractions since I work for a US company and it was Thanksgiving.
With a goal in sight, I planned my study materials carefully:
- PM PrepCast – watched all sessions and took notes (approx. 4 small A5/8mm books)
- PMBOK Guide – read it once and referenced it as needed
- "The PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try" by Andy Crowe – read it once and referenced it as needed. I also had the option of reading Rita Mulcahy’s PMP Exam Prep book, but I found Andy Crowe’s book easier to read.
After completing all the above, I was concerned that I wasn't absorbing the formulas as well as I’d liked, so I purchased the Exam Formula Study Guide, which comes with 105 sample questions. I found the sample questions more valuable than the study guide itself. The "star of the show" was the PM Exam Simulator, which I purchased with the Formula Study Guide. It does a great job of simulating the real exam with its user interface and variety of questions. The post-mock exam analysis was also useful, showing me which process groups or knowledge areas I excelled in and which areas needed focus.
My goal was to focus on taking sample questions one month before the exam. That's when things started to come together for me. I began with small quizzes and gradually took the full 4-hour exams. I also visited several forums to read about others' experiences and access free questions. I tracked all my scores and timings using an excel template provided by the PM PrepCast. Here’s a breakdown of my question practice:
- Andy Crowe Final Exam (200)
- PM PrepCast Quiz (680)
- PM Exam Simulator (2000) – took all nine exams and retook two that I failed
- HeadFirst PMP Mock Exam (200)
- Oliver Lehmann (250)
Total Questions Answered: 3330 Total Questions Answered Correctly: 2706 (81.26%)
I practiced my brain dumps several weeks before the exam and did them before each mock exam to simulate the experience. I also took quick 2-3 minute breaks after every 100 questions to mimic the exam setting. The exam simulator helped me mentally train for a 4-hour exam and think like the PMBOK Guide when answering questions. Interestingly, during the real exam, I did a brain dump but didn't refer to it much. From an ITTO perspective, some memorization is necessary, but understanding the flow and how the process groups and knowledge areas interact was key.
My exam strategy was to mark questions I was unsure of or left unanswered. I reviewed 30 questions at the end, starting with the unanswered ones, then the uncertain ones, unmarking them as I went. Fortunately, I finished with 1 minute to spare! It wasn't as dramatic as it sounds; I spent 10-15 minutes on the last question but decided to go for it.
If I had to summarize my lessons learned, it's simple: PMP (Practice Makes Perfect)!
I hope all PMP aspirants find this useful.
Nick
