TOPIC: PMP Certified with P’s in all domains

Okay, I must admit that I have been a passive member of this forum - primarily reading through the various discussions.

Now I am here to happily announce my success with the exam and hope my experience (lessons learned, to be politically right!!) will help some of you in the preparation. Please note, this is purely based on my personal planning and preference.

Preparation Material

• Based on some research and my personal learning preference (I prefer video materials), I decided to go with PMPrepcast Video material, Achieve PMP Success and of course, the PMBOK Guide
• I bought the PM Formulas Study Guide, also from PMPrepcast, that comes with 105 useful formula questions
• Also, I bought the access to PM Exam Simulator that comes with 9 Full tests, designed and timed like the real exam
• I used the HyperPMP Android App and PMP Flashcard Android App for supplemental reading

Plan

• My disciplined preparation lasted for around 12 weeks (approx. 3 months)
• Without going into finer details of my plan, I just give an overview here:
• First 6 Weeks of Prepcast Videos, Achieve PMP Success book - taking notes as I progress
• Next 2 Weeks of PMBOK Guide and some Sample tests
• Last 4 Weeks of Full timed tests, another round of PMBOK Guide and reviewing notes. Also I went through my weak areas, which I noted down in the first phase

Executing the Plan

• I enrolled myself for the PMI Membership, thus obtaining a discount on the Exam fees and a free legal copy of the PMBOK Guide
• I was selected for the Audit but it went through without any hassles
• I must say that Cornelius Fichtener has done a great job with the PMPrepcast podcast material
• I got myself introduced to all the topics at my own pace. I made full use of my commute time to and from work, to watch the videos on my mobile/tablet
• As I finished the set of videos on a topic, I read the corresponding chapter on Achieve PMP Success book
• I made notes from both these materials and used Google Docs to document them
• I had to “crash” occasionally to meet the schedule of 6 weeks
• Then I started with the PMBOK Guide. It was quite easy, given my awareness on each knowledge area
  In parallel, I started giving some free sample tests across the Internet
• After finishing a round of reading the PMBOK Guide, I started giving Full tests
• I used the PM Exam Simulator, Head First PMP Free Exam, Exam Central Full Exam and Oliver Lehmann 175 Questions
• In parallel, I was doing another read of PMBOK guide, reviewing notes and watching videos of “weak” topics
• And then, I went into the examination

Before the Test

• I scheduled my exam on a Monday (26 January) considering that I can relax over the weekend
• I took my final full timed exam on Saturday and passed
• I relaxed on Sunday without bothering too much about the exam
• I visited the Prometric Test Center before to ascertain the exact location. I didn’t want to do it on the day of the exam
• I reached 30 minutes before the test, finished the formalities and started sharp at 9 AM
  With a single break, I finished the exam around 12 Noon
• My happiness knew no bounds when I saw PASS and “Proficient” in all domains

Tips and Suggestions based on my experience

• In none of the practice tests I managed to score all P’s. The maximum I reached was 4 P’s and 1 MP. So don’t let your practice test scores impact your confidence level for the final exam
• Don’t memorize the ITTOs. I followed this advice from Mr. Fichtener and it really helps. Understand and remember the major inputs, tools and outputs. In fact, on the final exam, there were less than 5 questions with direct ITTO!!
• Start taking tests early. Don’t wait until the final weeks before the real exam, to take your timed tests
• As I started the real exam, I felt the questions were tougher than the pracitce exams. But I ignored my “gut feel” and kept moving. In the end, I had time to review all my answers from 1-25 to make sure I answered them well!! So don’t be bogged down by difficult/tricky questions - give your best answer, mark it for review if required and move on
• Use the tutorial time (about 15 mins.) to jot down the Knowledge Area/Domain Matrix and the key formulas. They will help you at the height of your exam
• Make a plan, prepare well, keep cool and pull it off!! All the best

Feel free to send me a message, if you need more info on my notes, list of sample tests and the plan. I will be happy to help.

Can you please share type of formal documentation required in the Audit Process. Thank you.

Its good to read your experience. Can you please share type of formal documentation required in the Audit process. Thankyou

Hi Saad,

You can read this FAQ section for all details. PMP Audit FAQ

In my case, I was required to submit a Copy of Degree Cert, Copy of PM Training (35 Contact Hours) and a Form to be signed by my Manager to verify my PM experience.

Hope it helps.

Regards,
Ashwin