I wanted to share my experience with preparing for the PMP exam. Over the last few months I have read many posts of successful test takers and their preparation - thank you for sharing the stories - they really helped! I have managed projects for a small software development company for over twenty years on a very informal basis - I say 'informal' because we scoped and estimated and scheduled and managed risk but we never identified those tasks with their formal names. We initiated and planned and executed and monitored and controlled, and with luck, closed, because that was the way to manage a successful go live. Recently the small software development company has grown and merged, and as a result I needed to get credentials. I started working towards my PMP in November, 2014. My first resource was the PMBOK guide. Very quickly I could see that I would need more help in understanding the topics. PM Prepcast was my next purchase, the podcasts helped me understand the material and connect it to the real world. I also worked through most of Head First - a great book for making some of the material fun to learn. And finally, no prep is complete with Rita Mulcahy, her suggestions on how to prepare were very helpful. I would listen to the podcast on scope for example, and follow along with the PMBOK thru the lessons. Then I would open Head First for the same scope chapter, for a little fun. And I would finish up scope with Rita. The formulas were intimidating to start with. So much so that I purchased Aileen Ellis' book on calculating earned value. Once I had done all the practice problems there, I thoroughly understood the calculations. I also worked on my 'brain dump' - I practiced a few times a week writing out all the knowledge areas and processes, along with formulas and a bunch of other crazy stuff that would not stick with me on exam day. When I finally finished the Risk chapters I scheduled my exam date. Since I am in the Washington DC area, testing opportunities are abundant, so I did not need to commit until I felt I was getting to the end of my studies. I also bought the PM Exam Simulator - so that I could start working through longer exams. The practice with 200 questions was helpful in setting expectations for test day. The most surprising part to me was that the Simulator questions were very close to the real exam questions - it really was GOOD PREPARATION. All the info others have shared on the testing centers prepared me for the experience there. And there was no better moment in recent memory than when the Congratulations appeared on the screen. I managed to be Proficient in all areas - so again - thanks to everyone who blogged, commented, reviewed and shared. And for all the helpful resources. Until next time!
