Hello Everyone,
About two weeks ago I passed my PMP exam. This was a long awaited test for me, and below are my steps and methods to conquer the beast, know as the PMP exam!
My Method:
PMBOK - I read PMBOK fully before listening to the PM Prepcast. Then read it again at the very end, after all the other books.
PM Prepcast: Listened to all the lectures
Rita Mulchany: Took the end of chapter quizzes and read the book
Lehman's practice test: took the exam two days before the real exam
Other practice books for practice questions.
My method was little different, in that after reading PMBOK fully, I would take sample tests and even chapter based quizzes. I would read the chapters in the order of the lowest grade (i.e. lowest graded chapters first) to focus on my weaker chapters.
My suggestion: I focused on taking many practice tests (not always an endorsed practice) but this helped me get familiar with the way PMI words questions, even the length of questions. I would recommend reading PMBOK along with the PM Prepcast (reading a chapter, and watching the lectures associated with the chapter). I read the other books to get deeper understanding of the subject matter (since PMBOK is not always the easier to understand).
If questions are still a weak point, I would encourage taking more practice tests.
Day of the test: Of course the #1 recommendation is to get a good night's sleep. At the very least, do not study the day before for more than 2 hours (review and memorize the equations and page 61 of PMBOK). Get to Prometric early, they usually have procedures to check you in which take some time.
During the exam: use the 15 minutes allocated for "tutorial" to write down all the equations and page 61 of PMBOK on the scrap paper. Time does not stop when the exam starts, so use breaks wisely. I took 3 breaks (5-10 mins after 75 questions, 5-10 mins after 150 questions, 5-10 mins after 200 questions).
Trust your self, and skip questions if you don't know the answer; chances are that you will know it when you review it again.
Wish you best,
Maulik
