Hi all,
I passed my PMP on the first attempt and just wanted to reinforce what others are saying. The PMP is passable but it will take work.
1. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU DO AT WORK!!! I feel like this is important and something some people don't want to understand. PMP only tests on how PMI says projects should be managed. If you try to relate the PMBOK to how you do things you will only confuse yourself. This is the PMP World, approach studying with a blank mind. Negotiation and trying to argue your point isn't going to work to a computer screen.
2. ITTO's are very important and very overrated. You will want to sit down and just start memorizing them, don't. Spend your time mapping out and understanding the processes and process flows. When you understand what steps come after others, the ITTOs make sense and really become obvious. I wasted a lot of time trying to just memorize. My scores increased 20 points in a week when I shifted from memorization to understanding. This is a good website that will show you how the ITTOs are related to the processes. I never paid them and did the free membership.
www.brainbok.com/
3. The PMBOK is a good starting point but not the only source. I took a class and read the PMBOK through twice, however other sites can expand on things like contract clauses and such. There is a document on the PMI site that lists everything you need to know. Don't be afraid to google questions you miss on practice tests.
4. The PM Test simulator is the best test simulator around. Of all the tests I took, the simulator was the most similar to the test. Most of my studying past the initial reading was documenting test answers I didn't understand and looking them up. Even if I got the test question right, if I didn't understand the answer option I would make sure to research it so I could understand my gap.
5. The first 10 questions are the hardest of the test. I found in most of my tests and the PMP actual test the first 10 questions always threw me for a loop. I would spend to much time on them. I finally realized it was just me getting in the flow of the test. My LL was to read and answer the questions and make sure that during the review time those were the first ones i returned to.
6. Look to your mobile phone for apps and the prepcast. They help reinforce your knowledge while you are just killing time waiting somewhere.
7. For me my mind would wander after about 2 hrs of book studying and after 3 hrs of testing it became difficult to concentrate. Find your fatigue point and work with it not against it.
These are the main points that I talk to others about that I took away from the studying. And to be honest, they aren't new. You will read them in most posts. However if you get to the point where you understand them, you will be ready for the PMP.
I scored between 77 and 82 on the sample tests and received Proficient in all areas on the PMP.
