Jason A Gonzalez – The PMP Exam, my Experience
My journey to PMP certification was somewhat unusual, in that I took over 3 years to complete this cycle of learning. I would not recommend this timeline or approach for everyone, but a relaxed pace/self-guided path ultimately worked well, in that it allowed me to better absorb and apply the principles set forth in the PMBOK Guide/PMI in a variety of real world situations.
While working as a PM at my former employer, my responsibilities suddenly changed and I was faced with the decision of either stepping away from my role or attaining additional knowledge in order to succeed at my newfound duties. Choosing the latter, I acquired a subscription to the PM Prepcast and Exam Simulator, and started listening to the episodes on my morning drive into work. Within the next year and a half I moved my family to a new town, changed employers, bought a home and achieved a substantial promotion - which necessarily slowed down both my PM study and application processes (it took me close to 2 years to complete the PM Prepcast’s 35 contact hours/test). However, the folks at my prior workplace proved to be valuable allies; they not only wrote me glowing letters of reference, but also corroborated my leadership on their projects, which I included on my exam application.
About 8 months ago (April 2016), I received word that my PMP exam application had been accepted and I could book a testing date. Right away, I started reviewing the copious notes that I took during the Prepcast portion and watched the various exam prep episodes, rereading the PMOBK guide in the process. I then ordered a copy of Rita Mulcahy’s widely acclaimed exam preparation guide – and was completely overwhelmed. The book was huge and far more in depth than any other PM knowledge source I had encountered up to that point – although I had finished the PM Prepcast, read the PMBOK guide several times and even taken a few free practice exams, I knew then I was not ready to sit for the certification. I moved my initial testing date (paying a fee in the process) and set out to finish the book by my revised date of Dec. 19th, and also activated my 90-day subscription to the PM Exam Simulator.
Starting in, I worked through the first couple of chapters of the RMC and took my first practice exam – it was a long process and difficult in the way the questions were phrased, much more based on situations than technical skills. Getting my results back, I was not surprised I had failed – 72% and not proficient in 4 of the 5 process groups. Figuring I just needed to go a little harder on my studies, I repeated the process –although I was getting through the RMC chapter tests with solid scores, my next practice exam netted me a dismal 68.5% correct…and not even the same results across process groups. Bummer!
At this point, I realized I had to change my thinking about the material – I’d long since memorized the knowledge areas and 47 related processes chart and all of the Earned Value formulas, so I wasn’t missing those questions. It was in the situational answers that I was coming up short –so I resolved to change my outlook, to think like a PMP certified project manager. I took a short break of a week or so from my studies and started to hypothetically apply the principles to daily situations – for instance, what does the “risk register” look like for a kid’s soccer team, calculate the “ETC” for a small home project, how do I best manage “stakeholder engagement” with my school volunteer group? These small exercises started to incrementally instill in me a different attitude, a new way of approaching these situations that reflected the principles and concepts of PM.
As the exam date closed in, I had worked through 12 of the 14 chapters in the RMC guide but sadly determined that I would not finish the entire book beforehand. I actually spent part of the weekend before the Monday morning test wiring an extension on my house, not trying to think too much about what the test would bring. Finally on Sunday afternoon, I holed up in the local coffeehouse for several hours and reviewed my entire set of notes, mostly skimming for pertinent data (ex. what is a Pareto diagram used for, the beta distribution formula, etc.) and then read/notated the final chapter of the RMC “How to pass the PMP Exam on your first try”. At the end of the session, I had the sensation that I had moved the needle – while I was not sure I would pass, I was ready to sit for the test.
My exam was scheduled for 8 AM at a testing center approx. 40 miles from my house – per the recommendations; I left early and got to the center about an hour beforehand. No cramming, no last minute memory tests in the parking lot – I took a short walk and enjoyed the cold clear air, and checked in about 20 minutes before the test. NOTE: I brought along a small bag of healthy snacks (fruit, mixed nuts, an avocado) and a bottle of fresh water which I placed in my locker along with my personal items. During the test exams, I had practiced taking a short break at the 2 hour mark and eating a little – I found this greatly helped my stamina for the second half of the test.
Before the exam I sat at a desk immediately outside the testing room where your ID is once again verified and you sign a waiver. From there, you are issued any materials needed for your test (in this case, scratch paper, pencils, and a calculator). I was led to a small but well –lit room with 16 test stations. Folks of all types were in for various exams – mechanics taking factory certs, high school students taking college prep tests, and several other PMP candidates.
Computer based testing is pretty standard – you view a short required tutorial and then start your exam, where a little clock in the corner of the screen tracks the time remaining. Radio buttons/checkboxes are used to mark your answer and there were a few tools on offer for the candidate; mark questions for review, strike through answers that seem incorrect or highlight phrases – I used all of them at some point during the exam and found them most helpful.
The first half of the exam went fairly well from my perspective – there were just a few questions that I felt unsure about, and marked these for review at the end. That said, I used up all of the first two hours (and then some) on the initial brain dump and first 100 questions. As a result, I took my break shortly after the midway mark and realized I would have to make up some ground to finish with enough time to adequately review my answers.
Once back in the room, I focused on relaxing into the questions and trying to ascertain the fundamental issue at play, not trying to force an answer as I had felt myself doing on the practice tests. There were a great many questions on quality control and ethical choice scenarios. I made a special effort to focus on the quality chapters in the PMBOK and RMC guides, as I experienced that knowledge area less in my prior work, and feel it really paid off here. All told, I got to the last question with around 18 minutes remaining. I used this time to check all the questions I either marked or left unanswered and got to the last question with about 2 minutes on the clock. Feeling like I had given it my best, I hit the “Finish Exam” button and waited for the results…
Looking up at the screen, I simply could not believe I had passed – while not a perfect score, it was certainly enough to attain the certification. I was in shock, as I had already started to think about what I would need to do better for the next time. I walked out of the room and once again sat at the desk with the technician, where I signed out and checked back in my materials, including the scratch paper/brain dump sheet. She printed off the notification of passing and then stamped and signed the document - I was informed that the certifying body (PMI) had been notified and that I should hang onto this sheet, which was proof of passing until my PMP certificate came in the mail (about 4 weeks’ time)
In hindsight, the test itself was difficult and certainly a crucible of storts, as much a test of endurance as of knowledge. In that way, it represents an important aspect of the PM trade itself – being able to stick with a challenging situation to find an equitable solution is the hallmark of many great project managers, as much as the timely application of the various processes and tools at their disposal. I feel honored to be included in this group, and look forward to a lifelong involvement with the discipline – the benefits are already apparent in both my personal and professional lives, and I will strive to uphold the principles of the trade.
