Hi Guys,
Firstly, I would like to thank this forum which was very helpful for preparation of my exam for PMP®. It's very proud & joyous moment to announce that I have passed (PMP®) yesterday in my first try with 4 P's & 1 MP (Initiation). I would like to thank my family & friends for their support. I would like to share with study plans & lesson learnt.
Study Plan,
- Totally I took 3 & half months to study & prepare for exam
- As i was doing my job besides this study, so I was having daily 2 hours in night. Also weekends full day was kept for study
- I studied Head First initially & found it very easy to understand concept through graphics. So I would recommend to give only one pass cover to cover and then study PMBOK
- After studying HF, I read PMBOK 5th Edition & found it much more organized & to the point. Understood process flow diagrams for each process & how they link with each other. It did not give you dumb stories (Apology for this comment) like other prep material
- Then I read Rita 8th Edition along-with PMBOK side by side & found many new concepts in Rita like Economic Model of Project Selection, Quality Theories including some other quality concepts like JIT, Marginal Analysis, Kaizan, Sigmas value, Motivation Theories in HR, Different reports types in Communications, Risk level related to each Contract type & Point of total assumption in Procurement etc
- I gave alternate passes of Rita & PMBOK later i can't remember exactly how many times i read Rita & PMBOK (Aprox. 5 times each book)
- I also gave one pass to each John Philip 3rd Edition & Andy Crowe 5th Edition. But nobody can compete with Rita
- I started giving chapter end test of Rita after my 3rd Pass & found results in range of 70%. Reviewed my wrong answers & understood the concept behind my mistakes
- Repeated the chapter end tests of all above mentioned book & started getting 80%
- Then I used online free & full length mock exams without timer just to have look on my passing % which was my initial concern & then with timer.
- I tired following free exam & my results also shown,
1- Oliver lehmen 75 & 175 Q (66% & 81% respectively)
2- HeadFirst PMP® Mock Exam Pdf end of book 200 Q (83%)
3- HeadFirst PMP® Mock Exam Online 200 Q (90%)
4-Head First Chapter End all Q (Ave. 89%)
5- RITA Chapter End all Q (Ave. 88%)
6- Andy Crowe Chapter End & full exam (Ave. 88 % and 79 resp.)
7- PM exam Simulator 180 Q (80%)
8- Free Simplilearn 200 Q twice (75% & 80%)
9- Izenbridge 100 Q two of them (72% & 83%)
10 Free Greycampus 200 Q exams (70%)
11- MyPM 200 Q (89%)
12- Examcentral 200 Q (89%)
13- PMactualtest 100 Q two exam (85% each)
These above test results gave me confidence that I could pass exam in first try
Lesson Learnt
- PMBOK is not sleeping pill in my opinion. I found it best prep book for exam because you can't see data flow diagrams for each process. So don't forget to revise PMBOK till last day of exam
-Don't ever skip any topic in PMBOK
- Don't waste your time in memorizing ITTO's. Just understand the concepts of each ITTO & why they are required in each process
- Rita process chart is not must memorizing thing (It is myth). You can pass exam without remembering them & i did it
- PMBOK & Rita must try books. Don't under estimate the data flow diagrams as they are much helpful for clearing concepts
- Dump sheet for PMBOK 5th Ed page Page 61 & formula is not allowed in first 15 Minutes of tutorial & it is not necessary because if you had developed good understanding of all concept then you won't forget
- Give as many mock exam as possible especially after you start getting 75% in chapter end tests because it will improve your understanding about types of question that could be asked in exam
- Take appointment of exam when you see that your mock exam results are consistently touching 80% range
- Purchasing mock exam is extra benefit & it is not must to buy (It is myth). I passed exam without spending a $ for paid exam.
- Motivate yourself that you can do it & have faith in your confidence of passing exam. During exam follow your first instict when choosing answers becuase mostly it is correct
- Exam will test your concepts not memorization
- Give a shot to each mock exam mentioned above & note down results in excel sheet. Review your wrong answers & fill your gaps by referring books. Give test again & see your improvement
- Read questions twice and strike out wrong answers first & then go for correct answers
- Highlights key words in question like "Best", " First", " Not", "Except"
- I practiced to give mock exam in one go, take break & afterwards i review my answers. Same thing i did in exam. I finished my 200 Q in 2 Hours & 45 Minutes in one go. So i had more than one hour for restroom break, mild stretching exercise & review of all answers
- Mark answers which you find little tricky & visit them first during review
- Reach Prometric center before one hour because who knows what would happen in road traffic jam & car parking etc
