A little background about me to set the context of my project management experience. After getting out of the US military in 1995 (8 years, 9 months of service), I finished a couple of college degrees, held a few different jobs along the way and then spent 13+ years as a software developer in the financial sector. Three years ago, I had never heard of PMI or a PMP. I didn’t even know what a project manager was. I had been assigned many “projects” over my life time, but I didn’t know them as a project, I just did the “work” based on what I thought needed to happen to get the job done. Again, I had never heard of a project manager, let alone a project management framework.
Fast forward 3 years and I’ve made a voluntary career change within my company and I find myself as a manager within a project management office with some very experienced, PMP certified PMs. What I’ve since discovered is that I enjoy project management and I want to be able to walk-the-walk and talk-the-talk so, it was time to dive into this crazy world of PMP with both feet and either sink or swim….. or a little of both.
My 10 Step approach for passing the PMP exam the 1st Time:
Step 1: I started by creating a spreadsheet of all my past project work to see if I even qualified. After spending about 20 hours calculating project times, writing project descriptions, assigning the appropriate dates, and uploading them to the PMI site one at a time (that was fun **enter sarcasm here**), I found out that I did have plenty of hours to qualify. Step 1 complete!
Step 2: Plan how I was going to learn the basics of project management according to PMI. After talking to some of my PMP certified colleagues, I decided on using an online educational system as opposed to a boot camp. Most of the PMPs I’ve talked to didn’t care for the boot camp that was offered in our area. I did hear a lot of great comments about the PM PrepCast and the optional PMP Exam Simulator so, that was my choice. I ordered both on 10/9/17. Step 2 complete!
Step 3: Learn the PM framework enough to get my 35 PDUs and schedule my PMP exam date. I found that Mr. Cornelius Fichtner and team made this a simple process. They laid out a very precise and detailed framework for learning all about the 10 process groups, 47 knowledge areas, and countless inputs, tools/techniques, and outputs (ITTOs). I started watching the very first video (Welcome) on 10/10/17. Between 10/10/17 and 10/31/17, I made it through 6 of the 10 process groups and some of the supporting videos. By this time, I was starting to get a basic understanding of how things fit together (notice I said basic). At this time, I was feeling fairly confident that I could pass the PM PrepCast exam to earn my 35 PDUs. I took the exam on 10/31/17. I passed, first time. Step 3 complete!
Step 4: Finish my application process with PMI and hope I get a confirmation notice so that I can schedule my exam. I submitted my PDU information to PMI, with the information provided by PM PrepCast, on 11/1/17 and received a confirmation email on 11/6/17 stating that I was now eligible to schedule my PMP exam. Step 4 complete!
Step 5: Schedule the exam. This was straight forward. On 11/6/17, the same day I received my confirmation from PMI, I found the testing center closest to me (about 15 miles away), I signed into their website, entered the eligibility ID that PMI provided, and I scheduled my test date for 1/25/18. Step 5 complete!
Step 6: Study, Test, Study, Test, Iterate. I’m committed now, I have about 2.5 months to prepare. What the heck have I gotten myself into? Since I was starting to get a feel for the basics, it was time to dive into the books and really understand it. I’ve discovered that I learn better by reading than I do by just listening.
My two choices for books were Rita Mulcahy’s PMP Exam Prep – eighth edition - updated (only because it was recommended by a colleague) and the PMPOK. I skimmed through RM’s book once while I was watching the PrepCast videos. Now it was time to slow down and study it. I started the second reading on 11/7/17 and completed it on 12/9/17. Around this same time, I activated my PM Exam Simulator. I took two 100 question quizzes and 3 of 4 shorter quizzes during this time frame.
Somewhere around 12/1/17, I took the first 200 question mock test, “PMP Exam 1” on the PM Exam Simulator. I scored a 78%, not stellar. My plan from here on out was to identify my 4 weakest process groups from the test and focus on studying those chapters in the PMBOK and RM’s book over the course of the next week. I would then take the next test and repeat this strategy. I ended up taking a full PMP exam almost every Friday or Saturday. I did this for a total of 8 full PMP exams. My scores have never been that great, but I did keep the last 7 exams above the 80% mark, which is what was recommended by several sources. I averaged 2 - 3 hours of study per weekday, and usually 5 – 6 hours on the days I took the mock exam and reviewed questions. I did get a few hours in on the weekend, but it didn’t amount to much. I did take 4 or 5 days off around the Christmas & New Year holidays.
Between 12/1/17 and 1/22/18, I completed 8 of the 9 mock exams (I didn’t take exam 9 on ITTOs). Here are my test results from PM Exam Simulator:
PMP Exam 1: 78%
PMP Exam 2: 81.5%
PMP Exam 3: 84.5%
PMP Exam 4: 83.5%
PMP Exam 5: 84.5%
PMP Exam 6: 83%
PMP Exam 7: 82%
PMP Exam 8: 83%
Total time spent answering questions in the simulator: 29 hours, 48 minutes, 41 seconds. 1,646 questions answered, 154 not answered. I also answered the end-of-chapter quiz questions in Rita’s book.
During each mock exam, I kept a notebook beside me to write down any question number that I was not 100% sure about. After the exam I would review each question that I wrote down and the questions I answered incorrectly. Step 6 Complete!
Step 7: Two days prior to the exam, find the testing center and don’t panic. I had both days off from work so, I spent them doing a high-level overview of most knowledge areas. I skimmed through my highlights in Rita’s book, and reviewed a couple of charts in the PMBOK. I did drive into town so that I knew the exact location of the testing center. Luckily for me, I’ve been on that road many times, so that was a non-issue for me. I also wrote out the 10 process groups, 47 knowledge areas and formulas for the final time the day before the exam.
Honestly at this point, I was done. I had no more study left in me. I had logged a total of 201 hours, 36 minutes and 32 seconds of time for the entire process, not including the final exam. Only 4 hours remained…. hopefully a little less. All I could think of was, I have to pass this exam because if I don’t, I have absolutely no idea what else I can do to learn it. I went for a run and tried to keep calm. I told myself that statistically speaking, I should pass it based on my mock exam test scores. Everything I read said the odds were highly in my favor, something like a 92% or 93% success rate. Step 7 Complete!
Step 8: Get to the testing center on time. I got up early Thursday morning for my 9:00 a.m. test time. I ate, drank one cup of coffee, and reviewed the formulas and glanced through the book for about 30 minutes. It was only a 25 minute drive to the test facility so, I left the house at 7:45 a.m. and arrived 50 minutes early. I sat in my truck for about 15 minutes and reviewed formulas one more time. Step 8 complete!
Step 9: Pass the test on the first attempt! The testing facility let me start immediately, even though I was early. I presented my ID, they gave me all of their rules and instructions, they searched my pockets, ran a scanner over me, and I was escorted back to the cubicle where I had a date with destiny. I sat down, took a few deep breaths and clicked the start button. I decided not to create a brain dump. I had studied and rewritten the formulas and knowledge areas so many times, I’m not sure I’ll ever forget them.
The first thing that appeared was the tutorial. I clicked through it in about 3 minutes and once again hit the start button. In the upper right corner of the screen was 3:59:59, and in the center, question 1. 4 hours to the big reveal.
I found the test questions difficult to start. The questions were worded in a very ambiguous way, but I stayed calm, answered them and marked the ones I wanted to come back to. After about 25 or 30 questions, I started to get a little more comfortable (test mode) and found myself marking fewer and fewer questions.
Some of the test questions were pretty straight forward, some were more ambiguous. There were several questions where I really had to stop, reread the question, look at the answers, eliminate some obviously wrong choices and then take a shot at what I thought the questions were asking. There were 5 or 6 formula questions on the exam all of them were very simple except for one. A lot of "what's the next step" type of questions and just about all of them situational.
After 3 hours and 10 minutes, I finished all 200 questions without a break. I decided to take a quick break before reviewing my marked questions. After about 5 minutes, I sat back down and clicked through all the marked questions. I think I changed 2 answers that I knew for sure were incorrect. The rest of them I left with my first choice. This took me about 20 minutes.
At this time, all 200 questions were answered and I did all the reviewing I wanted. THE WAIT WAS OVER, TIME FOR THE BIG REVEAL! I clicked on the finish exam button and was transported to a short survey. I finished the 10 question survey in about 1 minute and once again clicked on finish.
I had read on several lessons learned that the computer may sit for a few minutes before coming back with the result, so I was prepared. To my surprise, the words CONGRATULATIONS appeared on the screen in less than 10 seconds. I clicked on the next button again to see the score breakdown. I was Above Target overall. I had Above Target on Initiating, Planning, Executing, and Monitor & Control. I was on Target for Closing. Step 9 Complete!
Step 10: Celebrate! Since I just passed about 2 hours ago, I’m still on a success high. So far, celebrating has been me letting all the people in my life that were interested in the outcome know I finished. Honestly, I’m just looking forward to not studying today or tomorrow or the next day. Step 10 still in progress!
My Keys to Success: PM PrepCast and the PM PrepCast Test Simulator. Dedication. No Excuses, just do the work…. Study, Test, Study, Test, Repeat. Networking with other project managers. Rita Mucahy’s PMP Exam Prep. I ended up logging 207 hours and 10 minutes from Step 1 to Step 9, step 10 will continue for some time, but I won't track it.
Thank you to the PM PrepCast team for the great learning experience and to those who walked this path before me. I read many of your forum discussions and lessons learned which allowed me to adjust my learning approach based on the great ideas and best practices.
This concludes my lessons learned, and so Cornelius says…… “Until Next Time!” I say……. “Party like it’s 1999.”
