Thank you all for posting your advice and experiences on this board. You certainly kept me going during Alberta's cold, dark February.
I passed today - and it feels great. Above target in all domains. Here are few things were key to my success:
1) The PMBOK Guide (5th Edition)
This is the source, the bible. MOST questions emanate from here. I made my own flashcards from this guide after reading through it 3 times. The first read is tedious, the 2/3 times were better. I read this guide on the train while commuting, dedicating focused evenings on some of the more in depth chapters (from me) like Procurement, Integration, Time.
2) Flashcard games
I didn't memorize the ITTO's, didn't have to. They made sense after flipping through my flashcards day after day. Sure, I missed the odd ITTO question, but the results speak for themselves. I would play flashcard games wherever I could. Laying them out as per table 3.1 of the PMBOK guide. First by individual area, then creating the whole layout. The final level was laying out out the process as per key integrations in the framework (i.e. deliverables flowing from integration, to quality, scope etc etc.). This made study (a little) more fun.
3) PMP Exam Prep Simulator
This was key to my success. It exposed weaknesses in my knowledge, and prepped me for the "slick trickery" employed by PMI during the real test. I answered every question in the pool (1800) in 50 question sprints. I saw where I went wrong, highlighted said q-cards, and revised appropriate sections of the PMBOK. I was very comfortable during the exam, the simulator is about par with the real exam. I will say the real exam is less wordy that the simulator. I will definitely use PM Prepcast for future certification endeavours.
Thank you all at PM PrepCast and on this forum. There's a beer waiting with my name on it.....
cheers,
Bill B - PMP
