I passed my PMP exam yesterday. This was my second attempt; I did not use PM Prepcast for my first attempt.
First Exam attempt. Result = FAIL :
For my first attempt, I studied YouTube materials. I studied from October 2017 and took my exam mid February. By piecemealing study materials from youtube videos and taking free sample tests, I was confident enough that I would pass the exam. Well, I did not pass.
Second Exam Attempt. Results = PASS.
After failing the exam, I researched various paid PMP courses. Based on reviews, I landed on PM Prepcast. Cornelius became my breakfast, lunch and dinner.
PM Experience: I have been managing small projects; this is what gave me confidence to go to youtube for self-study and take PMP exam. My confidence resulted in a FAIL on my first attempt. I did not give up!
Why PM Precast : I read the reviews and was impressed by what users were saying about the courses.
ITTO’s and Cramming: DO NOT CRAM ITTO’s. As you study for PM exam using PM Prepcast, its repeated over and over, DO NOT CRAM the ITTO’s, instead have a broad understanding of the ITTO’s. I can attest that this approach did make a significant difference when I took the exam a second time. On my first attempt, I did a lot of cramming.
Study Hours : I spent March, April and 2 weeks in May studying for PM exam using PM Prepast; keep in mind I had been studying for PMP using youtube videos between October 2017 and February 2018. I am not discounting the youtube materials, BUT there was no connecting dots, and there were no full explanations of the WHY.
(1) Studied all chapters, and in detail. I will say this directly to Cornelius, PMP is not a fun material to learn, but you did try to keep me as a student engaged.
(2) Review ALL materials – I spent a considerable amount of time reviewing the PMP materials. Earlier I stated I have been managing small projects, but what I learned using PM Prepcast will forever change how I run projects from now on. For me, what I will take away is that a PM needs to be COMMUNICATING COMMUNICATING COMMUNICATING! Understand your stakeholders and keep them engaged.
(3) Take the exam simulator – my approach to taking the exams was different; I did one exam (before going to the next) then spent the entire day reviewing WHY the other answers were wrong. This approach is quite cumbersome. BUT, this approach has helped me understand what the right answer is and why the other answers are NOT correct.
On the Exam Day : The 4 hours exam time does fly really fast. I was NOT fully confident going into the exam, but to my surprise, the amount of time I spent understanding WHY all the other answers choices were wrong (while I was taking practice exams) did help a lot. As I was taking the PMP exam, for some of the questions I was reading the answers and I could immediately gauge what the question would be, and in most cases I was right. BUT of course, I read the question before confirming the answer.
Another tip from me :
DON’T CRAM ITTO’s
Distinguish project management documents and business documents
Make sure you have hands down what to do when you have issues; in my case I had a pattern (1) log the issues (2) analyze the issue (3) are we talking about a risk or a change request (4) if a risk, was it identified, logged, and a risk response identified. If a change, what needs to be done next.
