I passed the PMP exam on 10/24/2018.
Thanks to the PM Prepcast team, and to everyone who contributed to the forum.
Let me highlight couple of points in case it is of use to someone.
Result:
Initiating - Above Target
Planning - Above Target
Executing - On Target
Monitoring and Controlling- On Target
Closing - On Target
Exam day:
1. I was more nervous than I thought I'd be. The first 30 or so questions were quite challenging i.e. unlike any of the questions in the mock exams, and got me thinking I was going to fail. I took a total of one 10-minute break.
2. I brain-dumped only the EVM formulae and did not use all of the 15-minute tutorial time. In hindsight, I'd suggest waiting out the entire 15-minute as a way to cool down.
3. Several situational questions where I could not identify a process the situation is in.
4. Clarifying my understanding of change management prior to the exam was the best thing. There were a handful of questions on change management.
5. One question on network diagram.
6. About 2-3 questions on EVM calculations. They're easy.
7. Nothing on Agile.
8. Some straightforward questions along the line of 'what is the output of this process?'
9. I completed the exam with about 10 minutes at the end for review.
Duration of preparation: Four months. But I went on a vacation at the end of the second month and I forgot a huge chunk when I got back. So it's not a solid four months preparation.
Materials used for preparation: There's no silver bullet. The sum of all these materials worked for me.
1. PM Prepcast Videos: Watching the videos was a great place to start for me because other materials are too dry at the get-go. Loved the explanations of EEF and OPA.
2. Rita Mulcahy's book: I read this after watching the Prepcast videos. The entire book is informative, the first three chapters are more so.
3. ITTO spreadsheet and Knowledge Areas flowcharts (one flowchart for one Knowledge Area) that I pulled from PMBOK: Go ahead, make your own. You'll be glad.
4. PM Prepcast Exam Simulator: The exams helped build mental endurance to sit through a 4-hour exam. Highly recommend.
5. PMBOK 6th Ed: The explanations of ITTO helped tie it together. Although hardly anything got in my head the first time I read it. It takes a little getting used to.
6. Couple of free mock tests.
Here's a detail on the mock exams to give you an idea on the pace and performance of my preparation:
PM Prepcast Simulator
22-Oct 72.40% PMP Exam 8 (ITTO)
25-Sep 70.50% PMP Exam 7
20-Sep 72.50% PMP Exam 6
17-Sep 73.00% PMP Exam 5
15-Sep 78.50% PMP Exam 4
6-Sep 76.00% PMP Exam 3
21-Aug 67.00% PMP Exam 2
5-Aug 67.00% PMP Exam 1
Free mock tests
18-Oct 79% oliverlehmann
15-Oct 77% greycampus
11-Oct 40% pmtraining
10-Oct 72% pmexamcoach
5-Oct 81% preparepm
5-Oct 52% projectmanagementacademy
