Since I read just about every thread looking for lessons learned before I took the exam, I figured I should contribute for future PMPs that might be reading this.
Lessons Learned:
I used the PM Prepcast videos to fill the gaps in my knowledge, but I didn’t watch every one.
PM Exam simulator was critical to my success. MY advice: take the time to sit and do a few full length practice exams (in silence). This will help condition you to the test environment. Once you finish the exam, take 30 minutes to clear your head, and then review your answers. Read the question and try to understand the reasoning behind the correct answer. This made a big impact for me.
I took 5 full length Practice Exams
Exam 1 =72%
Exam 2 = 68.5%
Exam 3 = 76.5%
Exam 4 = 77.5%
Exam 5 = 82%
I also would do small 10-30 question quizzes during the day when I had a few minutes.
The Pm Exam Coach Weekend virtual webinar (pmexamcoach.com) really helped bring it all together. It's 4 hours on Saturday morning and 4 hours on Sunday morning. If you have the time and the means I highly recommend it. I signed up for a month on the site (I think it was $69) and it made a huge difference in my learning. The resources on the website were easy to understand and helped me tremendously.
I didn’t read the PMBOK once. In fact, I have a digital copy that I might have looked at once or twice.
The Test
The questions are closely aligned to the PM Prepcast exam, although there is less information in each real exam question (think more general). The test environment was the real challenge for me. It was silent in the room (no white noise) and there were probably 10-15 other people in the room. It was constant mouse and keyboard clicks. I tried to wear the headphones they gave me, but they were very uncomfortable. Around question 160 it got really distracting and I found myself reading the question 2 or 3 times to make sure I completely understood.
I finished all the questions in 2:50. I had marked about 30 questions for review and spent the next 40 minutes going back and looking at each one. Where I didn’t know the answer, I tried to eliminate as many answers as possible and then justify what was left. I ended the test at 3:30, rushed through the short survey at the end and was welcomed with a “congrats you have passed the PMP exam” message. When I left the test center they gave me a printout of my results and I headed home!
