Agile to PMP, a Better Way to Succeed – Hitesh Bhatt, PMP

It all started in..

Jun 2014. I was to move from one project to another and I thought that till I get another project I should work on developing skills that will help me further improve as project manager.

My manager referred me to a classroom training which was happening in Mumbai, I booked the class. That was the starting point. However, I was audited in October 2016, where I had not followed the guidelines laid down by PMI & it was rejected before I could send any document to PMI for audit. I found that pmi.org and this article on PMESN had the guidance on how to fill the application properly.

I kept moving my dates, however, when I saw other colleagues getting certified, I promised myself (& my wife) to take the exam.

Also Read: Share Your PMP Exam Experience & Get My Course for FREE!

My study resources

I referred to the PMBOK guide while studying answers for mock tests/sample questions, referred to video sessions by Dan Ryan and Shiv’s Ace your PMP series book.

My study approach and study plan

My study approach & plan was Agile. I made a plan and modified it based on how each week turned out.

I found that studying PMBOK was a bit of a challenge. Shiv’s kindle book & the workbooks by Dan helped me adjust my studies based on time at hand & pace of my study.

Once I went through these, I referred to the mock tests & quiz after each session provided by Edureka & from Dan’s 6 week program material. I also referred to the approach shared by Amit Londhe of PMI champion.

It wasn’t all easy though.

PMI audit was challenging. I referred to guidelines by Shiv & special took the help of Kevin Reilly from PMTutor (thanks Dan for connecting me to Kevin) who to fill up the application.

Though I could have opted for PMBOK6 based exam, however, because of Shiv’s emails & encouragement by PMPs at my office, I decided to go ahead with PMBOK-5 based exam.

Also Read: PMP Against All Odds – by Roselin Kapur, PMP

The week before the exam

My plan was to do 4 mock tests in 4 days and then reserve 2 days for revision. I did 3 mock tests of 200 questions – 2 from Edureka where I scored 79% & 80% and 1 from my company’s learning site where I scored 61% (I took more than 5 hours).

I took Oliver Lehman’s 75 questions test where I scored 64% & couldn’t finish in 90 mins. Then a 50-question test from Christopher Scordo with 76% score. I couldn’t complete the glossary of PMBOK, and I feel that it is very important to go through it.

The real exam

People at Prometric center were cordial. They are very particular about what you can & cannot carry inside & with their security checks.

I wrote my brain dump listing process groups, knowledge areas and processes as didn’t remember it completely, and formulas. This brain dump helped me answer few questions.

I took 2 hrs 40 mins for 100 questions & in the last 17 mins I answered 51 questions (reminded me of T20 cricket match). Most of the questions were scenario based. There were probably 20-30 marked for review which I could not review later. When I reached question #189, it gave me time out message. After the survey I kept my eyes closed remembering God &and then saw the Congratulations message – I was very happy & relieved to see that.

Also Read: How this visual study trick helped me with ITTO questions – by Plaban Roy Bhowmik, PMP

Here are few study tips I’d like to share

1. 90% is covered if we understand question well.
2. I used visualization technique to see my name on the sheet with Overall performance as ‘PASS’ & certificate with my name mentioned on it consistently.
3. It might be easy to take 2 wrong options out but might be a battle to choose best out of 2 option s- it helps to believe you are the project manager & responsible for the project success, Phil Akinwale says you are the Boss. Also, it helps to think what would be PMI’s expected response.
4. Good affirmations related to studies (got it from YouTube) help.
5. My top 3 steps would be – coming up with a good study plan, maintaining focus, and taking mock tests.

Good luck for your exam,

Hitesh Bhatt, PMP

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