Shiv, I’m super glad to let you know that I passed CAPM exam. I’m happy to share my CAPM exam study tips – few insights I have gathered, with those preparing for the exam. Hope this helps your readers.
Always plan ahead
I began by purchasing a whiteboard, dry-erase markers, and an organizer.
Call me old school, but I have found that there is some magic that writing down on a whiteboard adds to our learning. Lot of things simply make sense when you are engaged physically as well as mentally – writing, drawing, solving problems, creating mind maps – things that engage both left and right brain while using the whiteboard.
The next thing I did was to create an account on PMI.org and download all CAPM exam objectives and CAPM handbook. With this I made sure that I met the requirements to take the exam (you can download a guide to CAPM certification from here).
Also Read: How Elizabeth passed her CAPM – lessons learned.
Sources I used to study and gather information on the CAPM exam
1. Books –
PMBOK guide – this is one book I didn’t want to ignore.
Rita Mulcahy’s CAPM Exam Prep book
2. Websites –
Quizlet (practice questions, index cards, memory games),
YouTube – Praizon (great for exam day dumps),
project-management-prepcast.com
3. Android Apps –
CAPM PocketPrep (paid for full version, includes answers directly from PMBOK),
Udemy (repeatedly listened to Joseph Phillips audio while driving 1 hour to work each day).
4. Index Cards –
I used Quizlet app and purchased 3 x 5 index cards for definitions and terms from PMBOK Guide.
Also Read: Srikant shows how focusing on concepts helped him answer ITTO questions on CAPM exam.
My CAPM Exam Study Tips
1. Do not over-study! –
I definitely studied more than I needed to for the exam.
I ended up studying for 3 to 5 hours a night (after work, until 11PM) on the weekdays and weekends were about 6 to 8 hours (begin 5AM, end by 12PM). It felt exhausting and I was not retaining as much as I’d hope to.
Now that I am CAPM certified, I’ve decided that for my PMP exam I will be using the Pomodoro studying technique to take small breaks and study for 20 minutes at a time.
2. Create a study schedule and stick with it –
On my whiteboard, I wrote down what I was going to focus on for the day and would not move on until I had a strong understanding of what I read/watched.
This may seem simple or insignificant, but building these small victories will add up pretty soon, and it will show in your confidence to face the exam. Although it may seem like a drag initially, soon it will become a habit – a good study habit at that.
I would suggest giving this a shot for a week and see if you feel any difference.
3. Mnemonics –
for memorizing and understanding the Knowledge Areas and Process Groups: I Saw Six Chipmunks Quietly Relishing Coffee Reading Poetic Stories.
Knowledge Areas Phone Number: 766 – 436 – 3734 (number of processes in each Knowledge Area)
Process Group Post-code: 2 – 24 – 10 – 12 – 1
I was nervous during the exam but the very first thing I did was wrote down the diagram from Table 1-4 in the PMBOK Guide, which helped me a lot, then I wrote the Formulas using what I learned from Joseph Phillips Udemy Course.
I could not believe it, but I passed the exam with extreme joy and excitement!
Thank you for letting me share my experience!
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