Hi Shiv: I’ve been a manager in the healthcare industry for over 25 years and managing projects in layman fashion as most overworked functional managers do.
That all changed in 2014 when my employer initiated a multi-million dollar project where 9 full-time PMs (6 from the seller, 3 PM SMEs hired specifically to ensure internal interests were being met) were assigned to compress a 24-month project into 10 months.
Tempers were high, patience was short and my staff and I were introduced to the language and processes of formal project management: “that’s out of scope, you’ll have to present that to the Change Control Board, that sounds like gold plating to me, looks like we need an Ishikawa Diagram pronto!” and other foreign terminology could be heard emanating from the war room on a daily basis. I felt a bit out of my league. [continue reading…]
After a focused effort of 2 months I passed the PMP exam with 4 Proficient rating, on my first attempt. Following is a brief account of how I achieved it, and some of my PMP study tips that I hope will help those preparing for their PMP exam.
PMP study resources I used
I chose a limited number of study material so as to avoid a sense of overwhelming.
My Study plan
I discussed with some of my friends and those that have passed PMP exam already and come up with a basic study plan. However, I had to refine this as I went along and this is what I ended up doing –
- First studied HeadFirst PMP book thoroughly (I targeted 1 chapter every day), completed exercise from each chapter as soon as I studied the chapter. I highly recommend this approach.
- Next, I took classroom training at Cognitel, which was very useful in understanding PMP concepts.
- Studied appendix from PMBOK to go through Acronyms. Basically to revise definitions of all important terms in PMBOK. This helped me understand concepts based on the PMP jargon.
- Then I moved to solving questions from different sources, free PMP mock tests which were helpful in identifying gap in my preparation/knowledge.
- I practiced 5 full length PMP practice/mock test (one each day):
- One from Head first PMP book
- One from Exam central website
- One from PMStudy website
- Two from Cognitel mock tests (earned my 35 PDUs by attending Cognitel training and they provided 6 full length mock tests)
- I read PMBOK and RMC’s book (few chapters) for the clarification of my doubts on those areas.
- In last week before exam, I revised from Shiv’s notes to quickly go through entire syllabus, and practiced formula based questions.
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Earning PMP cert wasn’t easy for Jeff, don’t let the title mislead you. 🙂 In this article Jeff explains the unique strategies he used and the lessons he learned along the way, and finally how his preparedness enabled him to take a decision to appear for the exam on the spur of a moment while on vacation with his family, and nail it! I trust his experience will help you improve your study plan.
-Shiv
Hi Shiv,
I am so happy to inform you that I successfully passed my exam and earned my PMP cert. Lot of this success is due to the approach that I took. I brought on board two other friends with me in order to share the common goal of obtaining our PMP certification.
This in itself was part of the effective formula in obtaining the PMP certification. For instance, each team member motivated one another and each of us had strengths that complimented the other while being fully committed to achieving our desired PMP outcome. Many a times team members’ insights about a circumstance helped other team members to grasp PMP concepts.
“I was about to go on a vacation for a week when my boss suggested to try and take the PMP exam while I was in a relaxed state of mind on my vacation. At first I laughed it off, but 3 days into my vacation, that thought still resonated in my head. It got to the point where I ran the idea by my family, and they agreed that I should go and take it while on vacation and in a relaxed state of mind.”
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My PMP journey started almost 3 years ago, when one of my manager recommended it to me. I did some research on this exam and PMP study material then, but couldn’t plan much due to work commitments.
In Nov 2014, I enrolled to a PMP prep classroom session, which provided me insight into what PMP was all about and how to approach the exam. But, I hit another road block and had to drop my plans for PMP exam.
Then, in the middle of 2015, got to know about the change in syllabus for PMP exam. I wanted to complete the certification before this happened, so started preparing again with a plan to take the exam in Dec 2015.
Primary PMP study material I used
I completed my study of Head First book – which is very easy book to read and understand the concepts. In the 2nd pass, I started with Rita’s book and PMBOK.
I studied them simultaneously, reading one chapter from PMBOK and then the same from Rita’s book. With this approach I could understand the concepts better.
I had also applied for the exam and my application got approved without any audit. Then came my 3rd roadblock. I had to drop my plans to take the exam due to personal and work commitments again! [continue reading…]
My PMP exam tips to be shared with PMP aspirants
After I passed my PMP exam many people have asked me to share my PMP exam tips and study resources. I hope these points will help.
1) Study Resources
We have so many resources available online – free as well as paid ones. Select just one or two more resources along with the PMBOK. Don’t take too many books and study, you will not have enough time for your preparations, and worse, you may feel overwhelmed and not make progress.
I have not used Rita Mulcahy’s book and HeadFirst PMP book, but I’ve heard that they are worth including in one’s study arsanel. I found PMESN notes are very useful. Some of the reference materials I used are,
2) Practice the PMP Essentials
Practice writing down all the processes from the process table in PMBOK thoroughly and daily at least once, for last 10 days before the exam date.
This is very important to pass the exam.
The ITTO’s will be easy if you have thorough idea of the processes and how they are related to each other. Don’t try memorize the ITTO’s, rather just understand the concepts. For the first few times you may not get it, it’s okay. Just continue reading the flow (use Data flow diagrams given after each process in PMBOK guide).
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My PMP certification journey was an eventful one. After an initial unsuccessful attempt, I had to re-plan carefully. I first defined the quest to pass the exam as a Project, listing all the resources I would require as well as working out a schedule to guide me through my study.
I wrote the exam after about 2 months of dedicated preparation. Please note I have been reading and practicing for about 8 months intermittently.
Locked down study resources
I selected a few authors in order to avoid conflicting paradigms as the internet is replete with so many resources. Therefore I stuck with Rita Macaulay, Cornelius Fichtner (Shiv’s review & bonus books here) and Shiv Shenoy.
This helped me focus better as it cut down information overload.
I also studied PMBOK (5th Edition) and numerous practice questions (there are so many free ones online). The regular updates by Cornelius Fichtner’s examtips@PM-Precast.com was invaluable. [continue reading…]
