Shiv, I cleared PMP in First Attempt on 12/31. Thanks to the “I want to be a PMP group” created by Mr.Oliver Lehman for keeping me inspired throughout. This is my 50 cents for all PMP aspirants.
Usually, I have seen people wanting to clear PMP for 2 reasons
- To comply to certain (Personal/Official) mandatory certification needs.
- To enhance knowledge, add value to their career & Organization and get certified in the due course
The critical difference between the two approaches may be that of Developing Surface Intellect vs Developing Core Intelligence. If you are looking to clear PMP for certification needs, it shouldn’t take you anywhere more than a month to prepare and there are a lot of website that can help you do that.
PMP Study Plan that worked for me
- Took a boot camp training from M/S. International Institute of Project Management (IIPM), Chennai
- Read Rita once followed by PMBOK. Didn’t try hard to cram the information and took time relate the concepts to real world project management. This is where I found RITA extremely useful. (~45 days)
- Did Mock Assessments & noted down all areas where I had to second guess the answers.
- Referenced Rita, PMBOK and used online materials (especially Fahad Usmani’s PM Study Circle website & Saket Bansal’s izenbridge website) to bridge the knowledge gap.
- Completed 6 Full Mock Assessments and corrected all weak areas before the Exam Day.
Mock Exam Tips
Do as many as computer based Mock exams as possible. Get used to the timer and reading lengthy questions.
Review the answers for “Not so straightforward questions” to see if the logic on which you based the answer is right.
Note down all areas where you had to second guess the answers, even if the answer is right.
Gradually your scores should improve to 80% before taking the actual exam.
Actual Exam Tips
- Ensure you have proper strategy to handle 200 questions. (Something like, I will only answer the direct questions in the first glance and keep the lengthy question for the second..). I buckled under time pressure as I didn’t have a solid strategy and initially marked a lot of questions for review.
- Numerical problems are fairly simple if you know the formulas right. While I didn’t have to reference my formula sheet very often but having one gave me a lot of confidence.
- Control your frustration while reading through lengthy questions and keep yourself focused by identifying where are you in the story. This may help you smile sometimes 🙂
- Go through the PMBOK Glossary at least once. This will easily help identify the made up terms to eliminate incorrect options.
Excellent Free Online Resources
Thanks to the respective owners for having created and shared them for free
- PMESN PMP Blueprint: Click here to get this free course
- Guidelines for PMP Application: http://edward-designer.com/web/online-pmp-application-form
- Clarifications on Specific Knowledge Areas : http://pmstudycircle.com/
- Earned Value Management : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC1-TwwKkq8. This one video can help you get most of the EVM questions right!
- Critical Path & Float : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsbnHNAkfVQ
- Mock Exam Links : http://www.oliverlehmann.com/pmp-self-test/75-free-questions.htm#providers
- ITTO Quiz : https://quizlet.com/33545713/test
- Mock Exam Question Books :
- Pass PMP in 21 Days – Kavitha Sharma
- How to get all earned value questions right in PMP Exam – Aileen Ellis
- PMP Exam Preparation – Daud Nasir
- PMP Question Bank – Fahad Usmani (Had Kindle Unlimited subscription and got most of this free)
- Mock Exam App in Android
- PMP Exam Prep by Quizworld
- PMP PMBOK 5 Exam Prep by Pocket Prep Inc
- PM Pro – Fast Track ltd
- Cert Champ PMP – Cert Champ
Do ping me if you have any specific questions and I shall be glad to help.
All the very best!
Aravindan Chandrasekaran, PMP
Note from Shiv: I recently published a Kindle book ‘Crack the New (2016) PMP® Exam in 4 Weeks – Using Simple, Proven, Step-by-Step Approach’. This is an essence of this blog, in a sense. You can read on PC, Mac, any smartphone with a free Kindle reader app. Click for more info and to see what people are saying about it, here.
