Community Help Crucial In My PMP Success – RenukaPrasad, PMP

by Shiv Shenoy

PMP community support is crucial - RrenukaPrasad-pmp RenukaPrasad works as a Project Manager in the IT industry. He’s a cricket buff (and an awesome player) and likes to see places.

I’ve seen most of the PMP students preparing KnowledgeArea-wise or ProcessGroup-wise. But RenukaPrasad studied Domain-wise. While the former approach covers the predictive part, the latter covers predictive + agile.

RenukaPrasad passed his PMP exam last week. His domain-level scores were:

People – On Target
Process – On Target
Business Environment – Above Target

I caught up with him over the weekend to understand how he did his PMP.

And I really liked his study tips for PMP aspirants (the last section).

Here’s the interview.

What made you take up PMP?

PMP I have taken up PMP because of the knowledge I get to practice and build my skills. Which, in turn, gives me career growth to be an authoritative voice in Project Management.

Currently, I am not considering any other certifications. Just looking to build on the skills using what I’ve learned for the PMP exam.

Now that I’m certified I feel confident about my ability to handle projects effectively and efficiently. It’s early days but I would say I have learned a lot during the course of the preparation and the exam. And I’ve begun implementing in my work.

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What is the main attribute a PMP aspirant should have?

Dedication to the goal and the attitude of never giving up.

PMP is not easy, let me tell you.

It takes a long time (in terms of several weeks at least) to prepare right and pass it.

It tests your perseverance and commitment – just don’t give up.

Take the help of a community, mentor, support group, colleagues, all that you can.

Which study resources did you use?

I signed up for PMI’s ATP and used PMI-LO choice study material.

To practice for the actual exam, I used (and recommend) as many mock tests as possible.

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What was your approach and study plan?

I spent 2 hrs during weekdays considering my busy work schedule, and 4 to 6 hrs during weekends.

The approach was to go domain-wise like People, Process, and Business environment.

Once you are done with the first round, just relax and try to relate them to your live work environment.

After each mock test, I would read the explanations for each question even if I answered right.

I would say mock test questions and answers with explanation is the best way to prepare for time management on the exam.

Was it a smooth sail?

Not at all. 🙂

The issue I faced was a lack of quality mock test questions for practice. The daily questions you post on your Facebook community helped me to see whether I am ready to take up the exam or not.

There was a scary incident (now looks funny) that really made me worried about my preparation.

Just a day before the exam I was scoring 85% on all the mock tests. But in one of the mock tests, which was my last one, I just scored 65%! So I was really doubting my readiness to take up the exam.

Moral of the story: don’t take any mock tests the day before the exam. Just relax. 🙂

Thank you for being part of PMExamSmartNotes PMP student community! Can you please share how did it help?

I would like to thank you once again for your tips and knowledge shared on the Fb community and LinkedIn community, which helped me a great deal in my preparation.

I have been part of PMExamSmartNotes community. I used to look forward to answering daily questions, flash cards, and posts about PMP lessons learned, and posts about strategic preparation.

I am really thankful to this community for helping me.

The week before the exam is crucial. How did you prepare during this week?

I used to spend a minimum of 4 hrs a day and took as many mock tests as possible.

I reviewed my answers, corrected my mistakes, and understood where I was going wrong.

Studied those areas that I lacked and took more tests to ace them.

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How was your exam experience?

I opted for the online mode. It was a great experience.

I would like to say that time management is very essential.

If you do the math of 230 minutes for 180 questions, you get a little over a minute per question. There is not much time to sit and think. This is where I realized mock tests helped me SO much.

I opted for both the 10mins breaks during the exam and refreshed myself.