Focused on exam questions & identified weak knowledge areas – Maria Keane, PMP
Focused on exam questions & identified weak knowledge areas – Maria Keane, PMPWhen I came to know that she passed her PMP exam, I didn’t waste time asking her for sharing her PMP study schedule, strategy and study tips. 🙂
Maria readily agreed, and here she shares her PMP journey…
Maria Keane is an expert in crane installation projects. When it comes to planning and scheduling, labour and equipment, contracts and agreements with customers, hire companies and other sub contractors – both technical and commercial conditions – she is one of the best.
Read on…
How did you decide on PMP?
After putting in over a decade in corporate work I decided it was time to up-skill. For a period of time I was working shorter weeks. And this helped me spare time for my professional growth.
What better certification than PMP? It covered all aspects of project management, has highest approval in the industry, and is quite challenging. And I was up for the challenge.
Also Read: PMP tools & techniques you must know for the exam (group 1)
What were the areas you focused on?
I really felt that I had to focus my attention to risk assessments that the PMP covers. Apart from that I spent a lot of time studying the three important knowledge areas: Scope, Schedule, and Cost.
Even after the certification now I would see myself spending more efforts on time, cost and schedule estimating. These are the skills I use at my day-to-day work so I want to continuously strive to get better at ’em.
- I took a 4-day course through my employer in late November/early December
- Next, I completed Joseph Phillips course on Udemy
- And in parallel I also studied through Rita Mulcahy’s book.
- For mock questions I used PMTraining.com.
After completing these I began my second round. Started off with the Udemy course and used this in conjunction with Rita’s book and the PMBOK. That’s it.
What was your study schedule like?
PMP was my first major exam that I was attempting after college. 🙂
It’s easy to get caught up on what people say online and get yourself stressed over what you should know. So I made my own plans based on what seemed most appropriate for my schedule and needs.
There are 10 knowledge areas, some are most exhaustive and some are quite lean. Know that doing good on each of these is quite essential for PMP success.
I would say that concentrating on exam questions and identifying your weak knowledge areas and working on them is key.
Making your own notes is something I would highly recommend.
Just before the exam I reread all my personal notes and continued answering exam questions.
Also Read: PMP topper reveals his study tips
And your exam day was…
I was very stressed going into it. I think I would have done better if I had been less stressed. It would be very helpful if people have ways to relax beforehand. It would definitely help.
Another point I would highlight is practice. Doing lots of exam questions is key. Also, watching Ricardo Vargas’ video on YouTube helped out everything into perspective.
To tell the truth, it is not as difficult as many feel it to be. If you can come up with a daily PMP study schedule and stick to it to the best of your abilities you will be surprised how simple it is.
Focus well, study hard, stay relaxed – and you are sure to succeed.
Do well,
