I feel elated to share the good news with all of you that I cleared my PMP examination. I scored Proficient in Planning and Execution and moderately proficient in all other areas.

My preparation:

Preparation Time: 6 months.....(This could have been lesser, but I had some personal commitments at my end, so I made slow progress initially)

Books referred to: PMBOK (cover to cover), Rita Mulcahy (cover to cover) and Headfirst PMP (for some difficult concepts, including critical path exercises and in general when i got bored reading PMBOK or Rita)

Tests taken:

Paid tests:

PMstudy all 4 sets

Pmzilla final PMP exam. I liked these and this built my confidence for the exam.

Free tests:

Oliver Lehmann (both 75 Q set and 175 Q set), Simplilearn( I didnt like the interface of this much), Edwel, Headfirst PMP free test online (the explanations to questions are very well written), google question bank , and EPMC free online test (This one is difficult too)

I guess so much preparation should be more than sufficient for an experienced Project manager. I am glad I didnt purchase Ritas fastrack.

My  study strategy:

I attended a boot camp by PMTI and then followed it up by reading a chapter from PMBOK followd by the corresponding one from Rita. I tried to understand all the concepts and the forums helped me a lot. I kept following PMzilla and Deep fried brain for the very helpful discussions.

  I scheduled my full length tests on weekends and small tests on weekdays. Implement the Plan-do-check- act cycle methodology throughout.

Exam day :

I was very cool and relaxed and wanted to treat this just like any other test. My husband and sister supported me all along. My husband drove me to the test center ak Knowledge Village Dubai. I carried water and some fruits which I had to leave out in the locker. I started my test......all the questions looked easy to me....after 100 questions i took my first break. One important thing is that you need to control your pace. I targeted completing 25 questions in every 30 minutes. That way I had better control. Keep smiling during the test. It helps. I reviewed only the Marked questions and changed my answers. I thought it best not to review the others, as I think your first evaluation is mostly right for a question. Reevaluating might cause you to change correct answers to incorrect.

I completed my test 5 mins earlier and hit the submit. and then the screen went blank for a good 2 mins. and then the prometric rating questionairre appeared which I filled honestly, and then after a while....my screen says "Congratulations!..........You have passed the PMP exam".......I was so thrilled. Balloons and flowers didnt fall from the ceiling, although that would have been nice :)....

So much so for the experience!.

All the best to all test takers! 

Ancy Harshal, PMP