Hi All,

12/12/12 - PMP Certified :)

My experience for other aspirants:

1.  I had planned study for 10 weeks.

2.       Referred only 2 books – PMBOK and Rita Mulachy (6^th edition )

3.       Google for concepts which was not clear in PMBOK language. YouTube has some good videos on EVM and Critical path.

4.       I started reading Rita Mulachy , solving exercise after each chapter. Weekdays 2 hrs. in the night and weekends/holidays I managed 4-6 hrs. of study.

5.       I followed this up by reading PMBOK. This would make PMBOK more interesting to read and simple.

6.       Read Rita (twice) and PMBOK (thrice).

7.       Understand Rita’s Process chart. This would help answering close to 20 questions in actual exam.

8.       Understand inputs, Tools and Techniques and Outputs(ITTO) of each Process. Just by knowing ITTO one can answer 10-15 questions.

9.       Understand calculations like present value, Earned value, Expected monetary value, communication channels, critical path- these questions are very simple and some of those even does not require chalking out the calculations on the paper provided during PMP exam.

10.   Anwer based on what is mentioned in PMBOK and not on what we do in real life scenarios.

11.   Just 2 weeks before the exam : attempt free online mock tests like

a.       Pmstudy.com (free)

b.       Examcentral.com (free)

d.      Headfirstpmp.com (free)

e.      Rita exam

12.   Attempt the 4 hr. mock test every day  ( 2 weeks before the actual PMP exam). This will prepare yourself physically and mentally sitting thru 4 hr. test, gauge your preparation and would let you know areas where you need to work more.

13.   If you score 80-90% on mock tests- then you are ready for PMP.

14.   Day previous of the actual exam – just relax and revise ITTO and formulas only.

15.   Have a good sleep and reach the exam center with a focused mind. If your mind is not focused, you will miss the catch words in the question which would changes the entire scenario and the answer.

16.   In doubt, mark the question and come back later on and I bet you would be able to answer those too J

17.   It is very important to keep a clear mind and focus. Take 5 min breaks after every 50 or 100 questions.

18.   The PMP exam is very extensive in terms of reading the question every word of it, understand the scenario, analyze the four options and answer it correctly all in a minute.

19.   But at the end, it’s a great learning, experience  and satisfaction going thru PMP certification .

Thanks to PMZilla, the forums helped me plan my study :)