Hi All,

First let me "Thank" all the wonderful folks at PMZilla, as you all have helped me to pass PMP today.

I passed with 4P and 1MP (MP in closing).

Lessons Learnt:

KEEP IT SIMPLE !

1. Study PMBOK with one another reference book. I used Rita Mulachy prep book 6th edition. Studying PMBOK is MUST.


2. DO NOT memorize ITTO. Just understand how different process groups interact with each other. Rita book helps a lot on this. Initially i thought it was important to memorize, later got to know it is not worth the time, and its more easier to understand how it works.


3. If you want a quick reference to ITTO you can use Brainbok tool, if you wish to.


4. And of course PMZilla site. This is wonderful, which gave me directions to many Mock exams and PMP materials and clarifications to the questions I posted.


5. Keep it simple.  Do not deviate from PMBOK, do not try to have any prejudice due to your own real time project experiences, since it may vary from PMBOK Guide. Stick to basics.

Mock Exams:

I suggest not to take mock exams in view of evaluating how much percentage you score each time you take it.

Mock exams essentially are tool to identify your gap in understanding questions and how to answer them from perspective of PMBOK. The moment you get to know the trick of this, you can answer  pretty easily.

The Mock exams I took:

1. Exams at end of each chapter in Rita Book. Rita's Q & A are essentially helpful to evaluate your skills of PMBOK on real time scenarios.


2. Christopher Scordo (on PMI e-reads and references site) - This one is pretty close to real PMP exam. These exams have got direct questions from PMBOK (with same sentences or phrases) and scenario based questions. (First first few mock Lite tests gives direct questions, while Lite tests from 15 onwards give scenario based questions). I personally felt this was good. Again Thanks to PMZilla for pointing me to this !


3. Frank T Anbari (On PMI e-reads and references) - Evaluates you on how well you have read PMBOK end to end.


4. Oliver Lehman - This is very good if you really want to take up challenging questions.


5. Other Free exams: HeadFirst and PMStudy.

PMP Exam experience:

1. Many people say 4 hours is very much sufficient. However, I personally felt it is just adequate.


2. It took almost 3:15 mins to answer all questions, and around 45mins to go back to marked questions and revisit them. I had marked about 20 questions.


3. Direct ITTO questions were about 6 to 8.  There were as many as 20 questions on Earned value Calculation, Around 8-10 questions on Critical path/float/lag/lead calculation. Very few questions on PERT calculation. One tricky calculation on EMV.


4. All other questions were scenario based. I thought I got more questions on Risk management and Human resource management.


5. Exam logistics prep: It is important to chose right timing in the day for your exams, I made a mistake here. The timing i took was not in favour of my lunch habits. If you have any personal health reasons, please chose the right timing, that is favourable for you. I was almost exhausted by the end of exam !


6. You will not be allowed to take anything (except ID and locker key) in to the exam hall. You will be given 2 pencils and one scratch book (around 6 pages), more than sufficient for any writing.


7. The prometric center where i attended (Bangalore, India), the seating was very comfortable and also the place was less noisy. The computer was also very good, had no problems with mouse or keyboard.

I once again Thank all PMZilla members and All the best for PMP aspirants.

Thanks,

Anand KL