Failed 8/26/2012

Submitted by xraymiller on Sun, 08/26/2012 - 16:59

 I am completely demoralized. I've read Rita's book 3 times and have taken 5 of the FastTrack exams scoring 62,64,66,72,74. 

I felt like the exam questions were nothing like the practice exams.  I got to question 50 and I was still struggling, expecting that there would be some I knew hands down were correct.  When I got to question 200, I only had 14 min. left to review all the ones I checked, which was a lot, and I couldn't look at them all.  

 
The one part I thought I would do good on is the cost and critical path, and those I seemed to be completely confused.  The cost questions threw in all kinds of extraneous parts (at least I thought they were extraneous).  Like 'Company A had budgeted $50,000 for 1000 hours worked at $50 dollars per hour'.  There was one question that only seemed to have cost items in it, yet all the answers also had something about schedule in them, and I had no idea how to answer the question.  Another had a RACI chart and asked something like which Task was correct, or something like that.  I looked over everything dealing with RACI yesterday, in Rita's and the PMBOK, and still don't have a clue what they were getting at.
 
Then there was the critical path questions.  One was something like 'A took (X) weeks, B took (X) weeks, C took 6 weeks but had to start 3 weeks prior to C, and D took (X) weeks.  What is the relationship between C and D.  Answers: 3 weeks lead, 3 weeks lag, 6 weeks lead, 6 weeks lag.
 
I can't even remember anymore they were so twisted.  Now I don't know HOW to study.  I can't just study the same stuff and expect to pass.

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pmpwannabe

Sun, 08/26/2012 - 17:18

Sorry to hear that  xraymiller.  I just posted to the forum about my 1st try fail experience (1st-attempt-fail-not-sure-what-now).  You read Rita 3 times and didn't pass.  That's scary.  I didn't read Rita but that book and Crowe were going to be my next two purchases.  You also read PMBOK and I didn't.  Now I'm not sure about continuing to pursue this exam.  If the materials I chose didn't in any way prepare me for the exam and Rita + PMBOK will not either, I don't think I have any chance and should probably move on.

animated

Sun, 08/26/2012 - 20:53

hello xraymiller, I also took the exam on 26-8-12, and surpringly i had the same questions on my exam as you mentioned in your post...difficulty level of exam was very high..i guess i memorized all ITTOs well that most probably got me over the line..i passed with 4MPs and 1BP...I guess, as more and more people are passing the exam with great ease therefore they have increased the difficulty level of the exam manifold...the exam was tougher then toughest exams available free online..but im really relieved to get through it...i will write my experineces in detail in my post..do read it

Regards

viamond

Mon, 08/27/2012 - 01:32

I agree with animated, I took the test on 8/20/12 ,  I was told don't read the PMBOK and do not memorize, I was also told that there would be only a few calculations. all were wrong, I had a lot of calculations, and I am glad, I read the PMBOK fully and memorized the processes and vital ITTO's. I did not memorize them all, but I had a understanding of what came next and what went into what. I think you can pass the test, if you study smart. I used sir gantalot on youtube to get a good understanding of cost and schedule. You can pass the next time.  DON''t GIVE UP, I studies for 4 months straight and got pass with 4 MP(s) and 1 P.

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admin

Mon, 08/27/2012 - 11:24

Failure is a step to success and Persistence is the key to success. Read the other similar posts on PM Zilla, I am sure you will find your motivation again. Now you know the exam questions , maybe you took it lightly and made silly mistakes, avoid that for next time.  I will also strong suggest you take PM Zilla Full Test as its a good benchmark. If you can clear and score 55 to 60% in PMZilla Test, you are well prepared for final exam.


 

KristenAKPM

Fri, 08/31/2012 - 19:04

 Hi Xraymiller -I'm sorry to hear about that.

Have you taken the PMP exam again since then? The company I work for, Cheetah Learning (www.cheetahlearning.com) has a great exam Prep Program, and if you follow the program and stil don't pass you get a 100% refund (not to mention that we pay for you to retake the exam two more times if needed).

Please email me if you are at all interested! -  kristencheetah@gmail.com. I hate to see people struggling with the PMP exam and I think our approach is different in that it not only focuses on the knowledge, but also your mindset when going into the exam - which is really half the battle. 

 

Thanks, talk soon!

 

Krsiten 

kristencheetah@gmail.com

xraymiller

Fri, 08/31/2012 - 23:33

Well Kristen, the title of my post is "Failed 8/26/2012" so no, I have not taken another test 5 days after the first one, but thanks for asking.

arvind3345

Sat, 09/01/2012 - 22:43

Hi,

 

I took my exam on 30/Aug/12 in Perth and I can relate to every single question that you mentioned and yes I do agree that the exam questions were much difficult than what I have taken before. I took lots of online tests from ExamCentral and other websites and prepared reading PMBOk and a management book.

The questions your mentioned about are twisted (I call them googly balls) and I think not only tested the knowledge base of the individual but also the patience of the test taker. I was finishing most of my online tests in 2:30, so felt quite comfortable with 4 hours of actual exam but I took nearly 3.30 to do my test and last 30 mins just reviewing.

My suggestions for preparation would be no matter what people say about knowing ITTO's I think you should remember most if not all of them. DO NOT MEMORISE as that will not help the cause you should understand the ITTO for each of the 42 process.

The other area which I would suggest are easy is Initiating and Closing as there are only 4 process here and nearly 40 questions from these areas, so easy runs here.

Areas like Risk Mgmt seem to be neglected in the exams the main areas I thought were important was Change Management (I know its not a seperate area but you need to understand Change Mgmt.). Change is identified in the M&C area, Integrated Change Control is applied to the change in M&C and then it comes back to Execution for implementation.

HR and Communication Mgmt. are really important there was quite a few questions about them.

With regards to Time Mgmt, I would suggest people to take quite a few questions at least 20 where they draw the Network diagram and understand how to calculate Forward and Backward Pass with ES, EF, LS, LF and Total and Free Float. The quesitons in Time mgmt are really touch.

On a final note I am glad I passed the exam with 3 Proficiency and 2 Med. Proficiency.

All the Best Everyone, feel free to mail me at arvind3345@yahoo.com if you have any further discussion to be had in private.

 

Thanks,

Good Luck Everyone.

Padi