Passed PMP on 27th May 2010 - Lessons Learned

Submitted by sajeendra on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 13:22

 


My Lessons Learned

Started my preparation 6 months back.

Warning : Do not underestimate the PMP exam questions. Practice, Practice, Practice with lot of patience…………..!!!.

Completion date : Thursday, May 27, 2010

Time to give my Lessons Learned.

Overall exam feedback : 

1.     The questions were completely situational & there were few questions which require calculations

2.     There were few ITTOs questions

3.     As expected there were few questions which surprised me (These may be the questions which PMI not using for the scoring )

 

Preparation & Lessons Learned:

1.     PMBOK 4th Edition – Of course this is the Bible for you if you are preparing for the PMP exam.

2.     Andy Crowe – Simple & easy to read.

3.     Rita Mulcahy 6th Edition PMP Exam Prep – I would suggest to avoid reading this book in depth. In my experience this book created lot of confusion – especially the process chart. It confused me a lot.

4.     I have used the guidelines & table in Page 43 PMBOK for the Project Management Processes, Process Groups & KPAs.

5.     Headfirst labs test questions

 

Resources & Preparation:

1.     Memorization is required for the Brain dumb. Practiced Brain dumb on a daily basis. I used to jot down :

a.     All the 42 Process Management Processes in the same order along with the Process Group Mapping & 9 KMA mapping.

b.    All the formulas

c.     Quality Theories – Joseph Juran (80/20 Rule), Edward Deming, Philip Corby (Zero Defects)

d.    Maslow’s Theory, McClellend’s Theory of needs, McGregors theory of X & Y, Hazeberg’s theory, etc

e.     Six Sigma values & data

2.     Read PMBOK 2 times, Rita 2 times Andy Crowe 1 time – almost took 4 months to complete the first round.

3.     Second round – revision time : PMBOK 1 more time

4.     Practice Exams from PMStudy.com. Took 7 days subscription for 4 exams (50$)

5.     Oliver Lehman’s 175 questions (Free)

6.     Headfirst lab tests (Free)

7.     Rita’s Fast Track – Lot of repeated questions. Will help you in verifying your answers right then & there.

8.     After attending each tests - used to verify the gaps and fill the gaps in the understanding – gone back & updated my hand notes.

9.     3 Days before the exam took the PM Knowledge Assessment test from the PMI Website – It is worth paying 35 $ for 100 questions, as it is directly from PMI (Scored  81%).

10. Important – Practice, Practice, Practice – lot of online exams are available online.

 

Exam Day:

1.     Arrived in the examination center 1 hour 30 minutes before the scheduled exam time.

2.     Before entering to the exam center – passed through my handwritten notes.

3.     Did the brain dumb – noted down all the steps practiced in the calculation sheet within 15 minutes.

4.     Started exam & I took one break after completing 170 questions.

5.     I have marked around 45 questions for review.

6.     Completed the 200 questions in 3 hours 10 minutes.

7.     Reviewed the marked questions till the exam gets timed out.

8.     Saw a white screen once the exam timed out for 30 seconds & a survey screen appeared. I have provided the feedback about the exam center & other facilities.

9.     Pressure was in the peak………..Imagine…..!!!! Finally Saw the Congratulations in the screen….!!!! – Hard work paid off.

10. It was a tough one - need lot of patience & practice.

 

Important: Thanks for all the members who posted their LLs in the PMZilla forum.  I used to follow all the Lessons Learned in this forum. It helped me a lot in my preparation.  

 

 As you can see my Lessons Learned is not so different from all the others.

There is no short cut to PMP exam. I have not undergone any of the boot camps. Complete preparation by myself. Dedicate your time, Practice, Practice, Practice. There are a lot more to share. But this is the time for the Celebration … will add more later.

 

Take Care & All the best for the exam preparations….

You can reach me in my email : sajeendraprasad@yahoo.com in case if you need any guidance in PMP preparation.

 

Thanks

Sajeendra Prasad, PMP

+91 98808 47558

 

 

Forums: 
PMP Exam Tips, Tricks and Lessons Learnt.
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admin's picture

admin

Tue, 06/01/2010 - 14:24

Dear Sajeendra

Very good compilation of the LL and thanks for posting here. Congratulations on this milestone achievement in your career

Regards

Admin

mickcalcara

Tue, 06/01/2010 - 17:11


Well done Sajeendra.. Just curious what kind of scores did you get on Oliver Lehman’s 175 and Headfirst 200 question tests?  I am trying to get a better idea where I stand in my test preparation. Thanks..


chowdary2104's picture

chowdary2104

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 04:11

Congratulations...


Warning : Do not underestimate the PMP exam questions. Practice, Practice, Practice with lot of patience…………..!!!.


Above statement is 100% correct. I got failed in my first attempt because of this reason.


For my second attempt I have put 100%+ efforts.


Regards,


Lakshmi VR Chowdary A, PMP

The PMP Guru's picture

The PMP Guru

Wed, 06/02/2010 - 09:53

Congratulations and Thanks for the Lesson Learned..

The LL are of course defferent from the rest...

Waiting for the Detail LL.

 

Kind regards,

The PMP Guru.

Judzey

Wed, 07/21/2010 - 12:46

I passed my PMP yesterday (20th July, 2010) on first attempt, thanks to your lessons learned post. I printed your post, and did everything you recommended towards the end of my preperation. Ofcourse i spent quite an amount of time (5 months) preparing, but your notes helped me focus on the important stuff a few days before the exam.


 


 

sam12

Wed, 07/21/2010 - 13:01

Congrats Judzey on your achievement!.
Best part, you gave a good reference by replying to the post which you benchmarked.  This will be a good trend when others too can follow this way.



Could you kindly share your final score (proficiency). Also, if you can share your test scores. That will help us in determining where we stand vis a vis the actual test.


Regards,
Sam
 

sajeendra

Wed, 07/28/2010 - 10:05

Congrats Judzey......!!!!


It is defenitely a milestone in your career...Celebrate your success...


It's happy to hear that my notes helped you in the PMP preparation....


You can share your LL to the forum as well.....


Thanks


Sajeendra