I cleared the PMP exam in my third attempt on 15th May, 2013. So how did I crack it this time?

The most intriguing aspect about the PMP exam is that, fresh project managers with relatively little experience crack it the first time and very experienced project managers find it difficult to clear it the first time! That maybe speaks of the high standards that PMI upholds.

So how did I do it right this time? Here goes

I prepared a detailed plan for the exam - a three month plan.

1. Firstly enrolled for a classroom session with Simplilearn

http://www.simplilearn.com/all-courses/c1p22/pmp-4-days-exam-training-co...

The sessions were lively, interactive with real time examples. I attended the 4 day classroom session

The good thing about this course from Simplilearn is that they give you access for 60 days to the course online as well, this enables you to keep revising your lessons for this 60 day period

2. Referred two books apart from PMBOK 4 -  the first one was PMP® Exam Prep 7th Edition - Rita Mulcahy (this is a "must read") and the second one was The PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try by Andy Crowe (this book gives you complex questions and also explains the cost management formulaes in a very simple and effective manner).

Now to the study plan:

1. Allocate one week for every "Knowledge Area"

Read PMBOK, Rita and Andy one after the other for every knowledge Area.

2. Answer all the test questions given in Rita and Andy's books at the end of every week.

3. At the end of nine weeks, you will be 80% ready for your exam.

4. I referred to another book that is written by the instructor in the Simplilearn sesions. The book is called

PMP Certification  Excel with ease by Subramanian Chandramouli.

http://www.pearsoned.co.in/web/books/9788131733134_PMP-Certification_Sub...

This book gives numerous real time experiences and scenarios from the software world, given the author's profession.

I used this to brush up my knowledge on all the knowledge areas.

5. Finally I purchased Flashcards from www.pmflashcards.com. These flash cards were very useful in that I could keep referring to them whenever I had time.

6. At the end of 10 weeks, I was almost ready for the exam and decided to take atleast a minimum of 4 full length mock tests. I was aiming to score atleast 75-85% in each of these tests, which would indicate that I was ready for the big one!

7. I scored an average of 80% in four tests and decided that I was ready

LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST, THE BRAIN DUMP IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL FOR SUCCESS IN THE EXAM!

Practice writing the brain dump for alteast two weeks and you will do it automatically on the day of the exam. The brain dump can contain

All the cost management formulaes

All the time management formulaes

Hygiene theories

Procurement and risk management formulaes and last but not the least

The planning process in its correct flow. This one is very helpful while answering questions on the exam.

The day of the exam

Reach your center atleast 30 minutes in advance

Relax and take deep breaths if you are nervous

Submit your ID proof and your admission card

Keep all your things in the locker and go the exam hall with only your ID proof, locker key and the rough paper sheets that the examiner will hand to you

When your exam starts, you will be given 15 minutes to go through the tutorial, it just gives you the basics of how to negotiate the screens during the exam, Utilise this 15 minutes to create your brain dump.

Spend a litle less than a minute for each question, if the question is tough, mark it and skip to the next one

IT IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO TAKE ATLEAST TWO BREAKS IN YOUR EXAM JUST TO RELAX YOUR MIND

Have some refreshments during these breaks, visit the rest room if required. But remember that there is no scheduled break time, your clock timer just keeps ticking

I finished all the 200 questions in 3 hours, but I had also marked 25 questions for review

I started reviewing these 25 questions, answered the easy ones first and kept the last for the end.

When I just had 5 minutes left, I took a deep breath and submitted the paper.

The next 10 minutes were spent on answering a few survery questions, and after an agonizing two minutes, the result flashed on the screen "PASS"  congragulations on passing the PMP exam!!!!!!

Words cannot describe the immense relief at that moment. A three month journey came to a successful end.

So go on folks!! Take up the challenge and win!!!