Passed PMP - Oct 16, 2010 - My preparation experience

Submitted by brajac on Mon, 10/18/2010 - 19:51

I cleared the PMP exam on Sat Oct 16 on the first stting with 'Proficient' grade. Here is my experience preparing for the exam.


At the onset I would like to state that my goal was to do well but not to be perfect. Basically Rita Mulcahy (RMC) 6th edition is more than enough to prepare for the PMP exam. There is absolutely no need to review any other material including an elaborate reading of the PMBOK 4th edition (yes, I mean it) nor take a whole lot of practice tests. I flipped through the chapters of PMBOK 4th ed and the corresponding chapters of RMC and found that RMC covers every aspect of PMBOK 4th ed in great detail. So, I decided against reading the rather dry PMBOK 4th ed. I took a 1 hr test at http://headfirstlabs.com/PMP/free_exam/. The test helped me conclude that there is plenty of time to take the exam so timing is not important. I finished the exam in 3 hrs 10 min covering all 200 questions at a steady pace and then revisited the 12 marked questions that I was not sure of in the first pass in the next 10 mins. One thing I have to mention is that noting the language and use of specific words in questions (verbs and prepositions in particular) is key to answering them correctly. This required tuning my mind to PMP jargon and PMP style of thinking which comes from reviewing a book like RMC. Making 3 passes through RMC and its questions will address most of what is needed to sense the subtle aspects of language in the questions.

 

The tone of RMC varies from boring (rather low IQ at times) to terse (but never to the point that you feel like she skipped steps and left it for the reader to figure out). The book has been written with a wide variety of readers in mind, which is understandable from a commerical standpoint. As an example, I did not do any of the games the book suggests. Neither did I do any of the in-chapter exercises. In the first pass I read all the chapters without doing any of the exercises inside the chapter and questions at the end of each chapter. This pass was meant to educate myself with the subject matter. I jumped straight to the questions after the 2nd pass for each chapter through the book and compared them to the answers I would have given, highlighting the ones where my reasoning was not in line with RMC. The quality of questions at the back of the chapter are quite good (actually the standard is much higher than what you will get on the exam) and more importantly it covers all the key areas of the chapters. This is how I did it. Tune it to your level of comfort –

 

(a)     Read RMC 1st pass without doing any questions at the end of the first pass. The objective is to read and try to retain the information as much as possible and develop the concepts. Don't feel defeated if you cannot remember a whole lot in the 1st pass. The 2nd pass will be better. I paid particular attention to chapters 4 – 13 because that is where most of the content for the PMP exam is from (the 9 knowledge areas and professional & social responsibility) . While making the 1st pass I highlighted the key things on the book that I felt important from a concept standpoint with a highlighter. This I did to minimize the skimming time during the subsequent passes. I am a working professional and had no more than 1 - 2 hrs to study each night.

 

(b)     Then I made a 2nd pass of chapters 4 – 13. It took a lot less time in the 2nd pass because the areas to review were already highlighted in the book. This time I kept the table on page 43 of PMBOK 4th ed as the reference point. Since I had already made one pass and had an overall idea of the subject matter (from an exam standpoint), relating to this table was easy and I could memorize it in a few minutes. I think this is the only thing I really memorized. The rest of the detailed information for each item in this table was conceptual and flowed naturally without memorizing anything. At the conclusion of reading each chapter I took the questions at the end of it. I marked the questions that I answered without being sure of the answer. I did this to verify later if my reasoning was in line with RMC just in case I got it right. After answering all questions in the chapter I compared the answers and revisited the marked questions (even if they were answered correctly) and incorrect answers. I have to admit that this is the most important strategy that helped me win. RMC’s questions are such that they knock every aspect of the chapter that is important from an exam standpoint. In other words you get excellent coverage of the material by analyzing the questions and answers from RMC especially the ones you got wrong or answered in doubt. The key is to mark every question honestly that you did not answer confidently. This helped me a lot in gaining coverage and boosting my self confidence!

 

(c)     The 3rd pass was made in the 30-40 preparation hrs spread across 4 days before taking the exam. This was done in, what I would describe as, WAR mode. I took 2 days off prior to the exam and revised the entire material for about 8-10 hrs each day. The objective was to load the brain with information and then unload it in one sitting at the exam. That is my style of exam taking. Since information had already been loaded in the first two passes, the 3rd pass helped capture more subtle details that I did not grasp in the earlier passes. For me this last minute cramming was the most critical aspect of exam taking. There are too many teeny winny details in PMP preparation and it is annoying at times to read it again and again. So, I just declared WAR on the exam in this pass and was hell bent to win it. I must observe that the most important thing is your inner feeling whether you are comfortable taking the exam. The confidence to declare battle comes from your confidence in your prepration. For some it may require an additional pass or two through RMC to get to that level of confidence. I was alert on exam day but I did not feel nervous for even a second. Your heart will tell if you are ready and that is what you have to go by. Getting that feeling is extremely important.

 

I did not read chapter 14 as the title "Reasons Why You Might Fail the Exam" was very defeatist. Not my style of doing things. I read chapters 2 and 3 only once. They were not part of my 2nd or 3rd passes. I skimmed chapter 1 only once. About 3 - 4 questions in the exam were straight out of RMC, although the answer choices were different. You have to make sure you get all the quantitative questions correct. There is a formula chart on page 513 of RMC 6th ed. That is all that you need to know for the exam from a quantitative standpoint. The questions are not complicated at all. If you know the formulas and the subject matter behind the formulas then you should be fine.

 

One word of caution against over achieving. PMP is a professional certification and over achieving is not a virtue that is required for this exam. If you see you are getting 67+% (overall across all chapters) at the end of the 2nd pass and you are able to retain 60-70% of the material in your head, go for the 3rd pass with a view to retain the content and take the exam. Tell you friends and family that you need to be in quiet mode for 2-3 days and prepare with the intent of taking the exam. If you don’t get overall 67+% after the 2nd pass you probably need additional passes through RMC. Everybody's preparation sytle is different. Your heart will tell if you are there or if you want to take a chance. Listen to it. 61% is all you need to pass. No recruiter will ask your grade when employing you although they will make a note of it when you submit your certificate after the offer has progressed quite a bit.

 

Good luck with your preparation and feel free to post any questions you may have. I will try my best to respond promptly.

 

Thanks.

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admin

Tue, 10/19/2010 - 04:12

Congratulations Brajac very nice compilation of LL. I agree with some of the points you have mentioned . Like first one is that one must keep in mind that all you need is 61%. Secondly Rita' s book is enough. Only thing i would add is that I feel one must go through PMBoK throughly along with Rita's book, since there are some things for which you have to refer to PMBoK. Another thing is taking practice tests, it will give you the confidence to face real exam


Rgds


Admin

brajac

Sat, 10/30/2010 - 17:32

I would like to say that everyone should go through the PMBOK at least once. What I observed is Rita covers the PMBOK very well and adds a few more things that are not covered by PMBOK. So, one skim of PMBOK after reading RMC the first or second time (recommended) should be enough.


Secondly, taking sample exams is a must. The level of confidence varies from one person to another. Like I took the exam mainly to time myself and judge the level of difficulty in answering questions. I took a single 1 hr test. After that I concluded that timing is fine and focusssed on obtaining enough coverage of the content in RMC.


As I mentioned in my original note, doing whatever makes you feel confident is the key. Your heart will tell if you are ready to take the exam.


Good luck!

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admin

Tue, 11/02/2010 - 04:36

Congratulations brajac. Very detailed LL and I am sure it will be useful to PMP aspirants.


REgards


Admin