I passed (first try!) PMP Exam on 16th July 2013. I would like to thank entire PMZilla and all who have been continuously supporting, helping and encouraging others for being PMP. Special thanks to my wife who continuously inspired me during preparation. 

PMP became my aspiration since January 2013 when I first attended PMP internal training sessions and completed 35 PDU. I was targeting to get certified within next three months. Unfortunately that did not happen due to excessive work pressure. I work in IT industry and finding 2/3 hrs of study time in a day is very hard. So I had to extend my preparation time. Finally I went through the exam on 16th July and got to see the CONGRATULATIONS message at 5-00 o’clock.

Study Plan:
Preparation is not hard but you have to study and understand lots of information. Only memorization of PMBOK content is not sufficient to earn PMP. You need to understand the concepts and apply those correctly in time correct situation.
 

Books Referred:

1. PMBOK4 – 1 time
2. Head First PMP – 1 time
3. Andy Crowe – 2 times (First time in details and then just the important parts on second time)
4. Rita Mulcahy’s Exam Prep 7th Edition - 2 times (First time in details and then just the important parts on second time)

Mock Exams:
       - Andy Crowe’s Chapter End Questions – 2 times (85-90%)
       - Rita Mulcahy’s Exam Prep Chapter End Questions – 2 times (75-85%)
       - Head First Chapter End Questions – 1 time (80-85%)
       - Head First Final 200 Questions Mock Test – 1 time (90%)
       - Andy Crowe’s Final 200 Questions Mock Test -– 2 times (80, 85%)
       - Rita Mulcahy’s PMP Fast Track 200 Questions Mock Test – 3 times (73, 78, 86%)
       - Velociteach 200 Questions Mock Test – 2 times (84,90%)
       - Oliver Lehmann 175 – 1 time (73%)

It does not matter how long you need to study or how many times you need to revise any book. Important thing is that how well you can understand and absorb the information. Study in test taking mode. I will suggest answering some amount of questions (20/30/50) everyday along with your study. Solve all the chapter end questions that are really helpful to identify your gaps in knowledge. Then revisit those topics and fill your gaps. Finally solve as many mock exams as possible. Internet is a rich source of free questions. Head First 200Q and Oliver Lehmann’s 175Q are the most popular. If you have purchased Andy Crowe’s book then you will get a 5 days trial offer of Velociteach. It has lots of good quality questions. I found exam questions are similar to Andy Crowe’s/Velociteach questions.

Exam Day:
I reached prometric center half hour before my schedule. Exam started around schedule time of 12-30 PM. I used the CBT tutorial time to dump formulas and process chart on rough sheet. After going through first 10/15 questions I felt confidence. Exam is completely based on PMBOK. There were lots of calculation questions that required usage of Earn Value/EMV/Future Value formulas. Got many straight forward questions on ITTO. I was able to answer 200Q in 3 hr and 50min. Just had 10 min to review. Next I had to complete a survey (optional). Screen went blank and my heart stopped for few sec and then got the victory message on screen – “CONGRATULATIONS....”.
 

Result:
       - Initiating - Proficient
       - Planning – Moderately Proficient
       - Execution - Proficient
       - Monitoring & Controlling - Proficient
       - Closing - Proficient

Best of luck folks who are preparing for it...
 

 Regards,

Santanu Mandal, PMP :-)