PMP Passed - 22nd Nov 2013

Submitted by obaidurehman on Wed, 11/27/2013 - 06:49

Hi all

I cleared my PMP exam on 22nd Nov with 2Ps (Initiation and Execution) and 3MPs.

I only used RITA 8th Edition and PMBOK 5.

Started my preparation in September and targeted for late October Date but realized I was not prepared so targeted late November Date.

I have seen folks book their test in advance and plan their studies according to it. I never feel comfortable doing that so I tried to get the understanding of the subject and once I felt I am ready to give PMP exam then I filled the application ,got approval in 3 days, paid the fee on same day (no Audit thankfully) and booked the test a week later(due to availability of time/location I preferred otherwise would've gotten seat for very next day :).

Practice Questions (Knowledge Areas)

1. RITA FasTrack - For Each Knoweldge Area (Difficulty level was close to actual exam questions)

2. Scorodo - (Excellent Excercises to Practise after reading each chapter of PMBOK).

3. ExamCentral - (Good for Practising Knowledge Areas. Difficulty level slightly lower than actual exam but if you take question length in equation then very close to actual exam. I didn't get any question as lengthy as most RITA Exercises and FASTrack Questions.)

Mock Exams

1. RITA PMP (scored 70% after finishing RITA for first time, scored 81% when I was ready for my PMP exam)

2. RITA Super PMP (scored 58% after finishing RITA for first time, scored 78% when I was ready for exam)

3. Examcentral (scored 80% when I was ready for my exam)

4. Tech360 (scored 80% when I was ready for exam).

5. Scorodo (scored around 90% from Test 1-10 and around 75 to 85% from 11 to 18)

Actual Exam

My Exam was not very difficult nor easy. Worth the hardwork I put in for 3 months. Around 20 to 25 questions on EVM, EMV, Crticial Path and Communication Channels.Presentation of those questions were graphical rathar than the questions I saw in RITA and other test e.g.there was a graph showing actual cost and earned value and question was is project under budget or not and behind/ahead of schedule. Difficulty level of all mathematical questions was easy/normal if you have practised. Questions were presented in tabular and graphical form to distract and you have to be composed to look for information only pertaining to question.

Lots of question on Risk , Quality and Procurement Management. One off question on communication and there was one question abt HR theory whose answer was Theory X.

Atleast 3 to 5 questions were from Professional Responsbily (very similar to Ethical Responsbililty Questions in Scordo).

Around 5 questions directly from ITTO. But you dont need to memorize ITTOs to answer . If you have the concept you will get it right.In my case, it was very obvious one choice among the answers.

I didnt linger and waste time on one question. If I didnt get the question or wasn't 100% sure about the answer, I just selected the best answer , marked the question and moved on so when I finished my first pass after 3 hours and 15 minutes, I had 25 marked questions. I used the remaining time to review my answers on those and when only 2 minutes were left in the exam , I pressed end test.

Didn't fill the survey and pressed finish button. Instantly I got congrats message.

Lessons learned and advice for PMP aspirants

- Dont indulge yourself in many books . Just choose PMBOK and one other book you are comfortable with. Its more important to have your concepts cleared and get your head around PMIsm than reading 5 different books.

- Pls use PMBOK as primary source. Clear the concepts present in that book rathar than get swayed by the supplemtary study guide. Alot of questions I got right just because I studied PMBOK throughly.

- Pls practice 4 hour mock exams as it will help you build your stamina for sitting and answering questions for 4 hours. When I first gave my RITA PMP exam afer first pass, I ran out of time and answered only 175 questions. But after practising and getting hold of the subject it improved and I started finishing test in 3 hours will review time of 15 minutes when I was prepared for the exam.

I hope this LL will help

Regards

Obaid

 

Forums: 
PMP Exam Tips, Tricks and Lessons Learnt.
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kinnumann1

Wed, 11/27/2013 - 12:02

 

 

Congratulations on passing the PMP exam!

Nicely worded as well.

Regards.

 

-KM

 

 

obaidurehman

Thu, 11/28/2013 - 00:11

Thanks KM.

dpar

Wed, 11/27/2013 - 12:32

Obaid,

Thanks for the review. I'm also finding that while I study the PMBOK very carefully, and line by line, paragraph by paragraph, that I am learning much more.

I had only skimmed the PMBOK and learned the process chart before my bootcamp and found it very difficult to learn during the course.

I recommend to anyone that has not yet attended a 35 hour boot camp to read Annex A and to memorize the entire Process chart to the point where you can reproduce it on plain paper. This will prepare you to enter the bootcamp and learn at a deeper level than I did.

obaidurehman

Thu, 11/28/2013 - 00:21

Dav

I think as far as you keep PMBOK as your primary source of preparation, whether memorization of Process Chart or/and  Reading Annex A , you will be on right track.

 

 

 

rajmuthukumar

Thu, 11/28/2013 - 05:27

 Hi Brother,

God blessyou. Very detailed LL. Gave some clear idea. One thing is missing is the amount of study hours. Can you explain about that? and how many passes in Rita and PMBOK?

~RK

obaidurehman

Thu, 11/28/2013 - 06:13

Hi Raj

Thanks for the blessings. I deliberatly didn't mention the number of passes because It depends on intelligence and reading ability of a person.

For me, who has average reading speed and average intelligence, It took 2 passes of each book. I started with RITA , answered end of exercise questions. Then I read PMBOK. Then Again RITA but on second pass I solved FasTrack Knowledge area questions at the end of each chapter. My second pass of PMBOK was 15 days before the actual exam and after that I wrapped up my preparation.

I hope this will help .

Regards

Obaid

 

 

narinder

Thu, 11/28/2013 - 06:45

 Congrats Obaid and best wishes for the PMP world.

A very Well written LL and very informative.

Regards

Narinder

 

 

 

 

 

Mahesh Yeotkar

Thu, 11/28/2013 - 13:25

 Hi Obaid,

Many Congratulations.

It will be great if you could email the latest edition of Rita at mahesh.yeotkar@gmail.com

 

Thanks,

Mahesh

 

 

 

 

 

obaidurehman

Thu, 11/28/2013 - 17:20

Thanks Mahesh. Rita's latest material is available on all torrent sites so you can download it from there

Mahesh Yeotkar

Fri, 11/29/2013 - 19:17

 thanks obaid, i will do that.

obaidurehman

Thu, 11/28/2013 - 17:12

Thanks for the kind words Narinder

tgol

Thu, 11/28/2013 - 14:49

Hi Obaid;

Congratulations!!! Now I am preparing for exam. Do you have "Rita Fast Track v8"? I can't find anywhere and soft copy of "Rita PMP Exam Prep 8 th edition"?. And can you share other documents? It will very useful for all pmzilla users if you share. (golfatma@gmail.com)

 

Thank you for ideas, I will follow you. Please respond as soon as possible.

obaidurehman

Thu, 11/28/2013 - 17:18

Thanks tgol

I dont have any docs other than PMBOK and Rita. Rita Fast Track and Rita PMP 8 soft copy are available on all torrent sites so you can download from there at your convenience.

 

Stakeholder

Thu, 11/28/2013 - 15:55

Three months of hard work paid off and you are a PMP.  Very nicely explained LL as well, I can see PMP at work already. I am sure your explanation will help several who are aspiring for the exam..like myself.

obaidurehman

Thu, 11/28/2013 - 17:19

Thanks for the kind words Aftab.

tgol

Fri, 11/29/2013 - 07:05

Hi obaid;

You right I found already fast track v8 but there is a problem to activate. I am trying nearly 1.5 weeks to search and this is waste of time in this preperation. Because of this I asked you. Because of your explanations I think you have all. And if you want to help us we will happy. You don't need send with e-mail you can send with any sharing platform or just put your dropbox.

 

Thank you.

obaidurehman

Fri, 11/29/2013 - 21:39

Tgol

Pls check your email

Regards

Obaid

 

 

dan078

Mon, 12/02/2013 - 08:24