Hi Everyone,

I have been a silent member of this forum and the Lessons Learned from others really helped me organize my study plan so I figured I would chime in with my own LL.  Now the process I took won't work for everyone and I don't think any one lesson learned will apply to everyone so take all this in combination with what others have said before as well.

I registered for the PMP exam back in January 2013.  At this point the PMBOK was still in the 4th edition and I wanted to get the test completed before the exam changed in July.  I purchased Rita's book on recommendation from forums and I began my preparation.  However life got in the way and I did not end up taking the exam before it changed.  So I was back at looking up a new study material to start preparing again.  I decided to get new material because I didn't get much studying in with the old stuff so it didn't really affect me that much to start from the beginning.  Plus it gave me some comfort knowing the new study material will cover the changes to the exam and I wouldn't have to worry about jumping back and forth between materials trying to see what changed.  I was thinking of ordering the Rita book again however it was quite expensive and it was sold out anyways at the time so I looked for something else.  The book I settled on was the PMP Certification for Dummies 2nd Edition (http://www.amazon.ca/PMP-Certification-All---One-Dummies/dp/1118540123/r...).  Yes you read that right! I purchased a Dummies book for the PMP exam!  It was a bit of a gamble but I read some reviews and they comforted me.  Plus it was fairly cheap, under $40.  

With the book in hand I decided to jump in.  I decided against taking a prep course because I always performed better with self study plus it saved me some cash.  I had taken a Project Management course back in University years ago when PMBOK 3rd edition was in use, and PMI stated that I could still use that as my education requirement.  I also purchased a PMI membership because it worked out to be cheaper to write the exam if you were a member, even taking membership costs into account!  I started studying in the summer again but kept getting side tracked due to work and my social life.  However I eventually started to study properly at the beginning of November 2013.   As my scheduled exam dates crept closer, I didn't feel ready so I kept deferring the exam over and over until the only day I could defer it to was the last day of my membership expiration, Jan.24.2014!  Now the date was set and I didn't have the option of failing and rewriting.  However,  I put the pressure on myself, I really should have been more diligent in my study plan and planned ahead better, so I told myself to suck it up.

I exclusively used the PMP for Dummies book and didn't really read the PMBOK at all.  I read through this book 2 times and tried a few of the chapter end questions here and there.  I only used the free PMBOK 5th edition digital guide that comes with your PMI membership to quickly look up definitions I needed a  refresher on by using "CTRL+F" and searching for the term.  Two weeks before my exam, I purchased the PM Study Exams.  I completed 3 out of the four tests and averaged about 69% on them.  I didn't have time to finish the last one.  Actually I did have the day before the exam free but I wanted that day to be a day of rest.

On the day of the exam I got to the exam location an hour early and they allowed me to start my test a half an hour early at 8:30am.  I had to pay for parking and they only took cash so make sure you take some money with you to save you from running around looking for a bank. Make sure you leave your watch and jewelry at home.  It will just be a hassle for you to take them off and you risk losing them.  I also left my phone in my car as I didn't want to risk it going off and getting me in trouble.  

At my seat  I used the headphones they provided to block out any distractions.  When the exam tutorial started I immediately jotted down the process group/knowledge area map and also some of the formulas I had memorized.  I didn't even bother memorizing the ITTO, I just tried to understand their logical relationships.  I know some people think jotting down this stuff is a waste of time and that it won't help you but to be honest you have 15 minutes for the tutorial.  The tutorial can be completed in 2 minutes and if you purchased the PMstudy Exams (not sure whatever other test might be similar, but it was setup pretty much exactly like the actual exam) you can finish the tutorial even quicker.  So might as well jot down stuff that might put your mind at ease during the exam.  I actually referred back to the formulas once in a while, not that I didn't know them but during some questions you start double guessing yourself and the written down information really helped.  Another benefit of jotting down stuff before the exam is that it gives you a little bit of a confidence boost knowing that you just brain dumped everything correctly.  That gives you a little bit of confidence, at least it did for me.

If you took any of the PMstudy tests the exam is structured the exact same way.  In fact the PMstudy questions were VERY MUCH more difficult than the actual exam, so I felt really relaxed going through the questions.  

I had quite a few EVM calculations, about 2 CPM diagram questions, 2-3 communication channel questions, maybe 2-3 simple definition  ITTO questions and pretty much 90% of the test was situational based.  I like situational questions personally because you can easily eliminate incorrect answers if you understand what your being asked.  For almost all questions, 2 of the answers could be easily eliminated, leaving you with only two options to choose from. However I did have a small handful of questions, where all answers could be correct but you had to pick the BEST one.  ALWAYS read the question carefully.  That was one of my downfalls during the practice exams which I corrected for the final.  Even when I was reviewing the incorrect questions during the practice tests, I would be like, this exam must have gotten it wrong, my answer was surely right.  However after carefully reading the question I understood why I was wrong.  Also for long questions, start with the last statement first to see what the question requires and then read the whole thing.  For a few questions, they had fairly lengthy body statements but after reading the final statement you could completely ignore the body and answer the question as it's all fluff.  But that won't be the case for the majority of them, you have to use your own best judgement.  Majority of the EVM questions were straight forward however about 4 of them required you to convert the inputs to the formulas and some also had fluff values to throw you off.  Once again READ carefully!

After I had gone through all the questions I had about 25 marked for review and had about 30 mins left.  I started to review half of the marked ones but I started to second guess myself a lot when doing so.  I thought to myself, usually your first guess is the most correct one and I didn't want to shoot myself in the foot by changing the answers to the questions and getting it wrong so I just reviewed the calculations and  bit the bullet and hit submit.  Then comes the survey.  I got to tell you, whenever others said this was the most nerve-racking part, they really meant it.  I was so nervous to get to the final screen and see my result.  After finishing the survey the screen went blank for a few seconds and I couldn't bring myself to look at the screen.  But eventually I did and saw the words "Congratulations".  I let out a huge sigh of relief and didn't even read what else was on the screen.  However once I got my printout I saw that I got 4P's and 1 MP, which was in Initiating of all places!

All in all it was a stressful journey and at many points I was telling my wife I didn't want to continue but she supported me all the way.  I couldn't have done it without her.  I think with the right moral support and preparation, anyone can obtain this designation.

Here is a Summary of the above:

Materials Used:

1) PMP Certification for Dummies 2nd Edition by Cynthia Synder - Awesome book.  Really well laid out and easy to follow.  I found this book to be much easier to read then the Rita book and it was my only study source other then the below practice tests.

2) PMStudy Tests-  I purchased all 4 tests but only completed the first 3.  I scored 68% on Test 1, 70% on Test 2 and 69% on Test 3.  These tests were much harder than the exam and are extremely close to the actual exam questions structure.   A lot of people say this is the closest you will get to the real questions and I would have to agree.  It also is administrated in the same way as the actual exam so it makes you comfortable with it.  I would make this a mandatory buy in my opinion.  A relative bargain at $60USD.

3) PMBOK guide 5th edition - I honestly didn't even read this.  This is the most dull book I have ever had to look at.  I only used it as a spot reference for definitions I need a quick refresher on. 

Preparation:

I read the PMP for Dummies book twice , did a small amount of sample questions from the book and went straight into the PMstudy test.

I also memorized the process groups and knowledge areas and key formulas.

I didn't memorize ITTO's and didn't attempt to.  Just understood how the major ones flowed between the others.

Also I wouldn't let people scare you into thinking it's an impossibly tough exam.  As long as you prepare well you will be fine.  I highly recommend not reading to many forum posts or online sources that say you should read 100 books and do 50 practice tests.   I mean if that what you want to do then do it but I think it really is a case of quality over quantity for this test.

Day before the Exam:

1) DON'T STUDY!  At this point you should already know everything you need to.  Have a relaxing evening, watch a movie or play a video game and have a good night's sleep.  I think this really contributed to my success.  If I had tried to study all the way to the end, I think I would have double guessed myself on what I knew and would have been thrown off for the exam.  

2) Make sure you have your ID's, money  (I'll explain below) and all necessary documents ready to go so all you have to do is grab and go the day of.  You don't want to be scrambling the morning of the exam. 

Day of the Exam:

1) Get to the location early so you're not stressed in traffic if you are cutting it close to your exam time.

2) Bring money for parking, just in case.  I had to pay for parking at the centre and if I didn't have cash I would have to scramble to find a banking machine.

3) At the exam desk, use the tutorial time to do a brain dump.  It gives you a boost of confidence and you never know if you might have a mental block at some point in the exam and having the notes just might get you out of it.

4) Relax, take a deep breath and start the exam.  If you took the PMstudy tests, just treat this test like another practice test.  That's what I did and it helped me to relax.

5) I didn't take a break for the entire exam but everyone's different so if you know you need a break in-between, plan accordingly, the clock doesn't stop.

6) READ the questions carefully.  For long questions read the last statement to see what it is asking.  In some cases just reading the last statement was enough to answer the question.  Mark calculation questions for review and a the end of the exam make sure you review them for easy marks.

 7) PASS and come here to post your success.

I know my method might not work for everybody but I do hope it helps some of you prepare for this exam.  If anyone has any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you everyone for all your help during my journey!  Cheers!