Date with PMP - 22Sep11

Submitted by karthik_1505 on Thu, 09/22/2011 - 10:12

Friends

I want to thank the help this forum offered me while preparing for PMP.

Today I took the PMP exam in the morning. Though I have to wait for another 2-4 weeks for the result, I feel quite confident, lets see.

Will share my experience.

Karthik

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jcp1

Thu, 09/22/2011 - 17:28

Did you study from rita PMP 6th edition or 7th? I'm studying from andy crow 4th edition, rita 6th edition and pmbok 4th edition.Is it sufficient for new pattern?

karthik_1505

Mon, 09/26/2011 - 10:29

I studied from Rita 6th Edition. Not from 7th edition, because it appears there is not much change (courtesy - Amazon book review). Also 7th edition is not from Rita Mulcahy.


I read from PMBOK (once) Rita 6th Ed (once) headfirst (few chapters) & Andy Crowe (once)


Started with Headfirst then PMBOK then Rita finally Andy crowe.Took all (almost all) the exercises, if I am reading a particular chapter. This seems to be very important.


Full Exam : Rita Fasttrack, PMStudy, OL (75 Questions)


P.S: My final PMP exam aligned more with PMStudy exam than Rita.


Lessons learnt : Could have spent more time in self-evaluating PG/KA wise in Fasttrack. This appears to be a good tool to specifially address one PG/KA, if you know where your strength & weaknesses are.


 

hemantvirkar

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 10:47

 Hi Karthik,

All the best wishes for your results. Can you please share your experience on the test pattern.

How were the questions, there level of difficulty, how was the social responsibility questions were integrated with all other knowledge areas.since there was a change after 31st aug.

Which mock test you practice. 

Regards,

Hemant

 

ShivaB

Sun, 09/25/2011 - 01:33

 Hi Karthik,

All the Best.  I am planning to start my preparation soon.  When did you start your preparation and when did you submit your application for the exam?  

Thanks,

Shiva

karthik_1505

Mon, 09/26/2011 - 12:48

The real PMP questions were more like PMStudy questions. But I found Rita's questions very useful as well, since it gave me better understanding and prepares for the tougher questions.


wrt preparation, took all the questions from each chapters from PMBOK, Rita, Andy. To me this helps more than the Full Mock exams. Mock exams should be used to practice time management of 4 hours, implementing Test strategy (from Andy Crowe), to capture if there is any gap in your knowledge and how to understand/respond to questions that are juggled in KA/PG (this you will not experience it while taking end of the chapter questions)


Most importantly, I did not find significant difference wrt the new format. May be Others will.


All the Best

Gomati

Tue, 09/27/2011 - 05:23

Hi Karthik, All the Best for the results and thanks for sharing your experience.

Did you have time to review all the marked questions and did you use all the 4 hrs ? 

I always face this problem in mock exams as I tend to spend more time on the first 2 hrs or so and finally have to hurry up with the remaining part to finish the exam ( esp last 50 questions). I end up having very less time to review. I realize I need to improve timing :-( 

karthik_1505

Tue, 09/27/2011 - 09:17

Hi Gomati


Thanks. I understand your problem. You are on the same boat as I.


When I started taking Mock exams time management was one of my biggest issue. There are few guys (& gals) who complete the exam in 2.5 - 3 hours. But never once I was able to achieve that kind of speed. But different individuals have different skills, so as long as I am able to finish within 4 hours I am good.


Some of the tips below may help you (though I din't become an expert on all these, I tried to use these)


1. When you start off, do only the easiest questions, you will be able to complete 70-75 questions within 45 minutes. It is a motivator when you realize you have completed half the exam in quarter of a time.


2. When you are struck at any particular question, mark the tentative answer and move on, don't spend more than a 1-2 mins per question, you will have time to review these questions later.


3. On big/long questions, try to read the last sentence first to seek what is being asked, that helps you give a perception while reading the question. It always worked for me. (Andy crowe's tip)


4. Sometimes you will get clues to your answers from questions asked later. Another reason to follow point 2.


5. Some big questions & complex calculations you have to skip them for later.


6. Attend the skipped questions first, Marked questions next and then if time permits all the questions.


In the real exam, when I was done with answering Skipped question (20) and revised all the Marked question (arnd 40), I had only 2 mins left. 


All the best.

karthik_1505

Fri, 10/07/2011 - 17:35

I have done it!!!!

Got a mail just now from PMI that says ' Congatulations, you have obtained PMP'

What a nice feeling, I couldn't believe my eyes, because I wasn't expecting the mail

I like to thank my wife very much!!

I didn't check any other forum, but PMZILLA, Thank you Guys!!!

All the best to PMPaspirants!!!

TheWaitingGame

Fri, 10/07/2011 - 17:42

Grats karthik. I took my exam on the 3rd of October and am still waiting for the score. Can you share the details of your score report?

karthik_1505

Sat, 10/08/2011 - 04:13

Thanks Waitinggame. This is how my pattern was.

Initiating the Project - Proficient

Planning the Project - Moderately Proficient

Executing the Project - Moderately Proficient

Monitoring and Controlling the Project - Proficient

Closing the Project-  Moderately Proficient

I think one has to score atleast one proficient in Planning, Executing or M&C.

 

All the best

TheWaitingGame

Sat, 10/08/2011 - 15:56

Thanks for sharing sir. According to PMI some of us wont have our score until the end of next week!

karthik_1505

Sat, 10/08/2011 - 18:04

Hi Waiting game and Others

You will be very interested to know one of my friends passed the exam with the proficient pattern below.

Initiation - Proficient

Planning - Moderately Proficient

Execution - Moderately Proficient

Monitoring/Control - Proficient

Closing - Below Proficient

I stand corrected to my post earlier, I feel that even if you score Below proficient in Initiation or Closing, You have a chance to Pass if you have one or two Proficient in the Planning, Executing or M&C.

PMP Aspirants, Pl concentrate on these 3 PGs, Rita's fast track provides the option of taking a certain PG related questions. That should help a lot in improving weaker areas. All the best.

Karthik