I have passed the PMP exam on 7th May 2012, so thought of sharing Lessons Learned out of my PMP exam preparation experience.

The examination emphasize on testing the applied skills and knowledge of the project manager. Situational questions and answers are structured in such a way that only experience Project Manager can make out the best choice for the given situation. The examination is a kind of litmus test and with the objective to filter out those who does not have relevant experience.

I decided to go for PMP in January this year and opted for the 7th May as an exam date, as my registration was about to expire on 10th May and didn’t really want to take 2nd attempt, so decided to clear the exam in the 1st attempt itself. Actual study I started around late February / early March and put myself on a full throttle during April

My Roadmap to PMP

Week 1 - PMBOK Preface, Glossary, PMBOK - Chapter 1-4

Week 2 - PMBOK - Chapter 5-12 and Appendix A-F,

Week 3 - PMP Exam Prep, Rita M - Chapter 1-5

Week 4 - PMP Exam Prep, Rita M - Chapter 5-13

Week 5 - Quick Revision of all Knowledge Areas using PMBOK

Week 6 - Knowledge area wise Mock Exams, Review answers, Skimmed through PMP Exam Prep, PMBOK

Week 7 - PMP Exam Prep, Rita M - Chapter 14, Skimmed through PMP Exam Prep, PMBOK, Online and offline mock PMP exams. One day of break before appearing for the final exam

Though I feel 7 week is not at all adequate for through preparation, you need minimum around 8-10 weeks based on the experience and time available during weekdays. I stretched long on weekends around 10-12 hours to compensate for starting late.

Read further on "What Not To Do" while preparing for PMP

http://mypmpll.blogspot.in/