Thankfully, I passed the PMP exam on my first attempt. I have taken other certification exams before but they were mostly open book and because the PMP exam is a closed book exam, it tends to intimidate most folks. Frankly it was not as difficult as I had thought it would be but, but maybe it’s because I had over-prepared for it hearing about the difficulty level. I do see a great value in having a PMP Certification and especially if you work with State and Federal Government, you become part of the inner circle and that goes a long way.

As per my responsibility as a good Project Manager, I am sharing my Lessons Learned and how I prepared for the exam below:

1. I spent a couple of months seriously preparing for the exam, although these two months of actual study time were spread over several months due to work schedule, travel, etc.

2. I read the PMBOK completely once and although it can be a dry subject, this book has a wealth of information and prepares your mind to understand the concept of what PMI believes to be Project Management. Read the Appendix F summary and the Definitions in the Glossary.

3. The ESI and Rita Rita Mulcahy study material is where you learn the actual details of the text-based material in PMI’s PMBOK. I would recommend working through the chapter quizzes and problems in these books to learn the math in the Cost and Risk knowledge areas.

4. The Earned Value problems are easy and you need to memorize the formulas for sure.

5. You need to understand the basic concepts, knowledge areas, process groups and the Mapping to know by reading the question where you are in the project at any particular point. There is no need to memorize all of the ITTO’s but you need to know the important ones.

6. Review Andy Crowe’s PMP Quick Reference guide regularly as it is a quick summary of the PMBOK.

7. Take advantage of the free simulation exams on PMstudy and PMBootCamp and these two hour exams will prepare you well for the exam.

8. Everyone has their unique study habits that suit the way they learn, so plan your strategy to the exam well in advance and cover all the material in a reasonable amount of time to absorb the material and make sense of it.

Lastly, take it seriously as it is not an easy exam and along the way to successfully passing the exam you will, at a minimum learn a lot about Project Management. Good luck!