Passed PMP in 3rd attempt.

1st attempt: Didnt prepare much just went and wrote the exam, earned 3 moderate proficient and 2 below proficient.  well not to blame i didnt take this exam so seriouly, thought having a bachelor + masters in computers + 15+ of IT experience and around  5 years project management experience would help me clear the exam, found a big shock in the exam.

2nd attempt: Did the theory part well but failed in the math questions. again i should have prepared well. 

3rd attempt: Passed in July 2013.

Things i did this time to pass.

Used the pdf version of PMBOK and prepared very seriously for around 2 weeks. This time,  I had a note book to take notes on whatever I studied.  I read each and everyline on PMBOK book, I think I read the pmbok around 4 times.  

Day 1 :  I memorised page 43 the whole master page. and then at the end of the day. I was able to remember the whole chart. I was proficient to write the whole page in abbrevation mode in less than 3 minutess. ( time taken approximately 6 hours)

Day 2 :  Did the same with the formula's, at the end of the day i was able to remember the following formulas CV, CPI, SV, SPI, ETC, EAC, TCPI, PTA, CBR, BCR, Depreciation, Present Value,  values for 1sigma, 2 sigma, 3sigma, 6 sigma,  rough order of magnitude, preliminary estimate, budget estimate, defintive estimate, final estimate,  three point estimate, SD, variance,  ES, EF, Duration, free float, total float etc. i just memorised it and was able to write these formulas in less than 10 minutes without any issues.

Day 3 to Day 6: i took a print out of the pages. 73, 104, 131, 167, 191, 217, 244, 274,  314 ( print of 9 KArea)  Took one page at a time and read it many times, came up with the question to myself why this is used for input and why that tool was used for output. i didnt concentrate on the output, just input and tools, i was pretty sure i will remember the output slowly. When i was preparing the tools i wrote notes on a notebook on each and every tool in my own words in few easy to remember ways. for example. interviews = 1 on 1. Focus group = SME's expectations and attitudes using trained moderator. Facilitated Workshop: Cross functional experts.  Brainstrom=Strom the brain with multiple ideas related to project. Nominal group tech = Voting + Brainstroming, Delphi=Anonymous, No bias, questionnaire. maintained by a facilitator. etc etc for idea/mind mapping, affinity diagram, unanimity, Majority, plurality, dictorship, questionaire, observation, prototype, product analysis, alternative identification, decomposition, roll wave planning, templates, expert judgement, ....... cost of quality, benchmarking  etc etc.     This tools and technique questions was very easy on the exam for me since I prepared it very well. SO AT the end of DAY 6, I was able to write all the above mentioned pages (9 KA) with missing only 5 items.

Day 7. to Day 13: Read PMBOK cover to cover. First Time cover to cover read 3.5 days.  i read this very slowly so i understood all the topics. Also since i was using the editable pdf version, i highlighted the important things on the pdf itself and also added my own understanding on the PMBOK itself.  by now i was very good with solid knowledge.   I took notes on key topics like  rollwave planning, product scope, project scope, accuracy, precision and also concentrated on all the pictures on pmbok, like cost of quality, RACI matrix, Control chart, pareto chart, cause and effect diagram, scatter diagram, power intrest grid. decision tree diagram,  Earned a solid understanding on forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning, avoding/widhdrawing, compromising, smoothing, forcing, collabrating, confrontation/problem solving.    different kinds of contract types. strategies -ve : Avoid, Transfer, Mitigate, Accept -ve Exploit, share, Enhance, Accept.  Got solid understanding on Critical path method.

On day 14; I FELT I KNEW EVERYTHING INCLUDING THE GLOSSARY. :)

On day 15th: I bought 2, 200 questions set from online to see where i was and found that i scored around 80%. i found that i was week in some maths, once mistake i did was 'NOT USING CALCULATOR". so I got few questions wrong because of that where i messed up the calculations myself (BEWARE YOU NEED TO USE CALCULATOR IN THE EXAM AND NOT USE YOUR MATH BRAIN). i practised lot of questions online and was good in that area too.

for the next 3 days. i revised everying.  formulas, tools key definitions. was very confident that i will pass :) WENT FOR THE EXAM THINKING I WILL SCORE PROFICIENT IN ALL THE AREAS :) LOL KEEP GUESSING MY SCORE.   YES, I AM A PMP NOW. Hard working certificate on my name now.

so if you want to pass in first attempt just follow the above steps you will surely pass. Good Luck and Best wishes.  (note i used rita book for reference where i didnt understand things i referred to Rita)

Good Luck and Best wishes for all future PMP's,   if i can do it YOU CAN ALSO :)

Forgot to mention: Used Rajesh nair notes a lot.  Thank you rajesh for all your hard work, your material was on spot for the revising 2 hours before the exam.