Passed today - 3 P and 2 MP

Submitted by Pcharlotte on Sun, 12/16/2012 - 06:22

I am happy to report I cleared my PMP today. Thanks to god!!

PMzilla has been a great community offering suggestions and support. Thank you PMZilla and its members for their valuable contribution and moral support

3P 2 MP

Exam

Was neither hard nor easy

No questions that tested your comprehension/english skills like using double negatives "Not unknown"

If I have to compare it, PMStudy was reasonably close

Lots of short questions. Most questions were a 3 line set up and a 1 line question and 4 choices. Your mileage might vary

Very few long elaborate questions like Rita

10+ Qs on EVM, simple, straightforward, calculations were easy

Risk EMV questions

Few simple network diagrams, nothing major

10+ Qs directly on ITTO. I was surprised by these direct questions but i think I answered most of it.

2 answers were ruled out outright. ended up selecting from the rest 2 answers

What surprised me was that it took me 3 hours and 45 minutes to finish the test. I am used to finishing the sample tests in 2 hours and 30 minutes.

I marked around 35+ questions for review but only had time to check 10-12 of these till the time ran out

Took one 4 minute break after completing round one. Had some quick carbs (banana). Moved around in my seat to get blood flowing to my brain and pointed my finger at the screen to get "into the question"...sounds silly? I know..but i needed to get recharged.:)

(The structure I used was. 1) Which process group am I 2) Is the answer an Input, Output or TT 3) If the question asks for a Tool, eliminate answers with Inputs or Outputs)

Confusing parts: Some questions would have answers like (I am making these up, they are not actual answers) Perform Risk Management or Project Procurement Audit. I did not know if Procurement audit is same as Project Procurement Audit. or Project Quality Audit is same as Quality Audit..etc. Luckily not many questions like these.

The exam is not easy but is not very hard. It does not necessarily test the comprehension of english language. You can clear it with PMBOK + Rita M and as many sample tests as you can take.

In the first 15 minutes, i wrote down some formulas and process chart, but I did not refer to them

Books

After reading LL on PMzilla, i decided on RIta M + PMBOK. I had Kim Heldman's book but I only used it for studying the CLose project/phase process.

Prep:

Round 1 -

Rita M Prep book. Did all the practice tests and scored 72 - 80%. After completing RM prep (without reading PMI), i felt like I "got it". I thought I will advance my test date. I took a 15 question sample test and failed...Reality check.

PMBOK - Read it. Dense and dry.

Round 2

Rita M - This time things made much more sense.

PMBOK

Tests:

Practice tests from headfirst (78%), Oliver Lehmanns (73%) - few weeks before the test

Bunch of other tests on PMI ereads. Good idea to understand PMBOK

Frank Anbari (PMI ereads) test covers PMBOK line for line.

PMStudy test 1- was very hard for me. My first real 4 hour online test.I thought it was tough and I did not do well, but I scored 83%

PMStudy test 2 - Looked very easy. felt confident. Scored 82% (less than the first test). I don't know if this says something about the test or me :)

PMStudy test 3 - Wanted to do this as fast as possible without reviewing any marked questions. scored 78%. completed in 2 hours 10 minutes

Did not take PMstudy4 - Did not have time. was facing crazy deadlines at work and minor health issues.

PMforSure free test: I scored 68% or so. Failed. This was 4 days before the exam. I was frustrated with the phrasing of the questions. I felt the grammar/syntax was off and questions purposely vague.

My experience. Not meant as an advice.

I memorized the process chart. It is very easy to do.

I did not memorize ITTO. I just understood what comes out what process. I did NOT master this. I had a decent idea. I was surprised by the number of direct ITTO related questions. But I am confident I answered most of them right.

Both Rita and PMBOK are a must. If you read only Rita, you won't understand the concepts purely in terms of Input, Tools/Tech and Output. (this is my experience. Your mileage may vary).

It is a good idea of think in terms of I TT O. What goes in to the process, what comes out, what tools to use.

I was getting very analytical about the test questions. I was trying to find patterns in the questions while I was taking tests. I would suggest looking at the questions as-is and see 1. Where are you in the process group 2. is the question asking for an input, output or TT

In my professional life, I have a fair amount of experience conducting procurements and bidding on projects, responding to RFPs etc. Procurement was easy for me, but the practices I have followed are not necessarily by the book. Another poster here had made this point. If a vendor of mine is late with a report, I usually call him/her and ask for it. If the vendor is late multiple times, then I might call his boss and then initiate the contract provisions. However, as per PMBOK, you are supposed to immediately invoke the contract. My point here is that you must understand the PMBOK way, not your way of doing it.

After I completed round-1 of my studies, i was visting PMZilla every day and trying to compile a list of free tests. For an entire week, I was busy studying but was highly inefficient by spending few hours on some site brushing up on ITTO, few hours on some other site doing something else. I was not working smart.

If I were doing this again, I will read Rita + PMBOK, take a sample 4 hour test just to know what to expect, Read RITA + PMBOK again, Take 3-4 tests as a baseline and read PMBOK to brush up on the weak areas and take PMStudy

Day before the test:

I felt confident that I had covered the entire material. I had enough knowledge to give an hour long lecture on PMBOK but I was extremely stressed about the test. I never felt 100% confident that I would clear the exam. Of course, I am glad I did.

Thanks again everyone. I wish you all the best with your preparations!!!! You can clear it. It is not hard!!!

Prak

Forums:

PMP Exam Tips, Tricks and Lessons Learnt.

freaspmp (not verified)

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 16:35

Permalink

Cogrates for your PMP

Congates for your gret success. LL is very expressive.

Pls guide me I am preparing for the same

1. Read PMBOK 1time

2. Read Rita 7 1 Time

3. Fastrack 7 PMP-76%, Chapter tests 65%-85%

4. Simplitearn- 73.71%

5. Memorise ITTO about 70%

6. Read 6 Hrs daily (Planning for Kim, Andy Crowe)

So tell me how to plan if I want to appear on 3rd week of January.

Awaiting reply

Monoj

Pcharlotte

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 17:49

Permalink

MonojGood luck with your

Monoj

Good luck with your test. My learning style might be different than yours but based on your test scores, i feel you are doing good after round1.

My only suggestion is to read Rita + PMBOK cover to cover one more time and then continue with 4 hour tests. At this point, you can figure out your weak areas and start concentrating on these. Things made much more sense to me on the second and third round.

Since you have time, it will be a good idea to read up the "text-book definition" of Inputs, Outputs from PMBOK. For example, "Requirements Traceability Matrix" - You can look up PMBOK glossary or search the PDF version of PMBOK to understand what this is. The exam might not refer to these by their actual names but by what they contain.

You can take as many sample tests as you can find after you are done with your round 2 of your studies.

Good luck