I cleared my PMP exam yesterday on 8^th August 2011.

As I learned many aspects of PMP from this site and I think now its my turn to provide my Lessons Learned for others to get benefit from it.

My Background is Oil&Gas and Petrochemical Projects and I am working already on large scale projects around 500 to 600 million Dollars. Most of the project management applications are already followed on the projects which really helped me to understand the book.

I came to know in May that PMI is going to change the exam on 31^st of August so I thought to do it before the exam change and I applied for the exam Mid of May 2011. After about 1 week my application was approved and PMI asked me to schedule the exam. Scheduled the exam for 8^th of August and given myself a challenging 2 months and 10 days for preparation as I want to do it before the exam change.

Available Resources:

All of the resources were taken form Internet without paying anything and no paid exam was given on the internet as well.

1-     

PMBOK Guide 4^th Edition

2-     

Rita Mulcahy 6^th Edition

3-     

PM Fast Track Software

4-     

Kim Heldman 5^th Edition

5-     

Sybex Software

Study Plan:

I started with PMBOK Guide. It gave me a good framework to remember each knowledge area and each process by Input outputs and tools and techniques. I will advise others as well to start with PMBOK to have a basic framework in their mind. Page 43 should always be in your mind map. Try to remember where the outputs are going from Data Flow Diagram in PMBOK, it will provide you sequence of processes which is necessary to solve the questions in Final Test and also by this way you don’t need to remember the inputs and outputs by Rote Memorization. Key point, don’t try to remember all ITTO on your first pass of the book, try as many as you can but don’t put it on your head and complete the book like that.

After completion of each chapter from PMBOK, I was testing myself with the questions given at the end of Rita Book without reading Rita Book at that time. I was scoring about 70 to 80%. After completion of PMBOK, I started Rita Book and after completion of each topic from Rita, the corresponding topic from PMBOK was also reviewed so I was studying parallel. As Rita book does not provide a framework of processes by ITTO, so its better to keep a framework of PMBOK in your mind always but get the additional stuff from Rita for the corresponding processes. After completion of each chapter from Rita, solved around 50 to 60 question by Knowledge Area from PM Fast Track. (Scoring about 75 to 85%).

After completion of Rita Book and PMBOK, 3 to 4 days are given just to remember how the processes are interacting with each other and to memorize the tools and techniques. The best way is to make logic from Data Flow Diagrams in PMBOK. Try to remember Inputs and Outputs by this way and tools and techniques you have to remember but always think why this tool and technique is giving benefit or necessary to this process. In the end, I had some logic and memorization of ITTO but 100% rote memorization was not there at the time of Exam.

After that all the questions were solved from Kim Heldman book including initial 70 questions. (Scoring about 65-75%) The specific material only which leads the answer incorrect was studies from Kim Heldman. Its good to pick your gaps but question format of Kim Heldman has nothing to do with the real exam.

Further tests were given on PM Fast Track by Process Area wise (80 to 100 Questions – Scoring 80% above). Reviewed all the flash cards provided by Sybex (Kim Heldman) and PMP Exam of 75 Questions was given on Sybex Software.

Gave an exam on the internet for Oliverlehmann for 75 questions and scored only 57%. Apart from some questions which were wrong from my side, the other questions were ambiguous and having no clue to PMBOK. Almost no benifit of doing this exam.

Gave an exam for Head First on the internet for 75 questions and scored about 86%. Head First Questions format is more likely on the exam and those questions dont have ambiguity and good preparation for the exam. After that I gave exam on PM Fast Track for complete PMP (200 Questions) and scored about 82% (But at this point, many questions were repeating and the answers were known to me). That was the only exam which I gave for 200 Questions. Skipped the super PMP Exam in Fast Track because I learned from the experiences of People from PMZilla that its not worth taking as the questions are very long and real exam does not have such long questions (It was right decision).

Before 2 days to exam, Rita book was finally studied in fast track which really helped me a lot and complete rest was taken day before the exam.

The Exam:

The exam was not easy but not difficult as well. The person who studied about 2 months and at least have done something which is illustrated above should pass the exam. Most of the questions were single line and 2 to 3 lines and the option to exclude the wrong ones was easy. Some questions were tricky but those who have studied well should not be a problem and some questions were real disaster because you cannot pick any answer for that. I was very watchful at the beginning about half an hour and hence very slow as well then I thought to pick a little bit speed. Took my first break after 100 questions, time remaining was 2 hr 15 mins. Completed my 200 questions when time remaining was 35 mins. Reviewed all the marked questions and changed the answers for few of them. After the reviewed questions are gone, started to check all others but time left was only 10 mins and before it gave me a message that you are run out of time, I clicked on End Button to end the exam. I was almost 95% sure that I have done it. Completed the survey and then the screen appears that you have Passed with 2 areas as Proficient and 4 as Moderately Proficient.  Hurrrrrrrreeeee. All my efforts and hard work was rewarded and thanks to Almighty Allah for the successful completion of PMP Exam in such a short time.

Any further question or clarification is welcomed.

Imran