I just took the PMI Exam and passed on first try. I arrived home and the first thing I've done was to write my fresh memories of the exam and my recommendations so I can help others to pass as well.

Do create your one page sheet with the most difficult things you need to remember. Formulas, processes, whatever is difficult for YOU to remember. The most difficult for me were: Change and closing processes order and where Scope, Schedule and Cost baselines are inputs. I also wrote down all the formulas but I knew all of them by heart. Hint: most of Earned value formulas starts with EV, so for example: Cost Variance: EV – AC Schedule Variance EV- PV, and it goes on. Have that in mind when you try to memorize the formulas.

Don’t buy the http://www.pm-exam-simulator.com/questions (link is external) are too easy compared to real test. I’ve bought this simulator for 99 dollars and I wouldn’t do it again. I did not use all the exams they provide because I realized they were too easy.

Practice lots of questions and study why you have selected the wrong answers! Don’t just take tests, you need to understand why you’ve selected the wrong option in order to select it right answer next time.

Go for www.oliverlehmann.com (link is external) and his recommended difficult questions, if you have the budget buy Rita’s Fast Track as it is the closest I got from the real exam, Head First tests, Christopher Scordo (link is external) book with questions. These are good resources for practicing. I also downloaded some apps in my IPhone so I was always answering questions during the day for example at manicure. YEAP you need to practice a lot of questions!

I’ve though the questions would be wordier and longer than they actually were, so if you are not a native English speaker like me, but you are fluent in English you don’t need to worry about it.  Just read the questions carefully. I took the test in English and not in Portuguese because my studying materials were in English.

I’ve started to answer my questions by reading the answers, then reading the questions at the end, than reading the entire question. Do eliminate the obvious wrong answer prior to think about the correct one.

You won’t have a lot of time to review questions. I had 10 minutes to review mine, so try to select at least one best answer and move to the next question without regret. During my review time as I did not had a strong reason to chance any of my answers I just reviewed 6 or 7 questions without changing the answer.

No questions with EXCEPT, so most of the questions were straightforward, I just needed to select the correct answers.

I’ve studied the PMBOK 5^th Edition once, it is very boring, but it is what the test requires. You should read it carefully and taking notes if this is your preferred way of studying. Select the way you learn better and stick to it.  

I’ve studied some chapters of Rita, not the entire book, some chapters more than once to get a better understanding.

Memorize the planning order in Rita’s planning chart. Play the cards and you will remember them.

No questions on how to calculate contract prices, but I do recommend two youtube videos that describes how to do it very well – search for Aileen Ellis (link is external) in youtube.

LESSONS LEARNED

I would start with Rita if I could start the studying from the beginning, than one time PMBOK and one more time Rita. You don’t need more books than these two to pass the exam.

I would take at least 3 months to study regularly and daily to avoid be stressed close to the exam. I really studied only one month and I was not feeling secure to take the test.

Plan ahead and you will feel a lot more confident. However if you are already close to the test date, use the time you have wisely. Don’t panic, try to learn a new thing or review one thing focusing on what you are learning. Yes, it could be overwhelming as it is a lot of content but the most important thing is that you use your available time to actually LEARN something instead of staying jumping around summaries.

HINTS AND TIPS

Do memorize the Communication channels formula n(n-1)/2 don’t use Rita’s approach of drawing, it can be risky if you have 12 or more communication channels and have to draw the added ones. Questions regarding that can be tricky because you need to verify if the project manager is already considered in the stakeholder number provided. Be aware of that when you face these questions. One of the questions today informed, the number of the stakeholders for group A, other number for group B, and the last information was informing group C has 10 communication channels, and the question asked for the total number of communication channels. Read these questions carefully.

Control chart questions - read Rita's explanation to make sure you understand how to analyze a control chart. The questions were to say if the project was or not out of control, rule of seven, simple questions if you understand the control chart.

Critical path question – very simple questions, take the time to draw the diagram and calculate forward and backward path and you will answer them correctly. One question was asking which activity not in critical path had the biggest float to allow you move resources from this activity to a critical path one. The answer was activity F, I remember but please do the calculations if you face this question as they may change the correct option.

Multiple questions regarding what type of contract should you select by situation – study Rita to get to know risks and what contracts are used in which situation. I had a summary on what risks are greater for the buyer and for the seller in order ( read more details below), they did helped me a little, but it is better to really understand the situations each type of contract should be used.

Simple calculations for CPI and SPI, EAC, and ETC. Don’t expect to need a lot of math. Not a single question of Present Value, Future Value, Net Present Value or depreciation. Your BAC is 10 and your AC is 7 what you can calculate based on that? Answer I’ve chosen was Remaining Funding.

One question regarding what kind of distribution curve should I use if you do not have uncertainty or probability information available, the options were, normal, beta, triangular, and other I don’t remember. I’ve chosen Normal distribution.

Also I did not get questions on Professional Responsibility. If you work in multinational company this kind of understanding is intrinsic so no need for studying. Just read this part once.

Project passed though issues and corrective actions were taken, you are in project closure, where you should document these information, I’ve selected Lessons learned.

A complex critical path diagram is shown and the questions is simple, what is the float of critical path, the answer is zero and no calculation is required.

Question to choose what mitigation risk to choose based on impact, cost of impact and cost of mitigation, simple calculation required.

Question – what is the theory an organization uses if they have control of entry time and leaving time of employees buy a card, the answer I’ve chosen was Theory X.

Questions regarding difference between Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Memorize where WBS is an input as one of the questions asked that indirectly.

You just finished your schedule and now your team is working to develop a report on major deliverables, what are they working on? I’ve answered milestone chart, the other options were WBS and I don’t remember the other two.

The project management plan documents how to: the project is executed, monitored and controlled. Page 74. Don't include initiating and planning as part of your answer!

Many questions regarding managing changes, I strongly recommend that you understand and memorize the steps for handling changes and closing process that is available in Rita's book, do make sure they are include in your “one page” document you will write down in the beginning of the exam.

Questions regarding what kind of organization you are: balanced, strong matrix, weak matrix, projectized, functional. I don't remember the exact question but please do study that.

Memorize ITTOS for Quality Assurance, Control Quality, Develop Project Charter (what is part of the business case?).

ONLY READ THIS AFTER YOU READ ONCE THE PMBOK

I could memorize all the processes, now it looks very hard to you I know, but there is a way to do it. After reading Rita and PMBOK once read the explanation below and it will make sense.

Start with the planning ones which are the most difficult, most of them starts a plan for the knowledge area, for exam Plan Risk Management.

Them you need to come with a word that helps you to memorize this sequence

CDC – I’ve chosen CADUCA which means crazy in Portuguese, pick the word that works for you.

DSEED - I’ve remember D and SEED from the plant - seed. Pick any sentence or word that makes more sense to you.

ED – I’ve remember Ed Motta who is a Brazilian singer, you may pick Ed Murphy to remember ED.

IQQP – this one I think the way the letters are together reminds me a sun glass, so as I wear glasses I remember this sequence as a glass. It is not a mnemonic it is more visual. Pick whatever relationship it works for you to remember the order. I am just sharing mine.

OK you have now the Planning processes Mapped. You may look to this video to understand better

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLo3kWrHBSk (link is external), or look for Richard Krainers in youtube.

Once you have the Planning ones mapped, Initiating and Closing are very easy to remember as you study.  The last thing is to remember the executing ones, with the Planning processes listed you will naturally remember the executing ones as they are the sequence. Don’t try to memorize when you start studying just after reading Rita and PMBOK once. When you finish reading PMBOK once, and if you do it carefully I bet you will be able to map all processes and include them in order in your “one page” sheet.

I did a fun mnemonic to memorize type of contracts and risks associated in sequence, that may not make sense for most of you but here it goes. Don’t bother to read this now if you just started studying.

CPCP you know is the most risky for buyers you need to remember this one, just the last two letters CP.

Than FIFI, AF, IF as it sound funny I could remember so, here you go

CP

CPFiFi

CPAF

CPIF

I already covered all the Cost Reimbursable types of contracts, now you need to memorize after IF goes

TM – time and materials

FPEAP – there is cartoon that the name is similar, PEPA, so I used this name to memorize. Than you need to memorize that FP contracts don’t have an FIFI, only AF and IF. So there is goes:

FPAF

FPIF

FP

For the most risk to the buyer to the least risky, CPCP, CPFF, CPAF, CPIF, TM, FPEAP, FPAF, FPIF, FP.

Please leave your comments. Thank you,