IMPORTANT READ IT CARFULLY

I finally passed with a score higher than I expected.

Thanks to everyone for your help during my study.  Here is my "lessons learned" in order to finalize my "PMP certification project".

Preparation~~~~~~~~~~~

I followed the 35 hours course from my local PMI chapter in marsh/april 2003.  I learned a lot of trick there and I don't know I could have passed the exam without it. The last three hours before the exam, I re-read the Powerpoint presentation of this course.

I had a surprise then.  I thought that, after the course, I would only have to study for a couple of weeks and pass the exam.  How wrong I was!!!  Our first teacher told us that we should study between 100 and 150 hours in order to pass. I put the material on the side during summer and really start my study in september.

I submit my application form for the exam in the first week of november via PMI website.  I received my confirmation 4 days later (one of the person who attended the same preparation course as mine has waiting more than 2 months for its confirmation after he sent is application by regular mail).  Lesson: APPLY ONLINE!

In october and november, I studied about 10 hours a week.  In december, I studied an average of 3 hours per day.  My objective: pass the exam before Christmas.

I read the PmBok twice.  The second time, I did "active reading"; while reading, I took many notes in an 80 pages notebook (about 3 pages par chapter).  I also did a big map of all the processes, there inputs and there outputs and the way they interact with each other.  That really really help me understand the PmBok.  Lesson: Do that!

I didn't bought Rita machintruc's book nor any other costly material.  I felt I didn't need any of these.  I think you don't necessarely need them.

My company doesn't have a formal documented framework for project.  So, based on the PMI but adapted to our particular organization, I built one and submited it to the management in place.  That was a hit!  Management likes it a lot and mandated me to continue working on it (part time but it is better than nothing).  I had to explain to them what is "scope management", "earned value management", "risk management" and so forth.  Doing this, I often had to refer to the PmBok.  That also helped me a lot.

I have discover the PMPCert group only three weeks before my exam.  Two great benefits from this discovery.  The first one is that you showed me how to analyze the questions: in which processus are we? 

Do I understand correctly the context of the question?  What do they ask?  That might look basic and simple but I think this is another key for a successful exam.

The other great benefit is TRANDUMPER.  I did a lot of test (somewhere between 2500 and 3000 questions).  That really helped me.  Lesson: tests are a great way to learn the material.  Do as many as you can!

While doing the test (before answering the question), I wrote down how sure I was of the answer (100%-sure, 75%-almost sure, 50%-hesitate between 2 answers, 25%-guess).  This is another tool which help me a lot during the exam.  At the end, I was having the following result:

o I was generally "sure" or "almost sure" of 65% the answers.  Of those 65%, my answers were correct at 90%.

o I had around 30% of "50-50" questions.  I generally answer these questions correctly between 60% and 70% of the time.

o I had less than 5% of pure guess.  My results were so variable that I considered that no guess was correct.

Regarding the Trandumper test, I work principaly with the CTSA series of question.  I scored around 78% on those tests.  In the last week before my exam, I took Reddy (78%), ExamCram 1 (88%), Examcram9 (79%), Sybex (76%), Ohio (87%), Balaji (76%), PMP Simulated Test Demo (86%), Dallas (88%).  I have found that Ohio, Examcram 1 and PMP simulated test and Dallas too easy.  So I assumed that my target note was around 78%. 

Was I ready?  I was not that confident but I had to go forward ...  There is not a great margin between 78% percent and the passing score.  My fear was that I could have very few "sure or almost sure" questions during the test.  Imagine if I only have 50-50 questions; I could then be in trouble ...  There is also the perception that discussion on this site tends to say that you can pass the exam when you score in the mid-80's at practice tests...

The day of the exam~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There is a 2 hours 30 minutes drive from home (Quebec city) to my test center (Montreal).  My test was scheduled at 13h00.  I planned to take the bus at 8h00 in the morning to be in the test center before noon.

A major snowstorm hit my region the day of the test.  Everything in my hometown was closed.  We received over 20 inches (50 centimeters) of snow.  The highway between Quebec City and Montreal was almost closed.  I decided to take the bus at 7h00 and finally arrived in Montreal at 11h15 (the 8h00 bus arrived in Montreal at ... 14h30!!!!).  Anyway, I was there on time.  Other lesson: RISK MANAGEMENT and RISK RESPONSE PLANNING!!!  What could happen might

happen!

The exam~~~~~~~~

During the tutorial, I dumped a schema showing all 39 processes and there interaction (a mix of figure 3-5 to 3-8 on the PMBok with a few personal notes).

I answered all 200 questions on the first pass which took me 3 hours.  I wrote down the "degree of assurance" for each question.  I marked all the 50-50 questions.  Only two or three questions took me more than 3 minutes to answer and I decided to answer them right away.

I then compile my numbers and got the following results:

1 - Sure and almost sure: 124/2002 - 50/50: 66/2003 - Guess: 10/200

Based on that, I assumed that I have 112 good answers for "sure or almost sure".  I only need 30 more good answers out of my 66 "50-50" which is less than 50% and less than what I normally get in the practice test.

So I started to relax!!!!  I was quite sure to pass at that time!  I reviewed my 50-50 questions and realized that, in many case, I could have put an "almost sure" quote on it.  I also changed a couple of answers. 

2 minutes left. 

Submit. 

Pass: 165.  (I was expecting in the 150's).

My appreciation of the exam~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Altough I have found the exam moderately difficult, I've got a better result than many practice tests.  The number of "easy" question was almost the same (62%).  The number of very difficult question was also almost de same (5%).  I really think that I scored better than 90% on the "sure" and more than 65% on the "50-50" questions.  I feel that the questions were "less tricky"!  As hard, but less tricky.

You must also rely on your experience.  The question and the answers are not always straight from the PMBok.  I think experience is a big factor to succeed in the exam.  Know the process.  Know what is an I/O (Input / Output) and what is a tool.

Now, I can release my resources from this project.

Project completed.

Daniel Tremblay, now PMPQuebec City, Quebec, Canada

Hello Everyone,

I took the PMP Certification Examination yesterday (12/12/2003) and I passed. YES!!!

If you plan to take the PMP exam, consider developing your own brain-dump cheat sheet.  I understand that some folks may not agree with me on this.  However, in the exam should one encounter an unfortunate brain freeze (risk event) the brain-dump cheat sheet (contingency planning) may help get the concentration/confidence alignment back and even help you remember what you momentarily forgot.  So, is the brain-dump cheat sheet worth your time investment? You decide.

Also note that unless you truly have a project management experience, the exam will be quite challenging.  At the very least, you aught to have a project manager's thought process. Memorizing the PMBOK should not be considered the only tool needed to pass the examination.  There will be few questions with answers that appear just about the same.  Your project management reasoning will be your key guide to the right answer.

If you are seeking a study material, I have read a lot of recommendations on Rita Mulcahy's PMP exam preparation book ($89) and her fast-track CD ($299).  At one point I even thought about ordering her whole study kit (RMC PMP® Exam Prep System - $393).  Instead, I invested in Kim Heldman's PMP Study Guide book ($59.99).  My reasoning was simple: Heldman's book was more affordable and had a CD with a decent number of test questions.  I am not discouraging anyone from purchasing or using Rita's materials.  I just happened to find a more cost efficient way of preparing for the PMP exam.

I have observed that some individuals want to attempt as many prep-test questions as they possibly can get their hands on to prepare for the PMP exam – an overkill by any standard. If you have a Project Management experience and if you have studied the PMBOK, the objective of taking the prep-test questions should then be to help gauge the weak-spots in your understanding of each knowledge area and associated processes.  The questions in Kim Heldman's PMP Study Guide CD can help you achieve that goal.

A few PMPs in this group have recommended reading the PMBOK 2-3 times. Make sure you take notes on each chapter as you go along.  Review these notes as often as you can. Attempt the prep-test questions in the last two weeks preceding your PMP exam date to reassess your learnings. Re-study weak concepts in the PMBOK and you are all set to take the exam!

Do let me know if this information has helped you. Good luck!

Regards,Saif Shariff, SCPM, PMP

I passed with 166 on Thursday. If you have managed few projects, exam is not that difficult. Many of the questions can be related to actual situations and wearing a halo behind your head, you can choose correct option. (remember PMIsm and Code of Conduct etc.) Material used for study. 1. PMBOK2. KIM Heldman3. Rita's PMP cert.4.Files from this groupand most important is the archive of correspondence exchanged among the members of this group. For few questions I could relate to the discussions in this group and pick the correct option immediately. 4 hours is a long time and to sit and focus. Many of the members in the past has given detailed instructions relating to taking the break and get some fresh air. I found all such instructions very useful.  Thanks to elceem and all the members of this group. Without this forum it would have been a major challenge to go for such certification. Thanks Vijay

Here is what I have started doing.    Instead of memorizing IT & TO, I am trying to understand their pupose for a particular process. It has helped me in understanding and in turn memorizing.In PMBOK Pg 33, the planning processes diagram has also helped me a lot in this. The matrix presented in PMBOK Pg 38 has also helped a great deal. Hope this helps.thanksPuneet

Here are some thoughts for my fellow PMP study sufferers out there:

** THERE ARE AS MANY WAYS TO PASS THIS TEST AS THERE ARE TYPES OF PEOPLE**-- One of the most productive and reassuring things I did while preparing was to do a search on this forum using the word "passed," to pull up people's various approaches to studying.  It made me realize that there are many different ways to pass this test, and you just need to find what works for you. By this time in our lives, most of us know what works for us in terms of test

preparation-- be true to yourself.  If you are a visual learner, if you need things to be color-coded, if you need to go to the test center beforehand to feel comfortable-- listen to that. Don't believe someone who tells you that there is only one approach that works-- this forum proves it. 

I found this was also helpful when I felt like I got into a studying "rut" to look at some of the "passed" notes again for new ideas of what to study.

** KEEP IT FRESH AND INTERACTIVE**-- Let's face it, the material is dry and hard to absorb by pure memorization. In addition to the Trandumper and other practice tests, there were 2 tools that I found especially helpful:

- PMP Tools daily crossword and word search puzzles (www.pmptools.com):  I am a puzzle person by nature, and when I got tired of studying, these puzzles were a great way to feel like I was goofing off while still learning. I found that over time, these puzzles really helped me learn the vocabulary more than memorization would have (for me, at least).

- PMP MEMORIZE IT v2.xls (posted here in files section):  This is a spreadsheet set up as an interactive quiz to learn the process groups. I copied this onto my desktop at work and when I had a spare 10 or 20 minutes, would quiz myself. I found this was a great way to memorize the process groups in a fun way.

** THINK POSITIVE FOR YOUR TEST PSYCHOLOGY **-- This is a tough test, but it is important not to get psyched out by it. I think it is important while studying to take lots of practice tests and get used to the idea of answering questions you aren't sure of and thinking positive even if you think you have wrong answers. Remember, you just have to pass the test -- your score doesn't matter beyond that-- and the test *is* designed so that most of us are going to miss a bunch of questions.  I should mention that I was surprised at the number of very straightforward questions-- ones that if you knew the material, you could get straight off the bat.  However, there were plenty of tough ones, so I was glad I had practiced.

** STUDY THE PMI PROFESSIONAL CODE **-- One area that I was not prepared well enough for was the Professional Responsibility section--there were a number of questions that directly pulled from the PMI document and none of them were anything like I had seen in practice tests.

TEST CENTERI had a good experience with Prometric. One thing to let people know, in case anyone else comes up with it-- I found that there was some bug on the website so that I could not schedule the test at the site closest to me. I called them and was able to schedule it with no problem. 

As other people suggested, it would be a good idea to find where your test center is ahead of time-- mine was 10 minutes from my home but was hidden in the back of a parking lot and was very hard to find. I

was really glad I had scouted it out before test day.

Good luck to the rest of you studying out there-- you can do it!

Marie

I took the exam yesterday and passed with a 190.  If you find that score hard to believe so did I at first.  I must have guessed right on almost all of the questions that I could only narrow down to two choices.I also went into the exam overprepared, if there is such a thing.  I have a fair amount of project management experience but it's all been in software development with one company so there was a lot in PMBOK I wasn't familiar with.  I've been studying for six months, well over 100 hours put in total.  My study materials were PMBOK, Rita's book (4th edition), and the ESI Sample questions and Study guide (4th edition).  I read PMBOK and Rita's book three times each and took notes in a spiral notebook on the things that weren't familiar in order to reinforce them.  I went through all of the sample tests in Rita's book and the ESI book twice.  I also downloaded the trandumper file from this site and took most of those tests, including retakes of the questions I missed.  I highly recommend the trandumper tests; I think a few of the answers given are wrong and some of the questions seem unfair but practicing all of those test questions and researching the ones I got wrong really prepared me.  Yesterday there was only one question out of 200 that included a term I wasn't familiar with.My nickels worth of free advice is not to get discouraged during your studies.  On my first pass through the Rita and ESI tests I was getting marks below 70% on some of the chapters. I just kept hammering away at it until the material that was new to me started to make sense.I'm selling the Rita book and ESI book on this site if anyone's interested.  Good luck to all of you in your studies.

Just wanted to perform a lessons learned to help benefit the PM Knowledge area. ;)

I took the test yesterday at 9:00 AM CST and passed with a 173.

About my studying:

I studied for about 3.5 - 4 months.  I used the common materials that everyone knows about.

PMBOK - actually very important to know and understand this

Rita - This book is great, in my opinion.  If you go through the book, and understand what EVERYTHING is, you are most likely ready for the exam.  The life cycle game is an excellent learning tool.

Sybex (Book & Study Guide) - The book is great.  It was the first book I read after the PMBOK.  It is really layed out quite nicely. 

I didn't complete much of the study guide.  I really didn't need to buy it, but I was nervous about the exam and thought "the more material, the better".

Rita's Audio CDs - I listened to these for approx. 2 months on my commute to work every day.  They are a great tool, as well.

This site - the Notesv.5 file is great!  Thank you to it's author.  I also enjoyed reading about other exam success stories.

About the exam:

I had troubles finding the exam site.  I should have heeded the warnings and found the site ahead of time, but I didn't.  I arrived well ahead of time, and the proctor allowed me to start early.  I did a brain dump during the tutorial of the life cylce game, EV formulas, estimate ranges, communication formula, PV formula, and process group interactions.  This was VERY helpful to me, since it reassured my answers.

I felt very prepared for the exam.  Real world project management experience is a MUST have for this exam.  I do not think I would have passed without this experience.  I made it through all questions in about 1 hour 30 minutes.  I had only marked about 6 or 7questions, and after reviewing them, I submitted the exam.  I had told myself before I started the exam that I was going to list the questions out in the .9, .5, .25 format list, but I just had a good feeling that I had at least passed.  I was very surprised that I got a 173!

Advice for others:

- EXPERIENCE IS A MUST.  You will not be able to pass this exam without real world knowledge.- Be committed to your studying.  Don't take the exam lightly.  Set a strict study pattern and adhere to it.- When you feel like you are prepared, register for the exam and schedule it for as soon as possible.  This is what I did, and the material seemed very fresh in my mind.- Don't stress out.  This is a tough certification exam, and there are people that do not pass it.  It is NO BIG DEAL if you do not pass.  Schedule the retake, and pass it the second time.

Good luck to all of you out there studying still.  I am going to try to hang around here and answer questions in the future.

Hi All,This group helped me in terms of Morale, Q&As and in aligning my method of preparation. Thanks a ton.

On Dec 1st I Passed.

Things I did 2 days before exam:

0. Reviewed entire PMBoK. (supplimented with Rita) - took me 16 hrs.1. Proj.Mgmt Life cycle - RITA (only thing I Memorized. Helped me answer at least around 20 Qs)2. Process group/KM mapping3. Planning processes relations4. Process definitions and meaning of each. 5. ITTO (I did not memorize, tried to understand logically)

Study Material:PMBoK (you know it)RitaThis group

About the exam:Felt it was easy while i was answering, but my score did not reflect that. Marked 40 for reviewfinished in 3hr 30mins.Reviewed all and changed around 4Pressed end 1 mins before finish.

There were couple of questions that really did not make sense to me at all, though i knew well, the subject it is asking.

About the center:I started in 15 mins test and it crashed.Started after 20 mins again.

Center did NOT allow me to write anything on paper in first 15 mins.Said I can write only after actual test started!Center did not allow me to take break (nature call? he said no!)

There were 15 candidates taking test and all started punching their keboards at at point for around 20 mins.

I was given Ear plugs, but did not use them.

My suggestions:Relax and you can make it.

Make sure you Know1. Project Management Life cycle chart in RITA. (page 24 i guess). Read top-down. (If you can memorize, good)2. KM area/Process group mapping from PMBoK3. Planning processes relations (PMBoK)4. Process definitions. - What each MEANS.5. ofcource ITTO (need not memorize, but know them logically)

M

Shirley, 

While I can not comment on the other two books, the Heldman CD with the sample test are quite adequate for preparing for the exam. Our local PMI chapter is getting excellent results with using the Heldman CD and a 80% passing score as a benchmark for taking the test. Students report that the real exam score are anywhere from 0 to -10% of the Heldman scores. It is common to get feedback that students are memorizing the test using the prep cd's. While this might be true in some part, I think the value that you get out of the practice tests are the execution of the test process. Many of the questions missed initially are due to not reading/understanding the questions, not lack of knowledge. Both are needed for successfully completing the test. I don't know one PMP that felt "ready" to take the test. I tell you this to assure that this is a normal process. The test is challenging but not impossible. If you test yourself against the Heldman CD, and consistently obtain a score of >80%, it is my belief that you will have a great chance (~98%) of passing the test with a score of 150 or greater. One bonus about the Heldman Book is that is can be bought online for under 40.00. Best of luck, reschedule the test and let us know you passed. Mike

Jackson, I am sure we all feel your pain. My PMP investment was over 1300.00 USD. Here is a few comments that might be helpful. First, you have done many things right.  Rita's book is most likely one of the best resources out there (also one of the most expensive) . You don't specifically state that you have the PMBOK, if not get it now! 60% of the test is covered buy the PMBOK. Although I also get the puzzles and such, I would not use them too much. PMPtools does not want the PMPcert group to comment on their material, draw from that what you will. (did your momma teach you not to say anything if you cant say nice things??? ) Once you have reviewed the PMBOK (2x min, 3x is recommended) and gone through the Rita's material, I would also suggest you get the Heldman book with CD (published by Sybex). Got this for the CD with sample tests. Go thorough the test until you score a consistent 80%. Sybex will teach you to read and take the exam correctly. Many of the question that you will miss will be due to not reading the questions, not a lack of knowledge. By this time you will be feeling anxious and totally unprepared. Don't worry this is normal. Schedule your test and go take it. You should pass with a 150-170 score.  One review item that has been helpful to people in our study groups is to trace the output to the inputs, understanding that the whole PMBOK is a integrated process. All this is based on the data from our local PMI chapter and the way we run our exam prep class. We used the Sybex and Rita books and the PMBOK. Although we charge 575 for a 6 day class, nothing presented in the class is not contained in either Sybex or Rita.  

Our quality audits find that the Sybex test scores either match the exam results, or overstate the exam by 5 - 10%. Hence if you are scoring 80% on Sybex Test, you should expect a 150-160 score on the exam. One other note, one of my students just got a 184 on the test. The feedback was the he ran into some very bizarre questions that could only be answered if you have an background in accounting, IT and construction project management. So don't think you are going to have a 200 on your test score. Most people score in the 150 to 180 range, and I have rarely found someone to score in the 137 - 150 range (about 2% of the scores that I collected are in this range). So either you will pas with a 150+ (about 95% proximity) or fail the test (about 2% proximity) if you follow the above guidelines. The test generally test your comprehension of the the PMBOK PM process. Many of the people feel that memorization is not necessary IF you comprehend the process. Good luck and feel free to contact me if you need help. I am putting together a yahoo chat study group and please email if you are interested in joining. I hope to have the first facilitated study group meeting in the next few weeks. Best of luck 

Mike Graupner, PMP

714.349.8170 (cell)

714.839.5924 (home/fax)

Hi All -

I appeared for the PMP exam at New York today and passed with 171 !

I started thinking about PMP 2 year ago but started serious study about 2 months back. I used the following study materials -

1. PMBOK  - Studied 4 times2. Rita Muchahy's book [4th Edition] - Studied 4 times3. Study materail from this group   - PMP Notes v5 [Studied last 2 days]   - PMP Transdumper [Finished about 50%]

I did not refer any other study material. I would have studied for about 100 hours. I found Rita's book quite useful. I used to study each chapter from PMBOK first then Rita's book and the questions at end of each chapter. I did this for 3-4 times.

As lot of people in this group have already indicated, if you have experience in project management then it is easier to relate to situational questions. There were a lot of situational questions in the exam.

The Exam -

I found the questions in the exam a bit simpler then Rita's and Transdumper. But not many were direct picks from any of the sources. So, it is important to understand the answers when you are doing

practice tests. I finished the first pass in 2 hour 35 min. Then finished 2 rounds of review (only the questions marked for review) in another 1 hour. Finally, I was left with about 10 questions where I was not sure about the answer. After 3 hour and 50 min I pressed the magic button - Exit ..... Those last few second of waiting for result were killing !!!

My suggestions -

1. Read BOTH PMBOK and Rita's book in detail. It is very difficult to study PMBOK cover to cover, but try to read it full at least in 2-3 passes. 2. Complete as many practice questions as possible. I found the "Transdumper" on this site pretty good. [Unfortunately I didn't have time to complete it]. Try to understand reason behind every answer.3. Based on your personal comfort, select an exam strategy and stick to it. 4. Be mentally prepared that you won't be able to answer some of the questions in the exam

Finally, I would like to thank this group for all the support - motivational and study material. I am sure many more PMP aspirants will benefit from this group.

ThanksGopal, PMP

My Study effort was well rewarded today. I Took my PMP exam today and passed it with 165 (82.5%). 

I have been doing project management work (some in a coordination role) for about 7 years.  Three years ago I started taking some of the ESI courses inpreparation for this moment.  Six weeks ago I finally made the decision to take the plunge and shed the $800 required to take the exam, join PMI, and buy the Rita book.  Here are my comments, experiences and suggestions:

- It definitely helps to have a base to start from.  If you are familiar, in a practical sense, with project management terminologies, practices, and processes then you eliminate a big barrier going into the exam.

- the PMP exam itself is more straight forward than the majority of the test exams found in the net and training books.  I found the PMI questions to be short and clear.  However, a small percentage (around 10% of them) where difficult to solve because the ansers were very borderline (too close to each other).

- As suspected, expending too much time learning the Inputs, Outputs, and T&T is not worth it.  I focused in learning the 39 processes involved in the 9 knowledge areas, and then made a ligitimate effort to understand what type of information (input, output, T&T) would be

relevant to use in each of those processes.  In that faction, I gathered enough knowledge and a good notion of what would be involved with those processes, but not necessarily memorize them.  As suspected, the PMP exam had probably no more than 10 of these questions, and they were easy to figure out.  So don't waste your valuable time concentrating in this area, instead focus in understanding the practicality of the processes.  It is impossibly to digest and remember all that information anyway.

- There was a mix of very short (one liners) and long questions.  I would say the mix was 60% short questions and 40% long, and in those longs, many used the same text in the question to ask a subsequent question.  So make sure you practice with both types of question.

- The test is really made to be taken in 4 hours comfortably.  I took my time answering the questions and took me 3 hours and 35 minutes including a 10 minute break taken half way through the exam.

- I found the executing process questions to be the most difficult.  The interesting thing is that this was the same area I found easier during my practice test.  The breakdown of questions was as follows: Initiating (17), Planning (47), Executing (48), Controlling (45), Closing (14), Professional Responsibility (29).

- The network questions on the PMP exam were harder than I expected.  They were not straight forward and they don't necessarily use the finish-start relationship only.  The EVM questions were extremely simple.  No calculators needed, although the center provides one for my use.

- There seem to be lots of quality related questions in the exam.

- I used the PMBOK, Rita, Sybex, and this forum notes in that order.  Only read the PMBOK book once as I thought it was clear to understand, but referenced it back to validate answers to test questions.  I then read Rita's book and highlighted what I thought was important.  I think the book is well written, but over-rated.  Quite frankly, I do not think it buys you much more than what you can get from the notes in this forum.  The Sybex book is a good book that can be used more from a practical standpoint.  It has errors, but an errata is available form their website. I do believe however, that the Sybex test questions are excellent and give you a good sense of the types of questions you should be able to answer for the exam.  The notes in this forum, specially the PMINOtes document, are excellent for quickly reviewing.  I actually read my highlights on the Rita book prior the exam.  Never used the PM FasTrack CD and I suspect, with all the test examples available in this forum, that it is not worth the money.

- I read up to the last minute of the exam, and I could feel the effect on my eyes and brain.  Not recommended.  Better to take a break before the exam day.

- Practice tests:  I spent a significant amount of my preparation time (the majority) answering test questions.  I would venture to say I tested on over 3000 questions.  The TranDumper tests on this forum

are excellent source.  I made sure to analyze every question I got wrong.  The interesting thing is that some of the questions in the PMP exam were identical to some of the ones I encountered in the practice exam. 

- Rather than spending so much time memorizing EVM formulas, why not understand what each of the terms really mean.  The only formulas you really need to remember are CV, CV, CPI, and SPI.  Everything else is common sense and can be derived from these four.

- If I were to recommend an approach for studying for this exam I would say read the PMBOK, Rita, PMINOtes, and then do tons of practice questions using these study materials as reference.

- Good luck to everyone here and thanks for the help!  I will continue to contribute as much as I can to this forum.

Culantro, PMP

Hi all,

I took the exam on Tuesday and passed(projectcompleted) and wanted to share a few things:

* Prep time: ~10 weeks, 10-14 hrs/week* Study material: PMBOK and Rita's book. I read thePMBOK two times, took my own notes/summary whilereading and prepared flashcards for ITTOs.  Rita'sbook was definitely helpful (BTW, I didn't do any ofthe exercises) and took my own notes from Rita's bookas well.  I had the Kim Heldman's book but after acouple of chapters I realized that it doesn't have alot of extra info than PMBOK but read it once(easierto read than PMBOK).One thing I found very useful when reading PMBOK is,to read the processes by Process Groups.  It is mucheasier to follow and learn.I did all the questions in the books mentioned above +questions at the PMI website + questions in thisgroup's db + free ones on various web sites

* ITTOs: 90% memorized them. I found it helpful. ifyou can, memorize (and understand) them and if youcannot memorize them, just understand them (verywell). One other thing.. Planning processes-Figure 3-5 onpage 33 of PMBOK. I drew that figure to my scratchpaper at the beginning of the exam.  The planningprocesses include 21 of the 39 processes and theirflow is very logical(in terms of Inputs and Outputs) *The night before: read Initiation and Closingprocesses from PMBOK and Rita's book + professionalresponsibility chapter.

*Exam: very long but fair. It took 3 hours to finishall 200. No breaks. Marked 30-40 for review.  Afterfinishing the marked ones, reviewed 20 more and timewas up.  hit the end button  and waited for reallylong 5 seconds to get my score (177).

Thanks & good luck.Alp

I spent a lot of time researching different course options for the PMP.  I needed something that satisfied the 35 hours, provided a good learning experience (i.e. I wanted to learn and not just satisfy the training requirement), and finally be able to be undertaken by distance learning given I'm based in the Middle East. After a lot of discussion with various providers I settled on the mScholar course which follows a self learning approach.  It uses a combination of audio and text based material to teach you the required coursework.  The cost not only includes the PMP course but the next 3 years of the continuing education requirements for the PMI.  If you calculate the cost per training hour its quite reasonable compared to other offerings. There is online support through an instructor forum and the instructors accept direct emails as well.  I found all the staff to be extremely helpful and knowledgeable.  At the end of the course you sit an exam online at a Prometric centre so get use to the conditions of the real exam (this should be available overseas in the next couple of months due to changes at the Prometric testing centres).   I was worried about a course that wasn't classroom based but found the approach to be such that I can study any place, any time with most lessons broken down to short 15 to 20 mins components.  It allows you to fit in a lesson anytime during the day when you have a little bit of free time.  Given the online forum option as well it also means you can have discussions with other students on any points you are confused on.    The material is based on the process groups so is a lot easier to follow and relate to our practical experience than if it was grouped by knowledge area.   Prior to buying the course I had read the two main PMP prep texts talked about in the forum (Kims Sybex guide and Ritas Exam Prep book).  I found the material from mScholar to be superior to both of them in terms of understandably and layout.  The main problem with this exam is over studying - there is just so much material available its difficult to know what is the core material you need to know. mScholar sticks to the main information only so you can learn what you need to know properly. I supplemented the course with the other two texts mentioned as I didn't want to depend on only one source of material.  The extra material may have resulted in 2 or 3 additional marks in the exam but not much more.   My only negative comment on the course would be that I would have liked more sample questions at the end of every chapter - there is only 3 or 4 per chapter.  However, there was so many other sources of questions available that this wasn't a big issue.    I see the mScholar course combined with one other text such as Rita's or PMPTools Exam Cram is a good combination to pass the exam.   One last thing, the course provides the normal guarantee that you will pass the PMP exam or they will refund your money.  Any provider that doesn't give such a guarantee is not worth considering - it shows how confident they are in their material and approach.

 Anyone wanting more information should refer to www.mscholar.com They have a couple of documents available that will explain their approach and give you and idea of the quality; one of  them is worth reading no matter which course you undertake as it involves lots of hints for approaching the certification including studying and exam.  It includes one sample lesson as well.              I can't assess the additional courses that are provided for the CE requirements as I haven't tried any as yet.  They are adding more courses every few months. Please note I'm not employed by mscholar nor do I have any financial interest in their organisation.    Good luck. Mark Rohan mrohan@emirates.net.ae

Hi all,I passed PMP on 28th of August.As promised find below the preparation process I followed for the PMP  exam :Material Used:1. PMBOK 2000 2. SYBEX - Project Management Professional- Study Guide(with CD)3. PMP preparation Notes from PMP group.4. Training Materials (My present employer's Academy Division)5. Quantitative Methods for Business by Anderson, Sweeney, Williams6. Flash Cards for the Mathemetical Formulas.7. Study Plan for 2.5 months

Tools & Techniques:1. Studied PMBOK 2000 twice, every time tried to do a Brain dump.2. Created a Project Management Knowledge Areas Mindmaps of my own using the available in PMP group folder.3. Created flash cards for the mathametical Formulas which I used to revise in between my work.4. Formed a PMI aspirants group in my present company and had presentation sessions on the various knowledge area. This was a one month exercise with 1.5 hours everyday (excluding Saturday , Sunday obviously). 5. Solved 70% of the Mock exams available in the SYBEX CD.6. The day before the exam just went through the mind maps and the notes.7. During the exam,utilized 10 minutes of the  tutorial  review time to do my brain dump of all the mathematical formulas and also the Processes under each knowledge area in sequence, and also differentiating the Core and the Facilitating ones.

Output:1. Scored 150 in Exam.2. Certified PMP.3. Added to my confidence in Project Management.2. Lessons Learnt which will be helpful for all  PMI aspirants.

Lessons Learnt:1. Should have solved more of MOCK test questions.2. To go through PMBOK atleast 3 Times.3. Had a gap of 7 days inbetween, just one week before the exam which affected the flow. This was a unforseen risk which I should have planned.4. Professional responsibility    was a weak area for me and many of the questions I found during the exam, had a touch of both PR and the knowledge Areas. Solving of questions with such a mind set would have helped.  Thanks & RegardsMridul Paul ,PMP

The major difference is the inclusion of Professional Responsibilty as a chapter in 4th edition which is not there in 3rd edition.In addition every chapter has questions dedicated to Prof.Responsibility.The Prof.Responsibility forms a significant portion of the questions in exam.

Regards,Archana Roy, PMP

Hi Team.

Sorry for this long email but lots to cover.

I sat the exam this morning and passed with 173.  I started studying inApril for the certification. I was allowed 4 months preparation as I had alot of other things happening at the same time in my life and had to balancepriorities.  Unfortunately due to exam registration issues with PMI it addedtwo additional months of delay before I could sit the exam.

Materials Used

I used the following text books :    - PMBOK - I read this four times over my study period.    - PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy - although most people seem to like thisbook I was not that impressed with it.  Its very difficult to determine fromthe headings and layout information maps to which topic areas.  Its almostlike a series of notes rather than a structured text book.    - SYBEX PMP Certification guide by Kim Heldman - I read this book first.Its well structured and given its organised by process groups its easier tofollow and relate to.  However, I agree with other reviewers it doesn't havethe depth to be used as a sole text book.

For practice exams I used:    - Boston Exams (Exam 3 for PMP) - Its only 200 questions but they aregood quality questions and they also provide good explanations for theanswers.

For the training I used the mScholar course.   I sent a separate review ofthis yesterday to the forum.  mScholar is a self study program that can beundertaken at the students own pace. Further information can be found inwww.mscholar.com

In addition I received a summary of this forum discussion each day andreviewed the items one by one.   In terms of other materials from the filessection I liked PMPCert-PMINotes v5, the 220 questions (PMPCert-QA220), andPMPSample70a.  Again be careful with all sample questions as there may besome incorrect answers.  The forum itself has discussed a lot of them.

Study Hints

1. Prepare a plan of your approach.  Re-evaluate the base plan after thefirst few weeks once you have an idea of the material and work involved.

2. I found I was having trouble learning by just reading the various texts -especially since they all had a slightly different approach.  I wasted a lotof time reading other texts and not taking in the information before Idecided to prepare my own study notes.  I wrote 2 to 3 pages on each of theknowledge areas using the main texts as input - this helped me absorb a lotof information in a very short period.  You could use the PMINotes v5 fromthe files section but I think actually writing the notes yourself is themain benefit of the exercise.

3. Its important to set boundaries for what you want to learn.  AlthoughPMBOK is the main text to be used its made clear that we have to use othermaterials.  If you look at some of the questions raised in this forum theyare complicated enough to put most people off ever sitting the exam.  Fromthe beginning I decided not to learn the Inputs, Tools/Techniques, andOutputs.  I thought my study time could be put to better use elsewhere.  Imemorised figure 3-9, pg 38 in PMBOK that shows all the processes by processgroup and knowledge area as well as the planning process flow diagram(figure 3-5).  This is the minimum I think people should know.  Having bothof these included in my brain dump provided a good basis for answering mostquestions.  I could derive most ITTO questions from this informationcombined with my work experience and remembering my study.

4. Over studying is a major problem with this exam.  Learn the core materialvery well and do not spend too much time on becoming a mathematics expert.The mscholar course helped me a lot here as it focused on the coreinformation required to pass the course.

5. I didn't focus too much on practice exams in the first few months ofstudy.  I would use the chapter summary exams in the texts to make sure Iunderstood the material I had read but nothing more.  After finishing themain study I spent the last month focusing on practice exams.  I used thetwo electronic test banks as well as any paper based ones.  If you get anyquestions wrong that you think should be right research the answers. 

Don'tjust assume you are right as in a few cases it turned out I misunderstoodthe question or the answer and my research showed gaps in my knowledge thatneeded resolving.   I recommend you try at least 2 or 3 full tests of 200questions or more.  This will help you prepare for exam day itself.  I foundI was losing concentration on the last 50 questions and making stupidmistakes.

6. The day before the exam minimise your study - I read through my studynotes for 30 mins only and spent the rest of the day relaxing.  I sat theexam on a Monday so I could rest on the Sunday.

7. The biggest question for most people is when are you ready to sit theexam.  I liked Karen's comment I saw a few weeks ago on this forum sayingyou are ready to sit the exam when you are sick of it.  That's very true.For those of you trying to prepare in a faster time period I would look atyour marks on the sample tests.  If you are constantly getting 80% to 90% onthe main tests you should be ready.

Exam Hints

A lot of this has been properly covered before by other people so I'll justmention the highlights.

1. Pace yourself.  Keep on eye on the time and allow yourself breaks.  Thenumber and length of breaks differs from person to person but I believe atleast 2 breaks are required.

2. Leave any of the longer questions to later.  If you can do the quick andeasy ones first it will give you confidence for the more difficultquestions.  Remember that most people have time at the end of the exam toreview their questions.

3. Take some food in case you need a snack during one of your breaks.

4. Relax.  You've spent a lot of time preparing for this day, you know thematerial, and have time.  Don't get stressed about some questions you don'tknow, move on, and focus on the ones you do know.

5.  Make a plan of how you will approach the exam.  I went through the

questions quite fast the first time - 30 secs per question.  I markedeverything for review where I was unsure of my answer. Anything unmarked wastheoretically correct.  I then had a break and started reviewing my markeditems (125 of them).  During this 2nd time through I kept track of thenumber of questions I was still unsure of.  At the end of the 2nd cut I wasleft with 46 questions I was unsure about.  Given I could get 60 wrong I wasreasonably confident I had passed.  I started doing a 3rd review of allquestions but was too tired and ended the exam with 25 mins remaining.

Overall I found the PMP certification to be quite valuable.  Apart fromobtaining the certification itself, more importantly I found I actuallylearnt something from my studies and believe I'm a better project managerbecause of it.

Finally thanks to everyone that contributes to this forum.  Its a great helpand is the first source I recommend to anyone that asks me about preparingfor the exam.

Mark Rohanmrohan@emirates.net.ae

Hi All,

I passed the PMP certification exam today scoring 85.5% (171). To be honest, I could not breathe for the few seconds it took for the score to show up, because I was not sure how I had done. Even though I went into the exam quite confident, while doing the exam I realized that I still had a lot of grey areas. They do make u think..

I sarted studying 3 weeks ago, studied for about 40 Hrs. I do have enough Project management exp to be elligible for the exam but thats about it. So I still have ways to go and therefore found the exam a little tough..

I studied the PMBOK, Rita Mulcahy's Prep book and did the PMP Fast Track by Rita.

The first time I read PMBOK, I was ready to throw up after reading each knowledge area. There was too much to digest..I still finished reading the book once. I then did Rita's Prep book, felt much better. Went back to reading PMBOK and quite honestly enjoyed reading it since it all started making much better sense. I was undersatnding more than trying to memorize. I then did PMP fast track CD by knowledge area.. was scoring about 75%. Read Rita's book and now realize that two chapters in particular HR and Communications

are much better covered from the exam perspective.Then did PMP fast track CD by groups. Scored 90% and more. Read PMBOK again. Can u believe that..This time I was trying to memorize the I/O/Tools as well.

I was now confident to write the exam..

The exam can be quite ambigous. If you dont know your subject matter well, be sure that u will be guessing because there sure are multiple right answers.

My 2 cents.. Its all about PMBOK and real life project management experience. Some stuff not in PMBOK is mostly covered in Rits's book like Theories of motivation..

Also, do try to retain I/O/Tools to the extent you can but not very imp..

Good luck to you all.

Bela, PMP

Hi Team. Yesterday in my posting on passing the exam I gave reference to boston test questions.  The correct reference is boson questions.  The web site is www.boson.com.  Sorry for the incorrect reference.  Boson have 3 test banks available for PMP.  I was recommended to get the 3rd one as it more closely represents the exam.  I was happy with the questions and explanations of the answers in test exam 3.  There is a free sample download if anyone wants more information. Thanks to Davin for pointing out the reference. Mark

Hi KG.

In the top left of your screen you have a box to mark a question.  I usedthis to mark any question I was unsure of for later review.  In addition youcan leave the question completely unanswered.

At any time during the exam you have a review button at the bottom of yourscreen.  When you press this button it gives you a list of all questionnumbers.  Those that have no answers are marked 'I' for Incomplete.  Thoseyou have marked yourself are highlighted with a 'R' for review.

You just need to double click on any of the question numbers in the review

screen and are automatically taken to that question.  It takes literally 1to 2 seconds to jump back to the review screen and select the next markedquestion number you want to look.

If you are going to take this approach just make sure you keep track of thetime.  Given I was aiming 30 seconds per question for the first cut thismeant I could get through all 200 questions in around 100 minutes.   After asmall break I had 125 questions to review which I divided over the remainingtime.  If you take more time on the first cut you will have less questionsmarked for review so won't need as much time.  Its a balancing act.  I wentquite quickly for the first cut as I wanted the confidence of a lot ofanswered questions behind me before I went through the more difficultquestions.

Mark Rohanmark.rohan@vistre.com

Hi all,

I took the exam on Friday and passed with 163. I sincerely want to thank all of you for all the support/files/discussions. This is a great group. The moment I found this group, I knew I can make it.

This is how I prepared for the exam (in chronological order):

1) I’ve been advised of the PMI exams on a Project Management course (2 days) in last January. In March I decided to take the exams.

2) I read for the first time PMBOOK2000 on April. I bought the preparation book..... (after reading I realized I need something else).

3) I attended online PMP Prep Pack of IIL and I bought the Kerzner Project management Book (I found it very good, exams or not exams).

4)On the 30th of July I send eligibility form to PMI. And I started studying seriously for 7 week during the evening time and weekends (average of 14 hours a week). I read the Kerzner book; I made Kerzner PM IQ questions and questions I found on this group.

5)On the 11th September i received the eligibility letter and immediately fixed the exam for the 19th September. This week I brought with me on holiday my laptop and studied about 8 hours a day. I read for the 3rd time PMBOOK (sounds really better than the first two times ...).

6) Exam: very long time in my opinion!, the italian translation of the question was very bad and my english is not very good... Sometimes I hardly understand questions, and I had to read over and over again ... It took 3 hours and 50 minutes to finish all 200 questions. No breaks. Marked 70 for review, but after 10, time was up. I had many questions about quality management (gurus, ITTO, many situations with differences of performance measurements and quality control, ISO9000, whatever), about 10 questions with EVM, some Network diagram to analyze ... I made a brain dump of AOK, process and some ITTO at the beginning of the exam (I found it very useful, consider to do it). During the exams there were 2 cameras looking at me for the whole exam (I was in Milan Prometrics center, Italy). I have been advised that all my exam would be videotaped... mmm ... GREAT FILM!!! Forget bringing with you any scratch papers from home..... At about 3:59 I was so exhausted, I hit the end button and waited for really long 5 seconds to see PASS on the screen.... my score was 163.

Thank you for the help and encouragement I have received from this site! And good luck to future test-takers!

Angelo Bonorino, PMP

Hi Subha,I am currently studying for the PMP exam as well. After reading tons of messages from various members who have passed the exam sucessfully, the books that you need to use are:

1) PMBOK 20002) PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy 3) SYBEX PMP Certification guide by Kim Heldman

Have Fun!

Jude Joseph

Glad to inform you all that I took the PMP exam today in Oregon and cleared it with 168.I am happy with this score considering the fact that I did not spend a whole lot of time preparing for the exam.

I prepared for approximately 5 weeks (added a week to my initial planned duration to be absolutely sure of passing).

The main motivation for studying hard was the thought of losing 405 bucks :)

My study plan in chronological order :

(1) Took the online e-learning course to get the 35 hours from     http://www.pmguruonline.com

(2) Took the online e-learning course from http://www.skillsoft.com 

(3) Became a PMI member and got the PMBOK. Read the PMBOK once.

(4) Read the complete Kim Heldman book online once.

(5) Read the PMBOK again.

(6) Solved tons of practice exams. Performance varied from around 65 percent to around 95 percent.

(7) Took the exam today and passed. (Took 3 hours and 59 minutes)

Needless to say, this group was an invaluable resource and helped in every stage of the preparation. A big thanks to elceem for forming this group and to all the other senior members Karen, Mike for their postings.

As you can see, I did not use the Rita book mainly because I could not find it in the local bookstore.

Lessons learned :

(1) Practice more situational questions.

(2) Understanding the meaning of terms and other terms that may be used to refer to them. Do not expect the exam to use the same terminology or same sentence that is used in the PMBOK.

(3) Do not panic if the first few questions seem difficult.

Good luck to everyone preparing for the test.

ShashankSCJP2,SCJD2,SCWCD,IBM-XML,PMP

Hi, I took the test last Tuesday and passed it with a score of 169. I took the local PMI chapter (Pittsburgh) class in Apr-May but could not keep my study steady. From beginning of August, I got serious about it and started spending weekends on study. Took 3 days off from the work just before the exam. Though I download everything from file section of this website and printed out, binded it (separate folders for theory and questions), I could not review it. I did some questions setdownloaded from yahoo group. All in all, I did following seriously - 1. Studied PMBoK 2 to 3 times 2. Rita Mulcahy's book Reading as well as exercises - 3 times 3. Rita Flash Card

4. Sybex PMP Study Guide - Read once and did questions in the CD multiple times. At last I had started scoring 95 to 100% in Rita as well as PMP Study Guide Question bank. (Somehow I recalled correct answers). I have following material for sale asking $125 OBO (worth $200) + SH - Rita Mulcahy's PMP Exam Prep (excellent condition) - original $90 - Rita Flash Card (Audio as well as Paper format) - original $ 48 - PMP Study Guide (Excellent condition) - original $60 If you are interested, please e-mail me at (subject - PMP Book) charmie_gupta@yahoo.com If somebody is from Pittsburgh area, we can make mutual arrangement for delivery.

Hello KG,

Thank you very much.Please find my answers below :

(1) How many hours of study did you dedicate for the exam?I studied only for about 5 weeks. However I studied really hard (average of 4 hours on weekdays and about 16 hours on weekends (both Sat and Sun put together).

(2) Did you have any background in Project management before preparation ?Not really. I am a technology consultant and don't do Project management for a living.However if you work in any IT project, you are bound to come across a lot of the Project managementactivities whether you are a project manager or not.

(3) How do you rate the difficulty level of the exam with the 220 questions on this site ? The Dallas PMI sample questions ?The 220 questions are very good for assesing how well you have read the PMBOK. However a lot of questions among the 220 deal with questions related to inputs,tools and techniques and outputs.

The real exam hardly has a few questions relating to inputs/tools and techniques and outputs. Also the 220 questions do not have much situational questions, which is again different fromthe real exam.

Frankly, I think the Dallas PMI questions are very easy compared to the real thing.

(4) The terminology difference, is it too confusing. Are there any sources you know that provide alternative terminology?

Not really, Usually by the process of elimination, you can eliminate about two answers.You will have to select between the remaining two answers. Sometimes the questions can be tricky.

For example, (1) What is the process of splitting a deliverable into smaller more manageable parts called ?Is it Scope definition or Decomposition ?

(2) What is the technique of splitting a deliverable into smaller more manageable parts called ?Is it Scope definition or Decomposition ?

Please note that the above are not real exam questions, but indicative of the type of tricky questions.You have to watch out for keywords. In the first question, the key word is process.In the second question the keyword is technique.

The answer to 1 is scope definition, since decomposition is not a process.The answer to 2 is decomposition, since scope definition is not a technique.

Also try to know the alternate names with which different terminologies are called. You will find a lot of them in the PMBOK itself.

for example, escalation notices, kill points, contractor initial response, risk register etc.

Hope this helps ....

Good luck with your examination.

Shashank

Initially I was thinking of taking 4 day prep seminar costing $2795.But later just but PMBOK book for $25 on Amazon and Rita's PMP Prep book for $89. Rita's book helped very much in simplifying the concepts and also the practice exam at the end of each chapter in her book helped. Later I tried to solve the practice questions available in the files section of this group. That was sufficient.

Thanks. I passed with 158. I studied for 2 weeks. Read PMBOK once. didn't understand. Read Rita's PMP Prep and then studied PMBOK one more time. Rita's book helped a lot and of course all the prep questions on your site and other links suggested by you for the free practice exam.

Hi everybodyI passed (150) and this is the  effort I put:Total 10 daysIn a day studied only max of 6 hours. (With max 2 hours at a stretch.. Did a thorough undertsnading of the PMBOK rather than cramming...for eg.. any person who understands plain english would know what comes first Activity definition or Activity sequence... )

After reading PMBOK (Complete) Read Rita Mulchay (A very helpful course material) Read it once. Did all the practice exercise in the book. ( Again the focus was on understanding the process rather than cramming...)

Then did the practice tests on Rita's CD.

The only cramming required are few formulas...which are peanuts...EVM, Comms channel, PERT.

Believe me if you have common sense and if you little experince in Project Management, the test is a cake walk......

(I guess the other help was that I was one of the interviewee for my companys assesment for CMM level 5....and I was aware of lots of processes etc...)

Remember law of dimnishing returns....too much studying will confuse you more and not add any more value.....

Best of Luck....Bhupinder

Hi All,

Today (09/28) Passed PMP.

Thanks for the Study Materials & help. I found this forum is most useful for Exam Preparation.

My Exam Preparation was nearly 2 months (2- 4 hrs per day).

Study Material used:- PMBOK (Studied Twice)- Rita's PMP Exam Preparation Book - 4th Edition- (Studied Twice).Apart from above Books Practiced around 500 sample Questions.

My Experience:

- To Clear Exam, understanding complete PMBOK, Project Management concepts are VERY CRITICAL

- Memorizing things may not help much.

- I felt Rita's Book will give you the feel of Exam Expectations. It is a good book for Exam Preparation.

- Practical Project Management Knowledge will help you to some extent while answering questions.

- This Exam Really Test your Knowledge, so I recommend, it is required to have a dedicated study for minimum of 2 months.

So wish you all the Best & Good Luck.

Thanks,Shreerama Muniyoor

Hi All, I passed the PMP exam today. This forum has been very useful for exam preparation. I used PMBOK, Rita and Leroy Ward. To clear exam, understanding complete PMBOK, Project management concepts are required.  This exam really checks your knowledge. So it is required tohave dedicated effort for minimum of two months. So wish you all the best & Good luck. ThanksHarish

Dear all,

I passed the exam on 29/9.

This is group helped me a lot.

My experience:1. read PMBOK only will get you about 100 questions.2. use supporting materials: those from this group, join a preparation course, acquire some preparation guides - in order to pass the exam.

3. draw diagrams in your paper - you are going to reuse the figures in questions later.

Thanks and good luck to those who are going to take the exam.

LC

Just wanted to thank this group for all of the great tips and study information!

Passed the test today, and used the following to study:

1. PMBOK2. Rita 4th edition3. PMP FASTrack

Studied for about 5 weeks (about 100 hours). The most important thing to do to succeed is:

1.Form a study group. This kept me focused and motivated. 2.Understand the PMBOK (did not memorize ITTO). 3.Do practice tests. They were very representative of the actual test.

Good luck to all that have not taken the test.

Tony Kovinchick, PMP

I just passed a couple of weeks ago with a 163. I studied with two other guys. One had Rita's book, I had Leroy's book. Ultimately, I gave up on Leroy's book and only used Rita's book for the last few weeks. Rita's book was much more helpful. As you mentioned, Leroy's questions are just too long and not really representative of the test.

I did, however, get a lot of benefit from the audio CDs that Leroy Ward and Carl Pritchard put out from ESI. I listened to them daily on my drive to and from work. So if your commute is around 30 minutes one way, you can get a lot from the CDs.

Hope this helps.

Cliff

Dear Naresh, Hi i do have similar experience and years like you, Still i would advise you that you need to practise more sets of Questions, develop the "mental frame" in responding  to questions. Time is important.  Read Kerzner, Rodney Turner, Gray Larson atleast Once.  The EXperience brings insight but the answer to Questions are based on ideal conditions as described in PMBOK. ( Not necessarily relating to your situation) Wish you all the best.  Regards Gaiyas

Hi All

Passed the PMP today with a 162. Thanks to everyone who posted in this group.The information, practice tests, etc were all a great help with the examin. The examin wasn't as difficult as I had expected.  But that was made possible by information here along with using the PMBOK & Rita's book. Read both three times along with taking a PMP prep &

the practice tests I found here.

Thanks

John H

I took practice tests from Rita, PMP Exam Cram andLeroy Ward. Rita's material was very similar to theexam. I spent last 2 months preparing for the exam.

ThanksMuthuswamy

Dear All,I cleared the PMP Certification today with  a score of167.

Books Used:PMBOKRita

Also the PMPCert-PMINotes v5.doc from this site wasvery much useful during the last few days.

Before starting the tutorial, I did a brain dump whichhelped me throughout the exam.

Thanks,Muthuswamy.T.S

While 12 years of experience managing projects is a great asset for the exam, that alone is not sufficient to clear the exam.

In fact, sometimes too much experience might work against you if the project management methodology you have been following on your projects is not similar to the PMI methodology. In extreme cases, you will have to go through an unlearning phase before you can start learning the PMI way of managing a project. It is like learning to drive on the right side of the road after driving on the left for a few years.

However, since you have completed the 35 contact hours in Feb 03, I assume you have been studying for quite a while.Use the PMBOK as the bible for the exam and practice lots of scenario based questions. Take as many sample exams as possible in the same kind of environment that you would expect in the real exam.The practice exam in the Kim Heldman book is good. If you are able to get more than 80 percent on this exam, you should be able to do well on the real exam.

Good luck with your exam.

ShashankSCJP2,SCJD2,SCWCD,IBM-XML,PMP ....

I passed PMP with the score of 172 yesterday. Information and material posted on this group was immensely helpful. Studied for 3 months on and off. Other than the material posted on this group, I used PMBOK and Rita's book. I didn't buy any question banks or simulated exam and as an afterthought, I feel questions from the files section in this group and chapter end questions from Rita's are more than enough.

Mahesh

Good article on the value of a PMP and why you need it.  Actually the whole site is pretty good.

http://www.pmousa.com/cfm/hm_pg_content_page.cfm?var=137    

Hi All

Passed the PMP today with a 160.

I took the exam this afternoon, after a preparation of3 months with PMBOK, Rita's Book, sample tests postedin this group and also in www.yancy.org. PMPCert-PMINotes v5.doc was very very useful for me torevise all the topics this morning.

Thanks to everyone who posted in this group.

About the exam:I didnt do any brain dump during the initial tutorialtime. I started answering, and marked the questions which iwas doubtful.  It was pretty fast i finished answeringall 200 questions in around than 90 minutes. Then ireviewed all the questions which were marked forreview (38 of them).Then i started all over again to go through all thequestions, this time i noted down all my answers under3 different category, X (answer almost sure) Y(questions where i narrowed down to 2 answers and alsoquestions of doubt)  and Z (never heard or no cluesabout these questions) in the end i calculated theprobable score  by x*0.9 + y*0.5 + z*0.25  i gotfigure of 158.  Then i pressed the END button andwaited for nervous and loong few seconds to see myscore and result.

Good luck to all PMP Aspirants and thanks again forall the postings in this site

RegardsGanesh S

I recommend that for your final weeks and days you do the following:Read the PMBOK Glossery every dayTake a sample test every dayPractice your brain dump (if you intend to do one) every day.Take a 200 question exam in a simuated environment at least once.  Close yourself off with a timer, a basic calculator, a pencil, and some scratch paper.  Do your brain dump and proceed with the questions.  Take your breaks at your scheduled times.  This really helps. Good luck! Karen

I took the test on 9/29 and passed with a 153.  It's not as high a score as I would have liked, but I passed.

For the benefit of those yet to take the exam, I thought I'd share a list of study aids in the order of effectivness for me:

1.  PMBOK 2000 hard copy and CD2.  Rita's Book3.  Rita's Fast Track CD4.  PMP training course (3 days)5.  ESI Intl. Portable PMP Prep CD's with J. LeRoy Ward 

Good luck to all.   

Hello all,Passed the PMP yesterday.

Score 156 - 78%. Very happy with the score. Wouldn'thave minded a 137 either.

Impression:Most questions are situational. Good understanding ofprocesses, their implications and their intentrequired to answer these questions.

The test actually measures the "application" of theknowledge.

Study Technique/Materials used:-Never completed the PMBOK end-to-end. (Might not work

for all).-Never completed the Kim Heldman book end-to-end.(Might not work for all).-Completed a Certificate in Project and ProgramManagement from UCSC Extension almost a year back.Reference materials from this group.-Common Sense.-Never completed one full test (200 questions) duringpreparation. (Might not work for all).

Suggestions:-Understand the application of Processes, tools andtechniques.-No need to memorize T&T, I and Os. However,understanding what they signify is important.-Braindump of key equations helps but application ofequations is what is important. -Feel free to Mark as many questions as you want. Youwill only go over these questions after your firstpass. I personally went over my marked questions 4extra times... each time unmarking some of them till Iunmarked all of them.-Read questions well and even more - read the answersprovided.-Do any kind of stress-reduction activity the dayprior to the exam. And repeat that after the exam too.

All the best to aspiring PMPs.

Good Luck.SN PMP, CPPM, MCA, CTM, CL(finally feels good to be a PMP)

Glad to inform you all that I took the PMP exam yesterday in Hyderabad and passed with 165. Material used:PMP Study guide by Kim Heldman (studied  twice) PMBOK (not able to complete even once, I found it very hard to study) PMP Exam Prep 4th edition by Rita Mulcahy (studied  twice) PMPTools Simulated Test Bank softwarePMP Role Delineation Study by PMI. (Clearly defines the test criteria, excellent resource for planning preparation strategy, wish I had it early in my preparation)Solved lots of practice exams. I studied for nearly 100 hours over the past 3 months. During exam:After the tutorial, done an extensive memory dump, but in the end it was not required at all.Used the following strategy during first pass.For the questions I am 100% sure, selected the option.For the questions I am not 100% sure, selected the option and marked the question for review.For long questions and math's questions, I had not answered.

 After 1 hour, I had reached the end and there were 25 unanswered questions. Took a break and completed the 25 questions using review unanswered questions feature. Then reviewed the questions that I had marked for review (~ 50).  At this moment little less than 2 hours remaining, so I tried to review all the questions from start, but this time I am finding multiple answers to be correct during the first 20 questions. So stopped the review and hit the end button. Lessons learned :Practice more situational questions that have more than 1 correct answer. In other words, most of the questions I had practiced, I can easily eliminate 3 options. It is quite different in the exam. Good luck to those of you preparing for the test. Thanks & Regards,Ravindra

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to share that I passed my pmp exam last saturday with a 161 score.  Thank you all for sharing all your questions/answers.  This group really helped to solidify things in my mind. 

How I prepared - I think I may have done it a little differently.  I did the following:

- SPent about 100 hours studying.

- Couldnt get motivated in beginning.  So I scheduled my exam THEN started studying.  This is backwards for most people, but I needed the time pressure to get off my lazy butt and get going!!!!

- Took a PMP prep class from ESI INternational via my employer.  This was a real help in that they gave us lots of material to help us focus.  In addition to class materials, we got the following books:

PMP Challenge (600 practice questions in form of flash cards)

ESI practice test book ( it had a 40 question test at end of every chapter and a 200 question test simulation at end.)  As luck would have it, the book was copyrighted July 2003 so it appeared to be very new.

Hardcover PMBOK

An automated tool called PM Powertrack by Mamagement Concepts Inc (another training company).  Got this courtesy of my employer.  This was nothing more than lots and lots of test questions.  They had practice questions for both process groups and knowledge areas as well as a 200 question simulated test.  The questions were ok, but didnt really resemble the type of questions I got in the exam.  In addition, if you got a question wrong it wasn't real clear what the solution was.  It pointed you to a page in the pmbok or a textbook, but no explaination whatsoever.  ESI was much clearer with explainations as to why a question was what it was.  Also, this tool timed you in the practice exam and scored you in each section so you could track performance.  Overall, not sure I would actually buy the PMPowertrack thing myself.

- Studyed the first 2 above cover to cover.  Used PMP challenge in follwoing way.  Spent 1

hour/day on 1 chapter of flash cards for 2 months before exam.  This kept me current.

- Read PMBOK cover to cover

- Did most of the other things to prepare that people said in prior notes.  However 1 thing I did that wasnt mentioned earlier had to do with studying for the 5 processes (initiation, planning, execution, control, closing).  As I studying the PMBOK I was having trouble relating chapters 4-11 knowledge areas to the IPECC process flow.   So here is what i did.  I took an old poster board and wrote out the process flows as outlined in ch3 of the PMBOK.  WIthin each process box I wrote the inputs, outputs and TT's.  I did this for planning, execution and control.  WHen I saw the whole process flow and the in/tt/outs, it became so much more clear to me what the key docs were and what you were trying to do within each flow.  It was nothing fancy or pretty, but it helped me see the whole thing and see trends, relationships, etc..  I would recommend this exercise.  It really helped me in my exam.

MY EXAM:- FInished pass 1 within 3 hours- Very little number crunching with math formulas- LOTS of situations: what would you do, what would u do FIRST, etc.

One curve ball they threw at me had to do with a network diagram.  They gave ma a NW diagram question and I had to do start-finish for whole thing to answer a question abou float.  Then about 20 questions later, they show me THE SAME diagram with slightly different working to make it look like a new question.  BUT IT WASNT.  The 2nd question asked if we change float on B to x, what does this do to task Y.  Same diagram, different calculation.  As luck would have it, I did my NW diagram on separate piece of paper in pencil.  I merely marked up old doc with new data and quickly got answer.  From there, I saw 1-2 more questions with SAME NW diagram so I used original drawing.  But quesstions were spaced like 10+questions apart.  Moral of story: save any calcs cleanly and neatly off to the side as you may need them again.

Hope this helps someone out there like others have helped me.  Best of luck to anyone out there studying.  Go for it!!!!!

I'm proud to say that I passed my PMP testing today and wanted to thank everyone participating in this group. I have been a silent member for a few months. I have used the emails being shared to answer my own questions as well as get a better understanding of issues I believed I had a handle on.  I did submit a question on calculating PV and got a most insightful and easy method to obtaining my answer.  A special thank you to ELCEEM.  His work on the files section of the group website is greatly appreciated, and it enabled me to find answers and study material quickly.  I will continue to monitor the emails from the group, as I feel these communications can be a valued source for reference and clarification as I continue to advance my PMP career.

The only words of wisdom I'll pass on to those still studying for the exam is that you must read and understand the PMBOK, as well as use as many test questions as possible.  For most of us, it's not a matter of knowing the material, but how to take the test and pass. There is a difference between real world experience and how the PMI organization is scoring you on the test. I will say the test was much easier than most of the test questions I came across.Good Luck!!!

Elizabeth Hazelliz4200@bellsouth.net

Greetings fellow PMers!!

First time poster and wanted to share my experience on the PMP examination. 

PREPARATION FOR THE EXAM:I used only the following: PMBOK, PMP Exam Prep (Rita Mulcahy, 4th edition), PM Fasttrack CD (Mulcahy).

I typed out each chapter in the PMP Exam Prep, organizing the material in a way that made more sense to me.  You don't neccessariloy have to do this.  It has always helped me becuase it forces me to go over everything.  I refered back to PMBOK for subjects that I didn't understand or wanted more information on.  I did not read the PMBOK.  I only went to it looking for specific information on topics.  I also used the PMBOK to read over the glossary.  If I didn't understand something in the glossary, I went and searched out more information in the PMBOK.

After going through the PMP Exam Prep, I turned to the PM Fasttrack CD.  I must have taken 10 or so 200 question exam simulations.  For the most part, if I started a 200 question simulation, I forced myself to complete it all.  I did stop short a few times but that was after I had taken a number of test and felt pretty good about my knowledge.  It was taking me around 2 hours to complete the simulations.

I then went through the PM Fasttrack CD and took questions from specific process groups so I could focus more on a single process group at a time.  This helped out a lot.  It made me see patterns and key words to some of the questions (i.e. Quality Assurance = "Overall or confidence" and Quality Control = "specifc").

After going through the process groups answering questions, I went back and took the PMP simulation tests again.  I scored 90% twice and that was good enough for me.

So to sumerize some things that I did and did not do that I see a lot of questions on...- DID NOT read the PMBOK.  Only referenced it like a dictionary.- DID NOT memorize inputs/outputs.  After learning the material this came naturally. - DID NOT learn how to calculate NPV.- DID learn the rest of the formulas.- DID use the simulation exams as my primary source for studying.

All in all, it took me around 4 weeks of intense studying.  I actually moved my test date up a week becuase I was tired of studying anymore.

ABOUT THE EXAM:It took me approximately 2.5 hours to complete.  The simulation questions and the PMP questions were a good match.  I don't think I would have passed without the simulation exams.  It's worth the money.  I "marked" all of the questions that looked to be difficult or required extensive calculations or thought.  I didn't want my brain to sizzle too quickly so I saved these for the end.  There is something to be said for having gone through all of the questions.  It makes you feel more optimistic about the ones that you need to go back an review.  When you get stuck on question 3/200 it can be very discomforting.  Just "mark" it and go back when you have some questions under you belt.

Bring ear plugs.  My testing center had head-sets and I am gld they did.  The guy across from me kept pounding on the keyboard as he was typing away and I considered picking up my PC and throwing it on his head.  WARNING: You will need to retake the exam if you crush someone sitting next to you with your PC.

Anyhoo, I am open for questions.  I really appreciated the feddback posted in here from others that passed the exam.  I found those posts to be the most valuable so I am hoping someone can use this info.  Good luck!!

Hi,

I also wrote last Thursday and passed with 170.

Some of my experiences :The test centre was 5 min walk from my office so I went in early to have a final "refresh" but landed up having to deal with a minor work crisis which threw me slightly - DON'T DO THIS!

In preparation, attended a PMP prep course over 10 weeks which ended in August. I have not bought Rita's, or any other books. The institution offering the prep course had an old version of Rita's CD, and I did about 4 full length tests.

Other material included :PMBOK - 3 timesExtensive use of the notes on this site - Yancy, Version 5, and quite a few others in the form of presentations etcLots and lots of practice questions. I can't stress the importance of doing practice questions. I kept notes of those practice questions I got horribly wrong, and used these, together with Ver 5 notes as my main Key-points summary prior to the exam.

The exam itself : Got there early, and was allowed to start immediately. Did a brain dump during the tutorial period, then did the tutorial. Don't be thrown by the "END" at the end of the tutorial - selecting this will NOT exit the exam, but just the tutorial, and take you to the exam. I found the questions generally easier than expected. I had a calculator, but did not have to use

it. Some questions were simple one-liners, but others were quite extensive. There were also some where all four choices seemed correct (based on by 14 yrs project management experience). I finished in 2 hours, then spent a further 45 min reviewing EVERY question. This was just as well, as some of the questions are worded in a tricky fashion, and have a corresponding answer in the choices if mis-read.

Its a relief to have passed. This site is about the best resource I have found. I intend over the next few days to add to the Ver 5 notes based on my experience, and as a thank you to those in this group who have helped me pass. A BIG THANKS to the moderator as well.

I guess I need to share my own experience too.

I found that the exam was not too difficult if you understand well the principles behind the PMBOK.

It is not a question of knowning by heart the content of the PMBOK but rather to assimilate the PMI philosophy and being able to apply it to the different situations that are proposed in the exam.

My recommendations:

1)Read the PMBOK2)Take some sample quiz3)Take a prep exam course (it helps a lot in putting thing together)4)Take the exam within the following month and in the mean time:4.1) reread the PMBOK4.2) review the course notes4.3) take a lot of practices tests

It requires discipline but for someone with a fair amount of experience in project management,it should not be too difficult to get the PMP title.

Good luck.

I took the exam yesterday and passed!!!  Here are some of myexperiences:

I took the ILL exam prep course a year ago.  So as part of it I usedKernzer, the PMIQ CD and PMBOK.  A friend loaned me her Rita prep bookand I purchased the Kim Heldner book.  My strongest recommendation isif you are taking a prep class; take the exam as soon as possible.Don't put if off. I found it to be difficult to get back into theswing of studying.

My Recommendation is1.      PMBOK2.      Kim Heldner 3.      Rita Prep4.      This group, what a valuable asset this is.

5.      Trandumper – or as many pc based exams.  I wasn't use totaking pc-based tests and this really helped prep for the long examand staring at a screen for so long.

With all the studying I did (started back in Sept), it is difficult tosay if the exam was difficult.  I tried to over study, in fear of notpassing. That's why try to take it as soon as possible after aprep class, while everything is still fresh. One thing is for sure,that you have to put some study time in to pass this exam.  Myschedule was everyday for 3 hrs, and on weekends during the last month(increased it to 8 hrs). This was mostly taking the practice exams.This was good practice as to what to expect. The trandumper files aregreat, along with all the other material in the notes file. As forsetting a test date, I had originally set it for Nov, so that I couldbe study free for Thanksgiving, but in taking the tests, realized thatI was not ready. That's when I got the Kim Heldner book, whichjust put everything into place and started with the trandumper tests.

During the exam tutorial, I had done what so many people recommend, abrain dump, mostly of the formulas. This came in real handy.  It tookme about 3 hr, and I did review some of my work but not all in thelast hour. I just got real tired of the stuff.

I want to thank everyone and the moderator of this group. This playeda huge part in my passing. I can't believe how much sharing andsupport is here. I am so relieved its over, now its time to start tolive again.  Good luck to everyone who is planning to take the exam.

I read PMBOK one time and then hit Rita's questions hard. I went through each Knowledge Area getting between 65-75% correct, then I immediately retook it getting 85-95%. The day before the test I took the Super PMP and got ~86%.

Thanks much for all of the help!

RS

Hi All ,I am glad to inform the group that I cleared my PMP Exam with a score of 158 on Dec 8th 2003 .

I read PMBOK and Rita atleast Twice completely and did take some Practise tests which gave me lot of confidence .

My advise to aspirants is , pl. don't overkill urself . There is wealth of info. available around but only some of them are really useful .

I would say 75-80 hours of sincere study would be sufficient for any one with a resonable amount of PM experience ..

What is more important is to understand the processes and Definitions thoroughly (Don't by heart).

Be prepared for Situational Questions .

Important Note : Don't expect Very lengthy Questions . Most of them will be one or two liners.

Time : It is more than sufficient for any one . I finished all the Questions in 2Hrs.55 mins and review got over in another 15 mins .

The Technic that I thouroughly applied while taking the exam was RTQ (Read the Question)and RTA(Read The Answer)

Thanks and RgdsNagesh

Hello All,

Just wanted to share my good news! I passed the test (P.T.T) on the first try today!

Even though I did not post here... I did go through the files and found a lot of useful study guides and practice exams.

Study Material used:- Rita Mulcahy's book- Kim Heldman's book <-- her book is very good for making sense of the order in which processes are to be performed.- PMBOK (I actually read it twice!)- Practice exams

Good luck to everyone preparing for the exam and pass the test ;-)

Best Regards,Trinia M. Tabb, MBA, PMPAdvocate Health Care

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to share my great news that I passed the exam this morning with a score of 161.

What I did:- Read Rita Mulcahy's book (3rd & 4th editions..) - which means I went through it twice!- Read Kim Heldman's book- Referenced PMBOK for clarification- Practiced questions from: (1) Rita's book, (2) Kim's book & CD, (3) PMI Sample questions, (4) PMP Exam Online Prep Test (http://www.vl-p.net/pmp-online-self-test/75-free-questions.htm)

- Day before the exam, only went over what I was going to braindump for the exam NOTHING MORE (this keeps the test anxiety to a minimum)

What I did NOT do:- Memorize ITTOs. (it may be helpful to some, but I personally could not make sense of it and saved myself the headache and frustration of it all..)

Thank youu to everyone who have posted questions and comments to this group! It is definitely a great resource!!!!

Akon E. Ekpo, PMP