I completed my PMI-ACP application on June 20, 2020. Considering, I can only study at night and during weekends due to my full-time job, I decided to give myself 2.5 months to study, review, and write practise exams. I chose to take the online exam on Fri Sep 4, 2020.
For my studies, I used the AGILE Prepcast Video Lessons (Cornelius Fichtner), the PMI-ACP Exam Prep for PMBOK 6 (Joseph Phillips), the PMI-ACP Exam Content Outline, and The Scrum Guide (Schwaber and Sutherland).
For my practise exams, I used a handful of exams to provide me with both breadth and depth of scenarios as it pertains to the 7 domains. The practise exams are listed as follows:
1). PMI-ACP Exam Simulator by PM Prepcast (4 exams - 120 questions each)
2). PMI-ACP Exam Prep for PMBOK 6 (uDemy - Joseph Phillips) (1 exam - 115 questions)
3). PMI-ACP Practice Exam PMBOK 6 (uDemy - Joseph Phillips) (1 exam - 150 questions)
4). PMI-ACP Practise Exam (uDemy - Joseph Phillips) (2 exams - 120 questions each)
5). Agile Certified Practitioner PMI-ACP Exam Simulator-1 (uDemy - Mohamed Gouda) ( 6 exams - 120 questions)
I spent the first 1.5 months reading and mastering the study materials. During the weekdays, I allocated 1.5 hrs at night and 1 hr early in the morning, and 2 to 4 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. I took notes in my study notebook and reviewed them along the way (yes - I deliberately chose to use the low tech / high touch method). Towards the 4th week of my study period, I started taking the practise exams using the PMI-ACP Exam Simulator by Prepcast. I took notes of my mistakes and gauged how much of the AGILE principles I have absorbed.
I spent the last 4 weeks of the 2.5 months taking the practise exams listed above. After each exam, I reviewed my mistakes, learned the underlying principles of the question, and related what I learned to the various domains and tasks found in the PMI-ACP Exam Content outline. The pattern "Take the exam - Review mistakes - Learn principles - Equate to domains & tasks" proved to be very helpful during the actual exam. It helped me better understand the exam questions, eliminate the wrong choices, and pick the correct answer.
The actual exam questions were a lot more difficult than the practise exams. lt took me longer to read and answer each question. They are all situational and it spanned all the domains. I did not have much time left at the end of the exam to review my "marked" questions. I felt good at the end of the exam and had a great indication that I passed. I just didn't know how well I did. I was very delighted and happy to find out as I logged on to PearsonVue\PMI that I scored ABOVE TARGET on all the 7 Domains!!!
Though the 3 hour exam was stressful, I am relieved that it is over. I am thankful for all the principles that I learned through the AGILE Prepcast. It provided a lot of context and historical/background information on the various AGILE practises. These knowledge helped me become a much better and well rounded Agile Practitioner.
Good luck to you if you are planning to write the exam. Study hard, learn the AGILE principles, practise well, be confident, and pass the exam !!
