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Reply: Those who used Home Testing Option- Please share your experiences

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Topic History of : Those who used Home Testing Option- Please share your experiences

Max. showing the last 6 posts - (Last post first)
3 years 7 months ago #23110

Alberto

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Hello.

I did the PMI-ACP exam this week from home and fortunately passed it. After reading so many bad experiences about the proctored exam I was really worried but in my case there weren´t any problems. I recommend connecting before your scheduled exam time as there are several tasks you need to complete before the exam like taking the system test and sending several photographs. After all these tasks I went to what I think is the worst managed part of the exam. I was told to wait, in front of the webcam, without moving, without cellphone or books at hand, no talking, no drinking, no eating. For me the thing they should change is that there is no open channel of communication whatsoever so you don´t really know if there has been any problems and have no way to communicate with them in case something happen from your side. I was actually lucky (or they have improved their procedures) and I was contacted quickly (in 5 min or so) but I imagine that being like that for more than 20 minutes can be very stressful and draining (specially before an exam). The person that contacted me was very polite and after a very brief exchange I began the exam. The exam was three without stops, there were no breaks that I could see (maybe I missed the functionality). It´s a bit hard to spend three hours with no drinking, going to the bathroom or moving from the chair and maintaining the concentration over so many questions. I didn´t move from the chair but I did stretch my neck and my back in the chair a little bit. I didn´t receive any warnings during the exam. After finishing the exam there is a couple of surveys and a screen telling you that you have passed it and they will send you a mail in 1 to 3 days. I did received the confirmation mail the day after.

All in all it´s a hard experience that I think there is definetively room for improvement but it was doable. If you have no option but to do it from home like me, I would say go ahead but be prepared. I think it´s very important that you do a rehearsal before the actual exam (I used the exam simulator from here) and I do it like in the real exam, no communication with anyone and not getting up from the chair. On the day of the exam be prepared (hydrate yourself, go to the bathroom before, stretch a little bit).

I wish you all luck and with the exam
3 years 7 months ago #23015

Anonymous

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I also saw "Congratulations!" but I was not sure whether they are congratulating me for just finishing the exam or passing it. haha...
You know what I did, I looked at my profile in PMI because I was so worried. I couldn't wait to see the result and with the experience I had in this online proctored exam, I needed an answer as soon as I can.
3 years 7 months ago #23013

Anonymous

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I do agree with most of you...to NOT take the exam at home if at all possible! For me, I tried scheduling it in the center. I originally schedule it post covid on May, knowing that situation was not getting any better and I know offices here in the Philippines are still closed, I moved my exam on June. But a month before the date of exam, the center emailed me that they will cancel my exam and I have to reschedule it. So I did, and I chose July. A month before the date, again the center emailed me that they are cancelling my exam since they are still on skeletal force and no one is in the office. So I did again, and tried Aug. So I thought I was finally able to lock in the date. Unfortunately, 8days before the date of my exam when I notified the center about it, they were surprised that they had it in their calendar. And then I was like...WHAAAT? My mind was already set, I spared some time to review already (after losing the momentum because of the changes in schedule) only to lose the motivation again. Plus the fact that I am aware of the policy of rescheduling the exam within the last 30days of it. So I had to decide...I made up my mind, I wanted to get this over with and I pushed for the Aug schedule but this time...AT HOME. Good thing that PMI's penalty in rescheduling exam is waived until Oct 1, 2020.

I only have PrepCast as my reviewer and practice test. You will see a lot out there but because I have very limited budget and time (getting more reviewers mean more time to review which I don't have) I have to really be careful about choosing which one among those hundreds of materials in the web. Before the exam (probably because I was so worried already) I had to test my connection every other day. On the day, I told people at home to NOT use the access point I am using just for this exam. When I started accepting all conditions, I started to feel nervous already. No water, No peeing, No standing...hard, right? Plus, I waited for exactly 25min just staring at the monitor and wait until the proctor started the exam (within the first 15minutes of your scheduled exam is the time when they will open your exam). Problem with me is that I used to reading the questions aloud or murmur at least which is definitely a NO-NO to them. I got I think 3 notifications to stop it because sometimes I didn't notice that I was already doing it. The 3rd notif is when I got scared because the proctor said that he had to terminate my exam if I will do it again, and I was just in #82 question.

In the center, you get to do all these! You can even stretch...It wasn't a nice experience and like what I said, I just wanted to get this over with. I passed, and I am very grateful to PrepCast for the materials. It was really helpful. I don't know about the other sources but this one is really close to the real exams. Kudos PrepCast Team! More power!

Posted by: Sherry Rodulfo
3 years 7 months ago #22911

Sharyn Horowitz

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i just finished the online proctored exam and there was just a screen that said congrats and that I'd get an email in 1-3 days, so I think I passed. Gee I hope so, but I won't believe it of course until I see the email. I had no connection difficulties other than thinking that the "Loading...." messages felt like they lasted a little too long. Also I was pleasantly surprised that there was a Calculator built into the exam interface. I also used a folding table and I used my computer to take photos of the space without any issues.
3 years 8 months ago #22012

Keith

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Hello, everyone.
I passed the exam from home a couple of weeks ago. After reading the Pearson Vue guidance I decided that it would be best to set up a folding table with my laptop so that there wouldn’t be any ‘contraband’ near me. I think this helped a lot as it created a very blank and clear space for me. I was approved and allowed into the test almost immediately after uploading the pictures of my setup.
I did get a warning from one of the admins for talking. I found that talking to myself, reading the questions and answers aloud, was very helpful to me during the practice tests. But, about 20 minutes into the exam, I was told that talking was prohibited. The admin suggested I whisper. While I understand this rule I was frustrated and a little stressed at having to change my procedure.
I was also frustrated that I couldn’t get a feel for how I was doing. During most of the practice exams, I was able to predict my score with reasonable accuracy. But, I was completely clueless during the real exam…another stressor. At the time, I thought this meant that I wasn’t doing very well and, thus, the practice exams included in the PrepCast needed to be updated. But, in the end, I passed.
My method was to go through all of the PrepCast classes from start to finish, take thorough notes, and then start taking practice exams. I started with full practice exams, one per day. At first, my scores were in the high 60’s and low 70’s. I would only review the questions I got wrong. After a week or two of practice exams, I started getting 80’s and 90’s. Then, I started launching customized exams covering one domain at a time and only containing the questions I had previously missed. I did this for another week or so. I never read any other materials or books although I plan to at a more leisurely pace now that I have finished the exam.
3 years 9 months ago #21978

Wim Coppejans

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Hi All ,

I just passed the PMI-ACP test using the Home Testing Option.

I performed all pre-check tests and went through the enrolment process without any issue.
However , after I was admitted to start to take my exam, the screen froze. The chat option also froze.

So, after a short wait , I decided to ask for assistance, simply by speaking out loud : "can somebody assist me please ? "
Within 1 minute I received a call and was instructed on the actions to take.
In my case it involved force restarting my system" and connecting to the exam application again.
This worked out , and I was able to proceed without any further issue.

So , as a conclusion i would say that the technology used is not super robust , but there is decent support in case you run into trouble.
Just stay calm and ask for assistance.

OSP INTERNATIONAL LLC
OSP INTERNATIONAL LLC
Training for Project Management Professional (PMP)®, PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®, and Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®

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