I'm not going to lie, the test was REALLY hard and I studied for over 5 months. I did a lot of research on study tools and here is the process I used:
- I went through all of the PrepCast videos, which were terrific and entertaining (for such a dry topic!).
- In parallel, I read the PMBOK Guide.
- Again in parallel, I read David Crowe's PMP Exam -- How to Pass on your First Try. It was a good foundation, with very difficult practice questions (harder than on the test). In my opinion, through, Crowe's book does not have enough info to pass the exam. Not a criticism per se, I just don't think one book will give you everything you need.
- Using the above sources (as well as some other online references, including Edward Chung), I wrote up my own 35-page study guide describing in a fair amount of detail the 49 process groups by knowledge area. I am more than happy to send it to you to use as a basis for your own customized study guide (
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
- I used an INVALUABLE free online tool that I referred to constantly: the PMBOK Process Explorer,
www.acethepmpexam.com/ppe/index.html
. I found it just by chance and I'm not sure why I haven't read about it anywhere.
- In my fifth (last) month, I started going through exam questions in parallel with reviewing my own study guide. I recommend going through questions a LOT earlier than your last month, I wish I had done it literally from the beginning! Initially I went through the questions as a learning exercise, i.e., answering a question and then reading the answer/explanation immediately afterward. This was a terrific learning tool and I highly recommend this process. Don't get discouraged if you miss a lot of them at first, you are still learning the material and the test format.
- I then started taking some full 200-question practice exams. The PrepCast Exam Simulator is AWESOME with 7 full exams including great explanations. Go through all of them if you can, they are just like the real exam and I couldn't have passed without them. I also used a few other sites with free questions, including LovePMP (1600 questions! - -
lovepmp.com/docs/question/pmp-questions
) and Oliver Lehmann (
www.oliverlehmann.com/pmp-self-test/100-...stions.htm#providers
). The PrepCast questions are the best.
- My most important advice: go through AS MANY SAMPLE QUESTIONS AS POSSIBLE and allow yourself time to review ALL of the answers/explanations afterward, whether you got them right or wrong. (Set aside many, many hours to do this, it's a little painful). I can almost guarantee that you will not pass without doing this.
- A few miscellaneous tips...know exactly what's in the Charter, and know all of the activities involved in the Closing process. Also, I don't recommend attempting to memorize all the TTs and IOs. As you take the various practice exams, you will start to recognize which ones are important.
I guess my key advice is going through as many practice questions as you can, early on in your studies. I hope this information helps and best of luck!!
