I took the PMP earlier last month and passed (4P's, 1MP). I wanted to thank Cornelius
Process: Over the course of 6 weeks (am in between jobs so focused on PMP full time):
1) Create study plan (used suggestions and lesson learned from others) to create rough schedule
2) Used Andy Crowe's "How to Pass PMP on Your first try" - taking notes
3) Watched (majority of) Prepcast Lessons - to reinforce what I read
4) Used Prepcast simulation exams until I felt comfortable (consistently scoring 78% - 85%). Also used other (free & credible) simulations you can find online.
5) Scheduled exam for that week.
Lessons Learned:
- Develop a plan, and continually monitor and control it. Stay disciplined in keeping it, but flexible making changes as necessary (i.e. add/remove study days, take more/less test, focus on specific topics)
- Take plenty of practice test prior to gauge progress
o identify weak spots
o familiarize self with test, questions, appropriate answers, and important subject matter
o select test date based on results
- Interact with material – think how various processes and ITTO’s relate to each other and can be used in actual projects (DO NOT memorize ITTO’s)
- Have a good test taking strategy:
1) First 50 minutes - aim to get to 75 questions. Skip long, calculations, or difficult questions. Mark ones unsure about. Take a 5 minute break - near the restroom I did some jumping jacks to get the blood flowing.
2) Second 50 minutes - do same as above. Take 5 - 10 minute break. use restroom, eat a snack, stretch/calisthenics
3) Third 50 minutes - do same as above. If you're on track you get to last question in this interval. Start going through skipped questions. Take a 10 minute break - stretching/calisthenics a MUST since your brain is fried at this point.
4) Final 50 minutes go through skipped questions - aim to stay under 2 min for each. If you can't skip it second time. Also go look at marked questions
5) Last 5 minutes - guess on questions that are still unmarked. Ensure you answered everything.
