TOPIC: PMP Exam

Part of the road map that made me successful were as follows:
1,) I read the study materials to understand. In my own case i used Headfirst, PMBOK 5th edition and simplilearn e-book.
2.) I Practiced different 4-hr exam simulator questions and always studied areas that i didn't get right. This made me to gain confidence and know how to answer questions properly next time i came across similar ones.
3.) Know the 47 knowledge areas by heart, i:e table 3.1 on the PMBOK 5th edition .I made sure i understood the ITTOs, avoid memorizing.
4.) I developed my own brain dump as i studied along it really helped especially few days to the exam.
5) Know the PMP exam formulas by heart. I bought the pocket guide that contained all formulas with detailed explanations

Hello Jude,

Congratulations on passing the exam! You mentioned the formulas in your message. So I have this for you:

I'd like to know from recent exam takers how important they thought formulas were for them to pass the exam. Here are three questions for you.

• Approximately how many formula-based questions did you have on your exam?
• Were they easy / medium / hard?
• Do you wish that you had studied more or less in regards to formulas?

Cornelius,
I sat for the PMP Monday and passed! I only saw 2 EVM questions and 1 EAC. 2 PERT questions in scenario form. Simple if you know in what contex to use PERT. The EAC question was complex and I hadn't seen one like it from any of the practice questions I completed. Couldn't come up with the correct calculation to match the answer choices. Overall, knowing formulas and the basic scenarios they will be presented in is sufficient. All the 2016 posts I've seen from exam takers say they've seen 5-10 questions, a small %.

FYI, I saw A LOT of questions covering scenarios where a change request is made late in executing, a key deliverable from a seller cannot be provided on time. Basically how do you as a PM handle or prevent an event that could cause a project delay or change in scope.

On a personal note, thank you for staying up to dat e and putting a lot of great information out there for exam preparation. It helped me a lot!

Good morning, Cornelius,

I passed the exam on Friday, May 6th, and had about ten formula-based questions. Two of them were PERT questions in a scenario situation. I took the last week or two and really studied my formulas then. I focused on EVM formulas mostly because I felt less confident in that area. Imagine my surprise when I found three questions to calculate the critical path duration! You see, I struggled early with this one because I had learned to start on Day 0, which does not require one to add and subtract numbers. I revisited this part in your PrepCast lessons a few times and watched a couple of YouTube videos that helped me solve for all three questions. It was a very satisfying experience!

Hi Cornelius, all,

To answers your questions:

1. &2. There were very few formula based questions on my exam. Perhaps 5 or so. They were the simplest calculations. Nothing like what some of the advanced simulators are presenting.
3. If I had known that there would be so few formula questions, I imagine I would have apportioned my study effort accordingly, although I think it was good to have a grounding in these concepts, so I have no regrets. In addition, perhaps other exams had more formulas, so it's always good to be prepared.

Regards,
Lloyd