PMP Exam Lessons Learned
Background
My background is Information Technology in which I’ve been employed for 35 years in positions ranging from Programmer to Systems Analyst to IT Manager positions. I have taken other project management, ITIL and Six Sigma courses and I have used project management best practices, tools and techniques in my positions.
In July, I found myself in between jobs so I dedicated my summer to getting my PMP certification. Because I was able to dedicate several hours each day I set an aggressive target to get my PMP certification by September.
Study and Preparation
I first read the PMBOK guide to ensure I was fairly familiar with the process groups and 47 project management processes. I spent two to three hours a day reading the book for about one month.
I then used the PM PrepCast to study each of the processes further. I spent about 90 hours over the next two and half weeks going through the lessons, highlighting material in the PMBOK guide and writing my own notes. I found the PM PrepCast a very useful study tool to learn and study by. I memorized Table 3-1 Project Management Process Groups and Knowledge Areas and the formulas in Table 7-1 Earned Value Calculations. This was good advice given by Cornelius and other PMP exam takers. I scored 79% on average on the self-assessments for each module.
Crunch Time
I signed up for the PMP exam and it was set for September 9. I spent the next two weeks taking PMP Exam Simulator tests and preparing myself for the exam. People have described PMP exam preparation as similar to training for a marathon and that’s exactly how it felt to me. I had to build up my endurance to sit for 4 hours straight and decipher complex questions. Also time management was critical for me to keep a good pace going through the questions and not spend excessive time on any one question. On my previous ITIL and Six Sigma multiple choice exams, I had scored 88% and I was aiming for a similar score on the exam simulator but the following shows my practice scores and times:
77.00 % correct total time 04:00
82.00 % correct total time 03:12
78.00 % correct total time 03:12
83.00 % correct total time 03:13
82.50 % correct total time 03:01
81.50 % correct total time 04:00
I recommend other people to take at least six practice exams and get fully comfortable answering that many questions for up to 4 hours straight.
The Exam
I was fortunate enough to do the recommended “Brain Dump” during the test tutorial time (I understand the rules have changed for this). I did not need the Brain Dump notes much other than to keep my brain focused. I needed 3 hours and 50 minutes to complete the exam. I left a couple of questions that took a bit longer until the end. That left only 10 minutes to go back and review a couple of questions I marked for review. I had planned to take one break but I found I did not have time to take any breaks at all. That was tough.
I passed the PMP exam with moderately proficient in each of the five domains (Process groups). Yeah! This exam was the toughest exam I have taken, not because of the content, but because of the duration and complex wording of the questions. The PM PrepCast and 200 hours of study time were key, and the Exam Simulator was critical in preparation and building up my endurance to get through the exam.
