Passed the PMP with 5 x AT on my first attempt.
I gave myself 2 months study time and booked my exam as soon as the PMI notification came through - having a deadline forces me to concentrate.....
Started off by ploughing through the PMBoK guide and making copious notes, but it was just too slow a process, so I ended up being far more focused concentrating on the little gems hidden in the book. Overall, it wasn't as dull as I expected. Learn the 49 processes and their Process Group/Knowledge Areas - you'll need this to understand where the question is set and what is likely to be the next steps.
I ended buying a lot of PMP books and practice questions but on the whole they were not used - some mock questions were difficult to understand and the answers open to interpretation. In the end I settled on the PMP Study Guide 9th Edition by Kim Heldman - the format, writing style, exam tips and notes were a good fit with my way of thinking (I wish I had discovered the book earlier though).
The PMP Prepcast mock exams were invaluable. I was very nervous about the exam question format but the mock questions and the exam questions have a similar look and feel. I took all the exams in the week prior to the actual exam answering all 1600 questions - funnily enough, my first attempt results didn't show an improvement over time; starting at 88% and descending to 81% with the ITTO's coming in at 75%. Basic lesson learned - Read The Question - seems obvious but under time pressure and scanning the question, it is easy to jump to conclusions about the question and answer and miss the "not" or "except for".
Most questions appeared to be of the situational type.
I recommend taking the tutorial at the start of the exam - you have 15 minutes to do it and it gives a good introduction into the tools available to help you during the exam.
I hope this helps.
Good luck to everyone taking the exam!
Best Wishes
Noel
