Important Read It Carfully

IMPORTANT READ IT CARFULLY

I finally passed with a score higher than I expected.
Thanks to everyone for your help during my study. Here is
my "lessons learned" in order to finalize my "PMP certification
project".
Preparation
~~~~~~~~~~~
I followed the 35 hours course from my local PMI chapter in
marsh/april 2003. I learned a lot of trick there and I don't know I
could have passed the exam without it. The last three hours before
the exam, I re-read the Powerpoint presentation of this course.
I had a surprise then. I thought that, after the course, I would
only have to study for a couple of weeks and pass the exam. How
wrong I was!!! Our first teacher told us that we should study
between 100 and 150 hours in order to pass. I put the material on the
side during summer and really start my study in september.
I submit my application form for the exam in the first week of
november via PMI website. I received my confirmation 4 days later
(one of the person who attended the same preparation course as mine
has waiting more than 2 months for its confirmation after he sent is
application by regular mail). Lesson: APPLY ONLINE!
In october and november, I studied about 10 hours a week. In
december, I studied an average of 3 hours per day. My objective:
pass the exam before Christmas.
I read the PmBok twice. The second time, I did "active reading";
while reading, I took many notes in an 80 pages notebook (about 3
pages par chapter). I also did a big map of all the processes, there
inputs and there outputs and the way they interact with each other.
That really really help me understand the PmBok. Lesson: Do that!
I didn't bought Rita machintruc's book nor any other costly
material. I felt I didn't need any of these. I think you don't
necessarely need them.
My company doesn't have a formal documented framework for project.
So, based on the PMI but adapted to our particular organization, I
built one and submited it to the management in place. That was a
hit! Management likes it a lot and mandated me to continue working
on it (part time but it is better than nothing). I had to explain to
them what is "scope management", "earned value management", "risk
management" and so forth. Doing this, I often had to refer to the
PmBok. That also helped me a lot.
I have discover the PMPCert group only three weeks before my exam.
Two great benefits from this discovery. The first one is that you
showed me how to analyze the questions: in which processus are we?
Do I understand correctly the context of the question? What do they
ask? That might look basic and simple but I think this is another
key for a successful exam.
The other great benefit is TRANDUMPER. I did a lot of test
(somewhere between 2500 and 3000 questions). That really helped me.
Lesson: tests are a great way to learn the material. Do as many as
you can!
While doing the test (before answering the question), I wrote down
how sure I was of the answer (100%-sure, 75%-almost sure, 50%-
hesitate between 2 answers, 25%-guess). This is another tool which
help me a lot during the exam. At the end, I was having the
following result:
o I was generally "sure" or "almost sure" of 65% the answers. Of
those 65%, my answers were correct at 90%.
o I had around 30% of "50-50" questions. I generally answer these
questions correctly between 60% and 70% of the time.
o I had less than 5% of pure guess. My results were so variable that
I considered that no guess was correct.
Regarding the Trandumper test, I work principaly with the CTSA series
of question. I scored around 78% on those tests. In the last week
before my exam, I took Reddy (78%), ExamCram 1 (88%), Examcram9
(79%), Sybex (76%), Ohio (87%), Balaji (76%), PMP Simulated Test Demo
(86%), Dallas (88%). I have found that Ohio, Examcram 1 and PMP
simulated test and Dallas too easy. So I assumed that my target note
was around 78%.
Was I ready? I was not that confident but I had to go forward ...
There is not a great margin between 78% percent and the passing
score. My fear was that I could have very few "sure or almost sure"
questions during the test. Imagine if I only have 50-50 questions; I
could then be in trouble ... There is also the perception that
discussion on this site tends to say that you can pass the exam when
you score in the mid-80's at practice tests...
The day of the exam
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is a 2 hours 30 minutes drive from home (Quebec city) to my
test center (Montreal). My test was scheduled at 13h00. I planned
to take the bus at 8h00 in the morning to be in the test center
before noon.
A major snowstorm hit my region the day of the test. Everything in
my hometown was closed. We received over 20 inches (50 centimeters)
of snow. The highway between Quebec City and Montreal was almost
closed. I decided to take the bus at 7h00 and finally arrived in
Montreal at 11h15 (the 8h00 bus arrived in Montreal at ...
14h30!!!!). Anyway, I was there on time. Other lesson: RISK
MANAGEMENT and RISK RESPONSE PLANNING!!! What could happen might
happen!
The exam
~~~~~~~~
During the tutorial, I dumped a schema showing all 39 processes and
there interaction (a mix of figure 3-5 to 3-8 on the PMBok with a few
personal notes).
I answered all 200 questions on the first pass which took me 3
hours. I wrote down the "degree of assurance" for each question. I
marked all the 50-50 questions. Only two or three questions took me
more than 3 minutes to answer and I decided to answer them right away.
I then compile my numbers and got the following results:
1 - Sure and almost sure: 124/200
2 - 50/50: 66/200
3 - Guess: 10/200
Based on that, I assumed that I have 112 good answers for "sure or
almost sure". I only need 30 more good answers out of my 66 "50-50"
which is less than 50% and less than what I normally get in the
practice test.
So I started to relax!!!! I was quite sure to pass at that time! I
reviewed my 50-50 questions and realized that, in many case, I could
have put an "almost sure" quote on it. I also changed a couple of
answers.
2 minutes left.
Submit.
Pass: 165. (I was expecting in the 150's).
My appreciation of the exam
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Altough I have found the exam moderately difficult, I've got a better
result than many practice tests. The number of "easy" question was
almost the same (62%). The number of very difficult question was
also almost de same (5%). I really think that I scored better than
90% on the "sure" and more than 65% on the "50-50" questions. I feel
that the questions were "less tricky"! As hard, but less tricky.
You must also rely on your experience. The question and the answers
are not always straight from the PMBok. I think experience is a big
factor to succeed in the exam. Know the process. Know what is an
I/O (Input / Output) and what is a tool.
Now, I can release my resources from this project.
Project completed.
Daniel Tremblay, now PMP
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Hello Everyone,
I took the PMP Certification Examination yesterday (12/12/2003) and
I passed. YES!!!
If you plan to take the PMP exam, consider developing your own brain-
dump cheat sheet. I understand that some folks may not agree with
me on this. However, in the exam should one encounter an
unfortunate brain freeze (risk event) the brain-dump cheat sheet
(contingency planning) may help get the concentration/confidence
alignment back and even help you remember what you momentarily
forgot. So, is the brain-dump cheat sheet worth your time
investment? You decide.
Also note that unless you truly have a project management
experience, the exam will be quite challenging. At the very least,
you aught to have a project manager's thought process. Memorizing
the PMBOK should not be considered the only tool needed to pass the
examination. There will be few questions with answers that appear
just about the same. Your project management reasoning will be your
key guide to the right answer.
If you are seeking a study material, I have read a lot of
recommendations on Rita Mulcahy's PMP exam preparation book ($89)
and her fast-track CD ($299). At one point I even thought about
ordering her whole study kit (RMC PMP® Exam Prep System - $393).
Instead, I invested in Kim Heldman's PMP Study Guide book ($59.99).
My reasoning was simple: Heldman's book was more affordable and had
a CD with a decent number of test questions. I am not discouraging
anyone from purchasing or using Rita's materials. I just happened
to find a more cost efficient way of preparing for the PMP exam.
I have observed that some individuals want to attempt as many prep-
test questions as they possibly can get their hands on to prepare
for the PMP exam – an overkill by any standard. If you have a
Project Management experience and if you have studied the PMBOK, the
objective of taking the prep-test questions should then be to help
gauge the weak-spots in your understanding of each knowledge area
and associated processes. The questions in Kim Heldman's PMP Study
Guide CD can help you achieve that goal.
A few PMPs in this group have recommended reading the PMBOK 2-3
times. Make sure you take notes on each chapter as you go along.
Review these notes as often as you can. Attempt the prep-test
questions in the last two weeks preceding your PMP exam date to
reassess your learnings. Re-study weak concepts in the PMBOK and you
are all set to take the exam!
Do let me know if this information has helped you. Good luck!
Regards,
Saif Shariff, SCPM, PMP

I passed with 166 on Thursday. If you have managed few projects, exam is not that difficult. Many of the questions can be related to actual situations and wearing a halo behind your head, you can choose correct option. (remember PMIsm and Code of Conduct etc.)

Material used for study.

1. PMBOK

2. KIM Heldman

3. Rita's PMP cert.

4.Files from this group

and most important is the archive of correspondence exchangedamong the members of this group. For few questions I could relate to the discussions in this group and pick the correct option immediately.

4 hours is a long time and to sit and focus. Many of the members in the past has given detailed instructions relating to taking the break and get some fresh air. I found all such instructions very useful.

Thanks to elceem and all the members of this group. Without this forum it would have been a major challenge to go for such certification.

Thanks

Vijay

Here is what I have started doing.

Instead of memorizing IT & TO, I am trying to understand their pupose for a particular process. It has helped me in understanding and in turn memorizing.

In PMBOK Pg 33, the planning processes diagram has also helped me a lot in this. The matrix presented in PMBOK Pg 38 has also helped a great deal.

Hope this helps.

thanks

Puneet

Here are some thoughts for my fellow PMP study sufferers out there:
** THERE ARE AS MANY WAYS TO PASS THIS TEST AS THERE ARE TYPES OF
PEOPLE**-- One of the most productive and reassuring things I did
while preparing was to do a search on this forum using the
word "passed," to pull up people's various approaches to studying.
It made me realize that there are many different ways to pass this
test, and you just need to find what works for you. By this time in
our lives, most of us know what works for us in terms of test
preparation-- be true to yourself. If you are a visual learner, if
you need things to be color-coded, if you need to go to the test
center beforehand to feel comfortable-- listen to that. Don't believe
someone who tells you that there is only one approach that works--
this forum proves it.
I found this was also helpful when I felt like I got into a
studying "rut" to look at some of the "passed" notes again for new
ideas of what to study.
** KEEP IT FRESH AND INTERACTIVE**-- Let's face it, the material is
dry and hard to absorb by pure memorization. In addition to the
Trandumper and other practice tests, there were 2 tools that I found
especially helpful:
- PMP Tools daily crossword and word search puzzles
(www.pmptools.com): I am a puzzle person by nature, and when I got
tired of studying, these puzzles were a great way to feel like I was
goofing off while still learning. I found that over time, these
puzzles really helped me learn the vocabulary more than memorization
would have (for me, at least).
- PMP MEMORIZE IT v2.xls (posted here in files section): This is a
spreadsheet set up as an interactive quiz to learn the process
groups. I copied this onto my desktop at work and when I had a spare
10 or 20 minutes, would quiz myself. I found this was a great way to
memorize the process groups in a fun way.
** THINK POSITIVE FOR YOUR TEST PSYCHOLOGY **-- This is a tough test,
but it is important not to get psyched out by it. I think it is
important while studying to take lots of practice tests and get used
to the idea of answering questions you aren't sure of and thinking
positive even if you think you have wrong answers. Remember, you just
have to pass the test -- your score doesn't matter beyond that-- and
the test *is* designed so that most of us are going to miss a bunch
of questions. I should mention that I was surprised at the number of
very straightforward questions-- ones that if you knew the material,
you could get straight off the bat. However, there were plenty of
tough ones, so I was glad I had practiced.
** STUDY THE PMI PROFESSIONAL CODE **-- One area that I was not
prepared well enough for was the Professional Responsibility section--
there were a number of questions that directly pulled from the PMI
document and none of them were anything like I had seen in practice
tests.
TEST CENTER
I had a good experience with Prometric. One thing to let people know,
in case anyone else comes up with it-- I found that there was some
bug on the website so that I could not schedule the test at the site
closest to me. I called them and was able to schedule it with no
problem.
As other people suggested, it would be a good idea to find where your
test center is ahead of time-- mine was 10 minutes from my home but
was hidden in the back of a parking lot and was very hard to find. I
was really glad I had scouted it out before test day.
Good luck to the rest of you studying out there-- you can do it!
Marie