This is second in the series of introducing to "How i passed the exam". From very early in preparation I was aware that since PMP is not a direct question/answer paper and involves lot of thinking and application, it will need lot of reading. Now the world will present a million options to you when you go out shopping. You need to quickly understand a few things (alteast that's how I moved ahead)
1. PMBOK is a must - A lot of people might tell you stories about this book being not so useful and that its "The best sleeping pill". Call it whatever, you have to endure this book and not just once, but alteast twice. I read it 2 times and some specific topics were visited more than twice. The thing that surprised me the most is the fact that everytime I read a topic, it became more and more clearer to me. Therefore, read PMBOK!! and read it multiple times. This is the starting point. No matter how difficult it is, this has to be done. I studied on my own but i would highly recommend if its possible, form a study group.
2. Rita's PMP preparation book - This is by far the best supporting book on the shelf. It may or may not tell you the things that you dont know but it will definitely prepare you towards the exam. The thing that i liked about Rita's PMP preparation book is it carries lot of "Fill in the blanks" type exercises. Now, whenever i am preparing for an exam i like when the practice questions as fill in the blanks or match the columns. The reason for that, is it helps by putting some pressure on your memory to retain information and not leave it to multiple choices. Rita's book not only provides you fill in the blanks type exercises on important topics but are also strategically placed to help you retain some of the most important concepts. It also promptly reminds you to not move forward until you have completed the exercises. DO NOT MOVE FORWARD until you have done those exercises. This might take a while since in most "Practical" cases we have the list but its more of a laundry list and not a structured one.
PMP wants you to not only have the list ready, but have it in the order that's most efficient and effective. Therefore, you will need some home work to do before you'd start becoming efficient to complete the exercises and have most correct answers. It took me 3 chapters and lot of reading!!
3. You need contact PDUs, there are many ways to get them and a lot of material available online. I was looking for something which is comprehensive and yet not expensive. Found a course by Mr. Resit Gulec on Udemy. I highly recommend you go on some of these online portals like Udemy, Coursera, etc and get enrolled in one of these courses. They are available on hand-helds (mobiles, ipads, etc) as well as your laptops. These platforms (Udemy, Coursera etc) are where majority of participants are interacting too. Gives very useful information and doesn't hurts your pocket. Plus you get the necessary knowledge, training and PDUs required to attempt PMP.
4. 5 Project Management Process groups have 10 Project Management Knowledge Areas which in turn have 47 Project Management Processes. You need to know all these, with following: -
a) Order in which they appear
b) Their inter-relationships and dependencies
c) Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Outputs for each processes
d) Output -> input mapping - Meaning, output of one process is input to another, you need to know, learn and remember which goes where
5. Exams and practice tests - I would suggest you divide it in three phases. Most important thing - do not attempt the same set twice (human mind will fool you by remembering the option more than the answer - therefore it might be a trap!!). Towards the end of this blog, i will provide some URLs that might come in handy.
i) Exercises after each chapter - Take up typically 30-50 questions to check your learning on the chapter. Do not time these tests look for validation of your knowledge.
ii) Divide your preparation tests into different categories
a) Rapid fire
b) Fill in the blanks/True and False/ Match the column, etc
c) No time limit
d) 5/10/15/25/50/100 questions with time limits much lesser than anticipated (its approx 80 secs per question in paper)
e) Finally do as many 200 questions set as possible. I attempted 8 full sets.
iii) Get Mobile phone app - there are several apps for PMP preparation, scan through and narrow down the one that suits your needs, this will ensure that wherever you are - in a park, out for run, waiting for a bus or commuting, you would be connected and practice.
iv) When you are going through the exercises, try not to remember the answers instead look for gaps in your knowledge.
URLs for Practice Tests: -
http://edward-designer.com/
http://www.pmstudy.com/enroll.
http://206-free-pmp-exam-
http://www.gocertify.com/
http://www.izenbridge.com/pmp/
Apart from these there are several books available in all public library which are questions bank for preparation. I used the one which had 1000 questions divided into a full 5 tests.
Finally, writing tests is important but its more important to analyze each test. Place them in Process/Knowledge Area/Process group category and then look for weak areas.
PMP is not about passing the exam, remember passing PMP is not the end of it, its the beginning of the journey!!
1. PMBOK is a must - A lot of people might tell you stories about this book being not so useful and that its "The best sleeping pill". Call it whatever, you have to endure this book and not just once, but alteast twice. I read it 2 times and some specific topics were visited more than twice. The thing that surprised me the most is the fact that everytime I read a topic, it became more and more clearer to me. Therefore, read PMBOK!! and read it multiple times. This is the starting point. No matter how difficult it is, this has to be done. I studied on my own but i would highly recommend if its possible, form a study group.
2. Rita's PMP preparation book - This is by far the best supporting book on the shelf. It may or may not tell you the things that you dont know but it will definitely prepare you towards the exam. The thing that i liked about Rita's PMP preparation book is it carries lot of "Fill in the blanks" type exercises. Now, whenever i am preparing for an exam i like when the practice questions as fill in the blanks or match the columns. The reason for that, is it helps by putting some pressure on your memory to retain information and not leave it to multiple choices. Rita's book not only provides you fill in the blanks type exercises on important topics but are also strategically placed to help you retain some of the most important concepts. It also promptly reminds you to not move forward until you have completed the exercises. DO NOT MOVE FORWARD until you have done those exercises. This might take a while since in most "Practical" cases we have the list but its more of a laundry list and not a structured one.
PMP wants you to not only have the list ready, but have it in the order that's most efficient and effective. Therefore, you will need some home work to do before you'd start becoming efficient to complete the exercises and have most correct answers. It took me 3 chapters and lot of reading!!
3. You need contact PDUs, there are many ways to get them and a lot of material available online. I was looking for something which is comprehensive and yet not expensive. Found a course by Mr. Resit Gulec on Udemy. I highly recommend you go on some of these online portals like Udemy, Coursera, etc and get enrolled in one of these courses. They are available on hand-helds (mobiles, ipads, etc) as well as your laptops. These platforms (Udemy, Coursera etc) are where majority of participants are interacting too. Gives very useful information and doesn't hurts your pocket. Plus you get the necessary knowledge, training and PDUs required to attempt PMP.
4. 5 Project Management Process groups have 10 Project Management Knowledge Areas which in turn have 47 Project Management Processes. You need to know all these, with following: -
a) Order in which they appear
b) Their inter-relationships and dependencies
c) Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Outputs for each processes
d) Output -> input mapping - Meaning, output of one process is input to another, you need to know, learn and remember which goes where
5. Exams and practice tests - I would suggest you divide it in three phases. Most important thing - do not attempt the same set twice (human mind will fool you by remembering the option more than the answer - therefore it might be a trap!!). Towards the end of this blog, i will provide some URLs that might come in handy.
i) Exercises after each chapter - Take up typically 30-50 questions to check your learning on the chapter. Do not time these tests look for validation of your knowledge.
ii) Divide your preparation tests into different categories
a) Rapid fire
b) Fill in the blanks/True and False/ Match the column, etc
c) No time limit
d) 5/10/15/25/50/100 questions with time limits much lesser than anticipated (its approx 80 secs per question in paper)
e) Finally do as many 200 questions set as possible. I attempted 8 full sets.
iii) Get Mobile phone app - there are several apps for PMP preparation, scan through and narrow down the one that suits your needs, this will ensure that wherever you are - in a park, out for run, waiting for a bus or commuting, you would be connected and practice.
iv) When you are going through the exercises, try not to remember the answers instead look for gaps in your knowledge.
URLs for Practice Tests: -
http://edward-designer.com/
http://www.pmstudy.com/enroll.
http://206-free-pmp-exam-
http://www.gocertify.com/
http://www.izenbridge.com/pmp/
Apart from these there are several books available in all public library which are questions bank for preparation. I used the one which had 1000 questions divided into a full 5 tests.
Finally, writing tests is important but its more important to analyze each test. Place them in Process/Knowledge Area/Process group category and then look for weak areas.
PMP is not about passing the exam, remember passing PMP is not the end of it, its the beginning of the journey!!
