My Lessons Learnt (LL)

When I took up the task of completing the PMP in early 2009 (End of January 2009 to be precise), I considered it to be just like any other certification and thought this can be completed with ease. But, as I took the first step of completing the 36 hours training (requirement from PMI to appear for the certification), I realised I am getting into an activity which is going to eat into my several weekends and will require me to take time out of my family life. One of the motivation to go ahead was that PMI decided to move onto the PMBOK 4th edition from 30th June 2009 and I had done all my preparation with PMBOK 3rd edition. Even though there are not too many changes in 4th edition, I needed some thing to keep me going in a timebound manner. And, here I was studying regularly for 3-3.5 hrs daily and 10-11 hrs over the weekend for approx 2 months. Finally, I was able to finish my studies when I appeared for the test on 10th-Jun-2009 and I did take a sigh of relief when I saw the "Congratulation!" message appearing on the screen.

Along the journey, I thought I will also contribute to the community once I am able to clear my exam and here I am sharing my experience.

1. PMBOK, PMBOK & PMBOK - One needs to understand the PMBOK in & out. People say - it is a dry book and acts as a sleeping pill, but I found it to be well written with good examples. I studied it for three times. Do not cram, but understand the concepts behind each process. The initial chapters (Project management framework, Project Integration management) are very important and quite a lot of questions are asked in the exam from these topics. Once you understand each process, you will start appreciating PMBOK more. It is good if one can remember all the ITTO (not mandatory but some questions are straight on these)

2. Reference Books - Just the PMBOK is not sufficient, one needs to refer to other books. Some topics are not explained in details in PMBOK (like leadership styles, conflict resolution techniques, NPV formulae, motivational theories etc.) but are a very regular features in the exams with quite a many questions on these topics. The best book is Rita Mulcahy's PMP Exam Prep, Sixth Edition. This book has explained each and every topic very nicely. Another book which has been very helpful is Kim Heldman's Project Management Professional Study Guide. These two books along with PMBOK should do the trick. There is another book O'REILLY's Head First PMP This book is little different and can be a very good starting point (This is the first book I read) and starts building your rhythm. I studied Rita's book twice and once I read Kim Heldman's book.

3. Practice tests - One of the most important part of the preparation is practice tests. I did take 3 practice tests from pmstudy and these are very close to actual test. I consistently scored 75% in all the tests. Do as many tests as possible. Take at least 3-4 full 4 hrs tests. This builds up your stamina to concentrate and sit for 4 hours. Questions given at the end of each chapter of the reference books mentioned above are very good. One should complete these questions while reading each chapter and can return to these questions for the 2nd time also. Some useful links which provide mock tests & full lenght tests -

• http://www.pmstudy.com/ - very good site and this comes very close to PMI exam. One full 4 hrs test is free for 1-day. It's worth buying another at least couple of more full length tests.
• http://www.passpm.com/ - another good site for full length free self-evaluation test
• http://www.oliverlehmann.com/pmp-self-test/75-free-questions.htm - site for self assessment test. A little tough questions. One may want to try and attempt at the start to get little push for motivation.
• http://www.preparepm.com/ - provides mock-exams
• http://www.headfirstlabs.com/PMP/free_exam/HeadFirstPMP_PracticePMPExam.pdf - Full length test of 200 questions

4. Discussion Forums - It helps to join some discussion forums. One gets a feeling of community. People share their experiences and one can learn from their experiences. Also, these forums can help when one is stuck with some problem and is looking to verify the solution, answer. Some good forums are -

• http://www.pmhub.net/ - very good forum for any PMP related dicussions
• http://forums.oreilly.com/category/73/Head-First-PMP/

5. Exam - Just relax before the exam day.

• Browse through to your self made notes. One very good resource for study notes is http://pmhub.net/files/PMHUB_Study_Notes_V6/PMHUB-SNV6_%20Prad_Raj%20Rani_2.doc. This gives a very good summary.
• Reach the examination center at least 1/2 an hour before the test. Carry at least 3 valid / original id proof. For some strange reason, the person at the center did not believe that one of the Ids I was carrying is original Id (he thought it to be a xerox copy), luckily I had another valid Id and that saved me.
• Questions in the exam are not too lengthy, very well written with no ambiguity (many sites do put some ambiguous questions in their practice tests and that makes one very nervous). There is enough time to complete 200 questions.
• Do not spend too much time on a single question.
• Do read the question carefully (phrases like EXCEPT, FIRST, NOT TRUE can change your answer).
• Do not be overconfident. You are never sure unless you see "Congratulations!" appear on your screen.