How I Passed the PMP Exam

I’d been toiling with the idea of getting the esteemed PMP designation for a few months. I don’t really know whether toiling is the right

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• Created an Exam Plan
• Inculcated New Habits
• Chose the Most Effective Preparation Media
• Answered Practice Quizzes

Passing an exam is a project. Therefore, create a plan. In my case, I planned for an effort of 200 hours. However, I was confident enough to take the exam after about 140 hours. The preparation effort will vary depending on your experience. In addition, it is good practice not to crash the preparation schedule. The human mind requires time to digest new information and make it stick. I spread the schedule over three months.

Here are some changes I made to my lifestyle:

• Acquire knowledge daily: I exposed my mind to the PMBOK daily, even if it meant reading a page. I also used blogs and Internet websites, such as Bright Hub. This is important because the part of your brain that stores project management related data gets revitalized daily. Over a three month period that’s quite a lot of revitalization.
• Create and stick to a routine: I used my lunch hour and the time taken to get to work effectively. This is important because you aren’t a full time student. Your time is very precious and should be used effectively.
• Create incentives for reaching milestones: Mine was to go spend a weekend up in the mountains.

Everyone has a unique way of acquiring knowledge. Therefore, you should know what is most effective for you. I used a mixture of audio and visual preparation aids. Here is a list of PMP preparation material that I used:

• Project Management PrepCast by Cornilius: I know it’s boring, but the PMBOK has all the defined Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs (ITTOs). I used the PMBOK for reference. My daily dose of PMBOK knowledge came from the podcast. I listened to the podcasts everyday to and from work.
• Internet Sources: Read a couple of articles on project management every day. I’d take out fifteen minutes a day at work to read up. Bright Hub has a large and rich selection of project management articles, artifacts, and practice questions. Also, try joining a discussion forum for offline query resolution.
• Books: I really enjoyed the Head First PMP and Pass PMP in the First Attempt books. Both books come with practice questions after every chapter.

I practiced enough for me to gain confidence. Here is a list of practice questions that I did:

• Head First Practice Exam: 175 questions
• Pass PMP in the First Attempt Practice Exam: 175 questions
• Project Management PrepCast Practice Exam: 60 questions.
• Oliverkhan: 100 questions

In addition to these, each chapter in the Head First and Pass PMP in the First Attempt books has about 20 questions. So, that makes about 500 questions from these books. In totality, I did slightly under 1000 practice questions. The following links contain some of practice questions, you'll find on Bright Hub:

• Scope Management PMP Quiz
• Risk Management PMP Quiz
  

Take your time in letting the information sink in and use the preparation as a way to improve your project management skills. Don't go overboard with the practice questions, do enough to give yourself confidence. Most importantly…don’t procrastinate and do have fun!