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16-05-2020 02:37:47

Cracking the PMP code

I passed my PMP certification exam on 6th July 2015. PMP has been a long thoughtful journey for me. It
took me almost 2 years to finalize on PMP (Prince2 and ITIL creating the dilemma).

Background

I attended the mandatory workshop organized by my current organization in December 2014. I

sacrificed my marriage anniversary on Day 1, although a dinner date made up for the lost day .

After the training was over, my confidence level was ~55% (mock test being the measurement tool).

I registered with PMI in February 2015 and then created a formal plan to crack PMP in the first attempt.

There were too many distracting variables affecting my study plan like an upcoming annual performance
appraisal, a growing daughter (1 ½ years when I registered with PMI), weekend time for family and job
hunt.

The initial thought process was to clear PMP by March (as I would have received 50% refund of my exam
fee but with a lock in period of 9 months).

However, that would have been too less a time to clear PMP exam and I didn’t want to rush nor push
myself unnecessarily.

In April 2015, I initiated my application procedure and scheduled my exam (for the first time) on 25th
May 2015, however on 21st May 2015 I had to re-schedule the exam date to 6th July 2015, as I was under
prepared and my confidence level hovering between 65% - 70%.

Study plan and resources

Since I have a very small kid, I used to study between 4:00 AM and 9:00 AM

Irrespective of how you plan the approach, you have to first target the PMBOK.

 Read thoroughly through all chapters in the following flow of processes

- 4.1, 13.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 8.1, 9.1, 10.1, 11.1, 11.2,
11.3, 11.4, 11.5, 12.1, 13.2, 4.3, 8.2, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 10.2, 12.2, 13.3, 4.4, 4.5, 5.5, 5.6, 6.7, 7.4, 8.3,
10.3, 11.6, 12.3, 13.4, 12.4, 4.6
 Make note of unclear topics and watch videos on YouTube to clarify your doubts
 Take a print of Page 61 (Table 3-1) and read it before start of your study day
 Ideally 8 days is sufficient to complete PMBOK, provided you dedicate 4-5 hours/day
Next in line should be Rita Mulcahy’ PMP exam Prep 8th edition book

 Read thoroughly through all chapters, this time by knowledge areas

 Solve all exercises and practice exams
 Make note of unclear topics and watch videos on YouTube to clarify your doubts
 Take a print of Page 50 (Rita’ Process Chart) and read it before start of your study day along with
the process table from PMBOK
 Ideally 13 days is sufficient to complete Rita’ book , provided you dedicate 4-5 hours/day

Head First PMP, 3rd edition should ideally be the last book and it’ definitely the most engrossing of all
books.

 Read thoroughly through all chapters, again by knowledge areas

 Solve all exercises and exam questions
 Make note of unclear topics and watch videos on YouTube to clarify your doubts
 Focus on Rita’ Process Chart and process table from PMBOK before start of your study day
 Ideally 12 days is sufficient to complete Head First PMP book , provided you dedicate 4-5
hours/day

I signed up for Shiv Shenoy’ free study material, after re-scheduling the exam on May 21st 2015. The re-
scheduling may have cost $70, but it increased my odds of passing the exam.

 Read all the chapters shared via e-mail, again by knowledge areas
 Focus on Rita’ Process Chart and process table from PMBOK before start of your study day
 Ideally 11 hours is sufficient to complete all books

Alternatively I created my own flashcards, which I used to revise on a daily basis, even if I missed
studying a particular topic (as planned)

 Process groups, Knowledge areas and Processes

 Rita’ Process Charts
 Inputs and Outputs
 Tools and Techniques
 Earned Value Formulae
 Other formulae and values e.g. (Communication channels)

Prepare MS Excel spreadsheet for your practicing problems and questions from Rita’ book and Head
First PMP. Weigh your answers against the ones mentioned in the books to gauge your confidence level.
I would say even if your confidence level is above 80%, you have more than 90% chance of passing PMP
exam on first attempt
Once registered with PMI, you have access to various resources from ProjectManagement.com.

 Setup your profile and download process deliverable templates to experience how they look
and fit in real life projects
 IMPORTANT: Take the PM challenge and try reaching at least the “Rocket Surgeon” level i.e.
answer minimum 250 questions. I am now aiming for Da Vinci level, which is 500 correct
answers
- The questions test your project management knowledge, however there are no
scenario based questions
- The explanations are good and a repository of your correct question and answers is
stored in the profile for your reference

Race to Finish

The last 3 weeks (21 days) prior to exam date I focused on reading all materials simultaneously i.e.
(PMBOK, Rita, Head First, Shiv’ Notes and My own flashcards)

Although I planned to complete the following PMP exam test modules, I could never achieve
completion, blame it on weekends . But anybody can target completing these 950 questions before
the final exam

 Head First PMP Practice Exam (200 questions)

 Tutorials Point Exam (200 questions)
 Oliver Lehman Sample Test (175 questions)
 Edwel Programs Free PMP Exam (200 questions)
 PM Exam Simulator (175 questions)

On penultimate day before the exam, your ideal schedule should be

 Shiv’ notes on knowledge areas and respective exam questions from Head First PMP and Rita’
book
 Process groups, Knowledge areas and Processes
 Rita’ Process Charts
 Inputs and Outputs
 Tools and Techniques
 Earned Value formulae
 Other formulae and values e.g. (Communication channels)
 Practicing creating schedule network diagrams
 Questions on critical path and floats
 Questions on earned value
 Questions on communication channels
 Questions on risk management problems
The exam day

Remember one very important lesson, “at the end of day, it’ only an exam”. No matter what the
outcome, finally your plan, efforts and process matters.

So wake up early, read Shiv’ Notes followed by

 Process groups, Knowledge areas and Processes

 Rita’ Process Charts
 Inputs and Outputs
 Tools and Techniques
 Earned Value formulae
 Other formulae and values e.g. (Communication channels)

Try reaching the exam center 1hour prior to schedule time and complete the mandatory Prometric
center procedures.

Stay hydrated before the exam, as you may not have access to water during the 4 hour exam time

The moment you get a workstation assigned, write all formulae and replicate the Page 61 (Table 3-1)

Complete the demo procedures, take a deep breath (with a prayer), put on the headphones and start
your exam

I won’t be surprised that post 4 hours, your signature would change, just the way mine changed to Amit
Londhe, PMP

P.S: I got a new job before clearing my PMP exam, so the added pressure on passing the exam was
reduced 
Study plan from 16h May to 6th July

Description Chapter Start Date End Date New Stat Date

Study
PMBOK - 5th Edition & Rita-PMP Exam Prep 8th Edition - Rita Mulcahy 16-May-15 1-Jun-15
Introduction & Framework & Practice Exam (Rita + Head 1st) 16-May-15 16-May-15
Project Management Processes & Practice Exam (Rita + Head 1st) 17-May-15 17-May-15
Integration Management & Practice Exam (Rita + Head 1st) 18-May-15 18-May-15
Scope Management & Practice Exam (Rita + Head 1st) 19-May-15 19-May-15
Time Management & Practice Exam (Rita + Head 1st) 20-May-15 20-May-15
Cost Management & Practice Exam (Rita + Head 1st) 24-May-15 24-May-15
Quality Management & Practice Exam (Rita + Head 1st) 25-May-15 25-May-15
HR Management & Practice Exam (Rita + Head 1st) 26-May-15 26-May-15
Communication Management & Practice Exam (Rita + Head 1st) 27-May-15 27-May-15
Risk Management & Practice Exam (Rita + Head 1st) 28-May-15 28-May-15
Procurement Management & Practice Exam (Rita + Head 1st) 29-May-15 29-May-15
Stakeholder Management & Practice Exam (Rita + Head 1st) 30-May-15 30-May-15
Professional & Social Responsibility & Practice Exam (Rita + Head 1st) 31-May-15 31-May-15
PMBOK Annex 1 & X3 31-May-15 31-May-15
Acronyms & Definitions 1-Jun-15 1-Jun-15
Head 1st PMP 2-Jun-15 14-Jun-15
Chapter 1, 2 & 3 2-Jun-15 2-Jun-15
Integration Management 3-Jun-15 3-Jun-15
Scope Management 4-Jun-15 4-Jun-15
Time Management 5-Jun-15 5-Jun-15
Cost Management 6-Jun-15 6-Jun-15
Quality Management 7-Jun-15 7-Jun-15
HR Management 8-Jun-15 8-Jun-15
Communication Management 9-Jun-15 9-Jun-15
Risk Management 10-Jun-15 10-Jun-15
Procurement Management 11-Jun-15 11-Jun-15
Stakeholder Management & Professional Responsibility 12-Jun-15 12-Jun-15
Chapter 15 & Practice Exam (200 questions) 13-Jun-15 13-Jun-15
Tutorials Point Exam (200 questions) 14-Jun-15 14-Jun-15
Revision (PMBOK + Rita + Head 1st + Shiv & My Notes) 15-Jun-15 28-Jun-15
Chapter 1, 2 & 3 15-Jun-15 15-Jun-15
Integration Management 16-Jun-15 16-Jun-15
Scope Management 17-Jun-15 17-Jun-15
Time Management 18-Jun-15 18-Jun-15
Cost Management 19-Jun-15 19-Jun-15
Quality, HR & Communication Management 20-Jun-15 20-Jun-15
Risk Management 21-Jun-15 21-Jun-15
Procurement Management 22-Jun-15 22-Jun-15
Stakeholder Management 23-Jun-15 23-Jun-15
Professional & Social Responsibility 24-Jun-15 24-Jun-15
PMBOK Annex 1 & X3 25-Jun-15 25-Jun-15
Acronyms & Definitions 26-Jun-15 26-Jun-15
Oliver Lehman Sample Test (175 questions) 27-Jun-15 27-Jun-15
Edwel Programs Free PMP Exam (200 questions) 28-Jun-15 28-Jun-15
Final Exam Prep 29-Jun-15 6-Jul-15