After 3 hours and 36 minutes of sitting before a computer answering 200 PMP Exam questions, I am fina !

a certified PMP" #he who e preparation $ourne! is both a $o!fu and fruitfu experience for me and m! professiona ife" %e ow, I tr! to document m! essons earned in the famous &or infamous' format of I##(s adopted b! PMI for the )* processes described in the PM%(+ ,uide -ersion . with a itt e bit bac/ground first"

Background
M! name is Edward 0hung and I am a fu 1stac/ web de-e oper2designer2pro$ect manager wor/ing in the education sector in 3ong +ong" I hand e web de-e opment pro$ects arge and sma , inc uding ma$or re-amp exercises, one1page anding pages, on ine app ications and s!stems" I ha-e a wa!s wanted some sort of testimonia to m! pro$ect management s/i s and PMP is the definite choice"

Inputs
1. PMBOK Guide Version 5
#his guide can be down oaded free from the PMI website once !ou ha-e app ied and paid to become a member" 2" The Project Management Precast Exam Prep 4ideo 5or/shop b! 0orne ius 6ichtner #his -ideo wor/shop a ows me to fu fi the PMI7s requirement of 3. contact hours for pro$ect management education without causing disruptions to m! norma ife" I can ta/e the essons whene-er I am a one without the need to dedicating a fixed period of time for the ectures" More on this in the too s and techniques section be ow &89decomposition'" 3" The PMP Exam o! to Pass On "our #irst Tr$ %5th Edition& b! And! 0rowe A great boo/ that7s eas! to read and stud!, the author has disgested the PM%(+ ,uide

4. #ree on'ine PMP Exam (amp'e )uestions*Test Bank

Too's and Techni+ues

2. ,ecomposition
PMI does not require the contact hours to be attainted through forma face1to1face ectures" #hat gi-es the possibi it! of gaining the required 3. contact hours remote ! through a podcast essons < The Project Management Precast which can be down oaded to an! portab e media p a!er &coincidenta ! abbre-iated a so as PMP' and I can own the fi es for good" 5ith such f exibi it!, the required contact hours can be decomposed at m! own wi " I ma! stud! for 30 minutes on the M#=, :. minutes whi e wa /ing, 30 minutes at unch and ). minutes before bed" #hat wou d add up to a tota stud! time of around 2 hours each da!" &>ou ma! read more on this from this post'

3. Progressi.e E'a/oration
E-er!one agrees that the PM%(+ ,uide is a dr! read" I do" I read it twice during m! preparation without fa ing as eep" 3ow? @uring the 0irst time, I read it as 0ast as I cou d without tr!ing to memoriAe an! sing e bit of information from the guide &somewhat i/e s/imming the contents'" I wanted to get an o-er-iew of the exam s! abus" #hen I switched to the reference boo/ and the podcast esson, ma/ing m! notes in the information s!stem as I studied" #hen I came to the PM%(+ ,uide the second time, this time I tried to read the guide in more detai s, $otting do!n a the information not inc uded in m! pre-ious notes" #he PM%(+ ,uide is now ma/ing much sense to me during the second reading"

4. Per0ormance -e.ie!
(rigina !, I p anned to prepare for the PMP exam for 3 months" %ut when I noticed that I reached mi estones much faster than I anticipated, I fixed the date of PMP exam a month ear ier" In tota , it too/ me 2 months to c ear the PMP exam"

5. In0ormation ($stem
I used E-ernote to $ot down m! notes throughout m! reading of the PM%(+ ,uide, reference textboo/ and whene-er I got wrong answers to the exam samp e questions" #he ad-antage of E-ernote is that I can ma/e changes on m! MA0 and the updates are automatica ! s!nced with m! mobi e app, -ice -ersa" #his too is a must for m! stud!"

6. Benchmarking
5hi e doing the free on ine PMP exam samp e questions2test ban/s, I wou d search through essons earned from other successfu PMPs oo/ing for their resu ts on the same sets of questions and their proficienc! e-e in the rea PMP exam" #hese are to be used as a benchmar/ to assess m! readiness for the PMP exam" 5hen I can consistent ! score around B0;1C0; in a the prep exams, I am confident that I shou d be ab e to pass the PMP exam with se-era DProficient7 domains" &>ou ma! read more on the benchmar/s I gathered here'

Outputs
1. PMP (uccess
PMP is one of m! ambition in ife" Eow, I ha-e achie-ed itF

2. #ina' Product*(er.ice*-esu't Transition

Thanks for all the contributors in this section. It took me 3 months and 3 hours of average a day study. My seat # at centre was also 3. With 200 uestion in ! hours this is going to be a tough test es"ecially a night before you could barely slee" 3 hours.

so "lease wind u" 3 days before test day and then #ust rela$. my e$am was at % am and i reached at &'!(. )tili*ed +( minutes of introduction videos time in brain dum". ,ommunication channels formula- a cou"le of uestions. .T/none. 01M- yes there were a""ro$ +02+( uestions. 233 evm uestions i couldn4t gras" com"letely and rather than wasting time5 #ust moved on.s"ending more than 3 minutes on a uestion is certainly not a good idea. Marked 3 uestions and at end of test in last two minutes reviewed and answered. The best simulation test is .M6tudy.com and best bok 7ita3"mbok. I scored 8%9 in "mstudy Test and 809 in 7ita4s second attem"t. :ont ask about rita4s first attem"t it was "athetic. /ny how good luck and ha""y new year. ;i everyone5 <irst of all I want to thank the .M=I>>/ forums5 without the >essons >earn section I wouldn4t "assed. 7eading everyone4s study "lans and e$"erience really hel" me to "ass the e$am. Today I want to share my e$"erience with you. I "assed the e$am on ?ov 28th 20+3 with +. in 0$ecuting5 3M. in Initiating5 .lanning5 ,losing and +@. in ,ontrol A Monitor. /nd I am so "roud and ha""yBBB /fter so much sacrifice at the end is worth and I am sure everyone who wants to "ass it will "ass it5 you #ust need to have the right material5 right direction and lot of dedication.

My background' I am an industrial engineer and have been working as a "ro#ect manager on software com"anies for a while. /lso a >ean 6i$ 6igma @lack @elt. @orn and raised in .uerto 7ico5 and & months from now living in 6/5 Te$as.

+st /ttem"t' The first time I took the .M. e$am thought it going to be easy because I already had the "ro#ect manager "osition on my work. I was wrongBB I #ust took a course in 7ico and +0 months later decided to take the e$am and as a got all @. on the e$am. My "re"aration was horrible #ust a without much dedication. I used a book .MI4s Cuide to the .ro#ect Management @ody of Dnowledge and will not recommend it.

was .uerto result month

2nd /ttem"t' )sed #ust the .M@ED (th edition5 you M)6T have the book to "ass the e$am. The "roblem is the book #ust concentrates on the "rocesses and definitions Fwill not e$"lain you the conce"tsG. 6o using the .M@ED alone I will not recommend it. Meanwhile I start searching on the internet for websites and forums to took advice and im"rove my "re"aration5 looking for testimonies5 study "lans and what .M. as"irants do. It was the day I found "m*illa and became a member. 6tarted reading "eo"le study "lans and advices. /nd I reali*ed that if wanted to "ass the e$am was not going to be that easy. 6o started dedicating a lot of time in /ugust 20+3 and scheduled my e$am for Ectober. 0$am "re"aration scores for 2nd /ttem"t' 2 ,hristo"her 6ordo >ittle Mocks FTest +G 2 8&9 2 +0+ 6cribd .ractice <ormula Huestions 2 (29 2 .M6tudy F<ree TestG 2 &39 2 .M.for6ure F<ree TestG 2 (09 2 Elivers 8( Huestions 2 889 2 0$am ,entral 2 8&9 2 .M.for6ure FTest +G 2 &09 2 .M.for6ure FTest 2G 2 (09 2 .M.for6ure FTest 3G 2 &29 2 .M6tudy FTest 3G 2 &%9 2 .M6tudy FTest 2G 2 &89

/s a result I failed the e$am and my frustration lasted a week. /fter that week I decided to "re"are again for my 3rd and last attem"t until May 20+!. /nother advice5 don4t schedule the e$am for a s"ecific day if you still don4t feel "re"ared.

3rd /ttem"t' I decided to read the 7ita @ook %th edition Fthanks to the feedback in the "m*illa forumsG and the .M@ED again. 7ita @ook is e$cellentB /nd the combination of 7ita @ook I .M@ED is the "erfect combinationB 7ita @ook will hel" you with the

conce"ts while .M@ED will hel" you with the definitions and "rocesses. 6o I read both books in "arallel. 6"ent around + month reading 7ita and then started "racticing the uestions. Took me + and half weeks to "ractice different uestions. Then came back to skim 7ita and .M@ED while continue "racticing on simulation e$ams. My last "racticed e$am was on a 6aturday F.M6tudy Test !G and scored a 8!9. Then I took the 6unday free. /nd on Monday I schedule my e$am for Wednesday. Monday and Tuesday didn4t "ractice any e$ams #ust skim through the books and my notes. /nd on Wednesday ./660: the e$amB 0$am "re"aration scores for 3rd /ttem"t' 2 7ita .M. 0$am .re" 2 8%9 2 +0+ 6cribd .ractice <ormula Huestions 2 889 2 Elivers 8( Huestions 2 %09 2 .M.for6ure F<ree TestG 2 &39 2 ,hristo"her 6cordo >ittle Mocks FTest +3G 2 8%9 2 ,hristo"her 6cordo >ittle Mocks FTest +!G 2 %!9 2 ,hristo"her 6cordo >ittle Mocks FTest +&G 2 8%9 2 .M.for6ure FTest (G 2 &!9 2 0$am,entral 2 %39 2 .M6tudy FTest +G 2 %&9 2 .M6tudy FTest !G 2 8!9

6ummary' Total .re"aration Time' ! months Time dedicated "er day' 2 2 3 hours daily @ooks' 7ita Mulcahy4s .M. 0$am .re" %th 0dition and .M@ED (th 0dition Enline 7eferences' :ee"friedbrain"ro#ect.com and "m*illa.com .M. 0$am :ifficulty' Medium 0$ams 6imulations' J7ita4s @ook !00 uestions 2 difficulty' easy but e$cellent to start and clear conce"ts J+0+ 6cribd <ormula Huestons 2 difficulty' medium and closest to real e$am formula uestions JElivers 8( Huestons 2 difficulty' medium also very good5 you need to try it

J.M.for6ure 2 difficulty' hard5 always had mi$ed feelings about the uality of uestions but need to try it. 0ven if the uestions are more confusing than the real e$am but yes they are somewhat close to the real one. J0$am,entral 2 difficulty' easy5 #ust try it once. J.M6tudy 2 difficulty' medium5 I think they have the best uality uestions out there. ;i /ll5 I have cleared .M. e$am on 30th :ecember in first attem"t. <ollowing are my >>5 ho"e they will be useful to you all..... /bout 0$am booking and center I have started "re"aring in Mid2Ectober5 and booked my 0$am in ?ov5 that time i received confirmation mail for e$am in borivali. /nd before + day of e$am i received an email that e$am is at Coregaon. 6o it was shock for me because i was almost ready to travel from .une to @orivali 5 it was 6aturday so all "rometric centers were closed but later i came to know5 they have online su""ort on weekends between s"ecific time which is really useful5 i confirmed with them and gave my e$am at goregaon center. TI. 2 .lease confirm your e$am center and if you have any ueries Fand it is weekend when "rometric centers are closedG you can contact them via online chat. htt"s'33www."rometric.com3en2 us3contact2us3"ages3default.as"$ Coregaon e$am center is awesome5 very co2o"erative staff5 good systems5 technically u"dated center. Make sure carry 2 identity cards for safer side because I have seen some cases in which "hotos were not clear so they have to "resent another identity card.F must be rare casesG Where to 6tayK <or "eo"le travelling from .une. I< you are travelling from .une by 6hivneri5 bus will dro" you at Coregaon F0G2 Take an auto from there to station L,ross the bridge F walking +0 minutesG L Mou will reach CoregaonFWG L from there you can go to >a$mi International hotel F by autoGwhich is hardly 32! minutes of walk from e$am center. L 7ates are also reasonable and good to stay for + night. ;ey guys enough of talks about staying and center I know must be little boring for you N from here actual im"ortant to"ics starts 6tudy Time J,reated timetable to"ic wise with target dates. 2 Cuys suggest you to create the same as "er your time convenience and make sure you kee" track of it. JTotal .re"aration Time L 2.( Months J:aily L Morning +.( ;ours F('00/M to &'30 /MG and 0vening +.( ;ours F8'30 .M to O'00 .MG

JWeekends L /""ro$imately ! ;ours Fweekends were busy with "ersonal worksG 0$am .re"aration F@ooks <ollowedG J/ndy ,rowe 3 times 2 1ery nice book 2 @ased on .M@ED F<or e$"lanation of ITTE in sim"le languageG J7ita 2 times 21ery nice book 2 in detail all knowledge areas2 es"ecially Time3.rocurement3,ost36co"e 2 e$am"les close to real worldG L ?ot memori*ed 7ita "rocess chart or "re"ared e$ercises. J6ome areas from .M@ED JMouTube videos htt"'33www.youtube.com3user3.M@ED(KfeaturePwatch L very good videos based on .M@ED JMouTube 1ideos htt"'33www.youtube.com3user36irCanttalotK featurePwatch L very good videos critical "ath Mock 0$ams L I "referred to solve e$ams which are based on .M@ED. L Mock test hel"s you to "re"are seating for ! hours L solving or understanding situational uestions and understanding your "rogressN.solve as many as good ones only. J ,ristofer 6cordo 2 6olved all + to +O e$ams 2 /vg %09 2 7ecorded all my scores which hel"ed me to know my "rogress. J ;ead <irst 2%29 J Huestions from 7ita @ook 2 /vg 802%09 J .M.<or6ure 2 6olved only free one5 which i feel is one ste" above e$am level in terms of difficulty &39 J +8( Eliver >ehman 2 8(9 Flanguage and style5 which i feel is close to real e$amG :aily 7eads 2 FI have co"y of all below5 I can "rovide itG JWriting down formulas 2 last + week L I have collected formulas from 223 websites. JTools A Techni ues L mnemonics 2 last + week L I found this from "m*illa forum only5 I have edited them as "er my convenience5 I will assure you can memori*e it in 2 days ma$imum. JEut"uts L Enly key out"uts 2 last + week L ?oted down only key out"uts JIn"uts L Qust read once on day of e$am J6ome common in"uts list like 7isk 7egister5 ,harter etc. J,ommon out"ut list like :ocument u"date L .lan u"date and org .rocess u"date. /bout 0$am J0$am was tough as well as sim"le5 each uestions will let you think and consider all o"tions J<irst +( minutes tutorial which is very basic L I used that time in writing down formulas on rough "a"erL TI.2 here I would like to tell you if you need additional rough "a"er in between e$am5 once you first "a"er is full5 you have to submit first rough "a"er so you have to write down formulas again. /fter knowing this I used only + rough "a"er sheet as I donRt wanted to write down formulas again 2 6taff gives you rough "a"er sheet5 "encil and if you re uest them they give you handy small calculator Fon

screen you have calculator as wellG L I know very small things but I ho"e these ti"s will be useful. J/lmost 2022( mathRs uestions with multi"le calculations F,15 615 @/,5 ,.INetc.G Ti" 2 make sure you understand formulas and be "re"ared for multi"le calculations. J;ardly uestions on critical "ath J<ew uestions of Huality JCood amount of ;7 uestions Fa lot I must sayG JCood amount of initiating uestions. J>ot of 6co"e change and integrated change control uestions. J>ot of uestions about closing F;ere I felt I am lacking so "lease guys make sure you read whatever you get about closingG J<ew uestions about stakeholders J6ome direct ITTE uestions Fif you know3understand ITTE the they are very easyG J/lmost O09 situational uestions L I will say mock e$ams will hel" you in solving or studying situational uestions but yes uestions in Mock e$ams are not so close to real e$ams. Till +00th uestions I was thinking chances of "assing is (02(05 by the time I reached +(0th uestions I started feeling I am going to fail5 but then I took a break of ( minutes and com"leted remaining (0 uestions with full confidence. 6o I have com"leted 200 uestions in 3.( ;rs. FTi" 2 I was solving 200 uestions in 2.( hrs. in mock tests5 so you can imagine uestion uality level in real e$am which took me 3.(0 hrs.G then I went back to solve marked uestions which were (2& uestions5 after that all of a sudden screen turned blank and it took me to survey about e$am center5 after com"leting that again screen turned blank and started calculating and I received messageNNN ,ongratulationsNN with my levels. Immediately staff in "rometric gave me "rinted co"y of my result and told me I will get certificate in !2& weeks. Everall it was great e$"erience. I would like to thanks my family for su""ort as well as .M=I>>/ for creating such useful forumN>essons learned of "assed as well as re2a""earing candidates e$"erience hel"ed me a lot5 basic from "re"aring till clearing e$amN.and ha""y to be "art of it in contributing my >> with future candidates. Incase of any doubt feel free to contact me.

Thanks to .M=illa for hel"ing in my success. /m an /verage guy5 my e$"erience with e$am is as follows (02&09 direct uestions from .M@ED +02+(9 Math F0M15 ,ontract5 communication channelsG

2022(9 6ituational

uestions Frisk I ,,5 ;7IInteg5 ,losureG.

Many websites hel" on how to answer first 2 sets. 3rd set is the difficult one to face Ffor meG. Cain more e$"erience in answering the situational uestions SI? TIM0S. It de"ends on how much fast your mind relates situation to a""ro"riate "rocess. :irect I Math uestions define your "ass3fail. Where as situational uestions define your "roficiency score. Mou can use .M6tudy freetest as benchmark for your "re"aration /ll the @est. <orums'

Thanks to .M=illa for hel"ing in my success. /m an /verage guy5 my e$"erience with e$am is as follows (02&09 direct uestions from .M@ED +02+(9 Math F0M15 ,ontract5 communication channelsG 2022(9 6ituational uestions Frisk I ,,5 ;7IInteg5 ,losureG. Many websites hel" on how to answer first 2 sets. 3rd set is the difficult one to face Ffor meG. Cain more e$"erience in answering the situational uestions SI? TIM0S. It de"ends on how much fast your mind relates situation to a""ro"riate "rocess. :irect I Math uestions define your "ass3fail. Where as situational uestions define your "roficiency score. Mou can use .M6tudy freetest as benchmark for your "re"aration /ll the @est. <orums'

Thanks to .M=illa for hel"ing in my success. /m an /verage guy5 my e$"erience with e$am is as follows

(02&09 direct uestions from .M@ED +02+(9 Math F0M15 ,ontract5 communication channelsG 2022(9 6ituational uestions Frisk I ,,5 ;7IInteg5 ,losureG. Many websites hel" on how to answer first 2 sets. 3rd set is the difficult one to face Ffor meG. Cain more e$"erience in answering the situational uestions SI? TIM0S. It de"ends on how much fast your mind relates situation to a""ro"riate "rocess. :irect I Math uestions define your "ass3fail. Where as situational uestions define your "roficiency score. Mou can use .M6tudy freetest as benchmark for your "re"aration /ll the @est. <orums'

Thanks to .M=illa for hel"ing in my success. /m an /verage guy5 my e$"erience with e$am is as follows (02&09 direct uestions from .M@ED +02+(9 Math F0M15 ,ontract5 communication channelsG 2022(9 6ituational uestions Frisk I ,,5 ;7IInteg5 ,losureG. Many websites hel" on how to answer first 2 sets. 3rd set is the difficult one to face Ffor meG. Cain more e$"erience in answering the situational uestions SI? TIM0S. It de"ends on how much fast your mind relates situation to a""ro"riate "rocess. :irect I Math uestions define your "ass3fail. Where as situational uestions define your "roficiency score. Mou can use .M6tudy freetest as benchmark for your "re"aration /ll the @est. <orums' Thank you /ll I want to acknowledge everyone who is contributing to this website as it has been great motivator to me and to many of my friends. I would also like to share my e$"erience considering my "rofessional res"onsibility. My #ourney started in

6e"tember 20+3 when colleague of mine has a""lied for .M. certification. My ma#or constrain was to s uee*e a time for study from my long commute time F2'30 hours two2way everydayG and working hours F% hours a dayG with two year old kid who seek my attention after hours and weekends. Ence I received confirmation from .MI to take the e$am I "urchased 7itaRs e$am "re" and audio ,: and some free "odcasts which I used in my long commute as my audio com"anion. In 6e"tember5 I started to listen audio cha"ters with weekend 2 hours 7itaRs book .It took me whole 6e"tember to finish all cha"ters and audios simultaneously however I couldnRt read the book genuinely. In Ectober5 I have started to read /ndy ,rowRs @ook old version with 7ita again as revision but left /,Rs book due to similarities as I felt it was too straightforward and easy. I have "racticed e$ams every time I read books 2?oted the ga"s in the knowledge and cleared the conce"ts5 also "osted my scores on .M=illa to seek the e$"erts o"inions5 their advices were e$cellent until I "assed the e$am. In ?ovember almost bogged into work and read nothing at all. To be honest I was feeling that I was losing the gri" on "oints where we need to rely on memory. In second week of :ecember my friend "assed e$am without any hassles des"ite of very little "re"aration and lot of .M e$"erience. That gave me a boost and motivation. Meanwhile family flew overseas on 2O :ecember which gave me a room of dedicated 8days but I did nothing Frela$edG on three days before e$am as I was e$cited for my tri" to India for my holidaysK. 7ead every single success story on .M=illa. Watched ,omedy ?ights with DN. 6N..;ad ?ew Mear lunch with my e$2manager2 /te takeaway the night on the day before the e$am. 0$am :ay2Went an hour early and started early without any nervousness as I believe nothing you can do other than staying calm and focussed. I had always "roblem with time so finished in 3'(0 and reviewed few marked uestions. <inished customer survey and score. ,E?C7/T)>/TIE?6 L./66. >essons >earnt' J @elieve in Cod to whoever you believe. @elieve in yourself and always kee" your mind o"en to new ideas and advices. J <ind alternatives if you have time or other constraints e.g audio or visual aidsNM)6T for my case. J I am visual learner so "re"ared bound co"y of all Tables and <igures from .M@ED( for uick skimming however not used entirely but hel"ed to find out and clear "articular "rocess and ITTEs. J Take lots and lots of mock tests2I did a""ro$. 2000H2 at least do 3 full length tests FI did (G to check your endurance5 being on schedule ca"ability and to train your brain to stay /W/D and <706; for ! hours. J ?ever neglect communication channel5 0arn 1alue Method5 0$"ected Monitory 1alue and network diagram uestions. @y making these uestions correct you can get around !02 (0H right. J <ocus more on 7isk27isk 6trategies FI had %2+0 uestionsG5 Huality Fassurance mainlyG and ;72,onflict resolution techni ues5 <orming5 ?orming etc. and ;7 Theories. J ?ever stretch e$am date too long as I did if you feel confident to take straightaway otherwise you will lose the gri" and motivation. J <ollow your own strategies for the 0$am as somebodyRs strategy may not work for your take their advice as guidance. J Try to

a""ly whatever you learn from book to "ractice as that will give you real time e$am"les to understand the scenarios in the e$am. J I did 6u"er.M. 2 tests2 toughest uestions I found in all of them2did &+9 and 809 only but learnt a lot. J 7ead .M@ED if you find interesting. I did not used because I was able to understand fundamentals from other interesting books. J Mou dont have to read TT many times as long as you understand conce"ts.It doesnt really matter how many time you read.It matters obly how much you understood and retained from the reading. Thanks to you all again who have hel"ed me and guided me. I am not a Unote2manV as read whole books from cover to cover so sorry I donRt have any notes but see my attached s"readsheet which may hel" you to "re"are schedule and stay on it. .lease let me know I can hel" you with anything. Cood >uck to .M. as"irants.. 6o here4s my story. .assed .M. with 3.4s and 2 M.4s in about 3 hours and then took about 30 minutes reviewing. /bout 3'30 total. I took a boot cam" in 6e"tember. I received the .M@ED a week before the boot cam" and memori*ed the "rocess chart but didn4t know much else. The @oot cam" hel"ed a lot and I studied everyday while in the course. /fter the course I s"ent a cou"le weeks with the .M@ED and /ndy ,rowe4s !th 0dition. ,rowe4s book was based off .M@ED ! but I found it a great resource to read side by side with the .M@ED and with 6cordo4s book available on .MMI4s @ooks2!$8. I would read the .M@ED cha"ter5 then the 6cordo cha"ter5 then the ,rowe cha"ter one after the other and then take the ,ha"ter test in ,rowe. I found this very effective. Ence I made it through the book I began taking tests from the 0$am uestion book also available on .MI @ooks 2!$8. I was scoring in the %04s and felt good. I then went back and looked u" every uestion I missed and thought about the uestion and why I missed it. Most times5 it was because I had highlighted only "arts a "aragra"h in the .M@ED and then only reviewed the highlighted areas of each "aragra"h. This was a mistake. The whole .M@ED is im"ortant to read and study carefully. Ence I made it through the .M@ED a cou"le times I started having a dee"er understanding of the "rocess and "hiloso"hy and started asking dee"er uestions5 such as SWhy is ,ontrol Huality after 1alidate 6co"e if an out"ut of ,ontrol Huality is an in"ut to 1alidate 6co"eSK I won4t give you the answer here but you should clearly understand what I am talking about if you really gras" the "rocess. /fter I thought I was ready for the test I still had about a week and a half to go to test day so I found a co"y of 7ita4s @ook. I

did not like the book at all. Maybe it was because I really felt I was already "roficient enough to test. Maybe if I4d got a co"y earlier I4d like it more. 7andom ?otes' 2 !2( uestions about Tuckman5 very minor nuanced differences in the stage you are in. It is not enough to memori*e the ( stages. >ook for the differences es"ecially between <orming5 6torming5 and ?orming. 2 ?E .T/5 <15 .1 2 32! uestions on ?22n32. Ene uestion asked about a "erson leaving a team and asked how many channels that you "ersonally lost. ?ot how many total or how many taken away5 but how many that the .M. himself lost. Trick uestion. 7ead them carefully. 2 01 and .1. I had a hard time calculating 01 and .1. Make sure that you can take the "aragra"h and calculate 013.15 as well as "lug those numbers in the formula. 6ome things that worked' +. 7ead .M@ED 223 times. @y the time you read it the 3rd time you should be asking uestions about the "rocesses that you could not even think of on the first read. 2. @rain dum". I didn4t use it much at all but it did hel" me calm down and hel" me think through +22 uestions. My dum" was nothing s"ecial5 .rocess chart5 +02+2 formulas5 and then I took a few minutes making random notes on the "age such as circling the "rocess that build the baselines and then accumulate to the .M@. It didn4t hel" me though. 3. .ractice tests. Take a lot. My scores' >ehman 8( 2 8&9 >ehman +8( 2 %29 6cordo +2+2 %02%09 6cordo +32+% &%2%09 ,rowe. In the O04s !. 6tudy in different ways. 2I read the .M@ED with other books at the same time 2I created <lash cards with random facts 2I created flash cards for each "rocess with the ITTE 2I took voice notes to "layback while driving 2I talked myself through each "rocess by e$"laining what was needed for the "rocess5 what tools were used5 and what out"uts were generated and where those out"uts went. This was very hel"ful. 6ome things I did not do.

2.ay for anything but the ,rowe book. ?o "aid tests or other learning materials. 26tudy with a grou" Fnone availableG 2.ay attention to any website or "erson that was trying to market their services to me. <inal thoughts. The test was #ust about as hard as everyone makes it out to be and I can4t really think of a single test that I took that I think was #ust like the e$am. I4ll give all the credit to 6cordo and >ehman though in ensuring that I had taken enough tests to feel that I really knew the material. :on4t ask me for any study notes. My notes will not hel" you. Mour notes will hel" you. Mou have to struggle with the material the same way I did5 take your own notes5 and uestion and have conversation with the material to really get a gras" on the material in a way that will allow you to answer the situation based uestions. Cood luck.

So here's my story. Passed PMP with 3P's and 2 MP's in about 3 hours and then took about 30 minutes reviewing. bout 3!30 tota". # took a boot $am% in Se%tember. # re$eived the PM&'( a week be)ore the boot $am% and memori*ed the %ro$ess $hart but didn't know mu$h e"se. +he &oot $am% he"%ed a "ot and # studied everyday whi"e in the $ourse. )ter the $ourse # s%ent a $ou%"e weeks with the PM&'( and ndy ,rowe's 4th -dition. ,rowe's book was based o)) PM&'( 4 but # )ound it a great resour$e to read side by side with the PM&'( and with S$ordo's book avai"ab"e on PMM#'s &ooks24./. # wou"d read the PM&'( $ha%ter0 then the S$ordo $ha%ter0 then the ,rowe $ha%ter one a)ter the other and then take the ,ha%ter test in ,rowe. # )ound this very e))e$tive. 'n$e # made it through the book # began taking tests )rom the -.am 1uestion book a"so avai"ab"e on PM# &ooks 24./. # was s$oring in the 20's and )e"t good. # then went ba$k and "ooked u% every 1uestion # missed and thought about the 1uestion and why # missed it. Most times0 it was be$ause # had high"ighted on"y %arts a %aragra%h in the PM&'( and then on"y reviewed the high"ighted areas o) ea$h %aragra%h. +his was a mistake. +he who"e PM&'( is im%ortant to read and study $are)u""y. 'n$e # made it through the PM&'( a $ou%"e times # started having a dee%er understanding o) the %ro$ess and %hi"oso%hy and started asking dee%er 1uestions0 su$h as 34hy is ,ontro" 5ua"ity a)ter 6a"idate S$o%e i) an out%ut o) ,ontro" 5ua"ity is an in%ut to 6a"idate S$o%e37 # won't give you the answer here but you shou"d $"ear"y understand what # am ta"king about i) you rea""y gras% the %ro$ess. )ter # thought # was ready )or the test # sti"" had about a week and a ha") to go to test day so # )ound a $o%y o) 8ita's &ook. # did not "ike the book at a"". Maybe it was be$ause #

rea""y )e"t # was a"ready %ro)i$ient enough to test. Maybe i) #'d got a $o%y ear"ier #'d "ike it more. 8andom 9otes! : 4:5 1uestions about +u$kman0 very minor nuan$ed di))eren$es in the stage you are in. #t is not enough to memori*e the 5 stages. ;ook )or the di))eren$es es%e$ia""y between <orming0 Storming0 and 9orming. : 9' P+ 0 <60 P6 : 3:4 1uestions on 92:n=2. 'ne 1uestion asked about a %erson "eaving a team and asked how many $hanne"s that you %ersona""y "ost. 9ot how many tota" or how many taken away0 but how many that the PMP himse") "ost. +ri$k 1uestion. 8ead them $are)u""y. : -6 and P6. # had a hard time $a"$u"ating -6 and P6. Make sure that you $an take the %aragra%h and $a"$u"ate -6=P60 as we"" as %"ug those numbers in the )ormu"a. Some things that worked! 1. 8ead PM&'( 2:3 times. &y the time you read it the 3rd time you shou"d be asking 1uestions about the %ro$esses that you $ou"d not even think o) on the )irst read. 2. &rain dum%. # didn't use it mu$h at a"" but it did he"% me $a"m down and he"% me think through 1:2 1uestions. My dum% was nothing s%e$ia"0 Pro$ess $hart0 10:12 )ormu"as0 and then # took a )ew minutes making random notes on the %age su$h as $ir$"ing the %ro$ess that bui"d the base"ines and then a$$umu"ate to the PM&. #t didn't he"% me though. 3. Pra$ti$e tests. +ake a "ot. My s$ores! ;ehman /5 : /6> ;ehman 1/5 : 22> S$ordo 1:12 20:20> S$ordo 13:12 62:20> ,rowe. #n the ?0's 4. Study in di))erent ways. :# read the PM&'( with other books at the same time :# $reated <"ash $ards with random )a$ts :# $reated )"ash $ards )or ea$h %ro$ess with the #++' :# took voi$e notes to %"ayba$k whi"e driving :# ta"ked myse") through ea$h %ro$ess by e.%"aining what was needed )or the %ro$ess0 what too"s were used0 and what out%uts were generated and where those out%uts went. +his was very he"%)u". Some things # did not do. :Pay )or anything but the ,rowe book. 9o %aid tests or other "earning materia"s. :Study with a grou% @none avai"ab"eA :Pay attention to any website or %erson that was trying to market their servi$es to me. <ina" thoughts. +he test was Bust about as hard as everyone makes it out to be and # $an't rea""y think o) a sing"e test that # took that # think was Bust "ike the e.am. #'"" give a"" the $redit to S$ordo and ;ehman though in ensuring that # had taken enough tests to )ee" that # rea""y knew the materia".

Con't ask me )or any study notes. My notes wi"" not he"% you. Dour notes wi"" he"% you. Dou have to strugg"e with the materia" the same way # did0 take your own notes0 and 1uestion and have $onversation with the materia" to rea""y get a gras% on the materia" in a way that wi"" a""ow you to answer the situation based 1uestions. Eood "u$k.