Hi,

I passed my PMP yesterday,would like to share my experiences and lessons learned.

First, i took the mandatory training last March (when PMBOK 3 was in effect), i applied for the exam by april. My application was selected for Audit, so it was May when the formalities were completed and i was allowed to take exam. By then, i decided to take exam after June which meant i have to prepare for PMBOK 4th edition. However, i couldn't find materials relating to 4th edition except for the PMBOK, which i started reading. After a couple of months, i bought Head first and completed reading it. Then i got Andy Crowe's 'How to Pass PMP on your First try'. By then it was December, i had my dates till May only, so started preparing seriously since January.

 Completed Head first, Andy crowe by Feb 1st week, Then started taking tests that were part of those books and the questions that i collected over web. After that i went through PMBOK on the penultimate day. Reached the exam center couple of hours early and just went through the notes that i had. I completed the exam in 2 hours and 45 minutes (no idea how), reviewed it for 15 minutes and then completed the exam.It was just then i had my BP shoot up(those two minutes of survey and the time before your results screen show up). Then the screen came up with Congratulations message,that was when i felt relaxed.

Coming to the lessons learned part,

1. Use only limited number of books. I used PMBOK, Head first and Andy crowe, found them more than enough i didnt go for Rita  Mulcahy(neither book nor software, it was too expensive for me).

2. Practice as much exams as you can (i used the four from PMStudy), they were real close to the exam.

3. Read PMBOK as much as you can, most of the questions are straight from the book.

4. Dont waste time memorizing ITTO, try understanding them you will feel much easier (i didnt memorize them).I had aroung 10 questions relating to Inputs and tools, which i was able to answer clearly.

5. Have your own formulae list and mind mapping method,try writing down them in the 15 minutes time. I practiced writing them and i had them written in 10 minutes including the 42 processes in the exam.

6. Schedule your exam if you haven't, then you will be more committed towards it.I did the same, initially i was feeling lazy and didnt spend much time on reading, then i decided to myself that i had to complete before March, and scheduled the exam. After that only i was more serious in preparing.

7. Dont panic if you do not answer for few questions, just mark them for review and move on. You might get clues from some other questions.

8. Practice the problems as well, for me atleast 5 questions were related to EAC, ETC, and CPM.

9. I would like to stress again, reading too many materials will lead nowhere,except confusion.

10. Lastly, if you are committed you can complete the exam in a month for sure.It doesnt need lot of time at all, you just need to understand the concepts.

All the Best to all the PMP aspirants.

Thanks

Rajamani