Let me start by saying that I felt the actual PMP exam to be easier that what I thought.

I feel with commitment and disciplined preparation,  anyone should be able to easily clear the exam

Materials Read:

PMBOK 4th Edition - 3 times (only the first time takes a lot of time)

Rita Mulcahy - 2 times (exercises, examples, chapter tests are very useful)

Free Practice Tests taken:

oliverlehmann.com (75 questions) - Very good difficulty

oliverlehmann.com (175 questions) - Good difficulty

mypmp.ie - very good difficulty

Edwel - Very good difficulty

PMStudy Test1 - Moderate difficulty (more in line with real PMP exam)

skillsign.com - Moderate difficulty

PreparePM - Moderate difficulty

Tips (from my point of view, some people might disagree):

• Reading PMBOK alone is NOT sufficient.


• Test Prep materials like Rita's, Andy's, Head First will help you understand the perspective from which the exam will test you. Also, the exam asks many questions that are either not there or not explained in detail in PMBOK. But such concepts are covered by these test prep materials. For example, Project selection methods, Motivational theories, Quality theorists, Types of power etc. But, do not overload yourself with too many materials


• Be very thorough with Process Group and Knowledge Areas Mapping (page 43 of PMBOK)


• Remember all the formula


• Formula related questions are the easiest ones to score but beware, some of them are more time consuming too especially the ones where you need to draw the network diagram


• There is no necessity to memorize ITTO, instead try to understand the purpose of each input (refer to PMBOK)


• When reading the first time, focus on understanding the concepts than memorizing anything.


• When reading 2nd, 3rd or 4th times, try and see if you can identify the ITTO for each process but still no need to memorize


• I underlined all important points in PMBOK and Rita's when reading the first time and that helped a lot when doing 2nd, 3rd and subsequent times. But some people might not like this concept.


• Important Topics - Project Selection Methods, Purpose of all tools, Motivational theories, Quality theorists, Conflict resolution process, Negotiation process, Stage of team development, Contract types


• Remember to read PMI's Code of Ethics and Professional conduct. It appears easy, but the questions might be tough. Do not under estimate it.


• Take lot of Practice tests and in each test review the questions that you got wrong.


• When taking tests, mark the ones which you were not very sure of the answers and review them later. If they are right, it confirms your understanding, if wrong identifies your knowledge gap


• Practice Tests also train you to be watchful of the time and careless mistakes

Do your PMP certification as your own little project

• Initiate - by setting high level objectives and constraints, approving yourself or getting approval from your company (if sponsored)


• Plan - by developing preparation plan, identifying resources needed


• Execute - by acquiring necessary resources, doing the preparation, taking the test


• Monitor & Control - by tracking your progress and taking corrective/preventive actions


• Close - by saving your materials, sharing lessons learnt and celebrating your achievement

All the best !!

I convey my heart-felt thanks to PMZilla & the forum users who shared their experiences and lessons learnt which helped me a lot when preparing for the exam.