A friend asked me this morning what steps I had taken to pass the PMP cert and as I was writing them down I realized that i hadn't gone back and said thank you.  More importantly, I greatly benefitted from reading how others approached the test as well as the wealth of information shared in support of those seeking certification.  Following is what I sent my friend and hopefully it will benefit others.  Please note that I had been laid off in March and my old boss told me that if I could afford to wait 3-4 months before I had to look for a job, then i would be better served studeying and more successful in my job hunt as a certified PMP.  He was right. 

·         http://www.esi-intl.com/  I used ESI’s 9-disk CD tutorial & their practice questions (I think it was like 250 or 300 practice questions – excellent book) book.  Even if you can only get your hands on the 3rd edition version of the CDs, they're worth it because they talk about the concepts in a way that transcends the differences in the editions.

·         http://www.learningtree.com/courses/276.htm this is the PM boot camp that I attended; their daily quizzes were harder than the actual exam

·         http://pmzilla.com/ I frequented this site to see what other test takers had to say about the exam, as well as get different study material (they have all of the formulas in one section)

I’m not sure what sort of timeframe that you’re looking to get this done, but on average, most people take between 3-6 months to prepare; with the last 3 weeks spending upwards of 4-6 hours studying.  Following is how I did it (using a 3month timeframe):

·         get a copy of the PMBOK (4^th edition – this is what the exam is based upon) and start light reading;

·         purchase a practice test book from ESI & Rita Machaly (I know I spelled it wrong, but just google PMP prep and her name will come) as well as Rita’s electronic flash cards.

·         spend 30 minutes each day doing the following 3 things (10 minutes a piece)

·         take the attachment, which is a matrix table of the 5 Process Groups & 9 Knowledge areas and spend 10 minutes a day recreating that table.  Just create a table 5X9 in word and fill in the blanks; eventually you should be able to do it from memory and ultimately within 3-5 minutes.

·          Within that same 30 minute timeframe write down the definition of the 5 process groups & 9 knowledge areas.  Because the test is “real world” scenarios PMI wants to know if you recognize (based upon the presented facts) where you are in the process and more importantly – what your BEST next step should be.  Remember, PMI will give 2-3 right answers but they want the best answer for that particular scenario

·         Get a list of the formulas from PMzilla and start replicating those on paper to round out your daily 30 minute PM ritual

·         By week 2 start reading a specific process chapter and the corresponding ESI cd for that process – taking detailed notes; you have to complete the chapter & the cd by weeks end.  Once you’re finish take the practice test; keep a copy of your answers and results.

·         Finish the week off by reviewing from Rita’s flash cards for that process/chapter

·         After about 8 weeks you should have the formulas, the definitions & the Process Group matrix memorized, now focus on being able to write the formulas & replicating that table in 3-5 minutes.

·         After 9 weeks (or the 9 process groups) go back and intensely study your notes for each process group and the corresponding flash card chapter.  Retake the corresponding tests and you should see a significant increase from your original score.  You should score consistently in the 90% & up range; that’s when you know your ready for the test.

·         Week 11 you should compare & contrast your recent test to your original and see if you got the same questions wrong; if so those are the areas that you should focus on thru week 12.

·         After week 12 if you think you still need some assistance take a boot camp and be prepared to take the test within 3-4 days of completing the boot camp.

·         On the day of the test, you will have a 15 tutorial on how to use test system.  Pay attention to this tutorial for 10 minutes, use the remaining 5 to replicate the formulas and the Matrix table.

FYI – you will probably have no more than 3 questions that require one of the formulas, the problem is that you don’t know which one, so having them on a sheet of paper will make answering them easier.  I only had one question that required a formula – BUT I was able to successfully answer at least 7 other questions by going back and referencing that sheet.  This is also how that matrix worked for me as well; I probably got 10-15 questions right by being able to go back and look at that chart.  The bulk of my questions were: (Risks – 30%, Closing – 25%, HR [team building] 25%, the remaining 20% sprinkled throughout the rest).

Hopefully this will help someone as others helped me.  Once again - Thanks PMzilla Community!!!