Passed PMP exam yesterday

After a long tiring journey, i succeeded in the certification process yesterday with 4P and 1MP for initiation. Penning down my experience.

Started in April 2014. I first tried self study and try studying PMBoK for a month.I was disappointed to realize that I hardly recollected anything after 20 days.

May : After reading through many blogs and suggestions, I bought Rita and tried reading - but I still felt the gap.

June: I joined the KnowledgeWoods training program for 4 week ends. Before attending the classes, I read PMBoK again.
The classes gave me a strong base and a direction to proceed. I also met many others who were focusing on PMP. Their tips & experiences was also a great value add.

July : Read headfirst and quick PMBoK reference along with exercises from Rita & Headfirst.I also took time to watch some wonderful videos. Videos from Tamilselvan Mahalingam Sir https://www.youtube.com/user/PMBOK5 and Saket Bansal Sir - izenbridge was of tremendous help.

August : Started taking mock tests. As as part of my knowledgewoods training, we had access to 10 mock tests. I took 2-3 tests every weekend and additional tests during the holidays which came in between. After each test - I would read all answers, analyze the weak areas and read-up again from Rita & PMBoK. My score started at 70% and gradually increased to 78.5. Initially I was below average for closing groups, I also worked on that to cover the gaps. I was pretty confident by the end of 10 tests.

To be sure, I purchased PMzilla 200 difficult questions and also attempted Oliver Lehman & PM Study questions. I actually did not do too well in these tests... 60+% only.

I took the final exam on 4th September. The exam was pretty easy and similar to the mock tests. There were some tough questions on initiation - calculations. I finished the exam in 3 hours. I got 4P and 1P for initiating as expected.

pmzilla has been my constant SOS for doubts. Most of the times i did not post my query, as a search led me to many questions and suitable answers.

I would not like to advise anyone as each person has to plan his/her own personal journey considering their learning ability, time & resources. I am willing to help anyone as needed. Do let me know if you need any information.

Enjoy this new feather in the cap

Congratulations on achieving your PMP !!!
Regards,
Ranjit

Congratulations......are there specific mock exams you recommend

Hello Dipti,

I did Knowledge Woods, but I guess any reputed one will do. The key point which I understood my my experience is - you should subscribe to a series of tests from one provider. They will repeat similar pattern through-out the test. So if you analyze east test, learn and proceed to the next - you will not make the same mistakes again when it appears in the next test. This is the best method to learn the concept, you wont need to revise again:). As I mentioned in my comment, I finished my exam in less than 3 hours, as many questions looked so similar. I have noticed many people complaining about some tests that they are repeating questions. But for me, the repeats made my work easy.

congrats!

macisu's picture

Could you please tell us what mock tests you tested?

I tried the below ones

1) 10 Mock tests from Knowledge Woods - this was a part of the training program I attended. (Paid)
http://www.knowledgewoods.in/
Scores started at 70% and reached 79 towards the last few tests

2) PM Study free 200 questions test - scored 70%
http://www.pmstudy.com/PMP-Exam-Resources/freeSimulatedTest.asp

3) izenbridge free 115 questions
http://www.izenbridge.com/pmp/free-exam/

4) PM Zilla difficult questions book - Rs600+, scored 60%. This was very tough
http://pmzilla.com/pmzilla-final-pmp-exam-pmp

5)Oliver Lehman 75 Question Free - http://www.oliverlehmann.com/pmp-self-test/75-free-questions.htm

6) Oliver Lehman 175 questions - http://www.oliverlehmann.com/contents/free-downloads/175_PMP_Sample_Ques...

+

Headfirst Chapter End questions
Rita Chapter end questions for scope, time, cost, risk, procurement
Sean Whitakar PMP Exam questions
PMP Question bank by Fahad Usmani

Many congratulations to you.

saketbansal's picture

Congratulation !!! and its good to know that you liked our video channel, do check our blog on 60 PDUs, this can result in saving of 90 USD for you :-)

www.izenbridge.com/blog/how-to-earn-60-pdus-and-maintain-your-pmp-certif...

Thank you for the details.

Your videos were extremely helpful and infact I could visualize many concepts even during the exam.