Thursday, May 8, 2008
PMP exam feedback
Congratulations to Jeff Dasch for passing the PMP exam! I asked Jeff to provide some feedback that might benefit others:
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Hi Stu,
Thanks for your previous acknowledgement.
I took the PMP exam prep class from PMI-OC. A lot of the tips from the instructors were valuable. The ones that were most beneficial to me included:
1. Read the PMBOK Guide at least twice (including the Glossary), three times would be better.
2. Read the study guide a couple of times. Likewise review the Power Point slides that are shown in class. There are questions on the exam from these resources that are not in PMBOK.
3. Do as many practice questions as you can. Practice on a 200-question exam at least once.
4. Memorize Table 3-45 on page 70 of the PMBOK Guide and do a "brain dump" (reproduce it on a piece of paper) prior to starting the exam (when you're given 15 minutes to learn how to use a mouse). Use a mnemonic to help you to remember the Knowledge Areas.
5. Include in your brain dump the four basic EVT formulae for CV, SV, CPI and SPI. These are the only ones needed for the exam.
6. Use a style of study that works best for you. For me, it's taking notes of what I read. Others learn better by using other visual or audio techniques.
7. Read the questions carefully, especially noting words like "not", "except for", and "best".
8. Use a process of elimination on the four possible answers. It's usually easy to spot two obvious wrong answers and focus on the remaining two.
9. Don't spend too much time on a single question; you can have plenty of wrong answers and still pass.
10. Take the exam as soon as possible after completing the course.
11. Visit the examination site prior to the exam so you know exactly where it is. You don't want to be stressed out the day of the exam looking for the facility.
12. Ask for a calculator unless you're comfortable using the calculator function on the computer.
13. Make sure you're well rested for the exam. Schedule it for the time of day (morning or afternoon) when you are usually at your best.
14. If you can't answer a question immediately, choose an answer and mark the question as one to which you want to return. Go back to all your marked questions after you get to the end.
Other comments:
One instructor advised us to learn all the Inputs, Tools & Techniques and Outputs for all of the processes. This was too daunting for me. It might have helped me get a few more questions right, but not enough, in my opinion, to justify the effort.
I felt like I had a leg up on my classmates from taking the UCI PM Certification courses. However, each one who has since taken the exam has passed.
There are a lot of other PMP exam resources out there. Some of my classmates purchased them and thought that they helped. I only used those that were provided in the prep course and feel that they were sufficient.
Several instructors strongly recommended forming study groups. Probably a good idea, but I and my classmates didn't do so.
Best regards,
Jeff Dasch
=
Hi Stu,
Thanks for your previous acknowledgement.
I took the PMP exam prep class from PMI-OC. A lot of the tips from the instructors were valuable. The ones that were most beneficial to me included:
1. Read the PMBOK Guide at least twice (including the Glossary), three times would be better.
2. Read the study guide a couple of times. Likewise review the Power Point slides that are shown in class. There are questions on the exam from these resources that are not in PMBOK.
3. Do as many practice questions as you can. Practice on a 200-question exam at least once.
4. Memorize Table 3-45 on page 70 of the PMBOK Guide and do a "brain dump" (reproduce it on a piece of paper) prior to starting the exam (when you're given 15 minutes to learn how to use a mouse). Use a mnemonic to help you to remember the Knowledge Areas.
5. Include in your brain dump the four basic EVT formulae for CV, SV, CPI and SPI. These are the only ones needed for the exam.
6. Use a style of study that works best for you. For me, it's taking notes of what I read. Others learn better by using other visual or audio techniques.
7. Read the questions carefully, especially noting words like "not", "except for", and "best".
8. Use a process of elimination on the four possible answers. It's usually easy to spot two obvious wrong answers and focus on the remaining two.
9. Don't spend too much time on a single question; you can have plenty of wrong answers and still pass.
10. Take the exam as soon as possible after completing the course.
11. Visit the examination site prior to the exam so you know exactly where it is. You don't want to be stressed out the day of the exam looking for the facility.
12. Ask for a calculator unless you're comfortable using the calculator function on the computer.
13. Make sure you're well rested for the exam. Schedule it for the time of day (morning or afternoon) when you are usually at your best.
14. If you can't answer a question immediately, choose an answer and mark the question as one to which you want to return. Go back to all your marked questions after you get to the end.
Other comments:
One instructor advised us to learn all the Inputs, Tools & Techniques and Outputs for all of the processes. This was too daunting for me. It might have helped me get a few more questions right, but not enough, in my opinion, to justify the effort.
I felt like I had a leg up on my classmates from taking the UCI PM Certification courses. However, each one who has since taken the exam has passed.
There are a lot of other PMP exam resources out there. Some of my classmates purchased them and thought that they helped. I only used those that were provided in the prep course and feel that they were sufficient.
Several instructors strongly recommended forming study groups. Probably a good idea, but I and my classmates didn't do so.
Best regards,
Jeff Dasch
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