After my application was accepted for my PMP, I decided like any person that this was a significant exam and it was best to play it safe and give myself ample time to prepare. So much so that I booked my PMP slot to give me 2 solid months for preparation.
However what really happened was that I procrastinated and didn’t start till panic set in 2 weeks prior to the PMP exam.
What I am about to share are my methods and insights on how I cracked an exam that people generally talk about preparing for at least a month, in a fortnight.
This is with the new exam pattern as of 31st May 2021, with a 50% weightage on questions on Agile methodologies in Project Management.
What you need:
· 14 days , around 4 hours every day
· Practice Tests — PMP Practice Test Exam 2021-PMBOK6 is my hearty recommendation
· Sources to read about basic Agile and Scrum Methodologies
· Do or die attitude
Methodology:
1. Familiarize yourself with the content in the PMBOK by reading through it quickly
2. Start giving practice tests
3. Reread the PMBOK as you review the tests to figure out weaknesses
4. Keep taking notes of things that are especially tricky to find out or remember in the tests
One thing I liked about the PMP Practice Test Exam 2021-PMBOK6 question sets are that they have relevant questions with detailed answers which adds a lot of value to reviewing.
They also help you grasp kind of the general approach to solving situations as a Project Manager, which will help you get into the space to crack the exam.
Timeline:
This is how we roll!
1. Days 1–6: Take this time to go through the PMBOK thoroughly and take notes about important concepts
2. Day 7 — Practice Test 1 (4 hours Max)
3. Day 8 — Review of Practice Test 1 — Go through all the questions, keep taking notes on how to approach problems, and revisit areas of improvement in PMBOK
4. Days 9,10 — Step 2 and 3 for Practice Test 2
5. Days 11, 12 — Step 2 and 3 for Practice Test 3
6. Day 13 — Rest of the tests, revise notes on Agile and Scrum
7. Day 14 — Review overall notes. Take the day easy. Make sure your equipment is in order.
This should have you pretty ready to give PMP with around 4 hours input every day. Any more than that is considered a bonus.
Also the tests themselves are pretty long but I could save time by doing them quicker. So you might be able to get a lot more work done
Additional Tips:
1. Pay attention to the “Considerations for Agile/Adaptive Environment” section of the PMBOK
2. If you are not getting the pass percentage on the tests, relax. I didn’t either, but focus on improving your way of tackling questions
3. Work smart not hard — keep track of your progress. Do not go into auto pilot
With that I wish you the best of luck for your PMP preparations!
Thank you for reading and feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn for any further questions!
