Taking the Plunge

Starting points are sometimes awkward for me - I'm not always sure if I am starting the right way or going in the right direction.  The important thing to keep in mind when preparing for the PMP exam is that just getting started is a step in the right direction.

The first thing I like to do when starting anything new is to assess my situation.  Okay, preparing for the PMP exam is not exactly new for me, but I am finally "formally" preparing.  It has been my intent to take the PMP exam for several years; it is what influenced me to finally go back to school to get my Bachelor's degree, and to get it in IT Project Management.  As a result, I have more than enough education contact hours in addition to my degree.

It makes sense to me to treat preparing for the exam like it is a project.  I am not going to write a business case or a scope statement, but there are some milestones that I need to achieve before applying to take the exam, which will require planning and not an insignificant amount of work.  These are:

* Documenting my education (pretty straightforward)
* Documenting my experience (a little more challenging).
* Studying

Documenting my education will be easy, now.  I just need to decide which courses to include on the application.  The difficult part was when I was trying to figure out how to count my contact hours.  The classes for my BSIT were online; no actual "contact" hours in a classroom with a teacher or other students.  I did some searching on PMI's website, and found my school listed in the Registered Education Provider (REP) Program.  I was able to find the Project Management classes I had taken, but they only listed PDUs, not contact hours.  After several rounds of email with PMI, they finally understood that I was asking how to convert PDUs into contact hours and was told that it is a 1:1 ratio.  A class worth 24 PDUs is worth 24 contact hours.

I got lucky - my school was listed.  If you need contact hours AND a Bachelor's degree, I would recommend finding a school that is already on the REP list and making sure that your degree program will allow you to take classes that are recognized by PMI.

Documenting my experience is the part I am dreading.  I still have the records for almost all of my projects over the past 5 years, but I did not think to keep a log that would allow me to track the information that PMI requires on the application.  I think that preparing this information will be almost as time consuming as studying for the exam.

When it comes to studying, I am "well-armed."  I have audio. I have video.  I have books (not just the PMBOK). I have flash cards.  I have practice exams (in books, PDF, online, and CBT). Now all I need is the dedication and commitment to start studying.

To help me study, I have initiated a study group at work.  I have been able to find 7 other people who have also been putting off taking the exam, and a few PMPs willing to mentor us.  We have met once to review our options for studying, and I need to set up a second meeting so that we can make some decisions and set a study schedule.

These are the main topics that I will be blogging about - preparing to apply for the exam and studying, both on my own and as part of a group.  Hopefully my experience will help others as they prepare and try to figure out where and how to start.