PMP preparation advice

In my view, there are really three ways in which you can prepare for the PMP exam:



1. Deeply - going this way means you would allocate about 6-12 months prep time, utilize 4-8 reference sources (books, CD-ROMS, websites, etc.), and make sure you fully understand the PMBOK at and beyond the fundamental level and know where and how to apply this knowledge to various situations and problems, based on your past project management experience.



2. Cramming - cram for the exam in a 3-6 week time frame, use 1 PMP prep resource (the most popular of this is rita mulcahy's "PMP Exam Prep" which I will review in another post) and the PMBOK (if this is even read at all), and attend an expensive PMP Boot Camp that uses intense cram sessions, clever mnemonic memory schemes, and drilling of test simulation questions 1 week before the exam.



3. Medium - this technique should typically take 3-6 months, and would try to adopt the best of both techniques in a timely manner and based on one's learning abilities. For example, in months 1-3 you would read the PMBOK first to get an overview, then carefully read 2-3 prep books (or other resources) to ensure you understand the materials at a fundamental level and to make sure you look at more than 1 prep resource to cover an deficiencies it may have. In months 2-5, you would start to take intense notes, re-read the PMBOK to see how much better you understand it and make sure you have synthesized the material enough to be confident you will pass in a month or two. In the last month or couple weeks before the test, is where you would start focusing on how to pass the test specifically and utilize the techniques from the cram method.



In my view, the "medium" method is the best for most PMP candidates. It ensures you allow yourself adequate time to fully absorb and understand the fundamentals of what the PMBOK is trying to convey, as well as why knowing this would be important to pass the exam, which is almost everyone's goal. Then close to the exam, use all the cram tricks from the "cram" school of thought to tie up any loose ends and to get you mind set up and ready for the PMP exam that will be coming up.



Not only will doing it this way ensure you pass the exam, but will allow you to actually understand, retain and apply your hard earned knowledge to your daily professional project management career.

If you like listening, I would recommend the following podcasts:

1. www.PMPrepCast.com - This is basically an audio version of PMBOK explained with some real world examples by Mr. Cornelius Fitchner

2. www.ThePMPodcast.com - Another podcast by the same author and they discuss Project Management in general. This is really a great motivation for me to pursue my PMP certification and I have attained it in May 2007

3. www.ControllingChaos.com - A similar podcast as above by Dina Scott.

What works is using an exam prep book like RMC Project Management's book which is the number one selling PMP exam prep book on Amazon.com. Don Kim may not like the tone of the book but with over 95% of our students passing the exam, you can't argue with the results.