Etienne JacksSenior PM| NedbankJohannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
When reading reviews of others who have taken their PMP exam, I've noticed the feedback with passing the exam on the first try. Although a massive achievement to do so, I wonder where the validation of "passing on first attempt" started. Did it start with the organisation's that do the PMP prep courses or early members who passed and started describing their pass as such. Just curious. Saving Changes...
I think it's caused by the reality that a reasonable percentage of candidates DON'T pass on the first attempt. When I wrote it in 2000, I only had a couple of contacts who had written it previously and they had both passed on their first try so I didn't feel concerned about not being able to do the same. Now, it's a different story - chances are most candidates know someone who didn't pass on their first attempt. Training companies will confirm that it is not an easy exam to pass but some may use more hyperbole than others when describing the level of difficulty. So, it's likely a combination of:
a) Anecdotal feedback from those who didn't pass on the first try (or who know someone who didn't)
b) Training companies setting realistic or pessimistic expectations
c) PMI not publishing statistics such as the passing score and the percentage of applicants who do pass on their first attempt
If you have never taken a specific exam before, it can be difficult to study effectively because you really don't know the best way to study and the knowledge areas to emphasize. For this reason, I think that some believe that passing on the first try represents a broader subject knowledge rather than someone who has focused on specific subject areas.
I had no knowledge of the first pass statistics, and was somewhat surprised after the fact when people congratulated me and said that passing on the first try was a "big deal". I passed that off to test taking skills rather than fundamental knowledge. As an experienced PM at that time, I found the exam less about fundamental subject matter knowledge, and more about the PMBoK framework for organizing the knowledge, and memorizing a few formulas.
Maybe that could be construed as I have advanced enough knowledge that my task was really aligning my own internally developed framework to to that of the PMBoK. Since I flagged about 30% of the questions for follow-up before I finalized my answers, I generally credit it more to test taking strategies than core knowledge. Saving Changes...
Yes I Would agree that it is a combination of knowledge and test taking strategy. Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
I passed my driver's exam on my first attempt! Sure.prep companies certainly want to market what they see as candy to the buyer's, but in reality, no one cares. Did you pass, yes, great, next...
Everyone is different, with different needs, strategies, background, experiences, anxieties, etc. Saving Changes...
MARK A ANNUNZIATA, SrVP/EXPERT CONSULTANCY TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY| ROMAN STRUCTURES, INC WELLINGTON FLDammam, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia
EJ-
My story is similar to Keith's, and the rationale is probably similar.
My story- I was stuck in Saudi Arabia during the September religious Holy Days (could not get my CEO to authorize an exit visa /he was always concerned I would not return) and decided I was not going to let myself go crazy in my apartment. I had been reading the Saudi Aramco recent job descriptions (I like to stay on top of these requirements-I like to recruit for my own execution teams) and discovered they had added a PMP requirement to their list of requirements for their young Engineers.
I decided in mid-August I would buy and study the Rita book and scheduled my exam for mid-September. I studied the book and took all the practice exams for the next 30 days. I realized that I had been operating and practicing the PMP procedures for many years, my Clients required a similar framework by Contract, including Contract required submittals of Project Management Plans which I authored.
My only hurdle for passing the exam was converting the language and management of the Construction world to that of the I.T. world. Most of the attempted use of construction terms within the exam questions were incorrect. (Cement instead of Concrete is a dead giveaway) Most of the Mangement practices do not apply to the Construction Site. The grammar within the questions was poor and poorly worded.
Once I put myself in the mindset of the Office Worker world, it became easy to answer the exam questions. (I do admit to giggling while answering questions in the exam room). Surprisingly to me, the duration of time for me to answer the exam questions took up 90% of the allotted time.
I passed during my first visit to the exam site. The Administrator seemed surprised when he handed me my results. Later the same day, I mentioned this to my Boss (CEO) and he responded that he had taken the exam twice and failed- he claimed he just could not convert his logic to the I.T. world. I was disappointed to hear his story, I regarded his knowledge of Construction Management as being in the top 5% worldwide.
Product Operations Program ManagerBarcelona, Cataluña, Spain
Vanity has a lot to do with it. There are multiple examples of university's dropouts who became successful professionals earning billions. That being said, it is good for PMI credentials holders that several applicants fail to pass the test on the first attempt. Saving Changes...
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