Jaydip ChakrabartiConsultant, Supplier Management, B.Eng, PG in Supply Chain, PMP, SAP Certified| Bruce Power, Largest Nuclear Power generating company in North AmericaBrampton, Ontario, Canada
Hi all,
My exam is scheduled in a week from now, I am nervous as my simulator scores ( 5 so far ) never going above 65-70%. Gone through PMBOK and another PREP book few times. Reviewed the explanation of the wrong answers. Feel comfortable with the knowledge. The issue that I am facing is the time management to answer 200 Q's in 4 hours. Never have been able to finish all Q's. Last hour RUSH contributing either wrong answers, guess work or no answers resulting low scores. Also used the technique of marking and skipping long questions for review later. So far no luck on scores. On the contrary finished most of my timed quiz ( small batches of 10/20 Q's in 10/20 minutes ) mostly on or before time and scored progressively upto 90%.
Need suggestions :
1. Do you suggest me to appear for the exam next week to take a chance or reschedule 4 weeks from now ?
2. If rescheduled, what else needs to be done to improve the simulator score, time management other than improving my reading skills ?
Will appreciate response at the earliest convenience so as to make a decision of rescheduling.
Deepesh RammoorthyICT Project Manager ( PMP®AgilePM®Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM®))| Australian Red Cross Blood ServiceTarneit, Vic, Australia
Hi Jaydip
What Simulator are you looking at ? PMPrepcast? OR Is it a Paid/Reputable Simulator ? I would strongly advise to go for a Paid Simulator Like PM Prep-cast.
If I were doing 65-70% at Prepcast I would slightly delay my test [ your suggestion of 4 weeks is good until i start scoring about 80-85% at least ]
Personally, I was scoring something like 80-90% on the simulators in PM Prepcast.
Not completing the 200 questions in the 4 hours is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately .
You can go back to PMBoK guide and Rita's book and brush up on the mathematical calculation type questions and also brush up on some multiple choice question tricks
Read the question carefully, then : 1) Look at the screen and eliminate the two most obvious responses 2) Two of them then will be very close ; read the question again to see if you can eliminate one out of the two. 3) IF you cannot deduce a clear answer , make a best guess and keep moving forward
Remember you only have a maximum of 1 minute , 20 seconds per question , so if you find that you have spent over a minute on a question , move on immediately by making a best guess.
The trick with long questions is this :- 1) Do a quick summary glance of the long question 2) Then look at the four choices and start eliminating 3) IF two are eliminated easily as obviously wrong answers, go back and read the question again and try to eliminate between the other two choices. 4) Finally make a guess and move on if you cannot differentiate between two very close choices.
Think Negative ; If the question asks what is the BEST? .....think in terms of what could be the WORST among the answers. That way you can eliminate one or two choices pretty quickly.
Brush up on your ITTOs.....Do the ones that are unique to some of the Processes . Like there are about 13-15 techniques for Requirements Gathering that do not appear anywhere else . Know these well.
Memorize your process groups in terms of acrynonyms; Get a mental picture of the 47 processes by having a chart in your room and looking at it a few times during the day :-
I - Integration Saw - Scope Two - Time Chipmunks - Cost Quietly - Quality Having - Human Resources Coffee - Communication Reading - Risk Poetic - Procurement Stories - Stakeholder
Stop thinking your project experience or what you do at work and start thinking what PMBoK would say? Think in terms of extensive planning . Think in terms of Multi Million dollar projects . in PMBoK speak, If you Fail to Plan , you are planning to Fail , so the Planning process group is pivotal . Try to get the maximum correct answers in that process group.
Also pay attention to the quick wins - The initiating process group and the closing process groups as these have less number of processes . And make yourself very familiar with those particular ITTOs and read the relevant chapters more than once. Once you give the Simulator exam , check the answers you got wrong one by one . Follow the reference pages mentioned against the wrong answer in the PMBoK guide and read the pages before and after that particular page, along with that particular page . Check what Knowledge area or process that page refers to and make sure you read both PMBoK and Rita for that particular process/knowledge area and familiarize yourself again with the content
Good Luck on the journey . Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Yes, reschedule and plan to invest at least 30 hours per week for the remainder.
Great advice by Deepesh. Saving Changes...
Anton OosthuizenSenior Business Analyst / Project Manager| Self EmployedPretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Agree with Deepesh, you need to score higher and definitely be able to get through all the questions in the allocated time. Do you know where you are losing time? Are you reading to slow, do you need to read the question more than once to understand it or are you spending time thinking about the answer?
Based on your average score I would guess it is the latter since you are not sure about the answer you are spending more time thinking about the answer than you should. If this is the case then more study is the only way to fix it. Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Dear Jaydip Interesting your question Thanks for sharing
Considering the results you achieved in the exam questions simulator, what do you think is the best decision? (Postpone the exam or take the exam)
Question simulators have three functions: - Familiarize yourself with the questions that come out on the exam - Analyze the answers to the questions and validate the reasons that lead to the answer being the one - Train response speed
Here at ProjectManagement.com there is a battery of questions similar to those that come out in the exam
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
My recommendation about time is: do not waste time thinking about a question. If you have doubts mark it for revision and go ahead with the next. The worst thing you can do when you prepare for the exam is be aware of the time. Forget about it. Remember: time does not exists, we create time. Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
The 200 in 4-hrs is psychological warfare :)
Like Sergio said, make the decision to mark and skip immediately, and move on. If you read through, then decide to skip, you are essentially adding questions to the total b/c you will have to read all over again the next time around. If you decide to invest in reading through, finish it. Can still mark, but it is appropriately (we hope!) answered.
To help me trick time, I skipped the first 10 or so immediately at the start. Obviously, came back to them at the end. It worked for me, may not others.
Don't over drink, otherwise will have to go to the b/r. Avoid that until finished the first pass, then go before reviewing the marked questions. Also worked for me.
Any diagram or calc questions automatically skip, then do all at once next pass. Most of mine were fairly straight forward, but again, remember, every question is worth the same. Don't sacrifice your calm and many questions on the few.
Control the test, do not let the test control you. Be confident.
It seems like you should postpone it. But that is ultimately your call.
GL! Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
"Control the test, do not let the test control you." one of the best statements I read in the last years. Thank you Mr. Andrew Craig. Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
Thanks, Sergio! :)
Had to fix a typo: should be ....'do not let....'
...
1 reply by Sergio Luis Conte
Jan 20, 2020 7:37 AM
Sergio Luis Conte
...
I understood your point. Regards.
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Jan 20, 2020 7:33 AM
Replying to Drew Craig
...
Thanks, Sergio! :)
Had to fix a typo: should be ....'do not let....'
I understood your point. Regards. Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Dear Jaydip I often say that: "without a date there is no commitment" I apply this concept to projects that I have the opportunity to manage
Understand your PMP certification as a project whose deliverable is the certificate issued by PMI
Analyze the risks
I can assure you (I supported several people to make sure after failing the exam) that it is better to prepare better for the exam than to go to the exam and fail.
Of course, this is my opinion (it's worth what it's worth) The only person who can decide is you :-)
Whatever your decision, I wish you much success Saving Changes...
I think somebody should come up with a way to breed a very large shrimp. That way, you could ride him, then, after you camped at night, you could eat him. How about it, science?
