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Hi Ahmad,
It is great that you are persevering to get the PMP. Everyone who passes will have their own recommendations. My own experience with online courses wasn't great. I found reading the PMBOK guide to be more interesting, particularly when I was able to pick it up and relate it to work that I had in progress. Exam question simulators are a real help. Do choose one that enables you to identify and improve in areas on which you are not scoring well, rather than one which just provides 4 hour exams ad finitum. Look at your PMI dashboard for an analysis of your last attempt and see if this identifies any particularly weak areas on which you need to focus. All the best with it. ...
1 reply by Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
Jun 10, 2020 11:58 PM
Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
...
Thank you so much, Christopher from your comment and good words.
Ahmad,
sorry to hear. Yes, it is great that you stick with it and also that you ask for help. Probably your learning style needs to be amended. 2018 content and exam also is a bit different to 2012/3, which might play a role if you relied too much on past knowledge. As Christopher says, it is also my experience that doing lots of mockup exams is a good strategy. Try to get a good set of questions. Do these multiple times, until you have more than 90% correct. Correct is not by guessing but by being sure of the right answer. If you are wrong on one question or are unsure, go back to PMBoK and try to understand. If not easy, ask, either here or on other PMBoK forum, e.g. in LinkedIn. It worked for students of mine. They did the same set of questions at least 3 times until they had 90% correct. There were questions they did not get correct 3 times in a row! You can also do PMChallenge, though the questions are not very good - but it can be done inbetween. And if you learn, try to write down in your own words what you read. Using mindmaps is a good tool. Try to find people who also learn. ...
1 reply by Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
Jun 11, 2020 12:00 AM
Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
...
Dear Thomas Walenta, thank you so much for the detail information you provide, much appreciated, i will follow all of them before i set to exam.
Hi Ahmad,
As everyone says, PMBOK is THE BOOK to pass the exam, however, it is always not easy to read and understand PMBOK, I would strongly recommend reading Head First PMP book first, then PMBOK, this helped me to understand the concepts well. I hope this helps! Kiran ...
1 reply by Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
Jun 11, 2020 12:00 AM
Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
...
Thank you Kiran, noted, i will go with this as well.
Wiggo Eriksen
Hjelmås, Norway
The exam is not alligned to a "normal" PM brain ;) However it is very usefull to undertand the extent of the question and the form the question sis asked..............Would suggest using this book or similar...
PMP Exam Prep Simplified: Based on PMBOK® Guide Sixth Edition 6th Edition by Andrew Ramdayal (Author) ...
1 reply by Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
Jun 11, 2020 12:01 AM
Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
...
Dear Wiggo Eriksen, thank you for the comment.
Rami Kaibni
 Community Champion
Ahmad
Sorry to hear that but don’t get discouraged. If you are looking to do the PMP exam again, then from my experience, the best advise I can give to you in terms of study plans and resources is the following: (Provided you are taking the current version of the exam) Textbooks: (Study all textbook resources) - PMBOK 6th Edition + Exam Content Outline - Rita Mulcahy’s PMP Exam 9th Courses and Simulation Exams: - RMC Solutions (Simulation Exams) - PM PrepCast (Simulation Exams) - Udemy (Joseph Philips Course) The exam is changing in January 2021 so I highly recommend to do the current version of the exam. Hope this helps - Good Luck ! RK ...
1 reply by Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
Jun 11, 2020 12:02 AM
Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
...
Thank you so much, Rami Kaibni for the comment sure i will set to exam before it ends.
Kwiyuh Michael Wepngong
Community Champion
Hi Ahmad,
Congratulations already because you are making it this 4th time. Your perseverance is going to pay off... Do a lot of simulations and also practice Rita Mulcahy PMP exam... wishing you all the best ...
1 reply by Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
Jun 11, 2020 12:02 AM
Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
...
thank you, Kwiyuh Michael Wepngong
Ahmad, congratulations on your persistence. It is not an easy exam, so it is good that you're still working towards your goal.
I agree with Kiran about the Head First PMP book. I found it to be really useful, and the practice exam was closer to the real exam than some of the other online practice exams I found. There is also a lot of useful advice on how to eliminate incorrect answers to narrow down your choices during the exam. Joseph Phillips has a PMP training course that is also useful. I took it at instructing.com, though others took it through Udemy. Phillips is pretty thorough, but his test isn't as relevant to the real exam as the Head First PMP book. I've not read Rita Mulcahy's book, but I've seen it recommended frequently here. It seems like it would be worth considering. Do you know in which areas you are struggling? Some of the materials we've recommended so far may be particularly useful depending on your need. ...
1 reply by Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
Jun 11, 2020 12:04 AM
Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
...
Thank you so much for the great information provided, i will follow this.
i was not good in Integration management and Cost (especially EV), so i am working on these areas. 
Hi Ahmad,
In Chinese words,we always say"Get up from wherever you fall". So try as hard as possible like it is your first try.And then,find out which part you feel most difficult?the Integrated management?EV or other else.Focus on those weak field.And I think you can do much better. Good luck for your fourth try! Sylvia ...
1 reply by Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
Jun 11, 2020 12:04 AM
Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
...
Thank you, for the motivation Juan Sun.
Anonymous
I share your frustration, Ahmad.
I have 30 yrs project management experience in Silicon Valley building & shipping products that more than 50 million people use daily throughout the world. I have studied 4hrs a day for six months, read the PMBOK three times (studied it relentlessly), read the Head First PMP Book, took a PMI-approved class (got an A), read PMP articles, discussed the PMP and my studying strategy with a former co-worker who is Sr. Director of Project Management (with PMPs) for a global CE company, memorized all 665 of the ITTOs and their associated processes, and have taken 6 practice tests (last three were all 90% or higher score) from various sources. I just took the certification test and failed. I honestly could not have studied harder and I see no new advice in this thread other than Rita's book (guess I have to pony-up and buy that one too). The test was poorly designed & written, and did not address any of the most basic aspects of the PMBOK: Knowledge Areas, Process Groups, ITTOs, organizational structures, types of power, EVM, etc. I'd love to go into detail, but suffice it to say that most questions were simply judgment calls. On top of that the Pearson Online version of the test is a terrible experience (thanks COVID-19!). I do not recommend it to anyone that has the in-person proctored exam option available. Of course I'm pot-committed at this point, so I will have to re-take the test. Maybe someday I will pass, but I can already tell that it will be hard for me to take PMI seriously given how poorly designed & written the test and how irrelevant the PMBOK was relative to the actual test questions. How are we supposed to study for a test that doesn't actually test on knowledge from the PMBOK? ...
2 replies by Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai and Rami Kaibni
Jun 10, 2020 9:37 PM
Rami Kaibni
...
Sorry to know you had this experience, but don't get discouraged.
Just a note, PMBOK is not the only reference for the PMP and the exam doesn't test knowledge from PMBOK (Unliked the CAPM). The exam tests your experience neyond any textbook. What is surprising is that I heard from many that the test was poorly worded for some reason. Jun 11, 2020 12:08 AM
Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
...
Dear,
i have the same problem, i study really hard especially when i want to give exam for the third time, but i want to pass it and will try more harder then before for the fourth time. from your side, it is good to hear that you are committed for giving the exam. thank you for sharing your experience.
Rami Kaibni
Community Champion
Jun 10, 2020 8:35 PM
Replying to anonymous
...
I share your frustration, Ahmad.
I have 30 yrs project management experience in Silicon Valley building & shipping products that more than 50 million people use daily throughout the world. I have studied 4hrs a day for six months, read the PMBOK three times (studied it relentlessly), read the Head First PMP Book, took a PMI-approved class (got an A), read PMP articles, discussed the PMP and my studying strategy with a former co-worker who is Sr. Director of Project Management (with PMPs) for a global CE company, memorized all 665 of the ITTOs and their associated processes, and have taken 6 practice tests (last three were all 90% or higher score) from various sources. I just took the certification test and failed. I honestly could not have studied harder and I see no new advice in this thread other than Rita's book (guess I have to pony-up and buy that one too). The test was poorly designed & written, and did not address any of the most basic aspects of the PMBOK: Knowledge Areas, Process Groups, ITTOs, organizational structures, types of power, EVM, etc. I'd love to go into detail, but suffice it to say that most questions were simply judgment calls. On top of that the Pearson Online version of the test is a terrible experience (thanks COVID-19!). I do not recommend it to anyone that has the in-person proctored exam option available. Of course I'm pot-committed at this point, so I will have to re-take the test. Maybe someday I will pass, but I can already tell that it will be hard for me to take PMI seriously given how poorly designed & written the test and how irrelevant the PMBOK was relative to the actual test questions. How are we supposed to study for a test that doesn't actually test on knowledge from the PMBOK? Just a note, PMBOK is not the only reference for the PMP and the exam doesn't test knowledge from PMBOK (Unliked the CAPM). The exam tests your experience neyond any textbook. What is surprising is that I heard from many that the test was poorly worded for some reason. ...
1 reply by Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
Jun 11, 2020 12:12 AM
Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
...
Dear Rami Kaibni,
thank you so much one again, we always learn from you and following you in any format, my question is if PMI want to check our experience then no need to study PMBOK, at the same time experience of person making question and answer keys to some one who is solving questions my have much difference. this may be an issue. |
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