I fail the PMP exam for the third time (2012, 2013 and 2018), the first two exams was on PBT (Afghanistan), the third one was CBT (India), but fail all three times, let me mention that i am working as Project Manager or head of departments from last 13 years, value of minimum 5 projects was more than 20 million usd even.
I took some online courses.
Now Please help me and share your experience what to do to pass the PMP exam in fourth time, i am planning to give exam at the end of August 2020. Saving Changes...
1. The PMP recommends how project should be carried out. But unfortunately, the practical way of executing is different at times. This can be due to various reasons. First thing is to unlearn what you have been doing wrongly for past 13 years. Hold on this point and i ll let you know how.
2. Target a date when you can give the exam without worrying too much professionally or personally. For me, the christmas was the time when work is considerably less and my onsite team was off and i was relaxed.
2. Read the current PMBOK first at a time when no one disturbs you. Preferably early morning. Start with small session of 30-40 mins and be consistent. Dont read all together. Slow and steady wins the race.
3. After you have read PMBOK, attend 35 contact PDU sessions. Preference should be given offline session conducted by your local PMI chapter where you can bond and network with experienced certified PMPs and aspirants.
4. Read Rita Mulcahy's questions at the end of every chapter. That will give you some confidence and real checking. Keep track of how you score for each lesson. This gives clear indication which Knowledge areas are strong and weak for you and focus accordingly. After you start scoring consistently 80% or more in all the sections, revisit point 1. At this stage mentally you will see what you have been doing wrongly all through now.
5. Majority of PMP questions are scenario based. Dont expect straight forward questions like formulas, ITTOs etc. You have to get it right conceptually in your head first.
6. Stay dedicated for 2-3 months with no distraction. iA you will be certified!
Thanks, Nahid
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1 reply by Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
Jun 11, 2020 12:16 AM
Mushtaq Abdulrahimzai
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Dear Nahid Ahmad Mansuri, thank you so much for such nice information and instructions, i will follow up all these if needed i will change the date of exam from August to October.
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.
Thank you so much, Christopher from your comment and good words. Saving Changes...
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.
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. Saving Changes...
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
Thank you Kiran, noted, i will go with this as well. Saving Changes...
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)
Dear Wiggo Eriksen, thank you for the comment. Saving Changes...
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)
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
thank you, Kwiyuh Michael Wepngong Saving Changes...
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.
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. Saving Changes...
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
Thank you, for the motivation Juan Sun. Saving Changes...
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?
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. Saving Changes...
