Dear Community,
I prepared for my PMP exam by using the online courses and the PMP Exam Prep Simplified book of Andrew Ramdayal. After doing all the practice questions I bought the TIA mock simulator, which is heavily advertised in reddit groups and youtube.
According to Andrew everybody who achieves +80% is ready for the real exam.
I did 2 mock tests and achieved 75% - 85% in total, therefore I thought I´m ready for the exam.
During the PMP- exam I faced many issues and failed the exam with AT/NI/NI:
- the questions in the exam were much more difficult than the questions in the mock simulator (longer, more complex, etc.)
- many topics in the exam were unknown to me and not covered in the preparation book
- the time was not sufficient to answer all the questions. I had to skip ~20 questions just to stay on time.
- I wasn´t able to understand a couple of the very long and complex questions. English is my second language.
-- According to the exam analysis I have to focus heavily on "Process" and "Business Environment".
The last few weeks I've been thinking about how I can better prepare for the 2nd attempt and developed a study plan:
1. Practicing the basics and the technical language
- Study of PMBOK 6th Edition, reading the book twice
- Study of PMBOK 7th Edition, reading the book once
- Study of Agile Practice Guide, reading the book twice
- PMP Exam Cram Session of Joseph Phillips on Udemy
2. Practicing of the basics with many mock questions
- free 100 practice questions of Oliver Lehmann
- Rita´s Process Chart Game
- free PMP Exam Prep Practice Test of simplilearn
- 135 Exam questions of Joseph Phillips (included in the Cram Session)
- Performing the PMI® Authorized Online PMP® Practice Exam
Do you think the preparation will be sufficient to build a solid foundation for passing the exam? Please let me know your thoughts!
@Hector: That´s a very good chart of Victor Vargas. Thanks a lot for sharing.
@RK&Sigrid: I will go for Sigrid´s tip and purchase the PMI Study Hall app for simulation training, since the plus version contains 5 practice exams and 250 questions. I watched the video of PMI Study Hall and figured out that the app enables to focus and detect "weak areas" also. It seems to be perfect for me.
@Mayur Kher: The 35h contact course of Andrew on Udemy is good, but in my opinion it is not sufficient to pass the exam. Looking back I should have studied PMBOK and Agile Practice Guide also! I took the exam 2 weeks ago and his mindset only worked on 20% of the questions. But I´m glad his study material worked out for you!
I will study PMBOK6 and Agile Practice Guide + Rita´s book in detail. PMI Study Hall + Online PMP® Practice Exam 250 questions will be used for simulation and practicing.
Again, thank you very much for your help!
Frank
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2 replies by Hector Ojeda and Misael Castro
Jul 28, 2022 1:11 PM
Hector Ojeda
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Good luck, Frank. Don't be discouraged. The PMP test is not easy so don't beat yourself up too much. Feel free to reach out if you have questions.
Nov 10, 2023 9:40 PM
Misael Castro
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Hi Frank, Experts, I found your case interesting as I faced a similar experience.
I did failed on my first attempt few days back, I felt pretty confident and confortable based on my MOCK Test 180 questions with PMtraining with score 74-80 but unfortunately in the real exam i FAILED..
Did your plan help you to pass the second attemp?
I´m working on my new study plan and looking for help to put me in the right direction to pass the exam in the next attempt? I´m afraid studying material that will not give any value will be only time consuming and more frustration. (I Read PMBOK 7th, Agile Guide and MOCKs on PM training and some Your tube Test questions)
Saving Changes...
Hector OjedaProject ManagerTampa Bay Area, FL, United States
Jul 28, 2022 8:58 AM
Replying to Frank Miller
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@Hector: That´s a very good chart of Victor Vargas. Thanks a lot for sharing.
@RK&Sigrid: I will go for Sigrid´s tip and purchase the PMI Study Hall app for simulation training, since the plus version contains 5 practice exams and 250 questions. I watched the video of PMI Study Hall and figured out that the app enables to focus and detect "weak areas" also. It seems to be perfect for me.
@Mayur Kher: The 35h contact course of Andrew on Udemy is good, but in my opinion it is not sufficient to pass the exam. Looking back I should have studied PMBOK and Agile Practice Guide also! I took the exam 2 weeks ago and his mindset only worked on 20% of the questions. But I´m glad his study material worked out for you!
I will study PMBOK6 and Agile Practice Guide + Rita´s book in detail. PMI Study Hall + Online PMP® Practice Exam 250 questions will be used for simulation and practicing.
Again, thank you very much for your help!
Frank
Good luck, Frank. Don't be discouraged. The PMP test is not easy so don't beat yourself up too much. Feel free to reach out if you have questions. Saving Changes...
Christiana EtukProject Manager| Helium HealthUyo, Ak, Nigeria
Jul 26, 2022 1:16 AM
Replying to Sigrid Mankel
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Hi,
I studied basically with the PMI Study Hall app. The questions are very similar, some of them the same as in the exam. Whenever I got something wrong I went into the details to understand why, mostly in the PMBOK 6.
Sigrid
Hello Sigrid, please do you still have access to the study Hall? Can you help me with please cos my exam is in a month. I am unable to pay for it cos the dollar rate has become so high for us Saving Changes...
Hi, I studied Rita but I don't think the current version covers the new exam with lots of agile. I had Andrews course and I passed it on first try with AT.
My tips for you will be to really focus on time, you said you missed 20 questions, that's already above 10% and also Andrew recommends to read PMBOK and Agile book.
Personally, I think Andrews questions are too easy but at least are practical while on lots of other mock exams, they focus on theory. I have 1% theory questions on the exam.
And don't forget to follow PM mindset, check some videos on that. Saving Changes...
Robert KinslowDevelopment Planner & Sustainability manager| Architects PacificHonolulu, Hi, United States
HI Frank, Applauding your proactivity for reaching out and asking for help. In addition to the previous suggestions, some of which were quite robust and which surprised me with their breadth and scope, may I suggest a simpler approach. Find a Study buddy. Someone you can test against, communicate and ask questions and encourage each other to push forward. The test is scenario based so having a study buddy to discuss scenarios really helped me during my successes and failures with the exam prep process. Saving Changes...
Dana MacPhailProgram Manager | Kingston Health Sciences CentreKingston, Ontario, Canada
Hi Frank,
I'm so sorry to hear about your attempt.
I took the test yesterday and passed with AR's exam prep book and his video tutorials (which are free with the purchase of the exam prepbook). I would say that the videos helped me more than the book as I retained more from listening to him, then I did from just reading. Maybe you need to rethink what method of learning is most effective for you? I only suggest that because sometimes the solution to our problem is so obvious we can't see it!
Like the previous commenter, the part that really helped me was the mindset. It took a conscious effort on my part to stop and really think about what the PM mindset answer should be. I think without the videos and mindset reminders I may not have passed.
I did end up achieving 3 AT's and I believe it was thanks to the videos (and countless hours of studying of course!).
Now you know what to expect and where to focus your efforts--good luck on your next exam! Saving Changes...
I would recommend getting the concepts/basics right by going through PMBOK first. Once you have that then you can prepare using mock exams from Rita, Head first and udemy. All the best! Saving Changes...
I would recommend getting the concepts/basics right from PMBOK first. Then you can try mock exams from Rita, Head first and Udemy. All the best! Saving Changes...
Linda MullallyProject Manager, Consultant| Strategic Technical Consultant, Project Manager, Learning FacilitatorMa, United States
Jul 25, 2022 1:39 PM
Replying to Frank Miller
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A world of thanks to everyone for the reply. Then it is clear for on how to prepare for the exam: Rita´s 10th edition book + PMBOK 6 + 7+ AGILE Practice guide. I will have a look at the "Head First PMP: A Learner's Companion to Passing the Project Management Professional Exam 4th Edition" book also.
Frank
Hi Frank, I also failed the PMP on my first try, and have been studying the past couple months to try and prepare to actually get the certification this time around. I am trying to find some local chapter study groups to join, since I keep testing low and am confused or disagree with why I get certain questions wrong. Let me know if you're interested in being study buddies. I also have completed a couple different prep courses and have taken a plethora of searchable notes on google docs, happy to share those if helpful. Saving Changes...
Hi everyone, thanks a lot for your posts and suggestions. Sorry for my late reply, I have been very busy the last couple of weeks with studying. A study buddy sounds like a good plan!
Linda, I´m interested and thank you for the offer! I will write you a private message. Frank
