I just want to share a communication between a person who recently failed the PMP Exam and me. He asked for advice and I provided him this mentoring.
XYZ Email about PMP Failure
Dear Suhail Greetings ,
Firstly, I admire you on the extraordinary resume you gained it by commitment & appraising the knowledge. Secondly, I attempt the exam for PMP on 17/08/2017 & I failed the exam .
I am depressed actually, I couldn't find a better advise from a mentor, my study plan was from the beginning of January 2017 , 2-3 hours per day. My main focus was on PM book 5th edition, I have studied the book 2 times, process groups then by knowledge area. My results was below proficient in each process group I was too slow in answering I submitted the exam by solving 136 questions , I need your advise to what I should do next currently depressed. I don't know what to do I started 8 months ago the outcome wasn't pleasant .
Your recommendation would be really appreciated .
Best Regards,
XYZ
MY RESPONSE
Dear XYZ,
First things first! You have no reason to be depressed about. Whatever happened was good as you are now going to learn what did go wrong, and obviously, it will not be repeated.
The reasons I can see are:
You did not have sufficient practice of full length exam and you did not have any idea how to handle time.
You need to practice several times if you can attempt 200 questions in an hour.
Each time you practice, do not ignore the mistakes you have committed but note them down, read about them and correct your concepts, never to repeat the same mistake ever again.
When you practice or take actual exam, read quickly and assimilate instantaneously, if you are prepared well, you will be able to pin-point the right answer within a few seconds, if you can’t, do not waste anymore time on this question, leave it and move ahead. Mind it, do not spend time re-reading the same question.
Keep skipping the questions you cannot attempt in first go, and you will have time enough to come back and attempt them.
If you are well prepared, you will be able to attempt more than 70% questions in first read and first go and it will take between 2-3 hours of exam time. So you will still have 1-2 hours to re-attempt remaining 30% questions.
In the second round, do not touch the questions you have already attempted and do not change any responses you have already made, until and unless you are damn sure you did something wrong and want to correct that specifically.
Only attempt undone questions this time and now read them a bit more carefully, if you cannot make any sense and cannot find the right answer, g through the process of elimination, eliminate the worst choice, then second worst and then third, you will be left with only one option which you must select.
Even if a couple of questions cannot be attempted in this second round, you can leave them for later, but they should not be more than 2-3 questions which are extremely difficult.
For your last attempt you will still have 10-15 minutes left, so try those very difficult questions and apply elimination process once again, I am sure you will be able to hit the jackpot.
This way you will easily be able to do all 200 questions and you will surely pass.
2. Second important reason can be your preparation.
Are you sure you have read through the whole PMBOK 5th Edition, cover to cover? Read it at least three times. First time it should be a leisure read without making any notes. Second time you must jot down important concepts and points to be elaborated later. Third time you must be 100% clear on each and every concept given in PMBOK.
After studying PMBOK in this manner, read other study material, I will suggest you read one or two books on project management by some renowned authors and try to find the answers to your queries on PMBK concepts. Read the study guides like Rita at the end and focus should be again to built up your concepts.
While you are reading through a study guide, keep attempting the questions given at the end of each chapter and do not move to the next chapter until and unless you have attempted all questions right. If you attempt a question wrong, find the reason of your mistake and jot it down in your notebook, never to repeat that mistake again.
Once you have read through the whole book and attempted all chapter questions, you can start attempting the full length simulation exams of 4 hours each. You can take 3-5 such exams and again keep correcting your mistakes and noting them down. Whenever you find a mistake, go back to the book and read the correct concept very carefully.
Once you are able to score up to 85% in a full length exam (taken for the first time, not attempted before) then you are ready to sit in the exam.
3. Third reason is that some people cannot develop the habit of thorough reading and assimilating. So then you need to attend a training where the trainer will make it easy for you to understand things. You can also go through my FREE PMP video sessions on YouTube. There are at least three separate and complete courses provided there, try out the latest one.
My Online PMP Exam Prep Videos on YouTube are as follows:
I am sure if you follow these guidelines, you will be sure to pass. I will always be there to guide you anytime. Just drop me a line at [email protected] and I will be answering your query promptly.
Vithal ParabAssociate Consultant| Tata Consultancy ServicesMumbai, Maharashtra, India
Full length practice exam is essential before appearing actual PMP exam. It will test one's ability to sustain such a long exam. Helps build confidence and review preparation before taking final exam. Saving Changes...
God, these explanations are way too long.... As a mentor, i advise people to read the objectives of the exam before attempting to study or practice simulation tests. The glossary is an important part and everyone should read it.
You have to be able to relate what you read in the PMBoK with your daily activities as a PM or if you are on a project team. If you cannot, you are in trouble. You can read all that you want, you will still have a hard time passing. It is a 4-hour exam with 225 questions, you shouldn't spend more than 95s on each question, the ones with calculations are the exception.
Please advise your mentee that he is spending too much time on questions, read and if you know the answer check, if it is an option. If you don't know, there will probably be a question ahead that would help you remember. Anyone who studies that hard, should pass the exam.
The intent is not a perfect score but score as much as you can pass. When i took my exam 7 years ago, my weakness was in closing which is something that was out of my normal duties. The organization i worked for administratively had someone close our projects, anyone can see why it was my weakness. I wasn't engaged in doing that aspect. I wouldn't worry about the exam objectives changing. rather than being depressed, i would check out how to better relate the PMBok with my pm activities. It helps a lot when it comes to testing!
225 Questions?How and since when? Saving Changes...
I couldn't agree more with all the advice given by everyone. PMBOK is no doubt a very comprehensive book for studying for PMP but simulation exams are equally important as they provide:
1. Scenario based questions to exercise your mind about terms you have already know the definitions of.
2. The simulations provides you and idea about how much time you can spend on a question.
3. You learn to mark questions for review which you think will take longer than other questions.
4. In the first two hours your mind is fresh and you understand questions pretty fast but in the later half your mind start getting tired. You now have to read the questions and the choices given, more than once to understand the context.
5. Lastly if you have more questions left than the number of minutes on clock, than you start feeling the pressure at which point you are likely to miss that key concept, the question is trying to convey.
So, simulation exams helps a lot in preparing you, what to expect in an actual exam and they are really helpful Saving Changes...
Thanks for this comprehensive assessment Suhail. Saving Changes...
ademola OlanrewajuSenior Project Manager/ Data analyst / Cybersecurity analyst| Neo-OasisBroonklyn, Ny, United States
Great advice, I like to add, study more materials other than the PMBOK Guide, go on youtube there are a lot of free videos that break down terminologies and the various processes to its core with simple explanations; Take relevant practise test as a lot are outdated, and will not be as effective in helping, pay close attention to questions and answers especially the ones with calculations. Finally simulated 4 hr exams at least twice a week will help understand areas of weakness. Saving Changes...
Christopher LopezProject Manager | Author| Sidel IncAtlanta, GA, United States
