pmp prepare

8/13/2019 PMP Prepare

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From:Sundara Kumar PadmanabhanSent:Sunday, September 26, 2010 1:46 PMTo:MSIT Project Management CommunitySubject:Regd. my PMP exam - few learnings from my experience

Hi,

I cleared my PMP exam last Thursday.

I am sharing my learning with you guys. If it helps you in any little way, I would be really glad.

About the exam

Is the exam tough? Yes and no. Through our work as PM at Microsoft, we have gained a basic

understanding of the process groups and knowledge areas. But there are differences in the way the art

is practiced and the art is explained in the print material. Since PMP is a general program management

guide not confining to Software industry alone, the exam expects answers aligned with the guide book.Additionally, the exam wants to check the users knowledge of the PM book by posing questions about

the nitty-gritties and finer details in the book. This area makes the exam tough as skimming the guide

alone does not help.

How did I prepare

I had a preparation plan for 6 weeks. I perusedthrough the Head First PMPandPMBOK guide once) before I started the cycle.I took the exercises from the end of Ritas PMP before I started studying the book. I

found my weak areas and started concentrating those areas in Ritas PM guide. I found HeadFirst PMP to be easily readable and Rita to be very comprehensive & extensive. Rita helpswith finer details. I wanted to complete the Ritas PM guide and PMBOK in 4 weeks andslate 2 weeks for practice tests and fine tuning. Unfortunately the time had to be cut short to 4weeks. But I was able to accomplish the reading part. I wish I had some more time to takemore practice tests. In essence, somewhere between 70 to 100 hours of preparation is requiredto clear the exam.

Plan

Week 1Communication, ProcurementPreparation and did PM Fast Track examsWeek 2Human Resources, Risk Management and PM Framework & Process - Preparation and

did PM Fast Track exams

Week 3Scope, Time and Cost Management - Preparation and did PM Fast Track exams

Week 4Quality Management, Integration management, Professional Social Responsibility -

Preparation and did PM Fast Track exams

Week 5 & 6Practice Tests and fine tuning


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Executed

Week 1Communication, ProcurementPreparation and did PM Fast Track exams

Week 2Human Resources, Risk Management and PM Framework & Process - Preparation and

did PM Fast Track exams

Week 3Scope, Time, Cost Management, Quality, Professional Social Responsibility &

Integration - Preparation and did PM Fast Track exams

Week 4Practice Tests and fine tuning

Few points and additional materials

Ritas process chart Detailed Process chart covering 79 steps across process groupNeedsto be memorized

Ritas pm Fast Track CD for exams and practice testsAvailable in Library (Must preparematerial)

Check out the appendix section of PMBOKPages 426 to Pages 453 in PMBOK Difference between Project Management Plan and Project DocumentsPage 350 in PMBOK Reference notes from Praveen Ambekar (Program Manager, PA)Please find it attached

extremely useful.

Head First Critical Path DrillPlease find it attached Head First PMP Forums -http://forums.oreilly.com/category/45/Head-First/ Formula guides and other notesPlease find it attached. Few practice tests

o http://mslibrary/TrainingCertification/Pages/ShowExam.aspx?eid=PMP4EDo Head First PMP Forums had links to few free PMP examo

http://www.pmstudy.com/enroll.asp#PMP (enrolling required for free test.

Many folks feel this is close to the actual test)

http://pmhub.net/pmsuccess/Menu.htm-- free 400 questions.http://www.oliverlehmann.com/contents/free-

downloads/175_PMP_Sample_Questions.pdf-- Many folks feel these are tougher than

the actual exam

From Oliver Lehmann siteLinks to free practice exams

Below are links to more providers with more than 2,000 free prep items (questions and answeringoptions):

Provider URL

#

of freetest

items

Comment Levelof difficulty*

Satya Das www.techfaq360.com 200 Free digest offering for an examsimulator.See also comments fromstudents

Ajith Namboothiri www.ajithn.com 208 Requires registration. Number ofquestions may grow, as visitors areinvited to add further questions.Many questions of CAPM exam
http://forums.oreilly.com/category/45/Head-First/http://forums.oreilly.com/category/45/Head-First/http://forums.oreilly.com/category/45/Head-First/http://mslibrary/TrainingCertification/Pages/ShowExam.aspx?eid=PMP4EDhttp://mslibrary/TrainingCertification/Pages/ShowExam.aspx?eid=PMP4EDhttp://www.pmstudy.com/enroll.asp#PMPhttp://www.pmstudy.com/enroll.asp#PMPhttp://pmhub.net/pmsuccess/Menu.htmhttp://pmhub.net/pmsuccess/Menu.htmhttp://www.oliverlehmann.com/contents/free-downloads/175_PMP_Sample_Questions.pdfhttp://www.oliverlehmann.com/contents/free-downloads/175_PMP_Sample_Questions.pdfhttp://www.oliverlehmann.com/contents/free-downloads/175_PMP_Sample_Questions.pdfhttp://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=35927901&authToken=pUSX&authType=namehttp://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=35927901&authToken=pUSX&authType=namehttp://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=35927901&authToken=pUSX&authType=namehttp://www.techfaq360.com/pmpmockexam.jsphttp://www.techfaq360.com/pmpmockexam.jsphttp://www.oliverlehmann.com/temp/Comment.htmhttp://www.oliverlehmann.com/temp/Comment.htmhttp://www.oliverlehmann.com/temp/Comment.htmhttp://www.oliverlehmann.com/temp/Comment.htmhttp://www.ajithn.com/http://www.ajithn.com/http://www.ajithn.com/http://www.oliverlehmann.com/temp/Comment.htmhttp://www.oliverlehmann.com/temp/Comment.htmhttp://www.techfaq360.com/pmpmockexam.jsphttp://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=35927901&authToken=pUSX&authType=namehttp://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=35927901&authToken=pUSX&authType=namehttp://www.oliverlehmann.com/contents/free-downloads/175_PMP_Sample_Questions.pdfhttp://www.oliverlehmann.com/contents/free-downloads/175_PMP_Sample_Questions.pdfhttp://pmhub.net/pmsuccess/Menu.htmhttp://www.pmstudy.com/enroll.asp#PMPhttp://mslibrary/TrainingCertification/Pages/ShowExam.aspx?eid=PMP4EDhttp://forums.oreilly.com/category/45/Head-First/


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style.

CertChamp www.certchamp.com 200 Some questions have been reportedto have errors.

CertGear www.certgear.com 6 Free trial of CertGear's examsimulator.

Certification.about.com certification.about.com 20 Questions based on Whizlabs' Exam

Simulator software trial.EdWel Programs www.edwel.com 200 Requires registration

Head First Labs www.headfirstlabs.com 200 Online practice exam from theauthors of Head First PMP in varioustime formats. Also, a PDF file with2MB for download.

MeasureUp www.measureup.com 7 Simulates a test environment onlinesimilar to the original environment.

My PMP www.mypmp.ie 90 Simulates a test environment onlinesimilar to the original environment.

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Oliver F. Lehmann, PMPwww.oliverlehmann.com 175 PDF file (app. 1MB) for download.Just like the real thing: Questionsare written against the PMPExamination Specification and

reference to a current projectmanagement source.

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www.oliverlehmann-training.de

175 German language aid for the 175questions.

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www.oliverlehmann.com 75 The 75 questions above, with atimer in the title bar.

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www.oliverlehmann.com 164 CAPMPrep Questions. Not quite thePMP exam style, but neverthelesshelpful for your preparation.

PMConnection www.pmconnection.com 10

PMExam.com www.pmexam.com ? Order their free Daily Digest as ane-mail service. A great resourcewith intelligent questions.

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PMPQuest.com www.pmpquest.com 12

PMP Question Bank pmpbank.googlepages.com 200 Good, difficult questions. H

PM Study www.pmstudy.com 50 200 free questions after optionalregistration.

PMTI www.4pmti.com 15 Registration required.

Pmzilla www.pmzilla.com 155 Registration required.

PreparePM www.preparepm.com 165 High quality questions, whichsimulate the real test very well.

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Visitors are invited to contributewith further questions. Number ofquestions may therefore grow.

ProXalt www.proxalt.com 20 Registration required.

Tutorials Point www.tutorialspoint.com 200

Voight Project Solutionswww.voightps.com 500 My friend and colleague Dr. RogerVoight has a large body of freequestions. Many of them are alsohelpful for CAPM candidates.

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Test Prep Review www.testprepreview.com 15

Threon www.threon.com 13 H
http://www.certchamp.com/pmp-sample-questions.jsphttp://www.certchamp.com/pmp-sample-questions.jsphttp://www.certgear.com/products/preview/pmp_certification/index.htmlhttp://certification.about.com/od/projectmanagement/a/pmp_test_whiz.htmhttp://certification.about.com/od/projectmanagement/a/pmp_test_whiz.htmhttp://www.edwel.com/courses/pmp-certification-exam-prep/pmp-exam-200-practice-questionshttp://www.headfirstlabs.com/PMP/free_exam/http://www.measureup.com/catalog/path.aspx?vid=15http://www.mypmp.ie/http://www.oliverlehmann.com/contents/free-downloads/175_PMP_Sample_Questions.pdfhttp://www.oliverlehmann.com/contents/free-downloads/175_PMP_Sample_Questions.pdfhttp://www.oliverlehmann-training.de/free-downloads/175_PMP_Sample_Questions_Sprachhilfe.pdfhttp://www.oliverlehmann-training.de/free-downloads/175_PMP_Sample_Questions_Sprachhilfe.pdfhttp://www.oliverlehmann-training.de/free-downloads/175_PMP_Sample_Questions_Sprachhilfe.pdfhttp://www.oliverlehmann.com/pmp-self-test/75-free-questions.htmhttp://www.oliverlehmann.com/contents/free-downloads/CAPM_Exam_Prep-Questions_2010_OL.pdfhttp://www.pmconnection.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=31http://www.pmexam.com/http://www.pmpquest.com/tutorials.phphttp://pmpbank.googlepages.com/pmpquestionbankhttp://www.pmstudy.com/chaptertestsindex.asphttp://www.4pmti.com/http://www.pmzilla.com/pmzilla-free-pmp-testshttp://www.pmzilla.com/pmzilla-free-pmp-testshttp://www.preparepm.com/mock1.htmlhttp://www.proxalt.com/http://www.tutorialspoint.com/pmp-exams/pmp_mock_exams.htmhttp://www.voightps.com/Default.asphttp://www.voightps.com/Default.asphttp://www.testprepreview.com/pmp_practice.htmhttp://www.threon.com/de/pm-academy/pmi-pruefungsfragen/http://www.threon.com/de/pm-academy/pmi-pruefungsfragen/http://www.testprepreview.com/pmp_practice.htmhttp://www.voightps.com/Default.asphttp://www.tutorialspoint.com/pmp-exams/pmp_mock_exams.htmhttp://www.proxalt.com/http://www.preparepm.com/mock1.htmlhttp://www.pmzilla.com/pmzilla-free-pmp-testshttp://www.4pmti.com/http://www.pmstudy.com/chaptertestsindex.asphttp://pmpbank.googlepages.com/pmpquestionbankhttp://www.pmpquest.com/tutorials.phphttp://www.pmexam.com/http://www.pmconnection.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=31http://www.oliverlehmann.com/contents/free-downloads/CAPM_Exam_Prep-Questions_2010_OL.pdfhttp://www.oliverlehmann.com/pmp-self-test/75-free-questions.htmhttp://www.oliverlehmann-training.de/free-downloads/175_PMP_Sample_Questions_Sprachhilfe.pdfhttp://www.oliverlehmann-training.de/free-downloads/175_PMP_Sample_Questions_Sprachhilfe.pdfhttp://www.oliverlehmann.com/contents/free-downloads/175_PMP_Sample_Questions.pdfhttp://www.mypmp.ie/http://www.measureup.com/catalog/path.aspx?vid=15http://www.headfirstlabs.com/PMP/free_exam/http://www.edwel.com/courses/pmp-certification-exam-prep/pmp-exam-200-practice-questionshttp://certification.about.com/od/projectmanagement/a/pmp_test_whiz.htmhttp://www.certgear.com/products/preview/pmp_certification/index.htmlhttp://www.certchamp.com/pmp-sample-questions.jsp


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Please let me know if more help is required. I would be glad to help. Thanks once again for all the help

and support.

Thanks

Sundara Kumar Padmanabhan