Monday, August 12, 2019

PMP Success Story: Stay Focused and Be Consistent

By Rohit Kumar Pandey, PMP




Introduction
I am working with Ericsson as a Senior Manager (Customer Project Manager) and have been PRINCE2 Practitioner certified. I knew getting PMP® certification will further add value to my project management skills.

PMP 35 Contact Hours Experience
I joined Satya’s classes for my PMP training. The 4-day classroom program by Satya was interesting and his simpler approach of teaching has helped me to grasp and correlate the logic of process interactions. He shared many tricks to remember the 49 processes across the 10 knowledge areas (KAs), 5 process group (PGs) and a number of ITTOs (inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs). This actually is the essence of PMP exam.

His various yogic tips, advice and success stories on this website: ManagementYogi.com, were quite helpful and gave me insight on how to prepare for the exam.

I was primarily motivated by Satya’s words: “Most people fail in the PMP exam, because they don’t appear for the exam.” Absolutely true!


Own Study
At the end of the 4th Day classroom training I enrolled for Project Management Institute’s (PMI®) membership. The PMBOK® guide is free for all PMI members. Hence, I received a copy of it from PMI.  Soon after that, I purchased the book: “I Want To Be A PMP”, written by Satya.
Simultaneously, I was going through his site and important topics available in site managementyogi.com.

In parallel, I practiced mock tests received from the provider multiple times. I completed all the mock test exams available in the I Want To Be A PMP book. By doing so, I identified the mistakes and worked on the improvement areas to score better in the next mock test.


Book Review - I Want To Be A PMP
For my exam preparation, I referred only the PMBOK guide and I Want To Be A PMP book. The book has many Yogic Tips shared across all the chapters and hence, it is easy for me to connect the dots across all the 49 processes, KAs and PGs.

Most importantly, along with this book, I received sample application forms, highlighted tips and tricks, practice questions, and a number of videos which helped me a lot.

I will recommend for practising enough mock test, then introspect the mistakes and ensure that not to repeat the same mistakes.

PMP Exam Experience
I cleared my PMP exam on 4th April, 2019. During the exam, the first 10 minutes were spent on writing down the important formulae on a scratch paper. This will save your time in remembering the formulae while answering the questions. I started with an agenda to complete 60 questions, in every 1-hour. So I jumped those questions which were taking time to answer it later. I accelerated the pace and was able to finish 200 questions in 3 hours and 10 minutes. Then I used spare time to validate the answer marked for review.

Suggestions for PMP Aspirants
Dos
  • Recommend you to go through the PMBOK guide at least twice.
  • Along with PMBOK guide I followed only one book, “I Want To Be A PMP”.
  • Do practice as many tests you can and try to give 3-5 full mock test in one stretch. This will enable you to sit for 4 hours in a go.
  • There are too many tools and technique to remember, try to understand the logic behind them. You can also google it for more details.
  • Get the PMP Formula Gold Cards (from book, I Want To Be A PMP) and make a point to memorise it
  • Prepare notes to associate and correlate all the processes via KAs, PGs and ITTOs.
  • In the PMP exam. while reading questions, use the strikethrough feature to eliminate the distracting information and then look for the best answer from the given choices.

Don’ts
  • Do memorize the 5 process groups, 10 knowledge areas, and the 49 processes; but don’t even attempt to memorize all the ITTOs. Understand the basic logic behind the T&Ts (tools and techniques).
  • Don’t waste time attempting free questions from the internet. 
  • Don’t spend more than 2 min in solving the question. If you have doubt, mark it and move on.
  • Don’t waste time in extending the exam date, set the target and complete it at the earliest.
  • Don’t spend time on reading topics/subjects that are outside PMBOK guide. 

Conclusion
The knowledge gained with PMP credential and associated concepts will help me in handling the future projects. I will continue to apply the PMP basics and fundamentals in my project management work and tailoring the processes as per the scope of my project.

Finally, thanks to Satya for his training and the most valuable book I read: I Want To Be A PMP. 

Brief Profile:  
Rohit Pandey, Senior Manager, with 15 years of profound and enriching experience in Telecom domain. 
Organization – Ericsson



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