Showing posts with label PMP Online Videos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PMP Online Videos. Show all posts

Monday, February 03, 2020

PMP Success Story: Extraordinary Content of 35 Hours Online Course and a Sincere Approach Helped to Crack the Exam

By V Satya Viswanadha Raju, PMP


Introduction
The project management professional (PMP®) credential is considered to be one of the best in the market for project management practitioners. 

 This, along with many factors such as market conditions, desire to pursue a rigorous course after a long time, and look for further opportunities, made me go for the PMP credential.

PMP 35 Hours Online Learning Experience
I didn’t take any classroom session, but only followed Satya sir’s PMP® 35 Hours Online Learning Course. I spoke with Satya sir before taking up the course and took up this course for a period of six months.  

 The 35 hours of video learning course is one of the best educational videos that I’ve gone through in recent times. Not even a single video deviates from the topic. It delivers exactly what is needed, and only the ones needed. This makes learning very effective.

 The videos are divided across various knowledge areas and chapters, which aligns closely with the PMBOK Guide. I just followed it.
The course is divided into various topics in a systematic way and is paced gently with its extraordinary content. For example, every topic (taking an example of Knowledge Area) starts with yogic tip and explanation of that, followed by a real time scenario. Next, I’ll be knowing the current trends, key points, Agile perspective, and then will proceed to the actual topic.

 The content is so well explained that you will never get distracted from the topic. For example, while explaining Change Management and Change Requests, Satya sir will drive you through sequence of steps that you as a Project Manager (PM) should look at that change. 

 This is not only for the topic of change management; it’s explained similarly for many key areas. As you proceed, you will realize the importance of the topic with great interest.

 The biggest advantage for me with PMP 35 Online Contact Hours was this: I can play the videos any number of times I want.    

 Own Study
I primarily followed the PMBOK® Guide, the 35 Contact Hours Online Course from Satya Narayan Dash, and the book by Rita Mulcahy.

 I followed this approach for my PMP certification:
  • First, I wanted to be clear on why I wanted do this certification. I took time and decided. Because without a vision you can't achieve anything. And this goal of being a PMP will take you towards the vision.  Next, I asked myself: “Can I spend dedicated time daily for this, despite the busy schedule?” I decided I've to do it anyway.
  • I've had three months dedicated preparation. In my view, it's minimally needed. I spent daily 3 hours during weekdays for PMP preparation, and 6 to 7 hours during weekends. Be in this mode, till you are PMP certified. I even used to play the 35 contact hour videos during my travel time to and from office and also, whenever I am free. 
  • I first read PMBOK book, got an overview. Next, I went through the 35 hours contact hour online videos. 
  • Once this is over, I immediately took the first mock exam and evaluated myself. This helped me to identify the areas of weakness. I again went through the videos and covered the gaps.

It will be difficult initially to go through any course or content. But when you study, do it with keen interest. If you can spend daily 3 hours for the first seven days, then that’s it! I am sure you will continue daily after that. Study and absorb, relate to your day-to-day work. 

 Review – 35 Contact Hours Online Course
I’ve already mentioned in the beginning the content of 35 Contact Hours Online Course is extraordinary. Also, I’ve mentioned that the biggest advantage with this 35 Contact Hours is, you can replay any number of times. 

 This is not the case with any class-room training. This way the course is unique and distinct. 
The beauty of this course is, the trainer will drive slowly to the core topics through a series of steps. And these steps will be common throughout the knowledge areas.

 At the end of every lesson/chapter, there are about 35 to 40 questions with answers. They will really test your understanding and more importantly, they will help you how to read the question, how to identify the key-points in the question. 

 The practice questions at the end every section are really useful. They will help you to understand the topic from various perspectives.

 PMP Exam Experience
After I finished one round of 35 Contact hours course, I registered with PMI®, and filled up the exam application form. You must do this irrespective how much you gained from the course or from the PMBOK guide. If you don’t choose a date for the exam, your preparation will be never-ending. I'm telling you this with my experience. The commitment will come after you choose the date.

 As I preparation neared completion, practiced for sitting 4 hours without any distraction. It was a very big challenge. So, I treated the mock exams as real exam and it really helped. 

 The PMP exam will test you from every corner. It will not only test your knowledge, but also test your patience.

 These are the types of questions I faced in the exam.
  • Perhaps, you would be knowing that most of the PMP questions are situational in nature. My experience was no exception, i.e., most were situational questions. I had very few straight-forward questions.
  • A number of questions were on PM roles in various types of organization.
  • I received around 12 formula-based/mathematical questions. I had two questions on critical path measurement (CPM).
  • I received a good number of questions on change management, change requests.
  • There were around 15 questions on Agile approaches. Also, I received a question on point of total assumption (PTA).
  • It's important to note that around 70% of questions I received were having more than four lines. But the choices are just one line. Hence, be prepared for such questions. 
  • Find the difference between Lessons learned and Lessons Learned Repository. I faced questions in these areas.
  • Be very clear on all the content of all the “Plans”, like risk management plan, scope management plan, schedule management plan, etc. I received question in these aspects.
  • Have a good understanding of Communication Knowledge Area (KA) and Stakeholder Engagement KA. In situational questions on these two KAs, you may find difficult on which context the question is asked.
  • Be prepared for choosing the right answer among 2 CLOSE answers. You will be presented with 2 very close answers.

I practiced breathing exercise, took break for 2 minutes as I wanted to relax and stretch my legs. In my personal opinion, a break is needed halfway through the exam.

 I completed all of my questions well on time. I had just 17 questions to review. Finally, when the exam end, the message “Congratulations” flashed on my screen. But I was not really sure if I’ve cleared the exam. 

 Finally, as I received the print of my report, I realized that I’ve actually cleared the exam. I scored Above Target (AT) in all the process groups – Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. 


Suggestions for PMP Aspirants
Dos:
  • Start your day by telling yourself, “I am “<your name>”, PMP”. You imagine yourself being a PMP. That motivates.
Don’ts:
  • Don’t panic if the initial questions are tough.
  • Don’t give up. Stay away from distractions. 
  • Don’t give any excuses if you don’t study for a day. 
  • Be sincere to your employer. This is your personal goal, and don’t mix it with your office work.


Conclusion
The process of preparing for PMP itself will bring a lot of changes in your personal and professional lives. I’ll try to apply what I’ve learnt so far in my professional work. 

 Brief Profile:
V Satya Viswanadha Raju, PMP: I work as an information technology professional with DXC Technology, Bangalore, India. 



PMP 35 Contact Hours Online Course:

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Thursday, August 08, 2019

PMP Success Story: Decide, Commit and Succeed

By Kumari Warsha Goel, PMP


Introduction
My career was stuck in an organization for quite some time. Hence, I was looking for options to add value to my profile and also to my learning. After researching the market and considering my current experience level, I decided that Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification. I realized this credential can take me in the right direction giving me a career boost at the same time.

 PMP 35 Contact Hours Experience
After deciding to take up the PMP certification, I approached few of my colleagues to suggest a good trainer. My manager suggested taking Satya Sir's Classes. Now I was clear and committed that PMP is the certification to pursue and Satya Sir would be my coach. 

As the next step I approached and attended the classroom training classes by Satya Sir. In his classes, you get a lot of information on project management. Hence, to catch-up and understand all of them, you need good attention, and commitment. These will be important for you to succeed in the exam. I decided I would take a week's break to catch up on the material and concepts taught by him and then attend the next two classes of him. 
After completing the training, I filled the PMP application form. My application was approved without audit, which was a relief for me. I realized that “now” is the time to get ready to prepare wholeheartedly for the exam and refine myself up to be a PMP.

 Own Study
I decided to purchase a hard copy of the PMBOK® guide as I find e-books difficult to read and prefer hard copies. When I went through the PMBOK guide for the first time, I could not get enough out of it. So, referred few online videos on the web provided by Satya Sir and Varun Anand, which helped me to clarify my concepts further. 

 Next, I went through the PMBOK guide for the second time, which gave me some insight into the topics but I could not understand well. Also, it was needed as I was not able to score more than 60% in any of the mock tests. I realized questions are tricky and unless I get my concepts very clear it would be difficult for me to achieve my target. Hence, I read the PMBOK for the 3rd time, which was actually very useful to have a sound understanding of project management concepts.

 Now my next target was to solve as many questions as possible. I registered for paid question practice test from simplilearn and mock tests mentioned at Management Yogi: https://www.managementyogi.com/2016/01/pmp-success-story-understand-concepts-well-have-sufficient-practice-tests.html

 I solved more than 2,000 questions and when my score reached 70% to 75%, I felt now it’s time to schedule for the exam. I scheduled the exam and took one week leave before the exam to have a proper mindset. This one-week preparation added lot of value, and it boosted my score to reach from 75% to 85% in mock exams.

 PMP Exam Experience
Finally, the D-day arrived. The exam center in Bangalore has changed from Whitefield to Dickenson road. My scheduled exam time was 8 a.m. 

 I entered the exam after all the necessary formalities. After 2.5 hours was lapsed, I realized I’ve only completed 90 questions. I decided to increase the momentum then and was able to complete all questions in 3 hours and 45 minutes. In the last 15 minutes, I managed to review 25 questions, out of which I modified the answers of two.

 I submitted one minute before and also took the survey. My heart was pounding thinking about the result, and I was thinking the result will be negative. The exam center coordinator handed over the printout upside down. I didn’t want to see the score! I came out of the exam centre and then saw in three process group I was Above Targets and on two process groups I was on Target and on top, it has been mentioned as pass.

 I still was not sure until I gave it to my husband to verify whether I’ve actually cleared. He confirmed the same. It took me some time to realize that I’ve passed the exam, and finally all my hard work has been paid off. And I’ve achieved my target.

 Suggestions for PMP Aspirants
  • Don’t try to memorize the content, but try to clear your concepts.
  • The PMBOK guide is a must-read and the more you read through it, the more insight you will get.
  • Solve as many mock questions as possible, though the exam pattern was completely different from the one I had practiced. However, with this, at least you will understand how questions can be tricky. It will also help you to have a sound understanding. 

Conclusion
I want to use my PMP credential as a tool to enhance my professional skills and I want to keep learning in the project management domain. The PMP credential is not only an evaluation of project management concepts, but it’s also a self-evaluation of my skills, commitment and potential to achieve things that I dream of.

 Brief Profile: 
I am Warsha Goel and work as senior Test Leader. I aspire to excel in management field by continually working on process improvement and honing my skills by applying current, new and emerging project management practices.



PMP LIVE LESSONS - Guaranteed Pass:
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Friday, June 07, 2019

PMP Success Story: Credential With Real-World Applicability of New Project Management Concepts

By Varun Amirthakumar, PMP


Introduction
I am Varun Amirthakumar and I am from Bangalore, India. In early 2018, I became a member of PMI® and by doing so, I gained access to the sixth edition of the PMBOK® Guide, along with the Agile Practice Guide. Then in the subsequent months of February and March, I attempted reading the PMBOK Guide, but found it to be too complicated and exhaustive.

 I was also not able to grasp the contents of the PMBOK guide. Then I learnt about Satya’s classes.

 PMP 35 Contact Hours Experience
I immediately enrolled myself in April 2018 for Satya’s 4-day classes. The tips and tricks shared in the classroom especially on how to remember the 49 processes across the 10 knowledge areas (KAs) and 5 process groups (PGs), on how to master the inputs, tools and techniques and outputs (ITTOs) for all of the 49 processes and the yogic tips shared across all chapters, really gave me the confidence that I can crack the exam of course by putting in extra efforts. 

 Satya has a unique way of making everyone remember the 49 processes spread across the 10 KAs and 5 PGs. It helped me a lot. I strongly went by his advice “write down and practice – only then you will learn”. 
At the end of the 4-day classroom training, I was given this advice by him: "While taking the exam, for every question, look for options as a project manager, i.e., what would you do FIRST, before going over to others such as sponsor(s), stakeholders etc." Soon after, I went on to purchase the book: "I Want To Be A PMP".  

 Towards end of April, 2018, I submitted my application for the exam. The sample application forms included in the book really helped me fill out mine. My application went through an audit by PMI and post that I paid the exam fee and scheduled my exam for March 7, 2019. Because I had a lot of work assignments and travel to do in between, I realized that I must have this examination taken up and completed in Mar 2019. 

 As I was again pressed with a work assignment in March 2019, I had no choice but to push my exam to May 30, 2019. As time was too short for me, I instantly decided that I need to purchase Satya’s video package – “35 Contact Hours Online Course” as well. 
Review – PMP 35 Contact Hours Online Course
In this Online Course, All the chapters in this video package were synchronized to the layout within the PMBOK guide. Because of this, the PMBOK guide could also be read simultaneously without any difficulty. 
The most helpful part of the video package was the ITTOs, which Satya has explicitly mentioned for each process and the flow charts. These made a lot of sense in understanding the integration of the processes. The best part of this video package was that it was like a classroom session and I could replay any video as many times as I could, until I understood the contents. 

 Remembering key ITTOs were made easy as they were highlighted wherever the process integrates and there were tips given to revise once you reach a certain level in learning. To top it all, the practice questions after each topic helped in gauging my understanding of each chapter. 
How I Prepared For The Exam?
The process spread in the PMBOK is known to most of us. For the sake of illustration, I’m only outlining these:
  • Project Initiation has two processes
  • Project Planning has twenty-four processes
  • Project Execution has ten processes
  • Project Monitoring and Controlling has twelve processes and
  • Project Closing has one process

Therefore, my first aim was to achieve an “Above Target” score for Project Closure and Project Initiation. My next aim was to achieve an “Above Target” score for Project Monitoring and Controlling followed by Project Execution and finally concentrate on Project Planning. I was very much confident that if one scores “Above Target” across all other Process Groups apart from Project Planning, there is always a strong chance for one to pass the exam – even in a worst-case scenario wherein one may achieve only a “Needs Improvement” score for Project Planning. 

 I first thoroughly understood the ITTOs for each of the 49 processes by attacking the process groups one after the other in the order mentioned above. Next, I went through the Knowledge Areas and read the contents chapter wise to understand as to what are the emerging trends, tailoring processes etc. 

 The only thing that I memorized were the mathematical formulae involved in certain Knowledge Areas as mathematical questions in the exam will have only one correct answer and such questions are easy to score in the exam. 

 I then practiced over 3000 questions and answers applicable across all Knowledge Areas (with a mindset that I need to take no more than 72 seconds per question). By doing so, I was able to judge from the questions, four important things:
  • Which Process Group the question is talking about?
  • Which Knowledge Area the question is talking about?
  • What is the relevant information and what is the distractor within the question?
  • Whether the question is asking for a specific accurate answer such as the name of a project document or the name of a tool and technique etc. or whether the question is asking for the best answer from a list of choices? The last one is important.

 What to Do a Day before and on the Exam Day?
I would advise the followings one day before the exam and during the exam day. Many such tips are part of Satya’s video package as well as the book. 
  • It’s advisable not to revise or memorize any last-minute chapter on the day before the exam.
  • A good overnight’s sleep is essential before the day of the exam.
  • It is advisable only to refresh your memory with the mathematical formulae in the morning hours on the day of the exam.
  • On the day of the exam, reach the Prometric Test Center well before time.
  • Before the start of the exam there is a tutorial for 15 min – it is advisable to read the tutorial with care.
  • Once the exam starts, do not straight away jump over to question 1 even though the clock starts ticking backwards from 3h:59m:59s.
  • It is highly recommended that one submits the exam rather than the computer (system) taking control of the exam submission. 
  • It is advisable to choose an answer for every question even though one may mark the question for review later on without choosing an answer. 

 PMP Exam Experience
As the exam began, I spent a solid 5 min in writing down all mathematical formulae on the scratch paper which was very useful for me when the relevant question came up during the exam. I was able to finish 200 questions in 3 hours and 52 minutes. Of the remaining 8 minutes, I used the 7 minutes to review the marked questions and the final one minute to submit. 
I faced varieties of questions, some of which I’ve noted below. 
  • 50% of the questions were lengthy but had heavy distractors. There will be lot of redundant information, but the question is asking something else. 
  • Some of the questions were too short and of the direct scoring type, e.g., for activity B to start, activity A must be completed in full. What is the relationship involved here? 
  • Some of the questions were specifically framed to test if one as a PM is able to choose the correct project document, e.g., midway through a project, a new stakeholder was identified. Where would you record this information?
  • Some of the questions were tricky and had to be carefully interpreted, e.g., the sponsor just received an approved Change Request from the CCB and had the same passed over to the PM for implementation. What should the PM do next?  
  • Some of the questions were specifically framed to test if one as a PM is able to choose the correct tool and technique, e.g., answer choices had expert judgement as well as team judgement. There is nothing called team judgement! 
  • To the best of my knowledge, there were no questions on AGILE practices. But it’s wise not to skip reading this section. Read at least once from the PMBOK guide.

 Tips for PMP Aspirants
  • Reading the PMBOK guide is a must. Read it two times at least – once in detail and once by fast tracking. 
  • Make it a point only to memorize only mathematical formulae.
  • Make it a point to understand all aspects of project management and associated processes via KAs, PGs and ITTOs.
  • Take more number of online practice tests. This will give you the confidence to complete 200 questions in four hours. 
  • Never panic before or during the exam: If a question is tough to understand move on and come back. Keep eight to ten minutes for review.  
  • While reading questions, straight away attempt to eliminate distracting information before looking at the best answer from the choices given.
  • Finally, God needs to be thought of just before taking the exam and while taking the survey questions of the Prometric Center when actually the exam report is getting generated.

 Conclusion
Preparing and appearing for the PMP exam helped me in learning new concepts. I am now able to relate every Process Group (PG) and Knowledge Area (KA) to a real-world example and I am able to execute some of the concepts in my day-to-day work as well. 

 Thank you for reading my experience and wish you all very best in your preparation. 

 Brief Profile:
Varun Amirthakumar, PMP. 
I am currently working in the Pratt & Whitney Canada Center of Excellence for Cyient India Limited in Bangalore on aero engine maintenance and overhaul manuals, since 13.5 years. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from R.V. College of Engineering, Bangalore, India. I completed my schooling from National Public School, Bangalore, India.


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