Showing posts with label PMP Success Stories 2010s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PMP Success Stories 2010s. Show all posts

Monday, October 28, 2019

PMP Success Story: Apply Your Learnings to Be a Good Project Manager In Real Life

By Ram Babu, PMP

Introduction
I am working as a Project Manager for Delivery in my organization. However, I was lacking certain standard processes and procedures in applying the project management concepts and fundamentals. Hence, I found Project Management Professional (PMP®) credential as the right certification for me. With this certification, I believe I can excel, provide the needed expertise to my organization and also add value to our profile.

 PMP 35 Contact Hours Experience
First, I joined a classroom session to take the mandatory 35 contact hours learning. Satya Sir was our trainer and he led the classes for 4 days. His teaching style was impressive. He guided us to not only focus on key concepts, but also relate our understanding of project management in context.
The formulae and numerous examples he provided were very helpful. In 4-days, he covered most of the topics needed for the exam. 

 However, for me, the focus on Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Schedule Network Diagram Analysis such as forward pass, backward pass, free float and total float calculation, critical path analysis etc. were really helpful. 

 Own Study
My situation was completely different from other aspiring candidates for the PMP credential. I am from Arts background and hence, didn’t have the environment to think about PMP like others do, who are mostly from engineering backgrounds. It was really challenging to overcome this situation and concentrate on self-study more.

 I used to study 2 to 3 hours every-day for more than eight months. It took sufficient preparation from my side to clear the exam. 

 In fact, at the end of the final day, Satya Sir took an evaluation test. I scored only 10 out of 30 questions. Satya Sir told me – “Ram Babu, you will need 1 year to prepare and clear the exam. You have to really work on it.” And it took me nearly 1 year to crack it. You can understand how much hard work was required.

 I studied the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) Guide, 6th edition 2 to 3 times along with another reference book. I also used the material given in the PMP 35 contact hours sessions and attempted 8 mock tests overall. These were helpful for me to clear the concepts.

 I would say as the exam questions are mostly situational in nature, you may find it problematic in the beginning. But with sufficient mock tests, we can overcome this problem.

 PMP Exam Experience
I scheduled my exam at Pearson VUE, Shivaji Nagar, Bangalore because it was close to my locality. I followed no specific strategy while going through the 4 hours of the exam. This is primarily due to the fact that I have had the practice of mock tests with 4-hours sitting. 

 From the perspectives of exam questions, I faced the following types:
  • Most of the questions were situational in nature. Hence be ready for them.
  • I received a few mathematical questions – around five to six questions, including Earned Value Management (EVM). However, they were quite straight.
  • I face a few Input, Tools and Techniques (ITTO) questions from the PMBOK Guide. Again, they were quite straight-forward.
  • A number of questions were from change requests, change management, and risk management. 

Suggestions for PMP Aspirants
Dos
  • Improve reading speed and read the PMBOK Guide’s glossary. You must read the glossary. 
  • Ensure to have good time management. The 4-hours exam is also a test of your endurance. 
  • Always keep your calmness intact. It will help you during the test.

Don’s
  • Do not just read the PMBOK Guide, but read in the context of project management, your own management experience and how you can relate to it. 
  • Do not memorize the ITTOs, which we will not be a proper usage of your time.  Instead, apply their meanings and use them to understand the way project management gets done in the real world.

Conclusion
I’ve been working as a project management for quite sometime and with this new knowledge gain, I hope I can apply and improve on the practices. I also hope these learnings will help me to be a good manager in real life.

 Brief Profile:
Ram Babu, PMP: I’ve been working as a Project Manager for 10 years.



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Monday, August 26, 2019

PMP Live Lessons Success Story: Just Focus and Follow Satya’s Words, You Will Pass The Exam

By Bibhuti Bhusan Bagha, PMP


Introduction
I heard of PMP® certification way back in 2007 when I was in Bangalore and my manager took a month leave for preparing PMP. When I moved to the US in 2010, I realized the importance and acceptance of this certification.  I saw a few people from our broader team at Hewlett Packard (HP), who are PMP certified. Their working style and the way they manage the projects, inspired me to pursue this certification. 

 PMP 35 Contact Hours Experience
I had my training on PMBOK® 5th edition with Mr. Satya Narayan Dash as my coach. The learning experience was really great with Satya. Being from a technical background, I always had this perception: Project management is boring. But Sayta’s unique teaching style made it interesting for me.

 In the session, I got a fair idea on project management methodologies, the framework on how to prepare for the exams and related tips. Moreover, by the end of the sessions, I gained the confidence to write all knowledge areas, process groups and all the individual processes with the sequencing. I think this sets a very strong foundation for PMP exam preparation. 
As I mentioned above, Satya’s unique teaching style set a solid foundation and that helped me to understand and memorize the principles behind the processes, their interconnection, and the mathematical calculations like earned value management (EVM), critical path method (CPM) etc. These played key roles and made the subsequent preparation easy for me.

 Own Study
After 35 contact hour training, I tried to study for one month to appear for the test in 2018 on PMBOK 5th edition, but I realized later that one month is not enough. My preparation was off and on for several months as I was not getting the free time. 

 I started my real preparation from March 2019 with the new edition of the PMBOK guide (6th edition) with the PMP Live Lessons and tried to maintain the continuity. I took around 300 hours of serious preparation and it helped. I had an internal target of completing one knowledge area, including the practice questions in one week, so I divided the hours accordingly. I used to study for a couple of hours after dinner at night and a couple of hours in the early morning between 4 am to 7 am. 

 I totally followed Satya’s Live Video lessons and went through the course three times including the chapter end ITTO exercises as well as  practice questions. I went through the full-length question sets for two times, but for the third time when I went through the PMP Live Lessons, I could not get time to go through the full-length question sets. However, this time I went through his video lessons word by word, took my own note for revision, reviewed the previous chapters or concepts periodically whenever Sayta reminds in the form of Yogic revision in the live lessons. 

 ITTO exercise and the chapter-end questions are the great assets for the preparation, they really made me think, reflect, and review the concepts again and again. 

 I think as we proceed through the lessons/chapters, it is very important to keep a tab of the previous learning, which Satya reminds throughout his video lessons and says “go back and revise” if you do not remember. This is really needed, indeed, otherwise at the end of the Lesson-10, you will find the contents of Lesson – 1 to be new!  This is what exactly happened with me in my previous preparation, so constant review is a key. 

 The other things where I struggled is on ITTO is this: their perspectives change from process to process, e.g., the same tool and technique will be used in two different processes in a completely different way. One needs to really understand what that element is and what the characteristics are for the particular ITTO, and which characteristics fits into which process. Again, as I mentioned earlier, I paid very close attention to Satya’s tips and the revision reminders during the live lessons and that helped me to overcome the challenge.

 Review – PMP LIVE LESSONS
The reason I bought Satya’s PMP Live Lessons is this: I was impressed by the sample videos that Satya shared, some of which are available publicly.  I could see a very systematic and detailed explanation of the concepts which PMBOK guide does not tell. 
I followed only the PMP Live Lessons for my exam preparation. I think the entire set of lessons is unique. It actually tags you with different areas and at the same time makes you focus on the current topic. In fact, as I went through the lessons, I felt like Satya is holding my hand guiding through the lessons. 

 The “What Happens” at the beginning of each lesson with the diagrammatic process flows gives a wonderful insight into the respective knowledge area quickly. Then at the end the ITTO exercises really make you review the internals and memorize them.

 The yogic tips, revision tips shared in the Live Lessons were truly very much helpful. Those are the real help which made me revise and memorize the concepts. The chapter-end questions, the full-length question sets, and the explanation for each answer are true assets if you can go through them diligently you can really solve the questions during the test quickly. It covers vast scenarios which gives you the confidence for the test.

 One of the best parts are the ITTO video exercises. Also, the explanation to each answer in the chapter-end questions as well as full-length questions are of immense help.

 PMP Exam Experience
My exam center was in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. I had scheduled online and the process was smooth.

 I was confident that since the exam center is in my city, it will be easy for me to find the place, but it was not. I struggled to get there and finding a place to park my car. My exam was scheduled at 2PM but I reached the center 5 minutes late. I was really nervous. The exam center coordinators completed the formalities quickly and then the test started. 

 Below are a few points about my approach towards the exam.  
  • I set an internal target of giving one minute to each question so to keep 40 minutes in the end for review. 
  • Together with the former one, the sub-target was to read the questions and answers a couple of times to make sure I do not miss anything. 
  • The mathematical questions and other questions where I was not 100% sure about the correct answer, I marked them to review later. 

I completed all my questions in 210 minutes so I had 30 minutes to review the questions which I had designated for review. I could not take any break in between. I ended my exam just 90 seconds before.

 Types of Questions Faced
  • There were around five questions from processes which were relatively direct, but the remaining questions were situational. 
  • I had a couple of questions on Budget at Completion (BAC) and Estimate At Completion (EAC) calculation and a couple from CPM and Free Float calculation. Mathematical questions were mostly direct. 
  • For the situational questions, I followed Satya’s strategy: Find the keywords within the questions, focus on them to determine which process you are in, once you do this you will reach close to the right answer. This is very unique to Satya’s teaching, and if someone does the chapter-end questions and practice questions sets thoroughly that will definitely help to score well in the exam.

Overall my score was this: in 3 domains I scored Above Target and in 2 domains I was on Target. 
I would definitely suggest that you take a good sleep the previous night and eat something lite, prior to the exam which is not too heavy. It should give your the needed energy for the next four hours. Also, make sure the food does not make you feel thirsty. Unfortunately, I had everything reversed and hence, struggled on these aspects. 

 Suggestions for PMP Aspirants
Dos 
  • Focus on each word in the PMP Live Lessons. Focus on Tips and review the previous chapters continuously, which Satya reminds throughout the lesson. 
  • Do all practice questions: ITTO and chapter-end exercises. Keep your own notes and review them. 
  • Satya has given the explanation for each question, review them even when your answer is right, just to learn how he solves the problems and he cuts down the wrong choices to arrive at the right answer.
Don’ts
  • Do not underestimate the test.  The exam is tough and really tests your understanding. 

 Conclusion
I would like to thank Satya from the bottom of my heart for providing such excellent study material and guiding me throughout the preparation process. I can now visualize many things at my work which I was not able to do so before, I’m going to utilize this in our internal projects first.

 Brief Profile:
Bibhuti Bhusan Bagha, PMP.
I work for HP Inc. in the USA as a Technical Marketing Engineer for one of the key enabling technologies in HP’s Managed Print Services. My work is mostly on the technical pre-sales, work closely with the HP sales team, customer and HP R&D team, provide the response to RFP and RFI’s for the new contracts and renewals, post-sales support and escalation management. I have worked with several hundred customers in Americas regions in the last six years including some of the large enterprises and Federal customers.




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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



PMP 35 Contact Hours Online Course:
PMP LIVE LESSONS - Guaranteed Pass:
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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.



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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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