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What are the best resources for preparing for the PMP certification exam?

Veteran

Richard Lowery Clarksville, TN

I feel that I must be more than prepared for the Project Management Professional certification exam. I have already received the training from the Onward to Opportunity (O2O-VCTP) program with Syracuse University which covers the required 35 hours of training instruction. I have also read and am in the process of re-reading the PMBOK for the fourth time, in comparison to exam study guides from Sybex, McGraw-Hill, and "Achieve PMP Exam Success: A Concise Study Guide for the Busy Project Manager, 6th Edition".

Am I missing anything?

1 May 2019 7 replies Education & Training

Answers

Veteran

Tom Vlasic Carmel, IN

Make sure your resources are all PMBOK 6 based. Shouldn't be an issue as it has been out for over a year now - I think the exam changed over in March 2018.

One resource that I haven't seen mentioned is PocketPrep PMP - I wanted a mobile app to study on the go. They have a free version to see if it works for you but it is worth the money (maybe $20?) as it is good for life. I got it to study for v5 and they auto upgraded it for v6. I still do the Question of the Day and you can create exams of 5 - 100 questions (out of 600 I think). It also tracks your progress so you can see if you are weak in a particular area. https://www.pocketprep.com/exams/pmi-pmp/
I found it useful to memorize the Process Groups (5 - Initiating, Planning...) and Knowledge Areas (10 - Integration, Scope, Schedule) chart (p25 and p556 in PMBOK 6). At the beginning of the exam you need to do a brain dump - I took a couple minutes to draw this chart and write down the major formulas. This allows you to concentrate on understanding the question and not trying to remember what process is where and which knowledge area does what. On top of taking as many practice tests as you can, practicing your brain dump is important too.
Have you applied to take the test yet? On top of the training, you also have to have documented the practical experience with references. They did check at least one of my references and particularly for the military, it is sometimes hard to find somebody that knows your work after the fact. If your application has been accepted...SET A DATE! Schedule your exam and build a plan - create some milestones, execute, monitor and control...sound familiar, yes its a project to get your PMP...
I've coached quite a few people and created/run PMO's. Look me up on LinkedIn if you want additional information.

Veteran

Richard Lowery Clarksville, TN

I would just like to thank everyone for their great recommendations and insights. Amit, I truly look forward to all that the PM profession offers.

Chuck, I knew about the 1st and last resources but was oblivious to the other two. Thank you for sharing all of the great resource links with me.

Richard, thank you for sharing the information and links to lower cost training. And yes, once I pass my certification exam, I will pass on my Lessons Learned.

David and Joe, thank you for your suggestions and for taking the time to respond to my question.

You all rock!! And I will let everyone know the results in the near future with my lessons learned.

Veteran

Joe Dunn Blue Bell, PA

RIchard This is overkill since you have the Syracuse option, but Rita Mulcahy had high marks for her prep book and Andy Crowe had a good book with a lot of prep questions

Advisor

David Daugerdas Palatine, IL

Richard, thank you for your service. It sounds like you're already accessing some good materials to prep for the test. One additional source you may want to consider is the study guide/sample tests from Rita Mulcahy at https://rmcls.com/. I found her materials to be extremely helpful when prepping for the exam.

Advisor

Richard Valle Edwards, CA

Thanks for your military service and reaching out to AdvisorNet and sharing with other vets.

I am a Technical PM for the AF with 33 years experience with a BSEE and AF enlisted vet, but not currently PMI cert. PMP Cert is not valued as much in my line of work for the Fed Gov't, but becoming more recognized at the system program offices and highly desirable in industry as way to filter between good candidates from the best in hiring new recruits.

I recommend this short video. It is taught by Juan Martinez, PMP ex- AFIT course instructor for years who left to teach these PMP prep course which has been more profitable and rewarding for his personal career growth.

My AFIT IPM 350 class instructor/Summer 2018 I taken who had 25 years plus of AF military experience ex high ranking officer recommended Juan as a great recourse to help prep you for the PMP exam. Juan has with a wealth of PM knowledge and test. He told us in his course to budget and plan to take the PMP at least 2 twice. Study the latest PMBok version 9.0?? since it has been updated. He passed on the first try and is essay format. He recommended take a PMP bootcamp course at least 2 weeks prior to your test and take a week off of work to study the book in and out.

I told by my AFIT IPM 350 instructor PMPBok 4 day course that taught
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLudSgMyQLE

Low cost PM course for acquiring your continuing PM education requirements.
https://www.coursera.org/learn/project-management-capstone

Once you get your PMP Cert I recommend you share your lessons learned and advice with others seeking to acquire their Cert.

I wish you the best and never give up working toward your personal and career goals.

Advisor

Chuck Burger King Of Prussia, PA

Richard,

My guess is you may already be aware of these resources, but since they have not been mentioned I would suggest you peruse a few of the resources listed below.

The Project Management Institute is closely aligned to the College of Performance Management, and both are integral to the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Integrated Program Management Division (IPMD) whose membership includes largely senior managers of both USG Acquisition Community (DoD, Intel, and Civil; DOE NASA, etc.) and their counterparts in the Aerospace and Defense Industry. They are dedicated to advancing all things program/project management. The last URL is a training and education resource harvested from the PMI site.

I hope you find this information useful. Please let me know if I can address anything further.

https://www.pmi.org/
http://www.mycpm.org/about-us/
http://www.ndia.org/divisions/ipmd
https://www.pmtraining.com/

Advisor

Amit Chaudhary San Jose, CA

Not really. Maybe even more preparing, go ahead and jump.
There will be more ahead, you will learn of roles (Scrum Master, Program Manager, Project Manager), demands for each in your desired area, then get more certification after learning from linkedin.com profiles of current ones.
Onward my friend

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