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Lessons Learned

Hi All !

Im glad to inform you that I passed my PMP exam on 30th Dec with all 5 Proficient score. I took some
time to review my preparation period and now here Im with my experience& LL.

During my preparation days, I referred many LLs and experiences over internet from many exam takers.
Im really thankful to all those unknown faces for sharing their LLs , perspectives, mistakes ,tips & tricks.
It is really important to understand various point of views, which will not only help you in studies , but it
will develop you professionally & personally as well.
Now its my turn to share !
Please be patient with me, its gonna get bit lengthy !!

My Experience
Throughout my preparations, Its been an enriching experience for me in terms of professional & personal
development. Journey started in June .I spent quality time doing the ground work about the PMP
certification overall process. I got a hardcopy of PMBOK and found myself reading few chapters even
before I took decision to go for it. During this period, I got to know about the PM Prepcast through
internet. First look, I liked it because it was providing me the flexibility of studying anywhere , anytime
using my phone and it was also serving me 35 PDUs as a pre-requisite to PMP application. And as I
started going through the episodes, I knew I had taken the BEST decision. Once I was ready with
everything that is needed for filling the application and then I submitted my application. After application
process was completed, I set up myself a little over 3 months time and scheduled exam at Year end. I
made a high level study plan and my actual studies geared up. Please become a PMI member, so that
you can avail all membership benefits like exam fees discount and PMI bookstore access .
As a full time working professional, I could find little time on week days for studies. I managed to squeeze
an hour in night on weekdays. On weekends I used to utilize time left after my family commitments and
responsibilities but I made sure Im doing at least a little progress everyday. Most of the people complain
that PMBOK in all is very dry to read. I agree, but some how I managed to grow interest in reading it
mostly because I was discovering gaps in practical world of project management & yes, my school of
thoughts matched with many ! I wanted to go through PMP certification because I want to manage my
work& projects better and develop professionally & personally. It has also helped me to keep my interest
running.

Preparations
I found Rita Mulcahy & Kim Heldman books (though it was based on 4th ed) as very good sources along
with PMBOK.I studied PMBOK cover to cover only once and then continuously referred it
throughout my preparations as and when I wanted to confirm the final word on anything. While my first
pass of PMBOK, I kept my hand-written notes and then when I referred other sources, I kept updating
those notes. I found it comfortable to study by knowledge Area(as in PMBOK), rather than by Process
groups.
I never tried to memorize the ITTO. The BEST way to understand & remember the ITTO that I
found is- the PM Prepcast . I paid attention to the way Cornelius has explained the ITTOs for
each process and it becomes easy to relate them together. You must understand the T&T
concept and then its really not required to memorize them. I think plain memorization of
ITTOs will confuse a human brain . So please avoid plain memorizing. Through out
preparations, I watched respective precast episodes again to bridge the gaps in my
understanding.

I found the mathematical part of studies, as a bonus. Because if you thoroughly understand the
concepts of EVM , EMV,CPM etc and then what remains is simple algebra.
I used below study material
PM Prepcast ,PM Prepcast Forum
PMBOK 5th Ed,Rita Mulcahy - 8th Ed
Kim heldman : PMI bookstore : ( based on 4th ed )
Chris Scordo : PMI bookstore
PMZilla Forums
HeadFirst PMP
I want to be PMP forum on Linkedin
Frank Anbari PMI bookstore

Practice tests/exams
I counted solved practice questions after passing PMP exam . I found that I had practiced around
3000 sample questions, including 6 full length practice tests. Irrespective of length of the practice test, I
always reviewed all wrong answers and also the marked questions which I felt were tricky while solving. I
also kept a record of my unforced errors (mistakes I should not have made while answering a question) &
tried not to repeat them as I went through practice exams. Before a month of my exam date, I started
taking full length tests. weekend was the only right time for me to take a full length test. I scored
consistently in 6 full length practice exams, ranging 70-85.By the exam day I felt prepared. A day before
exam, I just did revision of notes, formulae and tricky questions which I had sorted during my
preparation. Solved couple of 10 question practice tests and then brushed through PMBOK glossary ,
and got my bag ready to travel to exam center.
Be prepared !! because unknown risks and known risks might get realized as your exam date comes
closure. In my case, Prometric informed me that the exam center has been relocated, so I had to replan
my travel to test center. Also there were some unplanned family commitments & stretched work duties. So
be ready with your risk responses

On exam day : My exam center was in another city , usually it takes at least 3 to 4 hours travel time
considering traffic. I could not visit my test center in advanced. But I knew the city and also I had got
directions and all doubts clarified with Prometric test center guys over phone several times during last
month. My exam slot was in evening, so I setup double travel time and started in early morning .I reached
at test center well ahead of time. The ID verification and sign-on processes were smooth. Prometric
executive explained the ground rules for test, provided with a blank pages booklet and 2 pencils & directed
me to cubicle where I had to take the test. The exam room had many cubicles & some candidates were
already taking their tests. But it quite silent.I used headphones which Prometric had provided.

Actual Exam
I finished tutorial in couple of minutes and then did my braindump. I highly recommend doing
braindump because it gets your thoughts flowing and helps you to enter into the exam mode. It specially
helped my as I had to travel before exam. I did nothing special in brain dump. I just wrote PG & KA chart
and few formulae. I was left with 2-3 minutes after completing braindump. I did not start the exam. I used
that time to get comfortable with headphones, chair & surroundings and waited tutorial time to finish.
My plan to take a break after every 50 questions did not work in actual exam. I started bit slowly but still
was able to finish 50 Qn in first hour. During entire exam I did not take a single break as I did not want to
waste time in sign on process .After every hour, I just stretched & did deep breathing fro few seconds and
resumed.
Few questions were straight forward but most were more trickier than sample exams which I practiced
during my preparation. This is where understanding of the concepts comes handy. There were many
situational questions with majority emphasis on procurement management & project integration. Maths
questions were for EVM, communication channels, CPM calculations. Charts questions were very lengthy
but only observation was needed to find correct answer. I did not encounter any question outside
PMBOK framework.
I finished answering all questions with about 25 minutes left & about 30 questions marked for review.

While reviewing, I changed couple of answers. I was getting more & more confident about my result as I
was reviewing the marked questions. My exam time got over when I was reviewing my last marked
question. A blank screen appeared , then the survey appeared which I finished in couple of mins and then
for a long time, blank screen again. The wait felt very long and I felt my heartbeats loud & then the
words congratulations appeared. I was overjoyed when I saw 5 proficient ratings on screen ! It was really
satisfying after all those efforts put in !

The PM Precast
Among all study material I used, I really want to thank Cornelius Fitchner and the PM Prepcast. As I
mentioned earlier, I chose it because it was providing me the flexibility to study anywhere , anytime. Let
me tell you this I found it very helpful in clarifying my concepts and boost my preparations . I had
bought it to get my 35 contact hours, but I watched & listened it again & again throughout my
preparations. I liked the audio-visual learning, the content is comprehensive and the Corneliuss method
of explanation is just great. I recommend PM Prepcast to all aspirants taking PMP exam . And what
more you get your 35 contact hours for exam eligibility, several sample Questions & that too at very
moderate price. I too searched several online PMP exam preparation courses at start, but then I come
across PM Prepcast and I took the best decision for my exam preparations. The interviews, Prepcast
forum and newsletters were also very beneficial. Thanks a ton to Cornelius and PM Prepcast !

now I am a compensated affiliate of OSP International LLC. I have listed URLs below for PM Prepcast and
all useful study material.

The PM PrepCast (For PMBOK Guide 5th Edition)

http://nanacast.com/vp/112694/470487/

PMP Exam Simulator (90-Day Access)


http://nanacast.com/vp/104827/470487/

PMP Exam Formula Study Guide

http://nanacast.com/vp/104756/470487/
The Agile PrepCast

http://nanacast.com/vp/108394/470487/

http://nanacast.com/vp/107168/470487/

On closing notes, I would say the BEST plan to study is - your own plan !
Prepare your own notes instead of getting from others. Because thats the best way to understand & learn.
However do read LL from others. Do read perspectives from others. They are very helpful in negotiating
the questions.

Last but not the least, I am very thankful to my most important stakeholders (my lovely family) for their
support and their patience with me throughout my preparations.

3 weeks into it now, I'm looking forward to my professional life as a PMP !

All the best to all PMP aspirants !

I really enjoyed listening to PM Prepcast. So I am closing my lengthy LL with a phrase from Cornelius and
Justine - Until next time ! "

Regards
Sachin Vehale, PMP
PMP Exam Formulas
PERT = (P + 4M + O )/ 6

(Program Evaluation and Review O= Optimistic estimate


Technique) PERT
M= Most Likely estimate

P= Pessimistic estimate

SD = P O) / 6

O= Optimistic estimate
Standard Deviation (SD)
P= Pessimistic estimate

Late start Early start


Float/Slack
Late finish Early finish
n (n-1)/2
Communication Channels
n = number of members in the team

CPI = EV/AC

EV = Earned Value
Cost Performance Index (CPI)
AC = Actual Cost

SPI = EV/PV

EV = Earned Value
Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
PV = Planned Value

Cost Variance (CV) CV = EV AC

EV = Earned Value
AC = Actual Cost

SV = EV PV

EV = Earned Value
Schedule Variance (SV)
PV = Planned Value

1. BAC / CPI if CPI remains the same

BAC = Budget at completion

CPI = Cost performance index

2. AC + ETC Initial Estimates are flawed

AC = Actual Cost

New ETC = New Estimate to


Estimate At Completion (EAC)
Completion

3. AC + BAC EV if BAC remains the


same

AC = Actual Cost

BAC = Budget at completion

EV = Earned Value

ETC = EAC -AC

EAC = Estimate at Completion


Estimate To Completion (ETC)
AC = Actual Cost

Variance At Completion (VAC) VAC = BAC EAC

BAC = Budget at completion


EAC = Estimate at Completion

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