PMP Exam Tips and Tricks|Cracking the Project

Management Professional Exam (PMP)

Project Management
Project Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to
project activities to meet project requirements***.
Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish
specific project goals and objectives. It involves the discipline of managing
resources. The most crucial objective of project management is the completion of all
of the project goals and objectives while honoring the predetermined constraints,
i.e., scope, time and finance.
Project Management Professional (PMP)
This certification is offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI) and to obtain
this one has to:

Document ones work experience in Project Management

Score at least 61% on a written multiple choice examination

Complete 35 hours of Project Management related training

This certification has acquired importance in the current recessionary scenario

where companies are being very focused in being efficient and manage projects
well. The certification boosts ones credentials by establishing your competence at
Project Management and gives one an edge over the others to accomplish project
objectives.
Several Fortune 1000 companies demand that their employees in project
management activities should be PMPs.The Project Management role has evolved
into a well defined discipline that encompasses all the different activities and skillsets required for successful implementation of a project.

Free Tips for the Project Management examBefore the Examination

1. A PMP exam prep course is the best way to begin. Check for institutes that
offer PMP Boot Camps which are classroom sessions spread over 3-5 days
that involve extensive and comprehensive training sessions. The primary
benefit of these sessions is that one can interact with the experienced faculty
and also other Project Managers (PM) who are taking up the exam. This
interaction ensures that one gets a firsthand experience on how to approach

situations that one comes across as a PM and the underlying principle that
govern them.
2. Periodic Evaluation-A large number of free tests are available online that
one can use to assess ones preparation for the examination. The exam
simulation software that most websites offer is a better option though they
can be expensive. These tests let you pick up the necessary timemanagement skills and the detailed reports allows one to review ones
performance and learn the correct answers for questions one missed.
Sample Questions: Take PMstudy.com FREE 200 questions simulated practice test to
get an idea of the final PMP exam format at www.pmstudy.com.
During the Examination
Type of Questions:

The PMP Certification Exam consists of 200 Multiple Choice

Questions, which must be answered within 4 hours. These questions
are randomly generated from a question database which has several
hundred questions.

There is No Negative Marking. All Questions are Multiple Select

Questions i.e. the examinee must choose one from the available four
alternatives. The examinee does not need to type even a single word
in the question paper.

Out of 200 questions answered, 25 questions are dummy questions

which will not be used for scoring. Please note that dummy questions
are selected randomly by the computer and are not known by the
candidate when taking the exam - so effectively candidates have to
answer all the 200 questions to the best of their ability.

Since 25 out of 200 questions are not used for scoring, so effectively,
175 questions are used for scoring for the exam.

To pass the PMP Exam, the candidate must answer 106 out of 175
questions correctly (i.e. pass percentage is 60.6%).

1. Elimination of options while answering remains the golden rule for any
multiple choice examination. So is the case with this examination. Judicious
elimination of the options is necessary here.
2. Going against PMI principles is never a good option. Always choose
options that are ethical even though they may seem to be the tougher

choices to make during the examination. Each question has only one correct
answer. Read all the options before selecting any one. Choices that are
characterized by words such as always, never, must, or completely; are often
incorrect.
3. Remember, when in doubt, go by the PMI PMBOK. Do not apply only
practical project management knowledge or else you will fail the PMP exam.
4. One gets about 80 seconds for every question so ensure that you have
enough time to answer all the questions - and take all the time you're
allowed. Read the questions correctly and interpret them properly. Have
good, specific reasons for changing answers to questions that you have
already answered.
5. Avoid adding extra functionality in the answers without benefits or gold
plating (which is giving the customer more than what was
required).Customer extras can include extra
functionality, higher-quality components, extra scope of work or better
performance.
6. Get plenty of rest the night before taking the examination. The examination is
both rigorous and challenging.
To all the PMP aspirants I wish you all Good Luck!
*** : As defined by PMI