My Experiments with PMI PMP Certification

My Personal Experiences w ith PMI PMP Certif ication

Examination
Th is is an infor ma l docu ment about how I w rote the PMI Cert if icat ion exa m and m y v iews on so me the
tool s used. The contents are pure ly persona l in nature and they may or may not wo rk for you. The l ist is
not exhaust ive, but i s what I used for the test. You may find more useful mate ria l doing resea rch an d
plann ing. P M i s used as acron ym for proje ct management in thi s docu ment.

What is PMI ?

 PMI is a professional body for development of Project Management as a profession. It is recognized

worldwide and has local chapters all over the world. PMI provides professional literature and
standards for Project Management. ANSI (American National Standards Institute) actually uses PMI
documents as standards for Project Management. It actually does more.

http://www.pmi.org/about/

 It is not a bogus organization and does have a lot of value in the industry.

What is PMI Certification ?

 PMI conducts certification exam for professionals working in area of project management. This is
called Project Management Professional or PMP.

More information on this is available at

http://www.pmi.org/certification/

 Almost all of Examination related and other information is available on www.pmi.org .

Why PMI Certification ?

Reasons could be many and will vary by personal objectives:

 Most important would be to learn most current and relevant research on Project Management
subject. Preparing for the exam would force you to learn these new developments as well as old
time-tested and accepted theory and techniques of Project Management.

 Passing the exam would definitely give you a better and wider perspective on Project Management
that is much different than the cliche. You will learn the standards, best practices and overall Project
Management process. We, as professionals working on projects and project management all the time
definitely need a refresher.

Now other reasons:

 The certification proves your authority on the subject.

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 My Experiments with PMI PMP Certification

 A lot of US and other companies (including Big-5 consulting and other conventional companies) are
actually encouraging their employees in getting the knowledge and passing the exam. Some
companies are even hiring PMP's to change their internal practices and projects.

 After passing the exam one would need to follow standard PMI processes for PM tasks and that will
make one a better PM.

My Personal Experiences

Regis terin g E tc …

Most of instructions are clearly available on their web site and handbook.

 Ce rt ific ati on

http://www.pmi.org/certification/

 Ex am Ha nd bo ok

http://www.pmi.org/certification/ExamAdmin/cbhbk.htm

** The fol low ing info is re levant to unorganized fast -t racke r wa it -ti ll -last -m inute fello ws li ke me. If You
are a nor mal person, and do thing in an organ ized and planned way , please follo w the usual c ycle given
on thei r web s ite. **

I was hard pressed for time and so I did my research. Here are some tricks:

 Do not apply via snail mail, rather use the online form. This is available on

https://certificationapp.pmi.org/

 Snail mail will take around 5-6 weeks till you get a confirmation letter. Online is also no better, but
you have to keep calling them. Then they will process the application faster and send you the
eligibility letter.

Their number is
610-356-4600

I don't remember where I got this number from, but this works. You will have to call may be two or three
times.

** End fast -t rack info. **

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Exam Syllabus and Exam Info

I got interested in the exam in November last year (2001). I did not know much about this at that time.
When I looked at the exam contents for the first time (they have it published on the site), I was just
plain horrified :

Following is a material list they recommend for the exam: (Link below)

 http://www.pmi.org/certification/info/resource.htm

 http://www.pmibookstore.org/productdetail.asp?productid=2845

They have listed around 16 big books for preparation for a cost around $552. I saw this list sometime in
November last year and yawned… So it would have been ( $555 exam fees + $550 = $1100 ) huge
expense. Even if I decided afford it, there was no question that I would not be able to read 16 big books
in a limited time period available. (Don't get me wrong, I am an avid reader, that is what I do all the time.
But 16 big books on a dry topic like PM, I am a reader, but not crazy !!). Even then I was ready to buy
and take the plunge, but luckily my wife stopped me, asking me to sit tight and relax and don't do a
thing. It was all in late last year. I did not know much then and since PMI had published the book list on
their site, I thought it would require to read all those 16 big, heavy and dry PM books. I was naive,
then.

They have a lite version available as well. That contains 11 books and costs $350.

http://www.pmibookstore.org/productdetail.asp?productid=2842

 Goo d thin g is th at you ab solu tel y do n ot need an y of th ose he avy b ori ng b oo ks.

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For the exam I am listing the relevant books that I used or at least bought. These are the
books and material that I used or in some cases did not use.

BOOKS

PMB OK 20 00 (Pr oj ec t Ma na geme nt B od y of Know led ge 2000 ed iti on ) :

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1880410230/qid=1018058490/sr=8-
2/ref=sr_8_3_2/104-7133803-0603963

around ~ $25

 This is not a book per se but rather an ANSI-PMI standards document on project management.
It is around 180 pages including glossary. This is the book that must be read cover to cover, word
by word. If you are good at learn-by-heart, apply those old techniques.

 Exam is a lot based on this, since this is the standard.

 Understanding is also important and this book is absolutely no help in that. This is the driest,
most boring book I have ever read, and believe me, I have read hundreds in last few years. I
can't even remember how many times I went to sleep with this book in my hands.

My advice : Do not read PMBOK as your first PM text. Even if you think you know PM, if you have not
taken an "academic" PM class in the past, go for a traditional PM book. Word of caution though - Most
traditional PM books are big and heavy in content.

Luc kily t his (P MB OK) was not the firs t boo k on PM tha t I read . I kne w th at I w oul d need
so met hing simpler . Next boo k is w ha t a ct ua ll y did the trick for me .

Pre pa rin g for the Pro jec t M an ag ement Prof ess ion al ( Pm p) Cert ifi ca ti on Ex am

by Michael W. Newell, Micheal Newell ( ~$20)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0814470882/qid%3D1017114612/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F0%5F
1/002-5579097-4448004

This was the first book on PM that I read to understand basic concepts. This is a small book (actual
contents is around manageable 300 pages or so ). I liked the language and the presentation of material.
I recommend this book.

Keep in mind that this book is not totally written with exam objectives and does not follow PMBOK
sentence by sentence. This is a much practical book and has stories, explanations of concepts and
additional material on PM. Overall this is a good book.

This book has a sample exam as well. I could not do the exam in the book because of time constraints
and so I can not say how practice exam compares with actual test. I would think that exam is good.

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Goo d : Light weight and understandable content. Simple language, unlike most other books. Explains
basic concepts well.
Bad : Not totally focused on the PMP exam. The world of PM is huge and exam does come up on topics
or jargon that are not covered in this book.

I bought a third book called PMBOK Q&A for sample questions.

Pr oje ct Man ag emen t B od y of Kn owle dg e (P MBO K) : Q& A

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1880410214/qid%3D1017115024/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F0%5F
1/002-5579097-4448004
around ~ $25

This book has question-answers on PMBOK topics. I could not read this book at all and so I can not
comment if these Q/A's are useful or not. This is from PMI and people have said that it is good. This may
not help viz. actual exam Q/A per se because exam questions are different in nature. However this book
should clear doubts from PMBOK.

The Cli ff No tes Versi on :

PMP Ex am Pre p

by Rita Mulcahy ( 3rd Edition)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/189067642X/qid%3D1017115726/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F0%5F
1/002-5579097-4448004

 I don't know how I found this book. I used to read the reviews etc of other books on amazon and
other sites and everybody there was talking about Rita Mulcahy's PMP book. That is how I got to
know its name in first place. Peo ple sai d i t was a G od -send . ( It real ly is) . It is not available
on Amazon (out of stock) and so I had left all hopes for it. One day somehow I reached the actual
source where this book is sold. That site is

www.rmcproject.com

It was interesting. I was searching for useful material on the exam on web and I ended up there
somehow following some links. I immediately bought it with next day delivery service. It is expensive
( $90 book cost + $30 for S&H). I read this book in my final days of preparation and really liked it. This is
what you need to pass the exam after PMBOK, and Newell (or any other conventional PM text). The book
is organized in notes fashion and has some practice questions. Bad part is that questions are very few,
relatively simple and do not give you enough confidence. I bet she wants to sell her other products (CDs
etc) and that is why questions are very little.

This bo ok must be re ad in the las t, n ot in t he beg innin g of pre pa ratio n.

This is the most rec om mende d bo ok in c ircles , af ter P MB OK.

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Goo d : The content is condensed, relevant for the exam and to-the-point. Short explanations. Saves
time. However she expects you to know the PMBOK and know PM. Exam questions are little bit harder
than given in this book, though you would be able to answer them after reading this book.

Bad : Very few questions, no explanations for answers. Not a very thorough PM book and will not
explain at places. May have left some PM topics.

I still have one more book to write about:

PMP Ex am : Pr ac tice Tes t a nd S tud y Guide

by Leroy J. Ward

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1890367273/qid=1017116153/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-
5579097-4448004

about ~ $40 .

 I don't know really know what to say about this book (practice test and answer explanations). I do
not want to disrespect this marvelous book. Here is my story :

I was comfortable after reading Rita, PMBOK and Newell. I had borrowed this book and knew that this
contained Q/A. I wanted to do this at the end of preparation so that I could review and test my
knowledge.

I was doing good in Rita's questions ( ~95-100%) and was happy/confident/satisfied with my
preparation. During last two days of preparations I reviewed all the contents in Newell, PMBOK (third
time) and Rita (second time). It was 12:00 midnight and next day was my exam. I planned to do night
out (the exam is expensive after all !!).

So around 2:00 am I was finished with all my studies and reviews etc and everything, and I was too
tired by then. Finally I took out my little spiral-bound J. LeRoy book and tried first exercise. It was as if I
was solving Mensa. I was totally demoralized. First chapter , 28/40=70%. Second exactly same, 28/40,
third, fourth, fifth and six all same 28/40. As if 28 was a magic number. Bad thing was that, PMP exam
has 69% passing marks. So I was basically on the verge of falling down. I was exasperated. I tried the
last chapter (professional responsibility), worse 25/50 meant failed.

Tired, I then went to web at 6:00 am in the morning and started reading its reviews on amazon and
bn.com. Almost everybody said that this is a crazy book.

Real it ies are :

 This book is much much tougher than the actual exam. Real Exam questions are relatively straight
forward and not as tricky, wordy and confusing as in given this book. Even business-case questions in
the real exam can be answered easily w/o going into much detail. LeRoy book is just "TOOOO" good
for the exam. Its questions are just too cute and don't help.

 However I do not want to disrespect the book either. This is a great book, with great questions and
very good explanations. But you do not need them for current exam. You can use this book in the

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"middle" of preparations to open up closed "GyanChakshu" (a hindi word for "Wisdom Eye"), that’s
all. Do not really depend on this that it would get you anywhere, as far as PMP Exam is concerned.

 If you are intellectually oriented and do like solving tough textbook problems to learn concepts, this
book is a good choice. Just don't expect book to be useful for the real exam. Real exam questions are
nowhere like the ones given in the book.

 However, again, you can use the book to learn nice concepts and increase theoretical knowledge,
that are not available elsewhere. I bet if you can do 80 % in this book, then you can do a 95 % in
real exam.

Practice Questions / CDs

I bought some practice questions etc as well for the exam.

 PMP Challenge by J. LeRoy Ward : This I bought on ebay by bidding. Unfortunately I could not even
do a single question from this because of time constraints.

 PMP Certify! CD : This also I bought on ebay by bidding. Unfortunately I could not review even one
question.

I am sure there are more available but most of them are very expensive. At any rate, I definitely do not
think that they are absolute essential for the exam. I did not/could not use even half of available
resources.

Other Resources

I wasted a lot of time in the beginning to get some relevant info regarding the exam on web. As a result I
have substantial amount of notes, questions/answers and other papers on it. However I could not go
through them in great detail.

Notes e tc .

I have one big document, 35 pages spread in form of study notes. This seemed good, though I could not
fully read it. If you want, you can take this from me.

Sample Q/A : I have lots of them, collected from various sources. However I could not go though all of
them and can not comment on accuracy of the answers.

Grou ps ( Ema il -lis ts a nd we b)

If you like email discussions or read posts on net, this is good place. Check out

 http: //gr ou ps. yaho o.co m/ gr oup /P MP Cer t/

This is an excellent place to share ideas, get answers to questions of any sort you might have about PMP,
and have fun. There are lot of folks preparing for PMP exam on this web group. They have a files section

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that contains a lot of useful info (study notes, Q/A, comments and more.). You will have to join first
though to access the files section. You can read the posts on the net and opt for NOT receiving any mails
as well. This is great resource.

There are other groups as well, though I did not find them useful. There is one called PMP-PREP. There
are not lots of people around there.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PMP-PREP/

Unfortunately there is no Usenet list for PMP, probably because Usenet is now almost obsolete with
advent of net.

About the Exam

Now something about the exam. Though exam is simple, don't take it lightly. Keep in mind that people
usually do training courses, company sponsored courses, join university courses and alike. Folks prepare
for it slow and steady for five six months or so and take it lightly. They learn the skills, gain knowledge
slowly and then pass the exam.

With that said, keep in mind that exam is "Knowledge", "Experience" and "Skill" oriented and not
"Intelligence" oriented as you might otherwise guess. Reason is simple, they want most people to pass
based on their knowledge and experience.

(J.Leroy Ward's book is probably intelligence oriented. That is why I somehow like it, but its usefulness is
suspect.)

I probably did not have the freedom of five six months. I had a definite time line (my wife and son's
come-back date 20th April !) and so had to forgo conventional wisdom and do it rather the harsh way of
fast-tracking.

So as long as you memorize the PMBOK, understand the concepts behind the memorized facts and
techniques, and know what type of questions are expected, the exam should be very easy. Exam is not
very tough in my opinion and if you have prepared well, this could even be a cakewalk.

A word of caution though: The exam is long, full four hours. That means you are better off scheduling
the exam in the morning. You will need the whole night's sleep as well. I experienced the pain of both,
not enough sleep and exam in late evening. I found it really difficult to concentrate during the exam and
wished it to be over soon.

The exam has 200 questions. If you plan your time well, you can probably finish it in two hours or so.
The rest 2 hours you can utilize to review your answers. Reviewing does help, especially because hints to
some answers may be found in some other question down the line. I finished the whole thing in 2 hr and
35 minutes. I was able to review half my answers and about all of the questions I had "marked" in my
first pass.

I found last 25-30 questions to be related to professional responsibility section and so keep that in mind.
Professional responsibility questions are related to ethics in general not to PM. In this part some
questions are related to your "agreement" with PMI and so as a rule always answer in favor of PMI. I do
not remember the whole agreement, and neither would you, but while answering keep agreement in
mind. Other questions are mixed and their order can not be guessed.

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Exam does have few mathematical questions, though I found them relatively simple. You can ask for a
calculator in exam center, but probably you will not need to use it. Most people fear the EVM and EVA
(earned value) questions. I can tell you that they are quite simple, as long as you remember those five -
six formulas.

Last, I have read nice reviews about a book "Fast Forward MBA in Project Management". I am planning to
buy it. You can probably check this book for a conventional PM text.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471325465/qid=1018060734/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-
7133803-0603963

If you have any questions regarding any particular area, just let me know and I can clarify that. I am
willing to help, only thing I can't do is to write any particular question from the exam.

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