Any PMP certified project managers on the board?

[ScubaVP]

My buddy and I are starting to study for the PMP project management certification exam from PMI. Are there any certified project managers on the board that could give us any advise, study hints, book recommendations, etc. ?

I would appreciate it!

 

[DivingGal]

I started, then got sided-tracked, and changed jobs... well a whole host of things.

I have a great url that was helping me prepare for the PMP -- but it was using the "old" PMBOK. Although PMBOK has changed, I'll dig it up and send it along.

Good luck!

 

[ScubaVP]

DivingGal once bubbled...
I started, then got sided-tracked, and changed jobs... well a whole host of things.

I have a great url that was helping me prepare for the PMP -- but it was using the "old" PMBOK. Although PMBOK has changed, I'll dig it up and send it along.

Good luck!

Thanks a lot! Even though it is for the old version of the PMBOK, I am sure that it will still provide useful information.

 

[IzzyTahil]

I have been a PMP for a few years now and use this methodology in all my projects.

For what its worth, here is my 2 cents. Studying the PMBOK alone will not help you pass the exam unless you have prior pm experience. Unless you have that experience, you need to supplement PMBOK with something else. Much of the tested material draws on real life application and is simply not in PMBOK.

The exam itself is not that hard, many of the questions require careful reading. You will be tested across the initiation, planning, execution, control, closeout phases. Memorize the planning stage, know critical path and other calculations, and risk management. I would say about 30-40% of the exam was either diagrams/calculations. Some of the questions were really easy, some will stump you - so do all the easy ones first then go back to the hard ones.

Good luck

 

[ScubaVP]

IzzyTahil,

This is exactly the kind of information that I am looking for. I do have a substatial amount of real world experience, but from what I have read, the exam focuses on PMI's recommended ways of handling situations, not necessarily the way things happen in the real world.

We have both purchased the new PMBOK guide and are evaluating other study materials. Are there any recommended "must reads" that you found useful?

Thank you for the info!

 

[IzzyTahil]

The ONLY book I read besides PMBOK was PMP Exam Prep. Third Edition for the PMBOK Guide 2000. Basically, I spent 70% study time on the guide, and 30% from PMBOK (using it as filler.) Keep in mind this is my study method and do not necessarily advocate it (thats the lawyer in me talking lol) The 4th Edition you can find on amazon -

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0971164738/102-9811599-9247343?v=glance

If I can help further let me know

Izzy

 

[ScottNY]

Just study and drill... KNOW the 5 process areas and 9 areas of knowledge along with the mappings.

Make sure to know some of the basic product management math... e.g. the earned value calculations, how to figure out the dates on a chart... (even though you'll never do this much in real life... that's what software is for.)

I used this software to drill with...
http://www.iil.com/iil_shortdescr.asp?sku=PS201

Personally, I like using questioning/drill software for such tests. Helps for the test and to really ingrain the material. It comes with the (somewhat cheesy) Quantitative Analysis summary books.

Still, I can't believe they sell this for $549!!! though. (It was $495 last year.) I'll sell ya' mine if you want for $150, (I'm away this weekend, but let me know if you want it by next week otherwise I think I'll slap it up on eBay.) The only thing I'm not including is the Kerzner text book, which you can get for $75. "Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling " You can get it at iil.com (The International Institue for Learning), which has all kinds of PM training. (It's an expensive book; over 1,000 pages long... but it's considered the Bible of PM.)

Good Luck!
Scott

 

[rickyd]

I've had my PMP for about two years now. I agree with most above - the PMBOK alone is not sufficient to pass the exam.

Learn all the EV formulas; study precedent diagrams, especially critical path, slack, lag, delay, etc.

A number of questions on PM theories, social interaction and behavioral theories. got to remember who said what. Learned it, forgot it.

I took the on-line version of the ESI couse. About $800; spent 2 weekends on it, and crammed with the flash cards, then took the exam. Expensive, but my company funded it. You may need more study time, or less than I. Some spend months on this stuff.

Keep one thing in mind. The PMP test is Pass/Fail. Unless you really like studying all this stuff, a pass is a pass. The passing grade changes each year - I believe its set so that a certain percentage of folks will fail, something like 45% the first time through it, but don't quote me. When I took it ( December, 2001), passing grade was 70. So, you don't need to study to get a 100% -

G'luck