HOW TO prepare

You can prepare for and take the PMP^® exam by following an eight step process used by successful candidates.  This process will take you all the way from your first session in pm-prepare through to what you must do as soon as you pass the test.  The eight steps are:

RESOLVE:

Set dates for submitting your application and taking your test.  Treat these dates the same way you treat other project deadlines.  Schedule your preparation activities and execute the tasks on schedule.

PERSPECTIVE:

Prepare yourself wisely. While you are studying, don't let your normal exercise routine be interrupted.  Get plenty of sleep. As you approach your test date, put off trying exotic new foods for another time.  Passing the test is important, but your health is most important.

EVALUATE:

Use pm-prepare to evaluate your own opportunities. Select a small set of questions from each process group and each knowledge area to determine where you have the greatest opportunities for improvement.  Keep track of your results for each set.

FOCUS:

Using the results of your evaluation, select larger sets of questions in the areas you can improve most. Review the references for each of the questions you answer incorrectly.

In addition to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), test questions are drawn from the following books:

• Adams, John R., Principles of Project Management

• Blake, Terence, Danielle Walker, and Thomas Walker, Doing Business Internationally: The Guide to Cross-Cultural Success

• Ferraro, Gary P., The Cultural Dimension of International Business

• Fleming, Quentin W. & Joel M. Koppelman, Earned Value Project Management

• Kerzner, Harold Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, Eighth Edition

• Lewis, James P., Project Planning,Scheduling and Control,3 Edition

• Meredith, Jack R. & Samuel J. Mantel, Jr. Project Management: A Managerial Approach, 4th Edition

• Rosen, Robert, Patricia Digh, and Carl Phillips, Global Literacies: Lessons on Business Leadership and National Cultures

• Verma, Vijay K. & Hans J. Thamhain, Human Resource Skills for the Project Manager : The Human Aspects of Project Management

• Verma, Vijay K., Organizing Projects for Success

• Wideman, R. Max (Editor) & Rodney J. Dawson, Project & Program Risk Management : A Guide to Managing Project Risks and Opportunities

MEASURE:

Determine how many questions you can work effectively before you become easily distracted.  Once you've determined your limit, work questions in groups of this size. Take a break after each set.  Use the same technique when you take the real test.  If you are most effective for 40 questions, then back off, take a few deep breaths, stand up and stretch after questions 40, 80, 120, etc.  You will have plenty of time to do this.

INTEGRATE:

Once you've improved your performance in the areas you identified, begin selecting sets of questions without picking a process group or knowledge area.  You'll get questions selected at random and in the same proportion as the real test. This will help prepare you for what you'll see on test day.

During the integration phase, you can practice classification skills.  For each question you should determine:

• Is the question looking for THE right answer or THE wrong answer?

• Is the question looking for a tool/technique or an input/output?

• What process group is the question about?

• What knowledge area is the question about?

Do the classification BEFORE you read the possible answers.  Failure to understand the question makes finding the right answer more difficult.

BE CONFIDENT:

Dozens of people pass the test every day.  Over fourteen hundred passed in June of 2001.  You will be better prepared than most of them. If you encounter a difficult question, mark it for review and go on.  Work one question at a time and don't think about the earlier questions until review time.

CELEBRATE:

Once you've passed the test, you ARE a PMP. Congratulate yourself. Call a friend or loved one and talk about your happiness before you leave the testing center.  Give yourself a chance to calm down before you start the car.