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PMP Tips Corner- Tips, Techniques, Cost Savers & Resources

Before you get into this process, please make sure that you are mentally prepared for this journey and assess your time availability. I am estimating based on my own experience among the busy schedule of life balancing between my job and family, it took me 1-2 months from start to end. In my opinion, I would recommend 2 months of time for the whole process from start to end. Again, it depends on individual's situation and how disciplined you are in your approach. PMP is easy if you are disciplined and dedicated in your time. You would only add more stress by stretching this certification process for prolonged time. With that said, let's jump into the details of process to put you on the track. I have listed lots of cost saving tips denoted by the "green dollar" sign and you should take advantage of that. All I am listed here are based on my experience and the resources that I used and I want to share with you all.

Click here to go back to PMP Corner HomePage | Click here to view My PMP Process Chart

Hot Tips #1: Become PMI Member

PMI Membership is not mandatory for PMP Exam. But becoming a PMI Member you can reaffirm your commitment to PMP as well as you get your first PMP study material Current supported PMBOK Edition CD at your door step. Also, your PMI membership fee is offset by the reduced PMP Exam fee for the PMI Members. It will also help to reduce the fee in case you need to retake the PMP exam. The computer-based exam currently costs $405 USD (if you're a member of PMI. Be ready to pay $555 if you're not). If you don't pass, it will cost PMI members another $275 USD (or $375 for non-members) to re-take it. Click here to become PMI Member
Once you get the CD, you can get started reading the PMBOK Guide. Please note that PMBOK guide is little dry and is not like reading novels. Without spending so much time on the first few pages, try to read once all the pages faster and you get would an idea of what this is all about.
Buy PMP Exam Prep, Fifth Edition: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam (Paperback). You can get this book (ISBN-10: 1932735003,ISBN-13: 978-1932735000 ) from Amazon.com for a cheaper price. Get a used one if possible so that you can save few dollars.. Since the book is pretty much exam centric, you may not need that once you pass thru the exam and you should be able to sell this book via Amazon.com.

Hot Tips #2: Application Preparation

As soon as you get started with Tips # 1, it is better to start the process to make the application to PMI at the earliest because sometimes if your application was selected for audit, it may take a while before you get approved to appear for the Exam. Sooner is always better!
You need two key things for the application to be filled. First thing is the credit hour completion details along with number of PDUs earned, Education Institution Name and the dates it was completed. Second major thing is your documented project management experience. Document your project management experience level and keep in a excel file so that it helps while filling the application online. Once you have this info read, you can file your application. Please make sure that you have provided the correct information so as to avoid any further delays.
If you do not have earned 35 PDU credits yet, you can not complete the application process. Instead, you can save the application online and you would come back and update once you earn the credits as outlined in Hot Tips #3.
If you file online, normally within 5 business days, you get an approved email from PMI. From that moment, you have 1 year time to appear for PMP exam. If you miss that deadline, then you have to repeat from Hot Tips #2.

Hot Tips #3: PMP Exam Classroom/Online Preparation Try this Free Sample PMP Exam from HeadFirst

As a candidate, you should have 35 PDU Credits of Classroom / online Project Management Education. If you do not have the required PDU credits, then you need to attain before you become eligible to apply. This is the costliest part of this process. The cost varies from provider to provider based on the setting whether it is a classroom or online. The cost would range anywhere between $500- $2500.
If you can read on your own with PMBOK Guide and Rita's 5th Edition, then there is a way to cut the cost by 66%. There is an Online PMI Registered Provider that I had found during my research which gives you 30 day access to online resources for PM Education. You can read all the chapters and take "contact hours" tests for all Chapters in order to earn PDU credits. Totally you would earn around 40 PDU Credits, more than what you need for the PMP Exam.
Each "Contact Hours" test will have a set of 12 questions and you need to pass that test in order to get required credits. You can earn all the required credits during this 30 day access. As you pass the contact hour tests, you can generate the contact hour certificate for that chapter. This site also allows you to retake the contact hours test as many times until you earn the credit. Also please note that the number of credits (PDUs) varies depending on the chapter. Most of the chapters have either 3 or 4 credits, totally 40 credits.
This site charges only $90 for 30 day access(PMP Training : 40 PMI contact hours*, Guides and Chapter Tests on all Knowledge Areas: 30 days (1 month) for $ 89.99) which includes 40 PDU credits, Chapter tests and PowerPoint materials on each chapter. Each chapter has on average 40 - 80 questions. Please take the chapter tests at least 2 or 3 times until you score 80% or above in those chapter tests.
My trick of the trade was taking the chapter tests from this site as well as from Rita's book more often than reading the materials again and again. Taking tests is more fun than reading the material itself and you will learn most of the keywords that you need to know in order to answer the questions.
Since the Actual PMP exam will have most of the questions based on real world scenarios, understanding the keyword and their relevance is more important in order to eliminate the wrong choices in the question.
In addition to this, this site also sells 4 full length simulated tests(each 4 hrs) for $40 dollars with 12 days access (4 PMP Simulated Tests (includes Free Test 1) : 12 days for $ 40.00. I won't recommend taking these simulated tests until you are really ready to appear for the exam. Since these tests mimic the real world PMP exam, it would be good if you take these exams at least 10 days before the game day. Also, buy them separately. Do not buy the simulated packages along with 30 day access as you won't be able to use it effectively.
Here is the URL for the site : PM Study. I used it for my PMP Exam and It was extremely useful for satisfying PDU Credits as well as Chapter and Simulated Tests for the total cost of $130.00 when compared to thousand of dollars outside. Please note that I am in no way associated with this site or provider except that I happened to use this site for my PMP Exam.So,the choice is obviously yours to use this provider or not.
Since this is PMI approved provider and cheapest, nothing could save you money better than this. I personally took advantage of this and mastered all chapters by taking all the chapters more often than reading the very dry PMBOK Material. People often waste time by reading the material more and more without understanding the flow of the process and associated key terms. Since most of the questions will not be directly from book, it will be based on the real scenarios, test practice will be of immense help.

Hot Tips #4: Submit Your Application

Once you have earned the enough credits and with your documented project management experience, now you are one step closer to submit your PMP application online.
You can also submit application by snail mail. But I would recommend online because it is faster and within 5 business days approximately, you would get the confirmation email from PMI regarding the acceptance and approval of your application. Once your application is approved, you have one year from the date of approval to take the PMP exam. If you do not take within one year, then you have to start from scratch again.
Since you have already done most of the preparation for exam as part of earning PDU credits, it is recommended to take the exam at the earliest rather than delaying so that you won't forget what you have already learnt.
Please make sure that you verify all the information to be correct and accurate in your application before you submit. If you provide the wrong information and your application is selected for audit, then you could land in trouble.
Please note that your application could be audited any time even after you pass the exam. You need to pay attention to the information that you fill in the application to make sure that it is correct and accurate and you should be prepared to provide evidence documents supporting your information if asked as part of audit process.This happens only if your application is randomly selected for audit.

Hot Tips #5: Schedule Your Exam

Now By this time, you should feel comfortable with the subject and you can go ahead and schedule the exam by following the instruction that you would receive from PMI. PMP exams are normally administered by Prometric Testing & Assessment.
You can choose the testing center closer to your home if one available and make sure that you allow at least 10 - 15 days between the day you schedule the exam and the actual scheduled exam date so that it gives you enough time to take the four simulated tests.
If you get 80% or above in those simulated tests, your PMP passing probability is very high. I scored more than 80% in all the four tests and I was able to pass the exam comfortably.
Taking the simulated tests(4 hrs each) closer to the exam date would mentally prepare you on the subject as well as measure how you are doing with respect to the time on the exam. But you need to make sure that you attempt the simulated tests in a exam settings by taking them continuously rather than doing in bits and pieces.

Hot Tips #6: And Finally Game Day Tips...

Have a good night sleep before the Exam Day and I would not recommend reading any materials at this hour.
Arrive in your testing center at least 30 minutes before the exam start time in order to do other formalities at the center.
Feel relaxed. Exam center provides you with paper and pencils. Ask for additional paper if required.
Once you settled down in your testing station, take a breath and write down all important formulae in the piece paper for reference while taking exam. Sometimes, you may not be able to recollect those formuale ,even the simple ones while taking exam. But do not spend more than 10 minutes on this.
Before you start the actual test, you can quickly review the tutorial also. The time spent on Tutorial is not counted towards the 4 hrs limit.
Once ready, you can start the actual exam.There will be Timer on your screen which will show the available time. Please make sure that you monitor that as well.
First of all, DO NOT SKIP any questions. Even if you guess, there is a 25% chance that your guess would be correct. There is no negative mark for wrong selection.
Try to answer all known questions first. If you are not sure about your selection, please mark it for review so that you can revisit once you complete all questions. It is important that you click "mark for review" button if you are not sure of your selection otherwise it will take more time to locate that question as you may not even remember that.
I would recommend answering all 200 questions in 3 hours, leaving 1 hour for reviewing those questions marked for review.
Please note that bathroom breaks are allowed and you do not waste too much time in the breaks. Restrict your number of breaks as well as break time. As the clock starts ticking, time will become more and more precious!
Once you are done with all questions, please quickly review the questions marked for review FIRST rather than starting from question 1. Obviously you do not want to spend time on those questions that you have already answered correctly.
As the time is precious, do not leave the center before 4 hrs until you are absolutely sure that you will pass. I would recommend utilizing the full 4 hrs to make sure that you have answered all questions correctly.
Once the time bars, system will automatically start evaluating your selection and you will go through the moment of big stress for few seconds until the computer screen comes back and says the word "Congratulations".
Now, you can happily checkout and go the guy outside the testing area where you will get a print out of your test results.
Even if you can not make it, Please take it as one step forward and you are closer to success than ever. Remember "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." - Robert Kennedy.

Finally... Congrats on your PMP for those you have made it and My very best of luck for those who needs another attempt!. Please write to me about your experience and how this material was useful to you so that we can enhance this one to benefit the people. Your comments and suggestions are most welcome. You can mail me via Email or Click here to send your comments. Finally we appreciate your support and donation via paypal by clicking the button below.

Best of Luck .. Ganesh Muniasamy MBA PMP

Disclaimer: Please note that tips and techniques listed in this site are purely based on my own research and experience and the individual results vary based on your approach. Also, please note that we are not affiliated with PMI or any of the providers for classroom course.