PMP Certification: 7 Lessons Learned

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE IS A LITTLE LONG, BUT, NOT AS NEARLY AS LONG AS THE ACTUAL PMP CERTIFICATION EXAM! 

Key caveat: Sorry, this article does not include any actual questions from my exam – the PMI Ethics and Code of Conduct strictly prohibits me, other PMPs or any PMP exam taker from doing that; however, I hope you will find the below helpful.

    On December 17, 2018, I passed the Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification Exam earning an ‘Above Target’ score. Further, I passed the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) PMP Exam Audit Process. I was automatically selected for an audit, I received an e-mail from PMI nearly instantaneously after submitting my exam application – I was one of the “15%”. I was blessed to have solid guidance, counsel and encouragement from my colleagues, friends and instructors, and now having earned my certification, it is time to “Pay it Forward” by helping others that are working to earn their certification. This article is slightly geared toward the military audience; however, many aspects are applicable to non-military readers.

Purpose: I wrote this article to pass along my Lessons Learned for “Paying it Forward”. These are my thoughts and recommendations, my hope is they will assist my friends, colleagues and acquaintances in making their decision to (or “to not to” – as the exam is not for everyone) pursue their certification; and inform their study and exam taking strategies and tactics. The PMP exam is no joke: 200 multiple choice questions in 4 hrs = 72 seconds per question (even less due to the time you will invest in your “Brain Dump”, more on that below) – and, it covers over 900 pages of material in the PMBOK Guide 6th Edition AND material not in the guide. Bottom Line: The most important recommendation I can offer is to seek out multiple sources and opinions to determine whether the PMP Certification is for you, how best to study, and what exam strategies and tactics to employ!

1) Do I qualify to take PMP exam?

    Review the PMP Handbook (link below), specifically, page #6. There are both education (High School Diploma or 4-yr College Degree), Project Management (PM) experience (7,500 or 4,500 hrs) and formal PM training requirements. Of these three, the education piece is the easiest. I think many look at the PM experience component as the hardest; however, for those military Senior Enlisted and Officers applying, you will find that you’ve been involved in PM your entire career either from a leader, manager or team member perspective, so, amassing the 4,500 hrs it not impossible – and actually quite doable. The formal PM training requirement is the one item that many military members have not had in their career, and will need to find a way to complete prior to submitting their application - I highlight some options later on. 

https://www.PMI?.org/-/media/PMI?/documents/public/pdf/certifications/project-management-professional-handbook.pdf?la=en

    In addition to the PMP Handbook, I recommend watching the first module (“Before You Start Studying”) of the “Exam Tips: Project Management Professional (PMP)” course by Ms. by Sandra (Sandy) M. Mitchell, which can be found on LinkedIn Learning. Specifically, watch the sections titled: “What is the PMP Certification?” and “What are the PMP eligibility requirements?” See item #3 (How can I obtain the 35 hrs of formal required PM training) below for more information on how to access LinkedIn Learning.

2) Should I become a PMI member?

    Initially, I was uncertain as to whether I should join PMI, wondering whether the benefits would out-weigh the costs ($139 total investment includes the $129 annual membership fee and the one-time $10 application fee). So, I did a simple Cost-Benefit analysis – what do I get with my membership? First, your PMP Exam fee is reduced ($405 vice $555 for non-PMI members) – a $150 savings, so, you’re already ‘in the black’ by $11. Second, you get an electronic version of the PMBOK (along with the ‘Agile Practice Guide’) for free – which costs about $50 on Amazon, so, you’re now ‘in the black’ by $61 (spend $139 to get $200, not a bad deal!). Third, there is a plethora of information available on the PMI website to support your studies, and work as a current and future PMP. You can learn more about the PMBOK, the Agile Practice Guide and PMI at the below links.     

https://www.PMI?.org/

https://www.PMI?.org/pmbok-guide-standards/foundational/pmbok

https://www.PMI?.org/pmbok-guide-standards/practice-guides/agile

3) How can I obtain the 35 hrs of required formal PM training?

    I did not have any formal PM training - all of my knowledge and training on the subject was acquired via the good old U.S. Navy “On-the Job Training” method. As a result, I followed the good advice and counsel of friends and colleagues to take a PMP Boot Camp. Given my result (1st time PMP exam pass with an ‘Above Target’ score) and what I knew at the time, I think my choice was a good one; however, now knowing more about the various training options, I might have (though not 100% sure) made a different decision. There are several companies that conduct Boot Camps, below are the ones I researched before deciding to go with Pmtraining. A key benefit offered by some of these companies is their “Exam Pass Guarantee”, meaning, that if you don’t pass the exam after taking their course, you can take their course again at no cost. Be sure to check the guarantee offered – read the fine print!

 https://www.pmtraining.com/

https://projectmanagementacademy.net/pmp-certification

https://www.simplilearn.com/project-management/pmp-certification-training

    When you graduate these courses, you get an official course certificate that documents your completion, and the critical fact that the course included 35 hrs of ‘hands-on instruction”. My course completion certificate was sent electronically by Pmtraining, I suspect the other companies do the same. When you submit your PMP exam application, which is done electronically, you will not include the certificate; however, if you are selected for an audit, you will need to include a hardcopy in your audit package.

    So, what other methods exist to get the 35 hrs, and at much less cost? Well, if you are a LinkedIn ‘Premium Career’ Member (free for Active Duty Military and Veterans for 1 year – a cost savings of $360; see the link below), then you have access to LinkedIn Learning which has a plethora of free courses. Of note, LinkedIn Learning has a course that provides the 35 hrs of hands-on PMP instruction – which is certified by PMI. This course: “Cert Prep: Project Management Professional (PMP)” is taught by Ms. by Sandra (Sandy) M. Mitchell and is a pre-recorded/on-demand course – take it when you want and at your own speed. Just like the Boot Camp courses, you will get a certificate when you complete the course. Additionally, this course has a 200-question timed practice exam so you can get a sense of the length of the exam and the types of questions.

https://linkedinforgood.linkedin.com/programs/veterans/premiumform

    In addition to free 1-year LinkedIn ‘Premium Career’ Membership for Active Duty and Veterans, the great folks at LinkedIn offer a free 1-year of LinkedIn ‘Premium Career’ Membership for Spouses – each time they PCS! See below for the link to that program. 

https://linkedinforgood.linkedin.com/programs/veterans/milspouses

    If money is an issue, I highly recommend you consider taking Ms. Mitchell’s course to obtain your 35 hrs. Personally, I took Ms. Mitchell’s course about a month after completing my Boot Camp, and was thoroughly impressed by the quality and challenge of the course (includes quizzes for each chapter and the 200-question timed practice exam). I am sure my exam result benefited from taking both courses, along with lots of study. In hind-sight, I think I could have passed the exam with only taking Ms. Mitchell’s course (along with lots of study) – though having the Pmtraining “Exam Pass Guarantee” was very comforting, and my Pmtraining instructor (Mr. Joseph Tierney) was fantastic!

4) Your Brain Dump?

    There is a tremendous amount of information which the PMI exam writers can draw from to develop questions. As the Boot Camps and Ms. Mitchell’s course advise, a large portion of the exam questions focus on the 49 process groups which are discussed in the PMBOK Guide 6th Edition (see the chart on page #25). Further, there are a lot of equations that are used in the PMP profession. Knowing the 49 processes (and the five process groups and 10 knowledge areas) and these equations is essential - you will need to memorize this information and will want to include these two critical items in your ‘Brain Dump’. 

    What is your ‘Brain Dump’? It is an investment of approximately 10 minutes of time prior to starting to answer exam questions to provide you with the critical information to correctly answer questions. You invest 10 minutes to write the five Process Groups, 10 Knowledge Areas, 49 Process Groups, formulas, and the other information you deem critical. The following are my brain dump recommendations:

    1) Practice your “Brain Dump” daily – it is a small investment of time and will pay big ROI!

     2) Formulas to include:

         a) Earned Value Analysis (EVA): AC, BAC, EV, PV, SPI, SV, SV%, CPI, CV, CV%, VAC, VAC%, ETC, TCPI (both) and EAC (all four);

         b) Earned Monetary Value (EMV): Risk and Opportunity (e.g. Decision Tree);

         c) Economic Models: BCR, ROI, NPV, PV, FV, IRR, ROM, and Def. Est;

         d) Estimating: Beta/PERT, Triangular, Std Dev, and Variance;

         e) Precedence Diagram Modeling (PDM): TF, FF, ES, LS, EF, LF, Critical Path TF, and Near Critical Path TF; and

        f) Other: Six Sigma Values and Comms Channels

    3) Process Groups, Knowledge Areas and Process Groups – I recommend using short-hand and acronyms to reduce the amount of words/letters you need to write. For example, use ‘Ctrl’ vice Control or ‘Mon’ vice Monitor.

    4) Practice your Brain Dump DAILY for three specific reasons:

         a) reduce the time it takes to write it out;

         b) develop short-hand and acronyms techniques (again - reduces your time to write it out); and

         c) imprint this critical information in your brain so that during the exam you can answer questions without actually having to refer to your ‘Brain Dump” sheet (again, saves time, since locating the information on your ‘Brain Dump”’ sheet can waste precious time).

5) How to study / prepare:

    These are some thoughts on how to study for the exam. We all learn differently, so, my method will not necessarily work for you; however, I think reading and thinking through the below before you initiate your studies will help you craft a solid individualized plan to achieve your objective. Below and throughout this article, I mention some specific classes that I took and books I bought and read; there are many other classes and books available which I know would have helped me achieve my goal. I have no personal or financial connections to the classes and books that I mention, it was just my method.

    1) If you’ve never had any formal PM training, consider getting/reading a book that provides an overview of the PMP profession and concepts before jumping into a Boot Camp (if you choose that route). I read “Head First PMP, 4th Edition” by Jennifer Greene and Andrew Stellman, it was a great overview before diving into the PMBOK and my Boot Camp;

    2) Read the PMBOK at least once in its entirety (I read it once, but wish I had read it a second time);

    3) Take a course (Boot Camp or other, e.g. LinkedIn Learning) to absorb the massive amount of PMP information via another means besides reading - using multiple means (reading, writing, listening, etc.) will reinforce your understanding of the material;

    4) Do your Brain Dump daily (I did this religiously; it was EXTREMELY beneficial);

    5) Practice doing formula equations with both an online computer and a physical calculator – decide which you prefer, and execute in that manner (especially if your exam location offers a physical calculator);

     6) Practice answering exam questions – both daily and in LARGE volumes, take multiple one and two-hour practice exams (it will help identify your weak areas, strength areas, and to determine what exam taking strategic and tactics work and don’t work for you);

     7) Take AT LEAST one 4-hr practice exam (I did one, but wish I had done two or three);

    8) Take tests and quizzes from multiple sources, do NOT rely on just one source, I recommend at least three different sources, you don’t want to practice using easy questions – and, review the questions you got wrong to learn WHY you got them wrong;

    9) If you are doing actual PM work in your job while concurrently studying for the exam, employ the concepts you are learning about – employing them at work will make the concepts stick in your brain and will make you better at work; and

    10) Highly recommend you consider paying money to join a PMP prep website that offers practice exams, quizzes and questions; besides being able to answer questions developed by a reputable source, most of these websites track your performance through metrics to determine areas where you are weak and strong, which you can use to focus your studies. Below are several companies that provide this service, many of which offer a free introductory offer to determine if it is the service for you.

https://www.pmtraining.com/pmp/practice-exams *

https://www.oliverlehmann.com/pmp-self-test/100-free-questions.htm *

https://www.pm-exam-simulator.com/pmp-exam-simulator/free-pmp-exam-simulator *

https://www.project-management-prepcast.com/pmp-practice-exam-questions-sample-test

https://www.greycampus.com/opencampus/project-management-professional/practise-exams

https://www.examcentral.net/pmp/pmp-practice-exam

* = I personally used these in my studies. Note: I had access to the Pmtraining questions through my Pmtraining PMP Boot Camp.

6) What can I expect on Exam Day?

    Besides simply sitting down to take the 4-hr exam, there is a little bit of “paperwork and processing” that goes on at the exam site – so, it is best to learn (and even experience) that before the exam so you are not surprised or rattled on exam day. 

    If you are a LinkedIn ’Premium Career’ Member, there is a LinkedIn Learning course titled “Exam Tips: Project Management Professional (PMP)”, also by Sandra (Sandy) M. Mitchell, which includes a section called “What to Expect on exam day” which does an excellent job of explaining the in-processing. Sandy was ‘spot-on’ with regard to what I experienced, watching her presentation was well worth the time!

    If you will be taking your exam at a Prometric Exam Site, they offer (for $30) something called the “Test Drive” - an opportunity to experience the exam day in-processing prior to the actual exam. See below for the links to the Prometric website and their “Test Drive” webpage. I took a “Test Drive” the week prior to my exam - it was WELL worth the $30 investment as I had the opportunity to learn/experience the following:

    1) Verified my ID (I used a passport) was acceptable;

     2) Completed the finger printing (rather than on exam day – one less thing to do);

     3) Knew I would be digitally photographed on exam day (and did it during “Test Drive”);

    4) Determined where the bathroom was located (rather than getting lost on exam day);

    5) Learned how to sign/in out of the exam book (especially for when needing to use the bathroom or get a drink of water during the exam);

    6) Learned how to use the storage lockers and learned that for the PMP exam that I could not access the locker during the exam;

    7) Learned I would be searched before entering and re-entering the exam room (pull out pants pockets, pull up pants legs, pull up sleeves, and scanned with a metal detector wand – pretty much just like going through Airport TSA);

    8) Learned I could not bring anything into the exam room (no watches, no writing instruments, no drinks, no food, nothing! – though wedding rings are okay);

    9) Knowing that the exam room had noise cancelling headphones (I’m not sure if this is the case at all locations; but, I did confirm I could bring in foam ear plugs if I wanted too);

    10) Learned I would have access to both a physical calculator (if I wanted one) and an online calculator during the exam;

    11) Feeling the temperature of the room to determine what to wear on exam day; and most importantly …

    12) Getting on the computer for 30 minutes (15 for a tutorial and 15 for a simulated test with non-PMP related questions) to gain familiarity with the exam before actually testing (learn how to highlight questions and answers, how to strike out answer options, how to mark questions for future review – and unmark questions, and how to maneuver through the exam to go back to marked and unanswered questions).

https://www.prometric.com/en-us/Pages/home.aspx

https://www.prometric.com/en-us/for-test-takers/prepare-for-test-day/pages/take-a-practice-test.aspx

7) Exam Strategies and Tactics

    Below are the key exam strategies and tactics I employed, most of which I learned through talking with current and aspiring PMPs, and receiving guidance from my Boot Camp instructor, learned about in the various LinkedIn Learning courses, and read about in “Head First PMP, 4th Edition”. These ideas may or may not work for you; however, I recommend you review each, consider the pros/cons of each, and then determine – before your exam – what will be your plan. Further, when you take your practice exams and quizzes, be sure to employ and modify your strategies and tactics so you know if they work, or don’t work for you.

    1) Time is your enemy! Develop an exam strategy going in, don’t wing it, the test is a beast – you need to think about how you will keep your stamina over 4 hrs and 200 questions;

    2) Do NOT leave any questions blank – you get credit for right answers, so better to guess (25% chance to answer correctly) rather than leave it blank (0% chance); 

     3) Use the highlight function to call out key language in questions, most especially when you see phrases like “which would you NOT do” or “you would do all BUT which”;

    4) If you are completely lost on a question, “mark it”, move forward, and return to the question if you have time remaining – remember: 72 secs/question;

     5) If you are not immediately sure of the answer to a question, use the ‘Strikeout” function to eliminate those answers which you know are not correct – this will help you in answering the question at that time, or, when you come back to the question later in the test (you don’t have to waste time reading an answer that you already know is wrong);

    6) If the question is long, the actual question is usually the last sentence in the paragraph. Read the last line first, since that is all you may need to answer it. You can potentially save precious time by not having to read the entire question;

    7) If you start to get tired, frustrated or discouraged – take a break, either at the desk, or leave the exam room – empty the bladder, grab a bite to eat, or something to drink. You’ve invested too much time (and money) into preparing for the exam, relax and refocus;

    8) For equation/calculation questions, like EVA or EMV, highly recommend you calculate the answer twice, this will ensure that you did not “fat finger” the online calculator (or even the physical calculator) and come up with the wrong answer. If you calculate the equation twice, and come up with the same answer each time, you are good – if you come up with different answers, calculate the answer a third and final time;

    9) So, time is running out, you’ve not yet reached the end of the exam and you know you have several questions left to answer, AND, you’ve left several questions unanswered and have marked them for returning to later. What to do? I recommend allocating the last 2-3 minutes of the exam to quickly go through each of these questions so you can answer them with a guess (recall item #2 above); and

     10) After you’ve completed the exam, you will have to complete a survey (mine was nine questions). After you submit your final survey answer, a new screen will pop up that advises if you passed or failed – hopefully you will pass, either way, be mindful of celebrating (or grieving) as there likely are others in the room taking exams. After that page, you will be presented with another page that shows the details how you did on the exam which the staff will print out, stamp and sign for you before you depart for the day.

Closing: I hope these lessons learned/thoughts will help you in deciding whether or not to pursue the PMP Certification; and if you do decide to purse it, I hope you find these this article helpful to developing your plan-of-attack. There are several areas that I did not cover to include the application process, both the PMP Handbook and Ms. Mitchell’s class provide solid directions, guidance and recommendations in completing the application. I know this article was long, but, it is not as nearly as long as the actual exam! Sincerely appreciate your time, and honestly welcome your feedback – ready to edit this article and take your recommendations onboard to make myself a better communicator and writer.

Thank you: Sincerely appreciate the guidance and counsel from my superb PMP whisperers, mentors and instructors to include: CDR Jose Berrios, PMP; CDR Michael Berry, PMP; CDR(Ret) Andrew Reeves, Mr. William Whaley, PMP; and Mr. Joseph Tierney, PMP, PRINC2, ITIL. Further, big thanks to Ms. Sandra Mitchell, PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP; Ms. Jennifer Greene; Mr. Andrew Stellman; Mr. Oliver Yarborough, PMP; Mr. Bob McGannon and Mr. Ron Ponce for their fantastic courses and books – I simply could not have earned my PMP Certification without you! Lastly, thank you to the LinkedIn team for providing Active Duty military and veterans with a free 1-yr LinkedIn ‘Premium Career’ Member subscription - my veteran friends and I greatly appreciate your support!