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I am currently working on getting my PMP certification. Does any one have some good resource suggestions? The PMP certification seems to have been designed by some seriously high C people. It seems like the developers wanted the process to be able to cover every concievable possibility, which leads to a process that is overly complex. I sure will be happy when I put the exam behind me.

fepark's picture
Training Badge

I cannot speak for commercial prep courses (one colleague mentioned that his was a crash course in memorizing the inputs and outputs of the PMBOK knowledge areas. It worked for him but he and I agreed it is/sounds painful). I self studied for the PMP and passed on the first try and will provide my advice.

PMP Exam Prep, Fifth Edition: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam by Rita Mulcahy was suggested to me as a self-study aid by the former president of my local PMI chapter. I spread the study over 12 weeks reviewing the material three times. It had a nice balance between PMBOK content and practical application. This is helpful since the test is not as easy as simple regurgitation of the PMBOK. Be warned, the majority of the questions require you to select the *best* response out of several good responses in a given situation. Practice questions in this book reflected this and were useful.

Q & As for the PMBOK Guide by Frank T., Ph.D. Anbari was not as useful. It is extremely short and the questions can be deceptively easy compared to the exam. All of these questions can be answered with almost direct quotes from the PMBOK which does not reflect exam content. It appears to be quite literally questions taken out of the PMBOK.

If you carefully read and understand the PMBOK (several times), and are backed by solid background experience in actual project management (which I am assuming you possess), then additional time with a prep guide should allow you to pass the exam. You may not need 12 weeks, but I tend to be thorough (hey, PM involves a lot of risk management right?)

Good luck.

mjpeterson's picture

Thanks for the information and the recommendations. I have been using PMP Exam Prep, Fifth Edition: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam by Rita Mulcahy and is working ok. It still feels like a lot of memorization as learning. Maybe after I finish going through it the 2nd time it will feel less so. Thanks again for the input.

KCSmith's picture

I passed the exam using primarily the PMBOK & the Mulcahy book. I also took a course that was offered by the local PMI chapter over several weeks. The course was pretty good because it was taught by PMP's that had good, real life applications and it allowed all of us to gain from everyone's different points-of-view.

Overall, I'd have to say learning style makes a difference. Some of us learn well from books alone, while others need to hear it from someone else and interact more. I probably could have passed without the course, but it certainly didn't hurt to take it.

Good luck!

athollt's picture

Have you had a look at the PM Prepcast? It is a podcast series focused at people studing for PMP certification.

I haven't heard it myself but it is done by the same person who does the PM PoDcast which is pretty good.

http://www.thepmpodcast.com/index.php?option=com_weblinks&catid=34&Itemi...

jblack's picture
DWElwell's picture
Licensee Badge

Consider also [url]http://controllingchaos.com[/url]. I think the host of that podcast also hangs around these forums from time to time.

Mark's picture
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Yes, Dina Henry Scott is one of our members and attended our April conference.

Mark

imagine_nation1's picture

Hello Folks,

I need some help in passing the PMP exam. Here is the story of my efforst so far..

I took off from work to spend time in preparing for the exam. I purchased Rita Mulcahy PMP Prep Course and CD fast trac. Every body said if you read Rita's it is sufficient so I did not focus much on the PMBOK. I was getting 85% on the simulation test. I started to think that I am now ready for the exam. but couple days ago when I gave the exam I did not pass. It shows that I was lacking some thing in my knowleadge even though I spent 3 months.

I need your tips in passing the exam. I am looking for 30 day course. Are you aware of any courses that helps prepare PMBOK concepts. I reside in CA, San jose.

Thanks
imagine_nation1

tcomeau's picture
Training Badge

[quote="imagine_nation1"]Hello Folks,

I need some help in passing the PMP exam. Here is the story of my efforst so far..

...
I am looking for 30 day course. Are you aware of any courses that helps prepare PMBOK concepts.
imagine_nation1[/quote]

Just going through Rita's book is probably enough if you are an experienced project manager who has worked in a "conventional", supporting PM organization. If you don't have some experience leading projects the PMBOK way, you probably need more help.

I, and several of my staff have had good experience with the IIL courses, in particular this one:

[quote]
Course details for The Project Management Certificate Program: The Kerzner Approach to Project Management Excellence (Live eLearning) are at http://www.iil.com/incs/outlines/8860-8115.asp

Sign up for this course at http://www.iil.com/str_link_all_results.asp?select_cartid=415
[/quote]

It's an interactive course, with a live instructor and class participation, delivered over the Internet in 15 sessions over six weeks. It's not cheap, and you'll need to read the PMBOK and do the exercises in order to keep up. The course materials include a set of practice exams that you take in different modes, including a timed "exam mode." My PMP passing score was very close to last practice exam score.

tc>

imagine_nation1's picture

Thanks for the suggestion and the link. It is very expensive. Are there any other sites that has on-site training. 5-day would be best.

Thanks

Imagine_nation1
:)

tcomeau's picture
Training Badge

[quote="imagine_nation1"]Thanks for the suggestion and the link. It is very expensive. Are there any other sites that has on-site training. 5-day would be best.
[/quote]

LearningTree offers a five-day PMP exam prep course for around $3K. Peers who have taken that course complain it is too compressed. LearningTree says in their course description ([url]http://learningtree.com/courses/276.htm[/url]) that it is for experienced project managers, so I would consider it a review course.

Many colleges, particularly community colleges, offer PMP prep courses. My local CC offers a series of four or five short courses that cover the PMBOK and related material in a classroom setting, and are much less expensive than LearningTree or IIL.

I rather doubt a five-day course is going to be adequate preparation for the PMP exam, unless (as I suggested before) you've been doing project management the "PMBOK way" in a supportive environment. If you report to a Project Management office run by a PMP or PgMP, a "short course" would probably be fine; otherwise I would expect to need significant preparation.

ccleveland's picture

Imagine_nation1,

The [url=http://www.pmlg.com/]Project Management Leadership Group[/url] (PMLG.com) offers 4-day and 2-day prep courses.

I have not taken or know anyone who has taken these specific courses at PMLG; however, I and several of my colleagues have taken their other Project/Program management courses and found them to be very good. The other courses provide a much more practical perspective about how to successfully execute PM practices.

The test has changed since I took it; however, does it still identify areas that need the most work? You can probably target those areas first. Making sure you understand the gaps you may have is much more important that the certification itself.

If you need any help with anything PM me.

CC, PMP

Mark's picture
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To all those who responded:

Thank you from Mike and me for taking your time to help a fellow member.

YOU are what makes this community great.

Mark

suedavis's picture
Training Badge

[quote="tcomeau"]I, and several of my staff have had good experience with the IIL courses, in particular this one:[/quote]

Oh, hey, they have a location here in town. Thanks for the pointer!

TrueSolutions's picture

imagine_nation1,

My company is called[url=http://www.truesolutions.com] True Solutions Inc (TSI)[/url]. We are a project management training, services, and consulting company. I brought your post to the attention of our management team.

We'd like to offer you access to our newly released [url=http://www.truesolutions.com/catalog/ultimate-online-pmp-exam-prep-cours... Online PMP Exam Prep Course[/url] for free. I will attempt to contact you via private message. Once we sync up, we'll get you setup with access to the course. We are certain that with your current studies in addition to our training based on the PMBOK Guide, you will succeed in passing the PMP exam on your second attempt.

TSI's executive team is very involved in the advancement of project management training and skills. Our owner, Wes Balakian, is deeply committed to the PMI organization and is currently one of 3 people representing the United States in PMI's Member Mentor Advisory Group.

Mr. Balakian wants to do everything possible to assist PMP exam candidates in preparing for and passing the test.

We look forward to working with you.

Justin Noel
True Solutions Inc.
[url=http://www.truesolutions.com]www.truesolutions.com[/url]

[quote="imagine_nation1"]Hello Folks,

I need some help in passing the PMP exam. Here is the story of my efforst so far..

I took off from work to spend time in preparing for the exam. I purchased Rita Mulcahy PMP Prep Course and CD fast trac. Every body said if you read Rita's it is sufficient so I did not focus much on the PMBOK. I was getting 85% on the simulation test. I started to think that I am now ready for the exam. but couple days ago when I gave the exam I did not pass. It shows that I was lacking some thing in my knowleadge even though I spent 3 months.

I need your tips in passing the exam. I am looking for 30 day course. Are you aware of any courses that helps prepare PMBOK concepts. I reside in CA, San jose.

Thanks
imagine_nation1[/quote]

rjholohan's picture

I would recommend Cornelius Fichtner's Project Management PrepCast (www.pmprepcast.com) as well as Andy Crowe's book How to Pass the PMP on the First Try. You can find some other PMP tips and prep suggestions in Episode 13 of the pm411.org project management podcast:

http://pm411.org/2007/09/18/podcast-episode-013-how-i-became-a-pmp/

JoelKoh's picture

I am a Six Sigma Master Black Belt and wanted to get my PMP certification to broaden my appeal since I was looking for a new job. So, I took the 4-day course with Cheetah (www.cheetahlearning.com). They schedule the classes so you can take the test on Friday. You go to class all day long Monday thru Thursday and take the test on Friday. It's very much like drinking through a fire hose, but a lot of it has stuck with me. I took the class, learned how PM and 6 Sigma fit together, and passed the exam.

I highly recommend the program, and it is guaranteed. If you don't pass, you can take the class again. However, you do have to take another week off from work! :shock:

If you can get your PMP, I would suggest that you do. It helps validate that you at least know the basics of PM, and it is a skill managers need to be good at.

jbpowell's picture
Training Badge

I passed the PMP exam last year after taking the Crosswind 4-day "bootcamp". I found the curriculum to be effective and, as the owner Tony admits, targeted towards passing the exam. By admission I mean that the material is designed to get you ready to *pass the exam*.

For example: one of the key points he makes is that you don't have to memorize all those inputs and outputs. Nothing wrong with that but it's just not necessary to pass.

I found his Certification Exam manual to be the best resource from the class. He makes you go through a daily excerise he calls a "Brain Dump" that was really helpful in memorizing likely knowledge points. The practice exam CD was also a gem.

I ended up recommending the course to 3 other co-workers and they're all certified now too.

http://www.crosswindpm.com

Jeremy

PMMindmap's picture

To pass the [b]PMP exam[/b], you are required to have good knowledge of the various [b]knowledge groups, process areas, tools & techniques.[/b]
[b]PM Mindmap[/b] provides you with quick reference to all the knowledge areas when you are doing your PMP Prep. PMs can also use PM Mindmap for quick reference and to refresh their knowledge.

You can access PM Mindmap at

http://www.xleasygantt.com/PMMindMap/index.asp

pmhut's picture

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bffranklin's picture
Training Badge

[quote="pmhut"]Hi, I have a post specifically about the [url=http://pmhut.blogspot.com/2008/05/pmp-exam-process.html]PMP Exam Process[/url]. Alternatively, PM Hut has an abundance of [url=http://www.pmhut.com/category/certification/pmp/]PMP articles[/url].[/quote]

pmhut,

It's clear that you're new here, so welcome to the forums! That being said, you have few posts here and all of them are about driving traffic to your site. This behavior goes against the grain of how this community operates. Many folks link their personal sites in their signatures, but if you have something of value to add, please add it here!

Thanks, and welcome!

-Brandon