1. How long I need to prepare for the PMP exam?
A little bit of past here. I applied the exam in January and I decided to go with the new exam. The first available date was the second of April, so I fixed second April as my exam date, but honestly I did not get sufficient time or I did not get enough time to prepare because of the job I have to do; you have to balance your personal life and there are other priorities that take-over. Hence, effectively I started making one month before the exam.
2. How did a PMBoK edition six change my preparation outline?
PMBoK edition sixhas a new exam pattern. To be honest, I never refer to PMBoK v5 or PMBoK v5-based examination; so, I do not have contrast or a reference point. And, because PMBOK edition six was new, I decided to fix to the basics.
So, I did not consider any PMBoK v5 material to escape confusions, and I decided to fix to the PMBoK edition six material. I would suggest the same to you, that do not mix both the materials; don’t use PMBoK v5 and fill in the gaps with the changes. Please do not do that. Stick to PMBoK edition six material and prepare from that.
The second vital decision I had to take was because PMBoK edition six also introduced Agile Practice Guide, another book- so should I be also preparing that? Because I had very few time and that is where some expert guidance will help, and I went to experts at msystraining to help me make this decision.
After some discussion and also going through the exam summary by PMI; I have made a decision, not to refer to the Agile Practice Guide. I did not have sufficient time to study it, and the good news is that it did not occur in the actual PMP exam. So, sticking to the PMBoK edition is more than enough.
3. What are the different challenges that individual should be aware of while preparing for PMP?
An important factor is linked to schedule; you have to optimize your preparation. So, you are not able to spend too much time preparing like six months or one year; where you are going to lose concentration and the intensity is going to down.
On the other hands, you cannot spend too less time; because your brain requires some time to grasp the concept, especially when you are not aware of the terminologies. So, improving your preparation is very important. How much time do you need to spend in a day?
Make it simple- stick to PMBoK edition six, do not go and prefer a hundred books to study. Another is; stick to an experienced and reliable training source. In my case, I went with Msystraining for my PMP preparation. So making it simple, stick to PMBoK and choose a reliable, experienced training source.
The second is schedule your preparation time- like on weekdays I used to spend two hours, one hour in the morning and one hour in the night; and on the weekends I used to give more time, four hours or so. Give your brain that much time to hold; otherwise, you will be overloaded. So, be aware of these problems.
4. How did I bring into line my preparation and ready myself for this new exam?
The simple thing is when you do not have any idea; especially, if you don’t know anything about the PMBoK Fifth Edition, so just chose to switch to the basics. So, stick to the PMBoK edition six, switch to the scope of the material that is covered in the PMBoK edition six was my first input and the first thing that I did. The second thing here is where, when and how you are going to attain the exam and it is unknown how the exam is going to look like, the experts’ advice help. That’s where Msystraining came into the picture for me.
The experts at msystraining helped me recognize and keep my preparation focused and in line to the new version; and the material, the msystraining material, was also upgraded well in advance in the market. So I had time to deliberate with the experts to fix a preparation plan so, that was the second thing. And the good news is the new exam was within the scope of PMBoK edition six, that is my experience. If you just prepare using the PMBoK edition six with msystraining material, then it will be very helpful.
