PMP Acceleration Program: Hints & Tips for PMP Success

Exam format: 200 multiple choice questions (with 4 possible answers) to be completed in 4 hours (that’s approximately 80 seconds per question!). Each correct answer is worth 1 point (however, you will not be scored negatively for incorrect answers. Therefore if you really don’t know… then why not guess, you have a 25% chance of guessing correctly?!). The estimated pass score is believed to be somewhere between 61%-75% (however the PMI do not publish such information!).

Examination Outline: the questions that you will expect to see in the exam will cover the following areas:

Initiating the Project (13%) Planning the Project (24%) Executing the Project (30%) Monitoring & Controlling the Project (25%) Closing the Project (8%)

Since the PMI made changes to the PMP exam (as of 31-Aug-11) you will no longer be tested on the subject of Professional & Social Responsibility separately, as this will now be part of all the process groups. There has also been an additional Knowledge Area added to the PMBOK Guide as of July 2013 (in line with the release of the 5th edition of the PMBOK Guide), which covers Project Stakeholder Management. This new knowledge area will also cover additional processes too. For more detailed information relating to the PMP Examination Content Outline, visit the PMI website.

Learn from others: review the Lessons Learned documents submitted from previous participants on the PMP Acceleration Program, to gain valuable hints and tips for your own final exam preparations.

Learn from your results: try to complete as many sample PMP exam questions as possible, but don’t forget to learn from these example questions. Looking up incorrectly answered questions is a must; additionally you should try to understand your areas of weakness, and focus your final revisions around these areas in particular.

Read questions carefully: some of the questions will have diagrams, charts or other exhibits associated with them. You’ll see many questions that are phrased negatively (for example “which of the following is not…..”). Don’t choose the first answer that looks to be correct, read the question and think about it before looking at the possible answers (a good tip is to read the possible answers from the bottom upwards as this prevents you from latching onto the first answer, which may be plausible but incorrect). Pass over any difficult questions and come back to them later (you can mark such questions for review during the exam). Watch out for misleading questions, if you really don’t know the answer and WBS is an option… then go for it (you have a 25% chance of getting it right and you won’t lose a score for guessing incorrectly!).

Understand ITTO’s, Formulas, Process Groups: practice “brain-dumping”, you don’t have to memorize all of the Inputs, Tools, Techniques and Output’s, but it will help you greatly if you know as many of them as possible (and more importantly understand the process relations).

Take a “Mock” Exam: during your final exam preparations it is important that you take a mock exam to gauge how ready you are for the exam. There are many exam simulations available via the internet, but very few of them are free. However all HP employees have access to the SkillSoft offerings and we highly recommend that you considering completing the PMP TestPrep as a mock exam. This test simulates the real PMP exam with the PMI and it provides you with a report at the end of the test, which details how proficient you were (enabling you to focus your final studies around any areas of weakness highlighted following the test).

EXAM DAY (Prometric Testing Centre): it’s worthwhile pointing out that you will not be able to take anything into the test center with you (for example: your watch, phone, food/drinks, car keys etc.). You will however be given a locker and a key, and you’ll get a pen/paper which you can take into the test room (along with your locker key). A calculator will be accessible via the computer and you can sign out during the test for a comfort break, or to have a drink/some food if/when required. Make sure that you prepare your clothes accordingly, in case it is either too cold or too warm in the test room. Finally…. Make sure that you know how to get to the Test Centre and allow adequate time for traffic/parking if necessary! Good Luck!