Hi all, so yesterday was my day

The actual exam is such a stressful experience but if you have studied hard and got a good eight hour’s sleep the night before the exam, you should be able to attain your hard-earned PMP certification. I am keeping my fingers crossed after the exam… waiting for the results.

About the exam:

The exam questions are tricky, though some of the questions were pretty straight forward.
While I would not recommend memorizing the ITTOs, it is VERY IMPORTANT to take and understand each process, and how it integrates with the knowledge area and process group.
I find situational questions the most difficult...so take ITTOs seriously especially the differences between the various charts/diagrams and how they’re used.

Some questions were misleading. They may give you details regarding one process group but the question is specific to another. I found this to be quite hard.

The professional and social responsibility questions were tricky, and sometimes I thought they are asking me about the Cost Control or Ethics… Many of the questions aren’t black and white so definitely take this section as seriously as any other. I didn't know what to study for this too…

I completed all the questions in a little over three hours and then used about forty minutes to review my marked questions.
I took a break after about 2 hours, allowing my brain to breathe for some good seconds..I really cannot imagine doing the whole test without a pause.

Preparations and Recommendations:

Don’t rely solely on PMBOK. true it's one of many books you need to conquer PMP - but not the only.
Shortly before exam I could say that I am sufficiently prepared for the exam, to summarize my preparation, here are the resources that were vital in my exam preparation process:

Definitely, definitely try out mock exams online

Suggestions:

PMStudy's free simulated test - http://www.pmstudy.com/PMP-Exam-Resources/freeSimulatedTest.asp
PMChamp's free questions on Quality Management - http://www.pmchamp.com
OliverLehmann's self assessment test - http://www.oliverlehmann.com/pmp-self-test/75-free-questions.htm
Pmzilla - http://pmzilla.com/pmzilla-final-pmp-exam-pmp

1. O’ Reilly’s Head First PMP (2nd ed = 42 USD)- http://oreilly.com/

- For people like me who find PMBOK boring, Head First PMP is the way to learn- I like its conversational style. Head First is helpful particularly for those with limited experience in managing projects from start to completion..But the exams are a bit on the easy side compared to other books. Therefore, in order to be comfortable when you take the exam, make sure you get around 80 to 85% of the questions right. (Highly recommended just watch out for misspellings)

2. PMChamp.com - (6 wks online training = 99USD)  http://www.pmchamp.com

- I signed up for an intensive online pmp exam training, the coaching esp the daily exercises had prepared me for the actual tone of the exam,...what I like about PMChamp training is that there's an interaction between me and the trainer so I always get to clarify matters as soon as I encounter them..my training with PMChamp helped me stay focused...the sessions, cheat sheets and practice tests were invaluable...close to the updated exam (I can strongly recommend this online training)

3. PMP Exam Prep, Rita Mulcahy - I bought mine from amazon.com (6th ed = 60USD)

- Read PMP Exam Prep first before PMBOK; it is too complicated for the initial study phase. Test yourself, test yourself, test yourself...I think Rita's sample exam questions at the end of each chapter are a very good representation of those on the actual test - maybe even a little harder. (strongly recommended)

4. PMBOK - http://www.pmi.org (4th ed= 65.95usd)
- This book is a pretty heavy guide, you will not learn Project Management from this book. For the experienced PM, it is a good framework for organizing your knowledge. If you are looking for examples or indepth explanation this is not your book. It is a 'guide' only for each process, and each knowledge area… you'll have to do some research beyond what they give you to fill in the blanks. Still, it is a must to determine the current PMI guidelines. (optional - in my opinion)

Highly recommended communities

1. Pmzilla.com
2. Oreilly.com


Remember, PMP exam is based on situational questions – I strongly recommend you test yourself. There are hundreds of questions about PMP on internet – unfortunately most are of bad quality.  If you are able to detect the bad quality exams, you are prepared for exam :)

Goodluck y'all!