PMP Exam : My Lessons Learned

I passed my PMP exam On Oct 14...Am officially a PMP now:)

• Thanks a lot for my friends Digambar & Nagu for having a separate group mail just for us to keep us moving forward..Digambar got his certification early but he still spent his time in order to clarify our queries

          We met online through PMPExamForum group and didn't personally knew each other.But still this group helped me to keep up my motivation..There were some days when i used to mail them and say am tensed..but they used to boost me up..I really appreciate them for giving me support throughout.

• Also thanks to Umar and Kamlu who helped me with many of my queries and for keeping me active in group..Umar and Kamlu got their certification early.

          Here too ,we met online through PMPExamForum group but they kept the group active..Good work guys..

• Thanks a lot to my PMI Bangalore Chapter tutors and my PMPQuest batch mates especially Prashant & Babu for lessening the stress ..They got PMP Certification in Oct 1st Week:)
• And thanks to all those who r still active in group..Keep it moving..
• Thanks to Cornelius Fichtner for all his answers in PMPBest group..I should appreciate him for taking his time out to drafting big mails with clear examples for helping the people out..His service is well appreciated..
• Thanks to all the websites which i quoted below which helped me in my studies

It really helps to get in touch with people who r in same boat as it eases your tension a lot...:)

Nearly 2 months of easy study and 2 weeks of intense study and solving many questions did the trick..
Attended PMI Bangalore Chapter's 35 Hr course for the mandatory requirement...It was cost effective solution as i didn't want to spend much on the training.

Don't worry or feel stressed about PMP exam...Its not so tough as people say or points out..
But as PMI mentions ,its a way to test your knowledge of PMI Standards and nothing else..They are not making the exams tough..if you understand the concepts ,then its going to be a very easy ride for you...It's people like us(me too :) ) who unnecessarily spread the word its tough and we all get a scared feeling even before we apply for the exam:) Forget all those...Start with a fresh mind..

Just reading PMBOK is enough if you like serious reading..But for others ,i would say go for "HeadFirst PMP" or "Andy's - Pass PMP On Your First Try "as they cover everything needed for exams..I personally didn't like Rita's book and Rita's Questions are very tough and leaves you wondering whether you r upto the mark or not..My exam was similar to the HeadFirst 200 Questions (in the book or free on website) or Andy's 200 Questions (back of his book)

Make sure you are part of following groups..This helps you to get answers for your queries or to learn other LL's

• groups like PMPExamForum ,PMPBest
• http://pmzilla.com/
• http://www.deepfriedbrainpmp.com
• http://forums.oreilly.com/

1. Exam is easy and none of the questions were more than three lines..not even a single lengthy one..so didn't spend so much time in understanding the question..
2. Just make sure that your concepts are clear whichever book you use ..For example ,if i tell Brain Storming or Analogous Estimation  ,then you should be able to tell ,what's the use and how its conducted..so take each tool separately and understand it completely..
3. Just memorize Page 43 of PMBOK.It helps you to answer nearly 20 questions in one shot..No memorization required for Input/Output or tools
4. Solve more questions - PMStudy Website (Free 200 Questions) ,HeadFirst (200 Questions & Chapter end questions) ,Andy (200 Questions & Chapter end questions) or PMRoadTrip Questions (Free on web)
5. Though i took Oliver Lehman's questions ,it was very tough compared to exam and after taking exam ,i feel it was not worth spending my time over there..
6. More questions on Risk ..Understand clearly the Strategies used for negative or positive risk..Differentiate between when to use Risk Acceptance ,Mitigation and avoidance.Many questions on that..Headfirst had good questions on this...
7. Clearly understand the differences in Conduct Procurement & Administer Procurement...Understand them completely
8. Quality Assurance and Quality Control
9. Organizational types --Many questions..Follow the pictures in the PMBOK
10. All mathematical Questions were simple and direct..Follow Headfirst
11. Some questions had their answers in the succeeding questions..So watch out for those as its easy to score on those
12. Few questions had similar situations but options were different
13. Dont forget the project selection criteria..many questions here too
14. There were no questions which i thought i didn't hear /learn..So don't worry..

Finally..Just understand each concept clearly..Thats all required to pass ur exam as i guess PMI is really making it easy for us professionals to pass the exam if we know the concepts..Don't learn so much or read many books but whatever you learn understand it clearly..

Finally Best Wishes for all of You and i do expect everyone to come up with a positive feel about PMP exam than having a scared feel (which i had after learning many LL's :))

Please do get back to me for any help...Am happy to help anyone...

Project Management Practitioners Conference 2010

Though i wanted to get a feel of PMP Conference from past 3 years ,i never got confidence to think about PMP..somehow felt it was not time to move up...PMP is still far away..It took me 10 years to decide ..yeah..this is my route and i really wanted to get a feel of it..


As first step ,i attended the PMP Quest training from PMI - Bangalore Chapter..(35Hrs Mandatory Training for PMP Exam)..Here met many like-minded people from different industries..Got good amount of confidence..Got inspired by the people around me..Met many junior guys as well...but Many Seniors too..so my time is right.


Came to know about PMPC.See the brochure here PMPC_Announcement_Brochure .Registered for it..yeah..my own money and my wish ..i don't have to answer anyone or show any receipt:)


Venue : Nimhans Convention Center
Transport : Bus (Many buses from Sarjapur Road goes here -340,341,342 ..)
                  Bus Fare:12 -16 Rs
                  Frequency : 10 Mts




First day :  I got up with a very bad cold and fever.But still decided to go..Reached there ..Got my Badge and goodies : Very easy..They had set up many counter like the ones we see when we go for our tax filing at palace grounds..So not much rush and as usual ,am early..The program starts by 9.00 and am there by 8.15 am..


It was a free session on Monte Carlo Analysis in a freezing auditorium..It was not so interesting and was sleeping throughout as my body was aching a lot and also severe head pain..Later came to know that noone liked the session..So far so good..


Came back and slept till night..got up and had food and slept again..By morning my condition was much better though my sound was like frogs:)




Second Day : This is the real start of PMPC ..As i got my badge ,i could just walk in..As usual very early..But went and sat down at AUD 1..After inauguration and welcome note ,there was a nice talk on Aadhar .My god..It was too good...Using photos ,10 finger prints and dual iris identification to identify an individual..Now no one can fool poor or needy too..


We had a Panel discussion about "Growth through Innovation" where we had Prof.Shivanandam from IIM ,Pankaj Sinha (IBM Program Director) ,Sukumar (Vice Presidet ,Cognizant),Vishnu Bhat (Vice Presient ,Infosys) and Shouvick Mukherjee (Vice President -Yahoo)..Here we could really see where the IT people lacks and where the professors gain...As usual IT guys will always explain things without touching anywhere and finally you will be left to think whether we got the answer or not..But Professors always answer once and it will satisfy all our queries..They don't leave any room for us to doubt as the answer will cover all aspects..They are able to answer that way as they are well read people..So as IT guys ,we need to improve our reading habits not only Management books or market surveys but everything around us..This is just my opinion:)


One example which Prof.Shivanandam gave is :
In IIM ,though there is a cut off date for submitting assignments ,students don't submit on time .So they put a box for collecting assignments and will announce the time when the box will be removed..After the mentioned time ,instead of box ,you can see a waste bin..So students realized the value of time management..This is innovation..I really admire Professor..My god he was too good in answering everything and that too very good answers and you can see that only for his answers ,the entire crowd was clapping...


Had lunch..I met one of my class mate ...Was so happy to meet him after a long time...Its very nice to talk to your BTech mates after 10 years ..Everyone busy with their own life but still your classmates know you as a real person..I always felt -i have 2 faces ..one to show my real self and the other to show my professional self...Professional self just shows you as a professional which will be totally different from what you really is..But your classmates sees your real self ..they know you much before you put on your professional face..so had a nice talk with Avinash...I was so happy after the chat..


Finally went to Chandrayaan Session (Project Management of Space Lunar Missions by Mr.A .Krishnan -Project Director ,Chandrayaan 1 & 2.) ..It was a technical discussion but he really made sure that we understood the concepts..Finally he showed a video where it showed the entire procedure followed during the mission..Very inspirational video..India achieved something which NASA couldn't ..mainly from Bangalore and Trivandrum and with less cost...too good..India is the best..


Took a break and opted to go for second session at AUD 2 - There is nothing outside the box -It is Just a bigger box (by Sanandan Sudhir -VP of Lumium).. He showed us many videos on how they prototype and provide solutions for the people who just have ideas..very innovative ones..Just got one learning ..Always innovate..


Finally the day concluded with a keynote speech by Prof.Y.S.Rajan(Dr.Vikram Sarabhai Distinguished Professor , ISRO) .He has also co authored 2 books (India 2010 ,Scientific Indian) with Abdul Kalam..Got inspired by him too.. Will read both teh books after my PMP exam :)


Third Day : Final Day started withe welcome note and Smarter Planet speech by Jeby Cherian ( Director Strategy ,IBM) and Smash Innovation by Gopichand (GM ,GE Energy) ..He mentioned about many innovations which was started by someone else but later was named after someone..But very interesting topic..Well prepared information
Main points :

• Create with freedom (like child)
• Nurture with passion (like a maniac)
• Change with detachment (like a warrior)

Now FIFA World cup 2010 (by Chetan Joshi ,Mahindra Satyam) ..Waw ..great ...really good motivator..he explained everything that they did for the FIFA and how they managed issues..Too good..really got motivated and inspired ..never ever got a chance to work in such a project..Don't forget ..this project happened at a time when Satyam was having huge attrition rate..


Attended Digital Hampi ( Rama Budhihal ,Wipro) ..Nice concept and a very nice demo..


Now i was very tired so didn't wait for the speech by T.N.Seshan and collected my certificate and came home..very tiring day..


Was that worth the money and time..Yes it was..I met many people with different views and many presentations which really motivates you to achieve better in life...


Well done PMPC Team and PMI Bangalore Chapter