A small tip on passing PMP

The best tip on passing PMP exam is probably the simplest one too. To pass the exam one has to understand what this exam is all about. PMP is an attempt to find out if the candidate has actually been there working on these projects, using the right methodology, processes and tools and how capable he is of solving the problems in real time. If one does not understand that, there are easily 30% questions in the exam that might not even make sense, might have no best answer within the choices provided or might have more than one best answer. On the extreme out of four choices all four might be right.

More than knowledge PMP exam can be passed by visualizing yourself in the position as described in the situational questions and then take the decision that you would take. When I did my PMP I realized there were few questions which actually had different best answers if it were a math paper. In math when the information is inadequate, the best choice is usually number 4; cannot say or something with same meaning. In management you do not say cannot say. It is very normal and best to try and get as much information as possible about the problem before taking a decision, but when the decision has to be taken it has to be taken with whatever information is available. Once one understands that, one would at least answer 10% of the questions differently and that would make all the difference.

To elaborate a little further, imagine yourself in the situation as described in the question. Imagine yourself a project manager of a multi-million project even if you have never worked on a project exceeding a few hundred thousand.

I would conclude this post with another useful tip. Do not assume that you can do the paper in one linear flow. Even at the best, no matter how confident you are, please revisit the answers at least once and plan your time to accommodate that. You will realize that some of the questions have different best answers on the second look. On first look more of your concentration was on reading the question and understanding the situation. You still needed some time to think over it and let your subconscious mind to some work. On the second look, you have had that opportunity and you concentrate more on the solution.

It is quite easy to pass PMP exam, but very difficult to pass it if we treat it like other exams that we have passed so far.