12/7/2017 5TipstoCrackPMPExaminationin45days|AbhishekMukherjee|Pulse|LinkedIn

Sign in Join now

5 Tips to Crack PMP Examination in 45

days
Published on November 5, 2015

Abhishek Mukherjee Follow 70 13 1

PMP is one of the most valued certifications in the world. A PMP Professional with
relevant project management experience is not only well respected but also highly
paid in the industry. However, it is not easy to attain this certification without a
proper approach or a plan. Today, In this article I plan to share what worked for
me in cracking the PMP exam within 45 days.

1. Examination Structure

Letmejusttakeyouthroughtheexamstructure,Theexamconsistsof200questions
outofwhich175questionsareevaluatedforyourtestand25questionsarenot
evaluatedbutareputtheretocheckiftheyaregoodenoughtobeusedasquestionsfor
futureexaminationsbyPMI.Youwillnotbeabletoidentifythose25questionsand
henceitisimperativetoattemptallquestionstothebestofyourknowledge.Thereare
nonegativemarksforawrongattempt,hencedontleaveanyquestionblank.

Theexamdurationisof4hourswhichismorethansufficienttoanswerthequestionsif
youhaveadecentcommandoverEnglish.

Aspertheexperts,theexaminationconsistsofthequestionsfrom5differentprocess
groups

ProcessGroup%ofQuestions

Initiating 13

Planning 24

Execution 30

Monitoring& 25

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5tipscrackpmpexamination45daysabhishekmukherjee 1/5
12/7/2017 5TipstoCrackPMPExaminationin45days|AbhishekMukherjee|Pulse|LinkedIn

Control Sign in Join now

Closing 8

AsyoucanseethatthatPlanning,Execution,MonitoringandControlconstitutesalmost
80%oftheexam,henceoneneedstodowellinthese3processgroupstopassthe
exam.

2. Passing Marks

TherearenopassingscoresorcutoffsmentionedbyPMI.HoweverPMIdoesmention
proficiencylevelsofyourperformanceinthetest.Thereare3Proficiencylevels

1.ProficientAboveAverageLevelofProficiency

2.ModeratelyProficientAverageLevelofProficiency

3.BelowProficientBelowAverageLevelofProficiency

Henceanaspirantsaimshouldbetoachieveatleastmoderatelyproficientlevelacross
the5processgroupsmentionedabove.Theexamevaluationisdonebasedonthe
difficultleveloftheexamandhenceProficiencylevelsmayvaryfordifferentsetof
exams.

3. Study Material

Therearevariousbooksandonlinecoursesavailableinthemarket.Howeveraspermy
personalexperiencesandrecommendation,IwouldsuggestreadingRitaMulcahys
Book(8thEdition)and/orHeadfirstPMP(3rdEdition)foryourpreparationalongwith
PMBoKwhichistheofficialbookofthePMPexamination.

Alongwithbooks,youmayprefertotakeuponlinecoursesfromvarioussourcessuch
asSimplilearn(whichconsistsofmocksandvideos)tostudyandtestyourpreparation.
Thesecoursesmayalsohelpyoutoattainthe35contacthoursneededasperthe
eligibilityrequirementsofPMItositfortheexamination.Therearevariousonlinefree
sourcesofmocktests,samplequestionsandvideostohelpyoupreparebetter.

Makesureyoustudywithaplanwithclearlydefinedmilestones.Usetheweekendsto
thegoodtheadvantage(Studying810hrs.forthenext46weekswouldbeideal)but
makesureyoustudyduringweekdaysaswellatleast12hrs.toensuretheregularityin
thepreparation.

4. Focus on Concepts rather than Memorization

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5tipscrackpmpexamination45daysabhishekmukherjee 2/5
12/7/2017 5TipstoCrackPMPExaminationin45days|AbhishekMukherjee|Pulse|LinkedIn

Onemustfocusonlearningtheconceptsratherthanmemorizinginputs,outputs,tools Sign in Join now

andtechniquesacrossall5processgroupswhichinturnconsistsof47Project
ManagementProcess.Aspermypersonalexperience,youneedtoreadthebook(s)at
least23timestogetanindepthknowledgeoftheconcepts.

ThePMBokalsostatesthatthereare10KnowledgeAreasacrossthese5Process
Groups.Andhencemostofthebooksareactuallydividedintoknowledgeareas,with
oneknowledgeareamakingupforeachchapter.

Thedifficultylevelsoftheknowledgeareasmayvaryaspertheprofessionalexperience
ofaperson.AspermyanalysisfollowingisthescaleofdifficultyfromtheDifficultto
therelativelysimplersections.

5. Mock Tests and Their Analysis

Oneofthekeythingstodoistopracticeasmanymocksaspossibleandontopofit
analysingthosemocksaftertheyaregiven.Thebelowfiguredepictstheprocessone
mustfollowtomakethebestuseofthepracticeormocktests.UsuallyIwouldsuggest
scoring7580%marksonaregularbasisinthemockstobeconfidentofpassingthe
exam.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5tipscrackpmpexamination45daysabhishekmukherjee 3/5
12/7/2017 5TipstoCrackPMPExaminationin45days|AbhishekMukherjee|Pulse|LinkedIn

Sign in Join now

The final few cents

Theactualexamwouldbebasedonconceptsacrosstheprocessgroups/knowledgearea.

Thequestionsandoptionsshouldbereadproperlybeforeselectinganoption

Therewillbeafewmathbasedproblemsaswellwhichwillbebasedonthe
formulae,mentionedinbooksorcoursematerial,understandingwhentoapply
particularformulaeisthekey

Youwillbeprovidedasystemcalculatortosolvethemathproblems

Keywillbetobeabletosustainhighconcentrationlevelsduringthoselong4hours
andhencemocksplayanimportantroletogetyouintoahabitofsittingforlong
hoursandperformingwell.

Hopethisarticlehelpsyoupreparebetterforyourexaminationandyousuccessful
attainthePMPcertificationsoon.

IamAbhishekMukherjeeandIamaPMPandCAPMCertifiedProfessional.Besides
thisIhaveabout6yearsofprofessionalexperienceacrossmajorconsultingfirmsinthe
world.

Abhishek Mukherjee
Follow
8 articles

13 comments Newest

Sign in to leave your comment

Satish Jaiswal 6mo

Technical Lead at Cognizant

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5tipscrackpmpexamination45daysabhishekmukherjee 4/5
12/7/2017 5TipstoCrackPMPExaminationin45days|AbhishekMukherjee|Pulse|LinkedIn

Hi Abhishek, I am planning to prepare for this exam. Could you please help me as I want to crack it in 45
Sign in Join now
days.
Like Reply

Kasturi DasGupta 1y
Assistant Manager, CyberSWIFT Infotech Pvt Ltd
Hi Abhishek. I am planning to take next year Feb. I have two queries. 1st the format of online coaching
means is it through webex session or they will provide the study materials. 2nd, Is there any link to get
Head First Pmp online? TIA...
Like Reply

There are 11 other comments.Show more.

Don't miss more articles by Abhishek Mukherjee

Blockchain: The Next Big Thing Big Data: Past, Present and Future Industry 4.0: The Change that is
Abhishek Mukherjee on LinkedIn Abhishek Mukherjee on LinkedIn Inevitable
Abhishek Mukherjee on LinkedIn

Looking for more of the latest headlines on LinkedIn?

Discover more stories

Signup HelpCenter About Careers Advertising TalentSolutions SalesSolutions SmallBusiness Mobile Language SlideShare OnlineLearning

LinkedInInfluencers SearchJobs Directories Members Jobs Pulse Topics Companies Groups Universities Titles ProFinder
2017 UserAgreement PrivacyPolicy CommunityGuidelines CookiePolicy CopyrightPolicy Unsubscribe

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5tipscrackpmpexamination45daysabhishekmukherjee 5/5