PMP: The Road to Certification - Part 2

This post is a continuation of the post PMP: The Road to Certification - Part 1, where I began to question the processes needed to take the PMP Certification. In this second part I will clarify on the audit of PMI, where I studied and studied and. Some tips on how to study are very precious and allow you to get a sense of what it is trying this certification and other tips to not make the same mistake I did at some points.

Topics

1. Auditing. Now!?
2. Where I studied?
3. As I studied?

Auditing. Now!?

The audit may seem a bug 7 heads at a glance, mainly for beginners who do not know the process for getting certified. The audit is nothing more than a request, PMI, the proof of any experience or training in the declared process for obtaining eligibility. This does not mean that FBI agents invade your home in the dead of night, rolling your desk and computer for evidence.

If you fall in audit, PMI will send you a form to collect signatures of witnesses who participated in the same project you, especially people you named as the project contact, or request a copy of the diploma training declared. You do not need to send any document proving their performances in the project, even because most of these documents can be classified, preventing your submission, leaving only the requirement to send the signed documents requested by PMI.

If you want to make a smart, declare hours, projects and fictitious persons and, if it falls on audit, forging the signature of these witnesses, you can, but it hurts morale and especially the code of ethics of PMI. Therefore, never do it. Seriously.

The major problem in audit, how could realize, is not part of the verification, but the collection of these signatures. For professionals who have worked on several projects, in several companies, in several states, with various sponsors, sometimes it is impossible to collect these signatures simply because you can not get in touch with the contact information on eligibility.

How to tip, place mainly projects with which you will be able to sign the contact and let them know that this process is quoting. Imagine reaching the contact, requesting his signature and the same is denied? Ferrou né? Prevent asking his permission.

During the request of my eligibility I did not fall in audit, but it can happen at any time, even for the professionals already certified.

After this explanation, I hope that I HAVE managed to shoot the fear behind such audit Dessen.

Back to Topics

Where I studied?

Of the seven friends who know you personally, six did the preparatory course ProjectLab and only one studied on their own. Of those who did the preparatory course, 3 already passed the test, 3 continue studying at home to try and prove who studied alone has made the race and has already passed.

How could realize, if you have discipline, is self-taught, able to plan to face such a study alone, you can get books and study, but, although I am all that there, preferred to do the preparatory. :)

I chose to follow the path of preparation, even because my friend Alam Braga would also make it, and decided to follow suit in order to study at the same rate and have an incentive.

At the end, studied in ProjectLab, to COMBO PMP 72h (Project Management Fundamentals 16h + Advanced PMBOK 32h + PMP ® Exam Prep 24h, of Rita Mulcahy). The course was not cheap ( 3x R $ 1,029.18), but I think it was worth it, because the guys are super serious and teachers, at least they gave me lessons (Ricardo Marques and Caique), are very good, demonstrating a good theoretical knowledge and practical experience, plus can keep the class awake early (18:30h) until the end of class (22:30h). It is, there ends the lesson even to 22:30h, when it goes a bit. How is a preparatory, the rhythm is gone and time is short and you can not release soon. Just be prepared for the same coffee break every day. :)

As I talked about in the previous post, if you are affiliated to PMI, can earn discounts on course. Search to find out.

Back to Topics

As I studied?

I am not one who can sit facing pro book at 8 am and study till 20h. I can not concentrate more than 1h, need various intervals and there comes a time that simply closing the book and never coming back. That was my biggest challenge, mas getting me adapt. I believe my process of studying for certification started with my post in project management software (PUC-Rio), where classes ended the first half of 2008. In the second half started the preparatory course in ProjectLab that ended in December. During the course, I read the book of foundations in project management, read the PMBOK 3rd edition and started reading the book of Rita (Prep for the PMP Exam). After the course, finished reading the book and Rita, Alam also after having completed the first reading, began to study group. Our strategy was to review the chapter in which we had greater difficulty (Integration, Quality, Social Responsibility, Cost, Time, etc. ), reading the most important parts aloud and taking questions that arose. This strategy was very good, but only worked because both had already read the whole book of Rita and marked the parts they thought most important. That's it, highlighter throughout the book. Nothing worth writing, draw, mark, none of that. The book is to be used, lido, understand and write it proved the best strategy for this. A very well recommended Rita.

As nothing is perfect, I believe we have something wrong with. When studied together, fall into the mistake of answering the questions at the end of each chapter also together. A read the question, read the answers together and thought what would be the best answer. This form was not as effective because as we entered into an agreement on the issues, there we discovered our gaps and hit percentage did not reflect individual performance. We learn from this and start to answer the questions individually, to each his own and, one end, when both ended, is that discussing the issues that raise questions and we had just wandering. So it was better. In addition to the simulated that we accounted together, many times did the game's process Rita, separating the processes of each stage and recording the order of the planning processes. This game proved to be very important, revealing several gaps and helping to answer several questions.

As we studied not always together, stayed several hours studying at home. Most chapters of the book I read Rita three times. That's it, the book is great but the gaps are decreasing and increasing the percentage of correct each reading. In the first readings, was a 20 or 40 issues simulated final chapter. When issues of the end of the book ended, I made several small simulated 20 or 40 program issues of Rita, o FASTrack. There came a time when I was only simulated and reviewed the issues in question and that he was wrong. Read the description of why that answer was the most correct, I read in the book of Rita the part about that question and so it was during all simulated. This I consider the period in which my gaps were being reduced more quickly. Sure did several other simulated 200 issues and these were certainly the worst. Sitting in front of the computer, on Saturday at 8 am, with a sun bathing beach window, really is a big challenge for concentration. But the goal of achieving certification was always bigger and managed to win this challenge.

The simulated 200 issues are important not only to know your hit percentage, but also to test your stamina and help you get the best strategy to make the proof. The best strategy for me was, with great perseverance, do 100 first issues, stop, do more 50, stop, finished answering the 200, review the questions marked for review and, only after all, click the liberator "Finish". I will not lie. Making these simulations was a bag, something extremely unusual, which required a high power of concentration on my part, but were super important to show my weaknesses and my physical performance, by percentage of correct. Yes, I made many simulated, getting the answer 1479 questions. There is no soft.

Below is a spreadsheet with the history of these simulated.

Back to Topics

In the next post, continuation of this, I will deal with matters on the spot to do the test and the test itself. Keep watching this post that news will come.