How To Know Exactly What You Need To Study To Pass The PMP Exam

I recently received an email that made me sad. A subscriber had taken the PMP exam and was a few points below the acceptable mark. He took his results and revisited the sections that he had scored low on the exam, but he was still wary of plunking down the money to take it again. "There are going to be new questions this time, what if I score low in a different area? I just don't know what to study!"

I was sad, because he could have been ready to pass the test the first time. You know, we all have those same concerns, how can you know what is really important, and what material you are specifically weak in? Well, you can know before you sit down to the test. Here is how, before you sit for the exam, realize that each person has a different background and has prepared in different ways to take the exam. The sections of the exam that are "hard" for one person could be "a snap" for someone else. Having said that, the knowledge base for the exam is contained in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: (Pmbok Guide) (Paperback) version 4. However, the PMI is more concerned that you, as a project manager can apply the principles in the book, not just regurgitate them for an exam. The application of the principles are easier to understand as they are taught from an exam prep book like PMP Exam Prep, Sixth Edition: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam or The PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try. The key, though, is knowing what you need help with.

I will show you how to get that insight in an easy way. First:

Download a Free 50 PMP Question Demo Now

Go ahead, download it now. It is free, I'll tell you what to do with it in a minute. You need to know what to study and where to focus your precious study hours. You will know exactly where to start after taking the 50 question PMP exam demo. Answer all 50 questions, now score the test and get the results. Which areas did you miss questions in? That is exactly where you need to do your study! Take out the PMBOK guide and your PMP Exam Prep text, and go through those sections again. Now take the 50 question demo exam once more. Did you score better? Did you miss questions in other areas? If so, then go study those areas now. You will get to a point where you are going to get all 50 questions right. Now you have a decision to make. Are you going to go a little deeper and really find out where your PMP exam weakness is?

What do I mean? Well, to illustrate my point, my son recently got his drivers license. He spent a number of hours on the driving simulators. He complained that the simulators weren't very realistic, but when he started driving with me, he knew exactly what to do. He would comment that with the simulator, he was scoring poorly because he it said that he wasn't stepping on the break early enough at the stop signs and stop lights. I had to agree--I asked him to begin slowing down earlier for the intersections! The simulator made a big difference in my son's driving, even if he wanted to discount it.

I mention this experience because I think that it applies, you can know your weaknesses before taking the PMP exam by taking practice exams on a PMP exam software simulator. The demo that you downloaded is a preview of exactly what you get with the PMP Exam Simulator. The full simulator, however, contains 6000 sample questions, and includes 10 different base PMP exams. The process to follow is to purchase the simulator (the cost is under $50, and it provides hundreds of more sample questions than competing products--this is really the best value, but look at the competitors and see for yourself), and take the first base exam. Do the same thing that you did with the 50 question demo, take the test, score the exam. Which areas did you miss questions in? Look at the detailed answers and the justifications for why the particular answer was right. Now go to your companion texts and re-read the weak chapters. You are going to reinforce exactly the areas that you personally need help with. Now go back and take the second base PMP test. Did you miss questions in different areas? With the help of the detailed answers, did you understand why you missed the questions? Now go re-read the sections in the texts. Do you see a pattern developing? You should be hitting the 90-95% of the exam questions correctly by about test 5. If there is one specific area that you consistently score low on, revisit those areas in the texts, but select that area to take an exam made up of only questions from the trouble area. The simulator is so flexible, it bends to your very needs. You may need to go to test 6 or 7, but you will be making weak areas strong, and you will be confident as you sit for the next simulated test. Most people don't need to go through all 10 base exams, by the time you are getting 95% on the simulated test, you are ready to take the real one.

This process pinpoints any weak areas that you may have. It is completely individual, and will help you know exactly what you need to study to get ready for that difficult exam.

If you haven't done it already, Download the Free 50 PMP Question Demo Now

Do it now! Don't put it off. Start understanding right now what YOU need to study to get ready for the exam. You can pass the exam the first time, you now have the process for doing it. Don't mess up on the real PMP exam, make the bad mistakes on the simulator, and then you will get it right when you sit for the exam for real.

Elroy King

You can be READY for that PMP Exam. At PM Exam Ready, we are dedicated to getting you ready to take that PMP exam, and getting you there at the best value for your money. You can't afford to prepare anywhere else!

Are you new to PMP? Read about the PMP basics.

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