PMI-PMP EXAMP STRATEGY - 003 Document Unique Identifier: QMS-MCPMPES-003

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PMP® Exam Preparation Tips

Tip #1 -Time is your greatest enemy!

• Pace Yourself.
• Wear a watch.
• At the beginning of the test, you will normally be presented with the MOST difficult
questions and this can throw you off!!!
• So read the question, if you don't know the answer, mark for review and move on.
• You will have more than enough time to go back and review the questions you did
not know the answer to.
• Rather answer the questions you do know first!

Tip #2 - Guessing is not Guesswork

• You probably know that guessing is a good idea - unlike the other standardised
tests, there is no penalty for getting a wrong answer.
• Even if you have no idea about a question, you still have a 20%-25% chance of
getting it right.
• Most test takers do not understand the impact that proper guessing can have on
their score.
• Unless you score extremely high, guessing will significantly contribute to your final
score. (use this as the LAST resort!!!)

Tip #3- Monkeys Take the Test

• What most test takers don't realise is that to ensure that 20% to 25% chance, you have
to guess randomly.
• Put 20 test takers in a room, and the average will be much lower amongst guessed
questions. Why?
✓ The test writers intentionally write deceptive answer choices that "Look" right.
A test taker has no idea about a question, so picks the "best looking" answer,
which is often wrong.

Tip #4 - Jump into the test immediately

• The most important thing you can do is to ignore fears and jump into the test
immediately- do not be overwhelmed by any strange-sounding terms.
• You have to jump into the test like jumping into a pool-all at once is the easiest way.

Tip #5 - Make Predications

• As you read and understand the question, try to guess what the answer will be
before looking at the answers.
• Remember that several of the answer choices are wrong, and once you begin
reading them, your mind will immediately become cluttered with answer choices
designed to throw you off.
• So, guess the answer before you look at the possible answer choices.
• Once you think you know the answer, look for the answer in 4 possible options
provided.

Tip #6 - Look for question patterns

• Being able to detect patterns in the questions helps you eliminate bad choices and
select the correct answer.
• Here are our guidelines for deciphering repeated patterns:
PMI-PMP EXAMP STRATEGY - 003 Document Unique Identifier: QMS-MCPMPES-003

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✓ Is the question looking for a match to the pattern or the exception to the
pattern?
✓ Is the question looking for an input, tool and technique, or an output?
✓ What phase of the project life cycle does the question cover?
✓ What process group does the question cover?
✓ What are the process results? These objectives are outputs.
• What knowledge area does the question cover? Two basic types of patterns are
matching and exception:
✓ Matching: A question that calls for a matching pattern names a series of items
and asks you to pick the item in the responses that's most nearly like the
others. For example, banana is a match for apple, orange, and grapefruit.
Possible exam question: Which of the following processes belongs to Risk
Management?
✓ Exception: The exception pattern presents you with a list of items and asks
you to identify the one that doesn't belong: Among apple, brick, orange, and
grapefruit, brick is the exception. Another term for an exception pattern is a
mismatch. (a/1 of the following, except)
• Possible exam question: Which of the following processes does not belong to Risk?
Look for key words and phrases in the question such as:
✓ Best or worst
✓ First or last
✓ Belongs to or does not belong
✓ Must or except for
✓ Most effective or least effective
✓ First or last
✓ Greatest or least
✓ Most helpful or least helpful
✓ Not including
✓ Key activity
✓ Preferred response

Tip #7 - Question-oriented tips

• There are certain questions that contain extra information. This information is
irrelevant and it does not relate to the correct answer.
• Beware of such questions and remember it isn't necessary to use all the information
provided to answer the question.
• Each question has only one correct answer.
• You need to select the most appropriate answer.
• Beware of choices that represent true statements but are not relevant.
• Be sure to read all the options before you select anyone.
• You need to answer the questions from a PMI® perspective-not from your own
perspective, which you acquired through experience.
• Remember that PMI is trying to present an ideal environment for project managers
that might be different from your own experience.
• Beware of answer choices that represent generalisations, which may be
characterized by words such as always, never, must, or completely; these are often
the incorrect choices.
• Look out for choices that represent special cases.
• These choices tend to be correct and are characterised by words such as often,
sometimes, may, generally, and perhaps.
• The correct answer may not be grammatically correct.
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Tip #8 - PMI® concept-oriented tips

• The project manager takes an active approach to the job by not waiting until a risk
materialises and becomes a problem.
• This is an extremely important concept that might affect many questions on an
exam. The project manager does not escalate problems to upper management or
to the customer before fully analysing them and identifying options.
• When answering a question related to what the project manager should do in a
specific situation, you should rephrase the question to: What is the first thing the
project manager will do given such a situation and given his or her proactive
nature?
• Assume that lessons learned and historical databases are available.
• This might not be true in a real-life situation.
• PMI does not approve adding extra functionality without benefits or gold plating.
• Project managers have all kinds of soft and hard skills.
• The Work Breakdown Structures (WBSs) are awesome tools. The chances are if there
is an option choice "WBS", this is the right answer.
• Roles and responsibilities need to be properly defined.

Tip #9-General tips

• You should memorise all formulas, especially the Earned Value and PERT.
• Practice eliminating the completely implausible options first.
• There is no penalty for guessing; thus, do not leave any question blank.
• There will always be those situations where you have no idea what the question is
asking.
• Use educated guessing to select the most appropriate option.
• Remember, you have only 80 seconds for each question. If you do not know the
answer of a question, mark it and move on and revisit it later if you have time.
• Answer the questions based on the PMBOK® concepts first, then consider your
experience. If they are in conflict, the PMBOK® wins.