PMP Preparation Exam: how to make Preparation for the PMP Exam

PMP Preparation Exam From The PMP Master Class

Hello, my name is Camper Bull. I am the founder of the PMP Master Class, the author of Moving from Project Management to Project Leadership, and I had the honor of being a content contributor for the PMBOK, the Project Management Body of Knowledge 4th edition.

I’d like to talk about PMP preparation for the exam. This is a very difficult subject because the PMP exam is not necessarily a straightforward as it looks and preparation for that exam requires you to have a plan, be diligent in the process, and understand what you need to be studying for. Preparation is not something that you can do willy-nilly. The exam will force you to really understand what you know, what you don’t know, and be able to deliver that in a relatively short period of time.

So the first suggestion I’m going to have in the PMP preparation for an exam is to have a plan. Create that plan. And as project managers, this should be relatively straightforward. In preparation, you should create a document that describes exactly when you’re going to study, what information you’re going to study for the exam, what areas of the PMBOK you are going to read, and what questions you’re going to take.

You probably need about 6 weeks minimum to do that. More is better, of course, but 6 weeks is probably the minimum. And that means you’re doing about two chapters a week which is a really hard push in preparation for the exam. I’m going to suggest if you’re going to take the PMP exam to take it in a longer period of time for preparation. Six weeks is probably the closes I would ever push it to prepare for the exam.

The first and foremost thing that you really need to do though, if you’re talking about planning, is you need an end date. You need to know when you’re going to do it. So a preparation hint that I’m going to give you is to create the end date. In other words, set the time you’re going to take the exam and then work your way backwards. Studying for the PMP is a straightforward process if you created a plan and know what the end goal is.

The preparation just then requires some sweat equity that you can do anytime. And the exam becomes much simpler then. So set the date when you’re preparing for the exam and then create the plan. Now, interestingly enough, most people will set the date but in preparation they don’t give themselves enough time. They don’t create a plan on how to take the PMP exam. So, do those two things and it will certainly serve you.

Also, understand that preparation for the exam is just not reading the PMBOK, the Project Management Body of Knowledge. It is all about making sure that you understand the width and breadth of the information in the project management community. So, when you’re preparing for the exam, understand that. Read the PMBOK at least a couple of times. I’m going to suggest between 3 and 4. But you also need to prepare for the exam by gaining all the other information outside.

The PMP exam will spend a lot of time focusing on information and how that information is used. It’s not a regurgitation of the information. It is truly the understanding of the information and how it is applied. So when you’re preparing for the exam, just don’t memorize the PMP information. Make sure that you prepare in a way that allows you to apply that information to a wide source and the specific questions.

And as we bring up questions, it’s the final thing that I’m going to suggest in preparing to take the exam. The PMP exam is designed to have difficult questions. So use questions as much as possible to study for the exam. To prepare for the exam, it’s best to take a series of practice tests and as you’re preparing to take those tests, make sure that you are implementing all of the tools that you’ve learned. Exams are not something we’re used to taking in the organizations we’re in. So preparing for the PMP exam means you’ve got to learn again how to study for exams and how to take each of these exams with questions. So spend some time learning about that process.

What I’ve done is I have actually created 3 different videos that will help you prepare for the PMP exam.

The first is all sorts of myths about the exam itself. The PMP exam has been around for a while and in the preparation of this exam, there have been lots of myths that were created. I’m going to encourage you to take a look at these and not fall victim to these exam prep myths. In other words, spend some time learn about them. It’s going to serve you in the long term.

The second video I’ve created for you is a tool I used when I was preparing to take the exam. This PMP tool allows you to understand while you’re taking the questions what you’re doing well, what you’re not doing well, and more importantly when you guess. Do you guess well the first time or the second time?

You can see how valuable it’s going to be when preparing for your exam because that gives the opportunity for you to understand. Do I take my first guess? Is my first guess right? Or do I go back and think about it again? That could be the key differentiation in both taking and preparing for the exam. It will give you a tremendous amount of information and possibly a leg up in passing the PMP exam.

The third video I created for you in preparing for the exam is all about how you learn. We don’t learn like we did in high school. So it’s important while you’re preparing for the exam to understand how you should study for the PMP exam and I spent quite a bit of time understanding how adults study, creating different pathways in. So while you’re preparing, this video will probably serve you the most because it gives you tips and tricks on how to prepare for that vital part- the taking of the questions in the PMP exam.

If you think any of these will help, I would encourage you to go to It will teach you not only these 3 videos on how to prepare for the PMP exam but I will also give you 25 secrets in preparing for the exam. These are secrets I’ve created over a period of time that will really serve you in the preparation to take the PMP exam. I will also give you 20 questions similar to the PMP exam questions that will help you prepare. You can use the tool that I talked about in the free videos to really understand how you should be studying and how you should be preparing for this exam

Also, there are many books out there that will give you additional information. I’m going to encourage you to take a look at them. I’ve done a review of every one of the major PMP preparation books and I’m going to encourage you to take a look at them before you take the exam. As we talked about, there needs to be more information than just in the PMBOK. So you need to take a look at a broad spectrum of information and this will help you prepare to take the exam. I have my preferences and I give you my ideas of what I think the best books are. So I’m going to encourage you to take a look at those free videos.

You can get all of this information by going to. That is for the 3 free videos on how to prepare for the exam, the PMP preparation materials in book form, the 25 secrets for preparing for the exam, as well as the 20 questions that will also support your preparation to do the exam. I will encourage you to take a look at this information and make us a better project management organization.

My name is Camper Bull. I am the founder of the PMP Master Class and I look forward to seeing you after preparing for the exam as a profession project manager until next time.

Camper Bull, PMP Camper is the founder of the PMP Master Class. The author of Moving from Project Management to Project Leadership and was a content contributor for the PMBOK, the Project Management Body of Knowledge version 4. For more information http://www.pmmasterclass.com or watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioeEsT1GGLE

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