For the past 29 years, I have been working in Project Sector. Although I was able to manage many mega electrical projects, I did not have any formal Project Management Education.
I have had the pleasure of meeting many PMP-certified professionals, mostly from the IT sector. For many years, I had the impression that this PMP certification was limited to the IT Sector.
When I was working in Ghana West Africa for an international company in 2016, I met many Construction Managers with PMP certification from PMI. I was exposed to the best Project Management Practices in Ghana, and I realized that I needed this PMP certification.
ProThoughts provided me with details about PMP certification after my return to India in 2018. I was also planning to start my own business and thought that having formal Project Management Certification would give me an advantage in the business.
In February 2018, I attended four days of Project Management Training, which was conducted by my mentor Mr. Ashish Sadekar.
It was a very intensive session and I learned a lot about Project Management Basics and how it correlated with my experience in Ghana. Despite having 27 years of experience in Project Management, I discovered that I was lacking the systematic knowledge required to manage Projects.
It was an interactive session in which Mr. Ashish Sir demonstrated the basics of Project Management step-by-step. We were instructed according to the Sixth Edition of PMBOK, which was recently updated.
I began my studies with the handouts, as Rita Mulcahy’s Sixth edition was not available. It took me two to three weeks to read the handouts.
After that, I bought the RMC book and began to study the book. RMC is a great book to prepare for the PMP exams. I read the entire book three times until I understood everything. The Question Bank at the end each chapter was my favorite part of the book. The Answers provided reasoning for selecting particular options. This allows us to keep an Excel sheet that has the Question Number on one side and the various options we are answering in different tests. This allows me to see my progress in studies.
Next, we received the Mock Test link from ProThoughts. I first got 4 mock test links. After I had finished the revision of RMC, I was able to take Mock test.
I received 99 marks for my first mock test, which was very low. After I had completed the RMC book, I was able to take Mock test. I scored 109 marks in the 2nd mock test, 135 marks in the 3rd mock test, and 112 marks for the 4th mock test.
After each mock test, I used to analyze the results and copy all the questions and answers in an excel sheet. This allowed me to study the results Knowledge area wise. This helped me to identify my gaps. Then, I revised according to the weakest.
Before appearing for my first attempt, I attended a refresher class of Mr. Saurabh Paraekh. I failed to clear the exam. Mr. Ashish Sir explained the possible reasons to me. Understanding of questions was the main reason. He advised me to concentrate on Comprehension and read the questions carefully. He also suggested that I send him my doubts, which he explained well.
He used to always tell me that the PMP study should be independent and should not be correlated with my professional work. This was my biggest error, and I quickly rectified it. Integration Management was my weakest area of knowledge, which I studied 2-3 times.
ProThoughts also offered an online webinar for PMP preparation exams, just as I was about to appear. This was conducted by Mr. Arvind Nate, who clarified any remaining questions. The webinar was interactive, and I was able to clear many of my doubts while listening.
I was also able to practice sub-activities of each process through the RMC website’s card games. It helped me to understand the sequence of different activities.
Finally, I passed the Project Management Certifications and appeared for my PMP Re-exam on April 10, 2019.
This success is due to the whole team at ProThoughts. It was very difficult to pass the exams at 50.