As of 10th of July, 2019, I passed the PMI-RMP exam, the last of three PMI certifications I have set out to acquire. So as a reminder to me and a tip to anyone who wants to do the same, I am posting this article.
First, Lectures for Contact Hours
As per required in the PMI certification process, the applicant should complete 30~35 contact hours, which means you need 'Certification of Completion' or 'CoC' for 30~35 hours of lecture.
Being the most popular and renowned of the three, finding online or offline lectures for PMP exam shouldn't be a problem. But same can't be said for PBA and RMP. I found some on Udemy with quite generous discount.
My first advice is to take the courses with lots of preparation questions. Taking the simulated exam courses is a good idea.
But make sure that the course is based on the latest edition of the PMBOK Guide.
Preparation Tips
For PMP exam, although it is important to know Input, Tools & Techniques, and Output of each knowledge area (ITTOs in short), you really don't have to memorize every single one of them.
This does not mean that you don't have to memorize anything. For PMP exam, you have to memorize the processes on each knowledge area. By memorizing around 60+ processes, you'll probably be able to answer around half of the exam.
In fact, many of the scenario based questions are so tricky and have multiple correct answers, more often than not, you'll be relieved to see simple questions that ask you about the processes. So in order to get those scenario questions right, I suggest you read PMBOK Guide 6th edition more than once and be sure to know why those ITTOs and knowledge areas exist in the first place.
Most of the tips apply to PBA and RMP as well, with a few caveats.
Since PBA is the certification for the Business Analysis, the whole knowledge body is about gathering and tracking the requirements and analysis of the gathered information. Hence, the exam is largely based on the tools and techniques used during those processes. So memorizing what tools and how techniques are utilized is quite important. One more thing to note is to memorize all the differences between Agile, Iterative, Predictive and Adaptive project life cycles.
As for RMP, you should memorize everything in the Risk Management knowledge area of the PMBOK Guide 6th, including the ITTOs, and become really familiar with every process that involves risks in say, Procurement and Stakeholder Engagement.
Unlike PMP exam, PBA and RMP exams do not require memorizing many math formulas. For RMP exam, I had to enroll two lectures because the lecture I wanted did not provide enough contact hours. The second lecture I enrolled, the lecturer went overboard on the scope of the exam and told the students to memorize too much math formulas and knowledge areas. So tread lightly on choosing which lecture to take.
PMI Reference Material List
PMI-RMP
Be sure to read Practice Standards for Project Risk Management also. You can download for free if you're a PMI member. If you've decided to take the exam, I suggest you register and pay $130 annual fee, which makes up for the complimentary materials you can download and the discount you get from the exam fee.
PMI-PBA
If you're a PMI member, you can download the following materials for free from PMI website, and those materials are all you need to pass the exam.
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)
Author: Project Management Institute
Publisher: Project Management Institute
Business Analysis for Practitioners: A Practice Guide
Author: Project Management Institute
Publisher: Project Management Institute
The PMI Guide to Business Analysis
Includes The Standard for Business Analysis
Author: Project Management Institute
Publisher: Project Management Institute
PMP
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)
Author: Project Management Institute
Publisher: Project Management Institute
Final word of advice,
For me, the toughest of the three was the PMP certification. It was the first PMI exam I've ever studied for, which made me so nervous and unsure of my level of study. So in turn, it was the hardest. And the fact that, all the study materials and the lectures I could get my hands on at the time, were based on the old PMBOK 5th edition, while the actual exam was for PMBOK Guide 6th edition, did not help either.
Take the prep courses, read the material while taking the course. Take the quizes and find out what the questions ask for, and re-read the material taking into account what the questions asked for.
I am not going to say these exams are easy but with some effort, I got them all in first try. So with right method of study and appropriate amount of effort, anyone can pass the exam. So don't be afraid to jump in!
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