How to Know if You Are Ready for the PMP Exam ? Hint: Free PMP Mock Exam Questions w/w Benchmark

PMP Exam Tips and Free Study Resources: here is a list of quality PMP mock exams I have taken which are very similar to the real PMP Exam!


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On January 1, 2021
Last modified:January 1, 2021

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Here is a list of quality PMP mock exam simulators I have taken which are very similar in difficulty and format to the real PMP Exam - a reliable indicator of whether you can pass the PMP Exam!

PMP Mock Exams - free PMP exam questions and paid options


Hi fellow Aspirants, if you have just begun your PMP journey and would like to learn more about the PMP Certification Exam,  exam prep and cost-saving tips, please visit my PMP Exam guidance page here. Most of the materials and info given out on my website are free of cost (excluding the recommended courses/books/mock exams to be purchased from 3rd-party publishers which I have made use of during my PMP Exam journey).


How Useful Are PMP Mock Exams in the Estimation of Your Exam Readiness for the Real PMP Exam?

Every Aspirants would like to pass the PMP Exam in the first try, won’t they? That’s why being fully prepared for the actual exam is one of the top priorities any PMP students would like to achieve before actually taking the exam (who would like to go through the whole 4-hour exam ordeal once again?!).

That’s why one of the most frequent questions Aspirants will ask is: am I exam-ready (i.e. can I write the exam now or later)? It is NOT ONLY a waste of time and money if you take the actual exam when you are still not ready yet, think of the enormous pressure you have to endure sitting 4 hours before the screen and 15 seconds of the blank screen for the result to appear at the end of the exam. ALL Aspirants would like to pass the exam in the first attempt without having to go through it again!

But, how to tell if you are actually ready for the PMP exam (i.e. how to know if you can pass the real PMP Exam on the first attempt)?

According to the experience of many exam takers, quality mock exams (simulators/exam banks) help a lot, especially if the mock exams are to be carried out in a simulated environment with a timer similar to the real exam! This is one of the top tips I would offer to fellow aspirants!

I searched the internet a lot for my exam prep in the hope of finding the best mock exams. Below is the list of suggested free PMP sample exam questions for aspirants to test their exam readiness. And I find the results are a pretty good indicator for the actual exam performance. From the feedback I received, many Aspirants share the same experience too! Best of all, they are FREE!

Note: I passed the exam with 4 Above Targets and 1 Target, here is my study tips, free resources and study notes (updated for the current PMP Exam ).

How Useful Are these PMP Mock Exams for the new PMP Exam in 2021?

Many free PMP mock exam providers have already updated/will soon update the questions to align with the latest update in PMP Exam in 2021. From the experience of past PMP Exam updates, the list of free PMP mock exams below is still very accurate in predicting the actual PMP Exam results even if the questions have not been updated as the PMP Exam is, after all, about project management has not seen dramatic changes over the years. If you have studied the latest version of the PMBOK® Guide well, and can get over 75% – 80% in the mock exams below, you stand a very high chance to pass the PMP Exam!

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List of Free Quality Mock PMP Exam Questions for 2021

Note: the following list has been / will be updated for the NEW PMP Exam (based on PMBOK® Guide 6th edition)

List of Free Sample Questions / Test Questions Bank for the new PMP Exam 2020
No.Question BanksQuestion No.My First-time Results
1Oliver Lehmann (Online)100Q80%
2Free PM Exam Simulator (Free 7-day Trial)20Q85%
3Simplilearn Free PMP Mock Exam
200Q80%
4Oliver Lehmann (Downloadable PDF)200Q82.8%
5Edwel Mock Exam75Q85%

Note: After my exam, I have posted my top tips on EVM questions with many mock exam questions that would be useful to Aspirants finding EVM questions difficult. Hope this will be useful for you too!

Remark: please note that the Oliver Lehmann downloadable PDF mock exam is considered more difficult than the rest of the exams on the list. Don’t be discouraged if you cannot score over 75% on this one alone. Experiences from fellow Aspirants have proved that you can pass even with 75% or over in Oliver Lehmann downloadable PDF mock exam as it asks for additional knowledge from other project management books (the answer explanations often cite other reference titles of the exam than the PMBOK® Guide).

As a benchmark, I passed the PMP Exam on the first try with the following results:

My Proficiency Levels according to Domains
Domain Name“Proficiency” Performance Level“Target” Performance Level (Estimated)
 Initiation Proficient Above Target
 Planning Proficient Above Target
 Executing Proficient Above Target
 Monitoring and Controlling Proficient Above Target
 Closing Moderately Proficient Target

I hope that the information provided above may serve as a benchmark for your estimation of your exam results. These exams are absolutely free (though some require registration) and are more than enough for your mock exam needs if you can score anywhere above 80% in the first attempt. All the questions are of very high qualities and the explanations to the answers are very detailed. If you are tight on exam budget, just exploit the above free PMP exam questions for your exam success!

And from the feedback of many Aspirants (you may read some of those from the comments below), it is proved that the list and the benchmarks from the PMP mock exams listed above are still relevant to aspirants nowadays. And best of all, they are mostly free, why not try them before the actual exam?

Other free resources on this website:

Golfbag

How to know if you are ready for taking the real PMP exam? – by looking at your mock exam results!

As a rule of thumb proposed by many prep books and materials, if you can consistently score above 75% for all mock exam questions you have tackled for the first time, it is safe to say that you stand a very high chance of passing the PMP exam.

This has been tested with numerous Aspirants and this is true most of the time. If you can score over 75% on quality mock exams, you are ready to sit for the exam now!

Yes, a pass is a pass in the exam as the certificate will not disclose whether you score all moderately proficient or proficient. At the time of my preparation, I would like to dig deeper in order to understand how my mock exam results correlate with the actual “proficiency level” of the exam.

That’s why I wrote this post for fellow Aspirants. Above is the list of free/cheap exam questions I have tackled during my preparation for the PMP Exam and my first-time results for those sample exams. Trying the same exam 2 or 3 times is often good for practice, but if you would like to assess whether you are exam ready, remember to evaluate only with your first-time results.

Though the practice exams listed above are free, the quality is superb. If you are already well prepared for the exam, you can just rely on the free resources below to help you pass the certification exam without difficulties.

All these practice questions / simulators come with answers and detailed explanations for each mock exam question. It is highly advisable for Aspirants to read all the answer explanations for every mock exam questions (no matter you get the answer right or wrong) in order to discover any knowledge gaps in your exam study.

Normally Aspirants will only read the answer explanations for those questions they have got wrong. However, reading every answer and explanation for mock exams / simulators is just like giving you another chance to go over the PMBOK® Guide or other exam prep guides. I know this would take longer but this exam prep strategy has helped me a lot for my passing the PMP exam in the first attempt.

Below are the remarks of a visitor of this website, Sita Tangirala, who made use of the benchmark results to “forecast” the real exam results:

I tried my best to get your scores during my mock exams, bought PM Exam Simulator but only wrote 3 tests got 76-80% in them, then Head First got 76%, then Oliver’s 175 I got 64%. Yesterday I compared my results to your scores (which I got around 5 to 10% less) and I though I might be getting moderately proficient in all the areas. Today I wrote the exam. I passed with 4 MPs and a below proficient in planning (yes, one can pass the PMP Exam with 1 or 2 below proficient rating). Based on my experience, your mock scores are really a very good benchmark to analyse the individual performance in the real exam.

If you still have any queries on the exam, do feel free to ask me by leaving your comments below and I will attend to your questions as soon as possible.

Invoice

Need More PMP Practice / Sample Questions / Test Banks beyond the Free PMP Mock Exams?

However, if you are still not sure and would like to get more hands-on experience to be better prepared for the real PMP exam (just like me!), you might like to check out the PM Exam Simulator with 5 FULL PMP sample exams and many practice questions (2100 questions in total). The PMP Exam Simulator has been fully updated to align with the latest changes in the PMP Exam in 2021!

The unique feature of the PMP Exam Simulator allowing you to discuss with a qualified Trainer on any questions from within the simulator alone justifies the cost  (my review of the PMP Exam Simulator 3.0 here).

The PM Exam Simulator is created by the publisher of the PM PrepCast™ (which I used to prepare my exam successfully). The quality of the sample exam question bank is very good and has been thoroughly updated for the latest PMBOK® Guide. The user interface looks much like that of the real exam and the level of difficulties is somewhat on par with real exam questions (some said it is a bit more difficult). So, after tackling these 5 full sample exams in addition to the free PMP practice exam questions provided above, you will be more confident in taking the real exam!

Wish you PMP success!

Hope this resource will help you with your exam preparation. If you find PM Exam Simulator suitable and if you enjoy my articles, please consider buying it through the links on this page. I will earn a small commission (at NO extra cost to you) to sustain my website costs. Thank you.

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Edward Chung

Edward Chung aspires to become a full-stack web developer and project manager. In the quest to become a more competent professional, Edward studied for and passed the PMP Certification, ITIL v3 Foundation Certification, PMI-ACP Certification and Zend PHP Certification. Edward shares his certification experience and resources here in the hope of helping others who are pursuing these certification exams to achieve exam success.

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57 Responses

  1. Hi Edward,

    Thank you for posting this article.it was very useful. I did my PMP training here in Dubai with an education center know as it was very helpful. As you know there are changes in the PMP course outline and I was not aware of it, So I had to go for the training to know more about Agile and they provided course material and mock exam and training based on new content 2021.

    when I visited your website while searching for the more mock exam, I was glad to try on more questions before going through with the exam.
    the free trial you have provided is very helpful.

  2. Shane says:

    Passed my exam on second round and finding your site was a key to that success. Thank you very much Edward for creating a list of practice exams and lessons learned section on your website. I always recommend people to check out your website when learning for the pmp exam.

  3. DanielWu says:

    Hi Edward,
    First of all, thank you for all these useful information. I wished I came across your website earlier.

    I have taken the PMP on Mar 5, 2021 ( the new format) and failed at my first attempt. Below are my takeaway after failing the new format 2021 PMP exam and I am also seeking some guidance as how to prepare for my second attempt to pass the exam.

    1. Almost 80-90% of the questions in the exam are situational questions. There was not even one question asking things like the definition of the special terminology, or what process are you in given a certain situation.

    2. There were only about 5 questions that required very minimal calculations / use of formulas. My other friend who just passed the exam said she didn’t even have one question that required calculation.

    3. The table of 49 processes and the formulas that I memorized are basically not helpful at all. There was not even one question asking, says, “Collect Requirements” belongs to what process group: OR what do you do in “Validate Scope” process?

    4. There were many questions framed around Agile and Hybrid models, but I didn’t feel like the questions have anything to do with Agile / Hybrid, so the mentioning of Agile / Hybrid was somehow misleading you, in my opinion.

    I have read many comments online about people who just took the 2021 exam and passed. But sadly, almost every one of them thought they would fail the exam because when they were taking the exam, they were just not sure if they knew what these situational questions were really asking? But the fact that I failed the first attempt tells me that I still don’t quite grasp the keywords / main point about these situational questions. I am looking for some guidelines here and see if there is a simulator exam in the market that has been updated AND close enough to the new format 2021 exam, and worth buying to improve my understanding around these questions.

    thanks.

    • Sorry to hear about your experience. But I am sure you are now very close to getting PMP success! Have you tried out the PMP Exam Simulator which has been completely updated for the new PMP Exam? I have heard great feedback from PMP Exam takers. Wish you PMP success!

  4. Greetings, Edward:
    ALWAYS A GOOD PLACE TO VISIT FOR FAIR AND ACCURATE INFO!
    I tell all my PMI students about your site.
    QUESTION: In the new PMP exam format . . . what % of questions of the 185 . . . are the new type: drag and drop, multiple responses, hot spot, fill in the blank, and matching.
    My research says about 20 – 25%.
    What do you think?
    Regards,
    James
    P.S.
    I made a donation to help you with your strong work.
    JLH

  5. dorantes51 says:

    hi, Edwar thanks a lot for all the information you shared in this post, it is so useful for decrease the gaps in our knowledge, all your recomendations were very good, thanks again for all this information i gained the certification.

  6. sudheesh says:

    Hi Edward,
    Thanks for your blog and references.
    I followed your methodology and passed PMP exam with above target.
    Regarding mocktest cut off, i attended 3 moctests which was part of my greycampus learning package and i scored around 65% for all 3 tests. And scored 74% on Lehman 100 Q mocktest. Lot of question regarding change management and agile projects and there were no question using EVM calculations.

  7. Adeel Khan says:

    Passed my PMP second time. It is worth to mention, the resources you have put together was a great help to me in passing the PMP.

  8. Sheila says:

    Hi Edward

    So happy I can write it down – 9 months pregnant and I just got my PMP with 5 ATs – that wouldn’t be possible without your website which highly contributed to my success – a huge thank you for your work, you made it easier for a lot of us.

    Below some of my tips/learning experience for those who still aim to attempt 2020 exam

    1. Free mock tests
    • When I completed my study-phase (in my case: PMBOK, Rita, my organization’s internal class + PMP exam prep from Joseph Philips on udemy) I started with free mock tests from the list above, treating this as a “real” exam experience to evaluate if I’m ready. Did it help? Yes and no My benchmark + some comments below

    Lehmann 100Q – 78%
    PMP Prep cast free 20Q x 3 tests – 75%
    Simplilearn – 80%
    Lehmann 175Q – 76%
    Edwel 75Q – 87%

    • Take into account that level/quality of free mock tests is HIGHLY varying, e.g. Lehman like everybody says is harder than real exam, but I think only because it includes a couple of concepts that I NEVER heard before neither found in any of “main stream” prep sources (e.g. calculate burn rate, Abilene paradox – really?) I understand the PMP content is more than just PMBOK but don’t get paranoic that any existing concept may appear, otherwise you will never feel prepared. On the contrary – simplilearn + Edwel are indeed EASIER than real exam, mostly because they ask theoretical, straight forward questions – still great to summarize your knowledge and test your memory, but for the big day you need to get familiar with practical, scenario based questions (that still reference theory). My feeling is that the best simulators for those, are unfortunately the ones to be purchased. Also that is why while scoring between 70-80% on those (rather than tough >80%), I would first check on which questions and why we got wrong – sometimes it comes from quality/structure of the test by itself rather than by real lack of preparation – this shouldn’t be a blocker to feel “ready” (somehow it was my case)

    • I also tried some other “free tests” PMstudycircle, Izenbridge, PM training.com etc – always nice to check, but again, sometimes of low quality or way too “scholar” for the exam – take that into account

    2. Paid mock tests / simulators
    • I used PMP STS full version (the demo is also available under this link) https://sts.ch/en/products/certification/x-am-pmp-capm – luckily provided by my organization and really close to real exam questions (maybe except ITTOs questions). Helps to check either individually each knowledge areas or to do a full simulation – I do recommend
    • Prep Cast – the free ones I did were the closest ones to the real exam. If I didn’t have STS simulator, I would have definitely purchased the full version of this one.

    3. Exam experience
    • It was tough but a bit easier than I expected. Why?
    • First, exam is well structured. I mean by this that scenarios are in 99% clear and answers for them comprehensible and well structured. For around 60-70% of all questions I was sure of the only one best answer after 1st reading.
    • Exam features that are absent in mock tests. Believe me or not but a simple highlight (I used for scenario) and strikeout (to eliminate answers) options helps a lot to stay focus and gain time. I was using them only on questions I marked for review to make the reading faster for the 2nd time. Before submitting, I reviewed ONLY marked questions, I didn’t have time to review everything. White board – cool for critical path questions, when you need drawing. I had only 1 or 2 of the kind. Calculator – math questions were REALLY basic, to be honest calculator wasn’t even needed. The formula guide Edward published was def. enough in my case, questions were more about understanding/interpreting formula result than simple math
    • Content: in my lot of questions, 30-40% was about change management and communication. As this is the industry trend (together with agile) I feel that new exam may be also heading this direction

    4. Taking exam online / accommodations
    • Due to pandemic the only option was to pass online exam. I was really stressed that some technical issues may appear or someone will call me or the dog will burk or any other stupid thing that may result in my exam cancelled. I was definitely paranoic Check in process was smooth, during exam I was just asked to switch on the light on the online chat. I made sure my phone was off, my partner out of the flat with the dogs and my desk space clean. After all, it was a super comfy option as in the pass centre I would probably be more stressed than I was on my couch

    • Accommodations – Due to personal issues, I was already 9 months pregnant while passing the exam and couldn’t find any info about possible accommodations for pregnant women. I heard in the centre there were some, but for online testing PMI states no accommodations are available, which I found surprising (2h without toilet neither glass of water is really hard while pregnant). Maybe someone has other experience or contacted PMI in this matter? Although I passed, I regret I didn’t. Anyway – pregnant ladies, you can do it too! (even with huge belly and pregnancy brain )

    Fingers crossed for all aspirants, you will nail it!

  9. Beth says:

    Hi! This list has been very useful for my prep. For info, the Oliver Lehman 175 questions is now 200 questions available here:
    https://www.oliverlehmann.com/contents/free-downloads/200_PMP_Sample_Questions.pdf

  10. Kenny says:

    Hi Edward,

    I passed the PMP exam yesterday.

    Thank you for your information from the website, the mock exam provided a good environments for practise, and the PrepCast Exam Simulator is a useful tools for preparation and evaluation. Highly recommended

    Kenny

  11. JD says:

    I used your mock exam list and other info on your website and it worked out very well.
    Thanks for putting together such good material.

    I studied hard and I literally laughed my way through the exam util the score screen: five ATs on first attempt and global result in the high area of the AT band.
    Extremly satisfied as I studied it all by myself with books and material found online. No coach, no prep course, and English is not even my first language.

    For all you guys out there…you can do it!
    Just study very hard and take mock exams as they were the real thing.
    No shortcuts, no tricks, no excuses. Just know your stuff well enough you can teach it to your pet.
    Don’t believe who tells you to ignore PMBOK and ITTOs.
    Don’t be satisfied until you get 90%+ on your first attempt of any 200Q mock exam.
    You don’t want to just pass, you want to smash it!

    I studied approx 300 hours in 8 weeks of daily intensive preparation, plus 10 mock exams with an average of 84%.
    And as I said on the day of the exam I was laughing my way through the 200 questions.
    I had only 4-5 questions where I had absolutely no clue which answer to pick and another 8-10 where I had to take an educated guess between two options.

  12. Anonymous says:

    You made some first rate factors there. I looked on the web for the difficulty and found most people will associate with along with your website.

  13. Kyle says:

    This website was a great resource while studying for the PMP exam. After earning my PDUs and exhausting the exam questions I had through that program I used the free mock exams listed on this website as well as the explanations for the commonly confused terms. I scored very similarly to Edward on the mock exams, maybe 2 or 3% less on average and I passed the PMP exam with above target in every process group yesterday. I particularly recommend both of the Oliver Lehmann mock exams. Don’t forget to study every question; not just the ones you got wrong!

  14. Vinay Sharma says:

    I used the exams listed for my final leg of preparation. Sincere thanks for listing these exams and also sharing your scores…you kimd of became my study partner. I scored 2 to 3 percent points behind you witj ocassional flip in the otherside.

    Anyways I gave my PMP exam yesterday and cracked the exam with 5 ATs. Your page (especially this one) and others were constant reference and proved to be one of the key factors for my success.

  15. Deepak Pisharody says:

    Hello Edward, I came across this page towards the end of my PMP preparation just when I was looking for mock exams to determine if I’m ready to give my exam. The various question banks along with your benchmark scores did greatly help me to make that decision and also to find the gaps in my study. Finally, on 30-May-20 i cleared the exam on my first attempt.
    Can’t thank you enough for investing lot of time in developing such a well structured repository. During my study, i did learn about few other quality mock exams (mostly paid ones) through reviews, but to consolidate something like this for free is truly a wonderful and inspiring gesture. Once again, thank you!

  16. Aman Khan says:

    Could someone please help me find the link to the 200 practice questions that PMI gives for free

  17. Jokia says:

    Hi Edward,

    Thank you so much for this wonderful website.
    I self-studied for the PMP exam and I was so confused to those terms in PMBOK in the beginning. After reading your notes and trying free exams, I learned the key concepts for this exam. I scored around 85% in your list of free exams. I got 5 ATs in my PMP exam. Thanks!

  18. Shilpi Gupta says:

    Thank you for your amazing guidance and the positivity, Edward. I cleared the exam on 8th May’2020. 🙂

  19. Golfreto Toile says:

    Hello Edward,

    Have been an occasional visitor to your site. Thanks for the useful info. Appreciate it.

    I have taken a few mock tests including the ones you have put up on your page here. My scores are somewhat similar to yours. A small variation of +/-2%. I just finished Oliver 200 PDF and got 161 right. However, I am still not confident about me taking the test. I feel my concepts are not developed yet and my scores are by fluke. I have been relying heavily on my ability to eliminate wrong answers and applying a bit of common sense.

    Do you think I should be investing on paid mock exams? Or my practice is sufficient. Please advise.

    • Thanks for your sharing. I would say confidence is one of the vital element of exam success. Your score is already quite good and you stand a high chance to pass the PMP Exam in first try. However, if you are not confident enough yet, I would agree with your suggestion to attempt more mock exams until you can consistently get over 75%-80%. Wish you PMP success!

  20. Shilpi Gupta says:

    Hi Edward,
    Many thanks for the detailed post, it is really helpful.
    I had purchased the Prepcast simulator and so far attempted 4 mock exams. Scoring between 85 to 90% in all of these except one in which I had scored 78%. In Oliver Lehmann’s 100 free questions also, I scored 84%. My average score for Scordo exams (from 1000 question pdf) is also around 85%.

    But I am scoring rather poorly (between 70-75%), on the free 200 questions that PMI gives.

    I have scheduled my exam for 8th May’20 and really worried due to the results I am getting on the PMI sample exam.

    What advice would you give? Should I ignore the score on PMI sample exam or is it a more important indicator than any other exam?

    • Hi Shilpi,

      Your scores are quite good indeed. You stand a high chance to pass the PMP Exam in your first try! Actually 70-75% is quite a good score indeed.

      Can’t wait to hear your good news!

  21. Edward Mombo says:

    Hello Edward
    I am scheduled to write my PMP exam on 24 April and I am just trying to study on my own which makes it quite difficult. I do have a broad understanding of project management having been managing projects for 5 years. I am certified in Prince 2. How should I prepare for my exam and how can you help me?

  22. Yusra says:

    GreyCampus free test is no more available. Just wanted to flag this to you so you could update your guide if you wanted to. I am preparing for the exam and will be taking it in the last week of March 2020. Your blog has been very useful. Fingers crossed.

  23. Sharon says:

    Thank you so much for your work, it was very helpful in preparing me for the PMP exam which I took on Monday, and passed with Above Target in all 5 Domain. I used your page everyday in my studies and also did the recommend mock exams …more than once, which were extremeky helpful. Thank you!

  24. Paul says:

    Thank you for sharing this information! I just passed the PMP and your information definitely contributed to my success. Thank you so much for sharing your information and insights.

  25. spoorthi shridhar says:

    Hello Edward,

    I’m happy to let you know that I cleared my PMP today with 4 above targets and one target!

    Your notes helped me a lot! Although I had scored 5-10% lesser than you in all those mock tests!

    Thanks a ton for helping people out

  26. Nawaf says:

    Hi sir i want to ask if i can take the exam in another language because must of the people say to me you have take it in ehglish .. what do you think and thank you

    • Yes, you can choose the “language aids” in your preferred language while registering for the PMP Exam. The “language aids” are provided free of charge.

      Wish you PMP success!

  27. Piotr J. says:

    Hi Edward!

    I passed my PMP exam (6th edition) a few days ago on my first try. It took me 6 weeks to prepare. During this period, I visited your site several times, and I wanted to thank you for providing all these materials.

    I appreciate the tremendous effort you put into creating this repository. It presents high content quality, and it’s cohesive. Thanks much!

    ——————
    A couple of learnings from my learning&exam experience:

    1/
    It took me ~6 weeks to prepare for the exam + ~2 weeks of planning. I submitted my application in late November 2019. For the first two weeks, I was planning my learning schedule and collecting materials. Then I started the learning process.
    It continually lasted from Dec. 14, 2019, to Jan. 31, 2020. I had 5 “days off” (Christmas, New Year Eve, wife’s birthday celebration:). I took an exam on Feb. 1st. 2020

    2/
    I am a project manager, it’s my job. The PMP issues were not new for me, however, it’s a common opinion that a practical experience not always helps during PMP certification. I strongly agree:)

    I didn’t have a special 35hrs prep course. I earned my points in different professional pieces of training (mainly in 2013 and 2014). It was enough to sign up for the PMP exam.

    3/
    During my planning period, I collected five books:

    – PMBOK 6th Edition
    – The PMP® Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try by Andy Crowe
    – PMP® Exam Prep Simplified: The Easy Guide by Andrew N Ramdayal
    – Head First PMP® by Andrew Stellman
    – PMP® Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy

    Finally, I ended up reading with A. Crowe and A. Ramadayal. I read these two books at the same time – one chapter from one book + quick test, then the corresponding section in the other book + quick test. It was effective for me. As a support, I checked PMBOK Guide sporadically.

    I didn’t like Head First. I am a visual learner; however, this handbook seemed to be too trivial and not useful for the PMP exam. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to understand PMBOK, but not necessarily pass the exam. I wouldn’t say I liked Rita’s handbook as well. There is nothing wrong with it, I was not too fond of her language.

    4/
    As a review, I used this (Edward-designer.com) website. It was handy and allowed me to recap the material on the last stage. Especially I appreciated sections: 47 Commonly Confused Terms with a detailed explanation, EVM explanation, the glossary and tips before the exam.

    5/
    During the week before my exam, I did four mockups:

    – 200q by A. Crowe
    – 200q by Ramdayal
    – 200q by Oliver Lehmann
    – 100q by Oliver Lehmann

    I had an average result of ~72%.

    I completed those tests simulating exam conditions. I had 4hr for each so that I was able to assess the average time need for one question (’60 sec. in my case). It helped me as well to plan brakes. I decided to have one brake after 110 questions.

    After completing each test, I precisely analyzed results and review areas where I made the most mistakes. Then I was looking for supporting materials in sources like this website.
    And it worked.

    6/
    To conclude, I can confirm what other project managers say – it’s a really tough exam. It requires plenty of time and a good strategy. It’s doable in 6-8 weeks:)

  28. Antoine Wann says:

    Hi,
    Thx for your works, it helps a lot for my exam preparation !!! not only this article but the whole site.

    I tried one of the free test and I’m surprised by one answer. See below.
    I choose answer (A) but apparently it’s wrong.
    Could you help me understand my mistake?

    70.In which process of Project Risk Management knowledge area are numeric values assigned to probabilities and impact of risks
    a. Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
    b. Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
    c. Perform Numeric Risk Analysis
    d. Plan Risk Response

    INCORRECT: b. A numeric value is assigned to risks impact and probability during the Quantitative Risk Analysis process.

    from the Edwel Mock Exam

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