PMCertification.Net

Mission - This site is dedicated to helping individuals learn about and pass the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam and the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) exam administered by the Project Management Institute (PMI).  To obtain basic information about the Project Management Institute, exam costs, PDU's, and criteria for becoming a PMP, please visit the PMI site. This site contains a FREE PMP study guide (which is also a free CAPM study guide) for the exams, along with other materials.  This site is administered by a PMP not-for-profit, but as an informational resource and free guide.  The individual who maintains this site passed the exam in late 2001 with a score of 85%.  Comments - comments and questions to this site are welcome.   Please send them to this link.  Note that the site used to have a different URL - if forwarding this along, please use www.pmcertification.net.
News - The content on this site has been completely updated since PMI changed the exam format of the PMP exam.  Effective September 24, 2005, the exam is based on the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) - Third Edition (2004). 
Please send in 1) your "success stories" of how you prepared for the exam and 2) any thoughts on the cheapest and most effective route for meeting the 35 hour education requirement for the exam. 
Free Documents - Here is a document that is recommended for individuals preparing for the PMP Exam.  The document is ordered by chapter, with the 44 separate project management "processes" organized by area.  In addition to using this document for review, you should be able to at least fill in the 44 chapters from a blank "template".  Here is the document in PDF format and here is a version of the document in MS Word format, in case you want to add your own notes.
Preparation Materials - If you are taking the class you need to either study extensively on your own or take a preparation class.  Due to the specific vocabulary and methodology promulgated by PMI, even experienced project managers won't be able to just walk in the door and "ace" the exam.  This site recommends using Rita Mulcahy's preparation materials based on personal and peer experience; here is a link to her site (note - this site receives no benefit from this recommendation).  If you don't take a class in person, purchase the study materials and review them extensively on your own.  Everyone considering the exam should purchase the PMBOK THIRD EDITION (pronounced "pimbock") from PMI ($49.95 for members or $39.95 for non-members) or you can try Amazon.com.  Beyond this it is a matter of personal taste; this site recommends the Mulcahy materials but there are many other certification programs out that may meet your own requirements.   
Success Stories - "success stories" are stories of individuals just like you who prepared for and passed the exam.  It is useful to hear about how they prepared for the exam and then you can judge for yourself whether or not their methods are applicable to your situation.   The only stories listed are those that apply to the THIRD EDITION of the PMBOK; please send additional stories to this link.  Here is a link to stories prior to the current version of the PMBOK, which are still mostly relevant.
Success Story - "Paul B."

First off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for supplying people access to the wealth of knowledge which is available on your site.  On October 21st, 2002, I took the PMP exam and passed with a 79%. The study materials available on your website directly, and through links proved invaluable, although some more than others (note - since this was written I discontinued the "Free PM Study Materials sections because, indeed, many of the links were weak or outdated).  My background is engineering, and have been in the field for 5 years. I am a P. Eng., with project based experience, almost explicitly. I started studying for the PMP three months before Exam Day. All my studying was self study. On average I put about 10 hr/week into reading. Of course much more the last week leading up to the exam.  I used PMI PMBOK Guide 2003, Kerzner Book 7th Ed. A few reads through the PMBOK, coupled with some serious head banging against the Kerzner book proved to do the job.

I did however have a couple IIL (Project Management IQ V3.0 & V3.2)CD's which had 1000's of good questions. I highly recommend IIL. Although the Kerzner text was a very tough read for me, I found that it became easier to understand the more I read. At first I'd have to re-read every sentence 2x, to understand the idea he was trying to get across, but after a couple weeks, this was no longer a problem. Keep in mind, there is a lot of information in that text which is not required for the exam. I often read the other success stories on your site, and it seemed that a lot of people were using a lot of other different materials to study. I don't think any of these materials are needed if the aforementioned references are studied well. Good Luck to all who plan on taking it, and thanks again for the valuable study material.

Success Story - "Sekar B."

Hi,

Got certified as PMP last week (scored approx 70%).  Great guidance from your site, especially your study notes helped me to have a glance at Input/Tools/Outputs very quickly.  That helped me a lot.

Used mostly PMBOK & Rita Mulcahy prep book.. even though I bought Rita's practice questions because of the volume (1200+ questions), I never really used the same.

My suggestion is : "Please write down the all formulas before you begin the actual test" This will help a lot.

Thanks, Sekhar P.
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