If you are preparing for the PMP exam, you are achievement-oriented and want to improve your knowledge and skills in the project management profession. The PMP is a well-recognized certification for Project Managers across multiple industries and is definitely worth pursuing for a successful PM career.
How will you prepare for the PMP exam?
If it has been 2 or 20 years since your last exam, you’ll find that technology has further enabled the learning process. Terminology and understanding the processes behind the PMBOK are key components on the PM exam. You may have used flashcards or shared your study notes with other students to prepare for exams. Today’s modern day project managers can add technology to their PMP prep kit.
Here’s how you can use technology for PMP exam prep:
1. Build Your Vocabulary
You may already be familiar with a lot of the definitions and key terms that you need to know for the PMP exam but would you be able to recall a full definition of the Delphi Technique for example? Thinking back to your school/college days again, you may have used flashcards for this type of memory retention activity. Not only does this type of learning method help you prepare coming up to the exam, flashcards are also a great way to give you a quick memory buzz right before you step into the exam hall.
Here’s a deck of Online PMP Flashcards created on ExamTime, a free elearning platform designed to help any type of student prepare for their exams by using tools which encourage active learning:
By simply scrolling and clicking on a flashcard, you can test your terminology. ExamTime lets you shuffle the cards and indicate if you understand or don’t understand the specific card. You can also visualize your learning progress on a graph with ExamTime as it keeps track of your scores every time you attempt your flashcard deck. It’s a unique way to use technology to help prepare for your PMP exam.
By the way, ExamTime is free so you can create your own deck of PMP flashcards very easily.
2. Download PMP Prep Mobile Apps
Almost everyone has a smart phone or another type of device you can download apps on. There are a host of both free and paid apps available on both android and iOS dedicated specifically to the PMP exam.
A mobile app from ExamTime is also on the way which will enable you to access all the PMP resources you create. At the moment, you can easily access the ExamTime web-app via the browser on your phone or other mobile device.With such a huge proportion of people using mobile every day, the ExamTime app will be a useful addition to your PMP exam prep kit.
Note: Don’t get overloaded with the technology. You may find yourself spending more time playing with the apps than actually learning the theory you need.
3. Test your knowledge with online PM quizzes
Think you know all the definitions you included in your flashcards? Great, now test that knowledge to ensure you fully understand the theory. Rather than writing out everything you know, a quicker way of testing your understanding is to create an online quiz which you can go through in a few minutes. If there’s chapter tests at the end of the book you are using, you can build your quizzes using this information.
If you’re using the ExamTime Quiz Maker, you can track your learning progress each time you take a quiz which will boost your motivation and confidence.
Here’s a sample PMP Exam Prep Quiz to get you started:
Pretty cool huh?
Practice according to plan
The key to successfully passing the PMP exam is practice. In order to adequately prepare for the exam, you need to develop a study plan. As a PM, developing a study schedule should be easy. The challenge will be actually following the plan based on all your daily work activities. We didn’t say it would be easy, but these tools can definitely help. The more you challenge yourself, the better your memory will respond to the increased activity. Even though your brain is an organ, it acts like a muscle; the more you exercise it, the better results you get.
Remember to develop and plan and follow it!
Traditional test taking tips still apply
You may have been given some guidelines for the day of your SAT test or college exams so remember to keep that advice in mind for your PMP exam. Wake up early, read all the questions, write everything you know – sound familiar now? Here are some more quick tips to follow on exam day:
- Have a balanced breakfast: Don’t eat anything risky the day before your exam and reduce your coffee intake as it will dehydrate you
- Check you have everything you need: Before you leave the house, make sure you have the essentials
- Don’t get carried away: Don’t spend more time than you planned on a particular section or question
- Use every minute: Go to the toilet before the exam and review your answers before you hand up your paper
- Stay calm: You’ve done all the work so far and know the information so keep focused
Technology is heavily used in the project management industry but it’s often missed in not included as part of the preparation for the professional exam. These are some easy ways you can incorporate a new way of learning into your PMP exam prep.
About the Author
This is a guest post from Andrea Leyden at ExamTime, a free elearning platform.
