As a programmer, I am engaged in software research and development and management. After learning PMP, I gradually realized that the focus of PMP is project management, and the work of project execution process is not very detailed, which can be filled by agile project management. Therefore, I plan to pass ACP examination and learn agile management systematically in the future.

About PMP preparation, I have some experience to share with you.

It has been several months since I took part in the training, started to prepare for the exam, took the exam, and got the certificate at length. I remember that after I took the PMP Exam in December 2018, I was insecure all the time and looking forward to getting the results as soon as possible. Until I received the PMI notification email on January 10, I finally achieved what I wished and got all 5 ‘Above Target’ score, which drew a successful end to my 2018 year. Thanks to SPOTO, SPOTO assistant teachers, and the supporting family that I have been blessed with. But more than excitement, I would like to share with you some of my preparation for PMP exam and hope to help you.

1. Review of PMP Preparation

The PMP examination process can be divided into four stages: Training institution registration, PMI examination application, PMP training and learning, and PMP examination. The proposed time from registration to final examination is three months. Among them, students should fill in the application form for the training institutions registration and PMI examination application, while the teachers of the training institutions will personally guide how to fill in the application form, so students need not worry. With successful PMI examination application, students will enter the training and learning preparation stage. Before the examination, the students will make an appointment at the examination site on the website of Bureau of Foreign Experts Affairs of the people's Republic of China State. After the examination, the results will be announced in one month, and the certificate will be issued in about eight months. Then, I will focus on the review of SPOTO PMP training and learning process.

The content of SPOTO PMP training is mainly composed of face-to-face teaching, video recording, online live broadcasting, problem solving, daily practice, the important knowledge points and test points the teacher helps to sort out again from the beginning to the end of the whole book before the exam, and online question brushing.

The recording and broadcasting video is recorded by the teacher in advance, which is explained in detail in combination with the chapter contents of the sixth edition of PMPBOOK.

For online live broadcast and problem solving, SPOTO’ s head teacher arranges the course step by step. From 8 pm to 10 pm every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, Mr. Wu explains the first to fourth chapters, Mr. Zhang explains the subsequent chapters, and Mr. Xie explains the exercises. Among them, Mr. Wu's explanation is meticulous, Mr. Zhang is humorous, and Mr. Xie's is known as sunshine man. In a word, all of them are very popular with the students, especially Mr. Zhang. The last class of students he took gave the honorary title of 5 ‘Above Target’ score father. The average passing rate of SPOTO exam is more than 95%, of which 5A students account for more than 30%.

About two months before the exam, SPOTO will open a daily training course. According to the order of the chapters, students should complete eight questions every day (some typical questions). The latest examination questions will be published at 7 a.m. every day. The students will spend 5-10 minutes to complete the examination questions. On the one hand, SPOTO will consolidate and summarize the knowledge the students have learned. On the other hand, SPOTO will reward the top three students with 200 yuan for their final scores, The students vied with each other. After many difficulties, I still kept the third place.

One month before the exam, SPOTO will sort out the important knowledge points and test points again from the beginning to the end of the whole book. Our 5 ‘Above Target’ score father, Mr. Zhang, racked his brains. In order to make it easier for the students to understand the knowledge system of PMP, he spent several nights sorting out “Sacred scroll 1.8”, and combined with Chen Lei's (a famous popular science cartoonist)asshole logic to explain the knowledge points of PMP, integrating more than 700 pages of PMPBOOK knowledge into two sessions of review, The content is vivid and interesting. I am full of energy and laughter. At the same time, I am deeply impressed by the knowledge.

Finally, online test brushing is carried out before the PMP exam. SPOTO provides at least more than 3,000 online questions, which is enough for students to review. Practice has proved that some questions will appear in the PMP exam every time.

Ultimately, the examination time for taking the PMP paper test is relatively tight, and there is basically no checking time. Therefore, it is suggested that the students practice to speed up the reading speed at ordinary times, so as to ensure the accuracy of the test.

2. Summary of PMP Preparation

PMP provides a set of methodology for project management, including five process groups and 49 management processes. During the whole PMP preparation period, what impressed me most was that planning is prior to action, integration is better than part, communication is ubiquitous, and all changes have to go through the process. Of course, the essence of PMP is not limited to several aspects mentioned above. Because of the length of this sharing, I will focus on the above aspects.

Planning before action is one of the basic philosophies of PMP that I understand. In fact, no matter what I learn, it is the same principle. Before deciding to do anything, I need to have a plan, not only an implementation plan, but also a management plan. Only by guiding the implementation process through the management plan, can I make it more target-oriented.

Integration is better than part, which means that considering a project advocated by PMP not only needs to consider the scope, schedule, cost and quality, but also needs to consider the rights and interests of related parties, risk assessment, resource and technology constraints, external business environment factors, organizational process assets and other aspects, which need comprehensive consideration rather than single consideration.

That communication is ubiquitous means that about 90% of a qualified project manager’s time is spent on communication. Only when he has communication and explanation with relevant parties, sponsors, customers and team members can he understand and cooperate effectively. Otherwise, he will encounter difficulties everywhere. As the project manager can't communicate well, there will be a lot of work started all over again. Such examples can be seen everywhere in practical work.

All changes need to go through the process, which means that all confirmed benchmarks and management plans, procurement agreements, and all changes need to go through the complete change process, so as to prevent the spread of scope, prevent gilding, and prevent the disorderly development of project work. At the same time, it is also to protect the work achievements of the project team. I hope the ideal project management environment advocated by PMP can be implemented as soon as possible in the actual work environment, which is also the pain point of every project manager's actual work.

As a matter of fact, I haven't wasted my time preparing for the PMP exam. In the end, it paid off. Therefore, everyone should believe that they will succeed.

3. The Importance of Finding the Right Mentor

We have been through countless exams since we began to go to school. Why some people always have good exam scores? But some are on the contrary. Is it the fact that I am inferior than others? I don't approve of it, because it's very important to choose the right tutor. Good teachers can make you get twice the result with half the effort, ordinary teachers can make you get half the results with double the effort, and bad teachers may make you go in the wrong direction.

Finally, I would like to share with you some learning materials and notes for preparing for the PMP.

By the way, the PMBOK lecture notes are the essence collated by SPOTO teachers themselves, which are very useful for the later review. It is really very thoughtful. Finally, I wish all the students who are ready or want to sign up for PMP can pass the exam on their first try! Come on!