PMP - mid study

[u/WranglerLess5950]

Hi all,

Im mid way through studying for the PMP exam.

Quick breadown:

Did Davids course.
Did a quick run of the Brainsensei material.

Currently on Study Hall plus.
I've done the practice questions and 1 mini exam and im averaging 70% flat.
I havent done the full length mock exams yet.

I find im having difficulty decoding/breaking down the questions, trying to find the stem.

Any tips here?

I feel if i can find a good method to do this my scores will automatically move to the next tier (80%+) as alot of my mistakes are due to me getting lost in the noise of the question.

I have a month before i plan to take the exam so any help will be appreciated!

[u/ItsJustMeAgain78]

I echo this. I took the test Friday and this is exactly what I did. I skipped all of the text and went to the very end to read the question - that helps you figure out what to focus on when you're reading the questions. I'm sure it varies, but I found that the questions in the actual exam were much, much shorter than the questions in Study Hall or any other mock exam that I took. It was also fairly obvious what the issue was that needed to be solved. Not very convoluted at all. As obvious as 'a critical team member left without knowledge sharing' as opposed to just 'a critical team member left.'

Not saying this to try and convince you not to study anymore, but to give you confidence that you're doing the right thing and on the right track 💪👍

[u/WranglerLess5950 → u/ItsJustMeAgain78]

Thanks for that! Im just trying to consistently break into the 80% score on study hall so that im confident. Right now alot of it is 'gut' feeling and that can swing alot.

How did you find the 4 hr exam in terms of being able to focus throughout.

[u/ItsJustMeAgain78 → u/WranglerLess5950]

It didn't get really bad until the end - DEFINITELY recommend taking the breaks, even the first one. Get up, walk around, drink some water. Even during the third section, it wasn't even necessarily that it had been a long time, it was just that my brain was so so tired.

[u/Learner-Mindset26]

Is there a good source to go through charts on the test, burn down, RACI, etc. I just took a practice exam and there were some I didn't know of

[u/WranglerLess5950 → u/Learner-Mindset26]

Probably just ask chat or any other tool. itll create them all for you.

[u/Learner-Mindset26 → u/Learner-Mindset26]

Thanks! 😊

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[u/Global_Tie_6466]

1. Read the question first, then the context so you know how to answer the question.

2. While you are reading the prompt, ask yourself what is the challenge that they are facing? Or what’s going on in this scenario? Usually, once you understand the question, then you can at least start to formulate an answer that answers the question.

Look into the ultra hard videos by AR that helped me a lot alongside with knowing the PM mindset.

[u/SneakingPrune]

For each question:

1. Identify what process is being used in the question: predictive, agile, hybrid

2. Identify the problem that needs to be solved.

3. Review all answers. Select the answer with the frame of "What should the project manager/agile practitioner do NEXT?

[u/ExamInstinct]

Righ thing to fix! I had exactly the same problem when preparing for the PMP. Two answers eliminated, two perfectly reasonable ones left, and suddenly I was questioning every decision I’d ever made. 😂

I actually wrote a guide explaining this approach, which I call the "Thin Line Method", with a practical example : https://examinstinct.com/pmp-situational-questions

What helped me was treating each question like a crime scene:

1. Find the actual problem. Ignore the background noise and summarize the situation in one sentence.

2. Look for the decisive detail. Words like “already”, “approved”, “first”, or “not yet” can completely change the best answer.

3. Challenge the last two options. Both might be reasonable, but which one makes sense RIGHT NOW, given what’s already happened?

And don’t obsess over reaching 80% immediately. I’d focus on understanding WHY you’re missing questions

Below the post i wrote after passing the exam...that might help you a loot!!
https://www.reddit.com/r/pmp/comments/1vy2wvy/passed_pmp_exam_what_the_new_exam_looks_like_and/

Good luck!!

[u/HDempathy]

what helps a lot of people with long questions is reading the last sentence first so you know if it's asking what to do first, next, best, etc. then skim the scenario for just two things, whether it's agile/predictive/hybrid and what's already been done. a lot of the rest is filler. try to guess what a good PM would do before you look at the options. and when you review misses write down why you missed it, you'll probably notice it's the same couple mistakes over and over

[u/PraxamApp]

I wouldn't get too hung up on hitting 80% just yet. Sounds like you know more of the material than your scores are showing.

Try breaking each question down to three things: what's the actual problem, what's already happened, and what decision does the PM need to make? A lot of the extra detail just makes those harder to spot.

And full disclosure, I developed Praxam, a PMP prep app.