Just Get PMP

What is PMI-RMP® Certification? How did I prepare for PMI-RMP® Certification? You will find answers to these questions in this article.

PMI-RMP® Certification is the prestigious Risk Management Professional Certification from PMI (Project Management Institute). It demonstrates your ability to identify and analyze project risks, avoid/ transfer/ mitigate threats and capitalize on opportunities. PMI states that

83% of organizations that are high performers in project management practice risk management frequently while just 49 percent of low performers do so (Pulse of the Profession®: Capturing the Value of Project Management, February 2015)

How did I prepare for PMI-RMP Certification?

I became a Certified Risk Management Professional and earned my PMI-RMP® Credential about two years back. In this article, I would like to share the various mock exams I tried and the scores I obtained in those. I am just jotting down the journey towards obtaining PMI-RMP® Certification.

	Date of the Mock Test	Service Provider	Description	No. of questions	Score Obtained
1	24-06-2013	SimpliLearn	Free PMP test	175	78.9 %
2	15-07-2013	Ucertify	Free RMP Test	15	73 %
3	16-07-2013	Ucertify	Chapter Quiz	26	77 %
4	17-07-2013	The PM Instructors	Free PMI-RMP Questions	20	85 %
5	22-07-2013	Rita Mulcahy	Pretest	25	84 %
6	28-07-2013	Abdulla J. Alkuwaiti	Practice Questions	65	87.1 %
7	29-07-2013	PMXCEL.com	Sample Quiz	25	92 %
8	02-08-2013	Head First PMP	Risk Management Chapter Questions	20	95 %
9	03-08-2013	VTC	RMP Part 1	40	95 %
10	04-08-2013	VTC	RMP Part 2	50	88 %
11	05-08-2013	Scordo	Risk Management Questions	10	80 %
12	06-08-2013	Oliver Lehmann	PMP Test	75	80 %
13	06-08-2013	VTC	RMP Part 3	125	89 %
14	07-08-2013	VTC	PMI-SP Part 1	40	85 %
15	10-08-2013	Rita Mulcahy	Human Resource Chapter	34	76 %
16	10-08-2013	Rita Mulcahy	Quality Chapter	35	91 %
17	12-08-2013	Rita Mulcahy	Time Chapter	38	94.7 %
18	14-08-2013	Edwel	Free PMP Exam	200	79 %
19	12-08-2013	Rita Mulcahy	Cost Chapter	38	94.7 %
20	15-08-2013	Rita Mulcahy	Procurement Chapter	40	92.5 %

I believe that only practice can help you. I believe that most of the candidates who prepare for the risk management exam are already certified PMPs. So, they have the knowledge and basic understanding of how the risks are identified, assessed, risk responses planned, monitored and controlled. So, all they need is to practice more and more mock tests/ practice questions to get it right. Please go ahead and successfully obtain your PMI-RMP Credential!

I am proud to say that I am successful in my effort to obtain my second PMI credential. Yes, I am a Certified Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP).


The thought of taking up the RMP exam crossed me sometime in early June. But, I didn't pursue that because of the change in examination syllabus from PMBOK 4 to PMBOK 5. I thought that the time was too short to achieve the goal.

Then, sometime in June itself, I came to know that only PMP exam changes by end of July 2013 whereas RMP exam changes only by end of August. So, I wanted to give it a try. Even though I know that there were insignificant changes from PMBOK4 to PMBOK5, I was reluctant to wait. (A known devil is better than unknown angel, right?).


I did some research to find the contact hours required to fulfil PMI's requirements. I purchased one month of online access to VTC. They have several online courses, which you can access during the period of subscription. If you complete watching the videos for a course, you will get the certificate of completion for that course.

Resources used for RMP exam preparation

1. VTC.com: PMI-RMP Risk Management Professional bundle (Author: Vanina Mangano)
2. Risk Management Tricks of the Trade for Project Managers + PMI-RMP Exam Prep Guide by Rita Mulcahy
3. Study Guide For the PMI Risk Management Professional Exam by Abdulla J. Alkuwaiti
4. PMBOK 4
5. PMP Exam Prep, Seventh Edition: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam by Rita Mulcahy
6. Risk Management chapter from Head First Pmp: A Brain-Friendly Guide to Passing the Project Management Professional Exam by Andrew Stellman
7. Several free online resources, some of which are listed below:
7a. PMXCEL: PMI-RMP Sample Questions
7b. uCertify.com: Trial Copy of PMI-RMP Course
7c. SimpliLearn: Free PMI-RMP Practice Test

Advice for PMI-RMP aspirants

Even though I have listed lot of resources above, I didn't use all of them to the full extent. Here is how I have used them:

• I listened to most of the video content from VTC.com; they were quite useful and informative. I answered all the practice questions and mock test given by VTC.com and compared those answers with the author's answers.
• I used Rita's Risk Management book and Alkuwaiti's risk management book only to try the end of the chapter questions; I did not find it necessary to go through the entire book.
• I went through PMBOK's risk management chapter (in my opinion, this is the most useful exercise you should do); and a quick review of other chapters like quality, communication, human resources, time, cost and procurement.
• I used Head First PMP book also for only trying end of the chapter questions in risk management
• I find most of the online resources not that useful for PMI-RMP exam

Conclusion

If you are a PMP credential holder, you will not find PMI-RMP exam too difficult. The approach is similar; but get ready for a barrage of questions primarily around risk management. You should be thorough with all the risk management processes, the tools and techniques, and concepts like secondary risk, residual risk, contingency plans, work arounds and so on. Wishes for your success in PMI-RMP exam. If you need any advice/ suggestions/ feedback, please leave a comment below.

Further to our interviews with Mr. Dayanidhi Dhandapany, PMP, Mr. Ramakrishnan Jayabalan (Ramki), PMP and Ms. Sangeetha, PMP, here is an interview with Mr. Thiruvalluvan, PMP.

Thiru is basically a Civil Engineer with lots of experience in Construction and project management. Here, he shares his views and opinions on his successful journey towards the coveted PMP Credential.

Listening the PMP audio during travelling times really helped most. Complete Mock exam paper preparation (4hrs) few times practice also helped a lot.

Listen to Audio tapes, prepare your own notes and it is a must to read PMBOK few times.


I sincerely thank Thiru for taking time out of his busy schedule to send this feedback.

If you are interested in sharing your experience, you can use my PMP Lessons Learned form. Your valuable lessons learned will be shared on this blog for the benefit of other PMP aspirants.

Further to our interviews with Mr. Dayanidhi Dhandapany, PMP and Mr. Ramakrishnan Jayabalan (Ramki), PMP, here is an interview with Ms. Sangeetha, PMP.

Below, you can find her views and opinions on her successful journey that fetched her the coveted PMP Credential.

No response.

Start studying along with the course progress and try to take up the exam within 3 months of course completion. Practice lot of mock test and at least 2-3 full exam in a exam kind environment.


I sincerely thank Sangeetha for filling up this questionnaire. I hope to get few more PMPs to share their experience here. If you are interested in sharing your experience, you can use my PMP Lessons Learned form. Your valuable lessons learned will be shared on this blog for the benefit of other PMP aspirants.

Further to our interview with Mr. Dayanidhi Dhandapany, PMP on PMP Lessons Learned, here is the second interview with Mr. Ramakrishnan Jayabalan (Ramki), PMP.

Ramki is an enthusiastic project management professional from the IT industry. Ramki attended one of my PMP training programmes; and, that's how I know him.

Below, you can find his views and opinions on his successful journey that fetched him the coveted PMP Credential.

Time management is more important; need to practice more sessions, better to go with multiple topics instead of going single threaded.

Stick to the timing.


I sincerely thank Ramki for filling up this questionnaire, in spite of his busy schedule. And, forgot to tell you. Ramki is also a passionate blogger. You can read his blog on project management (in Tamil language) at Nutpam.

I hope to get few more PMPs to share their experience here. If you are interested in sharing your experience, you can use my PMP Lessons Learned form. Your valuable lessons learned will be shared on this blog for the benefit of other PMP aspirants.

Personal Details

1. Your name?
Dayanidhi Dhandapany

2. Your Qualification?
PG Degree in Engineering

3. Your Industry?
Construction

4. Years of Experience
More than 15 years

Details of Training Attended

5. Where did you attend PMP training?
Green International, Chennai

6. What is the mode of your training?
Class room based

Details of Exam Preparation

7. How long did you prepare for the exam?
45 - 90 days

8. In your opinion, which is the best book for PMP exam preparation?
PMP Exam Prep, Rita Mulcahy

9. Did you take part in any online forum during the preparation?
PMPSTUDY.COM

10. How did you prepare for the exam? What would you like to change if you would revisit the exam preparation period?

Opinion on the PMP Exam Content

11. Easiest knowledge area?
Time Management

12. Most difficult knowledge area?
Procurement Management

During the Exam

13. Time taken to complete the exam?
Time was not a problem

Final Word

14. One last piece of advice for candidates preparing for the exam?

You may also be interested to find out

PMP (Project Management Professional) is one exam which you cannot pass just by reading the books or having great experience as a project manager or as a project team member. It requires hard work, dedicated effort, good understanding of the project management concepts and thorough knowledge to apply the learnt concepts to practical project scenarios.

Take As Many Tests As You Can

The most important thing I would recommend for passing the PMP examination is to try and answer as many questions as possible. You cannot pass this exam without getting your hands dirty. Let us not get negative here. You will PASS the PMP exam if you prepare well, take as many tests as possible, find your shortfalls/ knowledge gaps, update your knowledge where you are weak, continue with more mock tests.

Number of Questions in Each Attempt

It is not necessary that you need to always take a full-length mock test. Keep yourself a simple target; everyday, I will try to answer 10 to 15 PMP questions. After completing the set target of PMP questions, go through your answers. Review why you could not answer a particular question or why you have answered wrongly or even how you got it right. This review exercise is very important to reinforce your understanding and further learning. Several candidates are merely interested in how much they scored; rather than having deep insight into their answers. Don't commit this mistake.

Time Factor for PMP Preparation

Another excuse candidates generally throw at me is "I don't have time; I am busy in my project. I have my family". Yes, I understand. Please understand that you are not the only person who is busy in this world. You wanted this PMP certification under your belt. So, no point giving excuses. When I was preparing the PMP exam few years ago, I used to be in a similar situation. I sat in a corner for a moment and told myself that I need to cross this hurdle whatever happens.

Plan Your Time

Once I committed myself, I allocated about 15 minutes of my lunch break to answer about 5 to 10 questions everyday. I normally used to relax myself during this time browsing the internet, having a chat with my colleagues or take a nap. I sacrificed this for PMP. As the exam date got nearer, I spent about half an hour at home answering another 15 questions. This way, I was in constant touch with the topics.

Monitor & Control Your Preparation

Appearing for your PMP examination is in itself a project. So, don't forget to apply the PMP concepts. It is not sufficient for you to just plan and execute. It is also necessary for you to monitor and control your progress. I monitored my progress with an Excel spreadsheet. I used to note down date wise, the number of questions attempted, time taken and the score. This helped me to understand whether I am really progressing well.

As some people put it, PMP does not only stand for Project Management Professional; it also stands for Practice Makes Perfect. So, go ahead plan your studies, execute them well, monitor and control; you will successfully pass the PMP examination in your first attempt.

Do you agree with my approach? What have you done for your PMP exams? Or what are you planning for your exam? Please feel free to share your experience.