No More Brain Dumps?

Published: Sun, 10/30/16

Early Bird Rate: PMP Exam Group Coaching Class

Effective immediately, PMI and Prometric have made the following change to the examination format of all PMI certifications: You are no longer allowed to take any notes during the 15 minute time of the tutorial. Here is PMI’s policy on this matter and what will be enforced at Prometric testing centers:

Testing candidates can start to utilize their scratch paper/note boards once the exam has officially started
Doing a “brain dump” during the 15 minute tutorial period or prior is not allowed
All scratch paper/note boards will be collected at the end of the testing session

This policy seems to indicate that you are still allowed to use a brain dump, but you are simply not allowed to write it down during the 15-minute tutorial. You have to wait until the exam has officially started. And once the exam clock is ticking, then -- and only then -- are you allowed to write down your brain dump.

Writing down your brain dump after the exam countdown has begun will of course "eat up" exam time that you could spend answering questions. So if you are concerned about not having enough time to answer all questions, then spending time to write down your brain dump may not be for you. However, spending a moment of your actual exam time in the act of getting everything you memorized onto paper will additionally give you confidence in your exam knowledge, and you now have a physical reference to go back to during the heat of the exam.

At this time it is still early days and the exact implementation of this new policy may vary from one testing center to another. We therefore advise our students to ask the following questions before walking into the testing room:

When am I allowed to start making notes on the scratch paper / note board?
What am I allowed/not allowed to write onto the scratch paper / note board?
What else should I be aware of in regards of using the scratch paper / note board?

Lastly, don't forget that a brain dump will not 'make or break" your exam. It is nothing more than a security blanket. The real factors that will bring you success on the exam are your experience as a project manager, your understanding of the material, and the hours and hours of preparation and taking sample exams that you put in.

For additional details please visit our website forum where we have an ongoing discussion on this topic.

Join the discussion now!

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Free PMP Practice Exam Questions

120 Sample Test Questions Based on the 2016 PMBOK Guide 5th Edition

The most important PMP exam prep activity is to answer as many sample questions as you possibly can. To help you, we have developed this free preparation test. The questions come from The PM Exam Simulator and they are all based on the most current PMP Exam that has been in effect since January 2016.

*Updated 10/17/2016 - We are proud to have the most up-to-date list of free questions!

Added 10 new questions. Good luck on this sample test and your PMP Exam!

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Kudos to new PMPs!

Congratulations to our students who passed the PMP exam:

Hakim Zejjari, PMP
Syed Hussaini, PMP
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Abdul Sheikh, PMP
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Julie Anne Leggett, PMP
Javad Raissi, PMP
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PMP Exam Sample Q and A

What is the process for aggregating the estimated costs of individual activities or work packages to establish a cost baseline known as?

A. Estimate Costs
B. Plan Cost Management
C. Control Costs
D. Determine Budget

HINT: Cost baseline is an output of which process?

Get the answer here...

Project Management Training Scholarships for Aspiring Project Managers

The Project Management Institute Educational Foundation is administering scholarships worth up to $25,000 per year sponsored by OSP International LLC.

Students struggling to fund the cost of tuition for the PMP or PMI-ACP exam now have extra help in the form of scholarships from OSP International LLC, producers of best-selling online, video professional training courses.This article is a brief overview of the release date for A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) Sixth Edition and how this affects the PMP Exam.

In addition to giving you all the dates of the PMBOK 6 release we will also give you our recommendation on which version you should use for your PMP exam prep studies.

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PMBOK 6th Edition

This interview with Cyndi Snyder Dionisio was recorded at the 2016 PMI Global Congress in San Diego, California. We discuss her presentation "PMBOK Guide -- Sixth Edition: Preview of Coming Attractions".

Here is the session description: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) is being updated as we speak, and the Sixth Edition will soon be published. This session provides insights into the new edition, including a peek at a new chapter on the role of the project manager. For each Knowledge Area, there are new sections describing key concepts, emerging trends, and tailoring considerations, as well as updates to ensure the PMBOK Guide remains relevant to most projects, most of the time. Come and find out what to expect!

Cyndi was the chair of the team that worked on updating the guide and in her presentation (as well as in this interview) she introduces us to the publication timeline as well as many of the changes that are coming our way. This was of particular interest to me professionally, because the guide is a central text that we use in our PMP certification training for our students.

Listen to the PM Podcast interview here...

PMBOK Knowledge Areas for Project Management Guide 5th Edition - Process Groups and Processes - The Complete Guide

By the time you’ve got through the first page of the PMBOK® Guide you’ll have come across the terms Knowledge Areas and Process Groups. (They are always capitalized because they are really important.) Add to that a ‘normal’ process and you’ve got three very different things that form the backbone of the book.
But here’s the thing. They overlap, interact and depend on each other. It’s so easy to get confused between a PMBOK Knowledge Area and a Process Group, and then don’t get me started on those 47 processes that are supposed to fit in somewhere. It’s essential to get your head around how everything slots together when you are preparing for the PMP® exam.