How to Clear PMI-ACP Certification in First Attempt?
I’ve received several messages on LinkedIn for PMI-ACP certification preparation. I thought of writing a small blog to share my experience/strategy while preparing for this exam. So, if you are looking to appear for PMI-ACP certification in the future or already on this journey then go ahead and read further.
I gave this exam in Jan 2020 and passed this exam in first attempt with an “Above Target” score in all the sections. I started preparation for this in mid of Oct, 2019 as I’m working full time with an IT firm and have little time after office to study. Here are the 5 Simple Steps which I’ve taken and recommend to prepare for this certification.
- Select Material: There is lots of material available on different online platforms. Various training institutes and trainers have their courses so it will be confusing sometime which one you should go for? So, don’t rush for going everywhere, select any of them which is good and as per PMI standards and focus on that.
My Approach-
- Gone through PMI “Agile Practice Guide” from PMI to understand the big picture and course content.
- Have attended one course on Pluralsight by Chuck Cobb.
- Read Mike Griffiths book “PMI-ACP Exam Prep”.
- Solved Mike Griffiths book questions at the end of each chapter.
- Have taken Udemy questions bank (2 mock papers with 150 questions in each).
2. Commitment: Setup sometime during weekdays and weekend as per your schedule and follow that with full commitment.
My Approach-
- I used to study 1–2 hours daily after office (except a few days due to other priorities or adhoc work).
- Over weekend, I used to spent 2–3 hours (Sat and Sun each).
3. Practice Questions: This is very important and the more you practice, better the result will be. Now, the question is which practice tests you should choose. Again like course materials, you will find numerous trainers and training institutes which claim that their questions bank is the best. I would highly recommend going for the practice tests which have an explanation for each question and option. There should be an explanation for each correct answer but most important for wrong options as well. If the option is wrong then what is the reason.
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My Approach-
- Solved Mike Griffiths’ book questions
- Have taken Udemy questions bank (2 mock papers with 150 questions each).
- Both of the above practice questions have explanations at the end.
4. Set-up Biological Clock: I would recommend doing your mock test preparation at the same time when your exam is scheduled. It will set your biological clock and you will be at your peak performance during the exam.
My Approach-
- I used to practice over the weekend for mock tests at the same time when I’ve scheduled my exam (11:00 AM IST). It can be as per your convenient time.
5. Have Strategy: Have some strategy for your exam, For instance, in the first 1 hour, I’ll target 60 questions and then in the next 1 hours another 60 questions and some time for review to those questions which are complex and you have skipped those in your first pass.
My Approach-
- I’ve targeted a specific no of questions in the first hour. You can set it based on the results from your mock tests results.
- Marked the questions which were complex and taking more time to revisit them later. Don’t spend too much time on one question as you don’t need to solve all the questions to pass the exam.
- Kept some time (20–25 mins) at the end to review the questions which I was not sure about during first pass.
If you follow above steps, most likely you can also pass the PMI-ACP certification in your First Attempt.
