How to pass PMP without leaving your home. Personal experience

A few weeks ago I was able to successfully pass the PMP (Project Management Professional) certification exam, and in fact there is nothing special about it, except that I passed the test without leaving my own apartment. Today I will share the features of the online exam and really hope to inspire those of you who have long been planning to get certified, but have postponed it for a long time.







What changed?



2020 is a time of change! This year, many companies have learned how to do business and provide services online, and the Project Management Institute (PMI ) has also been affected . In April, PMI made it possible for the first time to take the PMP certification exam remotely - at home or in the office, any day of the week, 24/7. The online exam takes place under the supervision of an observer based on the OnVue platform.



PMI claims the only difference is that you can now take the exam in your pajamas !





In addition, PMI has given up on updating the exam on July 1 and has extended its current version until the end of this year. You can read more about the new version of the exam here .



The most important rules of the online exam:



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PMI warns that if one of these rules is not followed, the exam may be forcibly completed without a refund.



What does all this mean?



If you have been going to pass PMP for a long time and have been postponing this moment for a long time, I assure you, now is the right time. You have every chance to prepare (I advise you to lay on this from 2 to 4 months) and by the end of the year pass the exam in its current edition in a convenient place and at a comfortable time !



How to take an exam from home



I will not go into detail about the requirements for an applicant for PMP status, how to make an application, and so on, this article is more devoted to the new format of passing the exam. The instructions below are for those who are admitted to the exam and have already paid for the certification.



The main 3 steps you need to follow to get your certification online are described on the PersonVue website .







Step 1. System test



Use the computer from which you plan to take the exam, click on "Test my system" and follow the instructions on the screen. Make sure that the test is successful and that you are technically able to take the exam from home. It is important that you have a stable internet connection. For example, I rebooted my router a few hours before the exam so that the Internet would not freeze.



Step 2. Registration for the exam



Now you can set the day and time for the exam. Click on the "Login" button (the credentials match the account on the pmi.org website) and you will be taken to your PersonVue personal account, where you will have the opportunity to select the "online proctored testing" option and set a suitable date and time for passing the test.



Step 3. Passing the exam



30 minutes before the appointed time, you need to go to your PersonVue personal account, go to the "Purchased exams" section and click the "Start exam" button (it will not appear before). All other programs on the computer, except OnVue, will need to be closed. Next, the most interesting thing will begin - checking the identity of the examinee and the requirements for the workplace. You will be asked to enter a phone number, then an SMS will come with a link, after clicking on which you will need to perform a number of actions:



  • Take a selfie (don't forget to comb your hair).
  • Take a photo of an identity card (passport or driver's license, I used a foreigner).
  • Photograph the workplace from four sides. There should be no unnecessary items in the workplace, and of course, no cheat sheets.


After a few minutes of waiting, during which your identity will be verified, a window for passing the exam will automatically open on your computer. Go!



In the middle of the test, you will have a 10-minute pause, which I wrote about above. After 4 hours, the exam will end and you will be immediately notified if you have completed your certification. If successful, in a few days you will receive the coveted PMP certificate and a detailed report with the results by mail.











A few words about preparation



There are many articles and tips on the internet on how to prepare for the exam. I will briefly share what helped me, in addition to personal motivation, patience and will.



  1. My acquaintance with PMBoK began with a 5-day course on preparation for certification in the Project Practice training center. This training is aimed specifically at passing the test. As a gift, a book is given with a large number of test tasks, similar to the exam.



    Taking this opportunity, I would like to thank our lecturer Igor Borisovich Khrapkov for his enthusiasm and energy, it was he who inspired me to pass the PMP!
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    • Online exam simulator from PMClub . Open source, but registration is also required. The platform is different in that your results are saved for three months and you can track your progress. More than 1000 questions in the database, the essence and form of submitting questions are similar to those that I met on the exam.


Well that's all! I spent about 3 months for the entire preparation period, but the last month was especially intense, I lived for several weeks seven days a week, and my Sunday morning traditionally began with a four-hour test on a simulator. I perceive the traversed path as an exciting journey or a game. It was not easy, but interesting and informative.



Some argue that the certificate is just a piece of paper, and it does not help in any way in life, on real projects. I cannot agree with this, since during the preparation process I managed to significantly structure my knowledge and approaches to project management. I constantly โ€œtried onโ€ the situations and problems described in the questions, lived through them, analyzed them. I think that now I will take a new look at the various difficulties and problems that I face in my professional activity, because I know that there is always the โ€œmost correctโ€ solution.



Author: Valeria Suvorova, Project Manager of the Information Security Center of Jet Infosystems



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