Hi All:

I passed my PgMP this week, I am very happy that all my efforts to prepare for this certification yielded results. But more than my efforts, it was my coach and mentor Kailash Upadhyay who was instrumental in clearing this certification.

My journey started long back in February 2017, I got myself trained in SPM 3 version. But due to various reasons I was not able to give my exams immediately. I have not seen any trainer or training institute with post training support which Kailash provided. He provided me tremendous support even nearly after 1.5 years after my training completion. I am sharing my experiences below.

Best Practices:
1.    Just follow the guidelines and instructions of Kailash and addonskills for preparing your application. It did not take more than a day for me to get it reviewed.

2.    There were couple of queries in my application from PMI but nothing to worry about, it got approved very easily.

3.    Training provided by Kailash was so much detail oriented that it covered more than all topics in SPM. Once you attend the training you will get clarity on all topics in SPM and program management. Kailash brings crystal clear clarity on all topics covered in training.

4.    Study time even though I took more than 1.5 years to clear. In my opinion 1 month of preparation is more than sufficient if you are aware of program manager R & R and know program management concepts.

5.    The only material I studied was the one which was shared by Kailash and SPM v4. Make notes that will help while revision.

6.    I did get a Learning Management Videos from Kailash to bridge my gap between SPM 3 and 4. These videos of LMS and ECO helped me a lot and it cut down on my study time. This is excellent tool to make you understand the concepts. These videos were driving factor for me to clear PgMP.

7.    Practice and Mock tests by addonskills is good enough to get anyone through this exams. This covers all concepts in standards, ECO and close to exams. I did these test twice to find out my gaps and study SPM and materials from Kailash again.

8.    ECO concepts explained point wise by Kailash was excellent and it saved lot of time, before that I studied ECO so many times but was not clear to me till the time I watched the videos.

9.    Whenever I had clarifications or doubts I used to call Kailash anytime and get it clarified. This helped a lot so that you go with clear mind during the exams.

10. Now on the exams:

a.    I am already PMP certified so I know how the exams will look like, but PgMP is different altogether there are very minimal direct question many are scenario based. But if you are familiar with concepts it will be cake walk for you.

b.   I paced my exams in such a way that I decided to complete 50 questions per hour, like playing chasing innings in cricket. I was able to adhere to that and completed all 170 questions in 3.15 minutes and used rest of the 45 minutes for review. I did not take any break.

c.    I did not do any heavy studying 2 days before the exams just slight revision and keeping myself calm and relaxed.

d.   Please stop thinking about results and do not think too far.

11. Last but not least whatapp group which Kailash created is great platform to share knowledge and get doubts clarified. He has inducted so many professionals who responds to queries with no time.

Lessons Learnt:
1.    As I mentioned earlier I took more than 1.5 years that’s not usual time frame for PgMP.

2.    Just go with the momentum, the training is the key. Just keep pressing after the training is complete and try to get the certification within a month or maximum 45 days.

3.    I lost steam once I had a gap after training, but relentless Kailash motivated me to complete it.

4.    Do not delay in preparing the application and paying the fees, this will drive you towards certification.

5.    PgMP is not as hard if you get trained properly. I was lucky to have Kailash, which helped me to get past the mark.

6.    Leave the topics which you are not comfortable on e.g. I skipped practicing EVM, rather concentrate on building on your strengths.

All the best for aspiring participants. Hope my best practices and lessons learnt will help you.

Regards,

Muthukumar Sampathkumar (PMP)
Project Manager at DXC Technology