PMP Exam Timetable
Student Success Story
For me, the hard part was the grind of the four-hour exam. The last hour was just a battle; re-reading the questions just to be sure I knew what was being asked, and not to make any hasty answers just because I was getting mentally fatigued.
Patrick Marcigliano, PMP
Starting with the end in mind also applies to taking the actual exam and having a timetable for how you will spend the four hours you have available.
There is no substitute for being well studied in preparation for the exam and using practice exams to hone your knowledge and test-taking approach.
However, most successful candidates also have a simple, direct strategy and timetable for taking the exam.
They not only walk into the exam room with a clear timetable in their head, but they have also practiced it. A timetable should therefore be developed a long time before the actual exam date and then applied and updated whenever the student takes a complete preparation exam.
For example, one strategy that has worked for many candidates is to make multiple passes through the exam:
A Simple PMP Exam Timetable:
- First Pass
On the first pass, which typically takes one to two hours, they answer only those questions which are short and they immediately know the answer. - Second Pass
Longer questions and those involving understanding and addressing a situation or solving equations are marked during the first pass so that they can be reviewed during the second pass. - Third Pass
In this third and final pass, the student reviews those questions that are still marked as well as those that are still unanswered. The primary goal of this third pass is to ensure that no question remains unanswered. Guessing may be required.
Following this strategy, candidates do not inadvertently leave “low hanging fruit” questions -- where they know the answers -- unanswered. They don't spend time completing more involved questions where they don’t immediately know the answer until later in the exam when the “easy wins” have already been claimed.
You have to adjust that strategy if you are going for the online, proctored version of the exam.