Andrew rejected A because of the word 'all', however D also has 'all significant project updates...' and sounds rigid - formal channels to maintain documentation and clarity

Here's Claude's reasoning on this question:

I agree with your pick, B. C is the close alternative.

Approach: The stem doesn't say, and the answer doesn't depend on it.

The situation in simple words

• A team member talked to the client in an unplanned conversation and warned them that delays could happen because requirements keep changing.
• The question asks for a proactive step to manage communication better.

What it's testing

Two details matter:

1. The key word is proactive, which means preventing the problem from happening again, not repairing this one conversation.
2. The root issue is how information reached the client: informally, outside the planned way of communicating. Most projects have a communications plan (guidelines on who tells whom, what, and when). The fix is making sure the team knows and follows it.

Why B is right

A workshop gets the whole team on the same page about the communication guidelines. It addresses the cause, so the same thing is less likely to happen again. It's proactive and fits the team-level problem.

Why C is the close alternative

Meeting the client is a good idea for this situation. The client has heard something concerning, and clearing it up may be necessary. But it's a reaction to what already happened, and it doesn't improve communication management in general. If the question had asked "what should the PM do first," C would be a stronger candidate.

Why A and D are weaker

• A: Routing all communication through the PM makes the PM a bottleneck and cuts off normal team-to-stakeholder contact. The absolute word "all" is also a red flag.
• D: Requiring formal channels for significant updates sounds disciplined, but it's rigid, and it imposes a rule without making sure the team understands the existing plan. It's a restriction, not a proactive way to build good practice.

Pattern to note: wording like "proactive" or "more effectively" points to a preventive, process-level answer rather than one that fixes a single incident. This is my reading of one question, so I'm treating it as a hypothesis until another one confirms it.

I am a very anxious test taker and notoriously overthink things. I took a few practice tests before I really dug in and studied and was getting 80s and 90s. Now that I’ve been studying using a lot of the AR videos and reviewing missed questions, I’m averaging 50%. When I review missed questions i realize that that the correct answer was typically my first guess, but I ultimately selected another answer because I was trying to apply the “PMP mindset” and waaaaay over thought it. My exam is on Wednesday and now I am psyching myself out. Has anyone else had this issue? Any suggestions?

Passed the PMP in Under Two Hours. 3AT. How to Actually Enjoy Studying for It.
I’m not going to repeat the usual advice, plenty of people have already told you how to pass the exam. My goal wasn’t just to pass. I wanted to learn project management and apply it to my job. So here’s my experience.

Warning about the PMI mindset: I forced myself to watch the mindset videos even though I don’t like watching videos, because everyone said that was the way to go. They were helpful. However, don’t overapply the mindset. I actually started getting questions wrong because I was relying too heavily on it instead of reading the questions carefully.

PMTraining: $898 for the live course. Do not recommend. They don’t teach you how to approach the exam or apply the concepts. However, they have a great exam simulator with lots of questions, and you can build your own custom exams. I eventually scored in the high 80s. I would not pay for the live course again. On the bright side, if you pay for an expensive course and find it incredibly boring, it can function really well as a sleep aid.

David McLachlan: If I had to do it over, I’d take his Udemy course. I watched several of his YouTube videos and found him extremely engaging. He explains how to think through the questions and keeps you motivated to keep studying. I am going to miss him!

Study Hall: My mock exam scores were 72% on Mock 1 and 68% on Mock 2. On retakes, I scored 84% and 72%. Study Hall was much harder than the actual exam, as people say. Don’t let Study Hall scare you. This bears repeating even tho everyone says it.

My biggest advice: Slow down. Read all the answers. After you pick your answer, go back and read the question again.

How to actually enjoy studying: Play with AI! When you learn about waterfall projects, have AI create a project charter, WBS, risk register, or whatever else you’re studying for a project you’re actually working on. See how the documents fit together. When you learn about stakeholder management, analyze the stakeholders in your own projects. Don’t just memorize the concepts. Experiment with them. It’s a lot more fun, and you’ll actually learn how to use what you’re studying.

Hey everyone!
I’ve completed Andrew Ramdayal’s 35-hour course, scored 73% on his course mock, and practised plenty of questions, including his 200 Ultra Hard PMP Questions.
Feeling fairly confident, I attempted my first PMI Study Hall mock and scored just 59%. The questions were surprisingly difficult, and many had two seemingly correct answers. Honestly, it’s been quite demotivating.
For those who’ve taken the actual PMP exam:
1) Is 59% on the first Study Hall mock a reasonable starting point?
2) What score should I consistently aim for before taking the exam?
3) Should I focus on more practice questions or reviewing my mistakes?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

In short: 60% on Mini Exam 1 (Aug 10) → 59% / 63% / 78% on the three Study Hall full-lengths → passed with Above Target in all three domains on Oct 15. Less than 1 hour a day on average, lots of podcasts, AI to review every mistake. Don't trust the mini exams, don't panic over the full-lengths, and leave your work experience at the door.

Official score report (personal data hidden)

This is my first ever Reddit post. While preparing I kept scrolling this sub looking for insights, so now I'm trying to return the favour.

Background

I've worked as a PM on industrial and software projects, and I have the 35 contact hours from my Master's in Project Management. A few years ago I also did the Google Project Management Certificate on Coursera out of curiosity – interesting, but a bit utopian.

From June to August I was studying for the IASSC Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, so until then the PMP ran in the background (podcasts only, from around July 1). I only focused on it properly from mid-August.

Biggest lesson: leave your real-world experience at the door. I deliberately tried to ignore how things work in my job. If you answer based on what you'd do at work, you will get questions wrong. This exam tests PMI theory and a precise methodological approach – call it the "PMP mindset" or simply the textbook PM. The right answer is what an ideal PM would do in an ideal, supportive organization, not what works in your company.

Resources

• NotebookLM podcasts (~16 hours): I loaded PMBOK 8, the Agile Practice Guide and ECO 2026 and asked for one episode per domain and task (e.g. "[Domain I – Task 1] Develop a Common Vision"). I also made episodes from a PMBOK 8 cheat sheet and Third3Rock's PMP study notes. I listened while driving, walking and at the gym.
• Andrew Ramdayal's course (2026 version): bought it on Oct 1 and only listened to the PMP mindset section, twice, while driving.
• PMI Study Hall: the most useful tool, because the questions are written in the same style as the real exam. I did all 240 practice questions (71% correct) and 26 of the 28 practice exams.
• Claude (AI): see below.

I was honestly inconsistent: on average less than one hour a day. I booked the exam after Full length 2 on Oct 8.

Costs

Not counted: PMI membership and my Master's (where my 35 contact hours came from).

My Study Hall progression

Each cell shows correct answers / questions asked at that difficulty level.

\Mini 1 has 4 Easy + 6 Moderate questions. My first attempt was reset, so only the total score survived, not the per-difficulty breakdown.*

"–" = no questions at that level in that test. Difficulty labels as shown by Study Hall in Oct 2026 (they drift a bit over time).

Study Hall practice exam history

What I take from it:

• Mini exams give false confidence: Minis 7–20 are almost all "Easy".
• Full-lengths give false insecurity: they contain zero "Easy" questions and are mostly Difficult/Expert.
• I never got above 39% on Expert questions. Difficult is the real signal: 75% → 79% → 85%.
• Full length 3's jump is partly the question mix (50 Moderate vs 7 in Full length 2), not only me getting better.
• Don't weight the percentile rank on the home page. It ranks you against other Study Hall students, not against the exam, and it moved between 79 and 91 for me.
• Strengths & Weaknesses labels before the exam: People Advanced, Process Advanced, Business Environment Proficient → Above Target in all three. Funny detail: Business Environment was my best category in the practice question bank (75%) but my lowest label, because the label also weighs question difficulty.
• Timing: my average answer time on Study Hall was about 1:05 per question. The real exam gives you about 80 seconds, so there's room to slow down.
• Apart from difficulty, the formats (case studies, drag and drop, charts) are representative of the new exam.
• Confidence lies on Expert questions. Many of my wrong answers on Expert questions were the ones I felt most sure about. "This is obvious" became a red flag for me to re-read the question.

Study Hall dashboard the day of the exam

All 240 practice questions, by domain

How I used AI (Claude)

I used it to review every wrong answer and generate "twin" questions: same concept and trap, different scenario – never a copy of the Study Hall question, because of copyright. Before answering each one I had to state:

• Which delivery world am I in (predictive/agile/hybrid)?
• Where in the life cycle?
• What has already been done, and what's the next rung?
• Which artifact is involved, if any?

After each set it analysed my answers and my timing. The pattern was clear: the faster I went, the more I got wrong. Slowing down cut my errors.

How I reviewed mistakes: for every wrong answer – on Study Hall and on the AI twins – I re-read the question, the explanation of why the right answer is right, and why each of the other options is wrong. Knowing why your answer was wrong matters more than memorising the correct one.

The day before & the morning

• Day before: more twin questions with Claude, only Difficult and Expert, focused on correcting my recurring error patterns.
• Morning: about 70 minutes of driving with music. For the last 10 minutes I put on "Complete PMP Mindset 50 Principles and Questions"... but didn't really listen because I was busy looking for a parking spot.

Exam day (in person)

I chose a test center because of the stories about online exams being invalidated. The staff was strict, and I liked it: phone, wallet and smartwatch go in a locker they lock in front of you; you empty your pockets and roll up your sleeves for inspection; staff walk around the room the whole time. Positive experience.

• Structure: 40 / 70 / 70. I stood up at both breaks but went back after 5–6 minutes to keep the momentum.
• Time: I used all 240 minutes and read every question calmly.
• Read the last line first: "What should the PM do first/next?" Then read the scenario. Several of my practice mistakes came from understanding the scenario but answering a different question.
• Language: English isn't my native language, and on Study Hall I sometimes missed nuances. I took the exam in English with the native-language aid available: whenever I wasn't sure about a word or a nuance, I checked the version in my native language. It helped a lot.

The exam itself

• Difficulty: mostly Moderate to Difficult, maybe ~5 Expert-level. Clearly easier than Study Hall in how the questions are worded – shorter stems, less convoluted context – not in the concepts tested.
• Formats in my form: no calculations (a couple of EVM interpretation questions), 1 drag and drop, 2 charts, ~10 "choose 2", 2 case studies (~20 questions). Lots of agile.
• A few questions felt like they had no fully right answer. I applied the mindset and picked what a "textbook PM" would do.
• Every exam is different. PMI scores with psychometric methods, so a harder form needs fewer correct answers than an easier one. Don't compare your form with someone else's.

Tips & what I'd do differently

• Don't neglect agile. According to the ECO, about 60% of the exam is agile or hybrid (only ~40% predictive), and I definitely felt it on exam day.
• Book the date. Having a fixed goal stopped me procrastinating and made me focus.
• Keep the mini exams, but know what they measure: they're good for practising the question style. If you're struggling on mostly Easy questions, that's a clear sign you're not ready yet. If you're already prepared, though, they won't give you a real picture of your level – use the full-lengths for that.
• Skip PMI's "CAPM® to PMP® Essentials" course: mostly reading material plus a few videos. Fine out of curiosity, but in my case it added no value on top of the rest.

Good luck – happy to answer questions!

Just got my PMP this year and I’m new to it all still. My company is offering an internal ASQ Yellow Belt Six Sigma training course that runs a total of 6 in-classroom hours.

Is training like this something that I can somehow apply towards my PDUs? Frankly I’d much rather be doing this training than all of the AI Project Management stuff that is available from PMI on the website.

If it can count, what should I be collecting as evidence/proof?

Thank you all!

Passed my PMP Exam today with AT/AT/AT.

My Study Material:

- AR PMP Exam Prep: was used mainly for foundation and guiding through material. Since I already had my CAPM and hours required for PMP.

- PMI Study Hall Plus

My Practice Results

- AR Course Exam: 85%

- PMI Mock Exam: 71%

- PMI Mock Exam: 72%

- PMI Mini Mock Exam Avg: 88%

PMP Exam

- 40/70/70 format

- 2 case studies

- 5-6 charts

- No calculation questions

My thoughts on prep and exam:

- critical to understand the PMI Mindset

- the exam is poorly written compared to study prep, it's a combination of vague and understanding the action behind the question as the answers are not written the same way with study hall (e.g. keywords like facilitate, coach, analyze are not typical keywords on the exam)

Hi everyone, I just completed my first full-length PMI Study Hall mock exam and scored 62% overall, including expert-level questions. I didn’t get any easy questions, only five moderate ones, and the rest were difficult or expert-level, with those two categories nearly evenly split. Excluding the expert questions, my overall score rises to around 80–81%, with similar results across each domain. The gap between 62% and 80–81% is affecting my confidence, so I’d appreciate insights from those who recently took the PMP exam: Is scoring around 80% without expert questions a good indicator of readiness, how much weight should expert questions carry, and should I be concerned about the 62% overall score given the difficulty distribution?

Hi friends, looking for someone who can answer some basic software and engineering questions. I have project leadership experience, but not in software or engineering PM work. Although I've led many projects, I haven't held an official PM role before, but I am in the process of becoming a PM.

In the meantime, I'm building my foundational software and engineering knowledge.

Please comment if you have experience as a PM in software and/or engineering. I'd love to email you a few questions to build on.

I have been doing extensive research, but I'm also looking for others with previous experience. Thank you! Gracias!

Huge thanks to this community for sharing knowledge and lessons learned, which helped me pass the PMP exam! 🙏

This post is HOW NOT TO PREPARE for the exam. 😄

I completed my 35 PDUs in May but delayed serious preparation until August, waiting to understand the new 8th-edition exam difficulty. I resumed preparation in August, spent almost a month revisiting the live classes and initially scored 93% on easy, straightforward mock tests—so I booked my exam.

Only afterward did I realize the real exam had many plausible answer choices, requiring much more than basic knowledge.

I then tried AR’s 50 Mindset videos and 200 Ultra Hard Questions (80%), but still struggled to find mocks matching the real exam. With only 5 days left, I bought PMI Study Hall. My first full mock was 63% with 4 days to go, and I even considered postponing.

With ChatGPT’s help, I realized my knowledge was reasonably strong; my bigger problem was choosing the best answer and eliminating plausible distractors. I analyzed my mistakes, took a second SH mock (69%), practiced more questions, and focused on answer-selection strategy. By that time, I was exhausted and struggling with concentration and I couldn't sleep the day before exam.

The exam felt moderately difficult, with many questions having 2+ plausible answers. I reached the final question with just 30 seconds left!

Then came the best moment: 3 ATs! 🎉

I was completely exhausted afterward and slept for 16 hours. 😄

Bottom line: Don't repeat my mistakes. Make a clear study plan early and take at least 2 PMI Study Hall full-length mocks before booking your exam.

Most importantly, learn not just what the answer is, but why it is the best answer and how to eliminate the others.

I got the official mail with certificate in 36hrs !!

I have worked in construction management for 4 years. but I only have a HS. I don't qualify to take the exam with my lower education level yet. How can I prep before the actually prep?

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to share my PMP exam experience, especially for those who are preparing for the new 2026 version or are nervous about taking it.

I took my first exam on July 3rd and unfortunately didn't pass. My results were:

• Business Environment: Above Target (AT)
• Process: Below Target (BT)
• People: Above Target (T)

I retook the exam yesterday, October 15, and PASSED WITH ABOVE TARGET IN ALL THREE DOMAINS!! 🎉

And honestly, having experienced both exams, I wanted to share a few things.

1. The new exam felt MUCH easier to me

Seriously, MUCH easier.

Of course, I studied a lot more for my second attempt, so that probably played a big role. But even taking that into consideration, I felt a huge difference between the two exams.

My first exam felt extremely focused on memorization, terminology, and knowing very specific concepts by name.

This one felt much more practical and connected to the real world. The questions were about actual situations a project manager would face, and the answers felt much clearer and more logical.

There was definitely still terminology involved, but I felt like I was being tested on my ability to manage projects rather than just memorize definitions.

Maybe it's just my perception, but the difference was HUGE.

2. Exam structure and question types

My exam was divided into three sections:

• Questions 1–40: Mostly long case studies, followed by a 10-minute break.
• Questions 41–110: 70 questions, followed by another 10-minute break.
• Questions 111–180: The final 70 questions.

The first section had some REALLY long business cases.

My biggest tip: READ THE ACTUAL QUESTION FIRST!

Seriously, don't waste time reading an entire massive case study before you even know what you're looking for.

Go straight to the question at the end, understand what they're asking, and then go back and skim the case to find the relevant information.

Obviously, don't completely ignore the scenario because sometimes the answer is hidden in the details. But reading everything word for word right from the beginning can be a huge waste of time.

The second and third sections were completely different for me. Most questions were much shorter, more direct, and easier to understand.

I also had:

• A drag-and-drop question about identifying risks vs. issues.
• Quite a few charts and graph interpretation questions.
• Some performance index questions where you had to interpret the information and decide what action to take.
• ZERO calculations. Not a single one.

Obviously, this was just my experience, so your exam might be different.

3. AI questions

I had quite a few questions related to AI, and honestly, I found them pretty straightforward.

Most were about how AI should be used in project management, validating AI-generated information, not blindly trusting outputs, using AI for automation, etc.

Nothing particularly complicated. Mostly common sense and understanding how to use AI responsibly in real project situations.

4. TIME MANAGEMENT IS EVERYTHING

This is probably my biggest takeaway from both attempts.

During my first exam, I spent WAY too much time on the earlier questions. By the time I reached the final section, I was rushing through everything because I was running out of time.

This time, I was much more conscious of the clock and actually finished with 12 minutes remaining!

My advice is to keep track of your time throughout the exam, especially when you reach each break.

Before starting your break, check how much time you have left. That way, you can estimate how much time you can afford to spend per question in the next section.

Don't get stuck on one question for too long. Make your best decision and move on.

I genuinely feel that time management is one of the hardest parts of the PMP exam.

5. Final thoughts

If you're preparing for the exam and feeling nervous, TRUST YOUR PREPARATION!

I know how frustrating it is to fail the first attempt. But I also want to say that, at least in my experience, the new exam felt much more logical, practical, and focused on real project management.

If you've studied and understand the concepts, a lot of the questions become pretty intuitive.

And PLEASE, manage your time. I can't stress that enough!

Good luck to everyone ❤️

I passed the PMP test with 3 ATs. Thanks for all valuable guidance in this group. Thanks AR, DM, AA and MR for their valuable support. May God bless u all. Best of luck to all future candidates, and present PMPs.

Everyone has been so helpful with tips. I’m preparing to sit for my test next week. So far I’ve watch AR 50 mindset video and his 200 ultra hard questions. I’ve finished all mini exams on SH and attempted to do a mock but couldn’t make it through 20 questions probably because I tried after work. Did anyone not do the mock exam and passed the test? I’ve been doing a ton of practice questions and plugging the wrong ones into ChatGPT to review. I’m nervous about the fatigue from taking the exam. However I plan on taking it midday (as I’m not a morning person) and at a testing center not in my home which could be another fact.

TIA

I took my final full study hall practice exam today and scored 85% . If I exclude the expert questions I got wrong, I would have gotten a 94% on the first section, 92% on the second section, and 100% on the third section.

I feel fairly prepared for the exam (probably jinxing myself) but wanna continue studying to avoid surprises . What would you suggest that I focus on until the test?

For context, I’m a mom of 2 and currently on maternity leave with my second so I have to get creative with my study time.

Exam was hard and full trick QTNS.

Used:

-35 Hour Course PMP Prep Course from Andrew Ramdayal
-Andrew’s 200 Ultra Hard QTNS on YouTube (only did the first 90)
-Study Hall

I learned the material using Andrew’s course. I don’t do well with learning through videos so I got nothing out of the lectures, though his mock exam and end of section quizzes helped me to lock in concepts. The PMI mindset section was the biggest takeaway. Once I was scoring his mock exam almost perfectly I assumed I was ready.

Right after, I got the application approved on a Thursday and booked my test a week out thinking I was ready. I bought the PMI study hall and quickly realized I was unprepared. I did the first mock only exam and landed 61%, it destroyed me. After feeling exhaustion from the mock I relentlessly studied until exam day. Only did the first mock as I didn’t want to burnout before the exam and just focused on studying. Did not feel ready and the anxiety his hard.

The material started clicking after watching the 200 Ultra Hard QTNS. After watching about 30 questions I’d do the mini practice exams on SH and score well. Then rinse and repeat. The mindset is the most important thing to lock in and Andrew’s video helps to capture that.

I used Gemini to go through all the wrong questions on SH and explain it to me, then ask it to create a scenario and PMP mindset matrix sheet to wrap my head around everything.

Lots of trick questions that seemed like BS with both the last two viable choices are the right answer. QTNS are shorter than SH but still tough

In total it took 3 weeks of studying. 1.5hr a day for the first two weeks then about 7-8hr daily for the last week after booking.
Also wore blue. Apparently that helps lol

Wanted to share this to let some people know it’s passable, and you don’t need >70% in the SH mocks to pass, just have to consistently get majority of answers right in the SH to confirm your knowledge don’t memorize QTNS cuz none of them are similar on exams. Practice practice practice good luck out there