project+ 2009 beta question

jamesleecoleman

Hey!!!

I got offered the slot to take this exam but I have to take it within about 15 days.
I was wondering if anyone else has looked into this and know if the 2003
objectives will help alot with the 2009 objectives? I've looked at the two objective
lists but I'm confused while trying to compare the two lists. I would imagine that the
2003 objectives would be part of the 2009 objectives but I'm just not sure.

Megadeth4168

You most likely received the same email that I did. In the email it is said that the material has not changed that much. So, it leads me to believe that studying for the old exam will most likely give you a pretty good chance on the Beta.

jamesleecoleman

The email that I got didn't say anything about the material not changing so much.
Thanks for the input.

Megadeth4168

The following is straight from the email I received with my Voucher Code.

There are no updated study materials for this because the exam isn’t out yet. The existing books will help; the exam is not that much changed.

I hope that helps.

jamesleecoleman

It does!! Thanks! Good luck on the test. I take mine the 22 of september.

L0gicB0mb508

I just signed up for it. I didn't know if there was a cut off date or what? It still took all my info, so I guess we'll see.

Divine-Assault

Sweeeeeeeeeet, just got my beta voucher today.

I have to test at a pearson VUE center and I have 3 weeks until it expires.

skrpune

Divine-Assault wrote: »

Sweeeeeeeeeet, just got my beta voucher today.

I have to test at a pearson VUE center and I have 3 weeks until it expires.

Same here. I'm shooting for taking it on the 23rd, let's hope it's still open by then.

jamesleecoleman

I just don't like the fact that we have to take it soo soon. I'm like give me a month or something but hey it's free

skrpune

jamesleecoleman wrote: »

I just don't like the fact that we have to take it soo soon. I'm like give me a month or something but hey it's free

it's actually been available as a beta for a few months now as far as I can tell. I did some googling and it looks like folks were signing up for it back in March or April...the initial exam deadline was May 29th but it's (obviously) been extended out pretty far. Guess they were having trouble getting 400 people to take it??

msteinhilber

skrpune wrote: »

it's actually been available as a beta for a few months now as far as I can tell. I did some googling and it looks like folks were signing up for it back in March or April...the initial exam deadline was May 29th but it's (obviously) been extended out pretty far. Guess they were having trouble getting 400 people to take it??

That seems to be a problem for CompTIA lately. With beta's for Server+, Linux+ and now Project+ having a hard time reaching 400 people.

I got my foot in the door well after the "deadline" on the Linux+ like many others and ended up with a voucher. I've taken project management courses and eventually had plans to attain the PMP, so this one is tempting. I really do dislike learning about these beta's though... they really do throw a wrench in my regular studies since I simply cannot turn down a free exam

L0gicB0mb508

I'm taking it on Sept 25th. I can't pass up a free test.

Jagged

msteinhilber wrote: »

I've taken project management courses and eventually had plans to attain the PMP, so this one is tempting.

If you've had PM courses then you should have no problem with this exam. Just remember the basics:

- Minimize costs.
- Minimize inter-personnel conflicts.
- Document.
- Communicate.

There are probably enough points related to the above on the exam to get a passing score. Questions on word definitions and project flow should be easy enough just by being exposed to the PM way in the past.

I say just go for it.

skrpune

msteinhilber wrote: »

That seems to be a problem for CompTIA lately. With beta's for Server+, Linux+ and now Project+ having a hard time reaching 400 people.

I got my foot in the door well after the "deadline" on the Linux+ like many others and ended up with a voucher. I've taken project management courses and eventually had plans to attain the PMP, so this one is tempting. I really do dislike learning about these beta's though... they really do throw a wrench in my regular studies since I simply cannot turn down a free exam

well, CompTIA just seems to be having problems period as of late! They're just having a rough time of things right now, and I'm hoping it gets better for them soon (part of it is purely selfish-I wanna make sure that I actually get the results of my Server+ beta and that my previous records don't get lost). I do wonder what their logic/strategy is for the betas - do they think that they'll get too many participants who may not be a good target audience for the exam, thus slightly skewing results/scoring? I can see this being their line of thinking, but if they keep these things too quiet then it takes way too long to get enough people to gather the data they need.

And I hear you on how tempting betas can be...I rerouted my studies two times so far in the last couple months and now this will be reroute number three. The prospect of getting additional credentials to add to the ol' resume for free can just be too hard to say no to. (Although I didn't have much trouble saying no to the Linux+ exam, I am beyond clueless with that stuff!)

Hyper-Me

I didnt know this was available. I just tried to sign up, as this cert will be a requirement when i start WGU and it would be great to have it out of the way (for free).

jamesleecoleman

Hyper-Me wrote: »

I didnt know this was available. I just tried to sign up, as this cert will be a requirement when i start WGU and it would be great to have it out of the way (for free).

Yea I know what you mean. I need this to test out of a class

eMeS

I have a slow week so I signed up for this and just received the voucher.

I'm going to take it cold, probably by Friday this week. I will let you all know my thoughts and perhaps what would be the best study material.

MS

Hyper-Me

I too got a voucher, and signed up for friday. I'll probably also take it cold. I also have very little experience in project management but CompTIA tests usually arent very challenging so I'll just try to wing it.

skrpune

eMeS wrote: »

I have a slow week so I signed up for this and just received the voucher.

I'm going to take it cold, probably by Friday this week. I will let you all know my thoughts and perhaps what would be the best study material.

MS

well crap, you're going to blow the scoring curve for the rest of us!

kimanyd

You'd think they'd just automatically give you the Project+ if you had a PMP*

*For the exam price...

eMeS

skrpune wrote: »

well crap, you're going to blow the scoring curve for the rest of us!

Probably not...I have no idea what they really ask about on Project+....

MS

eMeS

kimanyd wrote: »

You'd think they'd just automatically give you the Project+ if you had a PMP*

*For the exam price...

That's supposed to say "PiMP" in my signature line...

MS

L0gicB0mb508

eMeS wrote: »

That's supposed to say "PiMP" in my signature line...

MS

Baller.

skrpune

eMeS wrote: »

Probably not...I have no idea what they really ask about on Project+....

MS

somethings tells me you'll do just dandy on it. I'm not too terribly far into my studies (just 2/10 chapters done so far ), but it looks like it's largely based on the PMBOK. So the concepts and definitions and theories will likely be mostly the same.

eMeS

skrpune wrote: »

somethings tells me you'll do just dandy on it. I'm not too terribly far into my studies (just 2/10 chapters done so far ), but it looks like it's largely based on the PMBOK. So the concepts and definitions and theories will likely be mostly the same.

10 AM tomorrow.

I see this not so much as what Project+ can do for me, as what I can do for Project+.

That, and yet another opportunity to diss the dismal Prometric/Vue center that is nearest to me. That place is seriously a dive...

MS

eMeS

I finished the exam this morning and I would have to say that I feel a bit underwhelmed.

It was 130 questions, which made me feel a bit sick when I realized that. I feel like they could have tested the same material in 40 questions, but I do understand that this is a beta and they want to try to gather some statistics.

I would rank this exam in difficulty as equivalent to the PMP. The PMP is a really easy exam IMO (please note, this isn't hyperbole on my part, I'm not that great at multiple choice exams, and I've taken some very hard ones in my day, including 70-291...the PMP in no way compares to the more difficult exams out there that many of you have taken). Basically you need to know the same things for Project+ that you would need to know for the PMP.

I would recommend this book as prep for this exam:

Amazon.com: PMP Exam Prep, Sixth Edition: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam (9781932735185): Rita Mulcahy, PMP: Books

I used that book and her test prep material for the PMP back when I took it.

In fact, I'll go even further to say that there is little need for a specific Project+ book.

Understand what project charters are and how they're used. Know the method for determining lines of communication and what this means, understand what a WBS is.

Other than that, much of what is tested is common sense. Good luck to all doing this. For those of you that haven't signed up, why not take a shot at it?

MS

Hyper-Me

I have near zero experience with project management, just what ive seen/heard at work.

I just took this exam a few mins ago and it was about 90% common sense...the rest was acronyms that you either know or dont know, but i didnt read ANY material to prepare for this so i didnt know them.

I would say i have a fair chance at passing this exam, and considering my total lack of experience/prep with any project exams....this makes CompTIA look even more worthless.

L0gicB0mb508

I forgot how boring it was to read about this stuff. Makes me want to cut my wrists it's so dry and boring.

eMeS

L0gicB0mb508 wrote: »

I forgot how boring it was to read about this stuff. Makes me want to cut my wrists it's so dry and boring.

When I was taking it I was remembering back to studying for the PMP, and how that was about as much fun as when I was about 21 and my jaw was broken and wired shut.

One thing I should mention to any of you studying for this (or the PMP) is that I highly recommend against reading the PMBOK as a study aid. I made the mistake of reading that to study for the PMP back when I took it. Not that the information is bad in there, it's just not really designed to be used as study material...

MS

Turgon

I almost took this test myself as it was a requirement for the MCNE which I ran out of time to finish in 2007. For my part I looked over the Project+ from Sybex and if that material was anything to go by it really was a very doable test but do need to prepare for it.

I think a lot of people underestimate it as with a lot of projecty or management things they are dismissed as common sense dressed up with jargon and bloat. I suppose this is understandable but not the whole story. Years ago I combined History with Management studies for my Degree. I noticed that most students in the Management class, myself included had no prior management experience or management academic training. Contrast that with the History class where most people had A level History already i.e two years of rigerous training and external examination in historical source analysis and methods. Getting decent marks on Management classes was a breeze compared to History, even for the really good A level people. I felt business type classes were easier than Arts or Hard Sciences as did my peers. But that doesn't mean they don't have value. In fact to counter balance this observation I would say that while doing well in class for things like this was *easier*, applying that instruction in ways that are useful in the field can be very difficult indeed. Contrast that with the *harder* subjects where if you do reach the heights in class most probably you will go on to higher studies but essentially more of the same thing in an academic setting as opposed to trying to turn a failing million dollar project around. Being an ace in class might help you there, but only if you can correctly apply what you learned in a live setting. This is one of the challenges of academic and vocational training in management. How to help people do things like that.

Looking back I find that some of things taught in class came in very useful admittedly sometimes in obtuse ways later on in professional life. I would encourage any IT professional to get at least some exposure to things like this not least as they are so accessible which is a really good thing. You don't need a razor sharp brain or prior training to learn this stuff. You will not split atoms. Using it properly in the field is the challenge. Anyone with no project management experience can not only pass this exam but get some insight into what PM entails and that's a good thing IMO.

Be careful not to underestimate this exam though. You need to get your head around the ice cream flavour that project management is sold as in this test. There is terminology, components, various documents, lifecycle to get your head around. So do read something so you don't get caught out. Also for those of you who have not worked alongside PMs for years like I have as a technical designer supporting deliveries, keep an open mind on the methodologies you are introduce to. Project managers are legion these days and there are many styles. Some productive, some less so and that can be as much to do with the type of assignment handed to a PM as the ability of the PM themselves. A good match is important there!

Further you will find that while some of the things covered by the exam are used in a project setting, some others may not be. There are also the proprietary methodologies like Prince etc to consider.

Overall though, worth looking at if you have time and yeah..it can be a dull read!

skrpune

Strange...I tried to schedule my exam today, and Pearson Vue shows appointments available for the Project+ through October 15th. I guess they've extended the test deadline again?? I emailed the contact at CompTIA that sent me the voucher, I'll post an update from her when I get a response.

UPDATE: got a response from CompTIA:

The exam is scheduled to come down 10/15 or when 400 people have taken it. I had several groups of vouchers extended; if you can register for the exam in October using your voucher, then yours was one of them.