PMP questions type and difficulty

Preparing for the PMP exam is a challenge that integrates many aspects.

If you are preparing for taking the PMP exam, at this moment you probably are aware that there are 200 question units in 4 hours and that 25 of them are not graded (yet this is totally irrelevant since you do not know which ones are not graded).

There is a heuristic rule that you should take at least 1000 sample questions before going to the exam. I actually believe that I have used in training around 1200 - 1400 different unique questions and some of them up to 3 times over. Surfing through an enormous online variety of question for this exam, I have inadvertently encountered questions raging from very good to very bad, targeted on the PMBOK or completely irrelevant to the exam.

So to share my experience and knowledge regarding the exam and preparation for it, I would like to recommend you the following regarding what to expect:

• If it is not in the PMBOK 99% you won't see it in the exam. I find this very important since scrolling the web for more questions you would at some point find unrelated questions (yes  journey to Abilene or words / minutes processed, I am referring  to you).
• About 100-120 questions were normal questions, you would expect anyone trained for the PMP to know as a basic.
• About 50 questions were average difficulty, where you have to find out what exactly is happening in the situation described. Again if you have sound training, these should not be a problem.
• Lastly about 30-40 questions are really difficult. These are those questions that you need to find out what the context is about, choose best answer from all 4 correct, or the least wrong answer. This is also important to be aware of when you prepare for the exam. I have seen some sample tests where all 200 questions were difficult or even much more difficult than you would encounter (negative float on the Critical Path for example). Your score in this kind of tests is also marginal relevant to what you would perform on the real exam. 

I think the key to evaluate yourself is to score that 75-80% in a full 200 QU test that mixes all knowledge areas and has varied difficulty questions.

You can find over 400 question units in Rita if you own the book. There are 200 more free questions in PMStudy.com and I have found 175 more free questions from Oliver Lehman. 

Best of luck!