It gets confusing with the names of all the exams (proposal defense, quals, comps, prelims, etc.). I had my proposal defense, and was successful - so my prelims were waived, especially since I've already completed a Masters program. But I still have comps next term, and then my final dissertation defense in 2019. Plus, I already did one proposal defense before I switched advisors/projects, so this was my second one and was vastly more "informal" than the first. But I think, in a way, that yes, it is helping me prepare because I got a lot of good feedback about potential formats and ideas for my comps during my proposal defense. But I suppose we'll see when I do my comps next term. :-/