PMP Exam Prep (4th Edition) [Paperback]

Rita Mulcahy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0971164738 | ISBN-13: 978-0971164734 | Edition: 4th

Learn More. Study Less.

The 4th Edition of the PMP Exam Prep is a Course in a Book and is used in 43 countries to help project managers pass PMI's PMP Exam. It contains not only sample exams but detailed review materials, games and exercises based on accelerated learning theory and insider tips. PMP Exam Prep was developed to help you learn more and study less - up to 70% less than using conventional study guides. It contains information about core concepts of project management, information on the PMP exam that is not in the PMBOK and helps you understand how the PMP exam is constructed.

The 4th edition has over 100 pages more than the 3rd edition, 300 changes and much more information about the new area of professional responsibility. It focuses on the areas of the PMP exam where students score the lowest and contains tips about how to study and what to study.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"(PMP Exam Prep)...is THE BIBLE for anyone taking the exam. I would not have passed the exam without it. -- J. Brooks, PMP Exam preparation student

From the Publisher

This is the 4th edition of the PMP Exam Prep, often called "Rita's book" by project management students, which has easily become the standard training material to help project managers pass the PMP exam. PMP Exam Prep is being used in over 43 countries.

It is more than a series of sample exams. It is a comprehensive guide to get ready to pass the PMP exam.

PMP Exam Prep goes beyond the material contained in the PMBOK incorporating input about project management from around the world. The emphasis on this publication is the tools you need to pass the exam and apply project management principles to real-world situations.

Since the world of project management is constantly being updated, RMC prides itself on keeping its materials as up-to-date as possible with frequent edits and printings.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Rmc Pubns Inc; 4th edition (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971164738
• ISBN-13: 978-0971164734
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #310,163 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rita Mulcahy, PMP, is an international expert in project
management "Tricks of the Trade," and best practices with over 15
years and $2.5 billion of hands-on experience. She has taught over
4,500 project managers from around the world and has helped over 1,500
people get ready to pass the PMP exam. Rita has helped write the PMP
exam and is one of only about 15 trainers PMI uses for worldwide
project management training. She has spent 7 years as a PMI chapter
officer and has spoken at Project World and PMI's International
Project Management Symposium to standing room only crowds in 1998 and
1999. Rita's work is sought after around the world.

Rita is the President of RMC - Project Management, a project
management training, consulting and speaking firm helping companies
use project management tools and techniques to complete projects
faster, cheaper, better, and with fewer resources. RMC - Project
Management is a Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) with the
Project Management Institute.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for PMP Exam Prep, April 21, 2003

By 

Craig L. Howe "The Pointed Pundit" (Darien, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: PMP Exam Prep (4th Edition) (Paperback)

If you are prepping for the PMP exam, this book is a must. This self-contained course explains the PMI certification process, offers exam-taking tips and focuses your attention on key project management concepts.

Written to save you preparation time, the book:
* Helps you identify potential problem areas in your knowledge.
* Review topics not covered in the PMBOK.
* Become acquainted with what the author calls "PMI-isms."
* Prepares you for sitting through a four hour exam.
* Acquaints you with the type of questions that appear on the exam.

Make no mistake; the exam is much harder than the questions that appear in this guide. However, the time spent reviewing Mulcahy's material will focus your attention on material appearing on the exam. It will also broaden your approach to project management from your personal, narrow experience to the broad-based approach tested on the exam.

If you are serious about passing, this book is well-worth the money.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Day Before Exam - PMP Exam Prep Saved the Day!, February 25, 2003

By 

Harinath Thummalapalli (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: PMP Exam Prep (4th Edition) (Paperback)

I had taken a very reputable classroom style course to help me pass the test and it was definitely very useful in solidifying the Project Management knowledge I had gained over the past 4-6 years. If I had to do things over again, I would still have taken that class. But they had taken the approach of drilling down into each of the 9 Knowledge Areas and neglected to go across the Knowledge Areas by addressing the 5 Process Groups. Even their software was focussed on testing your expertise with the 9 Knowledge Areas.

Guess what? In order to pass the PMP, you need thorough expertise with the 5 Process Groups! Sure, if you understood the 9 Knowledge Areas 100%, you will indirectly have a grip on the 5 Process Groups. The only problem is that it is almost impossible for that information to stick in your head unless you go across and not just drill down! Preparing for the PMP using the Knowledge Area approach is like learning a language by reading a dictionary!

I was wondering why I was scoring so poorly on the practice tests till I decided to check out the PMP Exam Prep and PM FASTrack(the day before the test). When I started using Rita's PM FASTrack which tests your expertise in both Process Groups and Knowledge Areas, I realized what the missing component was. I then spent the next 4-6 hours carefully studying the more difficult chapters from Rita's PMP Exam Prep book and took another practice test. I only spent about an hour per chapter since I had already been exposed to a lot of the Project Management techniques that are tested. Suddenly, my overall score started improving!

I then kicked myself for not opening her CD-ROM and book till the last minute. But I decided not to panic and just study with high concentration. At this point, I reconciled myself to not passing the test this first time and promised myself that I would read her book cover to cover and take 100% of the practice questions in her CD-ROM the next time.

Fortunately, the next day when I took the test, I was able to stay calm and felt a lot more comfortable when I noticed that the questions on the test were VERY similar to the ones in her book and CD-ROM! I could not believe it, but I was glad :-) I was very happy that I used her material at least for that one day. When I got the score at the end of the 4 hours, I had scored 86. Whew!

... If I were to do it again, I would just take her class instead (much cheaper) where you get all this material free on top of the class. More than anything, following the approach in her book will relieve you of all the tension resulting from the unpredictability and difficulty in taking the PMP exam.

The PMP exam's main source of difficulty stems from the seemingly subjective nature of the questions. Only by thoroughly understanding the material in the official 'Guide to the PMBOK' will anyone be able to see that the questions are actually quite objective in nature. But to understand this really dense 'Guide to the PMBOK', there is no substitute to the 'PMP Exam Prep'! Her material also gave me a much better understanding of project management than any of the other material/class. Among a couple of other books, I still use her PMP Exam Prep book whenever I am going through a project life cycle as a reference.

Good luck with the exam and I hope that the information above helps you pass the exam with a lot more ease.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An essential book - but not the only book to pass the exam, October 20, 2003

By 

Mahesh Krishnamoorthy "Gnana Hunter" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: PMP Exam Prep (4th Edition) (Paperback)

Hi,

This book is good from exam point of view. The cost of others calling this "great" is probably $1000+ for some 3-day classroom courses either with Rita or with cheetahlearning etc. Passing the exam only with the help of this book is impossible.

This book covers the key points for the exam. This book keeps reading more interesting and easier. But number of practice questions are very less (only 30 questions from each chapter. Passing only with this book is impossible. The highlight of Rita's book is the time and cost chapter - she has done a great job in those two topics.

Remember PMBOK IS the bible. Other book that you might want to consider is from ESI. I bought their practice exam guide. When you compare Rita's book with ESI's practice exam guide, ESI has 40 questions on each topic and one set of 200 questions exam as in the real exam. ALL of ESI's questions are directly from PMBOK. Believe me they are hard to answer. If someone scores over 75% in ESI's practice exam, they will score 80% in the actual exam.

From my friends' circle, all who passed the exam - including me - either attended an expensive course or bought an expensive CD for practice exam. I bought Rita's PM Fastrack - very expensive one - VERY USEFUL. Lot of PMBOK study+PM Fastrack = my success.

Hope this helps