Customer Reviews

PMP Exam Success Series: Certification Exam Manual with CD-ROM

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Besides the PMBOK, this was the only other book that I purchased. I started reading the PMBOK first but I had a hard time memorizing concepts, tables, formulas, processes, etc. Don't get me wrong, the PMBOK is a great resource, but in my opinion is a little tedious to read, so I decided to change my studying strategy. I started reading the PMP Success Series first and using the PMBOK as a complimentary resource. This combination worked great for me! The advantage of this book is that it has a bunch of tools, tables, exercises, and of course the CD, that helped me to memorize needed things for the test. I strongly would recommend this book to anyone trying to prepare for the PMP certification.

I just passed my PMP exam on my first try. I studied for the exam with Tony's book "Crosswind PMP Success Series: Certification Exam Manual", CD simulation exams, placemats and audio CDs. I had purchased the Rita book first. However I think Tony's book was much better at providing explanations and examples. It complimented the PMBOK, made reading and understanding the PMBOK easier.

The exam simulation CDs really helped me prepare for the exam, and it provides a great study aid; it provides feedback on what sections of the exam you should review. It also helped with the timing, how fast you need to be able to proceed through the test questions. I was able to answer all the questions on the exam in a little over 2 hours, used 1 hour for review of the questions I marked and finished 30 minutes ahead of time.

I was able to beta test the new exam simulations with 5 process group tests, 9 knowledge area tests, framework and PR, and 4 complete PMP tests, 20 tests total. I reviewed Rita's test questions and Crowe's test questions as a backup. I believe that Tony's material provided me with the knowledge I needed to pass the exam.
I would not recommend the Sybex exam simulation CD; I found it frustrating, confusing and too wordy.

I received a copy of this book when I took Tony's prep class. This book and the related material enabled me to pass the PMP on my first try. The PMP simulation test CD was a great tool to test your knowledge and provide you the chance to experience going through 200 questions within four hours. This book provides details that are not in the PMBOK. I.E detailed Earned Value exercises, backward/forward exercises and PTA just to mention a few. This book combined with the other material associated with the prep class was all I needed to successfully pass the exam. Plus, the study and test taking methodology was very helpful. The PMP exam is a difficult test and when I encountered the situational questions I used the methodology stated in the book to evaluate the question and select what I considered to be the correct answer. Guess it worked because I passed. I recommend Tony's book but suggest you purchase his complete package if you do not attend the prep class.

Used only these materials to pass the PMP test in Nov '04 with room to spare above 137. Did not crack the PMBOK, as all that was needed is contained in this book.

A definite need is the practice test CD and placemats. Took other practice tests on and off PMI study site and this was the closest to the real test in type, style and context. Placemats help to summarize the key areas into diagram/picture format. This helps it stick in the brain.

With this information and study time, there should be no reason why one cannot pass the PMP test. Will be buying the next edition, that supports the new PMBOK , just to have it as reference.

I've overkilled my preparation for the exam and I am now just scheduling it. Hope I don't peak too soon. Of all the material that I have reviewed this is the most complete, thorough review -- knowledge area by knowledge area. I also found a few errors in other materials but not in this book. I hope that the questions are representative (in form) of the actual exam. Even had a chance to speak with Tony and was impressed by the advice he gave. Only book you need for self study ... even better than the better known review guides out there!

I used this book to study for the PMP certification exam, which I recently passed. I scored 90.16% and I believe it was largely due to this book. I used Mulcahy's book too, but her questions/exercises ended up confusing me, rather than helping. The exercises and questions in this book were perfect for me!

I used this book along with the Sybex book and Rita's book to study for the exam. There are a couple of reviews that mentioned errors. I checked the company website before buying and downloaded the current errata (updates) document as I did for the Sybex book also. I didn't have any problems with either book from the updates. The Crosswind book was good and to the point on what was needed without trying to digest entire pages of text and having to determine what was important. The Sybex book was a bit heavy and harder to digest. I haven't taken the test yet, but a few study buddies who just passed said the Crosswind and Rita questions were more like the real exam than the Sybex questions.

I run an internal training program at my company as well as handle any outsourced training needs that our customers have for PMP Exam training. I am quite pleased with this book. This was one of the first available for the PMP exam changes so it was an easy choice to review. Upon reviewing there were a number of items in it that I have yet to see in any book that I have reviewed that has come out since then. These are features that my students say really helps them get in deep with the details of what is needed for the test. Some of the items I have yet to see in any other book include the following.....

1. They have updated supplemental material on their website that can be downloaded for free as new information is discovered about the exam. The most recent document I downloaded for my students was six pages of material above and beyond what is in the book. Crosswind says to check back as they update as they learn more. I can say I have seen things like PTA, EPV, etc. on the supplmental material that I have seen in none of the other books I have reviewed. They also have a PDF file on the website for the online application screen shots to help with the PMI application setup.

2. Mindmaps for each knowledge area and process. This is quite helpful in graphically seeing how the processes and inputs, tools/techniques and outputs work together.

3. Matching terminology exercises for each chapter. Alot of my students that have been hard core terminology programmed based on their job experiece tell me they get alot of value from this area as it aligns their experience with the PMI terminology.

4. Matching ITTO exercises to help the PMP aspirant think through how the processes work and what needs to be available throughout the processes. It's not memorizing ITTO's, but understanding how the processes work.

5. The 200 question exam simulation CD-ROM will allow the user to randomize the questions AND the answers as well. This helps in making sure you don't fall into the habit of memorizing answers just because you have seen the question before. We just had a student pass the test over the weekend and they said the question intensity from this book was right in line with their actual exam experience.

6. For those with math phobia, there is a section at the end of each chapter that lists all the variables and formulas used in that chapter so you don't have to go searching for where they are used.

7. My students have said they really get a lot of value out of the questions explaination in each chapter as well. It tells not just why the best answer is best, but why others don't fit as well.

8. There are some open ended questions with each chapter to help my students get a measure of where they are on the exam material if they don't have four options to choose from (as is the case with the actual exam question format).

9. I really like the approach to forward backward pass and earned value. These are areas that alot of my students have phobia with. The Crosswind approach breaks these areas down to the basic and make them easily understandable. I had one student who said she had tried to learn forward backward pass from various PM courses she had over the last few years. The approach in this book had her doing the exercises in 20 minutes.

If you are looking for a solid book to use to compliment the PMBOK Guide I would recommend this without hesitation. Between all the things described above including the supplemental downloads I think it's a great value for the price.

This book was provided to me with a Boot Camp Course that I took in preparation for my PMP test. What I liked most about this book, was the test/answer section at the end of each chapter. In addition, there is a CD based test that one can take in preparation for the real PMP test. I found the questions in the CD based test, prepared me very well for the actual PMP test. Although the questions were not the same on the PMP test, the logic that I was able to gain from the prep test, allowed me to past the PMP test on the first try. I highly recommend this book and the Crosswinds flash cards which can be purchased separately.

I used Johnson's book as my only study resource and passed the PMP exam by a comfortable margin. The guide is well-organized and practices and exercises are thorough and a wonderful reinforcement.

My only complaint is that the CD-based preparatory exam that comes with the book required a code to load, which was supposed to have been emailed to me within 24 hours of request. It's been almost a week and I still have not received the code.