Customer Reviews

PMP Project Management Professional Exam Study Guide, Includes Audio CD

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've read the book cover to cover twice. The goal of the book is to provide a clearer "process order" (if you will) than the PMBOK, and to a degree it satisfies. Be prepared to read it thoroughly at least twice. There is a great amount of "I'll discuss this later in Chapter xxx"...by then it is too late and you'll wind up re-reading over and over. I recommend reading the PMBOK simultaneously to get the best out of it. Read, re-read, and drill yourself to death.

The test questions are much more thought provoking than "on-line" questions I've seen...that said, I've found numerous errors in the answer key. Research your "incorrect responses" just to be sure (should be doing that anyway.) So far, I've found 3.

Will it help pass the PMP? Yes. But don't rely on it as your only source. "PMBOK" is still the "PM bible."

Be sure to get the correct revision corresponding with the latest revision of the PMBOK; Editions 3 and earlier do you no good for exam preparation. Recycle!

This review comes to you from a very recently certified PMP. I had bought the PMBOK, Head First, and the exam prep books by Rita Mulcahy and Andy Crowe. Then this book by Kim Heldman fell into my hands and quickly became my favorite.

Comparing the study guides I would say that the PMBOK is basically a cure for insomnia. It doesn't even cover the PMI Code of Professional Ethics and Conduct, which is on the test; although you can get the code from PMI's website. In fact there are a lot of things on the test that aren't covered in the PMBOK, which is why you'll need a supplement. The Head First book is like a PMP for Dummies book (the actual Dummies book should be avoided). Head First will give you a lot of white space, cartoons, and jokes. It's great for explaining concepts, but I wouldn't stake the entire exam on it. Rita's book, while less dense than the PMBOK, is very boring and pedantic. Rita's bonus CD is an insult. It includes a mere 24 practice questions and is meant as an appetizer for her website practice test engine which will set you back several hundred dollars. Andy Crowe's book is also heavy on the white space and light on content. Crowe claims his book will have you pass the test on your first try, but he covers barely enough information to get you there. If you memorize everything he has to say, you might squeak through; several of my co-workers used Crowe and didn't make it. Crowe's book includes a sealed card with a numeric key that gives you access to his website for 7 days. Both Rita and Andy are making money on the extras - boot camps, e-learning, practice tests, flash cards, quick reference cards, etc. Everything is added cost and the books are full of promotions for the extras.

Heldman's book was a breath of fresh air. She covers the process groups and knowledge areas with far more detail than any of the other books, including the PMBOK. Her explanations are straightforward and easy to understand. But for me the best part was the Bonus CD. Heldman doesn't nickle and dime you for extras. Her bonus disk includes flash cards, the entire book in searchable PDF format (and the Adobe Reader software to read it), the entire book is also available in audio so you can listen to it in the car or jogging, and finally she includes two complete practice exams for both PMP and CAPM.

The book itself presented the information very well, but I fell in love with the bonus disk. Studying for the PMP isn't much fun, but between the flash cards and the audio chapters, it was bearable. The only caveat was that I found a couple of errors on the practice tests, which is why I'm giving the book 4 stars instead of 5. I used a lot of different practice tests in preparing for the real exam and found an error or two on most of them.

This was my favorite study guide for the PMP. And I did pass on the first try.

I'm not usually fond of Exam Prep books as they typically only "Teach the Exam" which in my mind is one step away from just memorizing answers and not really learning the How, why and what. However I was more than pleasantly surprised to find that these books actually gave you the answer in context to How and What with a little Why sprinkled in. A much richer book than most Certification Guides on the Market the PMP: Project Management Professional Exam Study Guide, Includes Audio CD is heavy on the situation and context for each knowledge area. The guide is part of a trio kit from Sybex worth the investment

Early in the book there is a self-test, from which you can identify areas you need to learn more about project management and thus speedily increase the efficiency of reading a book that is over five hundred pages long.

There is a really, really comprehensive CD that comes with the book with audio files for each chapter, complete PDF of the book, tests, and flash cards using Flash. The book chapters are read by Heldman, whose enunciation is very good, and her charm comes through with sincerity to teach project management.

Here is how you should use this book:

STEP 1: Take the quiz from the CD for Chapter 1. Find out how little you really know about project management.
STEP 2: Listen to the audio for Chapter 1.
STEP 3: Take the quiz from the CD for Chapter 1, again. Find out what a poor listener you are.
STEP 4: Read chapter 1.
STEP 5: Take the quiz from the CD for Chapter 1, yet again. Find out how you are progressing.

Repeat Steps 1,2,3,4,5 until you get 100% for each chapter; there are 12 of them. Try not to look at the answers! Make the discovery yourself, it's the only way to learn anything.

After all that, let someone else pay the $500 fee for you to take the PMI test if they really care what your score is.

This is an excellent book to get PMP certified, I have recommended it in my local PMI chapter study groups, very good narrative, excellent supporting material in the CD, the structure is oriented to process groups and not by knowledge area as the PMBOK.
100% recommended, there are some minor updates required but I know Kim Heldman is working on them.
I do not recommend to use other books, just focus on this one for 6 weeks, get a mentor or join a study group and you will get your certification.

Everyone who has ever prepared for the PMP exam has looked for the "magic bullet", a single book-CD-test guide that can indoctrinate you soup to nuts on what you need to know for the exam. After all, nobody wants to slog through the dreadful, dry PMBOK guide.

Unfortunately, no PMP prep guide has been perfect yet. It usually takes a combination of two or more prep guides to be thoroughly ready. This book is no exception, BUT of all the ones I have read through it is the most helpful. The CD and self-tests are lengthy and rigorous.

So why I cannot say that this book is your "all in wonder" solution, it is a solid, highly recommended cornerstone to prepare for the exam.

I so love the book simplicity and that is well structured along the process group rather than knowledge area that are common with other PMP study guide in the market, i have read at least 2 other Authors-Rita & Sanghera, this book takes you through a normal process of handling project from start to finish. I plan to use it for my training Organization in the future.
I recommend it for any aspiring PMP student.

Did not find the book itself helpful for learning the PMP . It's just not as intuitive an approach as Rita Mulcahy's book and I did not like the way it was organized. But there are some good practice questions and very helpful audio chapter summaries on the CD in the back of the book. I used these for review after learning the material elsewhere. For this part, the book purchase was probably worth it, but I would not use it as the only thing outside of the PMBOK to rely upon for the test. I did not find errors in the answers as others did, but I did not do every question - I might have missed a bad one here and there. But they are tough - tougher than what's on the test, I thought, but still useful.

Get Rita's Book also, and use the web for a lot of great free sources of material. And don't forget the test is changing at the end of August 2011, so this book will no doubt be updated (but the PMBOK will stay the same). Good luck.

This is one of the better PMP review books. I'm a certified PMP, and have looked at lots of books to help others in my company get certified. I really like the Rita Mulcahy books, but this one is a close second. The audio CD, combined with the book, provide a good basis for understanding the PMI process.

The biggest challenge in certifying is memorizing the order in which the PMI process assigns tasks. This book does a good job, but I'd recommend reading it alongside the PMBOK to get the maximum potential out of it. Overall, it's a worthwhile way to spend some cash, and could be a good secondary book to one of the Mulcahy books in studying for the exam. Don't worry - the exam's not as hard as people think!

As a project management instructor at a state university and someone who has reviewed countless project management books, I highly recommend this book.

Although I like PMP Exam Prep, Seventh Edition: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam slightly more, Rita's book is more expensive and her sample questions are not as nearly as good.

PROS

- This book, when accompanied with the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), is what you need at a minimum. Although I know people who passed the PMP only using this book, I don't recommend it. There are topics that are on the exam that are covered in the PMBOK that are not here and vice versa. Unless you are a good guesser, buy both.

- The practice exams at the end of each chapter are the best in the business. This is about as close as the real exam as you can get. The current exam passing score is 61% but you should aim for 70% from this book.

- The overall writing style is effective though it reads a little more like a text book than other prep books.

CONS

- Not enough time spent on Inputs, Tools & Techniques, and Outputs (ITTOs). This is the number one reason why you need the PMBOK. You don't need to memorize them but you'll need to understand them really well and Rita's book is not sufficient in this area.

- The chapters are not aligned with the PMBOK, based on knowledge area. You'll find that all PMP prep books are organized either by knowledge area (e.g. scope, time, cost) or by process group (e.g. initiating, planning, executing). I prefer the former since I believe it's easier to compartmentalize knowledge areas, say learn about cost at once. The latter, like this book, would cover cost in three different areas of the book since that would follow the life of a project.

OVERALL

- For people who like to study independently, this is an excellent resource for any project management certification exam. Make sure you buy the PMBOK to accompany this.

- If you opt to take a training course, this book can be a nice supplement to your course materials.