Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
168 of 175 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One-Stop Shop for PMP Certification, May 28, 2003
PASS. First time out. Any questions?Seriously, I read the PMBOK cover to cover. DENSE. All the information is there, but it lacks several things that are crucial to a successful PMP exam preparation: intuitive organization, practice questions, and real-world applications. Andy Crowe's book fills the gap. It presents the information in a structured, easy-to-understand format that guides you through the 39 discrete processes, their interaction, and most importantly, what you need to know about each one to pass the exam. The final exam takes the concepts presented in the book and makes you think about them from yet another angle, and the fact that all the answers are there provides the last step in cementing the information in your head. My score on Andy's final and my score on the PMP exam were within 5 points of each other, so he obviously got it right. The PMP exam is extremely situational. Some questions have four correct answers! What they want from you is the BEST answer. Many others focus on order of operations and ask what you, as the project manager, should do FIRST. These real-world situations are covered clinically in the PMBOK, but stressed in detail in this book. Buy it. Read it. And Pass the PMP. I did.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
88 of 91 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is what a PMP Prep Book Should Be!, June 30, 2006
This review is from: The PMP Exam: How to Pass On Your First Try (Test Prep series) (Paperback)
After studying Rita Mulcahy's "PMP Exam Prep" book for months, I found myself so frustrated and confused that I started looking for other material. I went online and found the positive reviews of Andy Crowe's "The PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try" and bought the book, and I am SO glad I did!
What took months to understand reading the overly-complex RMC book became crystal clear when I read Crowe's book. Crowe organizes his material well, and at the beginning of each chapter he conveniently defines the material's difficulty, memorization level and importance on the exam in terms of "High, Medium or Low". Each page has a tab on the edge that identifies what process you are in, so if you find yourself deep in concentration and suddenly wondering, "Hey am I reading about Quality Assurance or Quality Control?" there's a large indicator right in front of you to help.
On a purely mechanical level, Crowe went out of his way to make sure this book was organized to help you study. I really appreciated that.
The material itself is excellent. As some have pointed out, it is a little slim in some areas, but the book's purpose is to help you pass the exam and in this regard, Crowe admits that he glosses over some items that tend to appear less than others. I recommend you read this book and refer back to the PMBOK and one additional study guide whenever you are confused or need additional detail.
I did find that PTA (Point of Total Assumption) was covered here, where it wasn't covered in the other material I used. I didn't find any major shortcomings in the coverage of the book.
I have read criticisms of the book's grammar and spelling. I did find a few (under 5) spelling errors, but I honestly appreciated the "big print" type and simplistic words. The material covered on the PMP Exam is pretty complex and tough. And too many PMP education providers seem to think they have to mimic that complexity and difficulty to teach the material. It was incredibly refreshing to find a book that actually went out of its way to make the material simple.
The book was also an easy and fast read, unlike all of the other materials I found. I read the first half of the book (up through the end of the "Time" chapter) in one day, and the second half in another day. I then went through the book with a highlighter and re-read it, in 2 days time again, highlighting all the key points. During each of these passes, I took the questions at the end of each chapter. Finally I skimmed the material several times, only glossing over the highlighted points. Doing this I could flip through the entire book in a day. I did that twice. Finally, two days before the exam I took the entire 200 question test at the end of the book, scoring 90%.
The only suggestion I have to improve this book would be to make the exam questions more difficult, so that they more closely mimic the tough, brutal questions I encountered on the PMP exam.
The free material at the Velociteach website was great. I signed up for the online site two weeks prior to sitting for the exam. The online quizzes were good, but limited. The real benefit for me was the classroom slides which presented the material very well. Even though it was mostly a rehash of what was found in the book, it was slightly different material, presented very well, using repetitive images and phrases that really helped key concepts stick in my head. (After going online, I easily memorized word for word the definition of a "Baseline" as they always referred back to the same images and the same words on certain key points. I found this GREAT for learning!)
I took the PMP Exam a few days ago and passed fairly well, thanks completely to Andy Crowe's book. Crowe explains early on in the book how much weight each process group carries on the exam. Calculating my scores in each process group (Initiation, Planning, Executing, M+C, Closing and Professional Responsibility) x the weight each group carries on the exam, I arrived at an estimate of 75% for my score on the overall exam, passing is approximately 61%. My weakest area was in Initiating by the way, which surprised me. Note that I took the final exam in the book shortly before the exam and scored 90%. I would recommend that you get to an 85% or 95% level on this particular book's questions prior to taking the exam.
I am very pleased with my score on the exam and with this book and Velociteach in general. This is my PMP preparation book of choice and I highly recommend it to anyone who is studying for their PMP credential.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book really delivers, July 26, 2004
Until you have actually sat for the PMP examination (a grueling 4 hour 200 question computer administered examination), it is really not possible to gauge the value of this book. After taking the test, I can say categorically, that it would not be possible for even the most experienced project manager to pass the test without having read Andy Crowe's book. The Project Management Institute (PMI) has defined a very robust set of processes and knowledge that comprises their view of project management. Often, however, this view is different than the experiences of many long time project managers.
Andy's book logically lays open PMI's view of project management and provides the reader with the understanding of PMI's approach and how it also relates to many of our actual real world experiences. In a carefully planned order, the book covers each process group explaining the key elements and important items that the reader must remember in order to do their very best on the examination. The reader learns the why of PMI's approach so that they (the reader) can apply the "why" to answering the test questions. So, instead of having to memorize answers, the reader understands the underlying philosophy and, therefore, can deduce the correct answer by applying the PMI approach to each question. Although titled as a how to pass book, it really provides a useful guide to applying the PMI processes to any project. Andy gives the reader more than a guide to passing the test - this book is a great reference that will be useful long after the reader takes and passes the PMP examination.
To help the reader with test preparation, the each chapter has review questions as well as a final examination. These questions are very similar to the kinds of questions and subject matter found in the examination that they really help to both assess the reader's readiness for the test as well as to provide an excellent practice tool. The book also provides insight as to the level of difficulty and approximate percentages of coverage each process group will represent in the actual exam. This helps the reader to focus their study time in order to maximize their study effectiveness.
Having never used a "pass the test" book in the past, I was a bit skeptical. This book certainly demonstrated that it is possible to create a book that can actually come through a promise to pass on the first try. I have and will recommend this book as a must to anyone that is planning on taking the PMP examination.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by Andy Crowe PMP
by Andy Crowe PMP
by Christopher Scordo
