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The PMP Exam: How to Pass On Your First Try (Test Prep series) (平装)
by Andy Crowe, PMP
| Category:
Project management, PMP |
| Market price: ¥ 738.00
MSL price:
¥ 708.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Well organized, aligned with the PMBOK Guide, good exercises, and very practical, this is a must-read for preparing PMP exam. |
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AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 11 items |
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Mark Conger (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
I did pass the PMP on my first try. Much of my success can be attributed to Andy's book. If you're like me the PMBOK is a dry and boring read, mostly because it's more of a specification than book. I got Andy's book after reading several of the Amazon posts regarding Kims, and Rita's material. It is pricey but most of the study aids are. Andy's book is very easy to read. He focuses on what you need to know for the exam, which is exactly what I was looking for. That being said I would not rank it high as a PM reference book. But that's not what it's supposed to be.
This book was a piece of my preparation. I ended up passing with an 89% average. I probably logged roughly 100 hours of preparation. I study best with sample exams and Andy's format has a 20 question test at the end of each chapter, and a full 200 question test as the final. I also purchased the PMSTUDY exams and took as many free sample exams as I could find on the web. From my perspective most of the sample exams are much harder and not directly relevant to the material you'll encounter on the PMP exam. I think their strategy is to make you feel under prepared so you'll purchase their materials. Save your money. Most of the PMP questions are situational and rely on your PM experience rather than the PMBOK. You do need to understand the processes, but I took it too far after taking the sample tests I found. I tried to memorize every process, input/output and T&T way overkill. But you should understand each of the process areas, what is in planning vs. execution vs. control, etc. Andy's book is a good jump off point. Start with Andy's book then read the PMBOK chapter, much easier than trying to do the opposite.
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Penna Guy (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
I passed the PMP test on my first try in September, 2006. My preparation materials:
1. The PMP Exam: How to Pass On Your First Try (Andy Crowe)
2. PMP Exam Prep, Fifth Edition: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam(Rita Mulcahy)
3. PM FASTrack: PMP Exam Simulation Software, Version 5 (CD-ROM)(Rita Mulcahy)
4. PMBOK
I read Andy Crowe's book twice. I felt that it has a lot of information in a very easy to read format. I actually liked it better than Rita's book since Andy explained certain confusing concepts VERY clearly. His writing style is very easy to read without putting you to sleep. He covered all the material from PMBOK and more. On the other side, the sample questions in his book are too easy. I used Rita's book more as a supplement, but it's a good book to study as well. I used Rita's CD for practice tests and questions. I read the PMBOK 2 days before the exam just to see if there's anything the other books missed and there was none.
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Sprinkle (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
I used this book and several other tools to prepare for the PMP exam which I passed the other day. I would strongly recommend this book over most PMP study tools. The material is well presented and discussions are thorough. The free web site trial was also a help, especially the lesson on Social responsibility. The book includes over 400 sample questions which help prepare the study very well. There is also an extensive chapter on preparing to take the exam which is a huge help.
The weaknesses are: 1) there are some gaps in PMBOK material such as definition of a customer or detailed discussion of FPIF contracts. 2) There is extensive focus on inputs, tools and outputs (as in the PMBOK). But there is very little of this on the exam - as the author himself admits, no one can memorize the 500+ I/Os. 3.) Some sample questions could be a little more challenging.
This is a very strong tool, not perfect, but a very strong tool to prepare for the exam. I highly recommend it.
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Ghazi (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
My study plan was to read this book and PMBOK thoroughly and take the test. Three weeks before taking the exam, I took the 200 questions @4hrs at the end of book and got 92%. The same day I read some comments about false sense of security one may have after reading this book. I read some reviews where candidates recommended the Rita's book. I immediately purchase Rita's book and read it thoroughly. So my primary book was Andy's and secondary book was Rita's. This strategy paid off very well. In almost 80% questions on exam day, I found myself referring to the Andy's book. Rita helped me in other 20%. This 20% is a lot and can be a deciding factor in your success. Bottom line is GET THE BOTH books. I can never stress enough on this. Read Andy'd first; make it primary and then Rita's. You will feel confident and hopefully do well in exam. I never touched the PMBOK except during the training for 35 contact HRs. |
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
This book is great for laying out and focusing on the exam material. However, I found that the exam questions were very light. I recommend this book for studying for the exam but would also recommend that it is supplemented with the questions from another source, maybe Rita Mulcahy (I would not advise using both books to study as the styles are very different - I found Andy Crowe's to work much better for me). |
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
This book does an excellent job of explaining the logic involved in PMI's processes - how they relate, the iterative nature, etc. Upon completing - and passing - the exam, I can say that this book does a fantastic job of hitting the broad subject matter required. I will also add that the author does NOT talk down to you, does NOT assume to be the end all be all when it comes to PM knowledge, and is encouraging to the reader. This is in contrast to another PMP Prep book I had acquired. |
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Cale Corbett (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
Like a few others who have left reviews for this book, I started my PMBOK studies with Rita Mulcahy's material. I literally labored through the first few chapters for months. My boss gave me a solid deadline to get my PMP certification so I realized I would have to get a different book. That's where Andy came in. This book literally saved my bacon. From the minute I opened it, I was hooked. I was able to get through the first 3 chapters in one night! In fact, I really enjoyed reading the book. Yes, it really does cover the same material as the popular Rita book, but it does so in what I feel is a clearer and more approachable way. When you are studying material as stultifying as the PMBOK, you want your preparation material to be less so. Given that I studied the Rita book, took a 36 hour training course and then read this book, I cannot say 100% that Andy is the reason I passed, but he certainly helped. |
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Maneesh Aqarwal (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
I cleared PMP exam recently. Here is what I think could work for most of the people.
I studied (and exam does require some serious effort)
1. Andy Crowe book (2 times)
2. PMBOK 3rd edition (once) and revised on process charts and certain sections.
3. PM Fastrack (1400 questions) - twice, and practice exam
4. Sample 200 questions from [...]
It took total of 120-150 hours. I am a slow reader, and slow on comprehension. I took 3 hour and 30 minutes to finish the exam, and revisited marked questions during last 30 minutes.
I think Andy Crowe book is great. I could not study PMBOK from start as it was structured poorly for people like me who had difficulty in compre- hension. Andy Crowe's book gave me a lot of confidence. In fact so much, that I was prepared to give exam just after reading it. I was glad that I did not do that. It gives you a lot of false confidence. Still, I am grateful that it at least get me started. After that I started going through PM Fastrack. It helped me in understanding nature of exam, i.e., similar language question could be presented in multiple ways, with slight twist, answer could be different. That means you really have to understand the material, and read the question a number of times. However, I still feel that PMFastrack was expensive. The explanations on these questions, however, made me think that Rita might have written a good book, and it might be worth buying it.
I found 200 free questions from [...] as better worded and much closer to what I saw in exam. I did not find any question came as it is in exam from any of these question banks. I think 20 % of questions were straight forward, but rest of them required some thinking. I did not do well on input and output questions, as I never tried to memorize them. But I think, it would be a better for passing the exam. I did find some errors on explanation on [...] answers, but think it is a better and cheaper alternative.
After studying Andy Crowe's book, I was able to read PMBOK without much problem. It helped in centering myself. So my recommendations for cheap way to pass the exam would be
1. Andy Crowe book
2. Rita's book (I did not study it)
3. Questions from [...]
or I think you can just simply enroll in [...] or other recommended online courses, instead of reading any of the books.
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Kelley (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
The book delivers as promised. I passed today on my first try and this, along with the PMBOK, and a book of test questions were all that I used for preparation. This book makes sense out of the PMBOK material in a very simple way and helps you to make the sense of the process interations. I couldn't have passed without this book. Also, I'm glad I didn't use Rita's book. I almost bought that one instead, but it seemed to over complicate things. Andy's was good about being simple, to the point, and teaching what is needed to pass the exam. |
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
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. |
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