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PMP Exam Prep, Fifth Edition: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam (平装)
by Rita Mulcahy, PMP
| Category:
Project management, PMP |
| Market price: ¥ 828.00
MSL price:
¥ 788.00
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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:
Filled with time tested advice, this book is definitely one of the best User’s Manual for preparing the PMP exam. |
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AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 12 items |
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Verma (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
This comprehensive resource is a "must read" for those aspiring to be certified as a PMP. |
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Kara Engberg (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
With all due respect to a fellow instructor, I have to disagree with a previous review of this book. I LOVE just about every aspect of this book. I've been using Rita's prep book in the classroom since the 3rd Edition, back in the late 1990s. As an instructor, is this book harder to follow than the previous edition? Of course it is. Most of us have been using the previous edition of Rita's book for 3+ years. ANY new book is going to seem quite a bit different to us initially. But I'm now on my fourth run-through of the book, and for me the "flow" is clicking. I guess my point is, if you have no exposure to Rita's previous editions, the issue of "flow" won't affect you in the least.
In terms of incorrect information, I'm not sure where the previous reviewer is going with this. It clearly states on Page 9 of the book (in the chart in the middle of the page) that Professional and Social Responsibility accounts for 9% of the questions on the exam. I'm not saying the book is 100% free of errors, but most books aren't - and the few inconsistencies in this book can be easily reconciled with a few seconds of research. And anyone who expects this book to be 100% crystal-clear and consistent throughout has obviously NEVER read the new PMBOK Guide. You want to talk about confusing and inconsistent? Don't get me started. Rita's book does an exemplary job of attempting to tie up the loose ends left by PMI's new standard.
As far as the "tone" of the book goes, what can I say. This is - and always has been - Rita's style. I would call it "friendly, helpful and caring" as opposed to "condescending," but I can see where some people might react differently. Anyone that has ever met her or seen her speak knows how much Rita cares about the profession.
So what do I think? I reviewed pretty much every PMP prep book that was allegedly written for the new PMBOK Guide (to be fair to my students), and this is the only one that appears to be significantly revamped. The rest of the books I reviewed (the five or six other top-sellers) were more shovel- ware than new content. If you want a book that focuses on how to pass the exam, and doesn't insult your intelligence with chapters titled "What is Project Management?" then this book is definitely for you. |
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Shah (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
This is an excellent study guide for PMI's PMP exam. Rita focuses on what you need to know for the exam. You can cover all the material in the book in about 2-3 days depending on your project management experience and familiarity with the PMBOK. In particular, the practice tests after each chapter are invaluable. They will help you understand the thought process required for the PMP exam. Many of the questions have more than one correct answer but the trick is to pick the most correct answer. Learning how to do that is crucial to passing and obtaining a good score.
In addition to this book, I also read Kim Heldman's PMP Study Guide. I recommend that highly as well. It follows more of a text book format and is an excellent supplement to the workbook-like PMP Exam Prep.
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A Canadian reader, Canada
<2007-01-09 00:00>
This book is very good, but contrary to what other reviewers have stated I wouldn't rely on it exclusively to prepare for the exam.
Mulcahy uses a very condescending style to intimidate the reader into thinking they're not well enough prepared for the exam perhaps in an attempt to get the reader to purchase more of her supplemental products - flash cards, CD's, website downloads, etc.
My big beef with this book is that it will help you to prepare for the exam, but you will actually learn very little about project management. I think its value is in the exercises and the questions (which I found to be very comparable in difficulty to many of the questions on the exam).
How I used it to prepare: Skim through the book once, and then go back through it two more times doing the exercises and sample questions at the end of each chapter.
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Prem (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
I took my PMP exam yesterday. Got 85%. The reason - This book and only this book. I prepared for the exam for maybe 10 days in total. For the PDU's I read some other PM materials and then had a break for almost 6 months. I started preparing for the exam only 4 days before the exam. Just scanned the PMBOK guide for some chapters and then just read this book. I neither memorized nor had the time to go through this book for more than one time completely and i guess that was the reason i felt that lots of questions had more than one answer right.
If you are just going to read this book and take the exam, then each and every line in this book is important. You can call the material in this book as the crux of what you need to know to pass the exam. Plus you have to rely on your logical reasoning and your ability to fully comprehend what the question really implies. This is very important because a significant amount of questions in the exam are finely worded.
I have so far approximately prepared and passed 15 prometric technical exams in my career and can say that the material in the book is crisp and direct to the point. Really, there is no 'beating around the bush' in this book. |
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
I passed the PMP exam mostly due to studying from Kim Heldman's book. This book has some excellent explanations of material that is not covered in Kim's book. However, the practice exams in this book are so out of the ordinary that even after just passing the official PMP test, I was still not able to make a passing score doing the practice exams in this book. It seems that the purpose of this book is to make you think your knowledge is so poor that you absolutely must take the author's training course. |
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William Davis (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
I just took the PMP exam yesterday and passed (this was still the 2004 exam... the 2005 exam begins after September 26, 2005). Rita's book is an excellent resource and essential for passing the exam, period. Although the 2004 exam had a lower bar to reach than the 2005 exam, my passing score would have been good enough for the 2005 exam, too.
Rita offers many exam tips and exposure to topics not addressed, or not addressed well enough in the PMBOK Guide. That's not to say that the PMBOK isn't essential; it is. You'll be well served by following Rita's advice on reading her book 3 times, doing the practice exams until you score 90% or better, and read the PMBOK Guide until you're well versed on inputs, outputs, and tools for each knowledge area. It will seem like a lot to memorize - and it is! - but the more you memorize and ingrain the material, the less flustered you'll be during the exam.
Don't cram for the 2005 exam. Get a plan together that has you studying consistently for several weeks at the least, and several months is even better. Even if you are a project manager already and have been for years, unless you use PMI's methods and are very familiar with their philosophy governing project management, you will do a disservice to yourself by cutting short your exam prep time.
Finally, good as Rita's book is, it won't cover everything you need to know. She has an exam prep CDROM that has many test questions. I found that companion CD to be very helpful, as it allowed me to test my knowledge with a bank of questions I hadn't seen 3 times before.
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Rajiv Kohinoor (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
I have recently read a few PMP books cover to cover, and I thought I should share my experience with other readers with an intention to help them to find the right books. A brief review of what I think are the top three PMP books follows:
1. This book: The PMP Exam Prep. It is a very good book if you are either taking a course from the author or from an instructor who is using this book as a text book. There are lots of exercises. Unfortunately, this is not a self contained book. Topics are not covered with enough depth. Also there is a poor flow and a lots of hopping from topic to topic. Moreover, it's outrageously high priced. Too many cross references and overhyped.
Overall I recommend this book of you are using it in a course.
2. The PMP Exam by Andy Crowe; Velociteach. This is a great book and relatively self contained. You can study this book and pass the PMP exam. There are a only a few topics, which are not covered in adequate depth. In this and the preceding book, The coverage is organized around the knowledge areas while the exam objectives are organized in order of the process groups. That breaks the exam objective coverage into pieces, and may cause confusion.
I recommend this book if you are looking for a self contained book to pass the PMP exam.
3. PMP in Depth by Paul Sanghera, Thomson Course Technology.
This book has just hit the market and is relatively unknown. But I found this a rock solid book. Almost all the topics are covered with adequate depth. The material is presented in a logical learning sequence and the pre- sentation is very cohesive: no hopping from topic to topic. It's an easy and interesting read. All concepts are clearly defined and expalined. This makes it a great book for both the PMP and the CAPM exams. I feel that the communication management could have more coverage. Although for the exams, the current coverage is enough.
The material is organized in order of the project lifecycle (the process groups) consistent with the way the exam objectives are organized. Furthermore, exam objectives covered in a chapter are explained in the beginning of the chapter. This makes the exam preparation easier and confusion-free. I recommend this book for the PMP and the CAPM exams, and also if you just want to build a good understanding of the project management basics.
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Travis Bell (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
I looked at several books, but chose to invest my time using Rita's book because the approach taken is to teach you to retain the information beyond the exam cram day. I would recommend her audio Flash cards too for trips to and from the office. Invest the time to learn it using her book, and you can do more than pass the test - you can retain it and apply it.
One tip for exam takers - you have 15 minutes to review a demo of how to take the test. It should only take you about 2 minutes. However, USE THIS TIME to write down what's in your head, your formulas, and to "relax" by getting your thoughts together. This time is crucial and free and you should take advantage of it before starting the test. Good luck! Oh, and thanks Rita! |
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Marcel Chiranov, Romania
<2007-01-09 00:00>
PMBoK is very condensed, may be a little dry, to make sense for any industry. Rita's book is more down on earth and helped me a lot to understand easier what PMBoK says, how it is applied in real life. It perfectly follows PMBoK content, but for each chapter Rita presents how to approach each notion, presents practical examples, and exercises. Each chapter contains some exercises accompanied by comments and answers. Also, Rita presents some good tips on how to prepare for exam, where to focus. For sure this book helped me to learn faster for PMP exam. I'd used 3 books: PMBoK, this book and The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management by Eric Verzuh. For tests I'd used PM FASTrack: PMP Exam Simulation Software by Rita Mulcahy. All the preparation was smooth and pleasant. It was so because of Rita's materials. But these materials helps to learn for PMP exam, they do not make anyone a better Project Manager. Nothing can replace real work experience, struggling with deadlines, dealing strong personalities, understand and manage unspoken agenda, face over the night deadlines, etc. |
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1 2 | Total 2 pages 12 items |
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