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PMP In Depth: Project Management Professional Study Guide for PMP and CAPM Exams (In Depth) (Paperback)
by Paul Sanghera, Ph.D.
| Category:
Project management, PMP |
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| MSL Pointer Review:
Hugely self-contained, to the point, and complete with a wealth of information on all the topics, PMP in Depth is a top pick in its area. |
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Author: Paul Sanghera, Ph.D.
Publisher: Course Technology PTR
Pub. in: March, 2006
ISBN: 1598631772
Pages: 416
Measurements: 9.1 x 7.5 x 1.0 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA00489
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- MSL Picks -
Among the few bestselling PMP books, this book is a relatively new arrival. However, this is also a book winning a lot of praises from PMP students. Below is a comparison made by an American PMP of the most popular PMP books out there. For our readers’ information. Hope you’ll find his/ her comments useful.
I've just passed the PMP exam (with flying colors) and I want to share my experience regarding the PMP exam study books with my fellow project managers who are planning to prepare for the PMP exam. On one hand I was happy to see so many PMP books available to help me, and on the other hand I was disappointed to see that most of them were out- rageously or unreasonably high priced. However, I ended up buying and reading quite a few of them from cover to cover. Here are short reviews for the top four (in my opinion) of them:
1. This book. PMP In Depth by Paul Sanghera, Thomson Course Technology.
I found this book best among all the PMP books. It's a self contained, to the point, and yet very comprehensive: all the topics (within the scope of the exam) are covered with adequate depth. The material is presented in a perfect logical learning sequence, and there is no hopping from topic to topic: perfect flow. Unlike other books, this book presents the material in order of the process groups (initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing), which is consistent with the way the PMP exam objectives (domains) by PMI are organized. And this is the only PMP exam book that explains the exam objectives (covered in each chapter) in the beginning of the chapter. This way you are always sure which exam objective you are working on, and it makes the exam preparation much easier and free of confusion. This is also a good book for the CAPM exam because it's self contained, easy, and interesting read. All concepts are clearly defined and explained, and the definitions are also listed at the end of each chapter for easy reference. There is a complete practice exam at the end of the book with very detailed answers: why a correct answer is correct and an incorrect answer is incorrect. I found that the practice exam combined with the review questions (and their detailed answers) at the end of each chapter makes enough number of questions to prepare me for the actual exam. I found the tone and difficulty level of the questions very compatible with the actual exam.
Unlike most of other PMP books, this book is very reasonably priced. I recommend this book to anyone who is planning to prepare for the PMP exam, CAPM exam, or just want to learn the basics of project management.
2. The PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy, RMC Publications.
This is not a self contained book. There are lots of references to PMBOK Guide. Lots of empty pages for you to fill. That said, it is a very good book (or should I call it an excellent collection of lecture notes) 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. I feel that the underlying assumption is that the gaps in the book will be filled either by PMBOK Guide or by the instructor in the course. So, Topics are not covered with enough depth. Also there is a poor flow and a lots of hopping from topic to topic. The presentation of the material is organized around knowledge areas, whereas the exam objectives are organized in order of the process groups. That breaks the exam objective coverage into pieces, and may cause confusion. The book is, in my opinion, outrageously high priced.
Overall, I recommend this book if you are taking a course that uses this book as a textbook.
3. The PMP Exam by Andy Crowe; Velociteach.
This is another good book by its own virtue. At first, it appears like self contained, but then you find that there is not enough depth to most of the topics covered in this book. This is easy to read, but you cannot pass the exam just by reading this book. Also, there are quite a few processes for which some input items, output items, or tools and techniques are missing. This could be very serious if you are only using this book. So, if you use this book, do not count on it alone. The presentation of the material is organized around knowledge areas, whereas the exam objectives are organized in order of the process groups. That breaks the exam objective coverage into pieces, and may cause confusion. The book, in my opinion, is unreasonably high priced. I recommend this book if you are looking for a quick and easy review of topics.
4. PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide by Joseph Philips, McGraw-Hill Osborne. This is another good PMP book. It covers almost all the topics and some topics in quite detail, actually. However, at places, it is not very compatible with the PMBOK Guide. This is not necessarily a bad thing if you are learning about project management in general. But you need to be careful when you are preparing for the PMP exam. So, do not begin with this book. This also organizes the material along the knowledge areas and breaks the exam objectives into pieces.
Target readers:
PMP exam takers, PMP students and Project Managers, and PM consultants and trainers
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- Better with -
Better with
The PMP Exam: How to Pass On Your First Try (Test Prep series)
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Dr. Paul Sanghera, a manager, educator, technologist, and an entrepreneur, has more than 10 years of project management experience in the computer industry. His experience ranges from Netscape to Dream Logic and at research labs from Cornell to CERN. Having worked in various roles including director of project management, director of software development, and software developer, he has a broad view of project management. With several industry certifications under his belt, including CompTIA Project+, Network+, Linux+, Sun Certified Java Programmer, and Sun Certified Business Component Developer, Dr. Sanghera has contributed to building world-class technologies such as Netscape Communicator, and NDS from Novell. As an engineering manager, he has been at the ground floor of several startup companies. He has served as a lecturer at San Jose State University and Brooks College. With a Master degree in Computer Science from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Physics from Carleton University, he has authored and coauthored more than 100 technical papers published in well-reputed European and American research journals. He has recently authored three technology books published by Manning, McGraw-Hill, and Apress. Dr. Sanghera has also presented talks by invitation at several international scientific conferences. He lives in Silicon Valley, California, where he works as an independent information consultant.
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From the Publisher:
What do the Taj Mahal, the Internet, and this book have in common? They are all products of projects! A well-managed project enables even the most monumental, complex task to be completed effectively and efficiently. With the worldwide surge in the demand for project manage- ment skills, the PMP and CAPM are among the hottest certifications today. To pass the PMP or CAPM exam, you need a no-gimmicks, no-nonsense book on the exam objectives. PMP In Depth is that book! Best-selling author Paul Sanghera offers concise yet comprehensive coverage of each topic included in the PMP and CAPM exams. With a laser sharp focus on the exam objectives, this study guide goes beyond being a simple exam cram. It includes hundreds of questions and detailed answers modeled after the actual exam and contains a complete practice exam with fully explained answers. It is 100% compatible with the latest (3rd) edition of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) by PMI.
Appropriate for beginners, PMP In Depth assumes no prior knowledge of project management and presents material in a logical learning sequence: each section builds upon previous sections and each chapter upon previous chapters. All concepts, simple and complex, are well-defined and clearly explained the first time they appear. There is no hopping from topic to topic and no technical jargon without explanation. PMP In Depth is written to the most current versions of the PMP and CAPM exams and also serves as a great reference tool for project managers after the exam. Maximize your learning and minimize your study time! Table of Contents: 1. Project Management Framework 2. Initiating the Project 3. Planning the Project Scope 4. Planning Quality and Risk Management 5. Planning the Project Schedule 6. Executing the Project 7. Monitoring and Controlling Projects 8. Closing the Project 9. Performing Professional Responsibility Appendices A. Answers to Chapter Review Questions B. Final Exam.
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| View all 8 comments |
Andrew PMP (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
Have just passed the PMP exam and I'm very excited about it, as you can imagine. I would like to share my experience about this book so that other people (the potential PMPs) can benefit from it. The first stage of my PMP preparation before reading this book, was a stage of confusion and frustration when I was going through PMBOK Guide and a couple of other PMP books (the best sellers). PMBOK Guide has to be read because it's the standard, although it's not a pleasant read. But you can easily avoid being tortured by other books. I realized this after I read Dr. Sanghera's PMP In Depth. This is a very self-contained book: all you need to pass the PMP exam.
First, the material is organized in the order of the process groups (initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing) which is also the order in which the PMP exam objectives (domains) are organized. This is also more consistent with the way projects are actually executed. This is a big deal because it helps avoid the confusion about exam domains and also help to connect the material in the book to your real life experience. Other PMP exam books organize the material in order of the knowledge areas and therefore mess up the exam objectives. When I was going through those other books, I was always confused about which exam objective was being covered. In this book (PMP In Depth), the exam objectives covered in each chapter are listed and explained in the beginning of the chapter. So, I was sure which exam objectives (domain) I was preparing for in a given chapter.
Second, although this book is 100% compatible with the PMBOK Guide, Third Edition, it never refers back to the PMBOK Guide. All the terms are defined, all the concepts are clearly explained, and all the topics are adequately covered in a perfect logical sequence. No hopping from topic to topic. This makes this book a very self-contained book. You can take this book on your trip, for example, and can read it cover to cover, without feeling the need of checking something in another book. Furthermore, the author goes out of his way to make sure you don't miss any key term or concept. First, the key terms (and concepts) are explained where they appear in the chapter, and then their definitions are listed at the end of the chapter. The definitions of all the key terms in the whole book are also listed in the Glossary. The Tips and Notes throughout the chapters were also extremely useful.
Third, this book is a very easy and interesting read. There is no jargon without explanation. The presentation in a logical sequence makes the connection between topics and concepts crystal clear. The presentation style is almost like a story telling style, it kept me curious and never bored me when I was going through the book. Now that I have passed the exam (thanks to this book), I look at it as a reference book: it has explained to me clearly many concepts and connections between concepts that I was previously confused about.
Just before the exam, I once again went through the Exam's Eye View section at the end of each chapter which summarizes the important points in the chapter from the exam's perspective. Also I went through the answers to all the review questions in each chapter and answers to all the Final Exam questions at the end of the book. These answers are explained in detail, so it helped re-enforce important concepts.
I'm very pleased with my score on the exam and I highly recommend this book to anyone who is preparing or planning to prepare for the PMP exam |
John PMP (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
I have all the three best selling PMP exam books, and I've found that this is the BEST. I agree with almost all the positive comments about this book by other reviewers and I will not repeat them. However, I must say this is the only PMP exam book (that I know of) that explains those exam objectives in the beginning of each chapter which are covered in the chapter. In the following, I share my experience with this book in the areas which have not been talked about much in other reviews:
A. It covers topics to more depth than other books. For example, it even tells you why an input to a process is there rather than simply listing it.
B. The presentation is more cohesive than other books. It's like telling a story.
C. It's easier to understand and is self-contained.
D. It's not only the best PMP book, it's also a very good project management book in general.
E. The book covers the topics very adequately within the scope of the PMP exam and have enough questions with detailed answers. The quality of the questions in the practice exam is very compatible with the actual exam.
F. This book is more professionally produced and published than other best sellers that I have.
G. It has a more useful index than other books.
H. It has a more professional binding and has not collapsed, unlike the other two books that I had.
If you want to buy only one book to pass the PMP exam and also to learn the basics of project management, this is your book.
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Steve Gill (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
First, there was PMBOK Guide. It introduced me to Project Management, but dropped a lots of heavy concepts on me and left me confused. It's a necessary but brutal read (no offense to anyone). Then I read a couple of PMP exam books. Well, they covered the material in the same order as the PMBOK (by knowledge areas). Has anybody ever run a project in the order of knowledge areas? No. Even more, has any body seen the PMP exam objectives organized according to the knowledge areas? The answer is again no. That's another thing that bothered me: most of the PMP exam books rarely talk about the PMP exam objectives. May be because bad things happen to the exam objectives when the book is organized by knowledge areas: the coverage for each exam objective is broken into million little pieces.
So, I was saying in my mind: please tell me about project management in terms of process groups (initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing) because this is the order in which the projects are run and this is the order in which the PMP exam objectives are organized. And, yes, please tell me in each chapter which exam objectives are we covering. And then, I ran into this book by Dr. Sanghera that actually offers both of these things that I was looking for: presents the material in order of process groups, and not only lists but explains the PMP exam objectives in the beginning of each chapter that are covered in the chapter. This helped me to stay on the track and not get lost while going through the book.
The concepts and terms are clearly defined right where they appear for the first time, and the definitions of the key terms used in the chapter are listed at the end of each chapter. The book has removed all the confusions and doubts that I previously had about many concepts. This is pretty much a self contained book. I especially like the Exam's Eye View section at the end of each chapter that highlights the important points in the chapter from the exam's perspective.
The presentation style and organization of topics make this book very cohesive: a perfect logical flow. The book is concise, stays on the track, and yet all topics are covered to an adequate depth. Very easy to read and follow. It's almost like the author is telling you the story of project management. The visuals/figures, bullet points, notes, and tips help the material stick.
I recommend this book to all the project managers regardless of whether or not you are going to take the PMP exam.
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Dan Domino (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-09 00:00>
I have struggled with several books. Could not have passed the PMP exam without this book. Simple, easy, comprehensive, and yet to the point. I must say I learned a lot from this book while preparing for the exam. I found the quality of the exam questions in the book very close to the real exam. I can always ask for more; but we project managers care about the thing called scope...I like it that this book is very true to its scope: the PMP exam, and in my opinion the overall coverage is very good. After reading seevral books, and their reviews (including reviews on this page, here is how I look at the three top PMP books from the following points:
1. Exam coverage. The PMBOK Guide is organized around knowledge areas and the PMP exam domains are organized according to the process groups. This book presents the material along the exam domains (process groups). This is why it's able to list and explain the exam objectives in the beginning of each chapter. The other two books (Rita's and Andy's) can't do that because they are organized along the know- ledge areas and therefore the exam objectives are broken into million pieces over all the chapters. Tell me about experimentation. This is the only book that covers the exam in a systematic way, if there is any experimentation, that lies with the other two.
2. Completeness. In my opinion no book is COMPLETE! Rita's book does not even claim to be complete. It refers to PMBOK Guide quite often for explanations etc. Andy's book is not complete because it does not cover much depth. Simple, yes, but not much depth, not much explanation of concepts either. This book (PMP in Depth) is very sincere in sticking to the exam objectives, and overall exam coverage in this book is very good, and very comprehensive. I passed the exam largely preparing from this book, so can't complain.
That said, regardless which book you use to prepare for the exam, there will always be some questions in the exam for which the book did not prepare you; that's the nature of the exam.
3. Explanation. This book explains concepts and terms very well. For example, when it comes to input/output of processes, other books mostly re-hash the list from PMBOK Guide. This book (Sanghera's) goes a step further to explain why an input to a process is there, that way it helps stick, otherwise too many processes and too many inputs and outputs and everything gets mixed up. But this book helps the input/output for a process stick in your head by explaining why it's there. Other topic coverage I loved is earned value technique and decision tree analysis well explained and illustrated with simple examples.
Overall, I recommend this book highly. Regardless, which book you use, you have to go through PMBOK Guide and the PMBOK Guide makes much more sense to me after going through this book... Now, this baby has a permanent place in my book shelf: Only second to the PMBOK Guide. |
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