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58 of 59 found the following review helpful:
Can use as a companion to the PMBOK Guide for the PMP. Apr 07, 2003
By Harinath Thummalapalli The PMBOK Guide (by PMI) is essential in preparing for the PMP, but follows the 9 Knowledge Areas approach. The approach necessary to pass the test is the 5 Process Groups (plus Professional Responsibility) approach. This Study Guide takes the 5 Process Groups approach and hence clears the confusion one may experience in reading the PMBOK Guide. They also go into more depth than the PMBOK Guide as can be seen by the fact that the book has more than twice as many pages.This Study Guide also has a CD-ROM with hundreds of practice questions (you can take 2 practice exams). The entire book is on the CD-ROM too. I have not tried their electronic flashcards for PCs and Palm Handhelds. Considering everything that the book offers, it is a great buy at [this price]. Other CD-ROM software programs that offer practice tests are over $300. The only other book that will prove very useful on top of this book is Rita Mulcahy's 'PMP Exam Prep'. It is a bit more expensive but is of much higher quality in preparing for the PMP exam. This Study Guide is wonderful as a secondary preparation material to Rita's book. Read my reviews of her book to get more info on preparing for the PMP. I always use multiple study guides to get multiple perspectives when preparing for an exam. So, if you can afford it, I would recommend both books for your PMP preparation. But if you want to invest in only one study guide, I would say get Rita's PMP Exam Prep. Good luck on the PMP!
35 of 36 found the following review helpful:
good book but not great May 22, 2002
By Mark A. Parrish This is a good resource for studying for the PMP. I have taken a few courses to prepare for the PMP as well as read PMBOK and Rita Mulchahey's book (her's is the best one available)./ The reason why I picked this book is that it is written in stages of the lifecycle: planning, executing, closure, etc.. while the PMBOK is based on function: HR, Quality etc... This book is another way to reinforce that you can apply the knowledge in the lifecycle and not just memorize PMBOK. The palm flashcards are cool and help a lot as well as the computer test. The test is the most important since that is what you will go through on the PMP. Also the practice tests give you the answer and the rationale for the answer, a great help. The only reason it is not five stars is that the book says on the back cover that there is a complete project plan enclosed and it is not there, the publisher said that it was an error. Also the flashcards do not tell you what questions you missed.
23 of 23 found the following review helpful:
I passed my exam with this book. Nov 20, 2003
By Karthikeyan Kumaraguru
"kumarakn"
I used Kim Heldman's book, the Yahoo group and PMBOK as my prep material. This book is not perfect, but it is more than enough to pass the exam. The author covers about 90% of PMBOK and covers other material (that are not in the PMBOK, but we are tested for) as well. For example, Pert/CPM calculations, Code of Conduct Scenarios, Motivation theories etc.. I studied this book, then the PMBOK once, this book again, PMBOK again. I took some free tests on the Internet, took the tests in this book and in the actual PMP exam. I averaged about 83% in those preparation tests and I got 164/200 (82%) in the actual PMP exam. I spent about 130-140 hours on the subject in total. The test questions in this book after every chapter and at the end of the book (and cd), are really good. The test exam(s) in the cd almost resembled the real exam. I wished there were more questions in the cd, like 200 questions per test or so. (There are 50 questions per exam now). This is particularly true because PMP exam is a 4 hour long 200 question exam. By about the 160th question, even simple sentences like 'Assume you are a project manager' became a little difficult for me to grasp. I guess I lacked the mental stamina to take the gruelling 4 hour one in one shot. May be this book could have prepared me for that. Otherwise, this book is great. There were areas this book that went above and beyond the PMBOK. And test questions from these areas were a little difficult for me during practice. And none of the free tests online had any questions on these subjects. To my surprise, I found PMP exam questions from these areas as well. I originally bought this book over Rita's book because the other one was about 200 dollars. I thought if I am persistent enough to finish this book, I will buy Rita's. However, when I finished this one, I realized that this book covered most of the subject. In essence, this book delivers it's promise. (I have heard from everybody that Rita's book is also 5 star material and is excellent) Finally, even if the certification is not immediately useful in your career, the PM knowledge you gain through preparing for this exam will be useful. So, if you are thinking of taking the exam, I would like to say, go for it! I wish you all aspiring PMPs good luck. Karthik
32 of 35 found the following review helpful:
Passed my PMP with ease Jun 27, 2002
By K Nizam Taha I gone through the book twice over 2 weeks in preparation for my test. Even though I went for a course and study the PMBOK from cover to cover, I'm not sure whether I'm fully prepared or not. Generally speaking, the PMBOK only roughly covers 70% of exam. The others need to be complimented either through one experiences or other materials. Although this book cannot cover all of the remaining 30%, it surely come close with broad PM and General Management coverage. The book is really complementing the PMBOK by using different approach to the PM process. It also highlights the key points in the PMBOK. What is best about the book is the sample questions. They really resemble the real one, with lots of scenario types questions. If one is not that familiar of what to expect in the exam, will almost certain have barely enough time to go through all 200. For me, I still have 45 minutes to go through again the marked questions. I passed the exam with 160/200.
18 of 18 found the following review helpful:
This one and the PMBOK were all I needed. Feb 09, 2003
By Armando
"(Armando L. Franco C.)"
This book is just like the PMBOK, but readable. With its 500 pages it is a lot easier to understand and study it. The two sample tests included are a great preparation tool, best if taken after you consider yourself ready. An important note is that this book complements the PMBOK, but does not replace it. If you are going to present the PMP exam, you are going to need to have the PMBOK too, because it covers inputs, tools and techniques and outputs of some processes that are not detailed in the Guide. However, it will be easier by far to read the PMBOK after reading the Guide. I passed the test, and my only two preparation guides were the two books I mentioned here. Good luck!
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