Author: Andy Crowe
Published: 2009
Publisher: Shroff Publishers and Distributors
Paperback: 556 pages
PMP (Project Management Professional) certification is perhaps one of the most sought after certification in the industry today. There are umpteen number of training programs and books available in the market to help you prepare for the PMP exam. This book is one such book. It claims to enable you to pass the PMP exam in your first try itself. How far this claim is justified, I am in no position to comment since I have not taken the this exam yet. I read this book mainly to self-assess my knowledge of PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) areas and also get a feel of PMP exam. In that sense this book served the purpose pretty well.
The book has 14 chapters , one sample 200 questions test on the lines of PMP exam and a glossary which explains the common an encountered in PMP exams.
The first chapter explains what PMP Certification Exam is all about – what it tests and what it does not test; how it is structured; the material it covers etc.
The second chapter deals with the foundation and context on which PMBOK knowledge areas are built viz; definition of essential terms; project roles; project context; organizational structure; project manager’s power; management skills; project lifecycles; common inputs, tools, techniques, and outputs of project management processes etc.
The third chapter provides and overview of the project management framework and describes what processes, knowledge areas, and process groups are and explains how they are structured.
The next nine chapters are dedicated to the nine knowledge areas of PMBOK viz; – Integration Management, Scope Management, Time Management, Cost Management, Quality Management, Human Resource Management, Communications Management, Risk Management, Procurement Management. Each chapter explains the philosophy behind these knowledge areas, their importance in context of the PMP exam and tips on preparation specific to the knowledge areas. At the end of each of these chapters there is a 20-question test.
Then there is a chapter on Professional Responsibility. This chapter is particularly important because as per the author nine percent of the questions on the exam relate directly to professional responsibility (and many more indirectly) but none of this information is included in the PMBOK Guide. There is 20-question test in this chapter as well.
The final chapter in this book covers strategies and techniques that can be put to use to pass the PMP exam. It offers tips on spotting and dealing the tricks and traps in the exam questions.
Overall seems to be a pretty useful aid for PMP exam preparation. With just one reading of this book and not even one glance at the PMBOK Guide I was able to score more than 75 % in all the tests and the Sample PMP exam questions in this book. So I guess PMP exam will be rather smooth sailing for me in case I chose to take it !
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Many on the internet have said that the final PMP exam in Andy’s book is way too easy than the actual PMP exam. Some even claimed that he achieved over 90% on all the quizzes and tests but could only get proficient in 1 domain only. Wonder if that’s true?