PMP®: Project Management Professional Study Guide

Good book.

While no one guide is perfect, this new version of Kim Heldman's PMP Study Guide is extremely good. I looked at many others in selecting her book and the one by Andy Crowe to complement the PMBOK, and I thought she did an excellent job in laying out the details of Project Management. In fact, none of the other books I looked at seemed to have the wealth of detail that I saw here (disregarding Kerzner, of course - the early versions of that book are really great for insomniacs, and it's very expensive). I'm going to be teaching some project management courses next year, and am considering using this book and/or her book called "Jump Start" as texts.Andy Crowe's book was a good high-level guide, and I thought it complemented the Heldman approach very well by showing a different perspective. With the help of these two guides, plus the barely readable PMBOK, I created some color coded drawings of the set of PM processes so that I could memorize each of the processes, and then try to tie in which inputs, tools/techniques, and outputs apply to which processes.Please bear in mind that the PMP is a very difficult exam, partly because the questions are so poorly worded, and many are very vague. I have over 20 years experience in managing projects, some quite large, and have taught project management workshops to corporate audiences for the last three years. I took every sample test available, many of them twice, and I particularly liked the CD of tests, quizzes, and flashcards that came with the Heldman book. In fact, the flashcards will download to your Palm so that you can look at them when you get a chance.My score on the exam was 174 out of 200. If I was to do this over <and there's no way in hell that's gonna happen!>, I would work through the Heldman book twice rather than just once. One minor criticism is that she does not provide a 200 question timed test. There's a lot to be said for forcing yourself to take a 200 question practice test as if it were under the real test's conditions. You'll find it easier when you have to go through the real one.Good luck! PMI is just now releasing the Third Edition of the PMBOK Guide, and a quick glance at the material looked like it was much improved over the 2000 version. There are a lot of changes, most seemingly for the better.

This book uses much better approach than PMBOK to cover project management areas. While PMBOK describes each knowledge area separately (integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resource, communication, risk, procurement), Kim Heldman follows process groups (initiating, planning, executing, controlling, closing) to cover the same material. It is more logical to present material in this way, because that is the sequencing that is used in all projects. After you initiate a project, you need to go through planning processes where you deal with all the knowledge areas. After that you go through executing and controlling phase where you deal with other segments of knowledge areas, and finally you enter the final stage of your project - closing process group, where you conclude with communication and procurement knowledge areas. I think this is the best approach, while PMBOK's approach is a little bit confusing. I would recommend the book to everyone who wants to learn about project management, no matter whether you want to prepare for PMP exam or not. :-)

I scored an 170/200 on the PMP exam using this book (and the PMI's Guide to PMBOK) as my information foundation. I read PMI's Guide to PMBOK twice and this book twice. I took all the sample exams from this book twice and followed up my studying by ordering and taking all three PMP sample exams from Boson Software, which I took twice. All in all, I spent two months studying for the exam. The exam itself was extremely challenging. Don't be fooled into thinking you can study for a week or two and pass the exam. This book is a really good starting point but don't rely on it too heavily. You will need to leverage your experience and other sources of information. I found this book useful and so will you.

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!