The PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try, Sixth Edition

I took the PMP on December 12, 2018 and passed above target in all areas on my first try. I did not even open the PMBOK and used only two sources: Andy Crowe’s Book and Rita Mulcahy’s book. Andy Crowe has a website and I also purchased access to one of his 200 question practice tests. I purchased Andy Crowe’s book on Amazon and Rita’s book on the RMC website. I originally started studying right when the test switched to the new version which made things really difficult due to the fact no resources were available. When I bought Rita’s book it was $100. I studied for roughly 6 weeks and used Rita’s book for the first 3 weeks, Andy’s book for the next 2 weeks and then did just practice questions the last week. The test is 200 questions at took me all 4 hours to complete. The test is fairly difficult and the thing that I think helped me the most was doing hundreds of practice questions to help in understanding how the questions will be worded on the exam. The best questions were on Andy Crowe’s website (Velociteach Insite). The questions there helped me to understand the type of questions on the exam. I also like how Andy Crowe’s book is setup in the form of showing all process areas and the ITTO’s. I did not memorize the ITTO’s and don’t think it is necessary but I was able to memorize the process chart which I think is important in order to pass. If you are studying right, memorizing this chart is an outcome of studying. The majority of my 200 questions were situational asking what the PM would do next or asking about different tools. I had 1 question asking about a network diagram which was an easy question and maybe 5 asking about Earned Value. Rita’s book and Andy’s book are very different in how to study for some of the questions which was frustrating and confusing. For example, Andy teaches the critical path method for network diagrams and Rita does not use this as the main method. The other confusing point was whether to start a network diagram at day 1 or 0. Rita also has many different formulas for calculating EAC and Andy Crowe just said to memorize one. Before the test I was able to brain dump 19 different formulas and only needed two of them for the test. Overall, the test isn’t easy but if you study and do hundreds of practice questions, you can pass on your first try. Spend a few weeks studying and you’ll be just fine. If I had to choose only one source for studying, I would choose Andy Crowe’s book and his online practice tests. I don’t think you need more than one book. Andy Crowe’s questions in the book are closer to what is on the exam. Rita’s practice questions are easier than on the exam IMO.

I found this book to be extremely helpful while studying for the PMP exam. The course where I earned my PDUs was not very helpful in explaining the concepts of the process framework. I almost exclusively used this book for studying and I went from a very basic understanding of the PMBOK to passing the PMP exam with above targets in every process group within two months. I felt that this book does a great job of laying out the concepts in a way that made it easy to comprehend. I went through this book and then repeatedly took the exam at the end of the book as well as the free exam prep that was available through Velociteach. Videos are included but I didn't watch any of them; I just read the book and made a lot of flashcards. The two weeks prior to the exam I used free PMP practice tests you can find online and studied the flash cards I made from this book. The book is generic and while studying I would just search online for more in depth explanations as needed based on practice exam performance. Overall a great resource, highly recommend.

After the exam - I did pass on the first try and this book was my main source for study. I passed with flying colors and this book was the best study material I used. I tried a couple web based trainings out and looked into other books but I tend to be fairly driven and find most material slow for my taste. This book allowed me to go at my own pace and the video overviews of each section filled in any gaps. I would highly recommend this book for anyone taking the exam.Quality concerns - The first copy I got is missing the key needed to access the online portion. The second copy sent as a replacement copy was also missing a key. I ended up reaching out the company that made the book and they took care of me. They also sent me a third replacement copy directly that is of much higher quality leaving me to believe the versions from Amazon may have been forgeries. aActual material – The actual material of the book has been fantastic. I have tried a couple other books and web-based trainings and so far, I have found my self-study with this book to be the best. There is no fluff and it also isn’t super dry. I would highly recommend to anyone taking the PMP exam to use this book as party of their study plan.Minor complaints – for the price, I would have liked for the book to be printed on thicker paper. This is a minor thing really but you can see a little bit of ghosting from the next page. Color for the diagrams would have been nice as well but again very minor in this case and the book is augmented with little videos that help as well.

I did not pass on the first try. But it was mainly my fault because I didn't spend enough time on integration and scope management areas nor did I spend enough time understanding relationships between knowledge areas. The practice test in the book is not challenging enough. If you want to pass I would recommend that you go to the Velociteach Insite website and purchase some practice exams. I used the A & B set and it helped me pass on the second time around. I would also recommend the reference guide. If you have the extra money the audio MP3s are nice to have when you are driving around or at the gym. The audio MP3s are informative, and can be a little corny at times, but I get a kick out of the Guys Screaming "OPA". The flash cards are cheap, but I wouldn't recommend them because they dont ask any questions or remind you of relationships between knowledge areas, you are much better off with the reference guide. I like Crowe's writing style, it is simple and he cuts out alot of the generic ITTO, which keeps the book from being too monotonous. I would recommend buying the book.

Andy's book is almost all you need to prepare for the dreaded PMP exam. I suplemented it with Rita's book but just used it to expand in a few concepts that I felt I wanted to deepen. Also, I used Joseph Phillips's Udemy course and one of the apps you will find on iOS and Android with mock tests and that was all. Highly recommended...Just be aware that this version does not come with the online code. Also, this version comes with several typos but the build quality is very good.

Very helpful! It’s a Good overview of all processes.

Livro chegou algo danificado, sem parecer novo.

It's completely black and white. The cover page only in colour.

I don't see any key inside the book.