Rita Mulcahy's PMP Exam Prep: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam 7th Edition

I just passed the PMP exam, and I can definitely say that this book helped tremendously. I have done project management for many years (on small projects), and had taken a series of on-line courses, so I thought I was ready. But when I took one of the practice tests in "PMP: Practice Makes Perfect", I realized that I had a number of holes in my knowledge. Maybe I would have passed anyway, but with the cost of a retest over $300, I wanted to be sure.Just about everything I needed was here, and the few things I had to look up on-line because they were sketchily covered (e.g. PTA) turned out not to be on the exam. I found it easy to find the info I needed, and the charts and drawings communicated well. There is a density of information in this book that I found very helpful.I spent about 30 hrs studying for the exam over about a week (not counting my original on-line course). It was intense, but the book's style and exams are readable and interesting enough that they did not put me to sleep.Yes, the tone can be off-putting, as it sounds like a very experienced PM "lecturing" a newbie. But if you've really been doing everything in PMBOK, you probably are already certified, and certainly don't need a book. For the vast majority of PMs who don't do all the PM processes thoroughly (if at all), the tone isn't too far off. And it's a small price to pay for a lot of info in a dense and accessible package that still maintains a very readable style.Well worth the investment.

If you are planning on buying this book, you are probably aspiring/preparing for PMP.This book provides the detailed points wise explaination of the PMBOK. You will have to go through this book atleast twice to understand the concepts. The question and answer at the end of each chapter is extremely helpful in reviewing your understanding and progress. Not to be pessimistic, it is very difficult to pass the PMP exam without reviewing the PMBOK guide. You will have to answer as many questions as possible to get the confidence and for taking up 4 hours exam.This book is defenitely a asset in your preparation. Believe me, the amount spent on each of the resources is worth every penny.The below procedure is what I folllowed to complete PMP.1st step: Head First PMP - This is a easy book to study and helps grasps high level overview and concepts.2nd step: Rita Mulcahy - Go through once. You have to complete the excercises and questions at end of each chapter to get familiarity with the kind of questions.3rd step : PMBOK - Go through once concentrate on concepts, defenistions and terminologies.4th step: You should now start going through sample questions through various websites. Make note of your weak areas.5th step: Rita Mulcahy - Now concentrate more on topics which you are weak and glance through others.6th step: PMBOK - Now concentrate more on topics which you are weak and glance through others.7th step: Take PMStudy 4 sets of 200 questions each for 12 days and find out what kind of topics do you need to revisit.Good Luck with your preparation.

I took the PMP on 5/4/2012 and passed in just under 3 hours utilizing this text exclusively.I marked about 20 questiond for review - and the lion share of those were either "tricky" or required serious math.I have 10+ years managing projects (no help on the PMP what-so-ever, in fact my experience was a liability) in IT departments in various companies and thus came to process with considerable bias, particularly because all of my project management experience is in the IT field. Below was my study plan:Allocated 3 months for the effort - during those three months: Mon-Friday read for 45 minutes during my lunch hour. Sat & Sun read for two hours each day in 4 30 minute segments. Read cover to cover - slowly, seeking understanding and avoiding "passing words under my eyes" as we're all prone to do. Memorized the formulas and other data they indicated that should be memorized. Saved attempting the end of chapter questions until the final days of study. Then studied the answers I got wrong - this was VERY VALUABLE.Thoughts on the text itself:1. Not a boring read and actually held my attention. I enjoyed reading it and enjoyed LEARNING the information.3. They take the time to explain WHY answers to questions are what they are, which for the PMP is invaluable because the test is all about application of knowledge and not memorization.My best study tips for this exam:1. Study for real. This isn't a Microsoft exam - it's a serious test of the application of knowledge.2. The test IS NOT about the PMBok. Read it - don't memorize it. You don't need to.3 Learn the SEQUENCE of the processes of what to do/when/why and what you should end up with when done and nothing the exam throws at you will trip you up.4.PMP practice exams found on the WWW are useless. They vary wildly in content and teach you nothing. Worse - they may lull you into a false sense of exam familiarity. The real exam questions were nothing like samples I'd seen on the WWW.Good luck, Mark Payne