A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Third Edition (PMBOK Guides) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have recently read a few PMP books cover to cover, and I thought I should share my experience with other readers with an intention to help them to find the right books.

THIS BOOK.
Well this is THE book. You cannot avoid it. But it is very poorly written. The evidence of what I'm saying starts wiith the name. I was looking for Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), and this is named as Guide to PMBOK. You would think if this is a guide to PMBOK, where is the PMBOK. Then I realized that this is it. You have to have it because this the official PMBOK: the information source for both the PMP and CAPM exams. However, don't count on this alone for the PMP and CAPM exams.

A brief review of what I think are the top three PMP books follows:

1. PMP In Depth by Paul Sanghera, Thomson Course Technology.
This book has just hit the market and is relatively unknown. But I found this a rock solid book. Almost all the topics are covered with adequate depth. The material is presented in a logical learning sequence and the presentation is very cohesive: no hopping from topic to topic. It's an easy and interesting read. All concepts are clearly defined and expalined. This makes it a great book for both the PMP and the CAPM exams. I feel that the communication management could have more coverage. Although for the exams, the current coverage is enough.
The material is organized in order of the project lifecycle (the process groups) consistent with the way the exam objectives are organized. Furthermore, exam objectives covered in a chapter are explained in the beginning of the chapter. This makes the exam preparation easier and confusion-free.
I recommend this book for a self contained book for the PMP and the CAPM exams, and also if you just want to build a good understanding of the project management basics. Oh yes, the book is very reasonably priced.

2. The PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy; RMC publication.
It is a very good book if you are either taking a course from the author or from an instructor who is using this book as a text book. There are lots of exercises. Unfortunately, this is not a self contained book. Topics are not covered with enough depth. Also there is a poor flow and a lots of hopping from topic to topic. Moreover, it's outrageously high priced. Too many cross references and overhyped.
Overall I recommend this book if you are using it in a course.

3. The PMP Exam by Andy Crowe; Velociteach.
This is a great book and relatively self contained. You can study this book and pass the PMP exam. There are a only a few topics, which are not covered in adequate depth. In this and in Rita's book, The coverage is organized around the knowledge areas while the exam objectives are organized in order of the process groups. That breaks the exam objective coverage into pieces, and may cause confusion.
I recommend this book if you are looking for a self contained book to pass the PMP exam.

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