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

This is the training to get if you're studying for the PMP

I am still PMP candidate, aspirant. However based on earlier reviews (which are two stars and low) I thought to add my opinion too. First of all it's fifth reprint date is Apr 2014. Many reviews mentioned about May 2013 edition containing errors. So I am assumimg errors might have been corrected now. (and I am currently verifying with PMBOK fifth edition)I am giving it five stars for now because this book is very comprehensive, each topic, definition covered in easy understandable language which I liked and it's helping me understand the aspect as opposed to memorizing it.However I would suggest all PMP aspirants to refer PMBOK fifth edition as well while studying which is what I am following too. My way of studying is first read PMBOK chapter and immediately go through the same chapter in the Andy Crowe's "The PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try,..." That helps. If PMBOK chapter is too big then read few pages of that chapter then switch to this book. Then it is becoming interesting. None of books alone is sufficient in my opinion.Moreover PMBOK fifth edition book can not be ignored or skipped from your PMP prep as it's being recommended by PMI :)But many thanks to Andy Crowe for coming up with such comprehensive book which is making life easy.

The three PMP Exam books that I reviewed:1. PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy, Eighth Edition, Copyright 2013. Keep in mind that Rita has been dead since 2010 and the book just lives on without her. The book was good but felt like the ESI class that I took. It was a little dry and mostly focused on teaching you Project Management as opposed to passing the exam. Plus, it had many other products to sell you that I felt should have been included in the book that cost me about $80 to buy. http://www.amazon.com/PMP-Exam-Prep-Eighth-Edition/dp/1932735658/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393072529&sr=8-1&keywords=pmp+exam+prep+8th+edition+by+rita+mulcahy2. The PMP Exam, How to Pass On Your First Try, Fifth Edition by Andy Crowe, PMP, copyright 2013. I found this book much more helpful than Rita's. It was also the book that folks at work were telling me to buy. It was more fun to use and grouped thoughts together much better for me. It had online extra's that you accessed with your key card that came with the book. Plenty of practice questions and I found myself tabbing pages and enjoying it more. It could just be that I had been grilling myself over and over that this started to feel better. Like I said, I can only speak from my own perspective. This book cost me less than $40. http://www.amazon.com/The-PMP-Exam-First-Edition/dp/098276085X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393072580&sr=8-1&keywords=pmp+exam+how+to+pass+on+your+first+try3. Head First PMP, 3rd Edition, Jennifer Greene & Andrew Stellman. Copyright 2014. Less than $90 to buy but this was the best book by far of the three. It was written in a very fun and user friendly fashion. The projects they used were easy to wrap your brain around; like building a Lounge (bar, textiles, furniture) or planning a wedding (facilities, photographer, catering). I don't know if it was because I was now on my fifth study guide and had taken about 8 full practice exams that I was now wrapping my head around it or what, but I did like this book the best. http://www.amazon.com/By-Jennifer-Greene-First-Edition/dp/B00HTK4A5A/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1393071741&sr=8-4&keywords=head+first+pmp+3rd+editionIt took me two attempts at passing the exam but am glad to be done. I will maintain my membership and credentials with PMi. I don't want to ever go through this again. Many blessings to everyone on their projects!

I studied several resources, including Rita’s book and the Head First book. I wish I had only used this. It would have saved me time (and money). This one was clearly better for me for three reasons:1. The online questions were better. I cannot stress this one enough. My book came with a subscription to an online practice test that I used during the last week of my study. The Velociteach test was absolutely spot on. I only realized how good it was when I was taking the actual PMP exam.2. The explanations were clearer and better than any other book I read. It struck the perfect balance for me. Crowe manages to make things simple without insulting.3. It organized the material better. This is not a subtle point. It really helped me focus on what I needed to study for the exam and apply my energy there without sifting through too much superfluous material.On the negative side, I wish they offered a Kindle edition.All in all, I am a huge fan of this book and the accompanying online resources!

I chose to use Andy Crowe's study guide as the basis of my PMP exam preparation plan. I ultimately passed the exam on the first attempt with Moderate proficiency on all process groups. However, I would recommend anyone choosing a similar path to utilize additional study material to prepare. I personally used this book, plus Sean Whitaker's exam prep questions, plus the PMBOK.Andy Crowe's book does do an excellent job breaking down the tremendous amount of information required for the exam into a logical and easily understandable format. However, the practice questions provided in the back of the book are not truly representative of the questions you'll encounter on the actual PMP exam. Additionally, I found multiple areas of study that were not addressed by Crowe while doing practice questions in Whitaker's book. This directed me to the PMBOK guide to find the information Crowe missed or chose not to include in his guide. I'm glad I did this extra step as they were key focus areas on the exam. If I were to study for this exam again, I would use both the PMBOK and Crowe's book as the basis for study and utilize Whitaker's book to practice for the test.I know this may sound like a lot to buy for one exam, however this is an extremely difficult test and you'll certainly be grateful for the extra time spent in preparation. Hope this helps.