PMP EXAM PREP

A comprehensive study guide for the Project Management Professional certification exam. 

The PMP test has increasingly become recognized as a standard barometer of basic professional competence in the project management field; in fact, most firms won’t even grant interviews to candidates for senior positions without the certification. However, the exam is dauntingly long and exhaustive, covering a dizzying breadth of complex topics. Clark (Be the Smartest in the Classroom EMBA, 2017) aims to make this preparatory guidebook, now in its sixth edition, relevant to as many readers as possible. It begins with the most elementary concepts—the author even provides a definition of “projects”—and moves on to discussions of more advanced topics, such as project phases and data-gathering techniques. The structure of the book, according to the author, is meant to pedagogically mirror the “way we naturally learn,” making use of “diagrams, repetition, and exam questions.” To that end, he supplies hundreds of sample questions and countless visuals, including flowcharts, check sheets, and Pareto diagrams, as well as two mock PMP practice exams. The manual focuses on both information technology infrastructure and technical project management, and it expertly provides synoptic introductions to both, replete with “exam alerts,” or tips regarding what might appear on the PMP test. Clark furnishes a description of each of 49 project management processes and teaches basic budget-monitoring techniques, as well as how to use of basic project-scheduling tools. There’s a considerable amount of mathematics on the test—some of it fairly challenging—but the author slowly walks readers through it all, clarifying the trickier questions that may arise. He also lucidly translates an abridged dictionary of technical terminology. Overall, it’s a truly authoritative preparatory tool.

A thorough, user-friendly manual, teeming with insider tips.