My First Brush With Rita Mulcahy PMP BookI completed my PMP certification in the year 2005. In those days, there were very few Exam preparation books. We didn’t have too many choices. My main source of study was the PMBOK Guide. I also referred to PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy for the exam preparation.
Dec 31, 2018 Rita is one of the most popular authors for exam prep books (Rita Mulcahy’s PMP® Exam Prep 9th Edition). One of the readers of Rita’s book turned a.
I found to be balanced but I was more comfortable with the content of PMBOK Guide.I used Rita’s book for doing chapter end exercises. I also did mock tests from. I must mention that the Rita’s exercises were quite helpful for the exam preparation.Let us come to the current day. Rita Mulcahy’s book has been around for a while. It has remained a very popular book over the years.
It is an.Unfortunately, the primary Author (Ms. Rita Mulcahy) of the book is no more living.
She expired a few years ago. But, even after her demise, RMC Publications has maintained the standard of the book. They have been updating and releasing new editions of the book to conform to the PMI changes.As with any other product, the book has its pluses and minuses. Let me share my opinion with you.Rita Mulcahy 9th Edition Book ReviewThe book is written in a conversational manner.
As you read the book, you feel that Ms. Mulcahy is talking to you. The language of the book is easy to understand and lucid. The writing style & language would appeal to most readers.The book is completely focused on the PMP Exam. It does not talk about any extraneous details.
It keeps your feet firmly on the ground by constantly reminding you about the PMP Exam. It gives you all the right ingredients for the success in the PMP Exam.The book starts with a chapter on tricks and tips for the PMP Exam. I think this chapter is the best part of the book. You will find all the tricks that are needed to solve PMP Exam questions in this chapter. This chapter is very well written and many PMPs vouch for it. Without belittling the value of the rest of the book, I think you can only for this chapter.The Chapter 3 is another important chapter of the book. It contains famous “Rita’s Process Chart”.
Some trainers and aspirants swear by this Process Chart because it is easy to understand. But, I find it very disconcerting. The Process Chart is very different from the PMBOK Guide’s processes. This was the only reason why I focused more on the PMBOK Guide during my Exam preparation. In fact, I have noticed that many other students also get confused by Rita’s Process Chart. If you find it confusing, you can ignore this chapter and read the rest of the book. Otherwise, it could be detrimental for the Exam.
You can refer to the or some other source for the processes.The rest of the book follows the sequence of the PMBOK Guide chapters. Every chapter starts with a small background and introduction. The author(s) gives relationship of the current chapter with other chapters. This relationship prepares a solid foundation for the exam.All chapters have probing questions and exercises. This helps in learning the topics completely.
In addition, there are PMP sample questions at the end of each chapter. These questions are very good and must be done by every PMP aspirant. USPChapter 1 “Tricks of the Trade” – Tips and tricks for passing the Exam Pros. The book provides complete details about PMI way of doing Project Management.
It calls them PMI-isms. These are very important for solving Exam questions. The book probes you with mid-chapter questions and exercises. These are very good for learning purposes. The end of chapter exercises are extremely good. They prepare you well for the exam. The book keeps your feet firmly on the ground.
It constantly reminds you of the difficulty level of the PMP Exam. The book follows a conversational style of writing, which is easy to follow. Overall the book is completely focused on the Exam.Cons.
The book follows its own process chart which is somewhat different from PMBOK Guide processes. This may be confusing for some learners. At many places, the language and tone of the book is somewhat harsh, which may not appeal to everyone. There are very few diagrams and explanatory pictures. This may create a problem for the visual learners.
The book is very expensive as compared to other competing books in the market.PM-by-PM Rating Ease of Study:(4.0 / 5)Coverage of Topics:(4.5 / 5)Questions & Exercises:(4.5 / 5)Conformance to PMBOK® Guide:(3.5 / 5)Exam Focus:(5.0 / 5)Price:(3.5 / 5)Average:(4.2 / 5)Who Should Buy This Book?PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy is a very good book for PMP Exam preparation. The book assumes that the reader has experience of managing a few projects. If you have managed a few projects, then you should click here.
However, you should treat it as a companion book to the. You will need to refer to the Guide as the process and ITTO described in this book are somewhat different from the Guide.
You should also keep a process chart handy for ready reference while studying this book. In the next section you can look at the other products offered by RMC Publications. These products are very popular because historically they were the best. However, I would not recommend you to buy any of them since they are very pricey. Moreover, products offered by the competitors are as good as RMC’s products, if not better.Quick Comparison of PMP Study Products from RMC Publications.
Article Highlights.Free PMP® Exam Prep Resources Certification Exam Application GuideThese are the resources that help you to know what the PMP® Certification is and the application process involved. Since the rules set out by PMI must be strictly observed while applying and sitting for the exam, the following is a list of must-read resources for every Aspirants:.This is the official application guide published by the publisher of PMP® Exam. Every PMP® aspirant should study this guide thoroughly to understand the ins and outs of the PMP® Certification and how to get certified. Ideally speaking, it covers everything every Aspirant would need to know in order to apply and sit for the exam and maintain the credential after getting certified (i.e. It is available for free on the PMI website.
As the PMP® Handbook is written in an official language, newcomers for the certification would find it a hard time to comprehend the official guide, let alone have their own queries answered. This guide is an attempt by me to “decode” the official guide into “plain everyday English”. The whole certification journey is decomposed into 10 easy-to-follow steps.
An infographic is included to further explain the certification process. It also provides the top FAQ of the Certification, i.e.
Certification cost. This guide also includes lots of questions raised by fellow Aspirants collected throughout the lifetime of the guide and you may be able to find answers to your pressing application questions.Reference Books and Study GuideAfter you have applied for the exam, you will need to study for it. To most, the PMP® exam is considered quite difficult. The following is a list of FREE exam prep books that are most useful note: there are also some that are considered to be very useful by many PMP® aspirants:.The PMBOK® Guide is the de facto textbook for the exam. Literally, the PMBOK® Guide is NOT free. However, every member of the PMI would be able to download the PMBOK® Guide for FREE.
According to unofficial figures, over 90% of Aspirants would apply to become a PMI member for at least one year (i.e. The year in which they apply to sit for the exam as ).EdWel is one of the leading Exam Boot Camp providers in the United States. When I first browsed its website, I could not believe that it was offering the very textbook it provides to its students for FREE. Yes, the 400-page EdWel Textbook can be downloaded instantly by clicking on the book cover on this. It is a no-brainer to download this book as one of your exam prep resources.
It organizes the materials of the PMBOK® Guide in a more structured and readily understandable way with lots of charts and diagrams. It highlights the most important parts of the exam content that need to be memorized. In addition, it includes lots of practice questions as well as fill-in-the-blank type questions for you to assess your understanding of the content materials. What could you ask for more from a free exam prep resources?However, beware that when I studied this guide during my exam preparation, there are quite a number of typos and errors (primarily due to some parts not updated to the PMBOK® Guide 6th edition). I do hope that they have all the errata made already.This ITTO Mind Map was developed by Kim Synder during her exam preparation.
Mind maps are effective tools to help learners understand and memorize difficult concepts and associations. It is especially useful to study and remember the ITTO of the PMBOK® Guide using mind maps.
Yes, that’s my own notes. I wrote my exam last November and got 4 above target levels and 1 target level on the real exam. The study note is based on the latest edition of the PMBOK® Guide (the 6th Edition).
You may use my notes as your last minute revision notes or as a prelude to your exam study. I tried to write down the most important subject matters of the Certification in my study notes.Free Mock ExamsIt is often said that the best way to understand whether you are ready to take and pass the exam is to get over 80% from mock exams.
The following is a list of the highest quality FREE practice exam available on the internet. – can be downloaded as a PDF file. – an online practice exam with 75 questions, most aspirants consider this to be very difficult. – PM Study provides a free 200-question online practice exam. – from the publisher of the PM PrepCast™, this PM Exam Simulator provides a 7-day trial period that provides you with limited questions. – in addition to the FREE Exam Prep book, Edwel also gives away a 200-question online practice exam for free and more are listed in the. Discussion Forum and Lessons Learned“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants” Isaac NewtonWhy fight the PMP® Certification war alone when you can make an alliance with other Aspirants as well as those who have been there before?
You will be able to learn tremendously from the experiences and advice of successful exam-takers offered through the following discussion forums/lessons learned websites:. – the most popular exam forum on the internet. – another popular PMP® exam forum.More Exam Prep Resources. Rita is one of the most popular authors for exam prep books. One of the readers of Rita’s book turned a game from the book into an interactive online game. This game will help you understand the correct sequence of all project management processes and well as the proper order of planning processes.Wish you PMP® success! Hi, my name is Edward Chung, PMP®, PMI-ACP®, ITIL® Foundation.
Like most of us, I am a working professional pursuing career advancements through Certifications. As I am having a full-time job and a family with 3 kids, I need to pursue professional certifications in the most effective way (i.e.
With the least amount of time). I share my exam tips here in the hope of helping fellow Certification aspirants!If you have any queries, I am more than happy to help. Please OR leave your queries in the comment section. I promise to attend to them asap.Wish you certification success!(last name: Chung, first name: Chi Wing).