BeeR Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Looking for good study guide so I can fill that square. Any suggestions of books you've used or heard of from reliable sources that were good (or to avoid) appreciated.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt770 Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Looking for good study guide so I can fill that square. Any suggestions of books you've used or heard of from reliable sources that were good (or to avoid) appreciated.... I got my PMI certification in '08. I took an online course sponsored by my company which was pretty much worthless, in fact every one of my classmates who used that training alone as their exam prep failed the exam. But, I believe you do have to take some kind of accredited course to qualify to take the exam. Best bet is to check PMI.org. I used Rita Mulcahy's exam prep book which is considered the gold standard. I didn't want to pay for it, so I went to Borders and sat in their cafe for 6-8 hours straight for 3 days, just cramming. Then I took the exam and aced it on my first try. It's pretty hard, they throw a lot of curveballs at you. There are some good online practice tests which are helpful, if only to get you into the rhythm of taking a 200-question test. But Rita's book is best for prepping you for what you're likely to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle LawDawg Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 (edited) I got my PMI certification in '08. I took an online course sponsored by my company which was pretty much worthless, in fact every one of my classmates who used that training alone as their exam prep failed the exam. But, I believe you do have to take some kind of accredited course to qualify to take the exam. Best bet is to check PMI.org. I used Rita Mulcahy's exam prep book which is considered the gold standard. I didn't want to pay for it, so I went to Borders and sat in their cafe for 6-8 hours straight for 3 days, just cramming. Then I took the exam and aced it on my first try. It's pretty hard, they throw a lot of curveballs at you. There are some good online practice tests which are helpful, if only to get you into the rhythm of taking a 200-question test. But Rita's book is best for prepping you for what you're likely to see. Agreed. Rita's book is good but it does differ from the PMBOK in the total process groups. You'll have to get enough credits to take the test anyway, but I have yet to see any course or book that prepares you for the actual test. The test is an absolute pain in the ass. It's poorly written, they purposely try to throw you, and you end up guessing between two answers or at the very best, getting to the right answer only by eliminating the answers you know are wrong and not by actually knowing the right one. The test is currently written on the 4th edition of the PMBOK. There weren't very many changes from the 3rd, and the few changes there are are fairly minor and make sense. They did combine some process groups though so I believe the new number is 42 instead of 44. You'll need to know that map backwards and forwards. I focused a lot on learning the earned value formulas as well. I figured those would be the most black and white questions on the test. Then I got 2 questions related to EV. But, I do know people who have gotten a lot more and knowing those formulas and the logic behind them is key. If you do need to get credits, I'd avoid courses that focus on the a couple areas only. For example, I focused a lot on scheduling and cost control and then got a ton of questions on risk and quality management. I took a 3 day prep course before the test so eventually I got it all, but not in the depth I would have liked. If you do take one of those cram courses, take the test the day after. Don't even wait a week. Those sessions are designed to get a lot of knowledge in your head quickly and most of it leaves just as quickly. I'm not sure if the credits you need to take the exam match the PDUs you will need to maintain the certification, but if so, there are a number of places you can get those credits for free. Google IBM Rational Project Management and you should come across an online course that is worth 18-20 credits. The course is designed specifically for IBM, but a lot of the high level information is the same. Then check out gantthead.com for more. IIL (which I believe is one of the best sources for PM / Six Sigma, etc courses) has regular free webinars worth a PDU each. They're pretty worthless without going through the actual course covering the topic, but a credit is a credit. Finally: http://www.pmpinstitute.com/ Free Project Management Principles Course. I haven't done this so can't say if its any good or not. It's 40 free PDUs though. Edited February 17, 2010 by Seattle LawDawg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 (edited) Thx to both a lot, appreciate it. Not sure I'm getting "PDUs" though. Is that the "35 hrs PM eduction" they mention? Basically it looks like you need that, the PM experience, and min of HS diploma or Bachelors degree to qualify. How the heck do they determine what counts as "PM education.?" I'm starting to wonder just how bad I really want to check this square.....cramming for this mega-test is one thing, but frack if I'm going to re-engage as a student in any heavy-duty way. Edited February 17, 2010 by BeeR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle LawDawg Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Thx to both a lot, appreciate it. Not sure I'm getting "PDUs" though. Is that the "35 hrs PM eduction" they mention? Basically it looks like you need that, the PM experience, and min of HS diploma or Bachelors degree to qualify. How the heck do they determine what counts as "PM education.?" I'm starting to wonder just how bad I really want to check this square.....cramming for this mega-test is one thing, but frack if I'm going to re-engage as a student in any heavy-duty way. You have to get 35 credits through some sort of coursework. Once certified you have to get 60 PDUs (Professional Development Unit or something like that) every 3 years to keep the certification. I'm just not sure if courses that provide PDUs also provide the same credits necessary to qualify to take the test. I believe you can get a list of PMI accredited education providers from the website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt770 Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Thx to both a lot, appreciate it. Not sure I'm getting "PDUs" though. Is that the "35 hrs PM eduction" they mention? Basically it looks like you need that, the PM experience, and min of HS diploma or Bachelors degree to qualify. How the heck do they determine what counts as "PM education.?" I'm starting to wonder just how bad I really want to check this square.....cramming for this mega-test is one thing, but frack if I'm going to re-engage as a student in any heavy-duty way. The 35 hours is the PMP course you have to take before you will be eligible to take the exam. PDUs are Professional Development Units -- you need to earn 60 in 3 years. That is what LawDawg was referring to when he mentioned IBM Rational Project Management and IIL. There are lots of ways to earn PDUs and they are usually free. My company has an annual project management symposium and I earn 1 PDU for each 1-hour presentation, and I earned a bunch for getting my Six Sigma green belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 I believe you can get a list of PMI accredited education providers from the website. Is that what this is? http://www.pmi.org/CareerDevelopment/Pages...tion-Means.aspx The 35 hours is the PMP course you have to take before you will be eligible to take the exam. No, I'm pretty sure that's not true. Seems to me you "just" need 35 hrs of coursework - that course might be one way to get it, but I get the impression it can or generally does translate to college courses. They sure as **** aren't exactly straightforward about this. Which seems to be a pattern..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt770 Posted February 17, 2010 Share Posted February 17, 2010 Is that what this is? http://www.pmi.org/CareerDevelopment/Pages...tion-Means.aspx No, I'm pretty sure that's not true. Seems to me you "just" need 35 hrs of coursework - that course might be one way to get it, but I get the impression it can or generally does translate to college courses. They sure as **** aren't exactly straightforward about this. Which seems to be a pattern..... It's all laid out here: Contact Hours of Project Management EducationVerify at least 35 contact hours of specific instruction that addressed learning objectives in project management. Document all education hours regardless of when they were accrued. The course work must be completed at the time you submit the application. NOTE: One contact hour is equivalent to one actual hour (60 minutes) of training or instruction received. The course hours may include content on project quality, project scope, project schedule, project budget, project communications, project risk, project procurement, and project integration management. You can satisfy the educational requirements by demonstrating the successful completion of courses, workshops and training sessions offered by one or more of the following types of education providers: A. PMI Registered Education Providers (R.E.P.s)* B. PMI Component organizations* C. Employer/company-sponsored programs D. Training companies or consultants E. Distance-learning companies, including an end-of-course assessment F. University/college academic and continuing education programs I mentioned PMP course because that is how most people do it and is the most straightforward way to get your 35 hours and then ostensibly be prepared for the exam. But as I mentioned, my online course didn't cut it, I had to cram for three days straight on my own to really be ready. The course I took was through IIL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted February 19, 2010 Author Share Posted February 19, 2010 Thx again. Apparently there's no statute of limitations on when it was done. I'll have to see if there's anything I can use from courses I took in the past......I wonder how far you can push it w/this BS requirement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Does your current employer have an eLearn system in place? If so, they may have everything there you need. We do here. I'm actually working on my PMP right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted February 20, 2010 Author Share Posted February 20, 2010 Aint got no "current employer." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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