What is the PMP exam?

Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification is the most renowned, significant and industry-recognized certification for project managers. PMP certification is really global i.e. once you obtain your PMP certification that means you are able to work virtually in any industry, any location, using any methodology irrespective of any geography or domain.

PMP certification benefits both the employees and employers. In regard to employee salary, PMP certified individuals garner a higher PMP salary (23% higher on average) than non-certified individuals. When it comes to employers, we can say that the organizations that have more than 1/3 of PMP certified project managers, more of their projects get completed on time, on budget and meeting original goals.

Having the PMP certification means that you speak and understand the worldwide language of project management. Additionally, being PMP certified means that you will have a connection with a community of professionals, organizations, and experts globally.

Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world’s largest not for profit membership association for the project management profession. PMI introduced the PMP examination to get the PMP credentials. So to obtain PMP certification, you need to appear for the PMP exam.

The Evolution of RITA PMP Book

In 1998, the first edition of Rita Mulcahy PMP Exam Prep Book was published. At that point in time, this was the only resource that was comprehensive and dedicated to PMP exam preparation.

The need arose when Rita was preparing for PMP certification. She couldn’t find quality PMP material available at that time. She was working as a project manager in 1990. Besides, she was one of the worlds’ first certified PMPs. Hence, due to lack of quality PMP material available, she made use of her knowledge along with extensive project management experience, Rita wrote the first draft of PMP Exam Prep book.  

Since then, the popularity of the book has grown tremendously through 9 successful editions. Today, Rita Mulcahy PMP book by far is considered to be the best selling PMP exam preparation guide in the world.

About Rita Mulcahy

Rita Mulcahy was an author and public speaker in the Project Management Field. She founded RMC Project Management and she acted as its CEO. Also, she was an internationally recognized expert on project management techniques, advanced project management theory, risk management, and the Project Management Professional (PMP) Exam.

In 1991, Rita founded RMC as a project management training company. During her tenure as a trainer and consultant, she met many people struggling to grasp project management concepts to pass the PMP exam. Always eager to help, Rita decided to create her own study guide for the PMP exam.

She finished the first draft of her famous book “Rita Mulcahy PMP Exam Prep” in only one week! And then, in a short span of time, Rita PMP book became the best seller. This book is a worldwide industry standard for PMP Exam Preparation.

Over the course of her career, Rita Mulcahy worked in over $2.5 billion worth of projects. She also presented several encore presentations at PMI conferences.

Rita PMP Book

We know that Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification is the most demanding, valuable, world-recognized certification in the area of project management.

To prepare for PMP certification, Project Management Institute (PMI) recommends the main reference book as PMBOK Guide. Since PMBOK Guide is not an easy book to follow you need a supporting book to help you understand PMBOK Guide. Now there are numerous books available in the market. But by far, the most selling and popular book since the 1990s is Rita Mulcahy PMP book because it is easy to follow and helps you prepare for the PMP exam in a quick manner.

Rita PMP book explores various topics like Project Management Fundamentals, Risk Management, Planning, Contracting, Negotiation, Estimating and Determining Customer Requirements. Furthermore, she talks about real-life project roles and responsibilities. Also, she explains program managers, senior management roles in projects, factors for the project’s success and causes or conditions for project failure.

Moreover, the Rita PMP book will help you to improve project management skills. It will prepare you to work with team members, project leaders, and project managers. Last but not the least, it provides practice tests for last-minute brush up before the PMP exam.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, the Rita PMP book was the only resource for the preparation of the PMP exam. However, with the evolution of online education and ease of access to online resources, PMP aspirants started to prefer reputable online PMP study resources rather than the hard copy PMP preparation books.

It is a good book. But it is NOT a must-follow PMP book during PMP preparation.

Rita Mulcahy PMP Latest Edition

Rita Mulcahy published the first edition of Rita PMP in 1990. Even though she passed away in 2010 her company RMC Learning kept on working on Rita PMP Book. And the latest version i.e. Rita Mulcahy PMP 9^th Edition was published in 2018. This is in compliance with PMBOK Latest edition i.e. 6^th Edition.

Rita Mulcahy PMP Materials

After the launch of the PMP Exam Prep book, Rita became very famous. This book was one of the primary sources of PMP study materials until the 2000s. Further, they started to offer various PMP preparation materials as follows:

1. Rita Mulcahy PMP Exam Prep Book 9^th Edition

First preparatory book for preparation for the PMP exam. This is called as Rita Mulcahy PMP book. The latest edition is Rita PMP 9^th Edition. The cost of this book is $99. RMC Site is offering a discounted price for $76.

2. PM Fastrack Cloud –PMP Exam Simulator-Version 9

This is exam simulation software with a question bank database of over 1600+ questions to practice for the PMP exam. This simulates the actual exam with great detail. It has different modes of study that allow you to take exams by knowledge area, process group, and keyword/concept. Additionally, cloud-based simulator format allows you to practice from your desktop computer, laptop or even tablet. Moreover, all questions are cross-referenced with the Rita Mulcahy PMP Exam Prep textbook to find out weak areas and gaps to focus on. The cost of this simulator is $259.

3. Hot Topics PMP Exam Flashcards-9^th Edition

It offers flashcards for a quick review of difficult topics. This is a spiral-bound portable flipbook format that consists of over 350 most important and difficult to recall PMP exam related terms and concepts. This gives you the flexibility to study at the office or plane or car. The cost of this flashcard is $34.

Besides, it also provides Hot Topics Audio Flashcards. They are electronic flashcards for reviewing important and complex topics.

4. PM Fastrack Exam Prep Combo

This is a 3 in 1 combo. It includes Rita Mulcahy PMP Exam Prep textbook, one year license of PM Fastrack Exam Simulator and one copy of Hot topics Flashcards to prepare for the PMP exam. The cost of this combo is $399 but if you purchase from the RMC store then it is discounted to $319.20.

Rita Mulcahy PMP Products are available in different languages such as English, Portuguese, Spanish and Arabic.

Salient Features of Rita PMP

• It is the worldwide best selling PMP exam preparation guide
• Rita PMP offers more than 400 practice exam questions throughout the book
• This Rita Mulcahy PMP provides critical time-saving tips referred to as “Tricks of the Trade”, games and activities to pass the PMP exam
• It focuses on what you really need to pass the exam
• A peculiar feature of a straightforward approach to complex material
• Rita PMP helps you to learn the Proven Study techniques
• Another unique feature of practice questions in Rita Mulcahy PMP is that practice exams and questions are focused on essential concepts.
• This book is written in a conversational manner which is easy to follow
• Language of Rita PMP is easy to understand
• This book is completely focused on the PMP exam. It gives you the right content for the success in PMP exam

Shortcomings of Rita PMP

• Process Chart defined in Chapter 3 is quite confusing. Actually the Rita PMP book follows its own process chart which is somewhat different from the one defined in PMBOK Guide.
• In Rita Mulcahy PMP, there are very few diagrams and explanatory pictures which is not quite helpful for visual learners
• Pricewise, this book is quite expensive as compared to other competitors in the market.

What makes RMC different from others?

1. Availability on RMC Stores only

• Earlier Rita Mulcahy PMP Exam Prep 9^th Edition was available on Amazon stores. But due to copyright infringement issues, it has been removed. Hence, you can purchase genuine copies directly from the RMC store

2. New Feature

• New Feature of “Online Subscription” is available. When you purchase a paperback version by adding a new online subscription version of Rita Mulcahy PMP, you get a 35% discount.

3. Customized Learning

• RMC offers a variety of learning modes such as traditional classes in many cities across the United States
• For working professions, they offer self-directed e-learning courses and virtual classrooms
• Students can find the books, software and RMC blogs to help advance their learning

4. Diverse Perspectives

• RMC offers training in 18 languages and more than 60 countries across the world
• RMC content caters to learners of any background

5. Experienced and Passionate Instructors

• Instructors are champions of respective disciplines and have a deep conceptual understanding of practice area they teach
• Due to diverse backgrounds, they incorporate real-world examples in their training

6. Focused Book

• This book is completely focused on the PMP exam. Rita PMP keeps your feet on the ground reminding you of the difficulty level of PMP exam

7. Complete details of project management

• Rita Mulcahy PMP provides complete details about PMI way of doing project management called “PMI-isms”. It is very useful to solve PMP exam questions.

8. Lots of Sample Questions

• Rita PMP provides mid-chapter questions, end of the chapter questions which are really helpful to prepare for PMP exam

Can we download Rita Mulcahy PMP for free?

Generally, PMP Aspirants look for resources such as Rita Mulcahy PMP book to download for free from the internet. But it is not legal!

And you might find some websites which offer to download Rita Mulcahy PMP for free. First of all, it is not legal to download from these websites. Even if you download from these websites, then it will be a non-licensed product. Further, it is unethical to access a copied book without the permission of the publisher or author.

Hence, you need to purchase the Rita Mulcahy PMP Exam Prep book and it will be delivered to your address.

PMP Exam Preparation

For the preparation of the PMP exam, you need to attend PMP instructor-led training. This will give you in-depth knowledge of PMP topics. Besides, PMP experts recommend two popular preparation materials which are Rita Mulcahy PMP book and PMBOK Guide. Hence PMBOK Guide, Rita Mulcahy PMP book and attending the PMP training is sufficient to prepare for the PMP exam.

Here instructor-led PMP training is the most crucial factor to understand the concepts for the exam. Moreover, PMBOK Guide is a must and Rita Mulcahy PMP is really useful along with these.

PMP exam consists of both theoretical and practical questions on project management. The purpose is to evaluate a candidate’s knowledge and experience in leading the project. Hence aspirants planning to appear for the exam need to be aware of real-life work issues and project management practices.

Rita Mulcahy PMP prep book prepares aspirants for these types of problems.

How to study with Rita Mulcahy PMP book

The best way to study with this book for the preparation of the PMP exam is to spare 2-3 hours every day. Use the PMBOK guide together with the Rita Mulcahy PMP book. First, read a chapter from the PMBOK Guide. Then read the same chapter from Rita Mulcahy PMP book and practice the questions at the end of the chapter. Likewise, complete all the chapters. Give Rita PMP book 2-3 passes and practice all mid-chapter questions, numerical and end of chapter questions.

Once you have a thorough understanding of the concepts then you start practicing mock exams from different sources. This will help you give a flavor of different types of questions from different sources. Once you start scoring 80-85% consistently in mock exams, then you can consider yourself prepared for the PMP exam. Then you can schedule a date and you can attend the exam.

In a nutshell, Rita PMP prepares the candidate for the PMP exam as well as real-life project management.

Content Outline of Rita Mulcahy PMP

Chapter 1: Tricks of the Trade for Studying for this exam

• Why Take the PMP Exam?
• Qualifying to take the exam?
• Are you ready for the PMP exam?
• Applying to take the exam
• How to use this book
• Other Materials to Use to Study for the PMP exam
• What is the PMP Exam Like?
• How to Study for the PMP Exam?
• Recurring Themes- PMI-isms to know for the PMP exam

Chapter 2:  Project Management Framework

• Definition of a Project
• Why Projects Exist
• Operations and Projects
• Governance
• What is Portfolio Management?
• And what is Program Management?
• What is Project Management? Why is it important?
• What is Organizational Project Management (OPM)?
• Project Management Office (PMO)
• Organizational Structure
• Project Roles
• Organizational Process Assets (OPAs)
• Enterprise Environmental Factors
• Assumption Log
• Stakeholders and Stakeholder Management
• Work Performance Data, Information, and Reports
• Frequently Used Tools and Techniques
• Practice Exams

Chapter 3:  Project Management Processes

• Project Life Cycles and the Project Management Process
• Rita’s Process Chart
• Initiating Process Group
• Planning Process Group
• Executing Process Group
• Monitoring and Controlling Process Group
• Closing Process Group
• Practice Exam

Chapter 4: Integration Management

• Rita’s Process Chart
• Develop Project Charter
• Develop Project Management Plan
• Direct and Manage Project Work
• Manage Project Knowledge
• Monitor and Control Project Work
• Perform Integrated Change Control
• Close Project or Phase
• Practice Exam

Chapter 5: Scope Management

• Rita’s Process Chart
• Plan Scope Management
• Collect Requirements
• Define Scope
• Create WBS
• Validate Scope
• Control Scope
• Practice Exam

Chapter 6: Schedule Management

• Rita’s Process Chart
• Plan Schedule Management
• Define Activities
• Sequence Activities
• Estimate Activity Durations
• Develop Schedule
• Control Schedule
• Practice Exam

Chapter 7: Cost Management

• Rita’s Process Chart
• Plan Cost Management
• Estimate Costs
• Determine Budget
• Control Costs
• Practice Exam

Chapter 8: Quality Management

• Rita’s Process Chart
• Plan Quality Management
• Manage Quality
• Control Quality
• Practice Exam

Chapter 9: Resource Management

• Rita’s Process Chart
• Plan Resource Management
• Estimate Activity Resources
• Acquire Resources
• Develop Team
• Manage Team
• Control Resources
• Practice Exam

Chapter 10: Communications Management

• Rita’s Process Chart
• Plan Communications Management
• Manage Communications
• Monitor Communications
• Practice Exam

Chapter 11: Risk Management

• Rita’s Process Chart
• Plan Risk Management
• Identify Risks
• Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
• Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
• Plan Risk Responses
• Implement Risk Responses
• Monitor Risks
• Practice Exam

Chapter 12: Procurement Management

• Rita’s Process Chart
• Plan Procurement Management
• Conduct Procurements
• Control Procurements
• Practice Exam

Chapter 13: Stakeholder Management

• Rita’s Process Chart
• Identify Stakeholders
• Plan Stakeholder Engagement
• Manage Stakeholder Engagement
• Monitor Stakeholder Engagement
• Practice Exam

Chapter 14: Professional and Social Responsibility

• Rita’s Process Chart
• Practice Exam

Chapter 15: The PMP Exam: Tips for Passing the Exam the First Time

• Putting it All Together
• Formulas to know for the exam
• Before you take the exam
• Tricks for Taking and Passing the PMP Exam
• Common Project Management Errors and Pitfalls
• A Day in the Life Exercise

Customer Reviews:

Scott D for Rita Mulcahy Hot Topics Flashcard

****

Very Useful to Supplement PMBOK and Rita’s Book

I have always learned best by using flashcards so I found this very useful. I ended up tearing the cards from the spiral binding and cutting the loose ends so I could use them as actual flashcards. That also enabled me to separate the cards I knew very easily from the more challenging ones. Some people complain that the paper is thinner compared to actual flashcards, which is why I gave it 4 stars.

Raul Chavez on Flashcards

*****

Great Flashcards

Do not expect to be a complete book quality with a lot of information. It is a flashcards book. It has the quality necessary for its purpose and it is only effective if you use it to memorize key aspects about the PMP exam, after reading the PMBOK and also the book for PMP by the same author. I used only these 3 books and passed on the first try.

D Bez on Rita Mulcahy PMP Prep Book

*****

I passed the PMP thanks to this book!

I just passed the PMP exam last week on my first attempt too. This was the primary book that I used for preparation. I am sure I passed thanks in much to this book. The tricks and exercises provided in the book are worth a great deal. The reading material is very wordy and long and tends to become disengaging to the reader.

AMW on Rita Mulcahy PMP Prep Book

*****

Must Read for PMP Exam

An author of a PMP book recommended this one in preparation for the PMP Exam. I am glad he did! Rita gives tips, tricks, and insights that aren’t offered in the PMBOK. She even says things like “this isn’t covered in PMBOK but you need to know it for the exam”. I like that there are practice exams at the end of every chapter. And explanations of the answers following. It has helped me learn and understand the concepts a lot more.

Michael K on Rita Mulcahy Exam Prep Book

*****

An excellent resource for PMP Prep

Doing your PMP Certification? Buy the Rita PMP and methodically go through it page by page. If you have vast project management experience you may find the material to be in a different dimension to typical project management procedures and reporting. Content in this book is very interactive and engaging. Don’t get hung up on this, just go through the book as set out, beginning to end and do the sample quizzes.

Summary of Rita Mulcahy PMP

Rita Mulcahy PMP was the most popular and best selling book until the 2000s. The first edition was published in 1998. Now, the most recent edition is Rita PMP Exam Prep 9^th Edition. This edition is in compliance with PMBOK’s latest edition i.e. 6^th Edition.

Rita was an author and public speaker in the project management field. She died in 2010 but still, her team is working regularly and the next editions in compliance with PMBOK editions are released at regular intervals.

Rita Mulcahy PMP cannot be downloaded for free. Earlier, it was available at Amazon site but now you need to purchase from the RMC site only and it will get delivered to your home address.

Rita PMP focuses completely on the PMP exam. Besides, it is very helpful to learn real-life project management.

Further, Rita launched various products such as PM Fastrack Exam Simulator, Hot Topics PMP Exam Flashcards, Hot Topics Audio Flashcards, Books, E-books, and Online Books. These products are of high quality and really very useful for the preparation of the PMP exam. But they are expensive in comparison to other competitors in the market.

It was the primary source of PMP preparation but now there are much better and affordable PMP preparation options available in the market.

The post Rita Mulcahy PMP Review – PMP Rita 100% Revealed appeared first on Project Hipo.

As we are all aware that Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification is a world-recognized, most demanded certification in the area of project management. Main reference book to crack this certification is the PMBOK Guide. It is not an easy book to understand the concepts of the PMP exam. Hence there are different books used along with the main reference book to prepare for the exam. But one of the most popular PMP books that have been used for years by new aspirants to pass the PMP exam is Head First PMP.

What is Head First PMP?

Head First books came into existence in 2003 by Bert Bates and Kathy Sierra. This is a series of introductory instructional books to many topics such as Agile, C, HTML, Java, Software Development, Web Design, etc and last but not the least Head First PMP.  Head First PMP was launched by Andrew Stellman and Jennifer Green. It is also known as Brain-Friendly Guide.  There are many supporting books available in the market. But one of the main reasons why Head First PMP became popular is its way of representation of the concept in a pictorial form which helps a new aspirant to understand the subject in an easier manner.

O’Reilly established Head First Labs where series of books were presented in an easy to understand way. Likewise, Head First PMP is also written in an engaging manner. This book uses simple language which is easy to understand and has a flavor of fiction. Also, it makes use of numerous diagrams, charts, and figures to simplify the topic.

Insight Into Head First PMP

Each chapter of Head First PMP starts with a story which is used as a center point for explaining the topics. Further, they give details on the topics via a series of small examples and anecdotes based on the starting story. Also, there are crosswords, short exercises and fill in the blanks which help an aspirant to remember the concepts well. At the end of each chapter of the Head First PMP, sample PMP questions make you revise the chapter thoroughly.

Head First PMP is written in a very casual manner which helps in understanding the topics easily. However, it gives the impression that the level of PMP exam is not tough. On the contrary, the structure is very different from the main reference guide i.e. PMBOK Guide. However, this book can be used by people who are new to project management because they can get an overview of project management in simpler terms. In fact, Head First PMP can be a stepping stone for novice managers. But it needs to be used in conjunction with PMBOK Guide and some other reference book to pass the exam.

Salient Features of Head First PMP

1. Firstly, Head First PMP teaches you the latest principles of The PMBOK Guide in a unique and inspiring way.
2. Secondly, it is not in a traditional format of book but offers a visual format to help you grasp the big picture of project management
3. Thirdly, Head First PMP has a unique way of presenting PMP Concepts into context. Hence, it will help the candidate to understand, remember and apply them on the exam as well on the job.
4. Then, Head First PMP has good coverage of the latest principles and objectives in The PMBOK Guide, Sixth Edition
5. Another reason to choose Head First PMP is the availability of hundreds of practice questions and exam strategies.
6. Further then, lots of puzzles, games, problems, and exercises are available to make learning easier.
7. Easy to digest and entertaining book to learn PMP concepts.

You can read our Best PMP Training post to see all PMP training options and ratings.

What makes it different from others?

1. Head First PMP makes use of visually rich format than heavy text approach in other books to engage your mind. Hence it makes use of multi-sensory learning approach designed for the brain.
2. They don’t make use of lecture mode. Instead, Head Fist PMP presents the concept via story using simple language.
3. Also, this book makes use of visuals as it is a fact that visuals are more memorable than words. Hence it makes learning more fun and effective.
4. Head First PMP book makes use of attention-grabbing tactics by introducing graphics in a little humorous and surprising way.
5. Each page has a combination of text and graphics. Further, you won’t find 2 pages whose layout is the same because the page layout is dynamic.
6. Another peculiar feature of Head First PMP book is that they make use of redundancy which means saying the same things in different ways with different media types. So it increases the chance to get content coded in more than one area of your brain
7. Usage of Concepts, Pictures, Exercises, games and fun examples with emotional content in Head First PMP to make brain remember more appropriately.
8. High quality of instructional design that provides easy learning.
9. Head First PMP makes use of personalized, conversational style.
10. They use multiple learning styles which means the same content represented in multiple ways.
11. This book provides memory joggers, hints, tips and tricks for attempting PMP questions.

PMP Exam preparation with Head First PMP

Head First PMP is one of the most popular books used by aspirants since its onset. It has evolved over the years and the latest edition of Head First PMP that is compliant to PMBOK-6^th edition is Head First PMP-4^th edition. Exam content of PMP keeps on changing, so it requires extensive study of material, book along with practice questions. These days online content is gaining importance. However, books cannot lose their importance because “OLD is Gold”. So they still have importance and in good demand in the market. Moreover, one book that is most in-demand and tops the charts is Head First PMP. Now we will see what is in this Head First PMP Book.

Content outline of the book:

1. Introduction
2. The Organizational Environment
3. The Process Framework and Project manager’s role
4. Integration Management- This knowledge area is based on “Getting the job done”
5. Scope Management- This knowledge area is based on “Doing the right stuff”
6. Schedule Management- This knowledge area is based on “Getting it done on time”
7. Cost Management- This knowledge area is based on “Watching the bottom line”
8. Quality Management- This knowledge area is based on “Getting it right”
9. Resource Management- This knowledge area is based on “Getting the team together”
10. Communications Management- This knowledge area is based on “Getting the word out”
11. Risk Management- This knowledge area is based on “Planning for the unknown”
12. Procurement Management- This knowledge area is based on “Getting some help”
13. Stakeholder Engagement: This knowledge area is based on “Keeping everyone engaged”
14. A little last-minute review: This is based on “Check your knowledge”
15. Practice makes perfect: Practice PMP Exam.

Topics covered in Head First PMP are:

1. Introduction Section: Why get certified?

• Why a person should get certified.
• What are the unique characteristics of a good project manager?
• Project lifecycle models such as Predictive, Adaptive, Iterative, Incremental, Hybrid and tailoring.
• Distinguish between Project, Programs, and Portfolios.
• Distinguish between what a PROJECT is and what a Project is NOT.
• Defining of “A day in the life of a project manager”
• How Project Managers run great projects
• Types of Project Management Office (PMO)- Supportive, Controlling and Directive
• Leadership skills
• Project Team
• Operations Management
• Meet a Real-life PMP Certified project manager

2. The Organizational Environment

• A day in Kate’s Life
• Kate wants a new Job
• Different Types of Organizational Structures
• Project Manager power
• Managing Project Constraints
• Kates takes a new job by working in an organic organization
• Acceptance Criteria
• Organization Processes
• Organization Magnets Solution

3. Process Framework and Project Manager’s Role

• Cooking up a project
• Projects are like recipes
• The project can be managed in phases if the size is big
• Phases can overlap
• Process Magnets
• Anatomy of a Process
• Knowledge area organizes the processes
• Knowledge Area Magnets and Solutions
• The Project Manager’s Role
• Your technical skills make successful projects happen
• Leadership is different than management
• Styles of Leadership
• Types of Power of Project Manager
• Benefits of successful Project management
• Exam Questions and Answers

4. Project Integration Management

• Illustration to book a trip where teachers are thrilled but clients are not satisfied ultimately
• Day to Day work of a project manager
• A Birds-eye view of a project
• Seven Integration Management Processes
• Start your project with Initiating Process
• Integration Management and Process Groups
• The Develop Project charter process
• Plan your project
• Project Management Plan lets you plan ahead
• Subsidiary plans
• The Direct and Manage Project Work Process
• The Project team creates deliverables
• Executing the project includes repairing defects
• The Manage Project Knowledge process
• Changes, Defects and Corrections
• Control your changes
• Preventing or correcting problems
• Finish the work
• Close the project
• Exam Questions

5. Scope Management

• Power of Scope Management
• The Six Scope Management Processes
• Plan your scoping process
• Collect requirements for your project
• Talk to your stakeholders
• Understand your requirements
• Stakeholders know a lot about your project already
• Use a questionnaire to get requirements from a bigger group of people
• A prototype shows users what your product will be like
• Now you are ready to write a requirements document
• Define the scope of a project
• How do you define the scope?
• The Project scope statement tells you what you have to do
• Create the work breakdown structure
• The inputs for WBS come from other processes
• Breaking down the work
• Decompose deliverables into work packages
• The project scope baseline is a snapshot of the plan
• The outputs of Create WBS process
• Why scope changes
• The Control Scope Process
• Anatomy of a change
• A closer look at the change control system
• Control Scope Tools and Techniques
• Make sure the team delivered the right product
• The stakeholders give you the criteria for deciding when you are done

6. Schedule Management

• Schedule Management helps with aggressive timelines
• Plan your scheduling processes
• Use the Define Activities process to break down the work
• Tools and Techniques for Define Activities
• Rolling Wave Planning lets you plan as you go
• Define activities outputs
• The Sequence Activities process puts everything in order
• Diagram the relationship between activities
• Network Diagram put your task in perspective
• Dependencies help you sequence your activities
• Leads and Lags add time between activities
• Scheduling software can help you see the sequence of activities
• Create the network diagram
• Figuring out how long the project will take
• Estimation tools and techniques
• Create the duration estimate
• Use the critical path method to avoid a big problem
• How to find the critical path
• Finding the float for any activity
• Float tells you how much extra time you have
• Figuring out the early start and early finish
• Figuring out the latest possible start and latest finish
• Add early and late durations to your diagrams
• Fast-tracking the project
• Use data analysis techniques when you build your schedule
• Other Develop Schedule tools and techniques
• Outputs of Develop Schedule
• Influence the factors that cause a change
• Control Schedule Inputs and Outputs
• Measuring and reporting performance
• Control Schedule tools and techniques
• Exam Questions

7. Cost Management

• Time to expand Head First Kitchen
• The renovation goes overboard
• Introducing the Cost Management processes
• Plan how you will estimate, track and control your costs
• Now you have got a consistent way to manage costs
• What Alice needs before she can estimate costs
• Other tools and techniques used in Estimate Costs
• Let’s talk numbers
• Now Alice knows how much the kitchen will cost
• The Determine Budget Process
• What you need to build your budget
• Determine the budget: how to build a budget
• The Control costs process is a lot like schedule control
• Look at the schedule to figure out your budget
• How to calculate the planned value
• Earned value tells you how you are doing
• How to calculate earned value
• Is your project behind or ahead of schedule?
• Are you over budget?
• The earned value management formulas
• Interpret CPI and SPI numbers to gauge your project
• Forecast what your project will look like when it’s done
• Once you have got an estimate, you can calculate a variance
• Finding missing information
• Keep your project on track with TCPI
• A High TCPI means a tight budget
• Exam Questions

8. Quality Management

• What is Quality?
• “ An ounce of Prevention”
• Plan quality is how you prevent defects
• How to plan for quality
• Quality Management Plan
• Use the planning outputs for Control Quality
• Tools for Data Gathering
• Tools for Data Analysis
• Inspection, testing, and product evaluation
• Control Quality
• Trouble at Black Box factory
• Introducing Managing Quality
• Fireside Chats
• Exam Questions and Answers

9. Resource Management

• Mike needs a new team, Get your team together and keep them moving
• Figure out who you need on your team
• A closer look at Plan Resource Management Outputs
• The Resource Management Plan
• What you need to estimate resources
• Estimating the resources
• Get the team together
• Develop your team with management skills
• Your interpersonal and team skills can make a big difference for your team
• Lead the team with management skills
• Motivate your team
• Stages of team development
• Manage your team
• Conflict Management
• How to resolve a conflict
• The output of Control Resources Process
• Exam Questions and Answers

10. Communications Management

• Party at the Head First Lounge
• Anatomy of communication
• Get a handle on communication
• Let everyone know how’s a project going
• Take a close look at the work being done
• Now you can get the word out
• People aren’t talking
• Count the channels of communication
• It’s party time
• Exam Questions and Answers

11. Risk Management

• What’s a risk?
• How do you deal with risk?
• Plan Risk Management
• Use a risk breakdown structure to categorize risks
• Anatomy of a risk
• What could happen to your project?
• Data gathering techniques for Identify Risks
• Where to look for risks
• Now put it in the risk register
• Rank your risks
• Examine each risk in the register
• Qualitative vs Quantitative Analysis
• Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
• First, gather the data
• Calculate the expected monetary value of your risks
• Decision tree analysis uses EMV to help you make choices
• Update the risk register based on quantitative analysis results
• How do you respond to risk?
• Add risk responses to a register
• Implement Risk Responses
• Risk responses can find even more risks
• Risk Management exposed
• Monitor Risks
• More Control Risk Tools and Techniques
• Exam Questions and Answers

12. Procurement Management

• Victim of her own success
• Calling in the cavalry
• Agreement Process Magnets and solutions
• Ask the legal expert
• Anatomy of an agreement
• Start with a plan for the whole project
• Make or Buy Magnets
• Type of Contractual Agreements
  • Fixed Price Contracts
  • Cost reimbursable Contracts
  • Time and Materials
• Figure out how you will sort out potential sellers
• Get in touch with potential sellers
• Pick a partner
• Keep an eye on the contract
• Stay on top of the seller
• Kate closes the contract
• Exam Questions and Answers

13. Stakeholder Management

• Party at the Head First Lounge
• Understanding your stakeholders
• Find out who your stakeholders are
• How engaged are your stakeholders
• Managing stakeholder engagement
• Monitor your stakeholder engagement
• Pool Puzzle and solution
• It’s party time
• Exam Questions and Answers

14. Professional Responsibility

• Doing the right thing
• Keep the cash?
• Fly business class?
• New software
• Shortcuts
• A good price or clean river?
• We’re not all angels
• Exam Questions and Answers

15. A little last-minute review

• Process Magnets and answers
• A long term relationship for your brain
• Integration and overall PMBOK Questions and answers
• Scope Questions and answers
• Schedule Questions and answers
• Cost Questions and answers
• Quality Questions and answers
• Project Resource Questions and answers
• Communications Questions and answers
• Risk Questions and answers
• Procurement Questions and answers
• Stakeholder Questions and answers

Modes of Reading

Head First PMP book is available in Paperback format at amazon.com. And if you want to go for online reading then the Kindle version is also available.

Shortcomings of Head First PMP Book

1. Content is not very much aligned with PMBOK Guide

For instance, in Head First PMP book under chapter Project Communications Management, it is mentioned that “According to PMBOK Guide, ninety percent of project management is communication”. But PMBOK Guide states that Project managers spent most of their time communicating.

2. Little errors and contradiction in the content of this book

For instance, in Human Resource Management, Head First PMP book says that there are 5 kinds of power: legitimate, reward, expert, and referent. But only 4 powers are mentioned and counting as 5.

3. Chapter names not aligned with PMBOK Guide latest version i.e. 6^th Edition

In Head First PMP, processes are updated to match with PMBOK guide. However, chapters are still as per previous PMBOK Guide version. For Instance: Chapter Resource Management is mentioned as “Human Resource Management” in Head First PMP.

4. Kindle version of Head First PMP book is very messy

Though Head First PMP is useful to prepare for the exam, the way it looks on the Kindle app is not at all acceptable. There is no zoom option. Features of this app are very limited.

Moreover, the layout of the book is different from the printed and PDF version.

5. Coverage of content is less

If you compare coverage of PMP content then it is 85-90% only as per PMBOK Edition. Many of PMP topics are not covered in detail in Head First PMP. Hence there is a need to refer another book to cover the topic in detail.

6. Level of questions are too easy

PMP exam is a mix of simple and complex direct and situational questions. In Head First PMP, questions’ level is generally on the easy side. Although, sample questions should be a blend of simple and complex.

How Can I Download Head First PMP?

Generally, candidates look for the free version of the book that can be downloaded from the internet.

Another way is to get a copy printed of someone known and make use of the book. But as per PMI code of ethics and professional conduct, it is not ethical and highly unprofessional to access a copy of licensed product without the permission of author so it is not recommended to do this.

Moreover, Head First PMP is a very low-cost book so can be easily purchased as a paperback or Kindle version. And the paperback book can be delivered to the desired address mentioned while ordering the book.

Customer Reviews:

“Good Book for basic understanding”

Head First PMP is good for building basic understanding but in no way sufficient for the exam. For the exam, you need to read PMBOK for at least 5 times and practice around 1500 sample questions without fail.

“An Innovative Alternative to PMBOK”

Job well done to authors Jennifer Greene and Andrew Stellman on creating another wonderful Head First Reference, this time for PMP Prep. I was dreading ordering the new PMBOK because of how poor the reviews were for formatting alone and it dawned on me that there might be a better alternative. I loved the format so much I gifted my copy to a colleague who is taking a PMP prep course and am ordering another for myself. Highly recommend Head First PMP book to those who want a more “brain-friendly” approach to PMP Prep.

“Good Buy”

It’s easy to understand and comprehend.

“Won’t help Pass PMP exam”

The book is written at a shallow level, questions are recalled ability question, won’t help in the PMP exam.

“Must have for pomp Prep”

Easy to understand PMP concepts and it really suited my style of learning

“Very Helpful, Great Book”

I am at the beginning of pursuing PMP Certification. The online course I am taking for my 35 contact hours recommended reading an exam prep book before starting the online course. I am glad I chose Head First PMP. It’s not a dry read at all. It’s very engaging and there are a variety of exercises and quiz styles to help you test your learning. My favorites were the end of chapter crossword puzzles. This book will keep you engaged and teach you a TON!

Summary

Head First PMP book was written by Jennifer Greene and Andrew Stellman. Till date, many versions have evolved with time in accordance with the main reference guide i.e. PMBOK Guide. Latest version used for Head First PMP is 4^th edition in compliance to PMBOK Guide latest version i.e. 6^th edition.

Head First PMP is written in a very simple language and it is easy to understand. Hence it is useful for beginners who want to have an overview of PMP concepts and project management. However, this book alone is not sufficient enough to prepare for the PMP exam. Especially the latest version has some small errors and contradiction and some of the topics of PMP exam are not covered in sufficient detail.

You can read our reviews about the most popular PMP programs:

• Master of Project Academy PMP Training
• Simplilearn PMP Training
• Udemy PMP Training
• Project Management Academy PMP Training
• PM Prep Cast PMP Training
• Velociteach PMP Training

The post Head First PMP – 100% Review of the Book Usage appeared first on Project Hipo.