Certification Exam Manual

I received a copy of this book when I took Tony's prep class. This book and the related material enabled me to pass the PMP on my first try. The PMP simulation test CD was a great tool to test your knowledge and provide you the chance to experience going through 200 questions within four hours. This book provides details that are not in the PMBOK. I.E detailed Earned Value exercises, backward/forward exercises and PTA just to mention a few. This book combined with the other material associated with the prep class was all I needed to successfully pass the exam. Plus, the study and test taking methodology was very helpful. The PMP exam is a difficult test and when I encountered the situational questions I used the methodology stated in the book to evaluate the question and select what I considered to be the correct answer. Guess it worked because I passed. I recommend Tony's book but suggest you purchase his complete package if you do not attend the prep class.

I've overkilled my preparation for the exam and I am now just scheduling it. Hope I don't peak too soon. Of all the material that I have reviewed this is the most complete, thorough review -- knowledge area by knowledge area. I also found a few errors in other materials but not in this book. I hope that the questions are representative (in form) of the actual exam. Even had a chance to speak with Tony and was impressed by the advice he gave. Only book you need for self study ... even better than the better known review guides out there!

Besides the PMBOK, this was the only other book that I purchased. I started reading the PMBOK first but I had a hard time memorizing concepts, tables, formulas, processes, etc. Don't get me wrong, the PMBOK is a great resource, but in my opinion is a little tedious to read, so I decided to change my studying strategy. I started reading the PMP Success Series first and using the PMBOK as a complimentary resource. This combination worked great for me! The advantage of this book is that it has a bunch of tools, tables, exercises, and of course the CD, that helped me to memorize needed things for the test. I strongly would recommend this book to anyone trying to prepare for the PMP certification.

I just passed my PMP exam on my first try. I studied for the exam with Tony's book "Crosswind PMP Success Series: Certification Exam Manual", CD simulation exams, placemats and audio CDs. I had purchased the Rita book first. However I think Tony's book was much better at providing explanations and examples. It complimented the PMBOK, made reading and understanding the PMBOK easier. The exam simulation CDs really helped me prepare for the exam, and it provides a great study aid; it provides feedback on what sections of the exam you should review. It also helped with the timing, how fast you need to be able to proceed through the test questions. I was able to answer all the questions on the exam in a little over 2 hours, used 1 hour for review of the questions I marked and finished 30 minutes ahead of time. I was able to beta test the new exam simulations with 5 process group tests, 9 knowledge area tests, framework and PR, and 4 complete PMP tests, 20 tests total. I reviewed Rita's test questions and Crowe's test questions as a backup. I believe that Tony's material provided me with the knowledge I needed to pass the exam. I would not recommend the Sybex exam simulation CD; I found it frustrating, confusing and too wordy.

Used only these materials to pass the PMP test in Nov '04 with room to spare above 137. Did not crack the PMBOK, as all that was needed is contained in this book. A definite need is the practice test CD and placemats. Took other practice tests on and off PMI study site and this was the closest to the real test in type, style and context. Placemats help to summarize the key areas into diagram/picture format. This helps it stick in the brain. With this information and study time, there should be no reason why one cannot pass the PMP test. Will be buying the next edition, that supports the new PMBOK , just to have it as reference.