Book Review: PMP Rapid Review by Sean Whitaker; MS Press

The Project Management Institute offers the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification program. Even for experienced Project Managers, achieving the PMP credential requires significant effort. To pass the PMP Exam, not only a thorough study of the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), Fifth Edition, but also a good understanding of the project management stages (defined by 5 Process Groups) and project management topics (47 Processes in 10 Knowledge Areas, was 42 Processes in 9 Knowledge Areas in PMBOK Guide, 4th Edition) is required.

PMP Rapid Review by Sean Whitaker is a good exam-prep resource that summarizes & highlights the important topics of PMBOK Guide. There are plenty of questions and answers, some of them in true/false format, to recap your understanding of the essentials. The study material is interspersed with exam tips which point out things to note from the exam's perspective.

There are five chapters corresponding to the five Process Groups. The author has broken down the contents of each Process Group into Tasks. Though well-written, I found the book needlessly long. The content could have been better organized to avoid repetition of the title of the Tasks which don't really add any value. The author also plugs his other book "PMP Training Kit" by referencing it in the More Info section of most of the Tasks.

Though not as a sole resource, this book is a fine complement to the PMBOK Guide for the PMP exam.  I received a ebook copy of this book via the O'Reilly Blogger Review Program.

Also see: Book Review: Head First PMP