About This Book

Regardless of your exposure to Exam Cram 2 books or the PMP certification process, the main purpose of this book is to provide you with tools and information that will assist you in passing the PMP certification exam. We will also provide background information about the PMP exam requirements, the Project Management Institute, and how you can use this certification to advance your professional development. This book will not focus on how to be a project manager. Our objective is to provide you with an understanding of the exam mechanics and how PMI views the topical areas associated with initiation, planning, execution, control, and closeout of projects.

Numerous organizations provide PMP training that costs thousands of dollars and requires weeks or months to complete. Our goal with this book is to provide you with a shortened version of training that may decrease your preparation time and allow you to get a quick overview of the program. This book may also be used in conjunction with training programs to reinforce the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) materials and would be a good companion to university programs that place an emphasis on project-management certifications.

IT-Focused Project Management

Although this book can be universally utilized across multiple disciplines, we will emphasize many of the attributes of the Information Technology profession due to the fact that the majority of the Exam Cram 2 books involve technical certifications. Because a large majority of project managers are involved in the IT field, we feel it is appropriate to focus on this area of project management.

The PMBOK: What You Need Along with This Book

Exam Cram 2 books provide a concise and focused overview of various topics. The approach of this book will center on providing you with numerous test questions and background information to reinforce the ideas and concepts of the certification program. The first step in this process is to purchase and read the Project Management Body of Knowledge, commonly referred to as the PMBOK. The PMBOK describes a framework for project-management activities and processes, and it's generally accepted as a "de facto" project-management standard. Most important to you, it serves as the principal source for PMP certification exam questions. Although several other books are useful in preparation for the test, the PMBOK is the key ingredient to your success and is required reading in order to pass the test.

You can purchase this book from PMI or several other suppliers. It is automatically provided to you when you join PMI. Because you will ultimately become a member of PMI in order to retain your certification, we recommend that you join the organization and receive a copy as part of your membership. The PMBOK is not light reading it contains more than 150 pages and covers the complete depth and breadth of project management. Therefore, do not anticipate that you will be able to read all the material in one weekend and be prepared to take the test. Nor should you expect to read just this Exam Cram 2 book and successfully pass the test.

Process View

The other primary advantage this book offers the prospective PMP candidate is that it covers the exam topics and the PMBOK framework from a "process" viewpoint rather than the "knowledge area" approach depicted in the PMBOK. We feel this process approach is more consistent with the natural workflow of project managers and with the nature of the PMP exam itself. Most importantly, we feel this process approach will better prepare you for the exam by providing synergy with related PMBOK processes, while bridging the gaps between the PMBOK organization and your real-life experiences.

We wish you great success with the certification process and encourage you to move forward in the profession if you choose it as a lifetime career.