Rita's book - is it just me or?

Submitted by staspo on Tue, 06/09/2015 - 07:56

Hi there,

I’m studying for my PMP exam. I read PMBOK, read one of those PMP prep books available on the market, even took a boot camp, but after taking a few simulation exams scored at about 70%, so feel not ready yet.

Still not clear how, but up until now, I was not aware of Rita’s book. After seeing it's the bible of the PMP exam prep, bought it urgently from Amazon, started to read and got frustrated even more.

Not only from the feeling that I still have a significant gap to catch up, but also from the book’s writing style/approach which seems arrogant. Sorry, dont want to offend anybody.

WHat I see is that at every possible opportunity the book says that if you don’t have real PM experience, it will be hard for you to pass the exam. It sounds like these PM’s are a very small elite members club that if you want to join it, you must first have many years of experience working as PM on complex $10M projects spanning the globe while implementing all PM processes as described in PMBOK, or more precisely, as described in Rita’s book which says about itslef that it is much wider and deeper than the standard itself! And if you don’t do all the above in your job – the chances you pass the exam are very slim. Very encouraging, isn’t it?

Is that my feeling only?

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NISHA

Tue, 06/09/2015 - 15:34

Hey..dont worry its not at all you..I believe everyone go through this feeling atleast once when we start reading Rita.. 

When i started studing it for the first time was so demotivated that thought to give up for the exam(I am having only 4.5 years of exp in PM) But then some of my friend councelled me and said look at only good part..the way things has been explained and compltely ignore the other thingsen  what they have written about PM exp..find a new job and all..

So..i will suggest you the same..Keep moving with good things and leave these things behind..

All the best..

Nisha

staspo

Tue, 06/09/2015 - 17:30

Hi Nisha,

Thanks for your support! Appreciate this. Will continue to fight! :)

staspo

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stonecutter099

Tue, 06/09/2015 - 21:18

I found the same thing.  I spent a couple of months reading through the PMBOK and feeling overwhelmed a friend put me onto the extra knowledge references available like Rita's book.  After getting my package from Amazon - (Rita and Head First), I eagerly went up and started reading through a book that told me that I had no business being a Project Manager - a job I had been doing for 18 years.

This  was the first book I'd ever read that was condesending!  

At any rate, I went through both Rita and Head First in my preparatory journey to passing the PMP exam on the first try.  Head First is my favorite, as they break complex ideas down to simpler ideas to make my feable mind understand!

Keep at it!

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admin

Thu, 06/11/2015 - 04:22

You will have to read again and again till you get comfortable. Its not about the language , Rita's book is widely used. The reason we dont get confident is because we dont have enough exposure. To cover up you will have to get yourself familiar with the topics and some topics you will have to read more from other sources. 

PMZilla has collected some good materials and videos which help in further exploring and area.  http://pmzilla.com/pmp-study-material-pmp

 

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samyshah

Thu, 07/02/2015 - 21:36

Hello!

I understand your concern. Many have expressed the same issue with the book. But nevertheless there are others who have also found it quite convincing to read and pass the exam based on that. So it all depends on how much you are willing to put into it. 

If you read my personal experience in this blog post - 10 Best Tips to Pass the PMP Exam on First Attempt - you will find that I referred to only two books: PMBOK and Rita Mulcahy. That combined with some good mock exams and notes helped me crack the exam with just ~5 years of PM experience.

I guess one of the major things I found out almost about a week before my exams (and also from what I have heard from many other aspirants who have taken the exam) is that if you can procure some well-written, nicely composed fast track notes - that really helps. You can read any book once (at max maybe twice). But towards the end when you are really spending time on question banks and ITTOs and brain dumps you really do not want to go back and read the entire chapter or the book again.

It is at that time such fast track exam notes really help. It helps you skim through the content fast and get back to solving more questions and closing the knowledge gaps. Hope this information helps. 

Overall, just stick to maybe 2 books - and read them out once and get to practicing Qs. 

Good Luck!

Samkit

 

sky.blue

Mon, 12/14/2015 - 05:31

I often suggested people to follow these steps:

Step 1: Read any one book of your choice from here:

1. Rita's PMP
2. HeadFirst PMP
3. PMBOK Guide
 
Step 2: Read Brainy People’s Guide To PMP® Credential, as it summarizes everything. 
(I read PMBOK® Guide (5th edition) and Brainy People's guide, it even covers some topic which are not clearly mentioned in PMBOK® Guide, but essential for exam.)
 
Step 3: Take few practice test. 
It is very important to interpret the question, so keep in mind that being able to summarize and interpret the concept is vital, 
for which the Brainy People's Guide should help you. Once you are clear with all the 255 points mentioned in the book, I believe you are good to go.
 
Good luck!
Sumon