Okay, not one of the most excited topics, PMP, and I’m probably not the ideal candidate to read this book, as I am not really a fully-fledged project manager. I have a masters in Management, which included a PMP component, and as a software developer, this topic is about as dry as it gets. That last unit of my management course certainly fit that case.

I thought I’d pick up Head First PMP, 3rd Edition by Jennifer Greene and @AndrewStellman just out of sadistic curiosity, but was pleasantly surprised. Whilst I have read a lot of ‘Head First’ books before, and have been a vocal critic of how cartoonish and counter-educational they have been, this book is completely the opposite. For a dry subject like PMP, Greene and Stellman have made the topic of Project Management and preparing for a PMP exam quite pellet-able.  I haven’t sat my PMP exam yet, for obvious reasons but many reviewers have pointed out that this book encompasses up to 90% of what was needed, so it’s not just about being able to digest all the PMP stuff in a cheekish book-style, but it’s practical and useful.

The book begins with sone information on what PMP is, why you should get certified, before embarking on the Process Frameworks and how things fit together and Project Integration Management. The various other management elements, Time Management, Scope Management, working with constraints, Risk Management, working with Stakeholders, all the topics and areas you would anticipate. Only the book is well written, and not for those of us who have an MBA already by the average joe looking to make that move to management, from an engineering background for instance.

The last chapter provides a checklist for preparing for the PMP test, to get you into the zone for the test. You probably would need a bit more than this book, and I would recommend another book just to cover all bases, but this book could also save you a lot of money in bootcamp and other training seminars that you probably won’t need.

Concise: [rating=4]

Level: [rating=3]

Prior Knowledge: None but you need to be a manager, unlike me

My rating :[rating=4.5]

Author: Jennifer Greene, Andrew Stellman

Title: Head First PMP, 3rd Edition

Publisher: O’Reilly Media

Year: DECEMBER 2013