I was hoping to bring something fresh to the reviews, but it looks like others picked up on the errors I found too. I would DEFINITELY not recommend this book if it is the only source you are planning to use. I actually found it helpful because I would find what I thought was a contradiction, a wrong formula or chart and check it out and sure enough, it was! I'll admit this helped me learn it, but for crying out loud! Don't be a Dummy and get this book! Use Rita's.

As the other reviewers have stated there are multiple errors in this book. I purchased this book based on the reputation of the other "For Dummies" books. I really wished I had read the reviews prior to my purchase. In my opinion, it is really difficult to have confidence in something that is supposed to help you prepare for a test when there are so many errors. I would not waste my time purchasing this book.

Like a previous reviewer, I am also a big fan of Dummies guides and also had high hopes for this book. I was disappointed by the numerous errors, lack of correlation between topics emphasized in the book and the actual exam questions, and problems with the included software.

The book is riddled with errors. For example, there is an incorrect process name in the P.M. process matrix (pg 43); the text repeatedly confuse the PMBOK definition of "quality" with that of "customer satisfaction" (one example is on pg 92); there is a Prep Test question that states that the project plan is created during Initiation (pg 78); etc. Additionally, the software didn't run properly until I stumbled upon a patch Nathan and Jones had posted on their web site. Even after the software was patched, it still had runtime problems. Finally, having recently taken the exam, I note that my performance on their practice exam was not a good predictor of my actual exam score. Additionally, Nathan and Jones emphasized a number of topic that did not appear on the exam and gave scant attention to several topics that were emphasized. (I can not provide any supporting evidence because I am bound not to disclose details of the exam.)

My recommendation is buy PMP Exam Prep (4th Edition) by Rita Mulcahy. In my opinion, it did the best job of walking me through the actual exam topics and its practice exam was the best predictor of my exam score.

I am a long time fan of the Dummies books and had high hopes for this one. I used this book as well as the Mulcahy and Ward books to study for the exam. If I had to sum up this book in two words they would be "well intentioned". The authors obviously mean well and seem to truly care about helping people pass the exam but the book is riddled with mistakes, typos and basic math errors. It's good information but doesn't really get the core concepts across in a clear way. It's also very confusing to try to use this book and the PMBOK simultaneously because they are structured very differently. Part of my buying decision was the fact that this book contained a practice exam CD. If this is your motivation, DON'T BOTHER! The CD is so full of errors as to be almost worthless. It asks questions based on charts and diagrams but fails to present the user with the diagrams in question. Scores are also inaccurate. While I appreciate the authors' efforts, I'd strongly suggest they re-read Chapter 8 in the PMBOK, the chapter on QUALITY. Either that or fire their editor. You'll have more luck with the Mulcahy book.

I bought this book to help facilitate a review course and found the practice exam at the back was loaded with mistakes on the formula-based questions. Not only typos, but just plain getting the concepts wrong (e.g., trying to calculate based on 1/2 of a standard deviation).

I strongly recommend Rita Mulcahy's PMP Exam Prep instead: More expensive but very readable with good review questions.

Another option is PMP Exam Cram 2, by David Frnacis and Greg Hornie.