Review of PMP Exam Formula Study Guide (PMBOK Guide, 6th Ed)

PMP Exam Formula Study Guide is a unique tool that addresses a very important aspect of PMP exams - the formulas. Being an affiliate of OSP International, the publishers of PMP Exam Formula Study Guide, I received an evaluation copy of the Guide and had an opportunity to review it. So, here I am posting a review of the tool for those who may be interested in buying it.

Review of PMP Exam Formula Study Guide

Product Facts

• You get the following PDF files:
  
  • PMP Formula Study Guide (8 pages)
  • PMP Formula Pocket Guide (1 page)
  • 100+ exam questions for PMBOK Guide, 6th edition
• An email course covering 15 topics (One email everyday for 15 days)
• Useful for PMP. Overkill for CAPM.
• Based on PMBOK^® Guide, 6th Edition standard
• Cost $29.99
• Comes with 100% 90-day Money-back Guarantee
• Website: PMP Formula Study Guide

Product Details

• The main formula study contains a list of about 50 PMP formulas, formula concepts, formula acronyms and important values to remember.
• The pocket guide provides a quick reference to all the formulas used in the sample exams.
• Nice list of "The Types of Questions to Expect" on the exam
• A useful article on exam tips and techniques
• The sample exam contains 100+ numerical-based questions. The quality of questions is very good. The answers are clear and crisp. It covers the following topics:
  • Communication: Communication channels
  • Depreciation Methods: Straight Line Depreciation, Sum-of-Years' Digits Method, Double Declining Balance
  • Earned Value: EV, PV, AC, CPI, SPI, BAC, EAC, VAC, ETC, TCPI
  • Cost Estimates: Order of Magnitude Estimate, Preliminary Estimate, Budget Estimate, Definite Estimate, Final Estimate
  • Expected Monetary Value (EMV): Probability, Impact
  • Network Diagram: Activity Duration, ES, LS, EF, LF, Free Float, Total Float
  • PERT: 3-point estimate (Optimistic, Pessimitic, Most Likely), Variance
  • Procurement: Point of Total Assumption (PTA), Ceiling Price, Target Price, Share Ratio, Target Price
  • Project Selection: Present Value (PV), Future Value (FV), Net Present Value (NPV), Rate of Return (ROI), Payback Period, Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR), Cost Benefit Ratio (CBR), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Opportunity Cost
  • Statistics: Average (Mean), Median, Mode, Standard Deviation, Weighted Average
  • Other Concepts: Sigma Levels, Control Limit, Specification Limits, Pareto Analysis, Just-in-Time (JIT) inventory
• The 15-day email course provides detailed explanation of several key topics and covers them well. The topics include:
  1. Basic Earned Value Formulas
  2. Earned Value Forecasting Formulas
  3. Communication Channels
  4. Depreciation
  5. Float, Free Float and Total Float
  6. Average, Mean and Mode
  7. Standard Deviation
  8. Six Sigma
  9. Present Value and Future Value
  10. Point of Total Assumption
  11. Program Evaluation and Review Technique
  12. Cost Estimating
  13. Payback Period
  14. Expected Monetary Value
  15. Return on Investment (ROI), Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

Pros

• One-stop shop for all the formulas that you need to know for the PMP Exam. You don't need to scavenge for information from various books, websites and other resources.
• The sample exam is the highlight of this product. The answers are explained very clearly.
• Helps you reduce your exam preparation time by providing you all the formulas in a single package. It would certainly come handy during the last few days before the exam.
• Some topics which aren't covered well in the popular exam prep books, are covered well in this guide. Examples include Cost Estimation, Project Selection and Procurement related formulas.
• The guide covers the full breadth of formulas for the PMP exam. It will help you get a solid base in numerical based questions and a clear edge in the exam. Numerical related questions are sure-shot scoring areas. They have only one correct (and unambiguous) answer. If you know the formulas well, you can really increase your chances of success in the exam.
• Very accurate and reliable source of information.

Cons

• From the name - "PMP Formula Study Guide" - it sounds like a single "thick" study guide. However, the main "study guide" is just a quick reference guide for formulas. The actual meat lies in the email course and the sample exams. I feel that the email course should have been integrated into the main "study guide" to make it into a single comprehensive package.
• In continuation to what I mentioned above, I liked the content of the email course but I didn't like the idea of an email course itself. I would rather prefer to get all the information in a single PDF file.
• Hardly any graphics or diagrams (except for Network diagrams, of course). Many topics are better understood with visuals.
• The information in the "study guide" is presented in a tabular format. The layout looks a bit crampy.

Conclusion

PMP Formula Study Guide is a reasonably priced, unique product that addresses a very crucial aspect of PMP exam - the formulas. Though it does not provide any information which you cannot get for free on the internet, the value comes from having all the accurate (formula related) information, from an authentic source, in a neat little package. It pretty much covers all the formulas that you need to learn for the exam and can save you tens of hours of valuable exam preparation time. Despite a few shortcomings in the packaging of the content, at $29.99, I would call it a good value for money. My rating: 8 out of 10.

Rating

4.0 / 5.0

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