PM Prepcast Review: Online PMP Certification Training for 35 PMP Contact Hours

15 minute read    Updated:    Harwinder Singh

PM Prepcast Review - PMP Certification Course for 35 PMP Contact Hours (online) PM Prepcast Review: The Project Management (PM) Prepcast is arguably the second-most popular PMP Certification Exam Prep resource (after Rita Mulcahy’s PMP Exam Prep book). The new PM Prepcast has just been released. I had a chance to do beta testing for this video course and spent a good portion of two weeks evaluating it. In this article, I’m sharing my unbiased review of the PM Prepcast along with the features of the products, and its pros and cons. I hope it helps you make an informed decision about purchasing this product. Unlike other reviewers, I have no intention to hard sell this product to you. So sit back, relax and enjoy the review.

PM Prepcast Review - Why I did NOT use it

I passed my PMP certification exam in Nov 2007. I did NOT use the (previous) PM Prepcast for my preparation. To be very honest, when I first learned about the (old audio-only) PM Prepcast and found that it offers 35 Contact Hours for $49.99, I passed it off as a gimmick and thought it must be one of those cheap sleazy products. I wasn’t even convinced that those Contact Hours would be recognized by PMI.

After all, if you compare it with other PMP Exam Prep products in the market, most of them cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Moreover, my employer was paying for the prep course and budget was not a constraint at all.

After passing my exam, I started looking for resources to earn Contact Hours / PDU’s. Now this initiative wasn’t backed by my employer and I had to bear the cost from my own pocket. That’s when I learned about the free PM Podcast and came across Mr. Cornelius Fichtner (PMP), the founder of Prepcast. I was really impressed by all his work in the field of Project Management and his zillion articles posted all over the web.

Disclosure

Now, I’m an active affiliate of the PM Prepcast. However, I did NOT get paid to do this review, though I believe I should have been :-)

In this review, I have tried to be as unbiased as possible.

PM Prepcast - Product Facts and Features

  1. The PM Prepcast is the first and only 35 hour long PMP Certification Course.
  2. It is a video course of 140 lessons (including bonus material) with a total duration of over 50 hours.
  3. The video material is in the form of Powerpoint-style presentations (you see the slides, not the presenter).
  4. You can use it on your computer, iOS or Android based smartphone or tablet, or any modern multimedia player.
  5. Total file size of all episodes in high resolution is about 11.13 GB. The material gets downloaded to your computer automatically, by simply pointing your iTunes or other similar player to a web URL.
  6. Using this workshop, you can earn 35 Contact Hours of education credits, which are a pre-requisite for the PMP Exam, at your own pace and anywhere.
  7. You need to pass a 25 question online test to receive your 35 Contact Hour Certificate. You need to answer 17 out of 25 questions correctly in order to pass the exam. You can take the test anytime and as many times after 2 weeks of purchasing the product.
  8. It comes with a free sample exam with 60 tough questions.
  9. It also comes with an unconditional money-back guarantee. And knowing Cornelius, I know that he'll keep his word on this.
  10. It can be used for PMP as well as CAPM exam.
  11. It is based on PMBOK Fifth (latest) Edition.
  12. Principal Instructor: Cornelius Fichtner
  13. Publisher: OSP International LLC, a PMI-Registered Education Provider (REP)
  14. Price: USD 199.99

What PM Prepcast is Not

It’s neither a replacement for the PMBOK Guide nor for a good PMP Exam Prep book.

Review of PM Prepcast Content

  1. The material is very comprehensive and covers all aspects of PMP certification in depth.
  2. It covers all the topics of PMBOK very well. It certainly brings "PMBOK to life".
  3. It not only covers the exam contents, but also provides detailed explanation of the entire process of PMP certification including:
    • Value of certification
    • Eligibility criteria
    • Application process
    • Audit process
    • Exam preparation approach
    • Recommended study material
    • Exam tips and techniques
    • Passing Score and Interpreting Score Report
    • Re-certification process (after passing the exam)
    • and much more ...
  4. Some important PMP Exam topics, which are not covered very well in other PMP exam books and courses, are also covered very well in the Prepcast. Examples include topics such as Delegation, EVM, Team Building, Motivation Theories and Conflict Management.
  5. It contains 11 interviews (audio only) with PM Experts, on applied concepts such as Critical Chain, Communication Planning, Virtual Teams, Team Building, Quality, Earned Value and Risk Attitudes.
  6. It has 4 interviews with successful PMP exam candidates. All the interviews are generous in length. The candidates talk about their reasons to go for certification, test preparation approach, study material used, lessons learned and best practices from their experience on the PMP exam.
  7. It comes with a sample exam of 60 tough questions. The quality of questions is quite good and answers are clear and crisp.
  8. It also has an episode dedicated to exam questions, where you are walked-through 15 sample questions along with the approach for selecting the best answer.
  9. It has 2 episodes where Cornelius answers questions posted by exam aspirants on various PMP Exam forums on the net. These episodes are quite interesting.
  10. You also get access to an online forum where Cornelius personally answers your questions. I think this can come extremely handy in clarifying your doubts.

Review of Presentation Skills of the Instructor (Cornelius Fichtner)

This is my favorite part of the review. Just to let you know, I’m an active member of Toastmasters International and regularly conduct language and speech evaluations in my club.

  1. Cornelius has a professional Radio Jockey (RJ)-like style of speech. He is unlike your typical college professor or instructor. He has a flair about him and gets really animated during the lessons. This helps keep the lessons lively and interesting.
  2. He has a clear speech, a mellifluous voice and good voice variation (in terms of volume, pitch and rate) that tends to engage you in the lessons. You can listen to him for hours without falling asleep.
  3. He has a very easy to follow accent which can be understood easily by anyone who understands English. The language is simple and precise, and effective in putting the message across to the listeners. Even his examples are chosen with the global audience in mind.
  4. He hardly has any pause-fillers (ah, umm, actually, so, you know, I mean, etc.) in his speech.
  5. Quality of slides in the presentations is top-notch. Slides are neatly laid out, fonts are big enough to be viewed easily even on a small screen, and the graphics are cool and interesting.
  6. His interviewing style is really good, in fact almost perfect. The interviews are very smooth flowing. I found most interviews quite useful, especially the one on Critical Chain Project Management.
  7. He speaks from the perspective of a PMP aspirant. He often cites examples from his own experience on the PMP exam and mixes it well with his professional experience.
  8. He has a very down to earth and light-hearted style of talking. I don't know him personally, but I guess it's his personal nature that reflects in his voice.
  9. You get a very cosy feeling listening to him and a quite reassurance that he'll take you through to success in the PMP exam.
  10. From Toastmasters' perspective, he's a very refined speaker and presenter. I can't think of many suggestion for him except perhaps he could add a bit more humor to the presentations.

As a testimony to the interesting style of Cornelius’ speech, my 4 year old son sat through 2 full hours of lessons. I have no idea how much he learned from it but he definitely set the record for the youngest person to earn 2 Contact Hours of Project Management education.

Suggestions and Areas for Improvement for PM Prepcast

Having said all the good things about the PM Prepcast above, I do believe it can get even better. As they say, the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement.

  1. The download of episodes is a bit slow and downloads break frequently. I was told that simultaneous downloads cause this problem but I experienced failures even when downloading a single episode at a time. Having said this, the episodes still downloaded faster than I could listen to them and I really never had to wait. Moreover, the downloads can resume from the point where they stopped, when you restart them. It could very well be a problem with my connection. I have a 1 Mbps line, which I admit, isn't the fastest. I'm not sure where the problem lies, but it's something that the company might want to look into.
  2. I didn't find any slide which gives an overview (picture) of all the PMBOK processes on a single page - something like Rita's famous Process Chart.
  3. The lessons do not have any cross-reference to the chapters in the PMBOK. I think that a snapshot of the figures from PMBOK Guide (or similar to the ones in the PMBOK Guide) at the beginning of each lesson would help to get an idea of your coordinates on the PMBOK.
  4. There's no Table of Contents, Index or Glossary of terms. If you want to listen to lessons on a particular topic, an index which provides a list of topics along with the corresponding episode number, would certainly help.
  5. You don't get any transcript of the lessons, but the Prepcast was never intended to replace your PMP study book. So, it's not really a 'con'.
  6. More sample questions should be offered. I think it should include a full 200 question sample exam. Currently it offers only 75 (= 60 + 15) sample questions.
  7. At least 2 or 3 sample questions should be presented at the end of each lesson. It does have a short description on the "type" of questions expected in the exam on each topic towards the end of each episode, but it doesn't present any sample questions.
  8. The occasional episode was a bit dry, especially in the middle. A bit of sprucing up with an odd example, a humorous incident or a joke might help. I think if they put up an online site where subscribers can go and 'rate' the episodes, it will help them to identify the episodes that need improvement.
  9. I found some repetition across various episodes, especially about those "sister" websites.
  10. On a few episodes, the sound volume was higher than on others. On certain episodes, I had to scamper for my volume controls when switching from one episode to another. I think the 10 to 15 older (audio-only) episodes have a higher volume than the newer (video) episodes. It's a small issue but I thought I should mention it anyway.
  11. Wishlist: It would be really great, if Cornelius could set up regular live online sessions with Prepcast subscribers, where people could ask questions and get answers in real-time. This would help bridge the gap between the Prepcast and a live-classroom experience.

Pros of PM Prepcast (Podcast medium)

  1. You can listen to the audio episodes while on the move, like while driving your car or commuting to work. This is a big plus as it helps you utilize your time more efficiently, and cut down your preparation time.
  2. You can learn at your own pace and from anywhere you want to.
  3. You don't need to take time-off from work.
  4. Having video presentations to go along with the audio seals the deal for me. My mind tends to wander off if I'm just listening to audio lessons. A full audio-video presentation really brings out that "classroom" feel.
  5. You can maximize the benefits if you own an iPod or a similar multimedia player because that literally makes this your "Personal Pocket Trainer" that you can carry anywhere.
  6. You can review the material over and over again. It never expires, unlike many online self-paced courses, which give you 30/60/90 day access.

Cons of PM Prepcast (Podcast medium)

  1. Some people prefer a more personal interaction with the instructor and fellow participants, as in a real classroom environment. If you are such a person, then this medium might not work for you.
  2. You might also lose out on networking opportunities and any opportunities to find study-buddies in your area that you would otherwise get in a classroom environment.
  3. Most classroom trainings provide 3-4 full length sample question papers. Of course they charge hundreds of extra dollars for it too. With Prepcast, you get only 75 free sample questions. Cornelius does offer another 100 odd free sample questions online. So, this is not really a 'con' so to speak.

Conclusion

PM Prepcast is a one of its kind, revolutionary product that is very attractively priced and delivers more than it promises. It’s the closest thing you can get to a real classroom experience.

I believe it is by far the “best way” to get 35 Contact Hours of education for the PMP exam. Cornelius has really set the bar high in the field of self-paced professional education. At just $199.99, it’s a very good investment in your education and career.

My Rating: 4.5 / 5.0



Thanks for reading. If you have used PM Prepcast, please share your honest opinion in the comments section below. I know that Cornelius and his team also reads the comments posted here. So, please voice your opinion. It will help future PMP aspirants in making an informed decision, and help the publisher in improving the quality of their product.

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29 Comments

Missing Avatar

Hi Brainwasher
First of all thanks for providing me the special 25% discount.
The product is really good and I hope it is very much essential material for PMP preparation. Though there may need some further improvement which you also have mentioned. But till it is having good value.
I would suggest everybody to have it, as it will also fulfill your 35 hour contact hour.
Presently I have both eFlashcards & Prepcast.
Thanks
Subash

Harwinder Singh Avatar

Hello Anonymous,

Thanks for writing in.

The PM Prepcast does NOT include the PMBOK. Yes, you do need the PMBOK for the exam as well. As I mentioned at the beginning of the review, PM Prepcast is not a substitute for the PMBOK guide. Prepcast helps you in 2 main ways:

1. Get the mandatory "35 Contact Hours"
2. Understand the PMBOK Guide easily.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Regards,
Harwinder

Harwinder Singh Avatar

Hello Anonymous,

That's a very good question (on the PMI REP issue). I'm glad that you asked it. Goto the following link and you'll find the precise answer to your question:

https://www.project-management-prepcast.com/about-us

In short, the company which makes Prepcast isn't a PMI Registered Education Provider (PMI-REP) yet, but the "35 Contact Hours" certificate is still recognized by PMI.

Regarding your second question on the difference between the PM Prepcast and PM Campus exam prep courses, well they are products from 2 different companies and both have their pros and cons.

I personally haven't tried PM Campus' Prep course and can't give you any feedback on it. But from the product description, it appears pretty decent too.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Thanks.

Missing Avatar

Dear Harwinder,

PMP prepcast is really very good study material. After watching the full video you will get clear picture of PMBOK guide. I suggest all PMP aspirants to watch the videos before reading PMBOK guide. Eventhough it is not complete study material for PMP exam, its highly recommended for clear-cut understanding many knowledge areas which you may not understand by passive reading of PMPBOK guide. sit back and watch.. then PMBOK will be in your mind..

Missing Avatar

When I purchased the prodcut, they said there are some podcasts are not updated in the series and later they will(or may ) add in the future. For example there is no episode E01.01, E01.02 and E01.03 in the series. Are they really going to update it and will they add any more episode which is not mentioned in the episode drectory eventhough the podcast is coverng complete PMBOK?

Harwinder Singh Avatar

Hi Anonymous,

I checked the Prepcast episode directory and this is what it says:

"There are gaps in between the numbers. For instance, there is no episode 01.01, 01.02
or 01.03. These are kept open for future lessons."

This means these episodes are not part of the package. I guess, in future if the publishers find that they need to cover some extra topics (depending upon the feedback from the students) they might use these numbers for new lessons.

For now, there are no episodes with these numbers.

Hope it clarifies your doubt.

Thanks.

Harwinder Singh Avatar

Hi William,

The 25% discount was a one-time launch promotion and was applicable for first couple days after the launch.

Right now there are no promotions running. You can check this page for other options: http://www.deepfriedbrainproject.com/2009/05/discount-offers-on-pmp-exam-prep.html

Thanks.

Harwinder Singh Avatar

Hello readers,

Due to some glitch in Blogger platform, all the comments posted by visitors have gone invisible. Anyone who reads this page today will see only my comments.

It makes a funny read, isn't it? You might be thinking that I'm talking to myself here :)

I hope that the issue will be fixed soon.

Missing Avatar

I hope someone from India with an International credit card would be able to buy Prepcast online and download and still get certificate for 35 hours; Which means I hope the certificate is valid for Indian nationals too. I would be giving PMP in Indian location.

And what is difference between Podcast and Prepcast?
-Senthil

Harwinder Singh Avatar

@ Anonymous:

1. Yes, you can definitely purchase the Prepcast from India or anywhere else as long as you can connect to the internet, using an International Credit card.

2. You can also use a Paypal account if you have one.

3. Note that the overall package size is around 3 GB. So make sure you have a decent internet connection, preferably a broadband one. Just to give you an idea, even a 128kbps connection would do, but with that speed, it would take around 2-3 days to download it.

4. The certificate is valid throughout the world.

5. Podcast is a generic name for audio/video media files delivered through the web. The 'pod' came from Apple's iPod.

Prepcast is a brand name of this PMP exam 'prep' tool, and a derivative of Podcast.

In short, Prepcast is a Podcast.

I hope I addressed all your questions. Let me know if you have more questions.

Thanks.

Missing Avatar

Hi Harwinder,
I am looking to appear for PMP soon, but before that I need to start preparing for it. As we know, PMBOK 5th Edition has come, but all the material available on this/other site is based on PMBOK 4th Edition.

I will be really grateful if you can help me with some materials on the new edition:
1. How can I get the training and 35 PDU's ? I am based in U.S. and the classroom training is very very expensive. Please suggest some cheaper options.
2. I will purchase PMBOK soon, Which edition of Rita Mulcahy too ?
3.What else would I need to prepare for the exam ?

Regards
Neha

Missing Avatar

Hello,

My question is similar to Neha's above?
Will the content be upgraded to PMBOK 5.0 edition soon?
If I were to buy the PM Prepcast for PMBOK 4.0, will this still qualify me for the PMP exam based on the revised PMBOK 5.0?

Thanks,
Adriana

Harwinder Singh Avatar

Hi Neha and Adriana,

The PM Prepcast has already been updated to the 5th Edition. If you purchase it now using the link given above, you'll get the 5th Edition version only.

I'm the one who's slow to update the site. I'm occupied with other things and have not had a chance to update the blog. I'll update all these posts soon. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Best regards.

Missing Avatar

Hi Harwinder,

I admit, I have a huge interest in taking PMP exam. I have many questions as my brain is spinning. Please help as detail as you can. I thank you in advance for your time and effort in answering my questions below.

I work for a small company, a family business that does specialized home remodeling both for residential and commercial customers. I work there as a design engineer and I also has MBA. Part of my job responsibilities are project management. I have worked on small scale projects for the last 9 years and I am very sure I have acquired more than 6000 hours of experience.

1) But my problem is I don't understand PMP terminology for the exam questions. Is it a common thing for newbies? Will I get the understanding if I carefully listen to PrepCast and study PMBOK?

2) I talk to my boss about my interest in taking PMP exam and he said what is it (!) so he called his contacts who were "project Managers" with lot of experience and they were never certified. So, he is not going to extend financial support for my education and exam for PMP. That is how I came across your blog reviewing PrepCast. My boss said - if he need to witness/ approve my project management experience, he don't mind doing that and he even said you definitely have more than 4500 hours put in towards it. Is this all I need from the company side?

3) I am also planning on relocating to a different state due to family/ marriage and of course I have to find a different employer. This might very well happen during my exam preparation. If at all PMI audits my application, do I have to be with the same employer?

4) This is related to Exam (not my past haunting life): If I buy PrepCast and also buy PMBOK 5th edition and prepare for the exam, do I need any other resources to pass the exam?

5) Of course I can buy PMBOK on eBay and if needed PMP exam practice questions as well. Do I also need PMP training manual kinda thing or that is what PrepCast is for?

Sorry for these barrage of questions but you are helping a green human being in fulfilling her PMP dream. Thank you once again and eagerly waiting for the answers.

Regards,
Jyoti.

Missing Avatar

Thanks for your review. Could you please confirm that PrepCast also covers the formulas and network diagrams in its video and audio course included in the price of this package.

Same question what Jyoti asked. Anymore resources needed other than prepcast and PMBOK?

Thanks
Aravind

Missing Avatar

Hi, Was going through the details of the prepcast. Has this been updated, because the last post i see here is from December 2014.Is there a demo version available? Is the price still 179 USD? is there a discount on this price ? Looking to give the exam sometime this year but struggling to get started. Any help would be appreciated