I notice there are not a lot of reviews, if any, for any of the local PMP training providers so it's hard to pick one, or at least it was for me and the others I spoke with.
Not finding any information about most of the providers, I had to take a chance and pick based on my schedule and the information on each provider's Web site. So I picked PMA because the schedule was good, because the class was guaranteed to run, their web site was well designed (which I hoped reflected in their product), and the fact that there were no complaints I could find online (but not really any reviews either way).
Note that one of their competitors, CPrime, is good as I understand it, and while CPrime's course is a bit cheaper, when I was looking at their schedule they were not guaranteed to run the course. I guess each person has their own needs, but I found it was worth paying the little extra to make sure the course wasn't cancelled. It took a lot to setup the time to be out of the office 4 days, I didn't want to go through that for nothing.
So I signed-up for the PMP boot camp that PMA offers, not sure as to whether or not it would be worth the expense; but once I was in class I could see it was going to be well worth it. They really put some thought into the structure of the instruction.
They course runs over 4 days, with lots of focus on lecture for 3 days, then review questions. 4th day was mock testing and review, and advice on how to move forward. Despite the highly structured course content there was plenty of time and opportunity to ask questions, have group discussions, share ideas, etc...
The instructor that was provided was good, friendly, engaged, had a sense of humor, and kept the long days interesting. They days were long, but with Sam's demeanor and method, it didn't feal as long. As for training materials, it's fairly condensed, but it's the proper amount of information you need to cover the subject matter and to effectively pass the test.
I have taken other boot camps where they are just tactical and teach you a minimal amount just so you can pass the test, but barely. PMA's camp was not like that; while their main concern is that they pass the test, they make sure to emphasize/instruct you on all the subject areas. Keep in mind some of the subject areas are small and obvious, so you won't spend hours on learning them, but I guess the best way to put it is that they spend the right amount of time on each area.
PMA has a money back assurance, if you follow their requirements. I didn't put too much faith in before signing up, however I could see after the instructor discussed how it works that they are quite serious about the offer. I think the key is that they expect most people to pass the PMP exam. Frankly, in my opinion, if you are at this level you should not have to rely on the money back offer, and if you can't pass the test it's not because the boot camp wasn't good enough.
Another plus is that since each of the 4 days is so long they made sure food was provided for the class (this is the San Jose location), both breakfast and lunch. For breakfast the instructor just brought in fruit, bagels, pastries, and for lunch we were able to order off a small but varied menu from one of the local restaurants (a different one each day, but mostly sandwich shops, e.g.: Panera, LaBoulangerie, etc...). The menus had something for everyone, so as a vegetarian I was covered.
Lastly, once you are done with the boot camp, they are very open about post camp support. They take unsolicited feedback well, and they ask for feedback about their course. They want to know if you passed, failed, or didn't take the test. They will answer any follow-on questions and help where they can to help you get through the PMP exam.
So I had all good stuff to say, nothing negative. I am amazed actually because I'm a fairly critical thinker and always look for positive and negative in everything, but nothing negative here.
The only negative thing that happened in the entire camp was that an attendee registered very late, in the 5 days before the camp. Normally they mail you the PMBOK book they provide, but if you register late then you pick it up in class. When the attendee got to class she realized she didn't have a book and there wasn't one waiting for her... But it was no biggie, the instructor gave her his; problem solved. And Sam was so well versed, he knew the book like the back of his hand and was able to recite the information, and page numbers just out of memory; pretty darn impressive. read more