The Institute for the Certification of Computer Professionals (ICCP) tests and certifies computer professionals for most computer-oriented organizations. The Association of the Institute for the Certification of Computer Professionals is an organization of certified individuals. Its members are the chief advocates of such certification. This manual is designed to prepare the professional for the ICCP’s Certified System Professional (CSP) exam. The CSP test is primarily for those working in systems analysis and systems design, the early stages of the systems development life cycle. Those working in the later stages of systems implementation and systems support would also be well served to seek certification, however.

Chapter 1 contains a summary of the contents of the CSP test and gives pertinent advice about preparation for the test. Like the CSP test, the review manual is broken down into five sections: environment of systems, project management, systems analysis, systems design and implementation, and tools and techniques. These are the subjects of chapters 2 through 6. Many 400– to 600–page books have been written about each of the subjects; this volume covers important general concepts without delving into detail. This approach is necessary and appropriate for such a manual. An amazing amount of detail has been covered in 470 pages.

The table of contents is good. The index, which is important in a review book, is a little short (eight pages), but as I thought of things I might like to review, I found each in the index. Apparently, considerable thought went into constructing it. The book’s length is about right. Some citations appear in the text, but references are not organized into a bibliography. While this is unfair to those whose materials were used and not cited, including a bibliography would have greatly increased the size of the manual. Its absence may be justifiable in materials such as this, where no originality is claimed.

Illustrations are sparse but adequate. The material is well written and easy to read, and it gets to the important points quickly. This second edition reflects the significant recent changes in the certification tests. It matches the CSP test contents better than the first edition did. The authors have been leaders in supplying study materials for certification testing over the years and have had no small part in shaping the contents of the tests. The book adequately prepares systems professionals for certification testing.