PMP Exam Prep - Chapter 10

Communications Management

Identifying stakeholders is done in the initiating process group. "The project manager is the orchestra leader, and work cannot be done without stakeholder involvement." reminds PMP Exam Prep. As a project manager you should identify all stakeholders in the initiating process and then reassess the list during project planning and executing. If any stakeholders are missed in initiating, they may be found later in the project, and this could have a negative affect on the project. Determining all stakeholder requirements is a very important process to complete because, like identifying stakeholders, undetermined requirements can have a negative impact on the project.

To define stakeholder requirements, as a Project Manager, you have a few strategies to use. You can simply ask if you have all requirements, use requirements reviews, or informing people of possible negative effects if requirements are not found until later in the project. Expectations differ from requirements because, "Expectations tend to be much more ambiguous than stated requirements, or they may be undefined requirements." states PMP Exam Prep. Each stakeholder is going to have an interest in the project and the project manager needs to determine what those interests are. PMP Exam Prep suggests implementing the stakeholders interests in the project or as a reward. 

Stakeholders level of influence should be determined and managed as it can negatively or positively affect the project. The last three things PMP Exam Prep says a project manager should do with stakeholders are, "Plan how you will communicate with them, communicate with them, and manage their expectations and influence." Identifying stakeholders is in the initiating process group of communications management. Stakeholder analysis, "..involves both identifying stakeholders and analyzing their impact or influence on the project." defines PMP Exam Prep.

The list of stakeholders from the project charter is a useful tool to a project manager when trying to identify the stakeholders involved in the project. The project manager should analyze each stakeholder's potential impact, as well as figuring out the best ways to manage these impacts. A stakeholder register contains all of the information about stakeholders. A few things the stakeholder register may include are the stakeholder's name, title, and role in the project. A stakeholder management strategy should be implemented as a tool for the project manager. Making a plan to manage stakeholders ahead of time will make it easier on the project manager when dealing with them.

Plan communications is the next communications management process and this is done in the planning process group. When planning communications you want it to be efficient and effective, so you must remember everything that is involved in the planning process. PMP Exam Prep explains that you should, "..take into account the performing organization's established processes and procedures for communicating about projects, its historical records and lessons learned from previous projects, and other stored information (organizational process assets), as well as the stakeholder register and stakeholder management strategy described previously." Communication should be planned vertically and horizontally, and should include the different levels of organization and your peers, as well as communications between projects. It is crucial to remember that there needs to be communication between other projects, as they could have an affect on your project. 

There are four types of communication listed in PMP Exam Prep - formal written, formal verbal, informal written, and informal verbal. Each communication type is used in a certain situation. Formal written communication is used for "Complex problems, project management plan, project charter, memos, and communicating over long distances." informs PMP Exam Prep. Formal speech is used when giving a speech, or any formal presentation. Informal written communication is used in any informal manner, for example, text messaging or notes. Lastly, informal verbal communication is used when having a conversation. 

PMP Exam Prep explains, "Communication models are comprised of three parts: the sender, the message, and the receiver." Communication needs to be effective and include effective listening. When communicating you need to decide how you are going to communicate the information, whether it be via telephone or in person. This is known as communication technology. PMP Exam Prep groups communication methods into three categories, "Interactive communication, push communication, and pull communication." Interactive communication is between multiple people. Push communication is when a person sends necessary information without expectations of a response. The project manager is in charge of pull communication because they will put all of the information in one location and expects the recipients to "retrieve" it. 

PMP Exam Prep provides a formula to calculate the number of communication channels. The formula is as follows:

"The primary output of the Plan Communications process is a communications management plan." states PMP Exam Prep. It will be outline of what needs to be communicated, why, who is involved, etc. This is a very useful tool, as it clearly shows who, what, when, where, and why communication is taking place. Distribute Information takes place in the executing process group under the communications management knowledge area. The communications management plan is implemented in this process.

Manage Stakeholder Expectations is part of the executing process group, in the communications management knowledge area. Stakeholders, like every other person, wants to feel trusted and wants to feel as if their expectations and concerns will be dealt with properly. In order to do this, a project manager must first figure out what these expectations, and possible concerns, may be. "The project manager reviews the stakeholder register, stakeholder management strategy, communications management plan, issue logs, and changes to determine what to do to manage stakeholder expectations." says PMP Exam Prep. Don't let statements like, "Getting down to the nitty gritty." affect communication in your project. The previous statement is known as a communication blocker. Try to avoid communication blockers and if they are used take care of them immediately.

PMP Exam Prep. Once you have delivered the performance reports and the stakeholders have reviewed them, you should ask them for feedback so that you can compare it to the project and its goals.

    

      

PMP Exam Prep - Chapter 9

Human Resource Management

The human resource management process involves Develop Human Resources plan, Acquire Project Team, Develop Project Team, and Manage Project Team. All, except Develop Human Resource Plan, are done during the executing process group. Develop Human Resource plan is part of the planning process group. The beginning of chapter 9 lists the different responsibilities of all people involved in a project. The information PMP Exam Prep provides is very helpful because it provides a list for each individual job. I am not going to list each one, but wanted to make note of it for reference.

Roles and responsibilities should be defined in the Develop Human Resource Plan process. Remember that enterprise environmental factors are company culture and existing systems the project will deal with or make use of. Organizational assets, such as processes, should be considered when developing the human resource plan. Organization charts and position descriptions are a great tool to record and communicate roles and responsibilities. You can use a responsibility assignment matrix, organizational breakdown structures, resource breakdown structures, and position descriptions. A responsibility assignment matrix, "cross-references team members with the activities or work packages they are to accomplish." defines PMP Exam Prep. The organizational breakdown structure breaks responsibilities down by department, whereas the resource breakdown structure breaks work down by resource. Lastly, a position description is pretty self-explanatory, it is a description of the project work. 

PMP Exam Prep states, "Large projects with hundreds of resources require a staffing management plan. This plan, which is part of the human resource plan, includes:"

• Your plan for staff acquisition ("Where will they come from?")
• Resource calendars ("When are people available? When will they be used?")
• Staff release plan ("When will resources be released and no longer be charged to the project?")
• Staff training needs ("What training do the resources need?")
• Recognition and rewards ("What are they? What are the criteria for their use?")
• Compliance ("How will the project comply with any rules related to human resources?")
• Safety ("What policies protect the resources?")

Acquiring the project team is done in the executing process group, under the human resource management knowledge area. According to PMP Exam Prep, it involves:

• Knowing which resources are preassigned to the project and confirming their availability
• Negotiating for the best possible resources
• Hiring new employees
• Hiring resources through the contracting process from outside the performing organization - outsourcing
• Understanding the possibilities and problems with using virtual teams - teams made up of people who never or rarely meet
• Managing the risk of resources becoming unavailable

Negotiation is used when resources are not preassigned. You can negotiate from within your organization, in procurement situations, and from external vendors, suppliers, contractors, etc. If negotiating resources from within the organization PMP Exam Prep writes, "the project manager should:

• "Know the needs of the project and its priority within the organization."
• "Be able to express how the resource's manager will benefit from assisting the project manager."
• "Understand that the resource's manager has his or her own work to do and that the individual may not gain benefits from supporting the project."
• "Do not ask for the best resources if the project does not need them."
• "Be able to prove, by using project management tools such as the network diagram and project schedule, why the project requires the stated quantity and quality of resources."
• "Use the negotiation as an opportunity to discover what the resource's manager will need from the project manager in order to manage his or her own resources."
• "Build a relationship so the project manager can call on the resource's manager's expertise later in the project if necessary." 
• "Work with the resource's manager to deal with situations as they arise."

The halo effect happens when team members are rated high or low in all factors, because they were rated high or low on one specific factor. When a team member is rated, and it is incorrect, it can have a negative affect on the project. This should be avoided.

"The Develop Project Team process is done as part of project executing. This process should result in decreased turnover, improved individual knowledge and skills, and improved teamwork." informs PMP Exam Prep. Team-building activities are a part of developing a project team, and can be a very beneficial tool when used correctly. "It is an attitude, as well as an action." says PMP Exam Prep. In team-building, it is the job of the project manager to guide interactions between team members and should be started in the beginning stages of the project. If a team puts trust in one another, they will work better as a cohesive whole. When there is a lack of trust in a team structure, the project will not be as successful. Team building even has formally identified stages. PMP  Exam Prep provided a list of these stages, "Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning." These stages are pretty self-explanatory, and I bet you can figure them out without even referencing to the book.

Ground rules should be set in order to eliminate conflicts and problems that may arise throughout the project. A co-location (or War room) may be set up by the project manager. This location is useful for teams that are spread out in different cities. The co-location acts as a central meeting place for the team. Recognition and rewards are given out during the Develop Project Team process to appraise performance. Lastly in the Develop Project Team phase, team performance assessments are done. These assessments are used to simply assess the team and it's effectiveness.

The Manage Project Team is part of the executing process group in the Human Resource Management knowledge area.  PMP

The difference between a project performance appraisal and a team performance assessment should be noted. A project performance appraisal is focused on the performance of a team member, whereas a team performance assessment is focused on the team performance. The appraisal is for the individual team member, and the assessment is for the entire team as a whole. Issue logs are helpful tools because it will help track any issues that arise and can be referred back to. 

PMP Exam Prep includes a list of the different powers of a project manager. I have listed them below.

• Formal - based on your position. Derived from position in the company.
• Reward - based on giving rewards. One of best powers. Derived from position in the company.
• Penalty - based on penalizing team members. Worst form of power. Derived from position in the company.
• Expert - based on expertise. One of best powers. Earned on your own.
• Referent - based on the power of fame and charisma.

There are many management and leadership styles involved in Project Management, and yours will most likely change throughout the project. The leadership and management styles listed in PMP Exam Prep include "directing, facilitating, coaching, supporting, autocratic, consultative, consultative-autocratic, consensus, delegating, bureaucratic, charismatic, democratic or participative, laissez-faire, analytical, driver, and influencing. Conflict should not always be viewed as negative. At times, conflict can be beneficial, as it likely requires a resolution. PMP Exam Prep provides seven sources of conflict and suggests, "memoriz(ing) the top four, and remember(ing) that personality is last." The seven conflict sources PMP Exam Prep lists, in order of frequencing, are "schedules, project priorities, resources, technical opinions, administrative procedures, cost, and personality."

PMP Exam Prep provides techniques to know for the exam in regards to conflict resolution and they are as follows: "confronting (problem solving), compromising, withdrawal (avoidance), smoothing (accommodating), collaborating, and forcing." When problem solving, try to remember what the real problem is, and not what the problem may clearly seem to be. There are a few other terms PMP Exam Prep provides and suggests remembering them. These terms include Expectancy Theory, Arbitration, Perquisites, Fringe Benefits, and Motivation Theory. Expectancy Theory involves the expectations of rewards by the employee. PMP Exam Prep explains that arbitration is when, "..a neutral party hears and resolves a dispute." Perquisites, or perks, are special rewards given to employees. Education benefits and insurance are known as Fringe benefits, as they are the "standard" benefits.
PMP Exam Prep provides four motivation theories that need to be understood for the exam. The first motivation theory is McGregor's Theory of X and Y. McGregor's theory of X says that employees need to be watched at all times and are incapable. Theory Y is a much more positive theory as it is the belief that employees are capable and want to achieve. The second motivation theory is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. This theory involves "self-actualization" and uses a pyramid to show how people move through the different levels of needs. David McClelland's Theory of Needs is the third motivation theory and believes that people are motivated by either achievement, affiliation, or power. The fourth theory is Herzberg's Theory and it involves motivating agents and hygiene factors.

Chapter 9 of PMP Exam Prep ends with this, "So the lesson here is that motivating people is best done by rewarding them and letting them grow." Every person is different, and therefor may be motivated by something completely separate from another team member.

PMP Exam Prep - Chapter 8

Quality Management

The quality management process involves planning quality, performing quality assurance, and performing quality control. The planning is done in the planning process group. Whereas the quality assurance is performed in the executing process group, the quality control is done in the monitoring and controlling process group. Quality is defined in PMP Exam Prep as, “The degree to which the project fulfills requirements.” The project manager must make sure there are requirements for the project and its many aspects. How is one supposed to know what quality is for the project if the customer does not outline it? Below is a helpful list of quality related “PMI-isms” outlined in PMP Exam Prep:

·         The project manager should recommend improvements to the performing organization’s standards, policies, and processes. Such recommendations are expected and welcomed by management.

·         Quality should be considered whenever there is a change to any of the project constraints.

·         Quality should be checked before an activity or work package is completed.

·         The project manager must spend time trying to improve quality.

·         The project manager must determine metrics to be used to measure quality before the project work begins.

·         The project manager must put in place a plan for continually improving processes.

·         The project manager must make sure authorized approaches and processes are followed.

·         Some quality activities may be done by a quality assurance or quality control department.

It is the job of the project manager to plan quality, and not inspect it. The project manager should be continuously looking for improvements to quality. A Just in Time system, or JIT, requires suppliers to deliver materials when they are needed, instead of ahead of time. This decreases inventory to almost zero. PMP Exam Prep describes Total Quality Management (TQM) as, “(TQM) encourages companies and their employees to focus on finding ways to continuously improve the quality of their products and their business practices at every level of the organization.” It is both the project manager’s and team members’ responsibility to check quality. Quality in the organization is ultimately the senior management’s responsibility. Poor quality relates to a list of things. For example, poor quality could create increased costs, low morale, and schedule delays. Increases in quality could decrease costs, boost morale, and help schedule effectiveness.

Plan Quality defines quality and identifies how it will be achieved. The stakeholder register, scope baseline, schedule baseline, cost baseline, and risk register are all items needed for the project manager to perform Plan Quality. They serve as guides in this process. I created some steps that outline the Plan Quality process below.

Step 1: Identify Standards (External and Internal)

·         External Standards

·         Organizational and departmental policies, standards, and procedures

·         Customer Quality Standards

Step 2: Create Project-Specific Standards

·         Do not violate relevant standards

Step 3: Determine Work Required to Meet Standards

·         Determine specific measurements

o   Each week, month, or per deliverable

Control charts are generally used for monitoring. These charts create a range and show whether the variables are within acceptable limits or not. Control limits are the performing organization’s quality standards and are represented by dashed lines. The customer’s expectations or requirements are known as specification limits. PMP Exam Prep suggests assuming specification limits are outside the upper and lower control limits on the exam. The rule of seven is a heuristic and means that there is a group of seven data points on one side of the mean. They are not random and this process may be out of control, so the project manager should look into it and figure out what is going on. Quality Management Plan, Quality Metrics, checklist, Process Improvement Plan, Project Management Plan and Project document updates are all outputs of Plan Quality.

Perform Quality Assurance ensures that the team is following the processes to produce the deliverables. Quality Audits is a tool used in Perform Quality Assurance to make sure the policies and procedures that are in place are effective and efficient, and that the project team is complying with them. The quality assurance department or project manager can perform quality audits when needed. Process analysis is another tool used in Perform Quality Assurance as it focuses on identifying improvements in processes and should be planned at certain points in the project.

Perform Quality Control looks at the deliverables produced to ensure they are correct and at the level of quality that was planned. Perform Quality Control is all about measuring. PMP Exam Prep provides a list of the terms that relate to Perform Quality Control and should be remembered.

·         Mutual Exclusivity – two events cannot occur in a single trial.

·         Probability – likelihood that something will occur.

·         Normal Distribution – bell curve used to measure variations.

·         Statistical Independence – probability of one event does not affect probability of another event occurring.

·         Standard Deviation (or Sigma) – measure of a range.

·         3 or 6 Sigma – level of quality a company decided to try to achieve. PMP Exam Prep suggests remembering the following for the exam in regards to Sigma:

o   Sigma is taken on both sides of the mean. Half the curve is to the right of the mean, and half is to the left.

o   +/- 1 sigma = 68.27%, which is the percentage of occurrences to fall between the two control limits.

o   +/- 2 sigma = 95.45%

o   +/- 3 sigma = 99.73%

o   +/- 6 sigma = 99.9999998%

The Perform Quality Control process uses Ishikawa’s seven basic tools of quality.

·         Cause and Effect Diagram (Fishbone)

·         Flowchart

·         Histogram

·         Pareto Chart

·         Run chart

·         Scatter diagram

·         Control cart

fishbone diagram, creates a layout of defects and possible causes of the defects. A flowchart shows the flow of the process from beginning to end. This is a helpful tool because you can see how everything is working together and find the problem areas. Although I thought the chart displayed in the book was a bar chart, it is actually called a histogram. It displays data in columns or bars, just as a bar chart does. I had never heard of a Pareto Chart before reading PMP Exam Prep. A Pareto chart is a histogram, but is differentiated by its arrangement of results from most frequent to least frequent. The exam will ask about Pareto charts and so PMP Exam Prep provides three key aspects of them; they focus attention on the most critical issues, prioritize potential causes of the problems, and separate the critical few from the uncritical many. A run chart is a chart of progress that shows trends. This is a helpful tool in quality because it allows you to see if there is a pattern of variation. A scatter diagram charts two variables to see if they relate. Last but not least, control charts. I previously explained these, so please refer to my earlier explanation of a control chart.

PMP Exam Prep - Chapter 7

Cost Management

The cost management plan is also known as the "budget management plan" or the "budget plan" on the PMP exam. PMP Exam Prep provided the following list, "The cost management plan includes:"

• Specifications for how estimates should be stated (in what currency)
• The level of accuracy needed for estimates
• Reporting formats to be used
• Rules for measuring cost performance
• Whether costs will include both direct costs (those costs directly attributable to the project) and indirect costs (costs not directly attributable to any one project, such as overhead costs)
• Establishment of a cost baseline for measuring against as part of project monitoring and controlling
• Control thresholds
• Cost change control procedures

Life cycle costing involves looking at the cost of the entire life of the product. This means that when you are planning project costs, you must take into consideration, for example, the maintenance costs once the project is completed. If you create a product at a lower quality to save costs, it may be helpful during the project planning. Once the project is complete, the cost savings that were so helpful during the project, may become a hindrance once the project is complete. If you produce a lower quality product, the maintenance and repair costs are most likely going to be higher than if you had produced a higher quality product for a steeper price. In the end, the lower quality, lower cost product may end up costing the company more, than if you had budgeted for a higher cost, higher quality product. Taking into account the WHOLE life of the product is important and is remembered as life cycle costing. Value analysis involves finding the lowest overall cost, without performance loss, while cost risk involves finding the cost-related risk and involves risk, procurement, and cost management.

Following cost risk in chapter 7 is estimate costs. This process creates the cost estimates for each activity, individually. Two types of cost are variable costs and fixed costs. Variable costs include the cost of supplies, and wages, which are costs that change with production and work. Fixed costs include the cost of rent, and set up, which are costs that do not change throughout production. These two costs should be remembered in the same category. Not  only can a cost be variable or fixed, but it is either direct or indirect. Direct costs are, "directly attributable to the work on the project." according to PMP Exam Prep. These costs include recognition, costs of materials, etc. Indirect costs are "overhead items or costs incurred for the benefit of more than one project." defines PMP Exam Prep. Indirect costs would be something like taxes.
Inputs to estimating costs include scope baseline, project schedule human resource plan, risk register, policies and historical records relate to estimating, templates, processes, procedures, lessons learned, and historical information, company culture and existing systems that the project will have to deal with or can use, and project management costs. The scope baseline is used in estimating because you need to know what is out of scope and the constraints placed on the project. Project schedule is a key element in estimating costs because it contains the activities, the resources, and the timing of work. The human resource plan comes in to play in estimating cost because reward systems, labor rates, and the human resources intended for project use, are all cost items and must be estimated. As far as risk register goes, it is considered an estimating costs input, as well as an output. Historical records and organizational records should be considered in estimating costs because they provide information from other projects. Using company culture and existing systems as tools for estimating cost can be beneficial because they provide different sources of supply procurement. Lastly, project management costs should also be included in estimating costs because project management efforts do incur costs, through status reports, the project manager efforts, etc.
Not only can costs be estimated using one-point estimating, analogous estimating, parametric estimating, and three-point estimating, but you can also calculate using bottom-up estimating. Bottom-up estimating involves each part of an activity or work package and creating estimates for them.
Project management software, determining resource cost rates, reserve analysis, cost of quality, and accuracy of estimates are all used in the process of creating estimates. Project management software can be helpful in speeding up calculations and can be used for estimating. On the exam, it is important to remember that resources are not just internal human resources, like cost of labor. When determining resource cost rates, consider ALL resource costs, including work of suppliers and consultants, for example. As far as cost of quality goes, PMP Exam Prep suggests, "The cost of work added to the project to accommodate quality efforts should be included in the project estimate.". the accuracy of estimates will vary throughout a project. When the project is just beginning, you generally provide a wide range of estimates and as the project progresses you can narrow the estimates because you gain more information and are better able to do so. PMP Exam Prep states that the following three ranges are frequently seen on the exam, and should be memorized.

• Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) Estimate: During project initiating. +/- 50 percent from actual is the typical range for this estimate.
• Budget Estimate: During project planning. -10 to +25 percent from actual range.
• Definitive Estimate: As the project progresses. Dependent on your preference, +/-10 percent or -5 to +10 percent from actual.

As opposed to calculating individual activities, when determining budget the project manager must calculate the total cost of the project. This is done in the planning process group. When determining the project budget, you must perform risk management activities and include reserves. Contingency reserves and management reserves are the two types of estimates that can be added to the estimate. "Contingency reserves address the cost impacts of the risks remaining during risk response planning." informs PMP Exam Prep. The contingency reserves are included in the cost baseline. "Management reserves are additional funds set aside to cover unforeseen risks or changes to the project." explains PMP Exam Prep. Management reserves plus cost baseline make up the cost budget.

PMP Exam Prep provides a diagram outlining the creation of a budget. I recreated it below. A budget is created like this:

Once everything is estimated, the project manager should then compare their estimates with one of three things: parametric estimates, expert judgement, or historical records. Determining which to compare against depends upon your industry and preference. Checking cash flow is next on the list. If you don't know the amount and availability of cash, how can you plan accordingly? Once the estimates are compared and the cash flow is reconciled, another reconciliation must take place. This reconciliation involves looking for any cost constraints and then resolving them. The cost baseline is established when the Determine Budget process is complete.


Progress reporting involves figuring out where the project is, and the perecent complete. Generally, a project manager will ask team members for an estimate of percent complete for the activities, individually. This method is time-consuming and unreliable because the team members are simply making a guess. Earned value is a much more realiable method of measuring the progress of your project. It measures project performance against the scope, schedule, and cost baselines. These three baselines combined are known as the performance measurement baseline. PMP Exam Prep provides a list of terms that need to be remembered on page 241. As well as formulas and interpretations to memorize for the exam on pages 241 and 242. PMP Exam Prep advises you to "understand and memorize the following:"

• EV comes first in every formula.
• If it is a variance, the formula is EV minus something.
• If it is an index, it is EV divided by something.
• If the formula relates to cost, use AC.
• If the formula relates to schedule, use PV.
• For variances interpretation: negative is bad and positive is good.
• For indices interpretation: greater than one is good; less than one is bad.

PMP Exam Prep - Chapter 6

Time Management

There are many parts to time management and they all fit into the project management process in one group or another. Defining activities, sequencing activities, estimating activity resources, estimating activity durations, and developing the schedule are all done during the planning process group. Controlling the schedule is done during the monitoring and controlling process group. When reading about sequence activities I thought about Microsoft Project 2010 because it sequences the activities in the project, just like in the book.

Once you are done with sequencing activities, you move on to estimating activity resources. Estimating activity resources is pretty clear to me. You look at each activity and estimate the resources involved. Simple enough, right? When estimating the activity resources be sure to remember that not only are equipment and materials resources, but people are too. The next step in time management would be to estimate activity durations. Simply guessing a time frame and designating it to an activity will not work. Like all other time management processes, research and information gathering must be involved to properly estimate an activity duration. A few estimating techniques the book mentions include, one-point estimating, analogous estimating, parametric estimating, and three-point estimating.

One-point estimating involves submitting one time estimate per activity. PMP Exam Prep suggests, "One-point estimates should only be used for projects that do not require a detailed, highly reliable schedule." On the other hand, analogous estimating can be used on a project or a separate activity. This style of estimating relies solely on historical information and judgement. You look at other similar projects or activities durations and estimate the current project's time based off your findings. Parametric estimating calculates estimates based on the relationship between variables on an activity. Two ways an estimator may create parametric estimates are regression analysis (scatter diagram) or learning curve.

Three-point estimators give an optimistic (O), pessimistic (P), and most likely (M) estimate for each activity. This type of estimating is helpful because it provides a risk-based duration by taking the average of the three estimates. The formulas are as follows:

• Expected Activity Duration(EAD) = (P+4M+O)/6
• Activity Standard Deviation(SD) = P-O/6
• Activity Variance = (P-O/6)^2

For example, if P=47, M=27, and O=14. Calculating EAD would look like this: (47+4(27)+14)/6 = 169/6 = 28.167. So the Expected Activity Duration would be 28.167. Once you generate an answer for all three of the formulas, you can then calculate a range of the estimate. Brace yourself for more of my fancy calculation skills. To calculate the range you must know the EAD and SD. The range is calculated using EAD +/- SD. If we keep the variables the same as above, the start of the range would be 28.167-5.500 = 22.667, and the end of the range would be 28.167+5.500 = 33.667. So the range of the estimates would be 22.667 to 33.667, or 28.167 +/- 5.500. These formulas do not relate to the overall project, but rather to activities within the project.

To calculate the duration estimate of the overall project you need to find the expected project duration, the project standard deviation, and the project variance. To calculate the expected project duration you add the EADs for all activities on the critical path. If I use the numbers from the last example, our expected project duration is 170.167. Project standard deviation is calculated by adding the variances of each critical path activity, and then taking the square root of the sum. The project standard deviation for this project is 10.060. Project variance is calculated by adding each of the activity variances. 101.196 is the project variance for the project in this case.

Creating a reserve is different from padding because the project manager has the necessary information to calculate additional time or funds the project may need. Padding is determined using little, to no information and is basically an uneducated guess. Some project managers use a pad on their estimates and this is not recommended due to the uncertainties of the estimate, which can be detrimental to the project.

The next thing to do, once you have created a network diagram and completed activity duration estimates, is to develop a schedule. A schedule differs from an estimate because it is calendar-based. PMP Exam Prep explains, "Once you have an initial schedule, you begin schedule network analysis to create the final schedule. This analysis may take the form of one or more of the following techniques:

• Critical path method: involves determining the longest path through network diagram, earliest and latest activity can start, and the earliest and latest it can be completed.
• Schedule compression: helps determine if desired completion date can be met, and, if not, what can be changed to meet requested date.
• What-if scenario analysis: used to help create a finalized, realistic schedule by asking "What if?".
• Resource leveling: used to produce a resource-limited schedule.
• Critical chain method: uses network diagram and develops schedule by assigning each activity to occur as late as possible to still meet end date."

You would think I was getting close to my rant on chapter six! The joke is on you because I have much more ranting to rant on. :)

Going back to the critical path method, there are basic concepts that need to be understood in order to use this method. Those methods include critical path, near-critical path, and float (Slack). A helpful trick PMP

There are three types of floats that need to be remembered, and calculated, for the exam. Total float is the first and can be recognized as the primary type of float. It is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project end date. The second float is free float. Free float calculates the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of its successor(s). Project float is the final float and it is the amount of time a project can be delayed without delaying the imposed project end date required by the customer, manager, or project manager. We have total float, which relates to activity versus project, free float, which is activity versus successor, and project float, which is project versus project. Although this may not make complete sense to you, this is how I remember the floats, or slacks, for the exam.

Now that we have the definitions of the floats, we can talk about calculation. Float is calculated by using one of the following equations:
Float = Late Start (LS) - Early Start (ES), or Float = Late Finish (LF) - Early Finish (EF). PMP Exam Prep. suggests remembering the first formula as the stat formula, and the second as the finish formula. How do you determine which formula to use? You use the information the exam gives you. PMP Exam Prep. uses the following example:
"You have a late start date of 30, an early start of 18, and a late finish of 34, how do you find the float?" You need to either subtract the two starts or the two finishes, and since you have to starts and only one finish you, you subtract 30(LS) - 18(ES) and get 12. 12 would the answer and would be your float for this question.

One the critical path, and all of it's connecting terms are defined, chapter six moves into using the critical path method. The network diagram below is similar to the one Rita Mulcahy uses in her book as an example to explain how the critical path method works. "To determine the earliest and latest each activity can start and the earliest and latest each activity can be completed, you need to perform a forward and backward pass through the network diagram." explains PMP Exam Prep. To calculate the "early" figures you must do a forward pass through the network diagram. To find the "late" figures you must start at the end of the project and follow the dependencies to the beginning of the project. You would need to do, what Rita Mulcahy calls, a "backward" pass.

The diagram below is very similar to the diagram above, the only difference is that it has different shapes and includes boxes to enter your early start (ES), early finish (EF), late start (LS), and late finish (LF). You can choose to either do the forward or backward pass first. Just remember that the top boxes (ES and EF) are for the forward pass, and the backward pass should fill the bottom boxes (LS and LF).

The key for the previous diagram is as follows:

To begin the forward pass, you must begin with the first two boxes at "Start. If the network diagram converges at any point, you must do the forward pass on both paths that lead to the path convergence. You would then select the later early finish to use as the early start date for the box of convergence, since the next activity cannot start until the previous activities are completed. You should use the same process to calculate the early finish of each activity, before moving to the next path convergence. Once you have completed the forward pass through the critical path, you can move on to the backward pass. To begin calculating the late start and late finish for each activity, you use the duration of the critical path (Early Finish), as the early finish of the last activity in the network.

After you have completed the backward pass, and have calculated all of the starts and finishes, you may then calculate float. This is the time where you go back to the Start and Finish formulas. The bold arrows in the diagram I posted above represent the critical path. Use the Start and Finish formulas to calculate the float of each activity and record this number in your network diagram.

The goal of schedule compression for a project manager should be to compress the schedule, while keeping the same project scope. Fast tracking and crashing are both schedule compression techniques. Fast tracking involves paralleling activities on the critical path. Crashing is all about trading. It involves asking yourself, "Which option will cause the least impact on cost, if time MUST change?". Fast tracking always adds risk, while crashing always adds cost. So as a project manager you must review which option would have the least risk, and be the most efficient.

The Monte Carlo Analysis is a technique used in "what-if" scenarios. It uses computer software that is based on the three-point estimates of each activity, plus the network diagram. According to PMP Exam Prep., the simulation used in the Monte Carlo analysis can tell you:

• The probability of completing the project on any specific day.
• The probability of completing the project for any specific amount of cost.
• The probability of any activity actually being done on the critical path.
• The overall project risk.

The project schedule can be shown with or without dependencies, and can be formatted in a network diagram, milestone chart, or bar chart. You should choose the correct format based on the needs of the project. Milestone charts show major events and represent the completion of activities, but they do not include duration. According to PMP Exam Prep, bar charts are not project management plans, but are effective tools for progress reporting and control. Bar charts are also known as Gantt charts.

The schedule baseline is the almighty project manager. Not only is the project managed using the schedule baseline, but the team's performance is measured against it. The baseline cannot be changed until it is formally approved. Control schedule involves protecting the schedule, and looking out for anything that could affect the schedule. A list of additional activities involved in controlling the schedule that are provided in PMP Exam Prep are as follows:

• Reestimating remaining components of the project partway through the project
• Conducting performance reviews by formally analyzing how the project is progressing
• Adjusting future parts of the project to delay with delays
• Measuring variances against the planned schedule, determining if the variances warrant attention
• Considering leveling resources to distribute work more evenly among resources
• Continuing to play "What if...?" with the project schedule to better optimize it
• Adjusting metrics that are not giving the project manager the information needed to properly manage the project
• Adjusting progress reports and reporting as needed to capture the information necessary to control and manage the project
• Identifying the need for changes
• Following the change control process

Reestimating is the final topic discussed in chapter six. What!? I know, I can't believe it either! Reestimating involves looking at the remaining pieces of the project and reestimating them to meet the end date, and other project objectives if they do not already adhere to the originally estimated objectives.

PMP Exam Prep - Chapter 5

Scope Management

"Scope management is the process of defining what work is required and then making sure all of that work - and only that work - is done." defines PMP Exam Prep. The difference between product scope and project scope is that the project scope is the work the project will do to deliver the product of the project. The product scope defines the requirements of the product and what end result is wanted. While taking the exam, Rita Mulcahy suggests remembering to be assertive and not allow unnecessary work to attach to the project. You should be in the mindset of properly protecting the project.

Review historical records, perform "expert interviews", create focus groups, brainstorm, use a nominal group technique, as well as a Delphi technique, mind maps, affinity diagrams, questionnaires and surveys, observation, group decision-making to help collect requirements. A nominal goup technique is when the most useful ideas generated during brainstorming are rated. Rita describes Delphi as follows, "With the Delphi technique, a request for information is sent to experts who participate anonymously, their responses are compiled, and he results are sent back to them for further review until consensus is reached."

PMP Exam Prep provides a list of ways to remember work breakdown structure (WBS):

• Is a graphical picture of the hierarchy of the project.
• Identifies all the deliverables to be completed - If it is not in the WBS, it is not part of the project.
• Is the foundation upon which the project is built.
• Is very important.
• Should exist for every project.
• Forces you to think through all aspects of the project.
• Can be reused for other projects.
• Does NOT show dependencies.

A WBS dictionary is an output of the WBS creation process and may contain work package descriptions, work involved, acceptance criteria, assumptions, risks, resources assigned, duration, milestones, cost, and due date. As a project manager your job is to not only manage changes, but to manage the project and all of it's baselines. A project manager must control the project scope.

PMP Exam Prep - Chapter 4

Integration Management

This was the most challenging chapter to read thus far. Rita Mulcahy actually suggests reading chapter 4, then reading the rest of the book, and finally coming back and re-reading chapter 4. She said that many people have a hard time on the exam with this knowledge area because it is one of the most difficult. Rita suggests thinking about integration as balancing all of the processes (scope, time, cost, quality, human resource, communications, risk, and procurement management) with each other.

A project manager's role is to perform integration management - to pull all of the pieces of the project together and create a cohesive whole. So, I guess a project manager is kind of like a "puzzle master". In integration management you:

• Develop a Project Charter
• Develop a Project Management Plan
• Direct and Manage Project Execution 
• Monitor and Control Project Work
• Perform Integrated Change Control
• Close the Project or Phase

Before reading this chapter, I had a vague idea of what the term project charter meant. I know it was a document that included important information. Close enough, right? Wrong! A project charter must include:

• Project Title and Description
• What is the project?
• Project Manager Assigned and Authority Level
• Who is given authority to lead the project, and can he/she determine, manage, and approve changes to budget, schedule, staffing, etc.?
• Business Case
• Why is the project being done? On what financial or other basis can we justify doing this project?
• Resources Preassigned
• How many or which resources will be provided?
• Stakeholders
• Who will affect or be affected by the project?
• Stakeholder Requirements as Known
• Requirements related to both project and product scope.
• Product Description/Deliverables
• What specific product deliverables are wanted, and what will be the end result of the project?
• Measurable Project Objectives
• How does the project tie into the organization's strategic goals?
• Project Approval Requirements
• What items need to be approved for the project, and who will have sign-off?
• High-Level Project Risks
• Potential threats and opportunities for the project.
• Project Sponsors Authorizing This Project  

A project management plan records how you will define, manage, and control the project. It helps you to look forward in time. A project management plan includes processes used, knowledge area management plans, scope, schedule, and cost baselines, requirements management plan, change management plan, configuration management plan, and a process improvement plan. I have seen WBS throughout the book and found out that it stands for Work Breakdown Structure. A WBS is included the scope baseline, along with the project scope statement, and WBS dictionary. The three baselines that make up the Performance measurement baseline are scope, schedule, and cost. The second baseline used to measure performance is the schedule baseline. The schedule baseline is the agreed upon schedule. The third baseline is the cost baseline. This includes the time-phased cost budget, which could include the spending plan indicating how much money is available for the project and when the funds are available.

First a sponsor/customer asks, "What do I want?" Then a project statement of work is created, company culture and existing systems are reviewed, as well as processes, procedures, and historical information. The project manager then helps identify stakeholders and documents the charter. The sponsor signs and issues the charter next. Finally, the project manager develops the project management plan. The project management plan is for the project and is used to help manage the project daily. Once project planning is done, and approved changes, corrective actions, preventive actions, and defect repair is complete you may then move into direct and manage project execution.

When doing integrated change control be sure to look at the impact the change has on all of the project constraints. In order to evaluate the changes impact, you must have a realistic management plan and completed product and project scopes. Changes are grouped into two broad categories - those that affect the project management plan, baselines, policies, charter, contract, or statement of work and those that don't. Changes are ALWAYS evaluated first. Once evaluation of changes is complete, you will look for options and then meet with the sponsor or change control board. The detailed process for making changes includes:
 1. Prevent the root cause of changes
 2. Identify change
 3. Look at the impact of the change
 4. Create a change request
 5. Perform integrated change control
     a. Assess the change
     b. Look for options
     c. The change is approved or rejected
     d. Update the status of the change in the change control system
 6. Adjust the project management plan, project documents, and baselines
 7. Manage stakeholders' expectations by communicating the change to stakeholders affected by the change
 8. Manage the project to the revised project management plan and project documents

As a less experienced, aspiring project manager, I did not realize the significance and importance of closing in the project management process. I understand that you need to formally close a project in order for it to be considered officially complete, but did not realize the steps included in formal closure. According to PMP Exam Prep, "A project manager must get formal acceptance of the project, issue a final report showing that the project has been succesful, issue the final lessons learned, and index and archive all the project records." You must close out a project, no matter what happens. If it is stopped, terminated, or is complete, you must formally close the project.

PMP Exam Prep - Chapter 3

Project Management Processes

I thoroughly enjoyed Chapter three. I prefer hands on learning, so having the flash cards was a great, and a very helpful, tool. I learned about Project Management Processes in this chapter. An interesting term I read about was "Rolling Wave Planning". It is a concept for a process that occurs with phase planning. The first phase is fully planned and then, when it reaches completion, the next phase is fully planned. All phases are roughly planned in the beginning, but the "Rolling Wave" makes full plan completion phase by phase. A term I heard often throughout chapter 3 was integrated change control process. Requests are evaluated and then approved or rejected in this process. This can be done in either the executing or monitoring and controlling process groups. The main focus of the executing group is to manage people and work to accomplish the project. In the monitoring and controlling group, the main focus is to measure the project's performance against the performance measurement baseline and other established metrics. Project planning does not just occur when the project is beginning. For example, if a change is made, and then approved, this requires replanning.
A helpful way to remember the process groups are as follows:

•  Start (Initiating)
• Plan (Planning)
• Do (Executing)
• Check and Act (Monitoring and Controlling)
• End (Closing)

As simple as this list may seem, it has been a very helpful tool while reading through the book and even while taking the practice tests at the end of the chapters. It not only helps you remember, but it explains what the process groups' jobs are. Monitoring and controlling's main focus is to measure the performance of the project to the project management plan and approve change requests. One last thing from chapter 3 is the term input and the term output. An input question would look like, "What do I need before I can...". Whereas an output question would say, "What will I have when I am done with..." or "What am I trying to achieve when I am doing...". These are good questions to remember, as you should picture yourself in a real-life scenario while taking the exam.

Tools and Tricks for PMP

I found this site today and think it will be a helpful. It has alot of great sites to use for practice.
http://pmzilla.com/passed-pmp-day-3-13-10-pmp

This is a great site that includes flashcards from Rita Mulcahy's book.
http://quizlet.com/6122274/txj-pmi-01-rita-mulcahy-c02b-project-management-framework-tj-qa-flash-cards/

PMP Exam Prep - Chapter 1 & 2

Chapter One - Tricks of the Trade for Studying for This Exam

The PMP Exam is 4-hours long and contains 200 questions. The minimum passing score is a 60 percent. (106 out of 175 correct). 25 of the 200 questions are prerelease, so they are not counted. The exam is layed out as follows:

• Initiating   13%
• Planning    24%
• Executing  30%
• Monitoring & Controlling 25%
• Closing      8%

Chapter Two - Project Management Framework

A project is an endeavor with a beginning and an end that creates a unique product, service or result. This is the definition according to Rita Mulcahy's PMP Exam Prep. A project has a specific goal and a plan to accomplish this goal. The process of Project Management includes initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. Another aspect of Project Management is knowledge areas, which include integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resource, communications, risk, and procurement management. Operational work is an ongoing process, and is not considered a project. A program is a group of related projects and a portfolio is a group of programs and individual projects. A PMO is a Project Management Office and it centralizes the management of projects. A PMO is a department and not an individual person. Stakeholders are organizations and people whose interests may be affected negatively or positively by the project. They can be viewed as assistant team members and should be kept informed, as well as have their needs satisfied.

Organizational structures include Functional, Projectized, and Matrix. I remember a functional organization as a ladder. They must pass requests from one department and then they transmit the request to the higher department, and so on. The Project Manager does not have much authority. In a projectized organization the entire company is organized by projects. The project manager is in charge of the project and once a project is complete, the team members need to be assigned to a new project or must find other employment. Rita Mulcahy suggests remembering projectized as "no home", while taking the exam. When I think of a Matrix organization I think of a web intertwining. Communication is complex and team members must report to both the functional manager and project manager. Rita Mulcahy suggests remembering Matrix as "two bosses". In a weak matrix or functional organization a project manager may take on one of two roles:

• Project Expediter: Cannot make or enforce decisions personally.
• Project Coordinator: Reports to higher level manager and can make some decisions.

A product life cycle begins with the product conception, then growth, next maturity, then decline, and finally product withdrawal. Project life cycle is the organization's or department's methodology for projects. The project management process includes initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing process groups.

Finally, lessons learned is a great tool in project management. It includes what was done right, what was done wrong, and what should be done differently if the project was redone. It should cover technical aspects, project management, and management. 

CompTIA CTT+

Two exams necessary to attain CompTIA CTT+ certification.

• CompTIA CTT+ Essentials
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• 17 - 22 Minutes
• One stop permitted
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http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/certifications/ctt.aspx