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.