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
• Video or recording of classroom or virtual classroom session
• 17 - 22 Minutes
• One stop permitted
• No editing permitted

http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/certifications/ctt.aspx