Cheetah Exam Prep for the PMP

Transcription

1 June 2008 Cheetah Exam Prep for the PMP 2008 Cheetah Learning LLC PMP and the PMP logo are certification marks of the Project Management Institute which are registered in the United States and other nations.

2 Preview Page 1 Read it here first! Get ready - you re going to be participating in an intense, week-long immersion approach to prepare you to take PMI s PMP exam! This course preview is a suggested pre-read, both by candidates who came before you, and by the Cheetah Learning PMP Team. It contains guidelines on what you can do before the course to make the best use of your time while you re actually taking the course. The material in this course preview was selected based upon feedback from previous students. You should read it through in its entirety before the first day of the course, to help prepare you for this intensive, engaging experience. Although it is brief, reading this course preview now will have a significant, positive impact during your preparation week. What to expect from this preview There are two main areas that you ll focus on in this preview. The first area covers A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ), and the logic and structure behind it. If you can understand the PMBOK Guide logic, you ll be more successful in deciphering the logic behind the questions on the exam. The second area focuses on our Memory Map. This map contains formulas and processes that you will eventually memorize and jot down from memory on the scratch paper provided to you in the exam before you begin. By doing this, you ll have these formulas directly in front of you while you are taking the exam, which will help to guide you as you move through it. Having the Memory Map memorized prior to your preparation week is essential to your success throughout the week. It will also mean less homework for you in the evenings - so start as soon as you can! PMBOK Guide - The information you need for your success PMI s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, or PMBOK Guide, is now an ANSI Standard and is generally recognized by the world s largest organizations for defining the accepted concepts, processes, tools, and techniques for managing projects. The information contained in the PMBOK Guide is the basis for most knowledge areas tested by the PMP Exam. Very few questions on the exam are based on definitions or details referenced directly from the PMBOK Guide. Based on this fact, it isn t very valuable for you to commit much of the PMBOK Guide to rote memory. However, you ll find that most questions on the exam require a complete and thorough understanding of PMBOK Guide principles, processes, and concepts. Because of this, it is very important for you to know the objectives of the PMBOK Guide inside and out, along with each of its component sections.

3 Preview Page 2 During your preparation week, you ll be spending a significant amount of time each day working with the PMBOK Guide. It will serve as your primary reference source. Fear not - you won t be memorizing the PMBOK Guide! The information that you ll need to remember during the PMP exam is provided for you by supplemental written materials, graphic illustrations and audio exercises. Much of this supplemental information comes from sources other than the PMBOK Guide. Your work with the PMBOK Guide will be focused on learning and understanding processes, concepts, applications, and broad sets of tools and techniques. During your preparation week, your instructors will coach you through all the PMBOK Guide work necessary to pass your PMP exam. However, you ll find that it is very helpful to come to the program prepared with a general understanding of the way in which the PMBOK Guide information is organized. The PMBOK Guide is a professional standard, not a text. Use it as more of a comprehensive reference document. Because of its unusual format, many PMP candidates have difficulty quickly gaining an intuitive understanding of the PMBOK Guide. Most people have to read it through many times before they get it, so don t be discouraged if it takes you awhile to understand it thoroughly. Understanding the PMBOK Guide This section helps you to better understand the PMBOK Guide, by taking you through it piece by piece. You should have a clearer picture of what is contained in the PMBOK Guide, and this will help you while you are reading through it on your own. How the PMBOK Guide is organized The PMBOK Guide is organized in the following way: 12 Chapters Appendices Glossary Index Each chapter is discussed in more detail in the following sections. Looking through Chapters 1-3 The first three chapters of the PMBOK Guide make up Section I, The Project Management Framework. You may find that parts of this section are confusing, specifically the information on relationships between and Knowledge Areas. However, you can relax! You ll be coached throughout your preparation week with a number of different illustrations, explanations, and other learning aids that will help to reinforce a proper understanding of these concepts.

4 Preview Page 3 You ll also find some very useful Context information in this first section, which defines precisely how and where project management fits in the grand scheme of modern management science. This section also presents a brief overview of the PMBOK Guide, along with some key definitions that you ll need to know. Looking through Chapters 4-12 PROJECT MANAGEMENT LIFE CYCLE (aka Project Management ) Develop Project Charter Preliminary Scope Statement Initiating Planning Planning Scope Planning Scope Definition Create WBS Activity Definition Activity Sequencing Act. Duration Estimating Act. Resource Estimating Schedule Development Cost Estimate Cost Budget Risk Management Planning Project Plan Development Planning Quality Planning Human Resource Planning Communications Planning Risk Identification Qualitative Risk Analysis Quantitative Risk Assessment Risk Response Planning Plan Purchases & Acquisitions Planning Plan Contracting Performance Reporting Controlling Manage Stakeholders Monitor & Control Project Work Integrated Change Ctrl Scope Verification Scope Control Perform Quality Control Manage Project Team Schedule Control Risk Monitoring and Control Cost Control Contract Administration Closing Executing Close Project Contract Closure Project Management Knowledge Areas -Color Key- Direct and Manage Project Execution Information Distribution Request Seller Responses Acquire Project Team Develop Project Team Select Seller Perform Quality Assurance Project Integration Management Project Scope Management Project Time Management Project Cost Management Project Quality Management Project Human Resource Management Project Communications Management Project Risk Management Project Procurement Management

5 Preview Page 4 Chapters 4 through 12 make up Section II, which addresses each of the defined project management Knowledge Areas. These Knowledge Areas comprise the majority of the PMBOK Guide. They represent the nuts and bolts of the project management profession. Breaking down your processes for success The PMBOK Guide generally defines modern project management as an accepted process consisting of many processes. That is to say, projects are organized and carried out using an established process, from beginning to end. Projects can also be executed in process groups. These process groups are in order of implementation and can be seen on the next page. 1. Initiating 2. Planning 3. Executing 4. Monitoring and Controlling 5. Closing XYZ Software Project Design Write Manual Test System Roll Out Project Life Cycle for a Simple Software Development Project XYZ Office Building Project Design Site Selection Permitting Foundation Framing Finishing Marketing Project Life Cycle for a Building Construction Project

6 Preview Page 5

7 Preview Page 6 Each of these five primary process groups are accomplished by carrying out a series of processes which are defined in the PMBOK Guide. You ll find that almost all standards in the PMBOK Guide are presented in terms of processes that are made up of inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs. This conceptual format is actually very useful. It makes modern project management much easier to understand and to practice. Projects can sometimes be huge and extremely complex. Experienced Project Managers understand that they cannot manage entire projects as a whole, which is why they break their projects down into a series of manageable pieces. When all of the individual pieces are successfully completed, then the project is successfully completed. This is what is accomplished in the PMBOK Guide - breaking down the whole project management process into a series of manageable and understandable processes, in specific knowledge areas. When all of your processes are being properly carried out, you are successfully practicing modern project management! The concept of Life Cycles The PMBOK Guide defines two Life Cycles, which are important concepts to understand. They are the: Project Management Life Cycle Project Life Cycle The Project Management Life Cycle Regardless of the type of project or the phase of a project, the Project Management Life Cycle will contain the same phases of Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing (or Close Out), as described in the previous section. The Project Management Life Cycle remains consistent within every project. See page 3 for an example of the Project Management Life Cycle. This Project Management Life Cycle actually exists within every Project Life Cycle. Most Project Managers and Project Stakeholders focus on the Project Life Cycle for planning and tracking purposes. One of the first topics we will cover during the first morning of your preparation week is this Project Management Life Cycle, which is considered to be the overall Project Management Process. The Project Life Cycle The Project Life Cycle defines the beginning and end of a particular project. For example, the Project Life Cycle for the construction of a new cabin cruiser, might consider designing the cruiser as phase 1. Phase 2 would be construction of the cruiser. In technology, a Project Life Cycle may just be designing the infrastructure and then handing the design over to a contractor to implement.

8 Preview Page 7 The number of phases within a Project Life Cycle is dependent on the specific project. Some projects could have three or four phases in their Life Cycles. Others could have six or eight or more. See page 4 for two illustrations of different project types and their project life cycles. Please Note: During the Accelerated PMP Course, you will be shown how you can memorize the Project Management Life Cycle. You may want to start on this ahead of time. Try to make up your own mnemonics for the lists under each of the Life Cycle. You can do this by making up a string of funny and relevant phrases that start with the first letter of each word. Project Management Knowledge Areas You should now have a pretty good understanding of how the PMBOK Guide addresses the project management process. But the project management process is really only the framework for the practice of modern project management. What about the nuts and bolts of the profession? The working tools? The PMBOK Guide presents these tools as Knowledge Areas. There are nine defined Knowledge Areas in the PMBOK Guide. Each addresses a specific key project management discipline. For example, Chapter 5 of the PMBOK Guide addresses the Knowledge Area of Project Scope Management, where you learn the accepted standards, tools and techniques used to complete: Scope Planning Scope Definition Create the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Manage formal acceptance of the completed work Manage Scope Change Control In keeping with the PMBOK Guide s process theme, the tools and techniques addressed in each of the Knowledge Areas are presented as processes. To continue with our Chapter 5 example, the PMBOK Guide defines Project Scope Management as a set of five major processes: Scope Planning: The process designed to produce the Scope Management Plan. Scope Definition: The process designed to produce the Scope Statement Create WBS: The process of elaborating all the work to be completed to create the WBS Scope Verification: The process designed to ensure formal acceptance of the completed work Scope Change Control: The process designed to effectively manage and control Scope changes

9 Preview Page 8 The nine Knowledge Areas are presented in PMBOK Guide Chapters 4 through 12 as follows: Chapter 4: Project Integration Management - Defines the seven major processes used to integrate all the component pieces of a project into a whole Chapter 5: Project Scope Management - Defines the five major processes used to carefully define, execute, and control the scope of a project Chapter 6: Project Time Management - Defines the six major processes used to carefully characterize project activities, identify their interdependencies, schedule their performance, and control the project schedule Chapter 7: Project Cost Management - Defines the three major processes used to plan project resources, estimate costs and budgets, and control project costs Chapter 8: Project Quality Management - Defines the three major processes used to plan, guarantee, and control project quality Chapter 9: Project Human Resource Management - Defines the four major processes used to plan project organization, staff acquisition, and project team development Chapter 10: Project Communications Management - Defines the four major processes used to develop a communication plan, distribute information, report project performance, and perform administrative closure Chapter 11: Project Risk Management - Defines the six major processes used to identify and quantify project risks, as well as to develop responses and control responses to project risks Chapter 12: Project Procurement Management - Defines the six major processes used to plan, solicit, select, administer, and close out contracts with project suppliers and sub-contractors Following through with your process: Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs You ll find that Chapters 4-12 of the PMBOK Guide are presented in an identical format. Each chapter begins with a brief overview of every major process within the Knowledge Area, and then presents a more detailed treatment of the specific Knowledge Area. Each detailed treatment is presented in three parts, which include a set of: 1. Inputs 2. Tools and Techniques 3. Outputs

10 Preview Page 9 It s important for you to understand this PMBOK Guide format of these three sets. Take a look at the PMBOK Guide anywhere within Chapters 4-12, to see the way in which Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs are presented. Inputs: The ingredients for your recipe Each major process begins with a set of Inputs. These are the factors that initially go into the particular process - the documents, information, procedures, policies, supporting detail, etc. You may view these Inputs as the ingredients necessary to successfully perform the process. If the process at hand was to bake bread, then the Inputs might be flour, yeast, water, and salt. Tools and Techniques: All that you need for your kitchen Following Inputs comes a set of Tools and Techniques. These Tools and Techniques are the project management methodologies and systems, such as network diagramming, earned value analysis, PERT, estimating tools, etc. In the bread-baking example, Tools and Techniques might include general cooking skills, an oven, oven temperature control systems, baking utensils, and quality control systems. Outputs: Fresh bread, straight from the oven! Following Tools and Techniques is a set of Outputs. Outputs are deliverables - the tangible results from each major process. In the bread-baking example, the Output would be the loaves of bread, fresh from the oven! The forty-four processes Within all nine Knowledge Areas, there are a total of forty-four (44) major processes. Each of these major processes contains a set of Inputs, a set of Tools and Techniques, and a set of Outputs. The precise number of items in each set varies - there are usually about two to five items per set. To give you an example, in Chapter 7: Project Cost Management, Cost Budgeting is identified as one of three major Cost Management processes. Below is a run-down of what is included in each set for this process: 1. Inputs to the Cost Budgeting process are listed as: Cost Estimates Work Breakdown Structure Project Schedule 2. Tools and Techniques are listed as: Cost Estimating Tools and Techniques 3. Outputs are listed as: Cost Baseline

11 Preview Page 10 From this example, you can see that the Cost Budgeting process is designed to ultimately produce the project s output of the Cost Baseline. In order to develop this Cost Baseline, Cost Estimating Tools and Techniques are used. But before the project is started, the Cost Estimates, Work Breakdown Structure, and Project Schedule, or the Inputs, are needed to use for reference. So you can see that each step, or set, in the process is reliant on the other, in order to produce the desired outcome, deliverable, or Output. The PMBOK Guide goes on to provide much more detailed discussions for each listing of Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs. These are the details with which you will be spending significant time during your preparation week. Are you confused yet? Getting past those problem areas There are a couple of distinct areas and/or concepts in the PMBOK Guide that can be very confusing. This section addresses some of these areas and concepts, and may help to clear up any confusion you may have while reading through the PMBOK Guide. Project Management Life Cycle vs. Project Life Cycle There are two distinctly different Life Cycles, each of equal importance. Remember that every project has both a Project Life Cycle and a Project Management Life Cycle. A good way to understand this concept is for you to look at the Project Life Cycle as an illustration of the flow of a particular project from beginning to end, with all of the major technical phases, processes, and activities necessary to complete the project. Look at the Project Management Life Cycle as an illustration of the flow of project management phases, processes, and activities during the course of the project, from beginning to end. Take the example of building a house. Here is a breakdown of what each cycle focuses on in this particular project: Project Life Cycle - Technical aspects: Designing the architecture Pouring the concrete Framing the building Constructing the roof Project Management Life Cycle - Management aspects: Developing the Scope Statement Developing the Work Breakdown Structure Developing the Network Diagram, and Identifying the Critical Path Developing the Cost Baseline Take another look at the differences between the illustrations on Pages 4 and 5, to further help you with this concept.

12 Preview Page 11 The run-down on Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing Project Life Cycle - The PMBOK Guide states that each phase in a Project Life Cycle should contain all five primary Project Management - Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. A good way to help understand this concept is for you to look at each phase in a Project Life Cycle as a sort of sub-project all on its own. Knowledge Areas - The Project Management Knowledge Areas represent the tools of the trade. Some of these tools are used during one distinct phase in the Project Management Life Cycle. Others are used in several or all of the phases. For example, some aspects of Project Risk Management are performed during four of the five phases - Initiating, Planning, Executing and Monitoring and Controlling. Overlapping - There is no neat order for placing specific Knowledge Areas with specific Project Management Life Cycle. There is room for variation, and sometimes these processes intersect with one another. This is an important concept for you to learn, and to understand. See the illustration on page 3, which shows the relationship between the defined Project Management and the Project Management Knowledge Areas. Most project management processes are iterative by nature. That is to say, many processes are revisited many times before a project is complete. Because of this, there is no distinct delineation between primary Project Management Life Cycle phases. For example, Initiating does not always end cleanly before Planning begins. During the Planning phase of some projects, Initiating may have to be revisited many times for clarifications or changes. In practice, project planning processes may be revisited at any time during the Executing and Monitoring and Controlling phases. Executing and Monitoring and Controlling phases are essentially performed at the same time. Closing processes are used many times during the Execution phase, as individual work packages are completed and accepted. It may even be necessary to completely re-initiate a project deep into the Execution phase if major scope changes are found to be warranted. As a result of all of this, phases in the Project Management Life Cycle are expected to overlap. See the illustration on Page 3, which helps to show the iterative, back-and-forth, interplay between phases/processes. How much should I study the PMBOK Guide? It is not mandatory for you to study the PMBOK Guide before your preparation week. You ll be spending significant time each day studying the PMBOK Guide in class. However, after reading this Course Review, it will be very helpful for you to at least scan through the PMBOK Guide a couple of times before the class convenes on the first day. Also, bring your PMBOK Guide to class. You will be performing a rapid synthesis note-taking technique, which some people have found helpful to use for delineating significant concepts. But by looking through the PMBOK Guide beforehand, you ll have a good understanding of its layout, format, intent, and general content, and your study time in class will be that much more effective.

13 Preview Page 12 The Memory Map In the course preview page, you ll find a link to a Memory Map. It is strongly advised to have this memorized before you come to class. This map shows you which tasks/activities come before others and will help you answer questions on the exam. For example: Your sponsor has asked for a project schedule. You ve completed the risk management plan, the quality plan, and the scope definition. All of the following must be completed before you can give your sponsor the project schedule except? A. Cost baseline B. WBS C. Network diagrams D. Kickoff Meeting Do you know the answer? Check it against the Memory Map and remember you ll be tested on this Monday morning. Good Luck!

14 Preview Page 13 A Final Note This exam is hard for even the most prepared candidates but we ve had great success and many classes have had 100% success rates. During your four days of class, you ll develop the knowledge and techniques needed for you to be successful in passing the exam, but it will require a tremendous amount of work and commitment on your part during those four days. In the other preview material provided in your course orientation kit, you ll see how you can get your mind and body in peak performance to maximize your chances of passing this exam. You will need to completely dedicate yourself and focus on the task at hand the days you are in class. Many people, even those who live nearby, choose to stay in the hotel at or near the course location so they can completely focus on preparing for the exam. To maximize your chances for passing the exam, you may want to follow the lead of those who participated before you. We have many students, while they have years of Project Management experience, have never read the PMBOK Guide. They have very good luck with our program. At the other end of the spectrum we have students who are very well read in project management, who even bring other organization s PMP exam prep study material to class. Strangely enough, some of these people don t pass the exam. In the class you are about to participate in, you will learn what you need to know to pass the PMP exam. It is preferred that you don t study these other organization s PMP exam prep material especially during the week of your class. Not only will it detract from your ability to perform well using the techniques you will be learning in class, but it will also take up valuable time that you should be studying the material in a way that we have found works for most people. About two weeks before class, you ll receive an note from your trainer or someone from the office. Please read it carefully as it has valuable information. Any questions you have can be directed to your trainer at any time. Happy studying, and see you in class!