August 2013 Cheetah Exam Prep® for the PMP® you to take PMI’s PMP® exam! This course preview is...
Transcript of August 2013 Cheetah Exam Prep® for the PMP® you to take PMI’s PMP® exam! This course preview is...
Copyright ©2009-2013 Cheetah Learning, LLC Cheetah Exam Prep® for the PMP® www.cheetahlearning.com
August 2013
Cheetah
Exam Prep®
for the PMP®
©2009-2013 Cheetah Learning, LLC
www.cheetahlearning.com
“PMP” and the PMI logo are certification
marks of the Project Management Institute
which are registered in the United States
and other nations.
Copyright ©2009-2013 Cheetah Learning, LLC Cheetah Exam Prep® for the PMP® www.cheetahlearning.com
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® Guide) - Fifth Edition, 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 (PMBOK® Guide) - Fifth
Edition, 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.
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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:
13 Chapters
1 Annex
3 Appendices
References
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” and Section II, “The Standard for Project Management of a
Project.” You may find that parts of this section are confusing, specifically the information
on relationships between Processes and Knowledge Areas. However, you can relax! You’ll
be coached throughout your preparation week with a number of different illustrations,
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explanations, and other learning aids that will help to reinforce a proper understanding of these
concepts.
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.
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Project Management Knowledge Areas
-Color Key-
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
Project Stakeholder Management
Closing
Processes
Executing
Processes
Planning
Processes
Initiating
Processes
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
PROCESS GROUPS
Processes
Monitor & Control Project
Work
Perform Integrated Change
Control
Validate Scope
Control Scope
Control Schedule
Control Costs
Control Quality
Control Communications
Monitor & Control Risks
Control Procurements
Control stakeholder Engagement
Monitoring &
Controlling
Processes
Processes Direct and Manage Project Execution
Perform Quality Assurance
Acquire Project Team
Develop Project Team
Manage project Team
Manage Communications
Conduct Procurements
Manage Stakeholder Engagements
Processes
Develop Project Charter
Identify Stakeholders
Processes
Close Project or Phase
Close Procurements
Develop Project Mgt Plan
Plan Scope Management
Collect Requirements
Estimate Costs
Determine Budget
Plan Quality
Define Scope Develop Human Resource Plan
Create WBS
Plan Schedule Management
Plan Communications
Plan Risk Management
Define Activities Identify Risks
Sequence Activities Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
Estimate Activity Resources Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
Estimate Activity Durations Plan Risk Responses
Develop Schedule
Plan Cost Management
Plan Procurements
Plan Stakeholder Management
Planning Processes
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Looking through Chapters 4-13
Chapters 4 through 13 address 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
Each of these five 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!
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.
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XYZ Software
Project
Roll Out Test System Write Manual Design
Project Life Cycle for a Simple Software Development Project
XYZ Office Building
Project
Design
Project Life Cycle for a Building Construction Project
Permitting Foundation
Framing
Marketing Finishing Site
Selection
Project Management Processes vs. The Project Life Cycle
Project Management Processes
Project Management Processes are grouped into five categories known as the Project Manage-
ment Process Groups of Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and
Closing, as described in the previous section. Project Management Process Groups remain
consistent within every project.
The Project Life Cycle
A Project Life Cycle is a collection of generally sequential and sometimes overlapping project
phases. 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 tech-
nology, a Project Life Cycle may just be designing the infrastructure and then handing the de-
sign over to a contractor to implement.
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 Cycle. 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 Processes. You may want to start on this ahead of time. Try to make
up your own mnemonics for the lists under each of the Project Management Processes. You can
do this by making up a string of funny and relevant phrases that start with the first letter of
each word.
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There are ten 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:
Collect Requirements
Define Scope
Create the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Validate Scope
Control Scope
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:
Collect Requirements: The process of defining and documenting stakeholders’ needs to
meet the project objectives.
Define Scope: The process of developing a detailed description of the project and
product.
Create WBS: The process of subdividing project deliverables and project work into
smaller, more manageable components.
Validate Scope: The process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project
deliverables.
Control Scope: The process of monitoring the status of the project and product scope
and managing changes to the scope baseline.
The ten Knowledge Areas are presented in PMBOK® Guide Chapters 4 through 13:
Chapter 4: Project Integration Management - Defines the six major processes used to
integrate all the component pieces of a project into a whole.
Chapter 5: Project Scope Management - Defines the six major processes used to
carefully carefully define, execute, and control the scope of the project.
Chapter 6: Project Time Management - Defines the seven 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 four 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.
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Chapter 9: Project Human Resource Management - Defines the four major processes
used to plan project organization, staff acquisition, develop and manage project team.
Chapter 10: Project Communications Management - Defines the three major
processes used to develop plan, manage and control.
Chapter 11: Project Risk Management - Defines the six major processes used to plan,
identify and quantify project risks, as well as to develop responses and control responses
to project risks.
Chapter 12: Project Procurement Management - Defines the four major processes
used to plan, solicit, select, administer, and close out contracts with project suppliers and
sub-contractors.
Chapter 13: Project Stakeholder Management— Defines the four major processes
used to identify, plan, manage, and control stakeholder engagement.
Following through with your process:
Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs
You’ll find that Chapters 4-13 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
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 4-13, 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.
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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-seven processes
Within all ten Knowledge Areas, there are a total of forty-seven (47) 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, Determine Budget is
identified as one of four major Cost Management processes. Below is a run-down of what is
included in each set for this process:
1. Inputs to the Determine Budget process are listed as:
Cost management plan
Scope baseline
Activity cost estimates
Basis of estimates
Project schedule
Resource calendars
Risk register
Agreements
Organizational process assets
2. Tools and Techniques are listed as:
Cost aggregation
Reserve analysis
Exert judgment
Historical relationships
Funding limit reconciliation
3. Outputs are listed as:
Cost baseline
Project funding requirements
Project document updates
From this example, you can see that the Determine Budget process is designed to ultimately
produce the project’s output of the Cost Baseline. In order to develop this Cost Baseline,
Determine Budget Tools and Techniques are used. However, before the project is started, the
Activity Cost Estimates, Basis of Estimates, Scope Baseline, Project Schedule, Resource
Calendars, Contracts and Organizational Process Assets are needed to use for reference. So
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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 Process Groups vs. Project Life Cycle
Remember that every project includes both a Project Life Cycle and Project Management
Process Groups. 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 Process Groups 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 Process Groups - 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 5 to further help you
with this concept.
The run-down on Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and
Closing Processes
Project Life Cycle - The PMBOK® Guide states that each phase in a Project Life Cycle
should contain all five primary Project Management Processes - Initiating, Planning,
Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. A good way to help understand this
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concept is for you to look at each phase in a Project Life Cycle Groups 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 Processes. 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.
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 Process Groups. 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.
This helps to show the iterative, back and forth, interplay between phases/processes.
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Replaced—View Page 61 of your PMBOK Guide—5th Edition
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The Memory Map
In Section 3.2 Course Preview and Memory Map of the course orientation kit, you’ll find a
link to the course Memory Map. It is strongly advised to have this Memory Map embedded
to memory before coming to class and is part of our guarantee. 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 performance 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 Monday morning of your class.
Good Luck and remember to bring a hard copy of the PMBOK® Guide—Fifth Edition to
class.
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 maxi-
mize your chances for passing the exam, you may want to follow the lead of those who par-
ticipated 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
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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 best for most people.
About two weeks before class, you’ll receive an email 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!
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