Head First PMP – Page 49

Moving different smaller processes to five defined process groups.

Below are several of the 44 processes. Try and guess which process group each process belongs to just from the name. We’ve done the first two for you.

 

Initiating process group	Planning process group	Executing process group	Monitoring & Controlling process group	Closing process group
Develop Project Charter	Develop Project Management Plan	Direct and Manage Project Work	Monitor and Control Project Work	Close Project
	Activity Duration Estimating	Information Distribution	Scope Control
	Risk Identification
	Quality Planning
	Schedule Control (I should have placed it in monitoring)

Head First PMP – Page 35

Hmm, constraints are everywhere, do this, don’t do this, blah blah.

When you make a change to one of the triple constraints, the other two are also affected. Can you figure out which of the three constraints is going to be affected the most in each of these problematic situations? (Sometimes there’s more than one good answer!)

The project was running late, so the PM decided to release it on time even though the work was incomplete.

Constraint affected: Scope

The product isn’t passing any of its quality inspections. The PM added more quality activities to try to head off bugs before they derailed the project.

Constraint affected: Time & Cost

The project’s scope had ballooned out of control, and it looked like the project was never be completed. The project manager set up a meeting with stakeholders to decide what to do.

Constraint affected: Scope

About halfway through the project, the PM realized that the money was running out faster than expected. She went through the schedule to try to find tasks that could be cut from the project to save money.

Constraint affected: Cost

The company needed this project to be done by the end of this first quarter but it looked like it wouldn’t be done until the third quarter. The PM told upper management what was going on and tried to negotiate a new deadline.

Constraint affected: Time

The company didn’t have much money to invest in the project so they asked the PM to cut corners where-ever possible to stay on budget.

Constraint affected: Scope & Time

Head First PMP – Page 31

Lets define what is a process and which one is a project.

Which of these scenarios is a process, and which is a project?

1.	Building an extension on a house	Project
2.	Shelving books at the library	Process
3.	Baking a wedding cake	Project
4.	Stapling programs for a play	Project
5.	Watering your plants twice a week	Process
6.	Walking the dog every day	Process
7.	Knitting a scarf	Project
8.	Making a birdhouse	Project
9.	Changing your air filters every six months	Process
10.	Running an assembly line in a toy factory	Process
11.	Organizing a large conference	Project
12.	Going to the gym three times a week	Process

Head First PMP – Page 27

Next time you go on an interview, let the interviewer describe how they currently work, it will give you hints about type of that company, and whether you would like to join it or not.

Here are few excerpts from some of Kate’s job interviews. Can you figure out what kind of organization each interviewer is representing?

Interviewer #1:	We’re looking for someone who can work with our development manager to deliver our products on time. We have a good programming team; they just need a little encouragement to meet their deadlines. You’ll be expected to keep really good status meeting notes. If you run into any trouble with the team, just kick it back to the Dev Manager, and she’ll address the problem.
	Functional
Interviewer #2:	We need someone who can manage the whole effort, start to finish. You’ll need to work with the client to establish goals, choose the team, estimate time and cost, manage and track all of your decisions, and make sure you keep everybody in the loop on what’s going on. We expect the project to last six months.
	Projectized
Interviewer #3:	We have a project coming up that’s needed by our customer service team. The project is a real technical challenge for us, so we’ve assembled a team of top-notch programmers to come up with a good solution. We need a project manager to work with the programming manager on this one. You would be responsible for the schedule, the budget, and managing the deliverables. The programming manager would have the personnel responsibilities.
	Matrix
Interviewer #4:	Most of the work you’ll be doing is contract work. You’ll put together three different teams of software engineers, and you’ll need to make sure that they build everything our customers needs. And don’t forget; you’ve got to stay within budget, and it’s got to be done on time! It’s a big job, and it’s your neck on the line if things go wrong. Can you handle that?
	Projectized

Head First PMP – Page 23

This one was selecting type of organization and how they function. A good one for future move if he is not in required type of organization. They have coined a good term “projectized” for those organization, where projects are in focus.

In a functional organization, which is what Kate works in, project managers don’t have the authority to make major decisions on projects. Projectized organizations give all of the authority to the PM.

Can you work out which description goes with which organization type?

	Functional Organization	Projectized Organization
1.	PMs don’t set the budget.	Teams are organized around projects.
2.	Project managers need to clear major decisions with department managers.	Project managers estimate and track budget and schedule.
3.	PMs spend half their time doing admin tasks.	Project managers choose the team members, and release them when the project is over.

Head First PMP – Page 13

Checkout how much I was able to identify, green are correct and red incorrect.

Not paying attention to these areas of responsibility is sure to give your project problems. Which of the four areas of responsibility was neglected in the failed projects listed below? Sometimes, more than one area of responsibility will apply; just pick the one that makes the most sense to you.

Your project was delivered early but it didn’t have all of the features that the customers asked for:	The project team had so many conflicts about the project that they couldn’t work together. They made decisions that undercut each other, and in the end they couldn’t deliver anything at all.
Neglected area of responsibility	Neglected area of responsibility
Requirements	Establish Objectives & Goals
The project created a great product but it was still considered a failure because there was a constraint that it needed to be delivered in March to be of any use to the company. It was delivered in May – so nobody could use it.	The project was late because the tasks weren’t planned to occur in a sequence that would get it done on time.
Neglected area of responsibility	Neglected area of responsibility
Time, Cost, and Scope	Establish Objectives & Goals
The project manager thought his job was to meet the deadline above all else. So he demanded that the product be released on the date it was due regardless of quality.	The project manager spent all of his time holding status meetings with his team and didn’t plan how to deal with all of the 9 knowledge areas. When the product was delivered, it turned out there was a stakeholder he hadn’t identified, and the project didn’t meet their needs.
Neglected area of responsibility	Neglected area of responsibility
Time, Cost, and Scope	Requirements, Satisfying everyone

Head First PMP – Page 10

Below is given a list of knowledge areas and my matching descriptions against each.

Across all of the process groups, there are 9 knowledge areas that span all of the different kinds of information you’ll need to keep up with to manage your project. Match the knowledge area, on the left, to the description of what that knowledge area focuses on.

Risk	Planning for things that could happen (positive or negative) and dealing with them when they do.
Quality	Making sure that you build the right product and that you do it as efficiently as possible.
Scope	Defining the tasks that will (and won’t) be done on the project.
Procurement	Defining contracts and choosing a contractor to do work on your project.
Communication	Figuring out who should talk to whom to keep everybody in the loop on your project.
Time	Estimating the time it will take to complete your project and making sure you meet the deadlines you set.
Integration	Keeping everybody working toward the same goal and dealing with changes.
Cost	Budgeting your project and tracking the money you are spending.
Human Resources	Getting the people who will do the work and keeping them motivated.

Head First PMP – Page 7

Below is a list of process in correct order with description as per my placements.

In addition to the four areas of responsibility, the PMBOK Guide divides up the generally recognized good project management practices into 44 processes that fall into 5 process groups. See if you can match the process group magnets below into the right blanks, in the right order.

Initiating	Planning	Executing	Monitoring & Controlling	Closing
———-	———-	———-	———-	———-
Here’s where you figure out what your project’s high-level goals are.	This is where you figure out how you will do all of the work.	This is where the work gets done.	This means tracking the work, looking for problems and fixing those problems before they derail your project.	Here’s where you fill out all of your final paperwork and get paid for the work you’ve completed.

Head First PMP – Page 6

That’s totally what I could put up while describing these areas.

The PMBOK Guide is really just a collection of things that you probably already know a lot about. It defines four major areas of responsibility for a project manager. We’ve listed these four areas below; your job is to write down what you think each area of responsibility means.

1. Identify the requirements for the project

Talk to customers, concerned parties, look through current working process if available, analyze and document your thoughts, and list down what the client really wants.

2. Establish objectives that can be achieved

Identify stories, tasks, assignments that would be completed and delivered as best as you can.

3. Balance scope, time, and cost

Try to achieve all objectives within given time constraints and within stipulated budget.

4. Satisfy everyone’s needs

Your solution should be acceptable to all concerned parties with some give and take. Not possible every time though.

Head First PMP

I was thinking of validating my project management knowledge to test. I tried some simple test questions and found that I was lacking a lot on some areas, mostly their technical jargon, but was good enough on other parts.

So I thought about grabbing some knowledge about this and found out that Head First have a nice book on this. So I was able to arrange a copy of Head First PMP. It seems quite interesting book. I will try to post some of exercises from that book as I read through it.

Wise me luck in that.