How Long Until Test Day

On Wednesday, August 28th, I attended the PMI breakfast at IHOP at the intersection of 280 and Stevens Creek Boulevard. Some things I learned about the PMP certification application process:

• May take up to 3 weeks to complete application. Especially if you are one of the handful of people who are audited
• May take up to 3 weeks to get a test date after you are cleared to take the certification test

So the main point is not to wait starting the application until you are ready to take the test. You should start the application process well before you are ready to take the test.

Don't forget, PMI retains a $200.00 (plus applicable taxes) processing fee when you start filling out your online certification application. Be sure to print a copy before you submited the completed application.

8-22 Study Group Meeting

Raj and Debra met at Starbucks. We decided not to have anyone else join us since we have covered up through chapter 5 and have a momentum going. The next meeting will be Wednesday, August 25th at 8 pm. We will cover chapter 6, Time Management. We won't meet on Sunday, August 29th.

We spent most of the meeting using Kim Heldman's PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide to cover Scope topics. The book was so good at testing us on the application of the PMBOK, we decided to use it going forward.

Covered Today:
Heldman Chapter 4: Creating the Scope Statement
PMBOK Chapter 4—Project Integration Management
PMBOK Chapter 5—Project Scope Management

Main Learning Points

• Scope planning outputs
• Scope statement
• Scope definition tools, techniques and outputs
• Scope management plan
• WBS and its components
• Communications Managment Plan
  

To Be Covered Wednesday:
Heldman Chapter 5: Resource Planning and Estimating
PMBOK Chapter 6—Project Time Management
PMBOK Chapter 9—Project Human Management

Project Management vs. Agile Software Development

I often mix up project management with agile software development, so I looked both up to sort out the differences. I found both of these topics on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. There are tons of supporting links, so check it out if you want to dig deeper.

Project Management

Project management is the ensemble of activities concerned with successfully achieving a set of goals. This includes planning, scheduling and maintaining progress of the activities that comprise the project. Reduced to its simplest project management is the discipline of maintaining the risk of failure at as low a value as necessary over the lifetime of the project. Risk of failure arises primarily from the presence of uncertainty at all stages of a project. List of project management topics.

Agile Software Development

In software engineering, agile software development or agile methods refers to low-overhead methodologies that accept that software is difficult to control. They minimize risk by ensuring that software engineers focus on smaller units of work. One way in which agile software development is generally distinguished from "heavier", more process-centric methodologies, for example the waterfall model, is by its emphasis on values and principles, rather than on processes. Typical cycles are one week or one month, and at the end of each cycle they reevaluate the project priorities - a feature it shares with iterative development methodologies, and most moderntheories of project management.

Extreme Programming

Extreme Programming (XP) is a method in or approach to software engineering, formulated by Kent Beck, Ward Cunningham, and Ron Jeffries. Kent Beck wrote the first book on the topic, Extreme Programming Explained, published in 1999. It is the most popular of several agile software development methodologies. The generalizationof extreme programming to other types of projects is extreme project management.

Examination Content - Percentage Of Questions from Raj

Date:

Sun, 15 Aug 2004 18:00:50 -0700 (PDT)

Here is some more info about the exam:
EXAMINATION CONTENT - PERCENTAGE OF QUESTIONS

Project Initiation - 8.5%
Knowledge Tested:
1. Determine Project Goals
2. Determine Deliverables
3. Determine Process Outputs
4. Document Constraints
5. Document Assumptions
6. Define Strategy
7. Identify Performance Criteria
8. Determine Resource Requirements
9. Define Budget
10. Produce Formal Documentation

Project Planning - 23.5%
Knowledge Tested
1. Refine Project
2. Create WBS
3. Develop Resource Management Plan
4. Refine Time and Cost Estimates
5. Establish Project Controls
6. Develop Project Plan
7. Obtain Plan Approval

Project Execution - 23.5%
Knowledge Tested
1. Commit Resources
2. Implement Resources
3. Manage Progress
4. Communicate Progress
5. Implement Quality Assurance Procedures

Project Control - 23%
Knowledge Tested
1. Measure Performance
2. Refine Control Limits
3. Take Corrective Action
4. Evaluate Effectiveness of Corrective Action
5. Ensure Plan Compliance
6. Reassess Control Plans
7. Respond to Risk Event Triggers
8. Monitor Project Activity

Project Closing - 7%
Knowledge Tested
1. Obtain Acceptance of Deliverables
2. Document Lessons Learned
3. Facilitate Closure
4. Preserve Product Records and Tools
5. Release Resources

Professional Responsibility - 14.5%
Knowledge Tested
1. Ensure Integrity
2. Contribute to Knowledge Base
3. Apply Professional Knowledge
4. Balance Stakeholder Interests
5. Respect Differences
----------------------------------------------------

Here are the mnemonics for the 9 knowledge areas:

I Stir The Chicken Quicklyor Help Clean Ruined Pans
(Integration, Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, HR, Communication, Risk, Procurement)

Integration: Please David Eat Chicken
(Project Plan Development, Execution, Change Control)

Scope: I Pack Dynamite Very Carefully
(Initiation, Planning, Definition, Verification, Change Control)

Time: AllDay Scott Dives SoDeep& Cold
(Activity Definition, Sequencing, Duration Estimating, Schedule Development, Schedule Change Control)

Cost: Raj Payto Eat Big Chips
(Resource Planning, Estimating, Budgeting, Control)

Quality: 3-pack (PAC)
(Planning, Assurance, Control)

HR: PAD
(Org Planning, Staff Acquisition, Team Development)

Communication: Polly's Diaries R Accurate
(Planning, Info Distribution, Perf Reporting, Administrative Closure)

Risk: Perfecting I Q Q Requires Control
(Planning, Identification, Qualitative Analysis, Quant. Analysis, Risk Response Planning, Risk Monitoring and Control)

Procurement: Procuring SPace Satisfies Sally's Advanced Creativity
(Planning, Solicitation Planning, Solicitation, Source Selection, Contract Administration, Contract Closeout)

Hope this helps
Raj

8-15 Study Group Meeting

Today Raj, Julia and Debra met at the Bean Scene in Sunnyvale to talk about the 1st three chapters of the PMBOK Guide. Julia informed us that 2004 may be the last year that the PMP Certification examination is based on the 2000 edition. So that only gives us until the end of December to take the test.

We agreed to go through the PMBOK book two chapters every week. Aug 22nd, when we meet at the Starbucks at the corner of Mathilda and El Camino, we'll go through chapters 4 and 5, pages 41-64.

Some Recommended Study Materials from the PMI Silicon Valley Information Session

• Project Management Institute
  
  • A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) 2000 Edition
• Kim Heldman
  
  • PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide 2nd Edition, 2002,
    includes CD-ROM and other bonus features in addition to the book
• Rita Mulcahy
  
  • PMP Exam Prep (4th Edition) 2002
  • PM FASTrack [CD-ROM] 2003
  • Website - RMC Project Management Products and services
• Test Center for Certification
  
  • Prometric Testing Center (APTC)

Helpful Sites

• ProjectWorld - Exposition and Conference - see vendor lists
• PM Boulevard - Online resource for program, portfolio, and project management professionals
• PMIAtlanta - Many helpful relevent project management links from the Atlanta, GA PMI website

Assessment Tests to Help Gauge how Prepared You are for the PMP Test

• Certification Magazine: Trolling for Exam Information - General IT certification links including PMP
• Voight, Lehmann & Partners Online Self Assessment Test, 75 Sample Questions - This test of 75 questions for self assessment only and no guarantee is given for passing the PMP exam