Becoming a PMP® Certified Professional E-Book

J. Ashley Hunt

• Herausgeber: Packt Publishing
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 1163

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

One of the five most prestigious certifications in the world, the PMP® exam is said to be the most difficult non-technical certification exam. With this exam guide, you'll be able to address the challenges in learning advanced project management concepts.
This PMP study guide covers all of the 10 project management knowledge areas, 5 process groups, 49 processes, and aspects of the Agile Practice Guide that you need to tailor your projects. With this book, you will understand the best practices found in the sixth edition of the PMBOK® Guide and the newly updated exam content outline. Throughout the book, you'll learn exam objectives in the form of a project for better understanding and effective implementation of real-world project management tasks, helping you to not only prepare for the exam but also implement project management best practices. Finally, you'll get to grips with the entire application and testing processes in PMP® and discover numerous tips and techniques for passing the exam on your first attempt.
By the end of this PMP® exam prep book, you'll have a solid understanding of everything you need to pass the PMP® certification exam, and be able to use this handy, on-the-job desktop reference guide to overcome challenges in project management.

Leseprobe

Becoming a PMP® Certified Professional

A study guide to mastering project management for the PMP® exam

J. Ashley Hunt

PMP, CAPM, Project +, CSM, PMI-ACP

BIRMINGHAM—MUMBAI

Becoming a PMP® Certified Professional

Copyright © 2021 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

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To my mother, who has given everything so willingly and asked for nothing in return. You are my inspiration to keep on keeping on.

To my daughter, Izabella, I am so proud of everything you have accomplished. Keep on keeping on!

To my husband, Chris, for understanding the hours it takes to write and work full-time. Thank you for your love and patience.

Finally, thank you to my students. You make all of this worthwhile. Thank you for choosing me to help guide you on your professional journey.

Contributors

About the author

J. Ashley Hunt is currently the senior project management instructor at StormWind Studios for Waterfall and Agile project management. A nationally and internationally renowned subject-matter expert in the areas of project management and professional development, she has created training offerings for, and delivered project management training to, more than 10,000 people working for enterprise clientele around the world. Ashley has developed an admirable reputation as a consultative trainer and engaging speaker in several disciplines, consistently receiving exemplary evaluations from her students and clientele. This is her second published study guide. Her relevant technical experience includes PMP®, Project+, PMI-ACP®, CSM, MCAS, and LSSGBC certified.

About the reviewers

Mahjooba Bianchi is the CEO of Three T Institute Inc., an innovative professional development training company that focuses on providing an e-learning and classroom experience that is personable, hands-on, and effective.

The "3T System" approach enables busy professionals to understand, retain, and recall learned information to pass the certification exams at their first attempt.

Ms. Bianchi has over 15 years of project management experience, and an MBA in IT project management, with an undergraduate degree from George Mason University in government and international relations. Her passion in life is to drive motivation and enable individuals to reach their career heights through education.

Manickavel Arumugam has more than two decades of experience in the construction industry, with an emphasis on project management and site control. He has managed several prestigious projects, including the construction of underground metro rail stations and cut-and-cover tunnels in tricky environments. He also has extensive hands-on experience of precast component fabrication and installation.

He is an enthusiastic project management trainer, consultant, and blogger. He regularly conducts training programmes for candidates aspiring to obtain the industry-recognized Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. He has given several guest lectures and conducted training programmes at prestigious institutions and organizations.

He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP).

Table of Contents

Preface

Section 1: Introduction to Project Management and People

Chapter 1: Introduction to the PMP® Exam

Why get a Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification?

What will you learn about?

Who is this book for?

Frequently asked questions

Who exactly is the PMI®?

What is The PMBOK® Guide – 6th Edition?

I heard Agile is included – what is the deal with that?

Predictive and adaptive? What does that mean?

I heard the PMP® exam is super difficult, is that true?

Can I cram for this exam? I have like zero time to study

100 hours of study???

Will your practice exams match my exam?

Am I going to pass the exam the first time?

Do I need other study materials?

I heard the application is difficult. Are you going to cover that in this guide?

What are the qualifications for the PMP® exam?

What does project management education mean?

I took a PMP® boot camp 4 years ago, does that count?

How to apply for the exam

What if the organization has closed or the people I worked with are gone and I can't find them?

The application

What to expect on exam day – if you take the exam at a testing center

What to expect on exam day if you take your PMP® exam online at home… in your pajamas…

Common questions you may be thinking to yourself after all of that

Do I need to be proficient in everything? How will I know?

Will anyone be able to see my results? As in, will PMI® post my results anywhere?

If I get below target in any domain, will I fail the exam?

What score should I be aiming for in practice exams?

I have zero time to study and that study for 100 hours bit is making me nervous. How can I still work and have a life, but also still study?

Study tips

Learning styles

The seven learning styles

Summary

Assessment exam

Chapter 2 :Introduction to Project Management

What are process groups?

Overview of knowledge areas

Introduction to the 49 processes

Inputs, tools/techniques, and outputs

Inputs – what do I need before I can make a PB&J?

Tools and techniques – what tools/techniques will I use to create my sandwich?

Outputs – what will I have when I am finished?

Organizational process assets and enterprise environmental factors

Enterprise environmental factors

Organizational process assets

The documents and plans

The project management plan and project documents

Summary

Assessment exam

Chapter 3: Pre-Project Initiation

Defining a project

Temporary

Unique

What is a program?

What is a portfolio?

Key phrases that pay

What is project management?

Spot check exercise

Spot check exercise answers

Types of project management

Predictive or waterfall project management

Adaptive or agile project management

Project and development life cycles

Project phases

Phase gates

Spot check exercise

Spot check exercise answers

Project management data and information

Work performance data

Work performance information

Work performance reports

Key phrases that pay

Project selection techniques

Creating a case for business

Constrained optimization

Expert judgment

Spot check exercise

Spot check exercise answers

Feasibility analysis

The business case

Key phrases that pay

Key project stakeholders

Project management offices (PMOs)

Change control board (CCB)

Sponsor

Spot check

Spot check answers

Functional manager

Procurement administrator/vendors

Customers/end users

Key phrases that pay

Understanding organizational structures

Organizational structures and their elements

Spot check exercise

Spot check exercise (possible) answers

The role of the project manager

Summary

Assessment exam

Chapter 4: Charters and Stakeholders

Politics, power, and leadership

Leadership versus management

Spot check

Personality traits

The project manager and project integration

The process level

The cognitive level

The context level

Goals and objectives of a project charter

Documenting high-level requirements

Spot check

Criteria of a project charter

Typical headings in a project charter

Agile project charters

Typical heading on an Agile charter

Project stakeholder management

Identifying the stakeholder's process

Project coordinator

Scheduler

Project team

Project Management Office (PMO)

Change Control Board (CCB)

Functional managers

Sellers, vendors, and suppliers

Procurement managers

Data analysis

Data representation

Power/interest grid, power/influence grid, or impact/influence grid

Stakeholder cube

Salience model

Directions of influence

Prioritization

Stakeholder register

Spot check

Wrapping up

Summary

Assessment exam

Chapter 5: Introduction to Agile Considerations

The history of Agile and the Agile Manifesto

The Agile Manifesto

Key phrases that pay

The 12 principles of the Agile Manifesto

Scrum and empirical process control

Spot check

Spot check solution

Agile versus predictive project management

The benefits of using Agile approaches in any industry

The Agile mindset

Scrum overview

Transparency

Inspection

Adaptation

Agile team roles

The product owner

The development team

Scrum master/coach/Agile project manager

The Agile life cycle

Sprint planning

The Sprint

Daily Scrum or stand-up meetings

Sprint reviews

The retrospective

Summary

Assessment exam

Chapter 6: Creating and Leading a Team

Interpreting the source and stage of the conflict

Analyzing the context of the conflict

Conflict resolution strategies

Collaborate and problem-solve

Compromise/reconcile

Smooth/accommodate

Force/direct

Withdraw/avoid

Negotiate

Setting a clear vision and mission

Leadership

Team-building

Communication

Active listening

Supporting diversity and inclusion

Responsibility – aspirational standards

Responsibility – mandatory standards

Respect – aspirational standards

Respect – mandatory standards

Fairness – aspirational standards

Fairness – mandatory standards

Honesty – aspirational standards

Honesty – mandatory standards

Value servant leadership

Inspiring, motivating, and influencing

Motivational theories

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Douglas McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y

Dr. William Ouchi's Theory Z

Frederick Herzberg's theory of hygiene

David McClelland's theory of needs

Reward and recognition

Analyzing team members' and stakeholders' influence

Key phrases that pay

Summary

Assessment exam

Section 2: Project Management Processes

Chapter 7: Scope Management

Key concepts and scope management trends

Tailoring considerations

Agile considerations

Developing a scope and requirements management plan

Collecting requirements

Defining the scope and creating the scope statement

The Work Breakdown Structure

The WBS dictionary

Monitoring and controlling scope

The Validate Scope process

The Control Scope process

Key phrases that pay

Summary

Assessment exam

Chapter 8: Schedule and Cost Management

Key concepts for schedule management

Trends and emerging best practices in scheduling

Tailoring considerations for scheduling

Considerations for Agile and adaptive environments

Developing a schedule management plan

Schedule management plan considerations

Define activities

Sequencing activities

Dependencies

Relationships

Finish to Start relationships

Start to start relationships

Finish to finish relationships

Start to finish relationships

Lead and lag time

Estimating durations

Dates

Effort

Duration

Developing the project schedule

Critical path

Critical chain

Monte Carlo technique

Schedule compression

Resource optimization

Schedule baseline

Key concepts for project cost management

Trends and emerging best practices of cost management

Tailoring considerations for cost management

Considerations for Agile and adaptive environments

Plan cost management

Estimating costs

Determining budget

Controlling schedule and budget

Tracking and reporting cost/schedule performance

Earned value management (EVM)

Key phrases that pay

Summary

Assessment questions

Chapter 9: Quality Management

Key concepts for quality management

Quality versus grade

Precision versus accuracy

Other considerations for quality management planning

Trends and emerging practices in quality management

Tailoring considerations

Agile/adaptive environments – retrospectives

Spot check

Planning for quality management

Data representation

The quality management plan

Quality metrics

Quality checklists

The gurus of quality management

W. Edwards Deming and Walter A. Shewhart

Joseph Juran

Vilfredo Pareto

Bill Smith

Phillip Crosby

Genichi Taguchi

Key phrases that pay

The Manage Quality process

The Control Quality process

Histograms

Fishbone diagrams

Pareto diagrams

Run charts

Scatter diagrams

Control charts

Summary

Assessment exam

Chapter 10: Resources and Communication Management

Key concepts in resource management

Trends and emerging best practices

Resource management planning

Plan resource management

Key phrases that pay

Estimating activity resources

Key phrases that pay

Acquiring resources, developing, and managing a team

Acquiring resources

Developing and managing a team

Supporting your team's performance

Peter Drucker's MBO

Controlling resources

Key concepts in communications management

Trends and emerging best practices

Tailoring

Agile considerations

Communication considerations

Communications management planning

Key phrases that pay in communications management

Spot check

Managing communications

Monitoring communications

Summary

Assessment questions

Chapter 11: Risk Management

Key concepts for risk management

Trends and emerging best practices in project risk management

Non-event risks

Tailoring considerations for risk management

Considerations for Agile and Adaptive environments

Plan risk management

The risk management plan

Identify risks process

Root cause analysis

SWOT analysis

Prompt lists

Creating the risk register

The risk report

Performing qualitative risk analysis

Key phrases that pay

Performing quantitative risk analysis

Expected monetary value (EMV)

Plan risk responses

Creating risk responses for threats

Opportunity responses

Strategies for overall project risk

Issue logs

Spot check

Spot check answers

Implement risk responses

Secondary risks

Residual risk events

Monitor risks

Summary

Assessment exam

Chapter 12: Procurement Management

Key concepts for procurement management

Trends and emerging best practices in project procurement management

Considerations for Agile/Adaptive environments

Planning procurement management

Contract types

Roles in procurement

Key phrases that pay

Conduct procurements

Bidder conferences

Proposal evaluation

Partner-centric procurement documents

Letter of intent

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

Breach of contract

Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

Purchase Order (PO)

Nondisclosure agreement (NDA)

Cease and desist letter

Control procurements

Claims administration

Data analysis

Inspections and audits

Seller surveys

Warranty

Waivers

Summary

Assessment questions

Chapter 13: Stakeholder Engagement

Planning stakeholder engagement

Managing stakeholder engagement

Monitoring stakeholder engagement

Summary

Assessment questions

Chapter 14: Integration Management

Developing the project management plan

Directing and managing project work

Managing project knowledge

Monitoring and controlling project work

Performing integrated change control

Closing the project or phase

Spot check

Summary

Assessment questions

Section 3: Revision

Chapter 15: Next Steps and Study Tips

Why project management certification?

Where can I find the information?

Other changes and information

Study tips

Stuff to know about projects

Why projects are necessary

What is the difference between a portfolio, program, and project?

Project management documents

Skills of a project manager

Organizational structure types

Other important terms to be aware of

Final thoughts

On exam day

Question types

Summary

Chapter 16: Final Exam

Questions

Answers

Assessment

Assessment exam answers (Chapter 1)

Assessment exam answers (Chapter 2)

Assessment exam answers (Chapter 3)

Assessment exam answers (Chapter 4)

Assessment exam answers (Chapter 5)

Assessment exam answers (Chapter 6)

Assessment exam answers (Chapter 7)

Assessment exam answers (Chapter 8)

Assessment exam answers (Chapter 9)

Assessment exam answers (Chapter 10)

Assessment exam answers (Chapter 11)

Assessment exam answers (Chapter 12)

Assessment exam answers (Chapter 13)

Assessment exam answers (Chapter 14)

Why subscribe?

Other Books You May Enjoy

Preface

Congratulations on beginning your journey toward PMP® certification! This guide will prepare you to take and pass your exam as well as providing you with an understanding of the best practices and processes of predictive and Agile project management.

Who this book is for

This book is for experienced project managers looking for a common language and best practices in the project management space and who wish to gain certification and improve their careers and growth potential. A minimum of 5 to 7 years of experience in leading and directing projects in a variety of industries will be useful for understanding the best practices and processes as well as providing the necessary experience to apply for and sit the PMP® exam.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Introduction to the PMP® exam, provides an overview of the process in terms of applying for and sitting the exam, as well as useful information and answers to common questions.

Chapter 2, Introduction to Project Management, provides an overview of project management best practices and terminology.

Chapter 3, Pre-Project Initiation, provides an overview of project selection techniques and how organizations determine which projects to charter.

Chapter 4, Charters and Stakeholders, explains how the proper kick-off of a project begins with a project charter and the identification of stakeholders. This chapter will review the best practices for both.

Chapter 5, Introduction to Agile Considerations, goes through everything you need to know about Agile project management.

Chapter 6, Creating and Leading a Team, focuses on the people side of project management and best practices to reward, recognize, and build an effective team of individuals.

Chapter 7, Scope Management, focuses on collecting requirements, creating a scope baseline, and gaining formal acceptance of the deliverables.

Chapter 8, Schedule and Cost Management, includes the best practices of breaking requirements to the activity level, sequencing, estimating, and creating a schedule and baseline. Many techniques are covered, overlapping with cost estimating and budgeting to produce a cost baseline.

Chapter 9, Quality Management, offers a review of planning for quality requirements, managing the execution of the process to produce deliverables within specifications, and controlling defects through quality control.

Chapter 10, Resources and Communication Management, explains how effective resource management and communication is an integral piece of project management. This chapter will cover the best practices in each area.

Chapter 11, Risk Management, explains how any moment during a project may entail risk, and so planning for risk and analyzing and creating responses to risk will allow better management of threats and opportunities.

Chapter 12, Procurement Management, focuses on best practices for agreements and contracts, including the project manager's responsibilities in procurement management.

Chapter 13, Stakeholder Engagement, reviews best practices for stakeholder engagement, given that keeping your stakeholders happy and informed is a large part of what project managers do.

Chapter 14, Integration Management, puts everything covered thus far into a project management plan that will be executed, and includes formal change control best practices as well as closing out the project or phase.

Chapter 15, Next Steps and Study Tips, is designed to help you prepare for your studying and plan for exam day, as well as tips and tricks to help you pass the exam first time.

Chapter 16, Final Exam, puts all of your knowledge to the test as you take the final exam. The higher your score, the closer you are to passing the PMP® exam!

To get the most out of this book

This book is based on the 6th edition PMBOK Guide. The 7th is not out yet and is not expected until Summer, this will not change the exam. It will be a supplemental guide of standards.

It is best to work your way through the chapters in the order they occur when reading this book for the first time. This will give you a project management framework and allow you to focus on each section's review questions. Then, after completing each chapter's assessments, you can go back and review what you missed before moving on to other chapters. After completing the final exam, you can then go back and review those areas where your knowledge is lacking. Study what you don't know, not what you do! Good luck!

Conventions used

There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.

Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see on screen.

Tips or important notes and references

Appear like this.

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Section 1: Introduction to Project Management and People

In this part, we will take a deep dive into the exam experience and provide an overview of project management best practices. Then, we will begin to suss out project selection methods and what happens prior to a project kicking off. Once that has been done, a project charter can be created and we can begin to identify who the stakeholders are for the project we have been assigned to. Since the new exam is 50% Agile best practices, understanding Agile life cycles and team roles is an integral section for review. The last chapter in this section focuses on people and how a project manager can create and lead a team successfully.

This section comprises the following chapters:

Chapter 1, Introduction to the PMP® ExamChapter 2, Introduction to Project ManagementChapter 3, Pre-Project InitiationChapter 4, Charters and StakeholdersChapter 5, Introduction to Agile ConsiderationsChapter 6, Creating and Leading a Team