PMP Notes from

Andy Crowes Book

Integration Management
Producing a project plan may BES !e descri!ed as creating a
document t"at guides project plan e#ecution$
"e project plan is a single appro%ed plan t"at dri%es e#ecution&
monitoring and control& and closure$
Project Management plan updates are N' an output of (e%elop
Project Plan$ Project Management plan is created in (e%elop Project
Plan$
Project Management plan contains t"e met"ods for processing c"anges
to t"e project$
"e project c"arter is de%eloped after t"e project statement of work
and !efore t"e project management plan$
"e PMIS is a sc"eduling tool& an information distri!ution system and a
system for collecting information from project team mem!ers$ It is not
a system for identifying stake"olders$
(irect and Manage Project E#ecution is t"e process w"ere defects are
repaired$
Project Management plan is a single document to guide project
e#ecution& monitoring ) control and closure$
C"ange Control meetings are "eld as part of Perform Integrated
C"ange Control process$
C"ange *e+uests flow out of Monitor and Control Project ,ork into
Perform Integrated C"ange Control& w"ere t"ey are e%aluated in
meetings$
"e project c"arter does not specify anyt"ing a!out contracts$ A
contract wit" your customer would "a%e !een an input into t"e
(e%elop Project C"arter process& and any contracts you may use
during procurement wont !e identified until later in t"e project$
"e project manager must !e pro-acti%e and influence t"e factors t"at
cause c"ange$ "at is one of t"e key tenets of monitoring and
controlling processes in general and Perform Integrated C"ange
Control in particular$
"e project management plan is made up of t"e ot"er planning
outputs& for e#ample. risk& cost& time& +uality& /*$
Appro%ed c"anges t"at are made to t"e project get factored !ack into
t"e !aseline$ ,"en c"anges are appro%ed and made to t"e project&
t"ey s"ould !e incorporated into t"e project !aseline$
,ork Performance Information is used pro%ide information on resource
utili0ation& w"ic" acti%ities "a%e started and w"at costs "a%e !een
incurred on t"e project$ It does not "elp in identifying defects$
Prioriti0ing t"e c"anges is t"e jo! of t"e PM during project e#ecution$
1ou do not want to distract t"e team at t"is point$
If pre%ious projects in t"e organi0ation were completed in "alf t"e time
t"at your project "as taken& t"en t"e BES t"ing to do is look for
"istorical information on t"e pre%ious projects to understand t"em
!etter$
As a PM& always e%aluate t"ings t"oroug"ly !efore making any
c"anges$ 1ou need to know "ow your project is going to !e affected
!efore taking any action$
C"ange Control Board meets to e%aluate c"ange re+uests$ "ey do t"is
during t"e process of Integrated C"ange Control$
If t"e company policy states t"at all c"anges t"at increase t"e
projects !udget must !e signed off !y t"e project office& t"en you
s"ould direct all t"e c"anges to t"e project office regardless of t"e
circumstances$
"e person or group responsi!le for e%aluating c"ange on a project is
t"e C"ange Control Board$
"e deli%era!les are t"e key outputs of (irect and Manage Project
E#ecution$
Scope Management
(isagreements o%er project scope s"ould !e resol%ed in fa%our
of t"e customer$
Acti%ity se+uencing is not tackled as part of t"e work !reakdown
structure$ "e ,BS "as no particular se+uence to it and it is not
decomposed down to acti%ity le%el$
"e lowest le%el of ,BS would also !e t"e smallest
representation of work$
If t"e ,BS was not created for a project& t"en PM s"ould stop
project work until it "as !een created$
"e project manager is responsi!le for %erifying t"e product wit"
t"e key stake"olders& t"e sponsor and t"e customer$
"e project scope statement is created as part of t"e (efine
Scope process$ Project Scope Statement is a planning output$
"e Project Scope Statement needs to include a detailed
description of t"e scope$
"e preliminary scope statement contains a "ig" le%el
description of t"e scope& !ut t"e project scope statement is detailed$
"e most important part of 2erify Scope is gaining formal
acceptance of t"e project deli%era!les from t"e customer$
'rgani0ational process assets include t"ings like templates&
financial control procedures and standardi0ation guidelines$
Project Management Information system is classified as an
enterprise en%ironmental factor since it is part of your en%ironment$
"e re+uirements documentation is N' part of t"e scope
!aseline$
Project Scope statement& t"e ,BS and ,BS dictionary are all
part of t"e scope !aseline$
*e+uirements management plan contains a plan for "ow t"e
c"anges will !e "andled$ If too many c"anges are pouring in& it is likely
t"at t"e re+uirements management plan was not %ery well defined$
It is t"e sponsors jo! to pay for t"e project and to accept t"e
product$
If a work package were c"anged& t"at would most likely alter t"e
scope !aseline& and information on "ow to go a!out t"is would !e
found in t"e scope management plan& N' t"e ,BS dictionary$
"e ,BS dictionary contains attri!utes a!out eac" work package
suc" as an e#planation of t"e work package& w"o is responsi!le for it
and a cost account code$
Customer s"ould not !ypass t"e PM to aut"ori0e c"anges
directly$ It is t"e PMs jo! to aut"ori0e c"anges on t"e project$
"e customer accepts t"e scope of t"e product in 2erify Scope$
"e Nominal 3roup ec"ni+ue is a met"od used to promote
creati%ity in Collect *e+uirements process& and t"e two outputs t"at
matc" t"e process are t"e re+uirements documentation and
re+uirements management plan$
If you identify two key areas w"ere c"anging t"e scope of t"e
product would deli%er significantly "ig"er %alue for t"e customer$ 1ou
s"ould discuss t"e c"anges wit" t"e customer$
"e re+uirements documentation is typically created +uite early
on t"e project$ It would !e created well !efore t"e work !reakdown
structure and t"e scope !aseline$
"e final product of t"e project s"ould include all t"e
functionality and only t"e functionality documented in t"e scope
!aseline$
"e Project Manager needs to !e pro-acti%e and influence t"e
root causes of c"ange$ A c"ange may deli%er "ig" %alue& !ut also
introduce too muc" risk or cost& or it can delay t"e project
unaccepta!ly$
ime Management
Acti%ity lists from pre%ious projects make an e#cellent tool to
"elp you ensure t"at you are considering all acti%ities$ Any "istorical
information is t"oug"t of as an organi0ational process asset$
"e Sc"edule Management plan is part of t"e project plan$ It is
t"e !est source of information on "ow c"anges to t"e sc"edule are
"andled$
If you are creating duration estimates for a sc"edule acti%ity& t"e
following tools or tec"ni+ues are appropriate to use. E#pert 4udgement&
*eser%e Analysis and "ree-point estimating$
Milestone c"arts s"ow t"e "ig"-le%el status& w"ic" would !e
appropriate for presentation to senior management$
Early 5inis" is typically depicted in a nodes upper rig"t
+uadrant& w"ile t"e 6ate 5inis" is in t"e lower rig"t$
"e slack or float is t"e amount of time an acti%ity may !e
delayed wit"out affecting t"e critical pat"$
Cras"ing adds more resources to an acti%ity$ "is usually
increases cost due to t"e law of diminis"ing returns w"ic" predicts t"at
78 people usually cannot complete an acti%ity in "alf t"e time t"at 9
people can$ "e sa%ings from cras"ing are rarely linear$
Analogous estimates use actual costs from pre%ious projects to
produce estimates for a similar project$
"e sponsor "as accepted a re%ised due date from t"e project
manager !ud did not allow any increase in spending$ "e BES t"ing
for t"e PM is to 5ast rack t"e sc"edule$ 5ast tracking does not directly
add cost to t"e project$
"e critical c"ain met"od uses !uffers& w"ic" are non-working
times& to "elp pre%ent t"e acti%ities t"emsel%es from slipping$
"e project network diagram s"ows duration and dependencies&
w"ic" would "elp you calculate t"e critical pat"$
"e critical pat" is determined in t"ree steps$ "e first step is to
draw out t"e project network diagram$ "e ne#t step is to list out all of
t"e pat"s t"roug" t"e network and t"e last step is to add up all of t"e
%alues associated wit" eac"$
"e float or slack of an acti%ity is t"e amount of time it can slip
wit"out mo%ing t"e critical pat"$
"e formula for "ree-Point estimate is called PE*& it is
:Pessimistic ; <#*ealistic ; 'ptimisitic=>?$
,"at-If Analysis can take on many forms& !ut t"e form you are
most likely to see on t"e e#am is Monte Carlo Analysis$ It t"rows a
large num!er of scenarios at t"e sc"edule to see w"at would "appen if
one or more !ad scenarios occurred$
"e acti%ity attri!utes simply e#pand on t"e information for eac"
acti%ity in t"e acti%ity list$
"e critical pat" is t"e series of acti%ities& w"ic" if delayed& will
delay t"e project$
'ne of t"e important tools used in Estimate Acti%ity (urations is
parametric estimates$
,BS nodes are decomposed into work packages first$ "e
sc"edule acti%ities are decomposed from work packages$
Cost Management
Planned %alue is calculated !y multiplying t"e Budgeted At
Completion !y planned @ compelte$
If t"e CPI is 8$7& t"is indicates t"at t"e project is performing
e#tremely poorly on cost$
(etermine Budget takes t"e acti%ity cost estimates and uses
t"em :along wit" ot"er inputs= to create a !udget$
,it" Benefit Cost *atios& t"e !igger t"e !etter$
"e difference !etween Present 2alue and Net Present 2alue is
t"at P2 tells t"e e#pected %alue of t"e project in todays dollars and
NP2 tell todays %alue of t"e project !ut su!tracts t"e cost after
calculating t"e present %alue$
'rder of Magnitude estimates are -98@ to ;788@$
"e se+uence of processes is. Create ,BS& t"en Estimate Costs
and t"en (etermine Budget$
If your project team mem!er "as made a c"ange wit" your
appro%al& "e is engaged in Control Costs process$
In case of Net Present 2alues& t"e cost is already factored in$ "e
!igger t"e NP2& t"e !etter$
Parametric modeling is common in some industries& w"ere you
can descri!e t"e project in detail and t"e modeling tool will "elp
pro%ide estimates !ased on "istorical information& industry standards$
If you disco%er t"at your construction project is going to "a%e
serious cost o%erruns& t"e 5I*S course of action is to e%aluate t"e
cause and si0e of t"e o%errun$ 1ou need to %erify t"e information
yourself !efore you take any actions$
Sc"edule 2ariance is calculated !y su!tracting E2 from P2$ S2A
E2- P2$
Estimate to complete indicates t"e projected remaining amount
t"at will !e spent& !ased on past performance$
If a project "as a CPI of 8$B9 and an SPI of 7$87& it means t"e
project is progressing faster t"an planned and costing more t"an
planned$
'pportunity cost is simply "ow muc" !enefit you are passing up$
"e Cost Baseline is used to track cost performance !ased on t"e
original plan plus appro%ed c"anges$
Earned %alue is defined as t"e %alue of all work completed to t"is
point$
"e Estimate at Complete is w"at we e#pect to "a%e spent at t"e
end of t"e project$ It is calculated !y taking !udgeted at complete and
di%iding it !y cost performance inde#$
Cuality Management
Audits are a tool of Perform Cuality Assurance$
If you were using a fis"- !one diagram to determine t"e root
causes of pro!lems& you would !e in Perform Cuality Control$
Acceptance is an output of Perform Cuality Control$
Plan Cuality includes all of t"e following outputs. Cuality
Management Plan& 'perational definitions and C"ecklists$
"e mean represents t"e a%erage of all of t"e data points s"own
on t"e c"art& calculated simply !y adding t"e %alues toget"er and
di%iding !y t"e num!er of %alues$
Audits are a tool of Perform Cuality Assurance t"at c"ecks to see
if t"e process is !eing followed$
Inspection is a tool of Perform Cuality Control$
If two e%ents "a%e no !earing on eac" ot"er t"ey are statistically
independent$
"e BES tool to use to look for results t"at are out of control is a
Control C"art$ It depicts w"et"er a process is in or out of control$
A Pareto C"art ranks defects from greatest to least& s"owing you
w"at s"ould get t"e most attention$
P"ysical inspection of a work result "appens during t"e Perform
Cuality Control process$
Benc"marking takes results from pre%ious projects and uses
t"em to "elp measure +uality on your project$ Benc"marks gi%e you
somet"ing against w"ic" you can measure$
otal Cuality Management stresses& amongst ot"er t"ings t"at
e%eryone contri!utes to t"e +uality of t"e product and t"e process$
Si# Sigma represents BB$BBB??@ of all work results t"at will !e
of accepta!le +uality in t"e manufacturing process$
Plan Cuality s"ould always "appen first& Perform Cuality
Assurance and Perform Cuality Control would come after t"e +uality
management plan is in place$
If no organi0ational +uality policy e#ists& you s"ould de%elop one
for t"e current project$
"e +uality specification is t"e customers +uality re+uirements$
Audits& part of t"e Perform Cuality Assurance process& re%iew t"e
process and make sure t"at t"e process is !eing followed$
An organi0ation t"at practises just in time :4I= does not keep
spare in%entory on "and$ Instead& in%entory is ordered so t"at t"e parts
arri%e only slig"tly !efore t"ey are needed$
*e-work and increase cost and risk are likely outcomes of low
+uality$
Statistical sampling :also known as random sampling= is normally
used on sample of product out of possi!ly millions t"at are produced to
perform +uality control$
/uman *esource Management
Smoot"ing occurs w"en t"e person trying to resol%e t"e conflict
asks e%eryone to focus on w"at t"ey agree upon and diminis"es t"e
items on w"ic" t"ere is disagreement$
"e functional manager "as resource responsi!ilities in a matri#
organi0ation$ "e PM must work wit" functional manager to secure
resources for t"e project$
Punis"ment is t"e 6EAS desira!le form of pro!lem-sol%ing
tec"ni+ue$ It is not a form of power$
"eory D managers !elie%e t"at people cannot !e trusted and
must !e watc"ed and managed constantly$
"e "uman resource plan is created during t"e /uman *esource
Planning process$
Pro!lem-sol%ing :also referred to as confrontation= is getting to
t"e root cause of t"e pro!lem and is t"e !est way to produce a lasting
result and a real solution$
"e project sponsor pro%ides t"e funds for t"e project$
"e four processes of /* Management are Plan /uman
*esources& Ac+uire Project eam& (e%elop Project eam and Manage
Project eam$
*oles and *esponsi!ilities assignment is N' an input into
(e%elop /uman *esource Plan$
Information seeker is a positi%e>constructi%e project team role$
Maslows /ierarc"y of Needs t"eory states t"at psyc"ological
needs for growt" and fulfillment can !e met only w"en lower-le%el
p"ysical or security needs "a%e !een fulfilled$
Successful team !uilding !egins early in project de%elopment&
!ut it is a continuous process t"roug"out t"e life of t"e project$
eam Building must !e carried out under t"e direction of a
strong leader$ "e PM "as t"e only project role t"at allows for regular&
direct interaction wit" t"e team$
Co-location is t"e practice of locating all team mem!ers in a
central location$
*eport eam Performance is not a real process$
A project coordinator "as some aut"ority and some decision
making power& !ut less t"an a project manager$
Encouragement is N' a tool used in (e%elop Project eam$
In a matri# organi0ation& team mem!ers report to !ot" t"e
project manager and t"e functional manager$ "is sometimes causes
confusion and leads to conflict$
In a functional organi0ation& t"e PM "as low aut"ority o%er
resources$
3round rule may !e uni+ue to t"e project and t"ey certainly
dont "a%e to !e t"e same across all projects in an organi0ation$
Communications Management
Plan Communication is t"e process for determining "ow t"e
o%erall communication process will !e carried out$ It is t"e general plan
for communications$
In t"e communication model& it is t"e sender t"at encodes and
t"e recei%er decodes t"e message$ Meetings are classified as informal
%er!al$
(istri!ute Information is an e#ecuting process& it may in%ol%e
une#pected re+uests from stake"olders and it carries out t"e
communication plan$
Communication on sc"edule slippage& cost o%erruns and ot"er
major project statuses s"ould !e formal and in writing$
Eac" issue on a project s"ould !e assigned to a single owner and
!e assigned a target completion date$
Most of a persons communication takes place non-%er!ally$ It is
!ody language t"at carries muc" of t"e message$
5ace-to-5ace communication is t"e most effecti%e means of
resol%ing conflict$
1our communication skills are used as a tool in (istri!ute
Information$
"e e#pected response you will recei%e is not part of t"e
communications management plan$ "e communications management
plan focuses on "ow you will communicate stake"olders and not "ow
t"ey will communicate to you$
Earned 2alue Analysis is a communication tool& and its all a!out
"ow t"e project is done against t"e plan$
A project manager s"ould always communicate good information
and s"ould always report t"e trut"$
3ood communication skills are t"e most important skill a project
manager can "a%e$ PMs spend more time communicating t"an
anyt"ing else$
Noise is anyt"ing t"at interferes wit" t"e transmission and
understanding of a message$
"e stake"olders communication needs are all contained in t"e
communications management plan$
*eport Performance uses t"e tool of forecasting and produces
t"e performance reports$ "ese performance reports often contain t"e
estimate at complete and estimate to complete& as well as t"e cost and
sc"edule performance inde#es$
6essons 6earned focuses on %ariances from t"e plan w"at would
!e done differently in t"e future in order to a%oid t"ose %ariances$
Earned 2alue Analysis is a tool of *eport Performance& since
earned %alue analysis factors in t"e difference !etween w"at was
planned and t"e work t"at was actually accomplis"ed$ "is
information can t"en !e distri!uted out to appropriate stake"olders$
*isk Management
If you are !uilding a structure w"ere t"ere is a significant risk of
eart" +uakes and you end up utilising a type of foundation t"at is
eart"+uake resistant$ "is is an e#ample of *isk Mitigation$
"e pro!a!ility impact matri# :PIM= deri%es a risk score !y
multiplying t"e pro!a!ility of t"e risk !y its impact :!ot" num!ers are
estimated=$ "e resulting score may !e used to "elp prioriti0e t"e risk
register$
If t"ere is risk t"at costs could o%errun on a component$ "en t"e
BES strategy is to outsource t"e de%elopment of t"e component to
deal wit" t"e risk$
Planning meetings and analysis is a tool of t"e process of Plan
*isk Management$
Cuantifying t"e risks !y seeking to assign a dollar or time
estimate to t"em is an e#ample of Perform Cuantitati%e *isk Analysis$
*ecommended correcti%e action is t"e result of monitoring and
controlling processes$
/istorical *ecords from similar projects would pro%ide you wit"
t"e !est source of information on potential risks$
'ne of t"e t"ings Monte Carlo Analysis would s"ow you is w"ere
sc"edule risk e#ists on t"e project$
A risk management plan will outline "ow all risk planning
acti%ities and decisions will !e approac"ed$ Met"ods of identification&
+ualification& response planning and control will all follow t"e
de%elopment of risk management plan$
Plan *isk Management is not planning for actual risks. it is t"e
process of deciding "ow all risk planning acti%ities and decisions will !e
approac"ed$ It is t"e plan for "ow to plan$
"e risk register is t"e only output of Identify *isks& and it is
updated in Perform Cualitati%e *isk Analysis& Perform Cuantitati%e *isk
Analysis& Plan *isk *esponses and Monitor ) Control *isks$
"ere are t"ree identified strategies for dealing wit" negati%e
risk$ "ey are to mitigate risk& transfer risk and a%oid risk$
"e tool of risk pro!a!ility and impact assessment is a tool of
Perform Cualitati%e *isk Analysis$
"e process of identifying& analy0ing and responding to risk is
t"e definition of risk management$
Monte Carlo Analysis mig"t !e useful in re%ealing sc"edule risks&
it would not !e useful for gaining e#pert opinion$
"e risk management plan does not contain identified risks$ "e
identified risks will !e listed in risk register& produced after t"e plan
risk management process$
*isks e%ents are& !y definition& uncertainties$ "ese could eit"er
!e positi%e or negati%e$
Creating a workaround for t"e risk is N' a %alid way to reduce
risk$ "e workaround is w"at you do if t"e risk occurs& it does not
reduce t"e risk$
Insuring against t"e risk or selecting a certain contract type are
all ways to reduce t"e risk$
Procurement Management
5i#ed price is t"e "ig"est risk to t"e seller and t"e seller must
!ear t"e risk of any cost o%erruns$
E#pert judgement is t"e fa%oured tec"ni+ue in project
management and it is used in t"e process of Conduct Procurements$
Make or Buy Analysis is a tool used during t"e Plan Procurements
process w"ere you are deciding w"ic" deli%era!les s"ould !e procured
and w"ic" s"ould !e created internally$
Plan Procurements& Conduct Procurements& Administer
Procurements and Close Procurements is t"e correct se+uence$
If t"e scope of work is not completely defined& it would !e !est to
use ime and Material contract$
If a component w"ic" is protected !y a patent is only a%aila!le
t"roug" a single supplier& t"en it s"ould !e purc"ased from t"e sole
supplier wit"out "olding a !idders conference$
If you need to significantly lower t"e +uantities on a contract due
to c"ange in project scope$ 1ou s"ould send a formal& written notice
t"at t"e contract "as !een c"anged to t"e supplier$
If a project "as !een terminated immediately due to a
cancellation !y t"e customer$ "e 5I*S action to take is to start t"e
process of Close Procurements$
Proposals are e%aluated from prospecti%e sellers in Conduct
Procurements$ Proposals are !roug"t into t"is process& screened&
weig"ted& rated and e%aluated against t"e criteria$
If you are in%ol%ed in formal procurement& you s"ould make
e%ery effort to keep sellers on e+ual footing$
In contract negotiations& t"e most important point is to create a
deal t"at e%eryone feels good a!out$
'ne of t"e acti%ities in Administer Procurements is to pay seller
in%oices or generate in%oices if you are t"e seller$
In a ime ) Material contract& t"e !uyer "as to pay t"e seller for
all time and materials& and often it in%ol%es an incomplete scope
definition$ "erefore& t"e !uyer is t"e one most at risk$
Procurement documents s"ould !e rigid enoug" to get responses
to t"e same scope of work and fle#i!le enoug" to allow sellers to
interject t"eir own good ideas and creati%ity$
Procurements statements of work s"ould !e as complete and
concise as possi!le$ At a minimum& t"ey s"ould contain enoug"
information for t"e seller to determine if t"ey are +ualified to do t"e
work$
If t"e scope of work is not defined completely and !uyer wants
you to !egin work& in t"is case& t"e project is at "ig"er risk and a time
) materials contract s"ifts muc" of t"at risk !ack to t"e !uyer$
"e actual work packages are completed during t"e E#ecuting
process group$
Procurement performance re%iews are a tool of Administer
Procurements& w"ere t"e !uyer arranges a meeting wit" t"e seller to
re%iew t"e sellers performance against t"e plan$
If t"e scope of t"e contract is complete& no ot"er terms were
!reac"ed and no claims against t"e contract "a%e !een filed& t"en t"e
contract is complete$