PMP EXAM
-THE BL
, INTRODUCTI
Enterpise Environmental Factors (EEFs): provide context within which to plan the
project. However, they are generally outside the control of the project team.
People: The skills and organizational culture where you work. Portfolio: A portfolio is a
Risk Tolerance: Some companies are highly tolerant of risk and some are really risk Program: A program is a
averse. benefit.
Market: The way your company is performing in the market can affect the way you Project: A project is any w
manage your project. But they are never ongoin
Databases: Where your company stores its data can make a big difference in the Operations: are ongoing.
decisions you make on your project. prototype of a specific ca
A project may or may not
Standards: Some companies depend on government standards to run their business
Portfolios are organized a
and when they change, it can have a big impact
together.
Organisational culture, infrastructure,
PMIS (an automated tool, a config mgmt system...)
EEF
• PMIS
• Organizational Culture
• Commercial Database OPA
• Resource Productivity
• Risk Tolerance
• Policies
• Published commercial Info
• Procedures
• Work authorization system
• Guidelines
• Resource Availability
• Historical information
• Project management software
• Tools
• Organizational Structure
• Templates
• Risk Appetite
• Probability and Impact
• Government and Industry standards
• Standardized Processe
• Scheduling tool
• Knowledge base
• Infrastructure
• Scheduling methodolog
• Equipment
• Project calendars
• Resource Skills
• Lessons learned
• Resource location
• Financial databases
• Geographical dispersion of team members
• Causes of Variances
• Personal Administration policies
• Corrective actions
• Marketplace conditions
• Duration estimating databases and other reference data
• Productivity metrics
• Standards
• Communication Channels
Organizational Process Assets (OPAs) Most organizations maintain two types of OPAs:
processes, procedures, and policies; and organizational knowledge repositories.
Processes, Procedures, and Policies Over time, organizations develop or adopt
processes, procedures, and policies for projects. Collectively, these processes,
procedures, and policies are referred to as organizational process assets, and they apply Here are examples of hist
to aspects of the project such as quality, procurement, and resource • Activities • WBSs
management, as well as change control, safety, compliance, and more. Projects may • Backlogs • Benchmark
recommend changes or ways to increase the efficiency of these processes and • Reports • Risks and ris
procedures, but they are generally owned by the project management office or other • Estimates • Retrospec
departments responsible for organizational governance. • Resources used • Proj
Historical knowledge bases are maintained and updated by every project and made • Project documents • P
• Baselines • Correspon
accessible to the rest of the organization as part of organization repositories. Historical
information can be used to plan and manage projects, thereby improving the
process of project management and avoiding challenges experienced by past
projects.
Stakeholder: Anyone who
- sponsor who’s paying fo
- the team who’s building
- people in management w
Constraints: Cost, Time,
Deal with project constraints: Sometimes there will be constraints on the project that Qs. A project coordinator
, PROFESSIONAL RESP
PMI Code of Ethics and Profes
Ethics and professional responsibility questions make up 9% of the exam. That’s good news because these questio
Bribes aren’t always cash. They can be anything ranging from free trips to tickets to a ball game. Any time you’re offe
to your company.
Fly business class? Even if it seems like no harm will be done if you don’t follow the policy, and even if you will be ab
are you ever allowed to break a law, no matter how much good it “seems” to do you or your project.
New software When it comes to copyright, it’s never OK to use anything without permission. Books, articles, music,
music in a company presentation, you should write to the copyright owner and ask for permission.
Shortcuts You might see a question or two that asks if you really need to follow all of the processes. Or you might be
You have a responsibility to make sure your projects are run properly, and to never withhold information from people w
Being responsible to the community is even more important than running a successful project. But it’s more than bei
and the community where your project work will be done.
PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
The PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct outlines four areas of responsibility:
1- Responsibility -- ownership of decisions and actions
2- Respect -- treatment of people and resources
3- Fairness -- objective and impartial decision
4- Honesty -- truth-based actions
Responsibility: Responsibility is the act of making decisions that are for the good of the organization rather than ours
that result, along with other actions.
-- Ensuring Integrity: As a project manager, one of your professional responsibilities is to ensure integrity of the proje
management processes you’ve learned will ensure the integrity of the product.
-- Accepting Assignments: You should not knowingly accept assignments that are beyond your capabilities or exper
-- Laws and Regulations Compliance: This might seem obvious, but as a professional, you’re required to follow all a
includes PMI organizational rules and policies as well.
-- Confidential Information:
-- Company Data:
-- Intellectual Property:
Respect: Respect involves several areas as well, including the way we conduct ourselves, the way we treat others, lis
-- Professional Demeanor:
* Part of acting professionally involves controlling yourself and your reactions in questionable situations. As a profe
for your own feelings. Therefore, lashing out in return would be unprofessional. Maintain your professional demeanor,
-- Reporting Ethics Violations: As a PMP, one of the responsibilities that falls into this category is your responsibility
verified the facts, notify PMI. Part of this process—and a requirement of the code of conduct—is that you’ll verify that
will assist PMI in the investigation by supplying information, confirming facts and dates, and so on. This includes anyth
interest, untruthful advertising, and false reporting of PMP experience and credentials, appearances of impropriety, an
-- Cultural Awareness: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”?
-- Culture Shock: Working in a foreign country can bring about an experience called culture shock.One of the ways yo
-- Diversity Training: Sometimes you might find yourself working with teams of people from different countries or cult
ensure that cultural or ethical differences do not hinder your project is to provide training for all team members. Team-
backgrounds.
-- Respecting Your Neighbors:
-- Perceiving Experiences:
Fairness: Fairness includes avoiding favoritism and discrimination against others, avoiding and reporting conflict of in
-- Conflict of Interest: A conflict of interest is when you put your personal interests above the interests of the project
project outcome. In other words, your personal interests
take precedence over your professional obligations, and you make decisions that allow you to personally benefit rega
* Associations and Affiliations: For example, perhaps your brother-in-law owns his own construction company and
and ends up winning the bid.
* Vendor Gifts: Don’t accept gifts that might be construed as a conflict of interest. If your organization does not have
acceptance by the organization in the past, and the
, PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Definition of Project: A project:
- is a teporary endeavour with a beginning and an end. Why do projects end?
- creates a unique product, service or result. -when they meet their objectives
Operational Work: is ongoing work and repetitive -an also end prematurely when it becomes clear that t
Program: is a group of related Projects. -need for the project no longer exists.
Portfolio: is a group of programs to achieve a specific --Project scope: work, and only the work required to
strategic business goal. --Product scope: describes the characteristics and fu
Objectives: --Costs and staffing levels are LOWEST early in the l
-project objectives are contained in the project charter --Risk is highest early in the project since uncertain
-projects are considered complete when objectives are met. --Stakeholder influence in the project and its delive
Management by Objectives (MBO): incorporating changes increases the further the pro
-establish unambiguous and realistic objectives --Programs are collections of individual projects that
-periodically observe if objectives are being met --Portfolios are organized around business goals an
-implement corrective actions --PMO: may help provide resources, terminate project
Constraints: Cost, Time, Scope, Quality, Resources, Risk, --Knowledge, performance, and personal skills are
Customer satisfaction
Organizational Structure:
Functional: org is grouped by areas of specialization within different functional areas. Authority is with functional m
Projected: entire company is organized by projects. The PM has control of projects. Personal are assigned and rep
not have a department to go back to.
Matrix: Team member reports to two bosses, the PM and the Functional Mgr. Share responsibility and authority be
resources and better horizontal & vertical dissemination of information.
In STRONG Matrix - power rests with Project Mgr. Project managers have more authority than functional managers
In BALANCED Matrix - Project managers share authority with the functional managers.
In WEAK Matrix - power rests with Functional Mgr and power of Project Mgr is comparable to that of a coordinato
A project expediter is somebody who keeps track of status but has no decision-making authority on a project at all.
A project coordinator is someone who does pretty much the same thing, but does get to make some of the minor d
report to somebody who is pretty high up in the organization, while expediters are more like assistants to the function
------------- You’re likely to find project expediters in functional organizations.
------------- Project coordinators and expediters don’t exist in a projected organization.
When you’re taking the PMP exam, if you see a question that mentions a PM, then you should assume that the ques
being described. Functional organizations are usually painted in a negative light because they tend to give less autho
If a question on the EXAM doesn’t state an organization type, assume it’s referring to a Matrix organization. That me
conflicts.
Product Life Cycle: CONCEPTION, GROWTH, MATURITY, DECLINE, WITHDRAWAL. A Product can spawn acros
Project Life Cycle: Feasibility, Planning, Design, Coding, testing, installation, conversion, turnover to operations. A
doing the work of the project – the logical breakdown of what you need to do to create project deliverables. The pro
preferences, and the development approach (for example plan driven versus Agile).
A project life cycle can use a plan-driven or change driven development approach, or a hybrid of the two. Examples
Product Development: Define, Design, Develop, Deploy, Deliver
Software Development: Requirements, Design, Code, Test, Implement
Construction: Feasibility, Requirements, Design, Build, Test, Turnover
Regardless of the development approach, the details within the project life cycle are expressed in phases that can be
Organizational Project Management (OPM)
Organizational project management (OPM) is a strategy execution framework utilizing portfolio, program, an
predictably deliver on organizational strategy, producing better performance; better results; and a sustainable, co
Figure 1 shows the organizational environment where strategy, a portfolio, programs and projects, and opera
Organizational Environme
-THE BL
, INTRODUCTI
Enterpise Environmental Factors (EEFs): provide context within which to plan the
project. However, they are generally outside the control of the project team.
People: The skills and organizational culture where you work. Portfolio: A portfolio is a
Risk Tolerance: Some companies are highly tolerant of risk and some are really risk Program: A program is a
averse. benefit.
Market: The way your company is performing in the market can affect the way you Project: A project is any w
manage your project. But they are never ongoin
Databases: Where your company stores its data can make a big difference in the Operations: are ongoing.
decisions you make on your project. prototype of a specific ca
A project may or may not
Standards: Some companies depend on government standards to run their business
Portfolios are organized a
and when they change, it can have a big impact
together.
Organisational culture, infrastructure,
PMIS (an automated tool, a config mgmt system...)
EEF
• PMIS
• Organizational Culture
• Commercial Database OPA
• Resource Productivity
• Risk Tolerance
• Policies
• Published commercial Info
• Procedures
• Work authorization system
• Guidelines
• Resource Availability
• Historical information
• Project management software
• Tools
• Organizational Structure
• Templates
• Risk Appetite
• Probability and Impact
• Government and Industry standards
• Standardized Processe
• Scheduling tool
• Knowledge base
• Infrastructure
• Scheduling methodolog
• Equipment
• Project calendars
• Resource Skills
• Lessons learned
• Resource location
• Financial databases
• Geographical dispersion of team members
• Causes of Variances
• Personal Administration policies
• Corrective actions
• Marketplace conditions
• Duration estimating databases and other reference data
• Productivity metrics
• Standards
• Communication Channels
Organizational Process Assets (OPAs) Most organizations maintain two types of OPAs:
processes, procedures, and policies; and organizational knowledge repositories.
Processes, Procedures, and Policies Over time, organizations develop or adopt
processes, procedures, and policies for projects. Collectively, these processes,
procedures, and policies are referred to as organizational process assets, and they apply Here are examples of hist
to aspects of the project such as quality, procurement, and resource • Activities • WBSs
management, as well as change control, safety, compliance, and more. Projects may • Backlogs • Benchmark
recommend changes or ways to increase the efficiency of these processes and • Reports • Risks and ris
procedures, but they are generally owned by the project management office or other • Estimates • Retrospec
departments responsible for organizational governance. • Resources used • Proj
Historical knowledge bases are maintained and updated by every project and made • Project documents • P
• Baselines • Correspon
accessible to the rest of the organization as part of organization repositories. Historical
information can be used to plan and manage projects, thereby improving the
process of project management and avoiding challenges experienced by past
projects.
Stakeholder: Anyone who
- sponsor who’s paying fo
- the team who’s building
- people in management w
Constraints: Cost, Time,
Deal with project constraints: Sometimes there will be constraints on the project that Qs. A project coordinator
, PROFESSIONAL RESP
PMI Code of Ethics and Profes
Ethics and professional responsibility questions make up 9% of the exam. That’s good news because these questio
Bribes aren’t always cash. They can be anything ranging from free trips to tickets to a ball game. Any time you’re offe
to your company.
Fly business class? Even if it seems like no harm will be done if you don’t follow the policy, and even if you will be ab
are you ever allowed to break a law, no matter how much good it “seems” to do you or your project.
New software When it comes to copyright, it’s never OK to use anything without permission. Books, articles, music,
music in a company presentation, you should write to the copyright owner and ask for permission.
Shortcuts You might see a question or two that asks if you really need to follow all of the processes. Or you might be
You have a responsibility to make sure your projects are run properly, and to never withhold information from people w
Being responsible to the community is even more important than running a successful project. But it’s more than bei
and the community where your project work will be done.
PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
The PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct outlines four areas of responsibility:
1- Responsibility -- ownership of decisions and actions
2- Respect -- treatment of people and resources
3- Fairness -- objective and impartial decision
4- Honesty -- truth-based actions
Responsibility: Responsibility is the act of making decisions that are for the good of the organization rather than ours
that result, along with other actions.
-- Ensuring Integrity: As a project manager, one of your professional responsibilities is to ensure integrity of the proje
management processes you’ve learned will ensure the integrity of the product.
-- Accepting Assignments: You should not knowingly accept assignments that are beyond your capabilities or exper
-- Laws and Regulations Compliance: This might seem obvious, but as a professional, you’re required to follow all a
includes PMI organizational rules and policies as well.
-- Confidential Information:
-- Company Data:
-- Intellectual Property:
Respect: Respect involves several areas as well, including the way we conduct ourselves, the way we treat others, lis
-- Professional Demeanor:
* Part of acting professionally involves controlling yourself and your reactions in questionable situations. As a profe
for your own feelings. Therefore, lashing out in return would be unprofessional. Maintain your professional demeanor,
-- Reporting Ethics Violations: As a PMP, one of the responsibilities that falls into this category is your responsibility
verified the facts, notify PMI. Part of this process—and a requirement of the code of conduct—is that you’ll verify that
will assist PMI in the investigation by supplying information, confirming facts and dates, and so on. This includes anyth
interest, untruthful advertising, and false reporting of PMP experience and credentials, appearances of impropriety, an
-- Cultural Awareness: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”?
-- Culture Shock: Working in a foreign country can bring about an experience called culture shock.One of the ways yo
-- Diversity Training: Sometimes you might find yourself working with teams of people from different countries or cult
ensure that cultural or ethical differences do not hinder your project is to provide training for all team members. Team-
backgrounds.
-- Respecting Your Neighbors:
-- Perceiving Experiences:
Fairness: Fairness includes avoiding favoritism and discrimination against others, avoiding and reporting conflict of in
-- Conflict of Interest: A conflict of interest is when you put your personal interests above the interests of the project
project outcome. In other words, your personal interests
take precedence over your professional obligations, and you make decisions that allow you to personally benefit rega
* Associations and Affiliations: For example, perhaps your brother-in-law owns his own construction company and
and ends up winning the bid.
* Vendor Gifts: Don’t accept gifts that might be construed as a conflict of interest. If your organization does not have
acceptance by the organization in the past, and the
, PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Definition of Project: A project:
- is a teporary endeavour with a beginning and an end. Why do projects end?
- creates a unique product, service or result. -when they meet their objectives
Operational Work: is ongoing work and repetitive -an also end prematurely when it becomes clear that t
Program: is a group of related Projects. -need for the project no longer exists.
Portfolio: is a group of programs to achieve a specific --Project scope: work, and only the work required to
strategic business goal. --Product scope: describes the characteristics and fu
Objectives: --Costs and staffing levels are LOWEST early in the l
-project objectives are contained in the project charter --Risk is highest early in the project since uncertain
-projects are considered complete when objectives are met. --Stakeholder influence in the project and its delive
Management by Objectives (MBO): incorporating changes increases the further the pro
-establish unambiguous and realistic objectives --Programs are collections of individual projects that
-periodically observe if objectives are being met --Portfolios are organized around business goals an
-implement corrective actions --PMO: may help provide resources, terminate project
Constraints: Cost, Time, Scope, Quality, Resources, Risk, --Knowledge, performance, and personal skills are
Customer satisfaction
Organizational Structure:
Functional: org is grouped by areas of specialization within different functional areas. Authority is with functional m
Projected: entire company is organized by projects. The PM has control of projects. Personal are assigned and rep
not have a department to go back to.
Matrix: Team member reports to two bosses, the PM and the Functional Mgr. Share responsibility and authority be
resources and better horizontal & vertical dissemination of information.
In STRONG Matrix - power rests with Project Mgr. Project managers have more authority than functional managers
In BALANCED Matrix - Project managers share authority with the functional managers.
In WEAK Matrix - power rests with Functional Mgr and power of Project Mgr is comparable to that of a coordinato
A project expediter is somebody who keeps track of status but has no decision-making authority on a project at all.
A project coordinator is someone who does pretty much the same thing, but does get to make some of the minor d
report to somebody who is pretty high up in the organization, while expediters are more like assistants to the function
------------- You’re likely to find project expediters in functional organizations.
------------- Project coordinators and expediters don’t exist in a projected organization.
When you’re taking the PMP exam, if you see a question that mentions a PM, then you should assume that the ques
being described. Functional organizations are usually painted in a negative light because they tend to give less autho
If a question on the EXAM doesn’t state an organization type, assume it’s referring to a Matrix organization. That me
conflicts.
Product Life Cycle: CONCEPTION, GROWTH, MATURITY, DECLINE, WITHDRAWAL. A Product can spawn acros
Project Life Cycle: Feasibility, Planning, Design, Coding, testing, installation, conversion, turnover to operations. A
doing the work of the project – the logical breakdown of what you need to do to create project deliverables. The pro
preferences, and the development approach (for example plan driven versus Agile).
A project life cycle can use a plan-driven or change driven development approach, or a hybrid of the two. Examples
Product Development: Define, Design, Develop, Deploy, Deliver
Software Development: Requirements, Design, Code, Test, Implement
Construction: Feasibility, Requirements, Design, Build, Test, Turnover
Regardless of the development approach, the details within the project life cycle are expressed in phases that can be
Organizational Project Management (OPM)
Organizational project management (OPM) is a strategy execution framework utilizing portfolio, program, an
predictably deliver on organizational strategy, producing better performance; better results; and a sustainable, co
Figure 1 shows the organizational environment where strategy, a portfolio, programs and projects, and opera
Organizational Environme
