My PMP Prep Notes PMBOK 5

The first place to start the PMBOK5 must be amazing video from here:

http://www.ricardo-vargas.com/pmbok5-processes-flow/

Then start preparing the notes as you study from multiple blogs/notes/PMBOK5 and everywhere you can learn from !!

Initiate Process:

Planning Process:

Monitor and Control:

Execute Process:

Closing Process:

Thanks for some good samaritans like Sridhar & Edward - http://sridharpeddisetty.blogspot.com/2008/05/my-notes-on-pmp.html
- http://edward-designer.com/web/pmp/ where i have learnt and applied many things to consolidate into one blog for my preparation.

1. Process – a package of inputs, tools and outputs, there are 47 processes defined by PMI

2. Phases – a group of logically related activities, produces one or more deliverables at the end of the phase (maybe with exit gate/kill point [probably in a sequential relationship])

3. Phase-to-Phase relationship: There can be one or more phases in projects. Even if you do not follow standard project management, unconsciously one or a combination of below three relationships will exist.

1. Sequential Relationship – One phase will start only after finishing the previous phase

2. Overlapping Relationship – Simultaneously two or more phases will run.

3. Iterative Relationship – Phases are not pre-planned. Next phase will be decided and planned based on the outcome of previous phase

4. Project – a temporary endeavor to create a unique product, service or result (or enhancement of existing services/products (e.g v.2 development is a project) ) as opposed to operation, may hand over the product to operation teams

5. Operation manages process in transforming resources into output

6. Projects have more risks and uncertainties than operations and require more planning

7. Program – a group of coordinated projects, taking operations into account, maybe with common goals, achieving benefits not realized by running projects individually, if only the client/technologies/resource are the same, then the projects should be managed individually instead of a program

8. Portfolio – group of programs/projects to achieve organizational strategic goals within the organization/operation management, all investments of the organization, maximize the value by examining the components of the portfolio and exclude non-optimal components

9. Business Value is the total values (tangible and intangible) of the organization

10. Organization Strategy may be expressed through mission and vision

11. Use of portfolio/program/project management to bridge the gap between organization strategy and business value realization

12. Progressive Elaboration (rolling wave planning is one of the methods used in activity planning) – analysis and estimation can be more accurate and elaborated as the project goes (usually in phased projects) such that detailed planning can be made at that point.

13. According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), a “project” is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service.”

14. Triple constraint- project scope, time and cost

15. A portfolio is a collection of projects or programs and other work that are grouped together to facilitate effective management of that work to meet strategic business objectives. The projects or programs in the portfolio may not necessarily be interdependent or directly related

16. A project management office (PMO) is an organizational unit to centralize and coordinate the management of projects under its domain. A PMO can also be referred to as a "program management office," "project office," or "program office." A PMO oversees the management of projects, programs, or a combination of both

17. Project management is a set of tools and techniques that are used to organize the work of the project to help bring about a successful project.

18. The contract between the organization and the vendor super cedes all other work related documents

19. Customers, internal or external, are the most important stakeholders in a project

20. Scope verification must take place at the end of each phase

21. Money already spent on a project is called sunk cost and should not be taken into consideration when determining if a project should continue. Instead, the cost of the work to complete is one of the elements that should be taken into consideration when considering to kill a project

22. Phase end reviews are also called phase exits, phase gates, or kill points.

23. The project life cycle goes through a series of phases to create the product

24. Project managers manage things, but lead people. What's the difference?
Management is the process of getting the results that are expected by project stakeholders.
Leadership is the ability to motivate and inspire individuals to work towards those expected results.

25. Project

1. Projects don't last forever. They are temporary and unique

2. Projects pass through logical phases to reach their completion

3. Purpose of Project is to attain its objective and then terminate

26. Operations

1. Operations, however, do go on and on. They are ongoing and repetitive

2. Operations may be influenced, or even created, by the outcome of a project

3. Objective of an ongoing operation is to sustain business

27. Organization Structure

1. Functional

2. Matrix

1. Weak

2. Balanced

3. Strong

3. Projectized

28. Organization Structure And Project Characteristics

1. Functional

1. PM's Authority [Little or none]

2. Resource Availability [Little or none]

3. Who controls Project Budget [Functional Manager]

4. PM's Role [Part - Time]

5. PM Admin Staff [Part - Time]

2. Weak Matrix

1. PM's Authority [Limited]

2. Resource Availability [Limited]

3. Who controls Project Budget [Functional Manager]

4. PM's Role [Part - Time]

5. PM Admin Staff [Part - Time]

3. Balanced Matrix

1. PM's Authority [Low to moderate]

2. Resource Availability [Low to moderate]

3. Who controls Project Budget [Mixed]

4. PM's Role [Full - Time]

5. PM Admin Staff [Part - Time]

4. Strong Matrix

1. PM's Authority [Moderate to high]

2. Resource Availability [Moderate to high]

3. Who controls Project Budget [Project Manager]

4. PM's Role [Full - Time]

5. PM Admin Staff [Full - Time]

5. Projectized

1. PM's Authority [High to almost total]

2. Resource Availability [High to almost total]

3. Who controls Project Budget [Project Manager]

4. PM's Role [Full - Time]

5. PM Admin Staff [Full - Time]

29. The WBS is a decomposition of all the deliverables the project will create.

30. WBS dictionary may include, but is not limited to, code of account identifier, description of work, assumptions and constraints, responsible organization, schedule milestones, associated schedule activities, resources required, cost estimates, quality requirements, acceptance criteria, technical references, and agreement information. Reference: PMBOK^® Guide - Fifth Edition, page 132

31. Inspections may also be known as:
a. Reviews
b. Product reviews
c. Audits
d. Walk-throughs

32. Graphical evaluation and review technique (GERT) models allow for loops and conditional branching.

33. Crashing adds more resources to activities to decrease their duration, which typically adds cost.

34. A Resource histogram is just a way to visualize the number of people in each role that you will need on your project as time goes on. Once you have figured out your schedule and the order of activities, you figure out how many people it's going to take to do the work and plot that out over time. Then you have a good idea of what the staffing needs of your project will be.

35. The Staffing Management Plan always includes a Resource Histogram, so that should be your first clue about which one of these answers is right. The Resource Histogram shows what kind of resource is needed through each week of your project and how many staff members you need. When planning out your staffing needs, you need take into account the training it will take to get them up to speed as well as the kinds of incentives you are going to offer for a job well done. Release criteria are important too, but they might not be familiar to you if you don't work in a consulting organization. You need to think about what each staff member needs to get done before they are released to work on other projects.

36. Project calendar: This calendar shows when work is allowed on the project. For example, a project may require the project team to work nights and weekends so as not to disturb the ongoing operations of the organization during working hours. In addition, the project calendar accounts for holidays, working hours, and work shifts that the project will cover

37. Decision Trees are considered Quantitative while Influence diagram are considered Qualitative.

38. Influence diagram shows the dependencies among the variables more clearly than the decision tree

39. Resource calendar: The resource calendar controls when resources, such as project team members, consultants, and SMEs are available to work on the project. It takes into account vacations, other commitments within the organization, or restrictions on contracted work, overtime issues, and so on

40. Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) uses a weighted average formula to predict the length of activities and the project. Specifically, PERT uses a 'pessimistic,' 'optimistic,' and 'most likely' estimate to predict when the project will be completed

41. The critical path is the longest path to completion in the network diagram.

42. Activities on the critical path have no float or slack.

43. Free float is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the next activity's scheduled start date.

44. Total float is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the project end date.

45. Total Float = LS – ES or LF - EF

46. Heuristic is simply a rule of thumb

47. Crashing involves adding resources, which typically increases cost.

48. Fast tracking adds risk as tasks are allowed to overlap

1. Each resource in the project must be accounted for and assigned to a cost category.
Categories include the following:
a. Labor costs
b. Material costs
c. Travel costs
d. Supplies
e. Hardware costs
f. Software costs
g. Special categories (inflation, cost reserve, and so on)

49. There are three generally accepted categories of estimating accuracy:
a. Rough order of magnitude This estimate is “rough” and is used during the Initiating processes and in top-down estimates. The range of variance for the estimate can be –25 percent to +75 percent or ( -50 to +50)
b. Budget estimate This estimate is also somewhat broad and is used early in the planning processes and also in top-down estimates. The range of variance for the estimate can be –10 percent to +25 percent.
c. Definitive estimates This estimate type is one of the most accurate. It is used late in the planning processes and is associated with bottom-up estimating. The range of variance for the estimate can be –5 percent to +10 percent.

50. The opportunity cost is the amount of the project that was not chosen

51. Quality is the sum of the characteristics of a product that allow it to meet the demands
or expectations of the project

52. Grade, according to the PMBOK, “is a category or rank given to entities having the
same functional use but different technical characteristics.”
For example, there are different grades of paint, different grades of metal, and even
different grades of travel.

53. The design of experiments (DOE) approach relies on statistical what-if scenarios to determine what variables within a project will result in the best outcome.

54. Design of experiments is an analytical technique that identifies the elements or
variables that will have the greatest effect on overall project outcomes

55. There are five types of powers the project manager yields: (R F C E R)
a. Reward
b. Formal
c. Coercive (penalty)

d. Expert
e. Referent

56. Among the above powers Reward, Formal & Coercive (penalty) come with the "Position"

57. Expert & Reward are considered the best types of powers and Coercive (penalty) is "Least" for obvious reasons

58. Seven reasons for conflict, in order of most common to least common:
a. Schedules
b. Priorities
c. Resources
d. Technical beliefs
e. Administrative policies and procedures
f. Costs
g. Personalities

59. Five different approaches to conflict resolution
a. Confronting (Problem Solving) (win - win) [BEST]
b. Forcing (win - lose)
c. Compromising (lose - lose)
d. Smoothing
e. Withdrawal
NOTE: Forcing (win - lose) and Problem Solving (win - win) are the ONLY two modes that result in a RESOLUTION to the conflict.

60. The halo effect is the promoting the person to manage projects since he/she is good at a technology

61. Within communicating there are five characteristics that affect the message:
a. Paralingual: pitch, tone, and voice inflections
b. Feedback: sender confirmation of the message by asking questions, for a
response, or other confirmation signals
c. Active listening: receiver confirms message receipt
d. Effective listening: receiver offers confirmation of the message, such as nodding
their head, asking questions, or other interactions.
e. Nonverbal: facial expressions, hand gestures, and body language

62. One of the first inputs to risk management is the project charter.

63. Historical information is always an excellent source of information for risk identification

64. Brainstorming is likely the most common approach to risk identification

65. Force majeure is a powerful and unexpected event, such as a hurricane or other disaster

66. Contracts are known by many names:
a. Agreement
b. Subcontract
c. Purchase order
d. Memorandum of understanding

67. All contracts in the United States are backed by the US court systems.

68. Liquidated damages (LDs) are contractually agreed payments in order to cover the customer's costs caused by late completion or failure to meet specifications by the contractor.

69. Constructive change -A direction by the buyer or an action taken by the seller that the other party considers an undocumented change to the contract.

70. According to the Guide to the PMBOK, the project charter should be published by a manager external to the project but with sufficient power and authority to carry it off.

71. Journey to Abilene -Committee decisions can have the paradox outcome, that a jointly made or approved decision is not desired by any individual group member.

72. When a project is performed under contract, the contract can serve as the project charter

73. Cost reimbursable contracts are used when the degree of uncertainty is high and when the project requires a large investment prior to completion of the project

74. When there's a dispute between a buyer and a seller, that's called a claim.

75. The scope statement contains an exhaustive list of the project deliverables, their requirements, and measurable criteria used to determine project completion

76. The scope statement is an output to the Scope Definition process and is used to create the WBS

77. Cause-and-effect diagrams, also called Ishikawa or fishbone diagrams, show the relationship between the effects of quality problems and their causes

78. The primary function of the Closing process is to formalize project completion and disseminate this information to the project participants

79. According to the Guide to the PMBOK, the project manager is identified and assigned as an output of the Initiation process. In practice, project managers are very often assigned at the beginning of this process.

80. The work package level is the lowest level in the WBS. Time and cost estimation is easily determined at this level as are resource assignments. Quality control measurements can be determined at this level as well.

81. The code of accounts is assigned to the elements in the WBS Each element in the WBS is assigned a unique identifier. These are collectively known as the code of accounts

82. The Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) links project roles and responsibilities with project activities

83. The WBS is the deliverables-oriented hierarchy of project work.

84. The staffing management plan details how and when human resources will be added to and taken off the project. It is an output of Organizational Planning

85. Analogous estimating is not a qualitatively based technique. It is a top-down estimating technique that considers previous similar activities when calculating estimates

86. Mandatory dependency, also known as hard logic. Mandatory dependencies are inherent in the nature of the work

87. Discretionary dependencies, also called preferred logic, preferential logic, and soft logic, are defined by the project management team

88. "Best Practice” often refers to a specific sequence of work, described in terms of “Soft Logic”. Sometimes "Experience" is also attributes to Soft Logic

89. Finish to start is the most commonly used logical relationship in PDM and most project management software packages

90. Finish-to-Start

PMBOK^® Definition: The logical relationship where initiation of work of the successor activity depends upon the completion of work of the predecessor activity.

Layman’s Definition: Once this task finishes, we can start the next one.

91. Start-to-Start

PMBOK^® Definition: The logical relationship where initiation of the work of the successor schedule activity depends upon the initiation of the work of the predecessor schedule activity. See also logical relationship.

Layman’s Definition: We want these two tasks to start at the same time.

92. Finish-to-Finish

PMBOK^® Definition: The logical relationship where completion of work of the successor activity cannot finish until the completion of work of the predecessor activity. See also logical relationship.

Layman’s Definition: We want these two tasks to finish at the same time.

93. Start-to-Finish

PMBOK^® Definition: The logical relationship where the completion of the successor schedule activity is dependent upon the initiation of the predecessor schedule activity. See also logical relationship.

Layman’s Definition: This task finishes when the next one starts, but not before then.

94. There are three major documents and each has a specific purpose:
a. Project Charter. Formally authorizes the project.
b. Project Scope Statement. States what work is to be accomplished and what
deliverables need to be produced.
c. Project Management Plan. States how the work will be performed

95. Philip Crosby devised the zero defects theory, meaning do it right the first time. Proper Quality Planning leads to less rework and higher productivity

96. According to Bruce Tuckmann, “Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing ” are the stages of team development

97. The performing stage is similar to Maslow’s self-actualization

98. Myers Brigg’s theory states that “Sensing” and “Intuition” personality types are related to “Information” preference in other words ‘Hard Data verses what might be’

99. Juran = Fitness for use, conformance. Quality by design.

100. Joseph M. Juran is noted for his fitness for use premise. Simply put, this means the stakeholders’ and customers’ expectations are met or exceeded.

101. W. Edwards Deming suggested that as much as 85 percent of the cost of quality is a management problem

102. Shewhart = Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle.

103. TQM = Quality must be managed in and must be a continuous process

104. Six Sigma = Six Sigma is a measurement-based strategy; no more than 3.4 defects per million.

105. Kaizen = Continuous improvement; improve quality of people first.

106. Continuous improvement = Watch continuously for ways to improve quality.

107. Peter Principle: Project team members are motivated in an opportunity to grow.

108. Statement of work (SOW) comprises of

1. Business Need, Product Scope Description and Strategic Plan

109. Conflict should be addressed early and usually in private, using a direct, collaborative approach

110. Organization, Environmental & external assumptions should be addressed by the Project Charter

111. WBS Dictionary” is a document which describes the details for each component in the WBS. It includes a brief description of the of the “Scope” or “Statement of the work” , defined deliverables, a list of associated activities, and a list of milestones

112. Project Manager must consider “cultural differences” while deciding upon recognition and rewards during team development.

113. Technical inability and poor risk management by the contractor is mostly the reason for the project not to meet the customer expectations

114. Critical Chain Project Management” is typically the “Management of Buffers”

115. Critical Chain is another schedule network analysis technique that modifies the project schedule to account for limited resources

116. The Critical Chain method adds duration buffers that are non-work schedule activities to maintain focus on the planned activity durations

117. Cost Of Quality (COQ) are the cost types in modern quality management

1. “Prevention Costs”,

2. “appraisal costs” &

3. “failure costs” ( Internal and External)

118.            The key components of the communication model include:
         a. Encode.
         b. Message.
         c. Medium.
         d. Noise.
         e. Decode.

119. Common formats for performance reports include

1. Bar charts,

2. S curves,

3. Histograms, and

4. Tables.

120. Face-to-face meetings are the most effective means for communicating and resolving
issues with stakeholders.

121. Order of Magnitude estimates are also knows as conceptual, ballpark or preliminary
estimates

122. “Tight Matrix” is putting all project personnel together. Also referred as “collocated”

123. Strategies for “Negative Risks or threats” (Avoid Transfer Mitigate)

124. Strategies for “Postive Risks or Opportunities” (Share Exploit Enhance Accept)

125. Common Strategy for both threats and opportunities is “Acceptance”

126. There are 3 stages of “reaction to stress” (Alarm, Resistance & Exhaustion)

127. Some of the traits/qualities exhibited by effective leaders are

1. Flexibility,

2. Ambition,

3. Intelligence,

4. Decisiveness,

5. Creativity,

6. Persistence and

7. Energy

128. Detailed Tasks are detailed in “Project Schedule”, which is part of Project Plan and note its NOT WBS. WBS is a “deliverable oriented document”

129. An abnormal trend is formed when seven or more consecutive data points reflect a steadily increasing or decreasing pattern over time

130. Scope Verification is concerned with the acceptance of deliverables

131. Quality control is concerned with making sure the deliverables meet quality
requirements. Quality Control is done first; both are Monitoring and Controlling
processes.

132. Quality Assurance (Executing) is focused on process: process analysis, quality audits, etc.

· Quality Audits helps to improve process implementation and team productivity.

· Quality audits help to share best practices in one project with other projects in the organization.

· Quality Audits are used to identify all the best practices implemented in the project.

133. Quality Control (Monitoring and Controlling) is focused on sampling results to see if they meet quality standards

134. Merrill and Reid in their employee motivation theory define the following personal styles, viz. Driver, Amiable, Expressive, and Analytical.

135. Code of Accounts identifies WBS items; Chart of Accounts monitors project costs by category

136. In decision tree, a circle is a chance. (A circle represents a "chance node," meaning a chance to which an Expected Monetary Value (EMV) may be assigned to calculate the most likely pay-off.)

137. In Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) or Activity on Node (AON) network diagrams, nodes are activities and arrows are dependencies

138. In Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM) or Activity on Arrow (AOA) network diagrams, arrows are activities and nodes are dependencies

139. Dummies are only used on ADM

140. ADM tasks can only have FS relationships

141. PDM uses one time estimate to determine duration, while ADM can use more than one time estimate.

142. Scope Verification is done during Project monitoring and controlling BUT Product verification is done during the Project Closing

143. Privity – legal contractual relationship

144. Audits:
o Quality Audit in Perform QA,
o Risk Audit in Risk Monitoring and Control,
o Inspections and Audits in Contract Administration,
o Procurement Audits in Close Contracts

145. The outputs of process groups are:
o initiating: charter and preliminary scope statement;
o planning: project management plan;
o executing: work results;
o monitoring: corrective actions;
o closing: project product.

146. Reporting formats:
o Forecast Report (what is expected to happen on a project),
o Progress Report (what happened since the last report),
o Status Report (state of the project at the current time),
o Earned Value Report (focuses on Earned Value Management),
o Variance Report (what happened vs. what should have happened).

147. Performance Reporting is a Controlling process. It creates Performance Reports, which are comparisons of performance to the performance baselines. These are typically done in tabular or graphical format.

148. Information Distribution is an Executing process. It creates Organizational Process Assets such as project presentations, stakeholder notifications and status reports.

149. Develop Project Team is an Executing Process. It creates a Team Performance Assessment, and helps you determine what additional training would be beneficial.

150. Manage Project Team is a Controlling Process. It creates input to performance appraisals as well as recommended changes, corrective actions and preventative actions.

151. Scope Baseline includes

1. Project Scope Statement, WBS, & WBS Dictionary

152. A large portion of the PM’s time while the work is being done is spent measuring and implementing corrective actions

153. Project Close Process includes creation of two procedures
o Administrative closure procedure and
o Contract closure procedure

The difference between the two is focus, formality and frequency.

Administrative closure focuses on closing the project or project phase whereas

Contract closure focuses on closing a contract that is part of the project

154. Contingency Reserve (Known Unknowns) is for the risks remaining after the Risk Response Planning
Management Reserve (Unknown Unknowns) is any extra amount reserved t cover “unforeseen risks”
Cost Baseline will include the Contingency Reserve
Cost Budget will include the Management Reserve

155. The values that the global project management community defined as most important were: Responsibility, Respect, Fairness, and Honesty.

156. Quality is defined as the degree to which the project fulfills requirement

157. Quality MUST BE PLANNED IN AND NOT INSPECTED IN

158. The Project Manager ultimately has the responsibility for the Product of the Project

159. Senior Management is responsible for the Quality of entire Organization

160. Cost of Nonconformance is greater than the cost of conformance

161. Most projects will fit one of the six needs and demands

· Market demand

· Business need

· Customer request

· Technological advance

· Legal requirement

· Social need

162. The project charter (which is an output of the Develop the Project Charter process) is the ritten acknowledgment that the project exists. The project charter names the project
manager and gives that person the authority to assign organizational resources to the
project

163. Net present value (NPV) assumes reinvestment is made at the cost of capital. If you're asked to choose between projects and given the NPV of each of them, choose the one with the biggest NPV. That means you're choosing the one with the most value!

164. If the NPV is greater than or equal to zero dollars, accept the project.

165. IRR assumes reinvestment at the IRR rate and is the discount rate when NPV is equal to zero. Discounted cash flow = IRR

166. Payback period does not consider the time value of money and is therefore the least precise of all the cash flow analysis techniques

167. Preliminary project scope statement describes the objectives of the project and the high level requirements needed to satisfy stakeholder expectations

168. The PMIS in the Develop Project Management Plan process includes a subsystem called the configuration management system ( PMIS includes CMS)

169. Change control system, which is a subsystem of the configuration management system

170. Stakeholder analysis is a tool and technique of Identify Stakeholder used to determine and document the needs, wants, and expectations of stakeholders and prioritize and quantify those needs into project requirements

171. You, as the project manager, are planning to document relevant information on interests, involvement, influence, and impact of project stakeholders. Which of the following processes should you follow?

Choice 1 Stakeholder Analysis

Choice 2 Plan Communications Management

Choice 3 Manage Stakeholder Engagement

Choice 4 Identify Stakeholders

Justification :

Option 1: Stakeholder Analysis is a technique used to identify and classify stakeholders and their interests. It is used when identifying stakeholders; however, it is not the name of the process itself.

Option 2: Plan Communications Management is the process of determining the information needs of the project stakeholders and defining a communication approach to satisfy those needs.

Option 3: Manage Stakeholder Engagement is an executing process which involves working with stakeholders to meet their expectations. The current project is in the initiating phase as stakeholder-related details are just being gathered.

Option 4: Identify Stakeholders is the process used to identify all those people or organizations impacted by the project and document relevant information on their interests, involvement, and impact on the success of the project. Hence Correct Choice: 4

172. The purpose of the project scope statement is to document the project objectives, deliverables, and requirements so that they can be used to direct the project team’s work and as a basis for future project decisions

173. The scope statement further elaborates the project objectives, deliverables, requirements, and constraints and assumptions defined in the preliminary scope statement. It serves as a basis for future project decisions

174. Alternatives analysis or Alternative Generation is a tool and technique of the Define Scope process that includes brainstorming and lateral thinking techniques

175. Poor scope definition might lead to cost increases, rework, schedule delays, and poor morale

176. According to the PMBOK Guide, functionality and specific conditions that must be met in order to satisfy the project, contract, standard, or specification describe the criteria for requirements, not objectives

177. Product analysis (TT Scope Definition) includes techniques such as value engineering, value analysis, systems analysis, systems engineering, product breakdown, and functional analysis.

178. Product analysis includes techniques such as product breakdown, systems analysis, requirements analysis, systems engineering, value engineering, and value analysis.

179. The product scope description can be used as an input to the Scope Definition process when the project charter and/or preliminary project scope statement are missing

180. The lowest level of any WBS is called the work package level

181. For the exam, remember that the key to DOE is that it equips you with a statistical framework that allows you to change the variables that have the greatest effect on overall project outcomes at once instead of changing one variable at a time.

182. Quality checklists are an output of the Quality Planning process, and checklist analysis is a tool and technique of the Risk Identification process

183. Cost-benefit analysis considers trade-offs in the Quality Planning process

184. Benchmarking compares previous similar activities to the current project activities to provide a standard to measure performance against. Benchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to industry bests or best practices from other industries. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost. In the process of best practice benchmarking, management identifies the best firms in their industry, or in another industry where similar processes exist, and compares the results and processes of those studied (the "targets") to one's own results and processes. In this way, they learn how well the targets perform and, more importantly, the business processes that explain why these firms are successful.

185. Failure costs; is also known as the cost of poor quality. Failure costs include both internal and external costs.
Internal failure costs are costs associated with not meeting the customer’s expectations while you still had control over the product. This results in rework, scrapping, and downtime.

186. Marginal cost is another term for variable cost. The marginal cost is applied to the variable cost of a unit of product or service.

187. Once the risks have been identified on the project, the next step is to manage the risks. Of the following, which is NOT a suitable way of managing the risks?

· By using existing assets

· By contingency planning

· By investing in new resources

· By Brainstorming

Answer: Brainstorming. Brainstorming is a tool and technique for risk identification. All of the other options are ways of managing the risks. Existing assets may involve improvements to existing methods and systems, changes in responsibility, etc. Contingency planning may help you in minimizing the effect, if it happens. Investing in new resources may help in reducing or insuring you against risk.

188. The process improvement plan is a subsidiary plan of the project management plan and targets inefficiencies in a process or activity. The quality baseline is used to document the uality objectives of the project and is used as a basis for future Quality processes.

189. An issue log is the output of Manage stakeholder engagements

190. The WBS dictionary should be documented with the code of account identifier, an SOW, the responsible organization, and a milestone schedule for the WBS components

191. Design of experiments is a tool and technique of the Quality Planning process that provides statistical analysis for changing key product or process elements all at once (not one at a time) to optimize the process

192. According to the PMBOK Guide, the risk management plan should include the following
elements:
o Methodology
o Roles and responsibilities
o Budgeting
o Timing
o Risk categories
o Definitions of risk probability and impact
o Probability and impact matrix
o Revised stakeholder tolerances
o Reporting formats
o Tracking

193. The output of the Risk Identification process is the risk register. The risk register contains
the following elements:
o List of identified risks
o List of potential responses
o Root causes of risks
o Updated risk categories

194. Risk urgency assessment is a tool and technique of Qualitative Risk Analysis process

195. Qualitative Risk Analysis is a fast and easy method of determining probability and impact

196. The risk management plan details how risk management processes will be implemented,
monitored, and controlled throughout the life of the project.

197. The risk management plan does not include responses to risks or triggers. Responses to
risks are documented in the risk register as part of the Risk Response Planning process

198. The information-gathering techniques in the Risk Identification process are
o brainstorming,
o the Delphi technique,
o interviewing,
o root cause identification, and
o SWOT analysis.

199. Quantitative Risk Analysis analyzes the probability of risks and their consequences using a numerical rating

200. Monte Carlo analysis is a simulation technique & not a Modeling technique

201. When the question describes sensitivity analysis, which is a tool and technique of the Quantitative Risk Analysis process. Tornado diagrams are often used to display sensitivity analysis data

202. The simplest form of “Risk Analysis” is “Sensitivity Analysis”

203. Following options are diagramming techniques of the Risk Identification process
o Ishikawa diagram
o Process flowchart
o Influence diagram

204. Passive acceptance is when the team has decided to take no action and make no plans for
the risk. This is a strategy that can be used for either positive or negative risks.

205. The PMBOK Guide divides contracts into three categories:
o Fixed price or lump sum (biggest risk is borne by the seller & good when original scope is well defined)
o Cost reimbursable (biggest risk is borne by the buyer)
o Time and materials (T&M)

206. The three outputs of the Plan Contracting process are
1) Procurement documents (Request for proposal (RFP), Request for information (RFI), Invitation for bid (IFB), Request for quotation (RFQ)),

2) Evaluation criteria, and

3) Contract statement of work updates.

207. Understand the difference between bid and/or quotation and proposal for the exam. Bids or quotations are used when price is the only deciding factor among bidders. Proposals are used when there are considerations other than price

208. Status reports via email to all the stakeholders – example of Push Communications

209. A contract statement of work (SOW) contains the details of the procurement item in clear, concise terms. It includes the following elements:
o The project objectives
o A description of the work of the project and any post project operational support needed
o Concise specifications of the product or services required
o The project schedule, time period of services, and work location

210. According to the PMBOK Guide, using templates and checklists is one way to ensure that you don’t miss any key responsibilities when planning the project and will help reduce the amount of time spent on project planning

211. According to the PMBOK Guide, the RAM (Responsibility Assignment Matrix) relates the OBS to the WBS to assure that every component of the work of the project is assigned to an individual.

212. The letters in the acronym RACI (sample portion of a type of RAM) are the designations are
o R = Responsible for performing the work
o A = Accountable, the one who is responsible for producing the deliverable or
work package and approves or signs off on the work
o C = Consult, someone who has input to the work or decisions
o I = Inform, someone who must be informed of the decisions or results

213. A project manager in an MNC corporation is in the process of collecting, organizing, and disseminating information on how project resources are being used to complete project objectives. In addition, he is collating information on cost, schedule, and level of quality. He is also going through the influence of risks on project objectives. The project manager is in which process?

· Direct and Manage Project Work

· Manage Communications

· Earned Value Technique

· Monitor and Control Project work

Explanations:

214. Answer (b) Manage communications. The project manager is in 'Manage Communications' process as part of communication management. It is the process of collecting and distributing performance information, including status reports, progress measurements and forecasts. For more information on the process please refer to PMBOK 5th edition Project Communications Management PN 303.

215. It is during the initiating process group that we identify and document high level risks, assumptions and constraints in order to identify project limitations and thereafter propose an implementation approach.

216. You are a project manager taking over a project midway. It is in the execution phase. You would like to know more about project deliverables, work required to complete those deliverables, project constraints, assumptions, etc. Which of the following documents would be MOST useful?

· Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and WBS dictionary

· Requirements Documentation

· Activity List

· Project Scope Statement

Explanations:

217. Answer (d) Project Scope Statement. The project manager should refer to the project scope statement as it captures all of the details related to the project scope including product acceptance criteria, scope description, project deliverables, constraints, assumptions, etc. Option (a) and option (c) define project scope at the smaller work package and activity level respectively. Option (b) Requirements Documentation captures requirements of the project related to quality, functional and non-functional requirements, support requirements, etc and is an incorrect.

218. Configuration Management System:

· The purpose of configuration management is to maintain integrity of work product

· Configuration management includes configuration audits, configuration control ,configuration status accounting and configuration identification

· Configuration management focuses on establishing and maintaining consistency of a product's requirements

219. The RAM and RACI charts are tools and techniques of Human Resource Planning process

220. Standard forms are a tool and technique of the Plan Contracting process. Standard forms
can be nondisclosure agreements, standardized contracts, and so on.

221. Plan Purchases and Acquisitions can directly influence the project schedule, and the project schedule can directly influence this process

222. Resource availability is an output of the Acquire Project Team and Select Seller processes

223. For the exam, remember that resource availability isn’t determined until the Executing stage and becomes an input to the Activity Resource Estimating process

224. The higher the standard deviation is for an activity, the higher the risk. Since standard deviation measures the difference between the pessimistic and the optimistic times, a greater spread between the two, which results in a higher number, indicates a greater risk. Conversely, a low standard deviation means less risk

225. Monte Carlo is a simulation technique that shows the probability of all the possible project completion dates

226. Resource leveling can cause the original critical path to change.

227. When you're performing the Close Procurements process, you're closing out work done by a seller for a contract. To do that, you do a few things: you verify that all of the work and deliverables are acceptable, you finalize any open claims, and in case of early termination, you follow the termination clause in the contract. On the other hand, when you're performing the Close Project or Phase process, you're finalizing all of the various activities that you do across all of the process groups, and you're also verifying that the work and deliverables are complete. Procurement closure means verifying that the project is complete or terminated; Close Project or Phase is the process of tying up all of the activities for every management process group.

228. Requirements documentation and the project scope statement are the sources of information about specific project constraints and assumptions

229. CPM manages the total float of schedule networks paths, whereas critical chain manages buffer activity durations and resources

230. Cost aggregation (TT of Cost Budgeting) is the process of tallying the schedule activity cost estimates at the work package level and then totaling the work package levels to higher level WBS component levels

231. Funding limit reconciliation (TT of Cost Budgeting) involves reconciling the amount of funds spent with the amount of funds budgeted for the project

232. Cost baselines are displayed as an S curve.

233. The primary output of Estimate Cost is Activity Cost Estimates.

234. Parametric estimating multiplies a known element—such as the quantity of materials needed—by the time it takes to install or complete one unit of materials. The result is a total estimate for the activity

235. The project schedule determines the start and ending dates of activities, determines float times, generally shows resource assignments, and details the activity sequences and durations.

236. Motivation can be extrinsic or intrinsic.
o Extrinsic motivators are material rewards and might include bonuses, the use of a company car, stock options, gift certificates, training opportunities, extra time off, and so on
o Intrinsic motivators are specific to the individual. Some people are just naturally driven to achieve—it’s part of their nature.

237. The introduction of a new team member will start the formation and development of the team all over again with the forming stage

238. Teams in the norming stage of Develop Project Team exhibit affection and familiarity with one another and make joint decisions

239. Request Seller Responses obtains bids and proposals from vendors.

240. Select Sellers is the receipt of bids and proposals and the selection of a vendor

241. Independent estimates (TT of Select Sellers), also called should cost estimates, are a way to check proposed pricing

242. Fait accompli is a tactic used during contract negotiations where one party convinces the other that the particular issue is no longer relevant or cannot be changed

243. The process analysis technique (TT of Perform Quality Assurance process) includes root cause analysis to analyze a problem and solution and to create preventive actions

244. You are preparing project performance appraisals and have decided you’d like each team member to get feedback regarding their performance from several sources, including peers, superiors, and subordinates. This is called 360-degree feedback and is part of the project performance appraisals tool and technique of the Manage Project Team process.

245. Understand for the exam that configuration management involves
o identifying the physical characteristics of the product, service, or result of the project (or its individual components);
o controlling changes to those characteristics; and
o Documenting changes to verify that requirements are met.
o It also includes the change management system and
o documents the process for requesting, tracking, and determining whether change requests should be approved or denied.

246. Activities associated with configuration change management in the Integrated Change Control process
o Configuration identification
o Configuration status accounting and
o Configuration verification and auditing

247. Integrated Change Control, Schedule Control, and Cost Control are all concerned with three issues:
o influencing the things that cause change,
o determining that change is needed or has happened,
o and managing the change

248. Change control systems are documented procedures that describe
o How to submit change requests.
o They track the status of the change requests,
o document the management impacts of change,
o track the change approval status, and
o define the level of authority needed to approve changes.

249. Change control systems do not approve or deny the changes—that’s the responsibility of the configuration control board (CCB)

250. The configuration control board (CCB) has the authority to approve or deny change requests. Their authority is defined and outlined by the organization

251. “Recommended” corrective action is an output of several of the change control processes, including Scope Change Control, Schedule Control, Cost Control, Risk Monitoring and Control, and Perform Quality Control.

252. “Approved” corrective action is an output of the Integrated Change Control process.
Remember that Integrated Change Control is where all change requests are processed and either approved or denied.

253. Also note that corrective action is an output of the Monitoring and Controlling processes and an input to the Executing processes

254. Cost variances (both positive and negative) are calculated using a performance
measurement analysis tool (specifically earned value techniques)

255. EVT (earned value techniques) compares what you’ve received or produced to what you’ve spent.

256. Workarounds are unplanned responses. Workarounds deal with negative risk events as they occur.

257. Schedule variances will sometimes—but not always—impact the schedule. Changes to noncritical path tasks will not likely impact the schedule, but changes to critical path tasks will always impact the schedule

258. Budget updates might require cost rebase lining

259. The process improvement plan is more focused on enhancing the value of the process in a project. It includes determining process boundaries, process metrics, targets for improved performances, etc.

260. You can remember the difference between Scope Verification and Perform Quality Control this way:
o Scope Verification = accepting work results
o Perform Quality Control = checking for correct work results (assuring that the
quality requirements are met)

261. Projects come to an end for several reasons:
o They’re completed successfully.
o They’re canceled or killed prior to completion.
o They evolve into ongoing operations and no longer exist as projects.

262. Four formal types of project endings exist that you might need to know for the exam:
o Addition
o Starvation
o Integration
o Extinction

263. For the exam, remember that product verification performed during the Closing processes determines whether all of the work of the project was completed correctly according to the contract terms and satisfactorily according to stakeholder expectations, whereas product documentation is verified and accepted during the Scope Verification process. One more note: when projects end prematurely, the Scope Verification process is where the level of detail concerning the amount of work completed gets documented.

264. Note PMI defines “Scope Statement” as the basis for making future project decisions and for confirming or developing common understanding of project scope among project
stakeholders.

265. Close Project
o Product verification (work was correct and satisfactory)
o Collecting project documents
o Disseminating final acceptance notice
o Documenting lessons learned
o Archiving project records

266. Contract Closure
o Product verification (work was correct and satisfactory)
o Formal acceptance and closure

267. WBS element changes are scope changes. Schedule revisions are often required as a result of scope changes.

268. Close Project and Contract Closure are the processes in the Closing process group and are
performed in that order

269. The work performance information is reviewed to determine the status of project activities
and make certain the project goals and objectives are met. This is an input to the Close
Project process

270. According to the PMBOK Guide, the procurement audit examines the procurement process
from Procurement Planning through Contract Administration

271. Integrity means adhering to an ethical standard

272. Hammocks are summary-level activities or aggregate activities shown as a summary activity on a project schedule network diagram.

273. Contract Negotiation has “5’ Sequential steps (Note Agreement is AFTER Closure)
o Protocol
o Probing
o Scratch Bargaining
o Closure and
o Agreement

274. The Primary Objective of establishing a Quality Assurance Process is “For Quality Improvement”

275. “Quality Function Deployment Process” identifies what the customer’s needs are
(Spoken/unspoken words) and translates those needs into technical requirements. Appropriate for each stage of the product development life cycle

276. Decision Tree is a diagram that describes a decision under consideration and the implications of choosing one of the alternatives

277. The Project Charter provides the
o high level requirements,
o constraints,
o assumptions,
o stakeholders and
o the measures of success.

278. Based on this information, or the lack of it, the Charter is an excellent source to start to identify the Project Risks

279. Activity Resource Estimating involves determining what physical resources (People, Equipment, etc) and what quantities should be used and when they would be needed to perform project activities

280. Physical limitations are an attribute of “Mandatory Dependencies”

281. A Project Phase is “Marked by the completion of one or more deliverables”

282. A “Product Description” should define the relationship between the product that is being created and the business need

283. Contingency Plans can be best described as “Planned responses to Risk Events”

284. Staff assignments and resource availability are the outputs of “Acquire the Project Team” Process

285. Complex and large projects would be more effectively managed in “Strong” and ‘Projectized” Structure

286. If Changes are well defined, its Fixed Price Contract but if they are not then its T & M.

287. Punitive Damages are the damages intended to punish the wrong doer

288. “Utility Theory” considers the pains or tolerance level a stakeholder has to risk

289. There are three key components to a Risk
o Risk Event (The Event)
o Probability of the Event
o Impact or Effects of the Event (Amount at Stake)

290. Delhi technique is a “Consensus Technique”

291. Residual Risk are those that “Remain” after Risk Responses have been taken

292. Inputs to Performance Reporting are
o Work Performance Information
o Performance Measurements
o Forecasted Completion
o QC Measurement
o Project Plan
o Approved Change Requests and
o Deliverables

293. Interpersonal communication takes three forms
o Verbal
o Non-verbal and
o Written

294. When distributing information, the total message impact from the sender is

1. 7% words ,

2. 38% vocal tones and

3. 55% body language

295. A ‘Planning Package” is a WBS component below the control account but above the work
package. It is used for planning unknown work content that does not have detailed schedule activities

296. There are two types of “Decision Models” that can be used for Project Selection during the initiation Process
o Comparative (Benefit measurement Rating) Models
o Constrained (Mathematical Decision Models)

297. Comparative (Benefit measurement Rating) Models
o Decision Tree
o Criteria Profiling
o Weighted Factor
o Q-Sorting
o Delphi Technique

298. Constrained (Mathematical Decision Models)
o Logical Framework Analysis
o Linear Program Programming

299. The “Control Points” in the WBS used for isolated assignment to work centers are referred to as the “Control Account Plan”

300. Control account Plan (CAP) is a management control point where the integration of scope,
budget and schedule take place and where the measurement of performance takes place.
These CAPS are placed at the selected management points in the WBS.

301. Cost Estimates include All Resources to be charged to the Project

302. A Control Account is a management control point that can be placed at selected management points of the WBS above the Work Package Level ( Like RTN)

303. To convey information between two or more parties, the communication process must have a medium. The three most common media are
o Visual
o Auditory and
o Tactile

304. Four steps of performing RCA (Root Cause Analysis) are
o Data Collection
o Casual Factor Charting
o Root Cause Identification
o Recommendation Generating and Implementation

305. Scatter Diagrams are used to investigate the possible relationship between two variables that both relate to the same “EVENT”

306. BCR (Benefit Cost Ratio) compares the benefits to the costs of the project where the Benefits are the same as Revenues or often referred to as the “Payback period”

307. Payback Period

Number of years required for an organization to recapture an initial investment.

Discount rate is not taken into account in calculations for payback period.

Project Selection Criterion: Select a project with lower payback period.

Example: There are two projects. Project A has an investment of $500,000 and a payback period of 3 years. Project B has an investment of $300,000 and a payback period of 5 years. Using the payback period criterion, which project will you select?

Answer: Project A will be selected. The fact that project B has a smaller investment than project A will not impact the selection.

308. Project performance is impacted by Four Basic Cultures
o World
o National
o Business and
o Leadership

309. When one considers their Culture to be superior, they are called “Ethnocentric”

310. Use of personal space during social interaction is known as “Proxemics”

311. Risk is the notion of dealing with “Uncertainty”
o Knows at the extreme end of the Uncertainty Spectrum will definitely affect you, although you have no control over them
o Knows-Unknowns are items that will affect you although you are not able to predict how or how much they will effect you
o Unknown – Unknowns are items or situations whose existence we cannot imagine (Who knows?)

312. Residual risks are those risks that remain after risk responses have been implemented. Residual risks are expected to remain after planned responses have been taken, as well as those that have been deliberately accepted.

313. A Records Management Systems is a specific set of processes, related control functions and automation tools used by the PM to manage contract documentation and records. Its the TT of Contract Administration Process

314. Parametric (Top – Down) uses historical data and statistical relationships to determine costs

315. Constructive team roles include Initiators, Information seekers, Information givers,
Encouragers, Clarifiers, Harmonizers, Summarizers and Gate Keepers

316. Destructive team roles include Aggressor, Withdrawer, Blocker, Devil’s advocate, Recognizer, Topic Jumper and Dominator

317. “To Complete Performance Indicator” (TCPI) determines the cost performance efficiency
required to complete the project within the original budget (BAC) or revised budget (EAC);

318. TCPI > 1 is NOT good; To calculate TCPI, take the value of the work remaining over the value of funds remaining

319. CPI and SPI must be Equal or greater than 1.

320. “Eustress” is a stress that will motivate and contribute to an increase in performance

321. Quantitative based durations (Parametric technique) multiply a known element, like lines of code required by the time it takes to develop one line of code. The result is the total estimate for the activity

322. Quality Metrics are the Outputs of Quality Planning. It is an operation definition that describes “what” something is and “how” it will be measured in very specific terms

323. Straight-line depreciation is the simplest method of depreciating an asset and is frequently utilized on a project to determine its economic feasibility. Straight-line depreciation is a method that divides an asset’s cost and its expected salvage value by its expected utilization period

324. Performance Reporting is an INPUT to all “Control” Process (Except Quality Control)

325. Decision Trees are considered Quantitative while Influence diagram are considered Qualitative.

326. Influence diagram shows the dependencies among the variables more clearly than the decision tree

327. A “Bill of Material” (BOM) describes the product in terms of its assemblies, sub-assemblies and basic parts

328. Allowing “Automatic Approval” of changes is a function of the Change Control System and NOT Configuration Management

329. Contingency Plan document outlines the actions to be taken if an identified risk event should occur

330. Variable and attribute sampling are forms of acceptance sampling.
Variable sampling evaluates a characteristic measured on a numerical scale
Attribute sampling tests for defective or non defective

331. Parametric Modeling applies to only Project with Similar characteristics

332. The point of total assumption (PTA) is a price determined by a fixed price plus incentive fee contract (FPIF) above which the seller bears all the loss of a cost overrun. It is also known as the "most pessimistic cost

PTA = ((Ceiling Price - Target Price)/buyer's Share Ratio) + Target Cost

333. Variance analysis involves comparing actual project results to planned or expected results

334. Trend analysis involves examining project results over time to determine if performance is
improving

335. Arrow diagramming method (ADM) is a network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows.^[1] ADM is also known as the activity-on-arrow (AOA) method. ADM only shows finish-to-start relationships, meaning that each activity is completed before the successor activity starts.

336. Senior Management is responsible for issuing the charter.

337. Insurance is an example of transferring risk.

338. Grade refers to category or rank given to entities having same functional use but different technical characteristics. As an example a basic $10K car belongs to a different grade when compared to a $50K luxury car. Your expectations from the two cars and their performances will differ because they belong to different grades. Hence, Bad grade is acceptable, but bad quality is not.

339. PDCA (plan–do–check–act or plan–do–check–adjust) The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle is a way of making small improvements and testing their impact before you make a change to the process as a whole. It comes from W. Edwards Deming's work in process improvement, which popularized the cycle that was originally invented by Walter Shewhart in the 1930s.

340. Seven Basic Tools of Quality is a designation given to a fixed set of graphical techniques identified as being most helpful in troubleshooting issues related to quality.^[1] They are called basic because they are suitable for people with little formal training in statistics and because they can be used to solve the vast majority of quality-related issues.

FiSH-P-CCC

The seven tools are:

1. Cause-and-effect diagram (also known as the "fishbone" or Ishikawa diagram)

2. Check sheet

3. Control chart

4. Histogram

5. Pareto chart

6. Scatter diagram

7. Stratification (alternately, flow chart or run chart)

341. To find out which issue has Maximum Impact – Use Pareto Diagram

342. Potential causes of a problem can be looked by creative way to analyze quality – Fishbone Diagram/Ishikawa.

343. Project managers must have a “zero tolerance” policy on racist remarks, or any other cultural insensitivity. If there is an incident involving racism, sexism or any other kind of discrimination, your top priority is to correct that. Every company has a policy that guides how you handle this kind of situation, so a question involving racism will usually involve the company's policy or HR department.

344. Just remember, lessons learned are your most important organizational process assets.

345. Job security, salary, clean and safe working conditions are examples of hygiene factors. Appreciation at work is not a hygiene factor, but instead a motivating factor.

346. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Maslow%27s_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg/450px-Maslow%27s_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg.png

347. Dynamic Programming is an example of Constrained Optimization method. Murder board is an example of benefit measurement method.

348. Benefit Measurement Method - Most Common project selection approach, it is a comparative approach, uses scoring models, cost benefit analysis, review board, economic models.

349. What are some examples of the Benefit Method Model - Return or Investment (ROI), Net Present Value (NPV), Payback Period, Expected Present Value, Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

350. Constrained Optimization Method - Uses a mathematical approach for project selection by using, decision tree models, applies a risk element to get an Expected Monetary Value, and uses linear programming, nonlinear programming, dynamic programming, and multi-objective programming.

351. Which selection model utilizes ROI - Benefit Measurement Model

352. Who is responsible for performing Scope Validation? - Customer (Control Scope process is part of scope management knowledge area.)

353. In oligopoly, the action of one seller has an impact on other sellers, as there are very few sellers.

354. Crashing involves adding extra resources to reduce the project duration.

355. A risk trigger is an indication that the risk is about to occur or has occurred.

356. Lag is the amount of time after the completion of the predecessor activity, when the successor activity can start.

357. According to PMBOK 90% of Project Managers time is spent in communicating.

358. According to PMI, Compromise is an example of a loose-loose situation.

359. A CPI of greater than one indicates you are taking less money than planned to do the project.

360. Ethnocentrism refers to belief that one’s culture is superior to other cultures.

361. Stakeholder Management is about the creation and maintenance of relationships between the project team and stakeholders. Under specific circumstances, answers B and C may be partially or. Answer D is incorrect: what is created as the stakeholder management plan, not the stakeholder management strategy. PMBOK® Guide, 5th edition, p. 400

362. Tornado Diagram – Sensitivity analysis – Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis process

363. Project Scope the work needed to complete a product, service, or result

364. Inspection is a scope validation technique that includes activities (such as measuring, examining, and verifying) to determine whether work and deliverables meet requirements and product acceptance criteria. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 135]

365. Midway through the Collect Requirements process, a project manager finds that there are many unresolved issues. Which of the following is usually the best way to discover and resolve issues? – Facilitated Workshops.

366. Facilitated Workshops also called as Joint Application Design ( JAD Session)

367. Activity duration estimates are quantitative assessments of the likely work periods to complete an activity. They do not contain any lag or lead information. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 172]

368. Cost Performance Index (CPI) of more than 1.0 indicates the project is under budget.

369. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) provides the framework for the cost management plan. The WBS contains control accounts, which link directly to the performing organization's accounting system. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 199]

370. The grade of a product relates to the technical characteristics of the product. [PMBOK 5th edition, Pg 228]

371. (PDPC) Process decision program charts - useful method for contingency planning, by helping a team anticipate intermediate steps that could derail achievement of a project goal.

372. Prioritization matrices are an important quality planning tool. They provide a way to rank a diverse set of problems and issues by order of importance are usually generated through brainstorming.

373. Mind Mapping – Affinity diagrams

374. Business partners are External Organizations.

375. Six-phase decision-making model, the project manager first defines the problem. Then he or she generates solutions, puts ideas into action, plans the solution action and plans the solution evaluation. Once the solution is implemented, he or she evaluates the outcome and process. Therefore, all choices except for problem solution escalation are part of this model. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 516]

376. Smoothing is a temporary way to resolve conflict.

377. Conflict is inevitable in a project environment.

378. A key project in an organization has been ignored, due to high travel expenses associated with the movement of subject matter experts and other specialists across various project locations. Which of the following will permit such a project to be undertaken in a cost-efficient manner? – Virtual Teams

379. E-mail messages are normally considered informal written communication. E-mail is a written form of communication. Another example of informal written communication is memorandums

380. Whenever contracts are involved in a project, the project manager and team should use formal written communication methods. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 287]

381. A contract is a mutually binding agreement that obligates the seller to provide the specified product, or service or product and obligates the buyer to pay for it.

382. The online database is an example of a Project Management Information System. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 554]

383. The project deliverables are not part of the project file. Documentation resulting from Project’s activities – all plans, PMPLAN, etc..

384. project competing constraint’s - Six competing project constraints are scope, quality, schedule, budget, resources and risk. Therefore, PROCUREMENT is NOT project competing constraint

385. Expected Monetary Value = Probability * Impact

386. A point in time that a project or project phase is authorized to its completion is called a project boundary.

387. A point in time that a project or project phase is authorized to its completion is called a project boundary.

388. The best choice of action for the project manager in this situation if Stakeholder missed is brought up by a team member then authenticate the information before taking any action or include the stakeholder.

389. One of the mandatory standards in the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct is respect. A project manager must listen to others’ points of view and understand them. However, before asking the junior project manager for evidence of his or her PMP certification, you must ask your functional manager to provide evidence to support his or her allegations. You can suspend the junior project manager or report him or her to PMI if there sufficient evidence of his or her guilt. [PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Page 3]

390. What should you do as a senior project manager if the PMP certification claimed by a recently recruited project manager doesnot appears in the PMI website?

Correct Response: Reason Request more information from the new recruit

391. A point in time that a project or project phase is authorized to its completion is called a project boundary.

392. Iterative Relationship is best suited for Uncertain Conditions.

393. Identification of new risks, reassessment of old risks, and closing of outdated risks are done as part of the Control Risks phase. How often should project risk reassessment be scheduled?

393.Answer: It depends on the project processes relative to its objective!

394. Statistical sampling will provide sufficient inspection to ensure a high likelihood of a quality product while saving money for theproject. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 240]

395. Hammock Activity = Summary Activity

396. A Probability and Impact Matrix contains risks prioritized according to their potential implications for meeting the project's objectives. The typical approach is: Lookup Table or Probability & Impact matrix.

397. Facilitator is a Management Skill

398. Acceptance Criteria is done in Define Scope.

399. A critical resource is on another project team. It is essential that you get his time for your project. You have contacted the resource’s team manager several times but have received a poor response. What should you consider doing next?

Contacting the manager once again will not help since you have already had a poor response. The best option is to try using management influence to obtain the resource's time for your project. Should all efforts to obtain the resource prove unsuccessful, alternatives include planning for an alternate resource or training another resource. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 268]

400. The completion of project scope is measured against the project management plan, whereas the completion of product scope is measured against the product requirements. The work of the project results in delivery of the specified product scope. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 106]

401. One of the most common sources of confusion is the difference between a project stakeholder and a key stakeholder. Who are the key stakeholders? the key stakeholders are the subset of the project stakeholders that are in a decision making position\

402. In the Conduct Procurements process, sellers are selected and procurement contracts are awarded to them. Contracts can be awarded in the form of a purchase order. Since the PMO selected you to write the purchase order, it is in the process of conducting procurements. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 371]

403. Earned value analysis is used as a trend analysis technique for monitoring overall project performance. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 352]

404. Resource pooling - a large number of simultaneously performed projects utilize the same groups of human and other resources.

405. If the tasks are not on the critical path of the project, we cannot determine the PERT estimate for the duration of the project. The PERT estimate can only be calculated for the critical path of the project.

406. Inspection includes activities such as measuring, examining, and validating to determine whether work and deliverables meet requirements and product acceptance criteria.

407. Dependency Determination is a tool/technique for the Sequence Activities process. None of the other options are tools or techniques for this process.

408. Management by objectives is a systems approach for aligning project goals with organizational goals, project goals with the goals of other subunits of the organization, and project goals with individual goals.

409. Unresolved issues can be a major source of conflict and project delays.

410. Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory

Herzberg's findings revealed that certain characteristics of a job are consistently related to job satisfaction, while different factors are associated with job dissatisfaction. These are:

Factors for Satisfaction	Factors for Dissatisfaction
Achievement Recognition The work itself Responsibility Advancement Growth	Company policies Supervision Relationship with supervisor and peers Work conditions Salary Status Security

411. When a project deviates significantly from the baseline, updated risk identification and analysis should be performed.

412. The project manager usually follows different leadership styles as listed below:

• Autocratic: Makes decisions himself/herself; allows team members little involvement and discussion before a decision is made.

• Directing: Instruct people what tasks will be performed and when and how they should be performed.

• Laissez Faire: Does not interfere; team is left unsupervised which may lead to anarchy.

• Democratic: Allows team to discuss issues and reach decisions, although still guides and advises.

• Delegating: Delegates to team members, particularly if competent to handle tasks.

• Coaching: Issues instructions and then supports and monitors.

• Discussing: Two-way communication and discussion with team members.

• Facilitating: Coordinates inputs from several sources before making a decision.

• Supportive: Provides positive assistance and encouragement; maintains and presents a positive outlook during times of uncertainty; listens and encourages.

• Participatory: Involve others; same as Democratic style.

• Task-Oriented: Enforces task completion by deadlines.

• Team-Based: Emphasizes teamwork and working well together.

• Assertive: Confronts issues and displays confidence; establishes authority with respect.

413. Team uses a set of rigorous scripts to test the code and functionality. In which process would the team use these scripts to test the modules and in what process would the test scripts be audited to ensure they are valid and produce the desired results?

414. Control Quality is the process of monitoring and recording results from the project to assess/measure performance and recommend any changes. Deliverables are also inspected and checked to ensure there are no defects.

415. Auditing is a key tool of Perform Quality Assurance.

416. Earned value analysis is used as a trend analysis technique for monitoring overall project performance. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 352]

417. In your project, you actively manage stakeholder’s engagement in order to meet their needs and expectations. Doing this is very beneficial, however, it may not help to:

Choice 1 Increase the likelihood of stakeholders` acceptance of the project goals

Choice 2 Influence and negotiate expectations of stakeholders to achieve project goals

Choice 3 Ensure stakeholders` awareness of all project details

Choice 4 Uncover and discuss stakeholder issues and concerns

Correct Choice: 3

Justification: Manage Stakeholder Engagement involves communicating and working with project stakeholders to meet their needs and expectations. Actively managing the expectations and engagement of stakeholders should increase the likelihood of project acceptance and support, and should also minimize stakeholder resistance. This process also involves negotiating and influencing stakeholders in favor of achieving the project goals. Addressing concerns that have not yet become issues and anticipating future problems is useful for managing project risks. Doing all this however, does not ensure that stakeholders are fully aware when they should be, and in fact, it is not always desirable for stakeholders to be aware of ALL project details.

Option 3 (i.e., Ensure stakeholders` awareness of all project details) is not recommended. The project manager should try to manage information, so that only appropriate and relevant information reaches the appropriate stakeholders.

418. Which of the following statements about Control Quality is accurate?

A. Prevention refers to keeping errors out of the process, whereas inspection refers to keeping errors out of the hands of the customer.

B. Attribute sampling determines whether the result conforms or not, and variables sampling determines the degree of conformity.

C. Tolerances refer to a specified range of accepted results and control limits refer to thresholds, which can indicate whether the process is out of control.

D. Control Quality is only performed during the Monitoring and Controlling phase of a project.

Choice 1 B, C and D

Choice 2 A, C and D

Choice 3 A, B and D

Choice 4 A, B and C

Correct Choice: 4

Justification : Cost control should be used during the project executing and closing phases to formally demonstrate, with reliable data, that the sponsor and/or customer`s acceptance criteria have been met.

419. You are creating a cost management plan for your Six-Sigma project. In this context, which of the following statements relating to creation of the cost management plan is inaccurate?

Choice 1 Specifies the precision level to which the schedule activity cost estimates will adhere

Choice 2 Establishes variance thresholds for costs

Choice 3 Defines formats for various cost reports

Choice 4 Uses preferred tools for cost estimating

Correct Choice: 4

Justification : Cost management plan does not include cost estimation, i.e., tools for cost estimating are not used for creation of cost management plan. These tools will be used in the Estimate Costs process.

PMP Formulas:

1. PERT	(P + 4M + O )/ 6 Pessimistic, Most Likely, Optimistic
2. Standard Deviation	(P - O) / 6
3. Variance	[(P - O)/6 ]squared
4. Float or Slack	LS-ES and LF-EF
5. Cost Variance	EV - AC
6. Schedule Variance	EV - PV
7. Cost Perf. Index	EV / AC
8. Sched. Perf. Index	EV / PV
9. Est. At Completion (EAC)	BAC / CPI, AC + ETC -- Initial Estimates are flawed AC + BAC - EV -- Future variance are Atypical AC + (BAC - EV) / CPI -- Future Variance would be typical
10. Est. To Complete Percentage complete	EAC - AC EV/ BAC
11. Var. At Completion	BAC - EAC
12. To Complete Performance IndexTCPI	Values for the TCPI index of less then 1.0 is good because it indicates the efficiency to complete is less than planned. How efficient must the project team be to complete the remaining work with the remaining money? ( BAC - EV ) / ( BAC - AC )
13. Net Present Value	Bigger is better (NPV)
14. Present Value PV	FV / (1 + r)^n
15. Internal Rate of Return	Bigger is better (IRR)
16. Benefit Cost Ratio	Bigger is better ((BCR or Benefit / Cost) revenue or payback VS. cost)
17. Payback Period	Less is better Net Investment / Avg. Annual cash flow.
18. Expected Monetary Value	Probability * Impact
19. Point of Total Assumption (PTA)	((Ceiling Price - Target Price)/buyer's Share Ratio) + Target Cost
20. Sigma σ	1σ = 68.27% 2σ = 95.45% 3σ = 99.73% and 6σ = 99.99985

4 comments:

Saman Nilantha PereraJuly 10, 2015 at 4:57 AM
grateful summarization
UnknownMay 17, 2017 at 6:13 AM
Thanks for the helpfull summary. Do the colors (of the arrows and blocks) mean anything in your inputs and outputs slides?
Sameer Managoli, PMP, PMI-ACPAugust 29, 2018 at 9:29 AM
Sorry for late response!

Yes those where high potential on exam :)
nakullamadridMarch 3, 2022 at 11:40 PM
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Monday, April 21, 2014