102 capm® exam preparation · you will be prepared to pass the certified associate in project...
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102 CAPM® Exam Preparation Main Page
Instructor-led Online Training from Anywhere
Contents
Course Summary
Detailed Syllabus
Lecture Sample
Textbook Sample
Sample Exam
Course Webpage
You will be prepared to pass the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) exam with our online course. You will receive individual instruction from a PMP-certified project manager. You can earn your CAPM certification by studying from anywhere at a schedule you control. The CAPM certification exam is difficult, covering hundreds of concepts, tools and techniques. We will help you learn each and every one of them. You and your personal instructor will plan the course in a phone conversation when you begin the course. You’ll discuss your learning style and your instructor will tailor our materials to fit the way you learn. You’ll get coaching and individual feedback from your instructor on each of the 36 or more practice exams you will take.
How You Work With Your Instructor
You will have phone conversations and private video conferences with your instructor whenever you wish. There is no limit. Your instructor will review your practice exams, identify changes that may be needed in your study techniques and thoroughly explain all the concepts or techniques you need to master to pass the CAPM exam.
You will study with world-class materials by Dick Billows PMP. You’ll watch high definition videos, read our new CAPM textbook which describes all the PMBOK 5th edition tools and techniques and shows you real-life examples of how to use them. You can also access our database of hundreds of articles and samples that illustrate every technique you need to know to pass the exam.
CAPM Passing Guarantee We guarantee our work on our CAPM prep course. 95% of our students pass on their first try but if you don’t, your instructor will work with you until you pass. Examine the materials and see why our course has no equal; online or in a classroom.
4PM.com 3547 S. Ivanhoe St Denver, CO 80237 United States 800-942-4323 www.4pm.com
Launch your project manager career
Earn an internationally recognized certification to get that
BECOME A CAPM® CERTIFIED
Main Page
promotion or higher-paying position
ASSOCIATE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Learning Materials
333-page Textbook
42 Video Lectures 24/7
Videos of PMs in Action
Process Flowcharts
100s of Tool Write-ups
24 – 35 Practice Exams
We are a PMI Global Registered
Education Provider (R.E.P.) and our
CAPM Exam Prep course fulfills the
education requirement.
This is the only course you need
to pass the CAPM exam -
guaranteed
Training with a PMP-certified Instructor
Our CAPM Exam Prep course will prepare you to pass the CAPM
exam; we guarantee it. Your instructor works with you, one-to-one,
until you pass the CAPM exam.
Working With Your Instructor You will work individually with your PMP-certified instructor
- e-mail questions to your instructor and get a response within 24 hours
- telephone and video conferences as often as you need them. No limits.
Your instructor grades each exam and gives you feedback that includes
the correct answers with explanations. They provide coaching on any
areas you need to re-study.
Online Boot Camp You have a 4-day comprehensive review with your instructor
immediately before your test date. You’ll do full-size CAPM exam
simulations that are practice tests focusing on every area covered in the
exam. You have a video conferences with your instructor as needed.
There is also a phone call from your instructor the night before your
CAPM exam to give you test-taking tips and techniques.
4PM.com 3547 S. Ivanhoe St Denver, CO 80237 United States 303-596-0000 www.4pm.com
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Fulfill the Education
Requirement Practice answering tricky questions
on every process group, knowledge
area, tool and technique
Main Page
Gain an International
Credential From PMI MASTER PM BEST PRACTICES
Passing Guaranteed
COURSE OUTLINE PERSONAL INSTRUCTION SPECIFICATIONS
-Foundations
-Communications
-Scope
-Time
-Cost
-Human Resources
-Quality
-Procurement
-Risk
-Integration
-Professionalism
-Comprehensive Final Review
You have textbook reading, online
lectures, videos and CAPM practice exams. You have regular progress
phone calls and video conferences with your instructor.
The best way to pass the CAPM exam the first time is with a course tailored to your
schedule and learning style.
Your instructor, who is a PMP, works directly and privately
with you, answering your questions by phone or email within 24 hours. You can have
as many phone calls as you wish.
When you take one of the 24- 35 practice exams (depending on how many you need), your
instructor sends you written feedback with the correct
answers and explanations of why they are correct.
For Beginning PMs
50 Hours of Work
Use a PC, Mac or iPad
Study When You Want
Study From Anywhere
Take up to 1 Year
PMI Registered Education Provider
#1147
Earns 50 Contact Hours
4PM.com
3547 S. Ivanhoe St
Denver, CO 80237
303-596-0000
www.4pm.com
1 ©2013 The Hampton Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be reproduced in any form.
102 CAPM® Exam Prep Course 2013
Prep Course Syllabus
Passing the CAPM® Exam the First Time
Content Delivery System for Individual CAPM Exam Training You and your instructor will work together in our content delivery system that will allow your
instructor to tailor the course to your needs, assignment by assignment. You’ll have video
conferences with your instructor on a regular basis plus phone calls and email exchanges
whenever you wish. There’s no limit to these contacts. You and your instructor will begin
with a private conference and use the results of your initial assessment to gauge where you
need more work and where your project management knowledge is complete. That custom
tailoring process will continue through the course. Your instructor will assess each of the
practice exams you submit, identify weaknesses and select specific materials from our
Learning Topics to address them.
Planning Your Personalized Course with Your Instructor During your initial call with your instructor, you'll plan the pace of your studies and identify
any deadlines you want to hit. Take a look at the “passing zone” in the graphic above. You'll
see that we recommend you study between 4 hours a week (18 weeks to finish) and 18
hours per week (4 weeks to finish). Each process group requires approximately 9 hours of
work. How intensely you study is, of course, your decision. But your odds of passing the
CAPM exam the first time are highest when you stay within the “passing zone." You will
determine a schedule that fits your unique situation and you can change it if things change.
Long gaps in your studies reduce your odds of passing the CAPM exam the first time. Over
97% of our students pass the exam on their first try. The students who do not pass typically
have a long gap in their studies.
Try to schedule your studies so you can finish the course and sit for the exam within 7 days.
Once PMI has approved your application for the exam, you and your instructor will work on
a comprehensive final review during the 4 days immediately before you sit for the CAPM
exam. You must successfully complete all course assignments and take the CAPM exam
within 14 days of completing the course in order to meet the terms of our guarantee.
2 ©2013 The Hampton Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be reproduced in any form.
102 CAPM® Exam Prep Course 2013
We are a PMI Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.). This course has been approved by PMI
for 50 hours, fulfilling the education requirement for the CAPM exam.
Adapting the Course to Your Learning Style During the planning phone call, your instructor will discuss your strengths and weakness
based on the pre-course assessment test you’ll take. They will also ask you about your
preferred learning style. Think about whether you are a visual learner, where diagrams and
flow charts are a big help, or a logical learner where reading a text is the way you prefer to
learn new material. Based on the assessment and your discussion, you and you instructor
will plan how you should use the following learning materials to tailor the course to your
learning style:
1. Electronic textbook (e-book) Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase, 11th Edition. You
have reading assignments for each project process. You can print selected pages and
sections or search the full textbook for key terms. The textbook is password protected
and our Student Services staff will send you an e-mail with the book and password to
download and open it. It is for your use alone, in part and in whole, and cannot be
copied. The individual textbook reading assignments for each project process are also
linked from your course website.
2. Lecture videos. These videos are approximately one hour for each process group and
contain lectures with illustrations of the key inputs, outputs, tools and techniques for
that process. They are available 24/7 and you may watch them as many times as you
wish from your PC, iPad, iPhone or Android.
3. Project manager in action videos. These show a project manager and team
members actually working through the PMI best practices in project management. They
are organized by the work of the process group you are studying.
4. Multiple-choice practice exams. You take online mini-CAPM exams focused on one
process group. These practice questions are like the real CAPM exam questions but
there are only 40 to 70 questions per exam for each process group. When you submit
the exam, it is sent directly to your instructor for review and grading. They will send you
written feedback within 24 hours and identify learning topics for you based on your
results. You must score at least 90% on the practice exam or your instructor will ask
you to re-take that exam. Alternatively, they may send you a link to another practice
exam for that process group. You will continue taking these practice exams until you
achieve 90% or higher.
Personalized Interaction with Your Instructor You’ll work 1-to-1 with your instructor who holds a CAPM certification. They will guide you
through this exam preparation course and answer all your questions. So whenever you have
a question, you can either e-mail your instructor or request a private phone conference so
the two of you can discuss your issues.
Your instructor will review each of your practice exams, grade it, explain concepts you missed
and suggest areas of additional study to improve your scores. You will receive their written
feedback within 24 hours of our receipt of your exam. After you score 90% on your multiple
choice practice exam(s) for that process group, your instructor will advise you to most on to
the material for the next process group.
Your Personal Scorecard While your instructor will keep track of each of your scores, you may want to track your
progress against the plan you set.
3 ©2013 The Hampton Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be reproduced in any form.
102 CAPM® Exam Prep Course 2013
Process group Target date
Completed Reading
Watched Video
Lectures
1st
Practice Exam Score
2nd
Practice Exam Score
CAPM Framework
Initiating
Management Plans
Project Plans
Executing
Monitoring and
Controlling
Closing
Professionalism and
Ethics
Submit Application to
PMI After your instructor sends you feedback that you have successfully completed
Professionalism and Ethics, you submit your application online to PMI and claim 50 education hours for completing your 4PM.com CAPM Prep course.
Knowledge Areas Review the reading and lecture videos of the project management tasks
organized by the PMBOK, 5th
edition knowledge areas: scope, schedule, cost, quality, human resources, communication, procurement, risk and integration.
Schedule Exam Receive PMI’s approval to take the CAPM exam & set your date. Allow 4 days for the comprehensive review.
Comprehensive
Review The comprehensive review begins 4 days prior to your CAPM test date. Your
instructor will send you specific instructions for the comprehensive review once you set your CAPM test date.
1. CAPM® Framework
Your reading and lectures will cover the framework of information used in all of the project
management process groups that follow.
1. Reading: Read the Framework chapter in your textbook or on your course website. We
recommend taking written notes. 2. Lectures: Watch the Framework lecture videos on the course website. Add the new
4 ©2013 The Hampton Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be reproduced in any form.
102 CAPM® Exam Prep Course 2013
information in the lectures to your notes.
3. PM in Action Videos: There are no PM in Action videos in this first process group.
4. Practice Exams: Take the Framework multiple-choice practice exam inline by clicking
the button below the lecture. It will be sent directly to your instructor. They will grade it,
send you written explanations for the correct answers and additional feedback within 24
hours. If you do not achieve 90% on the first try, your instructor will suggest studying
additional learning topics and ask you to re-take this exam. If you achieved 90%, your
instructor will send you the link to the second Framework multiple-choice exam.
5. Learning Topics: Your instructor will send you explanations for the multiple-choice
questions and, based on our test scores, they may send you links to additional learning
topics to strengthen your Framework knowledge.
2. Initiating Process Group
In this process group, you’ll learn about the best practices for initiating a new project. These
include the business case, defining the high-level scope, identifying stakeholders and risks,
then developing and presenting the project charter. 1. Reading: Read the Initiating chapter in your textbook or on your course website. We
recommend taking written notes.
2. Lecture: Watch the Initiating lecture videos on your course website. Add the new
information to your notes. 3. PM in Action Videos: Watch these videos from the link below the lecture.
4. Practice Exams: Take the Initiating multiple-choice practice exam by clicking the
button below the lecture. Complete the exam and it will be sent directly to your
instructor. They will grade it, send you written explanations for the correct answers and
additional feedback within 24 hours. If you do not achieve 90% on the first try, your
instructor will suggest studying additional learning topics and ask you to re-take this
exam. If you achieved 90%, your instructor will send you the link to the second
Initiating multiple-choice exam.
5. Learning Topics: Your instructor will send you explanations for the multiple-choice
questions and, based on our test scores, they may send you links to additional learning
topics to strengthen your Initiating process group knowledge.
3. Management Plans Process Group
In this process group, we will cover the management plans for each component in the
project from scope, to budget, to schedule and more. 1. Reading: Read the Management Plans chapter in your textbook or on your course
website. We recommend taking written notes.
2. Lecture: Watch the Management Plans lecture videos on your course website. Add the
new information to your notes. 3. PM in Action Videos: Watch these videos from the link below the lecture.
4. Practice Exams: Take the Management Plans multiple-choice practice exam by
clicking the button below the lecture. Complete the exam and it will be sent directly to
your instructor. They will grade it, send you written explanations for the correct answers
and additional feedback within 24 hours. If you do not achieve 90% on the first try, your
instructor will suggest studying additional learning topics and ask you to re-take this
exam. If you achieved 90%, your instructor will send you the link to the second
Management Plans multiple-choice exam.
102 CAPM® Exam Prep Course 2013
5. Learning Topics: Your instructor will send you explanations for the multiple-choice
questions and, based on our test scores, they may send you links to additional learning
topics to strengthen your Management Plans process group knowledge.
6. Mid-course phone call: When you have completed the Management Plans process
group, you and your instructor will have a mid-course call to discuss your progress to
date and your application for the CAPM exam. You cannot submit the application until
you’ve received your instructor’s feedback that you have successfully completed the
Professionalism and Ethics process group.
4. Project Planning Process Group
In this process group, we will cover the planning techniques used to create the scope
statement, schedule, budget and risk management. 1. Reading: Read the Planning section in your textbook or on your course website. We
recommend taking written notes.
2. Lecture: Watch the Planning lecture videos for this section on your course website.
Add the new information to your notes. 3. PM in Action Videos: Watch the videos that are linked below the lecture video.
4. Practice Exams: Take the Planning multiple-choice practice exam by clicking the
button below the lecture. Complete the exam and it will be sent directly to your
instructor. They will grade it, send you written explanations for the correct answers and
additional feedback within 24 hours. If you do not achieve 90% on the first try, your
instructor will suggest studying additional learning topics and ask you to re-take this
exam. If you achieved 90%, your instructor will send you the link to the second Planning
multiple-choice exam.
5. Learning Topics: Your instructor will send you explanations for the multiple-choice
questions and, based on our test scores, they may send you links to additional learning
topics to strengthen your Planning process group knowledge.
5. Executing Process Group
In this process group, we’ll cover the executing processes, including obtaining and
managing resources, executing the project plan, performing quality assurance,
implementing change control and maximizing team performance. 1. Reading: Read the Executing section in your textbook or on your course website. We
recommend taking written notes.
2. Lecture: Watch the Executing lecture videos on your course website. Add the new
information to your notes. 3. PM in Action Videos: Watch the videos that are linked below the lecture.
4. Practice Exams: Take the Executing multiple-choice practice exam by clicking the
button below the lecture. Complete the exam and it will be sent directly to your
instructor. They will grade it, send you written explanations for the correct answers and
additional feedback within 24 hours. If you do not achieve 90% on the first try, your
instructor will suggest studying additional learning topics and ask you to re-take this
exam. If you achieved 90%, your instructor will send you the link to the second
Executing multiple-choice exam.
5. Learning Topics: Your instructor will send you explanations for the multiple-choice
questions and, based on our test scores, they may send you links to additional learning
topics to strengthen your Executing process group knowledge.
©2013 The Hampton Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be reproduced in any form. 5
102 CAPM® Exam Prep Course 2013
6. Monitoring and Controlling Process Group
In this process group, we’ll cover the Monitoring and Controlling processes, which happen in
parallel with the Executing processes. These processes include measuring project
performance, managing changes, performing quality control, controlling the scope,
schedule, cost, and communicating status, and performance information to stakeholders.
1. Reading: Read the Monitoring and Controlling section in your textbook or on your
course website. We recommend taking written notes.
2. Lecture: Watch the Monitoring and Controlling lecture videos your course website. Add
the new information to your notes. 3. PM in Action Videos: Watch the videos that are linked below the lecture.
4. Practice Exams: Take the Monitoring and Controlling multiple-choice practice exam by
clicking the button below the lecture. Complete the exam and it will be sent directly to
your instructor. They will grade it, send you written explanations for the correct answers
and additional feedback within 24 hours. If you do not achieve 90% on the first try, your
instructor will suggest studying additional learning topics and ask you to re-take this
exam. If you achieved 90%, your instructor will send you the link to the second
Monitoring and Controlling multiple-choice exam.
5. Learning Topics: Your instructor will send you explanations for the multiple-choice
questions and, based on our test scores, they may send you links to additional learning
topics to strengthen your Monitoring and Controlling process group knowledge.
7. Closing Process Group
In this process group, we’ll cover the seven processes to properly close out a project,
including verifying scope acceptance, transferring ownership of deliverables, financial, legal
and administrative closure, distributing the final project report, collating lessons learned,
archiving project information and measuring customer satisfaction.
1. Reading: Read the Closing section in your textbook or on your course website. We
recommend taking written notes.
2. Lecture: Watch the Closing lecture videos on your course website. Add the new
information to your notes. 3. PM in Action Videos: Watch the videos that are linked below the lecture.
5. Practice Exams: Take the Closing multiple-choice practice exam by clicking the button
below the lecture. Complete the exam and it will be sent directly to your instructor. They
will grade it, send you written explanations for the correct answers and additional
feedback within 24 hours. If you do not achieve 90% on the first try, your instructor will
suggest studying additional learning topics and ask you to re-take this exam. If you
achieved 90%, your instructor will send you the link to the second Closing multiple-
choice exam
6. Learning Topics: Your instructor will send you explanations for the multiple-choice
questions and, based on our test scores, they may send you links to additional learning
topics to strengthen your Monitoring and Controlling process group knowledge.
8. Professionalism & Ethics
1. Reading: Read the Professionalism and Ethics chapter in your textbook or on your
course website. We recommend taking written notes.
©2013 The Hampton Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be reproduced in any form. 6
102 CAPM® Exam Prep Course 2013 2. Lecture: Watch the lecture videos “Who is Bound by the Code” through “Honesty” on
your course website under the “Lecture” section. Add the new information to your notes. 3. PM in Action Videos: Watch the videos that are linked below the lecture.
5. Practice Exams: Take the Professionalism and Ethics multiple-choice practice exam by
clicking the button below the lecture. Complete the exam and it will be sent directly to
your instructor. They will grade it, send you written explanations for the correct answers
and additional feedback within 24 hours. If you do not achieve 90% on the first try, your
instructor will suggest studying additional learning topics and ask you to re-take this
exam. If you achieved 90%, your instructor will send you the link to the second
Professionalism and Ethics multiple-choice exam.
6. Learning Topics: Your instructor will send you explanations for the multiple-choice
questions and, based on our test scores, they may send you links to additional learning
topics to strengthen your Professionalism and Ethics process group knowledge.
6. Submit Your CAPM Application: When you receive your instructor’s feedback that
you have successfully completed the Professionalism and Ethics process group, you may
submit your CAPM application to PMI. Do it online and you should receive a reply within
3 to 5 business days.
9. PMBOK, 5th edition Knowledge Areas
The PMBOK, 5th edition organizes the project management processes you have just
completed studying by knowledge areas. They are scope, schedule, cost, quality, human
resources, communication, procurement, risk and integration. While you wait for PMI to
approve your CAPM application, complete the reading and lectures for this knowledge area
section.
1. Reading: Read the Knowledge Areas on your course website. We recommend taking
written notes.
2. Lecture: Watch the lecture videos “Scope management” through “Integration
management” on your course website under the “Lecture” section. Add the new
information to your notes.
3. Approved Application: Let your instructor know when PMI has approved your
application and you have scheduled your CAPM exam date.
10. Comprehensive Review
When PMI has approved your application and you have scheduled your CAPM exam, you
and your instructor will lay out a 4-day plan for completing the comprehensive review and
exams immediately before you sit for the CAPM exam. Your instructor will coach you
through this final review and call you the day before your exam with test-taking tips, what
to expect at the test center, words of encouragement and answers to any last minute
questions.
©2013 The Hampton Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be reproduced in any form. 7
1
Copyright© 2013 by Richard A. Billows, PMP®, GCA All Rights Reserved
Published by The Hampton Group, Inc.
3547 South Ivanhoe St.
Denver, Colorado 80237 (303)756-4247
www.4pm.com
Other books Published by 4PM.com
Essentials of Project Management
Advanced Project Management Techniques
Program & Portfolio Management
Managing Information Technology Projects
Construction Project Management
Managing Healthcare Projects
The Hampton Group, Inc. is a Project Management Institute (PMI®) Global Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.). The
Hampton Group, Inc. is committed to enhancing the ongoing professional development of PMI® members, PMI®-certified
professionals and other project management
stakeholders through appropriate project management learning activities and products. As a PMI® R.E.P., The Hampton Group Inc., has agreed to abide by PMI®-established operational and educational guidelines and is subject to random audits for quality assurance purposes.
Microsoft is a registered trademark and Project ®and Windows® are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Screen shots reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation.
All other product names and services identified throughout this book are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. They are used throughout this book in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies. No such uses, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with the book.
All rights reserved. The text of this publication, or any parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher.
ISBN 978-1-9385614-3-6
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction & Organization................................................... 5
Framework of Project Management ......................................... 7
What is a Project? .......................................................... 7
Project Management: The Cast, the Roles and the Script ...... 7
One Size Does Not Fit All ...................................................... 9
Trade-offs ..................................................................... 9
Professionalism and Social Responsibility ........................... 9
Portfolios, Programs, Phases & Sub-projects ....................... 9
Project Roles ................................................................ 10
Organizational Context ................................................... 12
Project & Product Lifecycles ............................................ 14
The Process Groups of Project Management ............................ 16
Initiating ...................................................................... 16
Planning ....................................................................... 16
Executing ..................................................................... 16
Monitoring and Controlling .............................................. 16
Closing ........................................................................ 16
The Knowledge Areas of Project Management .......................... 17
Integration Management ................................................ 17
Scope Management ....................................................... 17
Schedule Management ................................................... 17
Cost Management ......................................................... 18
Quality Management Knowledge Area ............................... 18
Human Resources Management ....................................... 18
Communications Management ......................................... 18
Risk Management .......................................................... 19
Procurement Management .............................................. 19
Stakeholder Management ............................................... 19
Professionalism & Social Responsibility ............................. 19
What the Heck are EEF and OPA? ..................................... 19
Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEF) ............................ 20
Organizational Process Assets (OPA) ................................ 20
Three Project Management Examples ............................... 20
Initiating ........................................................................... 23
Statement of Work ........................................................... 24
Business Case .................................................................. 25
Identify Stakeholders 13.1 ................................................. 26
3 Project Examples of Identify Stakeholders ....................... 28
High-level Scope .............................................................. 34
High-level Risks ............................................................... 35
Develop Project Charter 4.1 ............................................... 36
3 Project Examples of Develop Project Charter .................... 38
Charter Approval Meeting .................................................. 44
Planning ............................................................................ 45
Develop Project Management Plan 4.2 ................................. 46
3 Project Examples of Develop Project Management Plan ...48
Plan Scope Management. 5.1 ............................................. 56
3 Project Examples of Plan Scope Management ................... 57
Plan Schedule Management 6.1 .......................................... 62
3 Project Examples of Plan Schedule Management ............... 63
Plan Cost Management 7.1 ................................................ 68
3 Project Examples of Plan Cost Management ..................... 69
Plan Human Resource Management 9.1 ............................... 73
2
3 Project Examples Plan Human Resource Management ........ 75
Plan Stakeholder Management 13.2 .................................... 82
3 Project Examples Plan Stakeholder Management .............. 84
Plan Communications Management 10.1 .............................. 88
3 Project Examples of Plan Communications Management ..89
Plan Risk Management 11.1 ............................................... 94
3 Project Examples of Plan Risk Management ..................... 95
Plan Quality Management 8.1 ........................................... 100
3 Project Examples Plan Quality Management ................... 102
Plan Procurement Management 12.1 ................................. 110
3 Project Examples of Plan Procurement Management ........ 112
Project Management Plan Summary .................................. 124
Scope Planning Processes ................................................ 125
Scope Planning Processes................................................... 125
Collect Requirements 5.2 ................................................ 126
3 Project Examples of Collect Requirements ..................... 128
Define Scope5.3............................................................. 134
3 Project Examples of Define Scope ................................ 136
Create WBS 5.4 ............................................................. 143
3 Project Examples of Create WBS ................................. 145
Project Planning: Scheduling Processes ............................. 153
Define Activities 6.2 ........................................................ 154
3 Project Examples of Define Activities ............................ 155
Sequence Activities 6.3 ................................................... 161
3 Project Examples of Sequence Activities ....................... 163
Estimate Activity Resources 6.4 ........................................ 168
3 Project Examples of Estimate Activity Resources ............. 170
2
Estimate Activity Durations 6.5 ........................................ 176
3 Project Examples of Estimate Activity Durations .............. 177
Develop Schedule 6.6 ..................................................... 185
3 Project Examples of Develop Schedule .......................... 186
Cost Management 7.1 ..................................................... 194
Cost Tools Used in Many Tasks ...................................... 194
Estimate Costs 7.2 ......................................................... 197
3 Project Examples of Estimate Costs .............................. 199
Determine Budget 7.3 ..................................................... 206
3 Project Examples of Determine Budget ......................... 207
Risk Planning Processes 11.1 ........................................... 214
Identify Risks 11.2 ......................................................... 215
3 Project Examples of Identify Risks ............................... 217
Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis 11.3 ............................... 223
3 Project Examples of Qualitative Risk Analysis ................. 224
Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis 11.4 ............................. 231
3 Project Examples of Quantitative Risk Analysis ............... 233
Plan Risk Responses 11.5 ................................................ 240
3 Project Examples of Plan Risk Responses....................... 242
Plan Approval Meeting .................................................... 247
Executing ........................................................................ 251
Direct and Manage Project Work 4.3 .................................. 253
3 Project Examples of Direct and Manage Project Work ......... 255
Acquire Project Team 9.2 ................................................ 261
3 Project Examples of Acquire Project Team ..................... 262
Conduct Procurements 12.2 ............................................. 268
3 Project Examples of Conduct Procurements ................... 270
Develop Project Team 9.3 ................................................ 276
3 Project Examples of Develop Project Team .................... 277
Perform Quality Assurance 8.2 ......................................... 282
Three Examples of Perform Quality Assurance .................. 283
Manage Project Team 9.4 ................................................ 288
3 Project Examples of Manage Project Team ..................... 290
Manage Stakeholder Engagement 13.3 .............................. 294
3 Project Examples of Manage Stakeholder Engagement .. 295
Manage Communications 10.2 .......................................... 300
3 Project Examples of Manage Communications ................ 301
Monitoring & Controlling ..................................................... 306
Monitor and Control Project Work 4.4 ................................ 307
3 Project Examples of Monitor and Control Project Work .. 309
Perform Integrated Change Control 4.5.............................. 315
3 Project Examples of Perform Integrated Change Control 321
Validate Scope 5.5 ......................................................... 331
3 Project Examples of Validate Scope .............................. 332
Closing ............................................................................ 337
Close Procurements 12.4 ................................................. 338
3 Project Examples of Close Procurements ....................... 339
4.6 Close Project or Phase ............................................... 343
3 Project Examples of Close Project ................................ 344
6.1 Professionalism & Social Responsibility ............................ 348
Ensure Integrity and Professionalism ................................. 349
Project Examples of Professionalism and Social Responsibility ................................................................................ 351
2
Project Management Knowledge Areas ................................. 356
About the AUTHOR ............................................................ 358
Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase Introduction & Organization
Quality Management
INTRODUCTION & ORGANIZATION
This is the 11th edition of the Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase, which we have entirely rewritten to align with the PMBOK 5th Edition and the new PMI exams that are effective in July 2013. Over the years, this book has achieved its goal of helping our readers master the following:
The knowledge needed to pass the PMI® certification exams
The best practices in project management.
We do this by showing you these techniques from two perspectives.
Process Groups organize the tools and techniques chronologically:
Initiating Process Group
Planning Process Group
Executing Process Group
Monitoring and Controlling Process Group
Closing Process Group
The Knowledge Areas are groups of tools and techniques with related purposes that flow throughout the lifecycle:
Integration Management
Scope Management
Schedule Management
Cost Management
Procurement Management
Human Resource Management
Communication Management
Risk Management
Stakeholder Management
Professionalism and Social Responsibility
I have organized this textbook to make passing the exam take
as little time as possible. So, I will present information in the sequence you will follow to do a project (process groups). However, we will also keep the Knowledge Areas together so you can learn the sequence of tasks in a Knowledge Area, like Risk management.
To avoid having a book that was over 1,000 pages, we have created a Digital Knowledgebase on our PMI® exam prep web site. There you can drill down for more information and study
the knowledge in different ways to suit your learning style.
1. Visual learners will find very large diagrams of the tasks with videos explaining them.
2. Flow chart learners will find charts of every process group,
Knowledge Area and task. 3. “Show me an example” learners will see hundreds of samples
of Gantt charts, human resource plans, scope statements, Monte Carlo simulations, Earned Value reports, etc.
I trust you will find the book of great value in passing the PMI certification exams and in your career as a professional project manager.
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Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase Introduction & Organization Statement of Work
As always, I need to express my thanks to those who help make each edition of this book a success. “Mustang Sally” Mitsch, CAPM, has once again nit-picked my work to near perfection. Leslie, “the FIST” Schiefelbein, PMP, has edited the bejesus out my every word and thought. Together they have not missed a shingle one of my mistakes.
Best Regards,
Dick Billows, PMP, GCA
April 30, 2013
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Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase Framework of Project Management
FRAMEWORK OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
In this first section of the book, we’ll move through the lifecycle of a project covering all the key ideas. We’ll begin by reviewing some of the key ideas that we’ll use in all the Process Groups that follow. We also want to accomplish three other things:
Get a big picture view of the processes we will study in much greater detail later
Understand some of the best practice ideas that permeate all the details
Begin to learn the PMI language of project management, which is most likely different from what you use in your organization.
This chapter is not an exhaustive explanation of the big picture, that’s why several hundred pages follow this chapter.
What is a Project?
Projects are very different from the other components of the modern organization. Projects are temporary endeavors regardless of their size or scope. All projects have a special purpose and a specific start and end point and that differentiates a project from operations that go on continuously. Projects reach their end in three ways:
The project’s planned outcome is met
The project’s outcome will never be met and the organization terminates it
The original need for the project no longer exists and the organization terminates the project.
A second characteristic of a project is that it creates a unique deliverable, which may be a product, service or some other result. No two projects are alike. For example, we might be constructing a chain of fast food hamburger restaurants that will serve identical food. But the fact that we will be working with different team members, in varying locations and for different owners makes each of these projects unique.
A third characteristic of a project is that the project management team plans it iteratively; they plan it allowing interaction between the components. For example, a project manager might produce a draft of a schedule and then go to work on the project budget. To optimize the budget, the PM may need to change the schedule and modify the risk management plan. PMI® calls this progressive elaboration of the plan. Project managers are constantly working, checking and revising their plans.
Project Management: The Cast, the Roles and the Script
Project management is not the efforts of one individual. There is a cast of people that can include one or more project managers and associate project managers, who, along with executives and professionals, make up the project management
team. As well, projects have sponsors whose role includes initiating the project, defining it and securing organizational approval to expend resources on it. The project management team works with the other members of the project team who do the project’s work. Both interact with project stakeholders who are people affected by the project including; executives, managers, employees, and even vendors.
Together these people write the script for the project, setting
objectives, identifying project requirements and then
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converting those requirements into a verifiable scope and a project management plan that they then execute. Throughout the project’s life, the project management team works with the project team and stakeholders to deliver the project’s objective and its products.
Effective project management requires experience in managing projects as well as a wide range of learned skills and techniques. In addition to the PM’s skills and experience, an equally important determinant of project success is the
organization’s processes for project management and the availability of data and information from previous projects including lessons learned documentation about these previous projects.
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ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL
Project managers know the best practices and design each project’s management plan with a suitable mix of techniques for that project. One set of techniques does not “fit” all projects. The PM designs the project management process using expert judgment as well as understanding of each project’s unique characteristics. Then the PM decides the extent to which he/she will apply the PMBOK® (Project Management Body of Knowledge) processes to achieve the
desired project results. For example, all projects should have some degree of risk management. So the PM determines if risk management warrants a few hours or a month’s worth of work. As well, the PM needs to decide whether the assessment of risk should be strictly qualitative and fast or if he/she should use more sophisticated quantitative techniques to assess probabilities and the impact of a risk event. In making these judgments, the PM is obviously guided by the organization’s policies and the sponsor’s preferences.
Trade-offs
Project management also requires a PM to manage the tradeoffs between what’s called the triple constraint (even though there are six dimensions) of cost, time, scope, quality, resources and risk. The triple constraint is like a tug-of-war. If the sponsor changes any one of the dimensions, it will affect at least one of the other five constraints. For example, if we decrease the scope of the project we may also decrease the project’s cost, duration and resources. Increasing the quality dimension can increase duration and cost. On larger more sophisticated projects, the PM may analyze tradeoffs with sophisticated financial or mathematical tools. The PM conducts tradeoff analysis on smaller projects too but much more informally.
Professionalism and Social Responsibility
The PMBOK® includes one paragraph on professionalism; however, it is a major topic on the PMP® certification exam and to a lesser extent on the CAPM® exam. The project manager and project management team have an ethical responsibility to all stakeholders to conduct themselves according the tenets of the profession. There is a more detailed description of professionalism, social responsibility and ethics in the last chapter of this book. But the big picture view is that PMI® has developed a rigorous set of standards for project managers’
conduct with tough enforcement standards.
Portfolios, Programs, Phases & Sub- projects
There are many ways to combine or subdivide projects. As we think about the project landscape in an organization, the dividing line is more than a little blurry. Organizations use programs to combine the management of a number of projects that have a common purpose. For example, an organization may have a program to improve their quality of service. The program may involve individual quality improvement projects in the billing, customer service and sales departments to improve the customers’ experience.
Project portfolios are a bundle of programs and projects but they do not necessarily have a common purpose. Instead, an executive may take responsibility for a portfolio of information systems projects or construction projects that affect many different parts of the organization but which all use the same resources.
Finally, within these programs and portfolios, an organization may choose to subdivide a project into sub-projects. The sub- projects may be specific components of the larger effort that the organization contracts out to other organizations. For example, on a customer service project, the performing
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organization may contract with an outside organization to survey their customers or complete test marketing.
Organizations that want greater control over a project may choose to divide it into phases or sub-phases. Each phase or sub-phase produces a deliverable that management examines and formally accepts before the next phase begins. This level of control over the project allows management to track the project and its progress to ensure it is delivering what it should.
Not all organizations follow this rigid step-by-step approach. If time is of the essence, some organizations will start work on the next phase of the project prior to formal acceptance of the prior phase’s deliverable. This approach creates a higher level of risk but it can save time. For instance, a software firm may start work on testing a piece of software before receiving final signoff on the coding. If the coding has any bugs that require re-work, the testing will need to start over, wasting time and money. However, if there are no bugs, the firm has actually saved time by fast tracking the testing and not waiting for
formal acceptance of the coding.
Best Practices & the Real World
To pass the PMI® certification exams you need to understand
the way of managing projects in a very idealistic world compared to the way most organizations do projects and the
way most PMs do their work. In fact, the most important thing to learn in preparing for the exam is PMI®’s definition of the right way to manage projects. That correct way includes not just using the techniques and tools but also adopting PMI®’s
attitudes about solving problems that may not be possible in your organization. Learning that PMI® attitude is the key to answering the Example questions where you must decide the right thing to do. You must answer each question according to how PMI® says we should do things, not how you do them in
your organization. You may disagree with PMI®’s way but if you want their certification, you must learn it.
Project Roles
Let’s expand on the brief descriptions of the project roles introduced earlier. PMI® defines a number of roles for people working on projects. The decision-making, range of action and participation in the project management process is different for
each role.
Stakeholders
The broadest role is that of project stakeholder and this category includes all the others. A stakeholder is any individual or organization that the project will affect, positively or
negatively. Stakeholders should be involved in the Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling and Closing functions of the project. This is another area where the PMI®
world probably differs from yours. Many PMs try to minimize the number of people involved in project planning, thinking that will let them better control the project scope. Unfortunately,
the opposite happens. Stakeholders excluded from planning always seem to spring up and add features or new requirements right at the end of the project. Those late changes often cost hundreds of times what the same requirement would have cost if it had been added during the planning phase. Therefore, PMI® encourages project managers to actively search for stakeholders early in the
project and it is a best practice.
Project stakeholders can include:
performing organization
sponsor
senior management
functional management
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project team members
project management team members
project manager
project management office (PMO)
customers
users
vendors
suppliers
consultants
We also include employees not directly related to the project but who, due to their standing within the organization, have the ability to exert influence over the project.
The PMI® way of doing things requires project managers to reach out, identify and bring into the project decision-making processes a very broad cross section of stakeholders. The
stakeholders should be involved in the definition of the project scope, the major deliverables and many of the decisions made in later tasks.
As noted above, many project managers try to keep the number of people that are involved in the project planning as small as possible. They also try to insulate the project team and its planning process from outside influences and avoid conflicting opinions. However, the PMI® view is very different. It clearly identifies the need to engage stakeholders in project
initiation and planning because that is the only way we can uncover all the requirements of the project.
Project Sponsors
In the PMI® world, the project sponsor or initiator is responsible for providing funding for the project and issuing the project charter. On internal projects (those done within the
performing organization), the project sponsor also may create the statement of work (SOW) to begin initiation and guide the
project through the organization’s approval process. That approval requires that the sponsor detail the benefits the project will deliver and justify the costs of the project, often in a business case. When the sponsor secures organizational approval, that executive issues the project charter appointing the project manager and defining, among other things, the criteria for success. On consulting or client projects, the statement of work comes from the client or customer, possibly with an RFP (Request for Proposal) or contract.
The charter gives the PM organizational approval to use resources. This is another area where the PMBOK® process probably differs from your experience. You may see sponsors who just dump a problem or opportunity into a PM’s lap and then walk away after naming a completion date. PMI® is correct in stating that is the wrong way to do things.
Project Team Members
In the PMI® world, project team members do the work of the project and many project team members actively participate in detailing the project plan and completing their work packages. They may also be involved in risk management, procurement and quality, for example. Team members may also be a part of the project management team and become involved in activities ranging from integration to change control.
Project Manager
It is the project manager’s and project management team’s responsibility to integrate all of these roles and ensure that
they mesh, allowing successful completion of the project. The project manager’s role calls on a wide range of skills, including interpersonal, leadership and general management skills in addition to knowing project management techniques. Those project management skills are:
Leadership
Communication
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Negotiation
Resolution of problems
Influencing the organization
Purchasing
Contracting
Accounting and finance
Information technology
Marketing
Sales
Manufacturing and distribution
Commercial law, local laws and legal traditions
Human Resources
Safety regulations
Supply chain management
As you work through this book, you will notice many other ways in which the PMI® world varies from the way in which your organization manages projects. In order to pass the PMI® certification exams, you will need to remember to answer each question according to the PMI® world rather than your own experience.
Project Management Team
With all that work to do, the project manager often invites stakeholders, team members, functional managers and
executives to assist in the management of the project. Participation like this not only spreads the work but also increases buy-in and support. The project management team can work on scope, risk, scheduling, budgeting, procurement, quality, human resources and communications, to name a few.
Organizational Context
Projects occur within organizations and their structures, processes and cultures affect projects and their teams. The organizational form influences how projects begin, how decisions are made, how resources are shared, how line managers perceive project managers and the overall rate of project success. Both in practice and for the certification exams, you need to understand the different organization types. More than half your exam questions will be Example questions and the kind of organization the PM is “in” often
determines the correct course of action to take on an issue.
Functional Organizations
Functional organizations have their structures designed around technical specialties like marketing, sales, manufacturing, facilities, customer service, engineering and accounting. These organizations are the most frequently encountered type and the barriers between these functional “silos” make it tough on project managers. Getting a project done that crosses functional lines often requires begging and whining for resources. In functional organizations project managers have little or no authority and must “borrow” people from functional departments. That requires that the PM negotiate for resources with the functional managers.
These extra steps are necessary because functional organizations operate with a strong chain of command philosophy that each employee should report to one boss. This
means that an employee communicates with their boss, who
communicates with the boss’s boss, all the way up the chain of command. The lines of communication usually follow the chain of command and are simple, but also quite rigid. Functional managers want to retain all of the formal authority over their employees and must often be convinced to loan them to a project. People loaned to a project often feel that the project is
a distraction from their “real job” where they get raises and promotions.
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In these organizations, turf wars and lack of cooperation between functional departments make communication difficult. In these organizations, decision makers often choose to perform projects within one functional unit because reaching out to borrow resources and communicate across functional lines is so difficult.
Functional organizations try to improve their project performance by adding two other roles to the structure. Project expediters may assist functional managers in coordinating
projects. However, these project expediters have no decision- making authority and focus mainly on communication, following up on tasks and deliveries of equipment. Functional organizations may also employ project coordinators, who usually are in staff positions reporting to senior managers who have many projects underway at the same time. They often have some decision-making authority but do not have the responsibilities of project managers in the areas of making assignments, analyzing change requests and reporting status.
Matrix Organizations
Another organizational form is the matrix organization, which comes in three varieties (weak, balanced, strong). There are still departments for functions like accounting and marketing but these departments share resources across department lines routinely. The difference between the three types is the amount of power and influence of project managers versus
functional managers. But in all three types, people are more accepting of sharing departmental resources with projects than in functional organizations. In all three matrix types,
employees work for more than one boss. However, the degree of sharing affects a project manager's level of authority, power and influence.
The weak matrix organization is quite similar to a functional
organization with the project manager having a bit more power and influence but still being weaker than the functional manager. Borrowing resources can be a bit easier than in a functional organization. However, a project manager's authority is very limited in comparison to the functional
managers. Therefore, the PM must still plead and beg for resources and hope that the project sponsor has enough clout to secure resources for the project.
In a balanced matrix organization, the project manager and functional managers have relatively equal power and authority and the negotiation for borrowing resources is on even terms. Because the power is even, the level of conflict is at a peak and communications are at their most difficult. That may seem odd until you remember that people are unlikely to have conflict
with a person who has more power than they do.
In a strong matrix, the project manager has more power than the functional managers and has a much easier time acquiring resources and managing the project budget. All three types of matrix organizations have more complex communication processes and more conflict than the functional organization.
Projectized Organizations
The projectized organization transforms the project manager
from a flunky begging for resources to a person managing a project that the organization treats as if it were a department. In the projectized organization, the project and its manager have their own dedicated employees and a budget. They have
the same status as all the functional departments. The project manager is the organizational superior of the people working on the project team and does their performance reviews, develops their professional skills and manages their daily work assignments.
The projectized organizational form is desirable from a project management point of view because the PM has almost full authority over the resources with full availability. However,
projectized organizations have certain disadvantages. First, projectized organizations may hinder employees’ development in their technical specialties because they don’t associate regularly with people possessing the same specialized skills. Second, when the project is completed, the project organization disappears and it is not unusual for team members to have
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some uncertainty about their next assignment. This can adversely affect morale and performance.
Organizations carve out projectized sub-units for long-term projects that require considerable employee development such as learning a new technology. We see the projectized organizational form in professional firms (like accounting, consulting and engineering) and in technical departments that primarily do projects, such as information systems departments.
To summarize what we have covered, think of the project manager’s power and influence as a continuum. On the left hand extreme, there is the functional organization where the PM’s power and influence is zero. As we move across the continuum into matrix organizations, the PM’s power grows and grows until it peaks in the projectized organization.
Organizational Continuum
Composite Organization - A Mix of All Three
Few organizations are purely functional, matrix or projectized. The larger the organization, the greater the chance that the organization has sub-divisions that are organized by different
types; this is called a composite organization. For example, in a large organization the manufacturing division might follow
strict functional lines with production, engineering and inventory control departments staffed with specialists. On the other hand, for research and development the organization might use a more fluid matrix structure to facilitate the sharing of skills on projects and new products. To go even further, for an upcoming new product, the organization might assemble the project team as a separate department to ensure that needed
resources are available from several functional areas, with this
projectized organization disbanding when the project is done. This product department would have its own budget and dedicated team.
Project Management Office: PMO
Organizations, regardless of their form, may utilize a project management office (PMO) to facilitate the projects that are taking place. Different organizations use different names for the PMO; it may be called the project office, program office or
program management office. We can have PMOs in functional or matrix organizations but we see them regularly in projectized and strong matrix organizations. They are less likely in weak matrix and functional organizations. For example, a consulting firm has a real need to coordinate project activities because almost all employees work on multiple projects and new client projects may start each week. That combination creates the need to closely track projects and to set priorities for resource allocation.
The PMO serves other important functions and there are several
styles of PMOs. Some distribute project information and may provide software and training for project managers and team members. Other project offices integrate the project information, enforce a common project methodology and help executives make priority and resource allocation decisions. In still others, the organization’s project managers work in the PMO and are assigned to manage projects by the PMO. In organizations with even stronger PMOs, they may assist the management committee in approving or rejecting proposed projects.
Project & Product Lifecycles
The PMBOK® talks about a number of different lifecycles. Products like a new cell phone have a product lifecycle that may start with research and development, move to testing, manufacturing, marketing and then end with product
replacement. Each of those phases in the product lifecycle may
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require a project. The organization may have a project lifecycle it uses to build manufacturing facilities as required by the third phase of the product lifecycle above. That project lifecycle may start with design, followed by land acquisition, construction, and assembly line start-up.
Some organizations may have one lifecycle that they apply to all projects.
Alternatively, an organization may have several lifecycles and it may allow the project manager and team to select the one that is most appropriate for each project.
While lifecycles can vary widely, all lifecycles cover:
The work that needs to be completed
Each phase’s deliverable and approval
criteria The people involved.
There are also several features common to most project lifecycles. Most lifecycles require the fewest team members and resources at the beginning and end of the lifecycle. Project costs also follow the same bell-curve because the project is most costly in the middle of the project lifecycle. Risk is highest at the beginning of the lifecycle and decreases throughout the project phases. Stakeholder influence over the project requirements is also greatest at the beginning of the lifecycle and decreases through the phases. However, the cost of adding requirements rises as we move through the lifecycle.
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THE PROCESS GROUPS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
As we mentioned above, a project manager selects the appropriate project management tasks and techniques for each project from an inventory of best practices. Those best practices are organized into 5 Process Groups, 11 Knowledge Areas and 47 processes.
The project lifecycle is broken into 5 process groups:
Initiating
It has 2 processes and gets things started by the sponsor securing project authorization from the organization.
Monitoring and Controlling
It has 11 processes and here we ensure that execution is going according to plan and correct things if it is not.
When the deliverables have all been produced, we bring the project to an end.
Closing
It has 2 processes and it is where we put the data away for use on future projects and assess how we did in lessons learned.
Planning
It has 24 processes and is the busiest process group because we make all the decisions about how we’re going to do things on the project.
When the project management plan is approved, we launch the project and have two process groups that happen at the same time:
Executing
It has 8 processes and it is here that we do the work of the project, consume most of the resources and produce the deliverables.
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Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase: FrameWork
THE KNOWLEDGE AREAS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Those 47 processes in project management can also be organized into 10 Knowledge Areas (11 if we include Professionalism, as we will).
Integration Management
It has 6 processes and the common purpose of tying together everything else that happens.
Develop Project Charter (Initiating Process Group)
Develop Project Management Plan (Planning Process Group)
Direct and Manage Project Work (Executing Process Group)
Monitor and Control Project Work (Monitoring and Controlling Process Group)
Perform Integrated Change Control (Monitoring and Controlling Process Group)
Close Project or Phase (Closing Process Group)
Scope Management
It has 6 processes with the purpose of defining what result the project should produce and then watching to ensure it does produce that result.
Plan Scope Management (Planning Process Group)
Collect Requirements (Planning Process Group)
Define Scope (Planning Process Group)
Create WBS (Planning Process Group)
Validate Scope (Monitoring and Controlling Process Group)
Control Scope (Monitoring and Controlling Process Group)
Schedule Management
It has 7 processes and the purpose is defining and then tracking the schedule for delivering the project’s scope.
Plan Schedule Management (Planning Process Group)
Define Activities (Planning Process Group)
Sequence Activities (Planning Process Group)
Estimate Activity Resources (Planning Process Group)
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Estimate Activity Durations (Planning Process Group)
Develop Schedule (Planning Process Group)
Control Schedule (Monitoring and Controlling Process Group)
Cost Management
It has 4 processes with the purpose of establishing a budget for delivering the project’s scope and then tracking actual costs and comparing them to the budget.
Plan Cost Management (Planning Process Group)
Estimate Costs (Planning Process Group)
Determine Budget (Planning Process Group)
Control Costs (Monitoring and Controlling Process Group)
Quality Management Knowledge Area
It has 3 processes that share the purpose of establishing the criteria and specifications that the project’s deliverables must meet and then tracking actual performance and improving the process of producing those deliverables.
Plan Quality Management (Planning Process Group)
Perform Quality Assurance (Executing Process Group)
Control Quality (Monitoring and Controlling Process Group)
Human Resources Management
It has 4 processes for identifying, managing and developing the members of the project team.
Plan Human Resource Management (Planning Process Group)
Acquire Project Team (Executing Process Group)
Develop Project Team (Executing Process Group)
Manage Project Team (Executing Process Group)
Communications Management
It has 3 processes for the planning of project related communications, managing the communications and monitoring communications to make sure they are sufficient.
Plan Communications Management (Planning Process Group)
Manage Communications (Executing Process Group)
Control Communications (Monitoring and Controlling Process Group)
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Risk Management
It has 6 processes with purpose of identifying the uncertainties or risks the project faces (things that could hurt and, as importantly, things that might help) and managing these risks to the project’s betterment.
Plan Risk Management (Planning Process Group)
Identify Risks (Planning Process Group)
Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis (Planning Process Group)
Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis (Planning Process Group)
Plan Risk Responses (Planning Process Group)
Control Risks (Monitoring and Controlling Process Group)
Procurement Management
It has 4 processes with the purpose of securing the items the project needs to buy and making sure they are delivered as
promised in the contracts/agreements.
Plan Procurement Management (Planning Process Group)
Conduct Procurements (Executing Process Group)
Control Procurements (Monitoring and Controlling Process Group)
Close Procurements (Closing Process Group)
Stakeholder Management
It has 4 processes with the purpose of identifying the stakeholders, their expectations for the project as well as managing those expectations through the life of the project.
Identify Stakeholders (Initiating Process Group)
Plan Stakeholder Management (Planning Process Group)
Manage Stakeholder Engagement (Executing Process Group)
Control Stakeholder Engagement (Monitoring and
Controlling Process Group)
Professionalism & Social Responsibility
The PMBOK® does not cover this topic but we treat it as the 11th Knowledge Area because it is important on the exams (up to 14% of the PMP® exam questions). This area covers the
ethical standards that project managers must meet.
What the Heck are EEF and OPA?
Every project is impacted by the internal and external environment the organization faces and its culture, management processes, policies and ways of doing business. These are called enterprise environmental factors (EEF).
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Projects can, and should, draw on the organization’s collective project wisdom, lessons learned from project successes and failures and the data from previous projects. Unfortunately, in most organizations this information, called organizational process assets (OPA), is not archived or available so project managers must reinvent the wheel for each project and make the same mistakes again and again. The idea of archiving data and reusing content from previous projects may well be the most important best practice. Let’s discuss EEF and OPA a bit more because we will not repeat these ideas in the future discussion of every task.
long a certain kind of task took on earlier projects. It can save a project team from having to decompose their whole work breakdown structure because they can use all or part of the WBS created by previous project teams or their lessons learned. OPA can save time and improve results on every process in the project lifecycle.
With that background, let’s dive into the Examples that will teach you all the tools and techniques that represent the best practices in project management.
Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEF)
As a short hand in the book, we refer to these Enterprise Environmental Factors as EEF and they are an input to many of
the PMI® tasks. The EEF includes the organization’s personnel systems for doing business like the compensation system, accounting system and its information systems. It also includes
all the organizational policies such as the rules for hiring and evaluating employee performance. The industry in which the performing organization operates may also impose regulations and rules on the organization and its projects. We draw on
these factors and operate within the limitations they impose. The EEF also include external factors like governmental regulations and marketplace conditions.
Organizational Process Assets (OPA)
The Organizational Process Assets include a wide range of things that let us avoid “reinventing the wheel” for each
project. We want to use templates, forms and data from previous projects because it saves time and lets us learn from the successes and mistakes made on previous projects. One of the traits of organizations that are consistently successful with projects is that they have consistent processes and save the data from every project they do. The OPA lets project managers who are estimating duration look up the data on how
Three Project Management Examples
The best way to pass the PMI® certification exams and to master skills that will make you a better project manager is to see the tasks, tools and techniques applied in context; that is, see the techniques used in real project situations. Let’s begin by meeting three PMP®s and learn about the three projects they will manage through the rest of this book.
Chris Pimbock slowed down as he spotted the long line of passengers waiting to have their baggage checked at Honolulu International Airport. It'd been a great vacation and now he was ready to head back to Royster Industries, a small manufacturing company, and take on his next project challenge for his boss. The boss named the project the Trouble Report
Improvement Project with the acronym, TRIP. A woman joined the line behind Chris and inadvertently slid her carry-on bag into the back of his heel. She smiled at Chris in apology and
flipped open her iPad.
Just then Chris's cell phone chimed and he flipped open the phone and answered.
It was his boss, Tom Stearns who said, "I hope you had a good vacation, Chris, because the Sales and Marketing people are making all kinds of noise about the trouble report problems and
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Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase: FrameWork
I'm going to need you to hit the ground running on the TRIP project as soon as you get back."
Chris answered, "Yes sir, the TRIP project is number one on my priority list. I plan to get started first thing Monday morning."
Chris dug his clipboard from his carry-on to give Tom a couple of facts and then hung up. Chris was surprised to see the woman behind him looking at him with an odd expression.
She closed her iPad and said with a smile, "Pardon me but I couldn't help overhearing your phone conversation and it sounds like you're a project manager just like I am. In fact, it sounds like we're both managing a project called TRIP.”
“I'm Chris Pimbock and that is a little weird,” Chris said and smiled back. “It’s my first major project, I just got my PMP®, and frankly this TRIP project is the first one my company has ever done with a trained project manager. We're pretty small, only a couple hundred people, so this should be a real adventure.”
Terry Evans introduced herself and said, "I've been a PMP® for a few years now but I'll never forget my first project. Let's just say I learned a lot. But this is so strange, both of us managing a project with the acronym TRIP.”
The man behind Terry, dressed in an elegant pinstripe suit, bit
the cap on his Monte Blanc fountain pen and said, "Sorry to eavesdrop, but what's even more strange is that there are three project managers standing in line and all managing projects call TRIP.”
Terry laughed. She and Chris both introduced themselves to Preston McCarthy, PMP®, and owner of a consulting firm whose
clients were Fortune 100 multinational companies. Preston said, "We all have an ethical duty to preserve the confidentiality of
our clients and the organizations for which we work. My TRIP project is about trouble reports in a multinational company with tens of thousands of employees. It's the biggest project and client my firm has ever handled so I’ll have a lot on my plate
first thing Monday morning. The stakes for the project are huge so we'll be applying some very sophisticated techniques because the stakes justify that kind of sophistication. We also have some significant language and cultural barriers as well as the usual turf battles between functional units. I'm going to be one busy project manager for the next year.”
Terry said, "Well our company’s smaller than that, just a few thousand employees, but you haven't seen turf battles until you’ve seen the ones between our functional units. The VPs are like feudal lords and ladies; jealously guarding their people and decision-making prerogatives. I'm going to have my hands full because my organization has never done a project involving multiple functional units, at least not successfully. Success is
pretty important to our business so I'm going to be focusing on very accurate estimating of costs and budgets and the usual change control processes. But communications and managing
stakeholder expectations are getting most of my emphasis. Our project management plan is not going to include the kind of sophisticated project techniques I imagine you'll be using, Preston."
Preston laughed, "Don't get me wrong; communications requirements and stakeholder expectations are going to be
number one for me, like they always are. How about you, Chris; how have you tailored your project management plan?"
Chris laughed, "Well we're a lot less sophisticated and the project is pretty much taking place within our department. So I'm going to be focusing on getting the boss and our stakeholders used to doing any type of project management.
What I'm going to be hearing is ‘Why can’t you start today and finish in a month?’ I'm going to have to fight and claw and have very good arguments about why we should be doing any project management tasks rather than just getting to work quickly."
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Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase: FrameWork
Preston chuckled and said, "Been there, done that. Frankly, not to minimize the challenges that Terry and I face, but
getting an organization started doing things the right way may be the most difficult of all.”
Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase Initiating Statement of Work
INITIATING
All projects need to be initiated, whether they are a small project for your boss affecting only the department in which you work or a major project involving many departments or outside customers. Initiation starts with a statement of work, an idea or a problem or an opportunity. Then, the sponsor and/or project manager drafts the business case, an assessment of the project and its feasibility. For small projects, that assessment might happen in a conversation with the sponsor over coffee.
On a bigger project, the business case might involve formal cost-benefit analysis, the preparation of a feasibility study and documentation to persuade the corporation that the
project is worth doing. Next, the project manager identifies the other stakeholders who will be affected by the project. Then, the project manager will work with the sponsor and stakeholders to define a high-level scope of the project, which is a measurable business outcome or acceptance criteria against which the project results will be measured. With the high-level scope defined, the project manager
moves on to analyze the risks the project faces, the
assumptions they are making about the outside world and the constraints within which the project has to operate.
With all that data gathered, the project manager then develops the project charter, which explains the value of the project as well as its costs and duration. Last, the project manager presents the charter and when it is approved, the PM gets the authorization to begin detailed planning and use organizational resources.
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Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase Initiating Statement of Work
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Statement of Work
The project statement of work (SOW) is produced at the beginning of Initiation by the project sponsor. It describes what the sponsor wants the project to deliver in terms of business results, product of the project and other deliverables. The sponsor should also describe the business need that will justify the project. This may be in the areas of customer demands, technological changes, regulatory changes or organization growth.
The SOW should provide the project manager with descriptions and information on the product that the project
will deliver when it is successful. It should also explain how the project relates to the business needs of the organization.
As an example, the sponsor might write an email describing how the response time of the supply room needs to be improved. The sponsor might detail the performance he expects from the supply room at the end of the project with
acceptance criteria like “supply orders are filled within four hours.” The reason for this improvement is that operating
departments are losing valuable time waiting for supplies to arrive. This in turn is causing delays in production. The sponsor might conclude by saying this project is consistent with the organization’s goal for this year of improving turnaround time in service to customers.” That simple email meets the criteria for the initiation statement of work. Obviously, for larger efforts the extent of the statement of
work might be much larger but the points this email covered have to be in every statement of work.
The sponsor generates the SOW at the beginning of Initiation and the project manager uses it for the development of the business case and the charter, unless the sponsor does those as well.
It’s important to remember that there is also a procurement statement of work, which the project manager will issue to potential vendors being asked to bid. On the PMI exam, every time you see an SOW question, you need to be clear about which kind of SOW the question is focused on.
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Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase Initiating Business Case
Business Case
The business case is prepared by the sponsor and/or project manager or a business analyst to justify the project to the organization. Many organizations have criteria they apply to proposed projects. Those criteria might include return on investment (ROI) or payback period, among other financial metrics. At a minimum, the business case includes narrative and a cost-benefit justification of the money and time that will be invested in the project. On larger projects, the business case can be very substantial documentation with extensive financial projections on the cost of the project as
well as on the benefits it will produce over time.
As an example, a project manager who receives an email
with statement of work information from the sponsor about a small project, might respond with an email providing estimates of the project costs and benefits. That email might document the complaints from department managers about supply room turnaround time and then estimate that improved controls over stocking levels could reduce stock
outs to less than two a month. That improvement would save approximately 100 hours a month in the operating departments. The project manager would do some calculations using people’s average hourly rates and quantify the benefits as a savings of $4,000 of employee time a month. The project manager might also estimate that the project to attain that reduced level of stock outs would require 20 hours of the project manager’s time and 40 hours of supply room personnel time. The project manager might estimate the total cost of the project as $6,500 and compare that to the $48,000 in annual cost savings which the project
could produce. That simple document meets all the criteria for the business case. Of course, a larger project would require much more substantial efforts.
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Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase Initiating Identify Stakeholders 13.1
Identify Stakeholders 13.1
As soon as the sponsor has produced the SOW, which
triggers the business case the organization requires, the project manager begins the process of identifying the stakeholders. Why does this happen so early? Because the project manager wants to hunt exhaustively for people who will be affected, positively or negatively, by the project. This will allow us to unearth their requirements and address
them by either including or excluding them from the project plan. Another reason is because the stakeholders are assets
of the project. They will include managers who lend us people and other resources, as well as people with expertise in many aspects of the project, like risk management or budgeting. The project manager will also use those
stakeholders to help define the scope more extensively and also identify the risks and assumptions. This focus on using the stakeholders is reflected in the entire PMI exam. Finally, the project manager needs to manage the stakeholders to ensure that the project benefits from their support. As part of that effort, the PM needs to manage their expectations so
that the project delivers what they expect it to deliver. They are assets to be identified early, then cultivated and engaged throughout the entire project. Stakeholders should not be viewed as people who interfere in the project work.
How To Do It
You sat down with two of the employees from the supply room to
talk about the project and to identify the stakeholders. You
asked a couple of questions about departments that were the
biggest users of the supply room as well as those people and
departments who complained about the file room the most. You
also asked about which supply room users were the happiest
with the service. As the supply room employees mentioned
people’s names, you added them to your stakeholder list. You
asked if there was anyone else familiar with the supply room
users and they mentioned another supply room employee who
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Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase Initiating Identify Stakeholders 13.1
had been there for years but was on vacation that week. You
made a note to add her to your networking list and then asked
about the vendors who provided the materials to the supply
room. You asked if there were any problems or issues with those
vendors and the employees made some comments about late
payment and the fact that some of the delivery people would not
put their products on the supply room shelves. That caused
frequent delays in stocking. You made note of that issue and the
names of the vendors involved and added them to your
stakeholder list. At the end of the session, you asked about other
departments in the organization that they worked with and they
mentioned the purchasing department and accounting. You got
the names of the individuals with whom they worked and added
them to the stakeholder list. After you finished your coffee, you went down to the file room
and looked at the project archives. You found two other projects
that involved the file room and glanced through that
stakeholder documentation to see who was involved. You found
the name of an IT business analyst who had done some work for
the purchasing and inventory management system and added
that person to your stakeholder list. The following morning you began your initial stakeholder
interviews. You would not only gather information about their
potential requirements and expectations for the project, you
would begin the process of managing their expectations by
asking them what they expected from the project and
immediately correcting any misunderstandings. You knew how
critical it was to align the stakeholders’ expectations with the
actual scope of the project. You also would keep your eyes open
for potential contributions each of these people could make to
the project. You wanted to involve some of them in activities like
scheduling and risk management because that kind of
involvement would build their support. This was a small project so you completed your stakeholder
interviews after talking to eight people. You still documented
those people in your stakeholder register and made notes about
their expectations, potential involvement and issues. You would
add to the register as you moved through the process groups of
the project.
Inputs to this Process
The business case and statement of work produced
earlier as well as the charter we are also
developing in Initiating are a good launching point
for identifying stakeholders including: the project
sponsor, team members, client/customer, users,
specific departments within the organization and
outside organizations/groups that may be affected
by the project. The organization’s project archives, particularly
from similar projects, can be an excellent source of
stakeholder information. If the project involves any procurement for goods
and services, procurement documents from
previous projects can help us identify
stakeholders. We take into account our organizational hierarchy
and any company politics relevant for stakeholder
identification. We also use stakeholder registers
and lessons learned from previous projects.
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Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase Initiating Identify Stakeholders 13.1
Tools & Techniques
We use interviewing and brainstorming with the
involved people using their expert judgment to
identify individuals who will be affected by the
project. The outreach for stakeholders may also
include networking with employees. We use stakeholder analysis to gather information
about the identified stakeholders. We want to
gather information about each stakeholder’s
position, job title, rank, skills/knowledge the
project may utilize as well as their requirements and needs from the project. Last, we want to
assess their attitude about the project (positive or
negative) and the level of power or influence they
can exert. We may have meetings with the project sponsor,
executives, team members and other identified
stakeholders to help us identify all the
stakeholders.
Outputs from this Process
We produce the stakeholder register, which lists
the stakeholders by name, their project role, project requirements -achievements, perceived
expectations, their impact/influence on the project
and whether or not they support the project.
3 Project Examples of Identify Stakeholders
PMI® places great emphasis on identifying stakeholders so that we include all the important people affected by the project and gather their project requirements early on, rather than after the project has started. In the three Examples you’ll read about, you can see how we modify our stakeholder identification depending on the size and formality of the project.
Small Project Example: Identify Stakeholders
Chris Pimbock, the project manager, works for Royster Corporation in the Customer Service department managed by Tom Sterns, who directs 15 employees including Chris.
The salespeople triggered the project because
customers were complaining about service response
time. Tom Sterns responded by initiating the Trouble Report Improvement Project (TRIP). The statement of work and business case define success as responding more quickly to customer trouble reports.
Tom Sterns smiled and handed Chris Pimbock the signed business case saying, “Here you are, the Sales VP and I both approved it." Tom pointed to his PC where Outlook was open, "Who do we send it to?”
Chris stuck the signed business case onto his clipboard and said, “Well, we should send it to all the stakeholders.”
Tom responded, "Yes, I have all the employees in the department on the distribution list."
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Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase Initiating Identify Stakeholders 13.1
"I think we need to think of the stakeholders a bit more broadly," Chris said. "Stakeholders are the people who will be affected by the project and we identify them up front so we can get their requirements and manage their expectations. The company's customers are certainly affected by the project and I would imagine that the Sales department, who started this whole thing, is probably the most important stakeholder."
Tom said, "I don't want those people from Sales and
Marketing telling us how to run this project. They stick their noses into our business more than enough as it is. I’m going to send it to just the employees in our department."
Chris smiled and said, "You're the boss and the project sponsor so we'll do it your way. But ignoring other important stakeholders will really reduce our odds of being successful. It creates a situation where stakeholders and their
requirements can spring up just as we’re finishing the project. Then they’ll cost much more to address and make
us late in addition. Like it or not, Sales and Marketing started this project and their opinion of our work when the project is done will matter a lot. So why not involve them in the project now rather than letting them surprise us at the end with what they really wanted?"
Tom nodded slowly, "That makes good sense. And it would be just like those jerks to watch us do all this work to improve service and then tell us we didn't do what they wanted."
Chris smiled and said, "That's exactly why we identify the stakeholders early and then manage their expectations so we don't get those nasty surprises."
Tom said, "Okay I'm sold. How do we do this stakeholder identification?"
Chris thought for a moment, running through the stakeholder identification techniques in his mind. Then he thought about the scale of the project and the fact that Tom, the sponsor, was not familiar with the best practices in project management and had seen too many projects dragged down by unnecessary paperwork and meetings. Chris decided to move slowly; a little bit of stakeholder identification was appropriate for this small project and would pay big benefits. An elaborate stakeholder identification process would be overkill and might cause Tom to skip the whole process.
Chris said, "Well we always tailor our project management tasks to the size of the project and this is a small one. So why don't you and I do some stakeholder identification right now?”
Tom nodded agreement, "Clearly we have some stakeholders in Sales. I can make a call and get them to assign a representative; probably one of the salespeople."
Chris said, "That's a good idea but we also have other Sales stakeholders plus some in Marketing whose expectations we want to manage. And it's much better for us to manage those expectations than to hope that one salesperson assigned to the project will do the job for us. So let's go ahead and get somebody else involved but also identify the VP of Sales/Marketing and some of her directors as stakeholders. We'll get them engaged during our requirements gathering and also make them part of the
stakeholder and communications management plans."
Tom smiled, "That's exactly the way to play the game. I can't think of any other stakeholders besides the people here in the department and our customers who are clearly affected. But Sales and Marketing will never let us talk to the customers directly. That's their turf."
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Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase Initiating Identify Stakeholders 13.1
Chris nodded and said, "I'll make a note to add customers as a stakeholder group anyway. Maybe something will come up. We can always add additional stakeholders as they come to our attention but I think that's enough for the moment. I'll start the stakeholder register.”
Multi-department Project Example: Identify Stakeholders
McLaughlin Electronic Enterprises is experiencing a large volume of complaints from customers about their response time on customer trouble reports. 15 different functional units are engaged in handling these trouble reports for different types of customers and different product lines.
Terry Evans, the project manager for this multi-
department project, is from Engineering and just earned her PMP®. Terry is concerned about managing the Trouble Report Improvement Project
(TRIP) across all of these departmental boundaries. The VP of Sales, Gwendolyn Stiles, is the project
sponsor and she drove the project through the approval process based on the cost of lost customers.
The company has over 5,000 employees and this
project will include systems development, construction of new office facilities, training of
employees and procurement of computer hardware and other equipment.
The project will utilize resources from 15 different
departments and technical specialists from 4 support departments (Information Systems, Construction, Training and Development).
Terry didn’t mind working late and Gwendolyn Stiles, the VP of Sales/Marketing and project sponsor, requested the meeting. But it did seem odd to meet at 8:30 at night and for the sponsor to request that she bring a pepperoni pizza. Terry found the right room in the deserted conference center, knocked and went in juggling the pizza box and her iPad.
Gwendolyn Stiles looked up from the papers in front of her and said, "Welcome! I know this is a bit unusual but the way we do projects in Marketing is to keep a tight lid on things. That way the competition doesn't find out about what new products we’re offering or our other marketing initiatives. I want to do this project exactly the same way without any interfering outsiders. That's why we’ll meet later at night. I hope you don't mind….Oh and this,” she pointed to a young woman sitting at the table, “is Audrey, my assistant."
Terry set the pizza and paper plates down on the table and smiled at Audrey. "It's not my choice to work evenings but I
certainly can accommodate your schedule. I'm a little concerned, however, about keeping the project secret from other departments whose cooperation we need."
Gwendolyn replied with a wave of her hand, “Well it’s not secret from top management but I don’t want to have people from other departments involved in planning this thing. All they'll do is work their own agendas and slow us down. We need to move fast!"
Terry helped herself to a slice of pizza and said, "I know it sounds like it would slow things down to engage our stakeholders but it actually speeds things up. These stakeholders are the people we need to support the project across the organization and the managers and directors are
the people we need to make changes in their departments’ operations. They clearly have a stake in this project and we need their active and enthusiastic support. Getting people to make changes in their work habits is always difficult and it will be even harder if we don't let the stakeholders
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Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase Initiating Identify Stakeholders 13.1
Name Dept. Posi tion
- Major requirem
Main ent expect
tions
Pote a- influ
n T
ence
tial ype Ac tion
Wanda
Glenn Fuchs
IT Cust
Tech. suppor
. Vic
Dir tor
e Don’t kn
ec Improved communi tion
equipmen
Sees t ca- proble
not
t optimi about projec
w- Don’t t
Very
he Chan
m, this d opera
stic is vita
the succe
gi N ept’s tions l to
ss
S
ng
p
uppor Ac
eutral E h
tive
ngage im in lan
Mueller Service
Suppor
Pre
t
s. Schedule
interview
know
Sched interv ew
large
ule
t
Name Dept. Posi
-tion
Major
requiremen t
Main
expecta- tions
Potential
influenc e
Type Action
Glenn
Fuchs
Tech.
supportt
Dire
ctor
Improved
communica -tion equipment
o
Sees the
problem, not optimisti c about the
Changing
this dept’s operations
is vital to
success
Neutra
l
Engag
e him in plan
project
Wanda
Muelle r
IT Cust. Service Suppor
t
Vice Pres .
Don’t know- Schedule interview
Don’t know Schedule interview
Very
large i
Suppo rt
Active
participate in the planning and delivery of the project. In a very real sense we need to ‘sell’ the project to these stakeholders."
Audrey asked, "Exactly who are the stakeholders?"
Terry answered, "Anyone who is affected by the project or who can affect it. As I said, were going to be asking a very large number of departments to change their operations if
we're going to improve trouble-ticket turnaround time. The
managers and the employees in each of those departments who have to change their work procedures are all important
stakeholders because if they don't do things differently this project will fail. Other departments will have to lend us people to do the work of this project. If they don't
cooperate in making people from their departments available, this project is going to fail. So stakeholders are very influential and some of them are in very powerful positions. There are other departments and even outside firms who will supply resources this project needs and they’re stakeholders as well, with perhaps a little less influence and power over our success.”
Gwendolyn smiled and said, "You're basically looking at the stakeholders as if they were customers and segmenting the market."
Teri nodded agreement and said, "Good project managers tailor the procedures they use to fit the needs of each project. On this project, I think a fairly detailed segmentation of our stakeholders is warranted.
We’ll identify the stakeholders and also make an initial assessment of their interests in terms of what they want to get out of the project, their expectations for what it will do for the company and to their area of responsibility, their ability to influence the project and their requirements from the project.”
Gwendolyn slapped the conference table and said, "That makes sense. Let's do it!"
50 minutes later, Terry had the first two stakeholders entered into the initial stakeholder register and they stopped
to finish the pizza.
Between bites Terry said, "This is the way we’ll continue to identify stakeholders and you can see how we’re also laying
out the start of our stakeholder management strategy. I think the key to that strategy will be identifying people who have a lot of influence and engaging them in the project. Those people whose departments will be significantly affected by the project in terms of the changes, should have significant roles in the planning of the project. Less influential stakeholders may not be offered those decision- making roles but we certainly will communicate with them regularly so they're aware of what's going on in the project and how they can help.
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Project Manager’s KnowledgeBase Initiating Identify Stakeholders 13.1
Gwendolyn nodded and said, "I agree the people who have the most influence over the project’s success need to be engaged initially in the project. And we need to keep them informed and maybe even ‘take their temperature,’ you know, find out how they're feeling about the project on a regular basis. We don’t want to be taken by surprise by the people who have a problem or an issue. That's exactly how we deal with our important customers.”
Terry was typing into her iPad and when she finished, she looked up and said, "I'll lay out those elements of our stakeholder management strategy and we’ll reflect that strategy in both our requirements gathering and in our stakeholder and communications plans for the project."
Customer/Client Project Example: Identify Stakeholders
Globetrotter International Enterprises is experiencing problems on its response time to customer trouble reports in all 15 countries in which they operate.
This company hired Preston McCarthy, an external
consultant, to manage the project. Preston’s firm, McCarthy and Associates, is providing both technical expertise and project management services for Globetrotter.
Mr. Fuller, the president of Globetrotter Enterprises,
waved Preston McCarthy to a seat across the desk, saying, “We made a big point about the stakeholders and about how our profit centers operate independently. In the business case, we stressed the difficulty in getting the various functional areas to cooperate. Now, I’d like to know how the hell
you’re going to get this cantankerous management team of mine to cooperate across functional lines. Oh they talk about how we’re a matrix organization but that’s usually when they want some other
division to do something for them. Truth be told, we are as functional as hell…they operate like feudal lords and ladies ruling their own little kingdoms. So how are you going to get them to cooperate?”
Preston uncapped his Mont Blanc fountain pen and thought for a moment. The question was not a surprise but he realized that Mr. Fuller was concerned about this issue and probably not comfortable going ahead with the contract until he got an answer about this organizational question. Preston said, "Without a doubt, stakeholder support and participation is the biggest risk in the project. What we’re going to do is a thorough job of stakeholder identification and management. It is already obvious that the functional managers are going to require special handling and a big investment in time.
Mr. Fuller scowled and retorted, "And then you’re gonna come running to me to make them do what you want?"
Preston laughed and shook his head, "No, for your functional managers, we will conduct a personal face-to-face interview to explain the project to each of them individually. We’ll get an initial reaction so that we can assess their interests,
requirements and level of support. I know there are almost 35 of them but I want to make that initial personal assessment and then plot them in terms of their power, influence and potential impact on the project. Later we're going to put together a strategy for each of them individually which is going to lead to a round of ‘horse
trading’ based on each individual's hot button issues or requirements. I want them to own the project. We'll do this early in project planning and tailor the project plan to fit the agreement we've made with each of them. They'll each get something they value in exchange for making the changes we need in their operations so we can improve the overall trouble report performance. Obviously, I’ll get your
approval on each of the written deals we make which will detail their accountability.”