finding the keys to success - adv technical institute

Project Management Exam Certification Study GuideFinding the Keys to Success

PMP®Based on the PMBOK Guide 6th Edition

Mariam A. Azam, MBA, PMP, CSM

Class materials are based on A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide), Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute Inc., 2017.

“PMP,”“PMBOK,”“PMI-ACP” and “PMI” are registered trademarks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

Copyright – March 2020All rights reserved.

Dear PMP® and CAPM® Test Takers,

Thank you for your interest in ADV Technical Institute PMP® and CAPM® study guide. Taking the PMP® or CAPM® exam lets employers know that you have the knowledge and skills needed to manage critical projects. By using the study guide to prepare for the PMP® and CAPM® exam, you’re taking a significant step towards achieving your goals of obtaining and achieving your career goals of becoming a certified project manager.

This book is designed to help you prepare for and build confidence to do your best on the PMP® or CAPM® exam. It’s the only guide of its kind on the market that includes real PMP® and CAPM® exam questions published by ADV Technical Institute senior PMP® Instructors.

In 2014, while using other study guides to prepare our students for the PMP® and CAPM® exam, I realized that the market was missing a comprehensive quick reference guide that can be used to recap the entire PMBOK Guide 6th Edition and would help you better understand the exam content.

I am driven to continuously improve the Study Guide and help you achieve your goals. I applaud your commitment to educational success. We know that this book, coupled with the Mobile App (EzPM), will help you achieve your personal goals.

Wishing you success in all your educational and professional goals in the future.

MAAzam

Mariam A. Azam, MBA, PMP, CSMPresident of ADV Technical Institute www.advtechnicalinstitute.com

Contents

Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1Background of Project Management .............................................................................................................................. 3Foundational Elements ......................................................................................................................................................... 3 What is a Project? ......................................................................................................................................................... 3 Why are Projects Initiated? ....................................................................................................................................... 4 The Importance of Project Management ............................................................................................................ 4 What are Operations? ................................................................................................................................................. 5 What is Organizational Project Management? ................................................................................................. 5 What is Project Life Cycle .......................................................................................................................................... 6 Project Phases ................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Project Management Processes .............................................................................................................................. 7 Project Management Process Groups ............................................................................................................................ 9 The Five Process Groups ............................................................................................................................................ 9Knowledge Areas .................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Ten Knowledge Areas ................................................................................................................................................. 9 Project Management Data and Information (see Figure 7) ....................................................................... 12

Project Operating Environments ...................................................................................................... 13Project Influences ................................................................................................................................................................. 15Orgnaizational Systems ..................................................................................................................................................... 15Project Management Office (PMO) ............................................................................................................................... 16 Types of PMO Structures in Organizations ...................................................................................................... 16 Functions of a PMO ................................................................................................................................................... 17Review Exercises ................................................................................................................................ 19 Matching ....................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Fill in the Blanks .......................................................................................................................................................... 21 Matching ....................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Crossword ..................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Multiple Choice Questions ..................................................................................................................................... 24

Role of a Project Manager ................................................................................................................ 27 The Role of the Project Manager ......................................................................................................................... 29 Project Manager’s Sphere of Influence .............................................................................................................. 29 Project Manager Competencies ........................................................................................................................... 29 Powers of Project Managers .................................................................................................................................. 30 Leadership Styles ........................................................................................................................................................ 31 Personalities ................................................................................................................................................................. 31 Performing Integration on the Project Level ................................................................................................... 32

Performing Integration at the Process Level ................................................................................................... 32 Integration and Complexity ................................................................................................................................... 32Review Exercises ................................................................................................................................. 33 Fill-in the Blanks ......................................................................................................................................................... 35 Matching ....................................................................................................................................................................... 36

Initiating Process Group ................................................................................................................... 37 Initiating ........................................................................................................................................................................ 39 Project Selection Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 40 Accounting Terms ...................................................................................................................................................... 40 Develop Project Charter .......................................................................................................................................... 41 Identify Stakeholders ................................................................................................................................................ 42Review Exercises ................................................................................................................................ 45 Matching ....................................................................................................................................................................... 47 Questions ...................................................................................................................................................................... 48

Planning Process Group .................................................................................................................... 51 Planning ......................................................................................................................................................................... 53 Develop Project Management Plan .................................................................................................................... 54 Plan Scope Management ........................................................................................................................................ 56 Collect Requirements ............................................................................................................................................... 58 Requirements Documentation .............................................................................................................................. 61 Define Scope ................................................................................................................................................................ 61 Create WBS ................................................................................................................................................................... 62 Plan Schedule Management .................................................................................................................................. 63 Define Activities .......................................................................................................................................................... 64 Sequence Activities ................................................................................................................................................... 65 Project Management Information System (PMIS) ......................................................................................... 67 Estimate Activity Durations .................................................................................................................................... 67 Develop Schedule ...................................................................................................................................................... 69 Resource Optimization Techniques .................................................................................................................... 70 Resource Smoothing ................................................................................................................................................ 70 Plan Cost Management ........................................................................................................................................... 71 Estimate Costs ............................................................................................................................................................. 72 Determine Budget ..................................................................................................................................................... 74 Plan Quality Management ...................................................................................................................................... 75 Quality vs. Grade (Degree of Functionality) ..................................................................................................... 75 Plan Resource Management .................................................................................................................................. 78 Estimate Activity Resources .................................................................................................................................... 80 Plan Communications Management ................................................................................................................... 81

Plan Risk Management ............................................................................................................................................. 83 Identify Risks ................................................................................................................................................................ 84 Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 85 Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 87 Plan Risk Responses .................................................................................................................................................. 89 Plan Procurement Management .......................................................................................................................... 91 Plan Stakeholder Management ............................................................................................................................ 93Review Exercises ................................................................................................................................. 97 Matching ....................................................................................................................................................................... 99 Matching ....................................................................................................................................................................... 99 Fill-in the Blanks ....................................................................................................................................................... 100 Questions .................................................................................................................................................................... 101 Fill in the Story .......................................................................................................................................................... 101 Matching ..................................................................................................................................................................... 105 Questions .................................................................................................................................................................... 106

Executing Process Group ................................................................................................................ 109 Direct and Manage Project Work ...................................................................................................................... 112 Manage Project Knowledge ................................................................................................................................ 113 Manage Quality ........................................................................................................................................................ 115 Acquire Resources ................................................................................................................................................... 118 Develop Team ........................................................................................................................................................... 119 Manage Team ............................................................................................................................................................ 122 Manage Communications .................................................................................................................................... 124 Implement Risk Responses .................................................................................................................................. 125 Conduct Procurements .......................................................................................................................................... 126 Manage Stakeholder Engagement ................................................................................................................... 127Review Exercises .............................................................................................................................. 129 Matching ..................................................................................................................................................................... 131 Fill in the Story .......................................................................................................................................................... 131 Questions .................................................................................................................................................................... 133

Monitoring and Controlling ........................................................................................................... 137 Monitor and Control Project Work ................................................................................................................... 140 Perform Integrated Change Control ................................................................................................................ 141 Validate Scope .......................................................................................................................................................... 143 Control Scope ........................................................................................................................................................... 144 Control Schedule ..................................................................................................................................................... 145 Control Costs ............................................................................................................................................................. 147 Control Quality ......................................................................................................................................................... 148

Control Resources ................................................................................................................................................... 150 Monitor Communications .................................................................................................................................... 152 Monitor Risks ............................................................................................................................................................ 153 Control Procurements ............................................................................................................................................ 154 Monitor Stakeholder Engagement ................................................................................................................... 155Review Exercises .............................................................................................................................. 157 Matching ..................................................................................................................................................................... 159 Fill in the Story .......................................................................................................................................................... 160 Questions .................................................................................................................................................................... 161

Closing Process Group .................................................................................................................... 165 Close Project or a Phase ....................................................................................................................................... 168Review Exercises .............................................................................................................................. 171 Fill-in the Story ......................................................................................................................................................... 173 Questions .................................................................................................................................................................... 173

Professional Responsibility ............................................................................................................. 177

Earned Value Management (EVM) ................................................................................................. 181

Critical Path Exercise ....................................................................................................................... 185

Process Exercises ............................................................................................................................. 189 Process Matrix Exercise ......................................................................................................................................... 191

Glossary ............................................................................................................................................ 195

Process Group and Knowledge Area Mapping ............................................................................ 227

Earned Value Management Formulas ............................................................................................ 229

Answers to Exercises ....................................................................................................................... 233 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................... 235 Project Management Roles and Responsibilities ........................................................................................ 237 Initiating ...................................................................................................................................................................... 238 Planning ...................................................................................................................................................................... 239 Executing .................................................................................................................................................................... 244 Monitoring and Controlling ................................................................................................................................ 246 Closing ......................................................................................................................................................................... 247 Earned Value Management Answers ............................................................................................................... 249 Critical Path Exercise Answer ............................................................................................................................... 253 Process Matrix Exercise Answer ......................................................................................................................... 255 Project Document Exercise Answers ................................................................................................................ 257

List of TablesTable 1. Initiating Process Group ITTO Matrix ........................................................................................................ 205Table 2. Planning Process Group ITTO Matrix ......................................................................................................... 206Table 3. Executing Process Group ITTO Matrix ....................................................................................................... 216Table 4. Monitoring and Controlling Process Group ITTO Matrix ................................................................... 221Table 5. Closing Process Group ITTO Matrix ........................................................................................................... 226

List of FiguresFigure 1. Project Management Documents page 89 of PMBOK 6th ................................................................. 8Figure 2. Project Management Process Groups ....................................................................................................... 12Figure 3. Project Management Data and Info .......................................................................................................... 12Figure 4. The PMI Talent Triangle ................................................................................................................................... 30Figure 5. Project Schedule Network Diagram ........................................................................................................... 67

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Introduction

NOTES

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Background of Project Management

We use project management in our everyday lives and don’t realize it. Planning an event, going grocery shopping and making dinner all require a process to achieve success. Project Management has been around for centuries. Projects like the Polio Vaccine, the Taj Mahal and the Olympic games were successful because the organizers used a set of processes along with their skills to satisfy their customers.

During the mid-20th century project, work began to get project management recognized as a pro-fession. Part of this work was to develop an agreement on the content of the body of knowledge (BOK) called project management. This BOK became known as the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). The Project Management Institute (PMI) produced a baseline of charts and glossaries for the PMBOK.

Project managers soon realized that no single book could contain the entire PMBOK. Therefore, PMI developed and published A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). The objective of the PMBOK® Guide is to identify a subset of processes that is generally recognized as good practice.

As defined in the PMBOK 6th Edition

• “Generally recognized” means the knowledge and practices described are applicable to most projects most of the time. There is consensus about their value and usefulness.1

• “Good practice” means there is general agreement that the application of the knowledge, skills, tools and techniques for the project management processes can enhance the chance of suc-cess over many projects in delivering the expected business values and results.1

Foundational Elements

What is a Project?A Project is a temporary endeavor that produces a unique product, service or result.

• Temporary endeavor has a beginning and an end, and is not an ongoing effort.• Unique Product is a component of another item, an enhancement or correction to an item, or

a new end item (e.g., iPhone X, new housing development).• Unique Service performs a service (e.g., helpdesk, admin support).• Unique Result is an outcome or document (e.g., medical research, market research for housing

development).

1 Extracted in its entirety from the PMBOK® 6th edition.

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Why are Projects Initiated?Organizational leaders initiate projects in response to factors affecting their organizations. Those factors include, but are not limited to, market regulations, satisfying customer requirements, mar-ket demand and legal requirements. These factors influence an organization’s ongoing operations and business strategies. Projects provide the means for organizations to successfully make changes needed to deal with these factors. The goal is to link the strategic objectives of the organization and the business value of each project.

A plan is needed to deliver the projects within the strategic objective of the organization and ensure success by delivering within the schedule and budget. As project managers, we need to understand project management and its importance.

Examples of projects:

• An electronics firm authorizes a new project to develop a faster, cheaper and smaller laptop based on advances in computer memory and electronics technology.

• A car company authorizes a project to build more fuel-efficient cars in response to gasoline shortages.

• A public company authorizes a project to create a new service for electric car sharing to reduce pollution.

The Importance of Project ManagementProject Management is defined as the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities that help the project manager meet project requirements. Enables the project manager to execute the project effectively and efficiently.

Why is Project Management important? Remember the saying, “Fail to plan, plan to fail”.

When one has the skills, knowledge, tools and technique to carry out the activities of the project, then there is customer satisfaction, business objectives are met, the product and its deliverables are better understood, risks are responded to in a timely manner and the ability to manage project constraints is achieved. The result will be an efficiently run project that meets customer and busi-ness objectives.

What happens when one doesn’t have the skills required to carry out the activities of the project or one doesn’t follow a process? The result will be chaos. There will be no realistic schedule, costs will overrun, there will be poor quality, unhappy customers and rework required.

This can be related to in their personal lives as well as professional lives. I often tell my students; think about the last time you went to a grocery store without a list. What happened? You forgot what was really needed from the store and you had to go back. Isn’t that rework? How about the

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last time you planned a birthday or had dinner guests. The stakeholders are your guests? You had to ensure the food would meet the stakeholder’s expectations? You see what I am getting to? If we understand the projects we do on a daily basis, and understand the importance of our process and plan, then we can successfully govern our professional duties in any industry.

Now that we know what projects and project management are about, let’s explore a Program and Portfolio.

• Program – A group of related projects that are managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits not available if managed individually.

• Portfolio – A collection of projects, programs, subsidiary portfolios and operations managed as a group to achieve the strategic objectives of the organization. Tied to the organization’s investment.

Program related projects focus on completing the projects the “right” way.Portfolio – Does not have to be related. Focuses on doing the “right” programs to ensure they are tied to the organizational strategies and investment.

What are Operations?Now that we have talked about projects, programs and portfolios, let’s look at Operations.

• Operations – The ongoing production of goods and/or services (e.g., manufacturing, call center, etc.) that use business processes to ensure customer needs are met.

Operations management focuses on the ongoing production of goods and/or services. It ensures that business operations continue efficiently by using the optimal resources needed to meet cus-tomer demands. It is concerned with managing processes that transform inputs.

If you see words like “manufacturing” or “assembly line” in the question, then you are being tested on your understanding of the differences between operations and projects.

Projects and Operations have some similarities:• Both must take limited resources into account.• Both are performed by people/human resources.• Both involve execution and control (e.g., quality control).

What is Organizational Project Management?In the PMBOK, you will see reference to Organizational Project Management (OPM).The Purpose of OPM is to:

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• Ensure that the organization undertakes the right projects and allocates critical resources appropriately.

• Helps ensure that all levels in the organization understand the strategic vision, initiatives that support the vision, objectives and deliverables.

What is Project Life CycleProject management is performed through life cycles. The Project Life Cycle is a series of phases that a project passes through from initiation to closure. It provides the basic framework for man-aging the project. Predictive and Adaptive life cycles are the two approaches called out in the PMBOK.

The Predictive Life Cycle (see Figure 1), also known as the Waterfall Method, is a fully plan-driven approach where the three main project constraints (time, scope and cost) are determined at a de-tailed level at the start of the project. The requirements and scope must be known and fixed at the project onset. Each phase is then laid out sequentially and carefully managed.

The Adaptive Life Cycle approach has multiple phases known as development life cycles:

• Iterative• Incremental• Adaptive• Hybrid

Iterative Life CycleLarge and complex projects are broken down into smaller phases (cycles), which gives more con-trol by decreasing the risk and cost of rework (Figure 2). The project is executed in small iterations giving the ability to better define requirements at the start of each cycle. The scope must still be defined early in the project, but time and costs can be modified after each iteration since they will be better understood.

Incremental Life CycleThe Incremental Life Cycle develops a product through the implementation of incremental steps which have predetermined timeframes (Figure 3). Each increment delivers additional functionality for the product and is repeated until the final deliverable is produced. Similar to the iterative ap-proach, customers sign off at each exit point. This approach is great for prototyping and reducing change risks along the way.

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Adaptive Life CycleThe Adaptive LifeCycle is change-driven, and known as Agile. Since everyone wants rapid de-velopment, when executing a project quickly, Agile is the way to go (Figure 4). This approach was developed to handle changes and reduce inherent risk. Teams deliver software updates in weeks, instead of months.

Adaptive projects are quick and time bound with two critical success factors:

• The customer must be intimately involved in the process.• You must be able to define incremental requirements at the start of each iteration.

Hybrid Life CycleThe Hybrid Life Cycle is combination of Predictive and an Adaptive life cycles (Figure 5). The Pre-dictive approach is used for the known elements of the project. The Adaptive approach is used for elements that will become apparent over time.

Project PhasesNow, we enter Project Phase, a logical collection of related project activities that culminates in the completion of the deliverables. The phases in a life cycle can be described by a variety of elements that are unique and measurable to a specific phase (i.e., name, number, duration, resource require-ments, entrance and exit criteria).

Projects may be separated into distinct phases or subcomponents. These phases or subcomponents are generally given names that indicate the type of work performed in that phase. (i.e., concept, de-velopment, feasibility study, design, prototype, build and test). Project Phases may be established based on various factors such as management needs, nature of the project, unique characteris-tics of the organization, industry, technology, project elements (technology, engineering, business) and/or decision points (funding, project go/no-go, and milestone review). Multiple phases may provide better insight to managing the project. It also provides an opportunity to assess the project performance and take necessary corrective or preventive action in subsequent phases. Key compo-nents used with project phases is the phase review.

A Phase Review, sometimes called Phase Gate, Stage Gate, Kill Point, Phase Entrance or Phase Exit, is held at the end of a phase. It compares the project’s performance and progress to its busi-ness documents that were created during the initiation and planning. The comparison will deter-mine a go/no-go decision for proceeding to the next phase.

Project Management ProcessesThe project life cycle is managed by executing a series of project management activities known as Project Management Processes (Figure 6). Each project management process produces one or

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more outputs from one or more inputs by using appropriate project management tools and tech-niques. An output can be a deliverable or an outcome. The processes are logically linked by the produced outputs and may contain overlapping activities occurring throughout the project.

Input

Any item, whether internal or external to the project, that is required by a process before that process proceeds. May be an output from a predecessor process.

Tools and Techniques

Tools – A tangible, such as a template or software program, used in performing an activity to produce a product or result.Techniques – A defined systematic procedure employed by a human resource to perform an activity to produce a product or result, or deliver a service that may employ one or more tools.

Output

A product, result, or service generated by a process. May be an input to a successor process.

As you review the PMBOK 6th edition and prepare for the exam please ensure you pay attention to the following chart. The chart can be found on page 89 of the PMBOK 6th edition. These are project documents that are outputs of the 49 processes we will be studying

Figure 1 Project Management Documents page 89 of PMBOK 6th

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Project Management Process GroupsBest practices dictate a specific series of process groups that should be performed. These are re-ferred to as Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling and Closing. They are called process groups because each one contains or houses specific processes that should be performed. Processes give an organizational background to successfully plan, execute and manage a well-run project.

The Five Process Groups• Initiating – Consists of two (2) processes that define a new project or phase of an existing

project at a high level to obtain authorization to start.• Planning – Consists of 24 processes that establish the scope and objectives. Defines the

course of action the team will take to successfully complete the project.• Executing – Consists of ten (10) processes that the project team members complete, according

to the plan, to satisfy the project requirements.• Monitoring and Controlling – Consists of twelve (12) processes that track, review and regulate

the progress and performance of the project against the plan. Identifies any changes to the plan and initiates the corresponding changes.

• Closing – Consists of a single process to formally complete or close the project, phase or contract.

Figure 2. Project Management Process Groups

Knowledge AreasIn addition to Process Groups, processes are also categorized by Knowledge Areas. A Knowledge Area is an identified area of project management defined by its knowledge requirements and de-

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scribed in terms of its component processes, practices, inputs, outputs, tools and techniques. There are a total of ten (10) Knowledge Management Areas.

Ten Knowledge Areas• Project Integration Management – Putting the project in a cohesive whole.• Project Scope Management – Ensures the project includes all the work required, and only the

work required, to complete the project successfully.• Project Schedule Management – Creates and manages the timely completion of the project.• Project Cost Management – Creates and manages the approved time phase budget.• Project Quality Management – The degree to which the project fulfills requirements.• Project Resource Management – Acquires and manages the resources needed to complete

the project successfully.• Project Communications Management – Ensures timely and appropriate generation

collection, distribution, storage, retrieval and ultimate disposition of project information• Project Risk Management – Works to increase the probability and impact of opportunities

on the project (positive events), while decreasing the probability and impact of threats to the project (negative events).

• Project Procurement Management – The processes required to purchase or acquire products, services or results needed from outside the project team.

• Project Stakeholder Management – Identifies people, groups or organizations that could impact or be impacted.

Each process is associated with a knowledge area and process group. Each of the processes has their own inputs, tools, techniques and outputs.

Now that you have an overview of the process groups and knowledge areas. I want to bring your attention to the following chart that can be found out on page 25 of the PMBOK. This chart is the foundation of the PMBOK 6 and the PMP® exam. It depicts the process groups, knowledge areas and the 49 processes that a project must adhere too. One needs to understand the big picture of each of the 49 processes to fully understand the benefits of project management. As you study the material understand the who, what, where, why and how of each the processes. The ITTOs are tied to this chart.

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Project Management Data and Information (see Figure 7)• Work Performance Data – The raw observations and measurements identified during activities

performed to carry out the project work.• Work Performance Information – The performance data collected from various controlling

processes, analyzed in context and integrated based on relationships across areas.• Work Performance Reports – The physical or electronic representation of work performance

information compiled in project documents which is intended to generate decisions or raise issues, actions or awareness.

Figure 9. Project Management Data and Info

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Project Operating Environments

NOTES

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Project Influences

Projects exist and operate in environments that may have an influence on them. These influences can have a favorable or unfavorable impact on the project. There are two categories of Project Influences that are taught in the PMBOK 6th Edition. One is the Enterprise Environment Factors (EEF) which is broken down into two sections Internal and External. Neither the project manager nor the team has any control over the EEFs. They are elements that they must be complied with to be successful. The second project influence is the Organizational Process Assets (OPA). OPAs are for reference purposes and are be used at the discretion of the project manager and team.

Now let’s take a more detailed look at each one:

• EEF – Internal and external factors that influence a project’s success which are not under the project team’s control. EEFs can be either negative or positive as they are an input to many processes.

• Internal EEFs include, but are not limited to, organizational culture, structure, governance, geographic distribution of facilities and resources, infrastructure, information technology software, resource availability and employee capability.

• External EEFs include, but are not limited to, marketplace conditions, social and cultural influences and issues, legal restrictions, commercial databases, academic research, government or industry standards, financial considerations and physical environmental elements.

• OPA – All process related assets which are updated throughout the project life cycle.OPAs may be used or not used at the project team’s discretion.

• OPAs include, but are not limited to, processes, policies, procedures, organizational knowledge bases, configuration management knowledge, financial data, historical information, lessons learned, issues, defect management data and project files from previous projects.

Organizational Systems

Now that you understand Project Influences, let’s take a look at different Organizational Systems we might work with and how it affects working with projects. An organization’s culture, style and structure can influence how its’ projects are performed. The organization’s level of project manage-ment maturity and its project management systems can also influence the project. When a project involves external entities such as those that are part of a joint venture or partnering agreement, the project will be influenced by more than one organization.

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The PMBOK identifies several different organization structures. Projects and the role of the project manager are determined by the organizational structure. The four structures are as follows:

1. FunctionalOrganization is grouped by areas of specialization within different functional areas (e.g., accounting, marketing and manufacturing).The Project Manager has the least powerManagement is taken care by a functional manager.

2. ProjectizedOrganization is grouped by projects.Project manager has total control of projects, full authority to assign priorities, apply resources and direct the work of persons assigned to the project.Personnel are assigned and report to a project manager

3. Balanced MatrixAn attempt to maximize the strengths and weaknesses of both the functional and project forms.The team members report to two bosses: the project manager and the functional manager (V.P. Engineering, etc.).Power is shared between the functional manager and the project manager.

4. Strong MatrixPower rests with the project manager.

5. Weak Matrix:Power rests with the functional manager. The power of the project manager is comparable to that of a coordinator or expediter.Project Manager has one of the following roles:

Project Expediter – Acts primarily as a staff assistant and communications coordinator. The expediter cannot personally make or enforce decisions.Project Coordinator – Similar to the project expediter except the coordinator has some power to make decisions, some authority and reports to a higher-level manager. The project expeditor and project coordinator are roles in the weak matrix.

Project Management Office (PMO)

A PMO is an organizational structure that standardizes the project-related governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies, tools and techniques.

Types of PMO Structures in Organizations• Supportive PMO – Provides a consultative role to projects by supplying templates, best

practices, training, access to information and lessons learned from other projects. This type of

a.

b.c.

a. b.

c.

a.

b.

c.

a.

a.

b.i.

ii.

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PMO serves as a project repository. The degree of control provided by the PMO is low.• Controlling PMO – Provides support and requires compliance through various means.

Compliance may involve adopting project management frameworks or methodologies, using specific templates, forms, tools or conformance to governance. The degree of control provided by the PMO is moderate.

• Directive PMO – Controls projects by directly managing the projects. The degree of control provided by the PMO is high.

Functions of a PMOA PMO performs a number of functions that may include, but are not limited to:

• Managing shared resources across projects.• Coaching, mentoring, training and oversight.• Monitoring compliance with program management standards, policies, procedures and

templates.• Developing and managing project policies, procedures, templates and other shared

documentation (organizational process assets).• Coordinating communication across projects.• Determining priorities of projects.

NOTES

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Review Exercises

NOTES

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ExercisesMatchingMatch the definitions on the left with the correct term on the right.

1. A temporary endeavor to create a unique product, service or result.

Project Life Cycle

2. Ongoing repetitive process Stakeholder

3. A set of related projects that have a common outcome. ProjectManagement

4. Projects, programs and sub-programs grouped together that benefit the organization’s investment strategy.

Sponsor

5. Someone that is positively or negatively affected by the project. Program

6. Funds and approves the project. Portfolio

7. Phases that the project goes through from beginning to closing. Project

8. Application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.

Operations

Fill in the BlanksComplete the following sentences with one of the terms in the box.

Project Team Functional Manager Projectized

Project Coordinator Project Expeditor Balanced Matrix

Functional Organization Project Management Office Project Manager

1. The ____________ is responsible for assisting with planning and executing the work needed to produce the deliverables.

2. __________ is the group or department within a business, agency, or enterprise that defines and maintains standards for project management within the organization.

3. _____________ is divided into specialized groups.4. The _____________ has power to make some decisions, has some authority and reports to a

higher-level manager. His/her role is within a weak matrix.5. The ____________ acts as a staff assistant or communicator and does not have the power to

make any decisions. His/her role is within a weak matrix.

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6. A ____________ organization is divided by projects and the Project Manager (PM) has full control of the projects.

7. In a/an ______________ environment the power is shared between the functional and project manager.

8. ____________ is the person responsible to ensure the project meets its objective as planned.

9. _____________ is the head of a specialized department in the organization.

Matching

1. Putting the project in a cohesive whole. StakeholderManagement

2. Ensures the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to successfully complete the project.

ProcurementManagement

3. Creating and managing the timely completion of the project. Cost Management

4. Acquiring and managing the resources needed to successfully complete the project.

CommunicationsManagement

5. The degree to which the project fulfils requirements. Schedule Management

6. Creating and managing the approved time phase budget. Scope Management

7. Ensure the timely and appropriate generation collection, distribution, storage, retrieval and ultimate disposition of project information

IntegrationManagement

8. Identify people, groups or organizations that could impact or be impacted

Resource Management

9. Working to increase the probability and impact of opportunities on the project (positive events), while decreasing the probability and impact of threats to the project (negative events).

Risk Management

10. The processes necessary to purchase or acquire products, services or results needed from outside the project team.

Quality Management

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Across Down

2. Project artifacts created and updated in various processes (e.g., risk register, issue log, change log, etc.)

1. Raw data collected during the executing process group to be used later to analyze the performance of the project.

5. A how-to guide that describes how the project will be executed, monitored, controlled and closed.

3. Expertise provided by a group or individual with specialized knowledge or training.

6. Interactive communication tool for the exchange of project information.

4. Includes any scope changes, corrective or preventive actions.

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Multiple Choice Questions

1. Portfolio Management is defined as:

2. A collection of generally sequential project phases whose name and number are determined by the control needs of the organization or organizations involved in the project. Sometimes an organization can document it with a methodology.

3. “The application of Knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements” is the definition of:

4. Which of the following PMO structures plays a consulting role, e.g., supplying templates, best practices, training, computer information and lessons learned from other projects?

5. Internal and external factors that influence a project’s success which is not under the project team’s control. Inputs to most processes are referred to as:

a. A group of related projects that have a common output.b. Adhering to the budget, schedule and scope of a project.c. A collection of projects, programs and operations managed as a group to achieve

strategic objectives of the organization.d. Follows a business process

a. Project Phasesb. Agilec. Waterfalld. Project Life Cycle

a. Project Management Officeb. Organizational Structuresc. Project Managementd. Program Management

a. Directiveb. Supportingc. Controllingd. None of the approve

a. Enterprise Environmental Factorsb. Organizational Process Assetsc. Inputsd. Project Techniques

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6. Sophia is managing a group of related or unrelated projects/programs to achieve a specific strategic business objective which is referred to as:

7. Any and all process related assets plans, policies, procedures, guidelines, historical information and lessons learned by an organization is referred to:

8. The person responsible for the funding of the project and assisting the PM with ensuring unnecessary changes do not occur.

9. The PMO structure that provides support and requires compliance, e.g., PM methodologies, specific templates-forms-tools or conformance to governance. Control from this type of PMO is moderate and is referred to as:

10. The organizational structure where both the functional and project manager share responsibilities in resources, budget and managing the project is known as?

a. Program Managerb. Project Managerc. Portfolio Managerd. Stakeholder

a. Organizational Process Assetsb. Enterprise Environmental Factorsc. PMOd. Projects

a. Project Managerb. Senior Managerc. Sponsord. Project Team

a. Controllingb. Directivec. Supportived. Balanced Matrix

a. Functionalb. Balance Matrixc. Projectizedd. Weak Matrix

NOTE

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27

Role of a Project Manager

NOTES

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Project Manager’s Role

The Project Manager (PM) is the person assigned by the performing organization to lead the team responsible for achieving the project objectives. The PM’s reporting relationships are based on the organizational structure and project governance. In addition to any specific technical skills and general management proficiencies required for the project, PMs should have at least the following attributes:

• Knowledge about project management, the business environment, technical aspects and other information needed to manage the project effectively.

• Skills needed to effectively lead the project team, coordinate work, collaborate with stakehold-ers, solve problems and make decisions.

• Abilities to develop and manage scope, schedules, budgets, resources, risks, plans, presenta-tions and reports.

• Other attributes required to successfully manage the project such as personality, attitude, eth-ics and leadership.

Project Manager’s Sphere of Influence

PMs fulfill numerous roles within their sphere of influence. These roles reflect the PM’s capabilities and are representative of the value and contributions of the project management profession.

The Project – Leads the project team to meet the project’s objectives and stakeholders’ expec-tations. Works to balance the competing constraints on the project with the resources available. Communicates between the project sponsor, team members and other stakeholders using soft skills to balance the conflicting and competing goals of the project stakeholders in order to achieve consensus.

The Organization – Proactively interacts with other PMs to create a positive influence for fulfilling the various needs of the project (human, technical, financial resources) and deliverables required by the team for project completion. Seeks ways to develop relationships that assist the team in achiev-ing the goals and objectives of the project.

The Industry – Stays informed about current industry trends. The PM takes this information and sees how it may impact or apply to the current projects.

Project Manager CompetenciesIn the PMBOK 6th Edition, the PMI Talent Triangle was introduced (Figure 8). The triangle represents the skill sets needed for a PM to thrive in his/her industry.

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Figure 4. The PMI Talent Triangle2

1. Technical Project Management SkillsFocuses on the critical technical project management elements for each project being managed.Tailors both traditional and agile tools, techniques and methods for each project.Makes time to plan thoroughly and prioritize diligently.Manages project elements including, but not limited to, schedule, cost, resources and risks.

2. Strategic and Business Management SkillsExplains to others the essential business aspects of a project.Works with the project sponsor, team and subject matter experts (SME) to develop an appropriate project delivery strategy.Implements that strategy in a way that maximizes the business value of the project.

3. Leadership SkillsAbility to lead teams through all stages and processes of the project.Ability to be a problem solver and be proactive.Ability to maneuver through company politics.

Powers of Project ManagersIn the PMBOK 6th Edition, we are introduced to various Powers of Project Managers. Familiarize yourself withthe following list to ensure you can determine the power being conveyed in the ques-tion.From the list which power do you think is preferred?

• Positional – Formal, authoritative, legitimate (e.g., formal position granted in the organization or team).

• Referent – Respect or admiration others hold for the individual; credibility gained.• Expert – Skill, information possessed, experience, training, education, certification.• Reward-oriented – Ability to give praise, monetary incentives or other desired items.

2 Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth

Edition, Project Management Institute Inc., 2017, Figure 3-2. The PMI Talent Triangle ™ Page 57

a.

b.c.d.

a. b.

c.

a. b.c.

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• Punitive or Coercive – Ability to invoke discipline or negative consequences.

Referent and expert are the best powers, while punitive or coercive are the worst.

Leadership StylesWe all have had leaders we admire and some that we didn’t really care for. Let’s look of some Leadership Styles defined in the PMBOK. Again, familiarize yourself with the traits so you will be able to determine which is being referenced in the question.

• Laissez-Faire – Allows the team to make their own decisions and establish their own goals; also referred to as a hands-off style.

• Transactional – Focuses on goals, feedback and accomplishments to determine rewards; management by exception.

• Servant Leader – Demonstrates commitment to serve and put other people first; focuses on other people’s growth, learning, development, autonomy and well-being; concentrates on relationships, community and collaboration; leadership is secondary and emerges after service.

• Transformational – Empowers followers through idealized attributes and behaviors, inspirational motivation, encouragement for innovation, creativity and individual consideration.

• Charismatic – Able to inspire; high-energy, enthusiastic and self-confident; holds strong convictions.

• Interactional – A combination of transactional, transformational, and charismatic.

PersonalitiesI believe an individual’s Personality plays a factor in their leadership style. Let’s take a look at what PMBOK defined for personalities. Which personality type are you?

• Authentic – Accepts others for what and who they are; shows open concern.• Courteous – Ability to apply appropriate behavior and etiquette.• Creative – Ability to think abstractly; sees things differently; innovative.• Cultural – Measure of sensitivity to other cultures including values, norms and beliefs.• Emotional – Ability to perceive and manage emotions and the information they present;

measure of interpersonal skills.• Intellectual – Measure of human intelligence over multiple aptitudes.• Managerial – Measure of management practice and potential.• Political – Measure of political intelligence and making things happen.• Service-Oriented – Evidence of willingness to serve other people.• Social – Ability to understand and manage people.• Systemic – Drive to understand and build systems

We have looked at the role of the project manager’s personality, leadership style and power. Now, we’ll look at how one integrates project work at different levels.

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Performing Integration on the Project LevelThe role of the PM is twofold when performing integration on the project:

• PM’s play a key role in working with the project sponsor to understand the strategic objectives and ensure alignment of the project objectives and results with those of the portfolio, program and business areas. In this way, project managers contribute to the integration and execution of the strategy.

• PM’s are responsible for guiding the team to work together to focus on what is essential at the project level.

Performing Integration at the Process Level• Understand how to integrate the project processes where they interact.• Become proficient in all the Project Management Knowledge Areas.• Be cognizant of the project context and the new technologies available for integration.

Integration and ComplexityThree Dimensions of Complexity

• Human Behavior – The interplay between diverse individuals and groups.• System Behavior – The interdependencies of components and systems.• Ambiguity – Uncertainty of emerging issues and lack of understanding or confusion.

33

Review Exercises

NOTES

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35

ExercisesHFill-in the BlanksChoose the correct term from the box to complete each question:

Interactional Transformational Charismatic

Transactional Technical Project Management Servant Leader

Leadership Laissez-Faire Strategic and Business Management

1. List the three components of the PM triangle:

2. Allowing the team to make their own decisions and establish their own goals, also referred to as taking a hands-off style. _______________________

3. Focus on goals, feedback and accomplishment to determine rewards; management by exception. ________________________

4. Demonstrates commitment to serve and put other people first; focuses on other people’s growth, learning, development, autonomy and well-being; concentrates on relationships, community and collaboration; leadership is secondary and emerges after service. _____________________

5. Empowering followers through idealized attributes and behaviors, inspirational motivation, encouragement for innovation and creativity, and individual consideration. ______________________

6. Able to inspire; is high-energy, enthusiastic, self-confident; holds strong convictions.

__________________

7. A combination of transactional, transformational and charismatic. _____________________

a. ______________________________b. ______________________________c. ______________________________

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MatchingMatch the definitions on the left with the correct term on the right.

1. Formal, Authoritative, Legitimate (e.g., formal position granted in the organization or team)

Reward-oriented

2. Respect or admiration others hold for the individual, credibility gained

Positional

3. Skill, information possessed; experience, training, education, certification

Punitive or Coercive Positional

4. Ability to give praise (monetary or other desired items) Referent

5. Ability to invoke discipline or negative consequences Expert

6. Accepts others for what and who they are, shows open concern Social

7. Ability to understand and manage people Intellectual

8. Measure of management practice and potential Emotional

9. Ability to perceive emotions and the information they present and to manage them; measure of interpersonal skills

Managerial

10. Measure of human intelligence over multiple aptitudes Authentic

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Initiating Process Group

NOTES

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Initiating What does initiating mean in English? Initiating is defined as “to begin”. When you are in the initiat-ing phase, you are determining if the requested projects meets your organizational goals. If so, you then start the process of obtaining the authority to start the project. Remember, this process group is dealing with obtaining high level information on the project.

The list below comes from the exam outline posted on www.pmi.org. Familiarize yourself with the bullets. Understanding them will allow you to determine what process group the exam question is referencing. Once the process group is determined, one will know the answer must pertain to those processes in that group alone. In the initiating group, there are only two processes.3

• Perform project assessment based upon available information, lessons learned from previous projects and meetings with relevant stakeholders to support the evaluation of the feasibility of new products or services within the given assumptions and/or constraints.

• Identify key deliverables based on the business requirements to manage customer expectations and direct the achievement of project goals.

• Perform stakeholder analysis using appropriate tools and techniques to align expectations and gain support for the project.

• Identify high level risks, assumptions and constraints based on the current environment, organizational factors, historical data and expert judgment in order to propose an implementation strategy.

• Participate in the development of the project charter by compiling and analyzing gathered information to ensure project stakeholders agree on its elements.

• Obtain project charter approval from the sponsor to formalize the authority assigned to the project manager and gain commitment and acceptance for the project.

• Conduct benefit analysis with relevant stakeholders to validate project alignment with organizational strategy and expected business value.

• Inform stakeholders of the approved project charter to ensure common understanding of the key deliverables, milestones and their roles and responsibilities.

• Knowledge and skills:• Analytical skills• Benefit analysis techniques• Elements of a project charter• Estimation tools and techniques• Strategic management

3 https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/certifications/project-management-professional-exam-

outline.pdf?v=32020aff-e3ef-4b32-b3c7-a7bd3c61698c

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The initiation phase is when new project ideas come to light. Do you remember the different rea-sons we mentioned for initiating new projects? If you said technology, market demands and/or Government regulations, you are on the right track.

Remember, not every project gets approved to begin work. For the organization to determine if it is a project they will approve, some research is required.

Project Selection MethodsI am going to review the Project Selection Methods. Project selection is generally the responsi-bility of the portfolio managers and/or steering committees. In smaller companies, Presidents and Vice Presidents select the project.

The PMBOK introduces us to the following two forms:

1. Benefit Measurement Methods – Comparative approaches, panel review, peer review, scoring models, benefit contribution or economic models.

2. Constrained Optimization Methods – Mathematical approach that uses programs such as linear, nonlinear, dynamic, integer or multi-objective programming algorithms.

Examples of Economic Models are:

1. Present Value – Also referred to as the discounted value. The basis is that receiving $1,000 now is worth more than $1,000 five years from now. If you received got the money now, you could invest it and receive an additional return over the five years. (bigger the better investment)

2. Net Present Value (NPV) – The total benefits (income or revenue) less the cost. To calculate NPV, you need to calculate the present value of each of the income and revenue figures, then add up the present values. (bigger the better investment)

3. Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR): The ratio of the total PV value of benefits during the service life of the project to the total present value of the costs. (bigger the better investment)

4. Internal Rate of Return (IRR): The interest (discount) rate where the present value of the benefits exactly equals the costs. (bigger the better investment)

5. Payback Period: The number of time periods it takes to recover your investment in the project before profit begins to accumulate. (shorter the time, the better)

Accounting Terms• Sunk Cost (Incurred Cost):

When comparing projects for continuityin then project selection method, costs already incurred should be considered as sunk costs and should not be taken into account in any calculation.Once it has been decided to move forward with the project, senior management will ask for a

41

project charter to be developed. The charter can be initiated by the project manager but will be signed by the sponsor.

Develop Project CharterPerformed in the Initiating Process Group. It is the process of developing a document that for-mally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply the organization’s resources to project activities.

As we go through the book, I will list the unique Inputs Tools Techniques Outputs (ITTO) for each of the processes being reviewed.

Inputs Tools and Techniques Output

1. Business documents2. Agreements3. Enterprise environmental factors4. Organizational process assets

1. Expert judgement2. Data gathering3. Interpersonal and team skills4. Meetings

1. Project charter2. Assumption log

Inputs• Business Case – Describes the necessary information from a business standpoint to determine

whether the expected outcomes of the project justifies the required investment. The business need and cost benefit analysis are included in the document.

• Agreement – Defines the initial intentions for a project which may be a contract, memorandum of understanding, service level agreements or letters of intent.

Tools and Techniques• Expert judgement – Judgement provided from a SME in that application area.• Data Gathering – Process of collecting data.

• Brainstorming – Conducted in a group setting and led by a facilitator to gather data, solutions or ideas from stakeholders, SMEs and team members.

• Focus groups – Bringing together stakeholders and SMEs to discuss specific project areas (e.g., risks, success criteria).

• Interviews – Talking directly to stakeholders to obtain information on high-level requirements, assumptions, constraints and/ or approval criteria.

• Interpersonal and Teams Skills – Communicating and interacting with the stakeholders.• Conflict Management – Bringing stakeholders into alignment with elements of the

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project charter.• Facilitation – Effectively guiding a group to a successful decision, solution or conclusion.• Meeting Management – Setting the correct agenda, ensuring the correct stakeholders

are invited, sending out the minutes and action items.• Meetings – Meeting with key stakeholders to identify the project objectives, success criteria,

key deliverables, high-level requirements and summary milestones.

Output• Project Charter – Similar to a partnership between the performing organization and the

requesting organization.• The approved project charter formally initiates the project.• The project charter should be authored by the sponsoring entity.

Projects are initiated by an entity external to the project such as a sponsor, program or project management office (PMO) staff person or a portfolio governing body chairperson or authorized representative.

• A project manager is identified and assigned as early in the project as is feasible, preferably while the project charter is being developed and always prior to the start of planning.

• Assumption Log – A project document that is used to record all assumptions and constraints throughout the project life cycle.

Identify StakeholdersPerformed in the Initiating Process Group, it is the process of identifying project stakeholders reg-ularly and analyzing and documenting relevant information regarding their interests, involvement, interdependencies, influence and potential impact on project success. It is critical for project suc-cess to identify the stakeholders early in the project or phase and to analyze their level of interest, individual expectations as well as their importance and influence.

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1. Project charter2. Business documents3. Project management plan4. Project documents5. Agreements6. Enterprise environmental

factors7. Organizational Process

Assets

1. Expert judgement2. Data gathering

3. Data analysis

4. Data Representation

5. Meetings

1. Stakeholder register2. Change request3. Project management plan

updates

4. Project document updates

Tools and Techniques – Data Analysis• Stakeholder Analysis – Identify all potential project stakeholders and relevant information.

Analyze the potential impact or support each stakeholder could generate and classify them so as to define an approach strategy. Assess how key stakeholders are likely to react or respond in various situations

• Stakeholders’ Stakes Elements can include the following:• Interest• Rights (legal or moral rights)• Ownership• Knowledge• Contribution

• Data Representation:• Stakeholder Mapping and Representation – Methods used to categorize stakeholders

in various ways. The three methods are as follows:• Power/Interest Grid, Power/Influence Grid, Impact/Influence Grid

Technique supports a grouping of stakeholders according to their level of authority (Power), level of concern about the project’s outcomes (Interest), ability to influence the outcomes of the project (Influence) or ability to cause changes to the project’s planning or execution.

a. Questionnaires and surveys

b. Brainstorming

a. Stakeholder analysisb. Document analysis

a. Stakeholder mapping/ representation

a. Requirements management plan

b. Comm. management plan

c. Risk management pland. Stakeholder

engagement plan

a. Assumption logb. Issue logc. Risk register

44

• Stakeholder CubeThis model combines the grid elements into a three-dimensional model that can be useful for the PM and teams in identifying and engaging their stakeholder community.

• Salience ModelUnlike the grids, the Salience Model uses three parameters to categorize the stakeholders power, legitimacy and urgency. Stakeholders are classified according to their influence on the project’s work or team itself. They can be classified in the following ways:

• Upward (senior management)• Downward (team or specialist)• Outward (stakeholder groups outside the project team)• Sideward (PM peers)

Output• Stakeholder Register – Part of the project documents. Contains information about the

identified stakeholders which includes:• Identification information• Assessment information• Stakeholder classification

45

Review Exercises

NOTES

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1. A document that provides the required information from a business standpoint used to determine whether the project is worth the investment.

Project Charter

2. A document or communication that defines the initial intentions of a project (e.g., contract, memorandum of understanding (MOU), letters of agreement, verbal agreements, email, etc.).

Business Case

3. Project document used to record all assumptions and constraints. Agreements

4. Project document output from Identify Stakeholders that includes the identification, assessment, and classification of identified stakeholders.

Assumption log

5. Names and formally authorizes the PM to expend resources to achieve project objectives and needs. It may include high-level requirements, risks, summary budget, milestone schedules, assumptions and constraints.

Stakeholder Register

6. Process that develops a document that formally authorizes a project or phase and documents initial requirements that satisfy the stakeholder’s needs and expectations.

Identify Stakeholders

7. The process of identifying all people or organizations impacted by the project and documents relevant information regarding their interests, expectation, involvement and influence on project success.

Develop Project Charter

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Questions1. The organization wants to expand its skin care line. Research and development have developed

a new concept; marketing advises that all efforts should be made to create and release this product as soon as possible. A business case has been created and accepted, and you have been named project manager for this effort. You are determining how you will proceed. All of the following should be determined before project planning except:

2. Which of the following statements is not true about operations?

3. Which of the following is done in the initiating process group?

4. Which of the following is not a project?

5. You have just reviewed your performance on the project, and have realized that you must take steps to improve your skills in managing stakeholders. All the following are responsibilities of the project manager in stakeholder management except:

a. Business caseb. Project scope statementc. Project stakeholdersd. Project charter

a. Operational work may be unrelated to any project within the organization.b. Operational work may be the reason a project is begun.c. Operational work may be the result of a project.d. Operational work may be done only in the context of a project.

a. Work with the customer to determine acceptance criteria.b. Recommend changes and defect repair.c. Evaluate risk responses.d. Update corporate processes and procedures based on lessons learned.

a. Implementation of a new software programb. Design of a new housing developmentc. Assembly line in a car manufacturingd. Construction of a new building

a. Figuring out when stakeholders will be involved in the project and how extensivelyb. Selecting the appropriate stakeholders for the projectc. Ask stakeholders to let you know about problems in project communications and

relationshipsd. Getting stakeholders’ approval on final requirements

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6. What are assumptions?

7. When is the project manager assigned?

8. You have been planning a project that will result in many changes to the organization. Your team executing the project plan has been identified and you expect to get approval to kick off the project soon. You’ve just learned that your project will impact the work of 600 employees that will not be involved in any aspect of your project. What is the best thing to do?

9. There are two projects for the organization to choose between: Project A with an NPV of $145,000 and Project B with an NPV of $285,000. What is the opportunity cost of selecting project B?

10. Stakeholder register includes which of the following:

a. Identified in project initiating, including in project planning, and managed throughout project executing.

b. Identified in project planning, validated in project planning, and used in project monitoring and controlling to create control limits.

c. Identified in project initiating, analyzed in project planning, and managed throughout the project.

d. Identified in project planning, used to make planning decisions, and managed throughout project monitoring and controlling.

a. Project selectionb. Initiatingc. Integrationd. Planning

a. Modify your stakeholder engagement plan to include information sessions for the 600 people.

b. Get the stakeholders’ sign-off that the requirements have been finalized.c. Create a stakeholder engagement assessment matrix.d. Add the 600 people to the stakeholder register and interview them to assess their needs.

a. $145,000b. $85,000c. $130,000d. $40,000

a. Role, major requirements, influence, and classificationb. Communication requirementsc. Level of interest, and engagement leveld. Stakeholder name, major requirements, and communication requirements

NOTES

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Planning Process Group

NOTES

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PlanningNow that we have approval to start the project, we have identified our stakeholders and are ready to start the plan. Remember: Fail to plan, plan to fail. Plan is defined as “a detailed proposal for do-ing or achieving something”. Did you get the key word here? If you said Detailed, then you guessed right.

The following list comes from the exam outline posted on www.pmi.org.Familiarize yourself with the bullets; understanding them will allow you to determine what process group the exam question is referencing. Once you determine the process group, one will know the answer must pertain to the processes in that group alone. This process group is the toughest since there are 24 processes to understand and know in order.

These processes are required to establish the scope of the project, refine the objectives and define the course of action required to attain the objectives that the project was undertaken to achieve. Develop a project management plan to utilize for implementing, tracking, monitoring and closing the project.4

• Review and assess detailed project requirements, constraints and assumptions with stakeholders based on the project charter, lessons learned and by using requirement gathering techniques to establish detailed project deliverables.

• Develop a scope management plan based on the approved project scope. Use scope management techniques to define, maintain and manage the scope of the project.

• Develop a cost management plan based on the project scope, schedule, resources, approved project charter and other information using estimating techniques to manage project costs.

• Develop the project schedule based on the approved project deliverables and milestones, scope and resource management plans to manage a timely completion of the project.

• Develop the human resource management plan by defining the roles and responsibilities of the project team members to create a project organizational structure and provide guidance on how resources will be assigned and managed.

• Develop a communications management plan based on the project organizational structure and stakeholder requirements to define and manage the flow of project information.

• Develop a procurement management plan based on the project scope, budget and schedule to ensure that the required project resources will be available.

• Develop a quality management plan and define the quality standards for the project and its products based on the project scope, risks and requirements to prevent the occurrence of defects and control the cost of quality.

• Develop a change management plan by defining how changes will be addressed and controlled

4 https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/certifications/project-management-professional-exam-

outline.pdf?v=32020aff-e3ef-4b32-b3c7-a7bd3c61698c

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to track and manage change.• Plan for risk management by developing a risk management plan; identifying, analyzing, and

prioritizing project risk; creating the risk register; and defining risk response strategies to manage uncertainty and opportunity throughout the project life cycle.

• Present a project management plan to the relevant stakeholders according to applicable policies and procedures to obtain approval to proceed with project execution.

• Conduct kick-off meetings which communicate the start of the project, key milestones and other relevant information to inform and engage stakeholders and gain commitment.

• Develop the stakeholder management plan by analyzing needs, interests and potential impact to effectively manage stakeholder expectations and engage them in project decisions.

• Knowledge and skills:• Change management planning• Cost management planning, including project budgeting tools and techniques• Communications planning• Contract types and selection criteria• Estimation tools and techniques• Human resource planning• Lean and efficiency principles• Procurement planning• Quality management planning• Requirements gathering techniques (e.g., planning sessions, brainstorming and focus

groups)• Regulatory and environmental impacts assessment planning• Risk management planning• Scope deconstruction (e.g., work breakdown schedule (WBS), scope backlog), tools and

techniques• Scope management planning• Stakeholder management planning• Time management planning, including scheduling tools and techniques• Workflow diagramming techniques

In this section we will be reviewing the 24 processes in the Planning Process Group.

Develop Project Management PlanPerformed in the Planning process group and the Integration knowledge area. It is the process of defining, preparing and coordinating all plan components and consolidating them into an integrat-ed project management plan. The project management plan defines how the project is executed, monitored and controlled, and closed.

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1. Project charter2. Outputs from other

processes3. Enterprise environmental

factors4. Organization process

assets

1. Expert judgement2. Data gathering3. Interpersonal and team

skills4. Meetings

1. Project Management Plan

Inputs• Project Charter – High level information about the project from the document will be utilized

to plan detailed components of the project management plan.• Outputs from other processes – Outputs from knowledge areas are integrated to create the

project management. If you are reading this and thinking what does that mean I just started, you’re right. But, remember this is also an iterative process so until your plan is final your always coming back to it.

Tools and TechniquesData Gathering – Process of collecting data.• Brainstorming – Conducted in a group setting and led by a facilitator to gather data, solutions

or ideas from stakeholders, SMEs and team members.• Checklists – Guide the PM to ensure all required information is included in the project plan.• Focus groups – Bring together stakeholders and SMEs to discuss specific project areas (e.g.,

risks, success criteria).• Interviews – Talk directly to stakeholders to obtain information to complete the project

management plan.• Interpersonal and Teams Skills – Communicate and interact with the stakeholders.• Conflict Management – Bring stakeholders into alignment with elements of the project

management plan.• Facilitation – Effectively guide a group to a successful decision, solution or conclusion.• Meeting Management – Ensure that the numerous meetings needed to complete the plan

are well run.

Output• Project Management Plan – A document that describes how the project will be executed,

monitored and controlled, and closed.

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• Consists of all the subsidiary management plans, baselines and any other information necessary to manage the project.

• Approved by the sponsor and key stakeholders. The plan is updated as changes are approved on the project.

Additional Components Subsidiary Plans Baselines

Change Management Plan Scope Management Plan Scope

Configuration Management Plan

Schedule Management Plan Schedule

Performance measurement baseline

Cost Management Plan Cost

Project life cycle Quality Management Plan

Developmental approach Resource Management Plan

Communications Management Plan

Risk Management Plan

Procurement Management Plan

Stakeholder Management Plan

Plan Scope ManagementPerformed in the Planning process group and the Scope knowledge area. It is the process of creat-ing a scope management plan that documents how the project and product scope will be defined, validated, and controlled. The key benefit of this process is that it provides guidance and direction on how the scope will be managed throughout the project. This process is performed either once or at predefined points in the project.

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Project charterProject Management PlanEnterprise environmental factorsOrganization process assets

Expert judgementData gatheringAlternative analysisMeetings

Scope Management PlanRequirements Management Plan

Terminology to Understand• Product Scope – Requirements that relate to the product of the scope. Answers the question

“What result is needed?”The features and functions that characterize a product, service or result.

• Project Scope – The work the project will do to deliver the product of the project, encompassing the product scope. The work that must be accomplished to deliver a product, service or result with the specified features and functions.

• Scope Creep – The uncontrolled expansion to a product or project scope without adjustments to time, cost and resources.

• Gold Plating – Adds extra features or functions to the products which were not included in the scope statement.

Tools and Techniques – Data Analysis–

• Alternative Analysis – Various ways of collecting requirements, elaborating the project and product scope, creating the product, validating the scope and controlling the scope are evaluated.

Output• Scope Management Plan – A component of the project management plan that describes how

the scope will be defined, developed, monitored, controlled and validated. The plan reduces the risk of project scope creep. The components of a scope management plan includes:

• Preparing a project scope statement.• Enables the creation of the WBS from the detailed project scope statement.• Establishes how the scope baseline will be approved and maintained• Specifies how formal acceptance of the completed project deliverables will be obtained.• The Scope Management Plan can be formal or informal, broadly framed or highly detailed,

based on the needs of the project.

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• Requirements Management Plan – A component of the Project Management Plan that describes how project and product requirements will be analyzed, documented and managed. Components of the requirements management plan can include, but are not limited to:

• How requirements activities will be planned, tracked and reported;• Configuration management activities such as:

• How changes will be initiated,• How impacts will be analyzed,• How impacts will be traced, tracked and reported,• The authorization levels required to approve changes;

• Requirements prioritization process;• Metrics that will be used and the rationale for using them;• Traceability structure that reflects the requirement attributes captured on the traceability

matrix.

Collect RequirementsPerformed in the Planning process group and Scope knowledge area. It is the process of determin-ing, documenting and managing stakeholder needs and requirements to meet project objectives.

• Requirements are gathered from all stakeholders, not just the PM assigning the project.• The project’s success is directly influenced by active stakeholder involvement in the discovery

and decomposition of requirements needs and by the care taken in determining, documenting and managing the requirements of the product, service or result of the project.

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1. Project Charter2. Project Management Plan3. Project documents4. Business documents5. Agreements6. Enterprise environmental


assets


3. Data analysis4. Decision making

5. Data representation

6. Interpersonal and team skills

7. Context diagram8. Prototypes

1. Requirements documentation

2. Requirements Traceability matrix

Tools and Techniques – Data Gathering• Brainstorming – A technique used to generate and collect multiple ideas related to project

and product requirements.• Interviews – A formal or informal approach to discover information from stakeholders by

talking to them directly. It is typically performed by asking prepared and spontaneous questions and recording the responses. Interviews are often conducted one-on-one but may involve multiple interviewers and/or interviewees.

• Focus Groups – Brings together prequalified stakeholders and SMEs to learn about their expectations and attitudes regarding a proposed product, service or result. A trained moderator guides the group through an interactive discussion designed for one-on-one interviews.

• Questionnaires and Surveys – Written sets of questions designed to quickly accumulate

a. Brainstormingb. Interviewsc. Focus groupsd. Questionnaires and

surveyse. Benchmarking

a. Votingb. Multi-criteria decision

a. Affinity diagramb. Mind mapping

a. Nominal group technique

b. Observation/conversation

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information from a wide number of respondents.• Benchmarking – Involves comparing actual or planned practices, such as processes and

operations, to those of comparable organizations to identify best practices, generate ideas for improvement and provide a basis for measuring performance. The organizations compared during benchmarking can be internal or external.

Decision Making• Voting:

• Unanimity – A decision that is reached whereby everyone agrees on a single course of action.

• Majority – A decision that is reached with support obtained from more than 50% of the members of the group.

• Plurality – A decision that is reached whereby the largest block in a group decides, even if a majority is not achieved.

• Autocratic Decision Making – One person deciding for the group.• Multi-criteria Decision Analysis – Uses a decision matrix to provide a systematic analysis

approach for establishing criteria, such as risk levels, uncertainty and valuation to evaluate and rank many ideas.

Data Representation• Affinity Diagrams – Allows large number of ideas to be classified for review and analysis.• Mind Mapping – Consolidates ideas created through individual brainstorming sessions into

a single map to reflect commonality and differences in understanding and to generate new ideas.

Interpersonal and Team Skills• Nominal group technique – A question or problem is posed to the group. Each person silently

writes down their ideas.• The moderator records the ideas on a flip chart until all ideas are displayed.• Each recorded idea is discussed until all group members have a clear understanding.• Individuals vote privately to prioritize the ideas. Voting may take place in numerous rounds

to reduce and focus on the ideas. After each round, the votes are tallied and the highest scoring ideas are selected.

• Observations (Job Shadowing)• Provides a direct way to view individuals in their environment and observe how they

perform their jobs, tasks and carry out processes.• Helpful for detailed processes when the people using the product have difficulty or are

reluctant to articulate their requirements.

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• Observation is usually done externally by an observer viewing the user performing the job.

Prototypes• A method of obtaining early feedback on requirements by providing a working model of

the expected product before building.• Supports the concept of progressive elaboration because they are used in iterative cycles

of mock up creation, user experimentation, feedback generation and prototype revision.• When enough feedback cycles have been performed, the requirements obtained from the

prototype are sufficiently complete to move to a design or a build phase.

Context Diagram – Depicts the product scope by showing a business system and how people and other systems interact with it.

Outputs – Requirements Traceability MatrixA grid that links product requirements from their origin to the deliverables that satisfy them. It provides a means to track requirements throughout the project life cycle. The matrix helps ensure that requirements approved in requirements documents are delivered at the end of the project. At-tributes associated with each requirement can be recorded in the Requirements Traceability Matrix.

Requirements DocumentationDescribes how individual requirements meet the business needs for the project. They might start out as high level and become more detailed as more information is known. Requirements can be categorized by business requirements, stakeholder requirements and solution requirements.

Define ScopePerformed in the Planning process group and the Scope knowledge area. It is the process of de-veloping a detailed description of the project and product. The statement will describe the product, service or result in boundaries and acceptance criteria.

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1. Project Charter2. Project Management Plan3. Project documents4. Enterprise environmental


assets

1. Expert judgement2. Data analysis

3. Decision making

4. Interpersonal and team skill

5. Product analysis

1. Project Scope Statement2. Project Document Updates

Tools and Techniques – Product AnalysisUsed to define products and services. It includes asking questions about a product or service and forming answers to describe the use, characteristics and other relevant aspects of what will be de-livered.

Output• Project Scope Statement – Describes project scope, major deliverables, assumptions and

constraints. Documents the entire scope, including the project and product scope. Describes the project deliverables in detail. Provides a common understanding of the project scope among project stakeholders. It includes the following:

• Product scope description• Deliverables• Acceptance criteria• Project exclusions

Create WBSPerformed in the Planning process group and the Scope knowledge area. The WBS is a delivera-bles-orientated decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. The planned work is contained within the lowest level WBS components (work packages) which can be scheduled, cost estimated, monitored and controlled. The top-most level of each WBS is the total project itself which provides a frame-work of what must be delivered.

a. Alternative analysis

a. Multi-criteria decision analysis

a. Facilitation

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1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Enterprise environmental

factors4. Organizational process

assets

1. Expert judgement2. Decomposition

1. Scope baseline2. Project documents update

Tools and Techniques• Decomposition – A technique used for dividing and subdividing the project scope and project

deliverables into smaller, more manageable parts. The work package level is the lowest level in the WBS where the cost and the durations can be estimated and managed. The level of detail for the work packages will vary based on the size and complexity of the project. If the lowest levels are rolled up to higher levels, the total must represent the total work of the project. This is called 100% rule.

Output• Scope Baseline – Approved version of a scope statement, WBS and its associated WBS

dictionary which can be changed only through formal change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparison.

• Project Scope Statement – Includes the description of the project scope, major deliverables, assumptions and constraints.

• WBS – Hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables.

• WBS Dictionary – Document that provides detailed deliverables, activity and scheduling information about each component in the WBS.

Plan Schedule ManagementPerformed in the Planning process group and in the Schedule knowledge area. It is the process of establishing the policies, procedures and documentation for planning, developing, managing, executing and controlling the project schedule.

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1. Project Charter2. Project Management Plan3. Enterprise environmental


assets

1. Expert judgement2. Data analysis3. Meetings

1. Schedule Management Plan

Tools and Techniques – Data Analysis• Alternative analysis – Can be used to determine which schedule methodology to use or how

to combine various methods on the project.

Output• Schedule Management Plan – Part of the PMP that documents the criteria and activities for

developing, monitoring, and controlling the schedule. The plan includes the following details:• Model development• Accuracy• Units• Procedures, control thresholds, performance measurement rules, report formats and

process descriptions

Define ActivitiesPerformed in the Planning process group and the Schedule knowledge area. It is the process of identifying and documenting the specific actions to be performed to produce the project deliv-erables. Decomposes work packages into schedule activities that provide a basis for estimating, scheduling, executing, monitoring and controlling the project work.


1. Project Management Plan2. Enterprise environmental

factors3. Orgtanization process

assets

1. Expert judgement2. Decomposition3. Rolling wave planning4. Meetings

1. Activity list2. Activity attributes3. Milestone list4. Change request5. Project Management Plan

updates

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Tools and Techniques – Decomposition• Subdivides the project work packages into smaller more manageable components called

Activities.• Activity is the effort needed to complete a work package.

Rolling Wave Planning• An iterative planning technique in which the work to be accomplished in the near term is

planned in detail.• The work in the future is planned at a higher level.• A form of progressive elaboration.

Outputs• Activity List – Project docuemt that is a comprehensive list that includes all schedule activities

required on the project including the activity identifier and a scope of work description.• Activity Attributes – Project document that extends the description of the activity by identifying

the multiple components associated with each activity (e.g., ID, WBS ID, description, successor, predecessor, geographical location, where work should be performed, etc.).

• Milestone List – Project document that lists a significant point or event in a project. Milestones are like regular schedule activities with the same structure and attributes, however, they have zero duration since milestones represent a moment in time.

Sequence ActivitiesPerformed in the Planning process group and the Schedule knowledge area. It is the process of identifying and documenting relationships among the project activities. The key benefit of this pro-cess is that it defines the logical sequence of work to obtain the greatest efficiency given all project constraints.




assets

1. Precedence Diagramming Method

2. Dependency determination and integration

3. Leads and lags4. Project Management

Information Systems

1. Project schedule network diagram

2. Project document updates3. Activity attributes4. Activity list5. Assumption log6. Milestone list

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Tools and Techniques• Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) – Used in Critical Path Methodology(CPM) to

construct a project schedule network diagram using boxes or rectangles known as nodes. Nodes represent activities which are connected with arrows that show the logical relationships existing between them. This is also called the Activity on Node (AON).PDM includes four types of dependencies or logical relationships:

• Finish-to-Start (FS) – A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has finished. For example, development cannot be started until the design is finished.

• Finish-to-Finish (FF) – A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor activity has finished. For example, the broadcast of a football game cannot finish until the game is finished. So, the game is not depended on the broadcast, but the broadcast is dependent on the game. If the game takes longer than the initial estimated timed; the broadcast will continue till the game is concluded.

• Start-to-Start (SS) – A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has started. For example, the activity of marketing brochure preparation cannot start until user documentation has started.

• Start-to-Finish (SF) – A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor activity has started. For example, the first security guard shift (successor) cannot finish until the second security guard shift (predecessor) starts.

Dependency Determination – Four Types of Dependencies• Mandatory Dependencies (Hard Logic) – Dependencies based on technological constraints,

such as not being able to paint a wall before it is constructed.• Discretionary Dependencies (Soft Logic) – Dependencies based on management preference,

such as delaying one task until another is completed to use the same resources on both.• External Dependencies – Dependencies based on external constraints, such as a required

inspection before proceeding to the next activity.• Internal Dependencies – Dependencies within the project team’s control, such as not testing

a product until the product is fully assembled.

Leads and Lags• A lead is the amount of time whereby a successor activity can be advanced with respect to a

predecessor activity. Lead is often represented as a negative value for lag in scheduling soft-ware. Website programmers may decide to start programming the home page four days be-fore the interface design is approved. Starting the programming early may shorten the overall project schedule by four days. However, if the design is not approved, there may be significant

67

rework for the programmer resulting in the loss of some or all the four-day gain.• A lag is the amount of time whereby a successor activity will be delayed with respect to a pre-

decessor activity. A lag directs a delay in the successor activity. For example, a technical writing team can begin editing the draft of a large document fifteen (15) days after they begin writing it (start-start with 15-day lag).

Project Management Information System (PMIS)Typically, one or more software applications and a methodical process for collecting and using project information.

Outputs• Project Schedule Network Diagrams – Part of the project documents. It is a graphical

representation of the logical relationships, also referred to as dependencies, among the project schedule activities.

Figure 5. Project Schedule Network Diagram

Estimate Activity DurationsPerformed in the Planning process group and the Schedule knowledge area. It is the process of estimating the number of work periods needed to complete individual activities with estimated resources. Provides the amount of time each activity will take to complete.

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assets

1. Expert judgement2. Analogous estimating3. Parametric estimating4. Three-point estimating5. Bottom-up estimating6. Data analysis

7. Decision making8. Meetings

1. Duration estimates2. Basis of estimates3. Project document updates

Tools and Techniques – Estimating Techniques• Analogous Time Estimating(a form of expert judgment) – Estimating the time to perform

tasks or to do a current project by extrapolating from the actual cost of a previous project. Also called top-down time estimating. It is inexpensive but may be inaccurate.

• Parametric Time Estimating – Using a statistical relationship to predict project times, e.g., activity multiplied by productivity rate predicts time standards or number of drawings multiplied by labor hours per drawing calculates the drawing duration.

• Three Point Estimating – A three-point estimate uses the average of optimistic, probable and pessimistic estimates thereby improving the accuracy.

• Bottom-Up Estimating – A method of estimating project duration or cost by aggregating the estimates of the lower-level components of the WBS.

Data Analysis• Alternatives Analysis – Using various levels of resource capabilities or skills, different sizes or

types of machines, different tools and make or buy decisions regarding the resource.• Reserve Analysis – Determines the amount of contingency and management reserves needed

for the project.

Outputs• Duration Estimates – Quantitative assessment of the likely number of time periods required

to complete an activity, phase or project. They do not include any lags but may include some indication of the range of possible results. For example, a range of two (2) weeks ±two (2) days, which indicates that the activity will take at least eight (8) days and not more than twelve (12).

a. Alternative analysisb. Reserve analysis

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• Basis of Estimates – Additional details supporting the duration estimate vary by application area. Supporting documentation should provide a clear and complete understanding of how the duration estimate was derived.

Develop SchedulePerformed in the Planning process group and the Schedule knowledge area. It is the process of analyzing activity sequences, durations, resource requirements and schedule constraints to create a schedule model for project execution, monitoring and controlling.

• Determines planned start and finish calendar dates for project activities.• Schedule development is iterative and continuously elaborated.• Requires review of duration and resource estimates to create a schedule.• Creates a baseline against which to track progress.• Developing an acceptable project schedule is an iterative process.


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Agreements4. Enterprise environmental


assets

1. Expert judgement2. Critical Path Method3. Resource optimization4. Data analysis

5. Leads and lags6. Schedule compression7. Projection Management

Information systems8. Agile release planning

1. Schedule baseline2. Project schedule3. Schedule data4. Project calendar5. Change requests6. Project Management Plan

updates7. Project document updates

Tools and Techniques• Critical Path Method – Used to estimate the minimum project duration and determine the

amount of scheduling flexibility on the logical network paths within the schedule model.

Types of Floats (Slacks)• Total Float – The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project end

date or milestone.

a. What-if scenario analysis

b. Simulation

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• Free Float – The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of successor activity.

• Project Float – The amount of time a project can be delayed without delaying an externally imposed project completion date by the customer (other than calculated by CPM).

Floats (Slacks)• Activities on the critical path have zero float.• Critical path activities that are delayed or have dictated dates can result in negative float.• Float is a project asset. If you know where you have float, you can use it to help organize and

manage the project.• If you have an inexperienced employee, assign work on the activity with the most float. Even if

the activity takes longer, the project is less likely to be delayed.

Resource Optimization Techniques

Resource SmoothingA technique that adjusts the activities of a schedule model such that the requirements for resources on the project do not exceed certain predefined resource limits. The time constraint takes priority. The end date is not moveable, we cannot change the project’s end date. Must complete the project with the available resources.

Resource LevelingA technique in which start and finish dates are adjusted based on resource constraints with the goal of balancing the demand for resources with the available supply. The end date is moveable. One would change the project’s end date based on the resources’ availability.

Schedule Compression TechniquesTechniques are used to shorten or accelerate the schedule duration without reducing the project scope to meet schedule constraints, imposed dates or other schedule objectives.

• Fast Tracking – Calculates multiple project durations with different sets of activity assumptions, usually using probability distributions constructed from the three-point estimates.The ability to fast-track implies that the finish-to-start relationship between the activities was discretionary.Crashing – Crashing is used if fast-tracking did not save enough time on the schedule. Crashing is a technique in which cost and schedule trade-offs are analyzed to determine how to obtain the greatest amount of compression for the least incremental cost.Analyzes critical activities based on the lowest crash cost per time unit allowing the team to

71

identify those candidate activities that would produce the greatest value at the least incremental cost. The results of a crashing analysis can be plotted in a crash graph, where activities with the flattest slope would be considered first, meaning that they gain the most time savings but have a smaller increase in cost (rise).

Output• Schedule Baseline – Approved version of a schedule model that can be changed only through

formal change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparing actual results.• Project Schedule – May be presented in tabular form, however, it’s more often presented

graphically using milestone charts, bar charts or project schedule network diagrams. Can be represented by:

• Bar charts• Milestone charts• Project schedule network diagrams

• Schedule Data – Collection of information for describing and controlling the schedule. The schedule data minimally includes the schedule milestones, schedule activities, activity attributes and documentation of all identified assumptions and constraints.

• Project Calendars – Working days and shifts that are available for scheduled activities. It distinguishes time periods in days or portions thereof that are available to complete scheduled activities from time periods that are not available for work.

• Change Requests – Modifications to the project scope or schedule may result in change requests to the scope baseline and/or other components of the PMP. Changes will go through the Performed Integrated Change Control.

Plan Cost ManagementPerformed in the Planning process group and Cost knowledge area. It is the process of defining how the project costs will be estimated, budgeted, managed, monitored and controlled. Concerned with the cost of the resources needed to complete project activities. It should consider the effect of project decisions on the subsequent recurring cost of using, maintaining and supporting the prod-uct, service or result of the project.

72


1. Project charter2. Project Management Plan3. Enterprise environmental


assets

1. Expert judgement2. Data analysis3. Meetings

1. Cost Management Plan

Tools and Techniques• Data Analysis(Alternative analysis) – Can include reviewing strategic funding options such as

self-funding, funding with equity or funding with debt.

Outputs• Cost Management Plan

• Units of measure• Level of precision• Level of accuracy (±10%)• Organizational procedures (WBS is a framework for cost estimating)• Control threshold (percentage of deviation from the baseline plan)• Rules of performance measurement (Earned Value Management (EVM))• Reporting formats (format and frequency of cost reports)• Process descriptions• Strategic funding, exchange rate fluctuations and cost recording.

Estimate CostsPerformed in the Planning process group and Cost knowledge area. It is the process of developing an approximation of the cost of resources needed to complete project work and determines the monetary resources required for the project. The accuracy of a project estimate will increase as the project progresses through the its’ life cycle.

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factors4. Organization process assets

1. Expert judgement2. Analogous estimating3. Parametric estimating4. Bottom-up estimating5. Three point estimating6. Data analysis

7. Project Management Information system

8. Decision making

1. Cost estimate2. Basis of estimates3. Project document updates

Types of Cost• Direct costs – These costs are attributed directly to the project work and cannot be shared

among projects (wages, material, equipment, etc.).• Indirect costs – Overhead costs incurred for the benefit of more than one project (taxes,

training, project management software license, etc.).• Variable costs – Costs that vary depending on the amount of work or production (cost of

materials, supplies, wages, etc.).• Fixed costs – Costs remaining constant throughout the project (office supplies, rent, utilities,

etc.).

Tools and Techniques• Analogous Estimating – Uses the values such as scope, cost, budget and duration or scale

measurements such as size, weight and complexity from an earlier, similar project as the basis for estimating the same parameters or measurements for a current project.

• Normally used when there is a limited amount of detailed information about the project.• Less costly and time consuming than other techniques and less accurate.

• Parametric Estimating – Uses statistical relationship between historical data and other variables.

• Bottom-up Estimating – A method of estimating cost by aggregating the estimates of the lower-level components of the WBS.

a. Alternative analysisb. Reserve analysisc. Cost of quality

a. Voting

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Data Analysis• Alternatives Analysis – A technique of evaluating different choices available to achieve a

particular project management objective. It is an analytical comparison of different factors like operational cost, risks, effectiveness as well as the shortfalls in an operational capability.

• Reserve Analysis – Includes contingency reserves and management reserves to manage risks and cost overruns.

• Cost of Quality (COQ) – Evaluates the cost and impact of additional investments in conformance versus the cost of nonconformance.

Outputs• Cost Estimates – Activity cost estimates are quantitative assessments of the probable costs

required to complete project work. Cost estimates can be presented in summary form or in detail. Each resource in the project must be accounted for and assigned to a cost category.

• Basis of Estimates – Additional details supporting the cost estimate vary by application area. Should provide a clear and complete understanding of how the cost estimate was derived.

Determine BudgetPerformed in the Planning process group and Cost knowledge area. It is the process of aggregating the estimated costs of individual activities or work packages to establish an authorized cost base-line.


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Business documents4. Agreements5. Enterprise environmental


assets

1. Expert judgement2. Cost aggregation3. Data analysis

4. Historical information review

5. Funding limit reconciliation

6. Financing

1. Cost baseline2. Project funding

requirements3. Project document updatesa. Reserve analysis

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Tools and Techniques• Data Analysis

• Reserve Analysis – Reestablishes both contingency reserves (unplanned changes due to identified risks or “known unknowns”).

• Management Reserves (unplanned changes to project scope, cost and “unknown unknowns”) – Reserves are NOT part of the cost baseline nor are they part of the earned value calculations. However reserved are included in the budget.

• Historical Information Review – Review historical information when developing cost estimates.• Cost Aggregation – Cost estimates are aggregated by work packages in accordance with the

WBS. The work package cost estimates are then aggregated for the higher component levels of the WBS (such as control accounts) and ultimately for the entire project.

• Funding LIMIT Reconciliation – Expenditure of funds should be reconciled with any funding limits on the commitment of funds for the project.

• Financing – Acquiring funding for projects. It is common for the long-term infrastructure, industrial and public services projects to seek external sources of funds.

Outputs• Cost Baseline – A time-phased budget used to measure, monitor and control project costs.

Plan Quality ManagementPerformed in the Planning process group and the Quality knowledge area. It is the process of identifying quality requirements and/or standards for the project and its deliverables and docu-menting how the project will demonstrate compliance with relevant quality requirements. Should be performed in parallel with other planning processes.

Quality vs. Grade (Degree of Functionality)• Grade as a design intent is a category assigned to deliverables having the same functional use

but different technical characteristics.• A camera with many functions is high grade and a camera which takes bad pictures is low

quality.• Low Quality is always an issue, however, low grade may not be.

Precision vs. AccuracyPrecision and Accuracy are not equivalent.

• Precision is consistency; the value of repeated measurements is clustered and has little scatter.• Accuracy is correctness; the measured value is very close to the true value.

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• Precise measurements are not necessarily accurate. A very accurate measurement is not necessarily precise.

• The Project Management Team must determine how much accuracy or precision, or both, are required.

Terminology• Gold Plating – Giving the customer extras. Adds no value to the project• Prevention over Inspection – Quality must be planned in, not inspected in, preventing rework.• Marginal Analysis – Looking for the point where the benefit or revenue received from

improving quality equals the incremental cost to achieve that quality.• Continuous Improvement – Continuously looking for small improvements in quality.• Just in Time (JIT) – Decreasing inventory close to zero. Forces attention on quality.• Total Quality Management (TQM) – Company and employees focus on finding ways to

continuously improve the quality of their business practices and products.• Responsibility for Quality – Each PM team member is responsible for inspecting their work.• Impact of Poor Quality – Increased costs, decreased profits, low morale, low customer

satisfaction, increased risks, rework and schedule delays.

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1. Project Charter2. Project Management Plan3. Project documents4. Enterprise environmental


assets


3. Data analysis

4. Decision making


6. Test and inspection planning

7. Meetings

1. Quality Management Plan2. Quality Metrics3. Project Management Plan


Tools and Techniques• Data Gathering

• Benchmarking – Compares actual or planned project practices to those of comparable projects to generate ideas for improvement and to provide a basis to measure performance. Projects can be within or outside the performing organization.

• Brainstorming – Used to gather data creatively from team members or SMEs to develop the quality management plan that best fits the upcoming project.

• Interviews – Interviewing experienced project participants, stakeholders and SMEs.• Cost Benefit Analysis – Benefit of meeting quality requirements and the costs of meeting

quality requirements are analyzed. The primary benefit of meeting quality requirements is less rework which results in higher productivity, lower costs and increased stakeholder satisfaction.

• Cost of Quality (COQ) – Refers to the total cost of the conformance and nonconformance work that should be done as a compensatory effort (e.g., prevention, appraisal and failure costs). The optimal COQ is one that reflects the appropriate balance for investing in the cost of prevention and appraisal to avoid failure costs.

a. Benchmarkingb. Brainstormingc. Interviews

a. Cost-benefit analysisb. Cost of quality

a. Multi criteria decision analysis

a. Flowchartsb. Logical data modelc. Matrix diagramsd. Mind mapping

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• Decision Making• Multi-criteria Decision – Prioritization matrix used to identify the key issues and suitable

alternatives to be prioritized as a set of decisions for implementation.• Data Representation

• Flowcharts – A graphical representation of a process showing the relationships among the process steps, showing activities, decision points, branching loops, parallel paths and the overall processing order by mapping the operational details of procedures existing within a horizontal value chain of suppliers, input, process, outputs, and customers (SIPOC) models.

• Logical Data Model – Visual representation of an organization’s data described in business language and independent of any specific technology.

• Matrix Diagrams – Finds the relationship strengths among different factors, causes and objectives that exist between the rows and columns forming the matrix.

• Mind Mapping – A diagrammatic model method used to visually organize information. It is often created around a single quality concept and drawn as an image.

• Test and Inspection Planning – During the planning phase, the PM and project team determine how to test or inspect the product, deliverable or service to meet the stakeholders’ needs and expectations as well as how to meet the goal for the product’s performance and reliability.

Output• Quality Management Plan – Component of the PMP that describes how applicable policies,

procedures and guidelines will be implemented to achieve the quality objectives. The plan includes:

• Quality standards that will be used by the project• Quality objectives of the project• Quality roles and responsibilities• Project deliverables and processes subject to quality review• Quality control and quality management activities planned for the project• Quality tools that will be used for the project• Major procedures relevant to the project such as dealing with nonconformance, corrective

actions procedures and continuous improvement procedures.• Quality Metrics – Specifically describing a project or product attribute and how the Control

Quality process will verify compliance.

Plan Resource ManagementPerformed in the Planning process group and Resource knowledge area. It is the process of iden-tifying and documenting project roles, responsibilities, required skills, reporting relationships and creating a staffing management plan.

79


1. Project charter2. Project Management Plan3. Project documents4. Enterprise environmental


assets

1. Expert judgement2. Data representation

3. Organizational theory4. Meetings

1. Resource Management Plan

2. Team charter3. Project document updates

Tools and Techniques• Organizational Theory – Information regarding the way people, teams and organizational

units behave. Effective use of common techniques identified in organizational theory can shorten the amount of time, cost and efforts needed to create the Plan Resource Management process outputs and improve planning efficiency.

Data Representation• Hierarchical Charts

• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) – Shows how the project deliverables are broken down into work packages and provides a way of showing high-level areas of responsibility.

• Organizational breakdown structure (OBS) – Depiction of the project organization relative to work packages and functional departments.

• Resource breakdown structure – Breaks down projects by type of resource. Tracks project costs and can contain categories other than human resources.

• Assignment Matrix – A structure that correlates the OBS to the WBS to ensure that the scope of work components is assigned to a responsible person.

• Text-Oriented Formats – Position descriptions show team member responsibilities, authority, competencies and qualifications outlined in a text document. These can be used for performance evaluations.

Output• Resource Management Plan – Components of the PMP that provide guidance on how project

resources should be categorized, allocated, managed and released. Sections may include:• Identification of resources/acquiring resources• Roles and responsibilities

• Role – The function assumed by, or assigned to a person in the project.

a. Hierarchical chartsb. Responsibility

assignment matrixc. Text oriented formats

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• Authority – The right to apply project resources, make decisions, sign approvals or accept deliverables.

• Responsibility – The assigned duties and work of a project team member• Competency – The skill and capacity required to complete assigned activities.

• Project organization charts• Training• Resource control• Recognition plan

• Team Charter – Project document that is developed in a group setting that clarifies team direction while establishing boundaries. It is developed early during the forming of the team. The charter should be developed in a group session to encourage understanding and buy-in. The document includes team values, communication guidelines, decision-making, conflict resolution, etc.

• Project Document Updates – Update artifacts due to any process changes.

Estimate Activity ResourcesPerformed in the Planning process group and the Resource knowledge area. It is the process of estimating team resources and the type and quantities of materials, equipment and supplies need-ed to perform project work. Identifies the type, quantity and characteristics of resources required to complete the project.




assets

1. Expert judgement2. Bottom-up estimating3. Analogous estimating4. Parametric estimating5. Data analysis

6. Project Management Information systems

7. Meetings

1. Resource requirements2. Basis of estimates3. Resource breakdown

structure4. Project document updates

Tools and Techniques – Estimating Techniques• Bottom-up Estimating – Estimates made to the work-package of the WBS. Very accurate if

sufficient information is used. Requires an accurate WBS.

a. Alternative analysis

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• Analogous Estimating – Form of expert judgment. Estimates the time to do tasks or to do a current project by extrapolating from the actual cost of a previous project. Also called top-down time estimating. Inexpensive, but may be inaccurate.

• Parametric Estimating – Using a statistical relationship to predict project times. Activity is multiplied by the productivity rate and predicts time standards or number of drawings multiplied by labor hours per drawing. Calculates drawing duration.

• Data Analysis• Alternative analysis – Used to evaluate identified options to select the options or

approaches to execute and perform the project work.

Output• Resource Requirements – The types and quantities of resources required for each work

package or activity in a work package. Can be aggregated to determine the estimated resources for each work package, each WBS branch and the project.

• Resource Breakdown Structure – Hierarchical representation of resources by category and type.

• Basis of Estimates – Additional details supporting the resource estimate vary by application area.

Plan Communications ManagementPerformed in the Planning process group and Communications knowledge area. It is the process of developing an appropriate approach and plan for project communications based on stakeholder information needs, requirements and available organizational assets.

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assets

1. Expert judgement2. Communication

requirements analysis3. Communication

technology4. Communication models5. Interpersonal and team

skills


7. Meetings

1. Communications Management Plan

2. Project Management Plan updates


Tools and Techniques• Communication Requirements Analysis – Determines the information needs of the project

stakeholders. The total number of potential communication channels is N (N – 1)/2, where “N” represents the number of stakeholders.

• Communication Technology – Methods used to transfer information among project stakeholders may vary significantly. Factors that affect the choice of communication technology includes:

• Urgency of need for the information• Availability, ease of use and cost of the technology• Experience and expertise of the project staff and other stakeholders• Life of the available technology relative to the length of the project• Project environment. Does the team meet face-to-face or in a virtual environment?• Sensitivity and confidentiality of the information.

• Communication Models – Components of the communication model include:• Encode – Translate thoughts or ideas into a language understood by others.• Message and Feedback Message – The encoding output.• Medium – The method used to convey messages.

a. Communication styles assessment

b. Political awarenessc. Cultural awareness

a. Stakeholder engagement assessment matrix

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• Noise – Anything that interfaces with the transmission and understanding of message (distance, unfamiliar, culture and language).

• Decode – To translate messages back into meaningful thoughts or ideas.• Communication Methods:

• Interactive Communication – Multidirectional communication between two or more parties (phone calls, meetings and/or interviews). Most effective way.

• Push Communication – Sent specific information to specific recipients (i.e., letters, memos, e-mails, faxes, etc.). This ensures that the message is sent, but will not certify receipt or comprehension ( message is pushed to recipient).

• Pull Communication – Used for large volume of information and large audiences. (i.e., internet sites, company data bases, e-learning, etc.). Recipients must access the communication content (pull information) at their own discretion.

Plan Risk ManagementPerformed in the Planning process group and Risk knowledge area. It is the process of defining how to conduct risk management activities for a project. It begins when a project is conceived and should be completed early in the project.




assets


3. Meetings

1. Risk Management Plan


• Stakeholder Analysis – Determines the risk appetite of project stakeholders.

Output• Risk Management Plan – Component of the PMP that describes how risk management

activities will be structured and performed. The plan contains the following sections:• Risk strategy

a. Stakeholder analysis

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• Methodology• Roles and responsibilities• Funding• Timing• Risk Categories

Identify RisksPerformed in the Planning process group and Risk knowledge area. It is the process of identifying individual project risks as well as sources of overall project risk and documenting their characteris-tics. Identifying risks is an iterative process because new risks may evolve or become known as the project progresses through its life cycle. This process is performed throughout the project by all team members.


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Agreements4. Procurement

documentation5. Enterprise environmental


assets


3. Data analysis


5. Prompt lists6. Meetings

1. Risk register2. Risk report3. Project document updates

Input• Procurement Documentation – When the project requires external resource procurement.

Initial procurement documentation should be reviewed since procuring goods and services from outside the organization may increase or decrease the overall project risk. May introduce additional individual project risks.

a. Brainstormingb. Checklistsc. Interviews

a. Root cause analysisb. Assumptions and

constraint analysisc. SWOT analysisd. Document analysis

a. Facilitation

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Tools and Techniques – Data Gathering• Brainstorming – Obtain a comprehensive list of individual project risks and sources of overall

project risk.• Checklists – List of items, actions or points to be considered when identifying risks.• Interviewing – Interviewing project participants, stakeholders and SMEs to identify risks.

Data Analysis• Root Cause Analysis – Discover the underlying causes that lead to a problem and develop

preventive action. It can be used to identify threats by starting with a problem statement. It can also be used to identify opportunities by starting with a benefit statement.

• Assumption and Constraint Analysis – Explores the validity of assumptions and constraints to determine which pose a risk to the project.

• SWOT Analysis – Used to increase the breadth of identified risks by including internally generated risks.

• Document Analysis – Risks may be identified from a structured review of project documents including, but not limited to, plans, assumptions, constraints, previous project files, contracts, agreements and technical documentation.

Interpersonal and Team Skills• Facilitation – Improves the effectiveness of many of the techniques used to identify individual

project risks and sources of overall project risks.• Prompt Lists – A prompt list is a predetermined list of risk categories that may give rise to

individual project risks and that could also act as sources of overall project risk. The prompt list can be used as a framework to aid the project team in idea generation when using risk identification techniques.

Output• Risk Register –

• List of identified risks• Characteristics of identified risks (at high level)• List of potential responses

• Risk Report – Presents information on sources of overall project risk together with summary information on identified individual project risks.

Perform Qualitative Risk AnalysisPerformed in the Planning process group and Risk knowledge area. It is the process of prioritizing

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individual project risks for further analysis or action by assessing their probability of occurrence and impact as well as other characteristics. Focuses efforts on high priority risks.




assets


3. Data analysis


5. Risk categorization6. Data representation

7. Meetings


Tools and Techniques• Risk Data Quality Assessment – Evaluates the degree to which the data about individual

project risks is accurate and reliable and used as a basis for qualitative risk analysis.• Risk Probability and Impact Assessment – Investigates the likelihood that each specific risk

will occur and the potential effect on a project objective (negative or positive effects).• Assessment of Other Risk Parameters – Considers other risk characteristics when prioritizing

individual project risks for further analysis and action. These characteristics may include, but are not limited to:

• Urgency – Period of time within a response to the risk implemented to be effective.• Proximity – Period of time before the risk might impact one or more project objectives.• Dormancy – Period of time that may elapse after a risk has occurred before its impact is

discovered.

a. Interviews

a. Risk data quality assessment

b. Risk probability and impact assessment

c. Assessment of other risk parameters

a. Facilitation

a. Probability and impact matrix

b. Hierarchical charts

87

• Manageability – Ease with which the risk owner can manage the occurrence of risk impact.• Controllability – Degree to which the risk owner is able to control the risk outcome.• Detectability – Ease with which the results of the risk occurring, or about to occur, can be

detected and recognized.• Connectivity – Extent to which the risk is related to other individual project risks.• Strategic Impact – Potential for the risk to have a positive or negative effect on the

organization’s strategic goals.• Propinquity – Degree to which a risk is perceived to matter by one or more stakeholders.

• Risk Categorization – Categorize risks by their sources. The risk breakdown structure can be used as a template by grouping risks into categories. Risk responses will be effective since it will allow the PM to focus attention and effort on the areas of highest risk exposure.

• Data Representation• Hierarchical Charts – Used when risks have been categorized with more than two

parameters. For example, use a bubble chart which displays three dimensions of data.• Probability and impact matrix – Predefined matrix with risk priority areas earmarked,

which has impact value on the x-axis and probability value on y-axis.

Output• Risk Register Updates – Update/add additional information to previous output, i.e., risk

register, which includes:• Relative ranking/priority• Risk grouped by categories• List of risks requiring additional analysis in the near term• List of risks for additional analysis and response• Watch-list (non-critical or non-top risks)• Trends

Since the risk analysis process is iterative, the PM should know if the risk is increasing, decreasing or staying the same.

• Cause of risk requiring attention

Perform Quantitative Risk AnalysisPerformed in the Planning process group and Risk knowledge area. It is the process of numerically analyzing the effect of identified risks on overall project objectives. This process may be skipped depeding on the complexity and size of the project.

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assets



4. Representation of uncertainty

5. Data analysis

1. Risk report

Purpose• Determine which risk events warrant a response.• Determine overall project risk (risk exposure).• Determine the quantified probability of meeting project objectives.• Determine cost and schedule reserves.• Identify risks requiring the most attention.• Create realistic and achievable cost, schedule or scope targets.

Tools and Techniques• Representations of Uncertainty(Probability Distribution) – Reflects the risks as a probability

distribution, which can be in the following distribution types: triangular, normal (bell-shaped curve), lognormal, beta, uniform or discrete.

• Simulation – Performed using a Monte Carlo analysis. When running a Monte Carlo analysis for cost risk, the simulation uses the project cost estimates. When running a Monte Carlo analysis for schedule risk, the schedule network diagram and duration estimates are used.

• Sensitivity Analysis – Helps to determine which individual project risks or other sources of uncertainty have the most potential impact on project outcomes. It correlates variations in project outcomes with variations in elements of the quantitative risk analysis model.

• Decision Tree Analysis – Used to support the selection of the best of several alternative courses of action.

a. Interviews

a. Facilitation

a. Simulationsb. Sensitivity analysisc. Decision tree analysisd. Influence diagrams

89

• Influence Diagrams – Graphical aids to decision making under uncertainty. An influence diagram represents a project or situation within the project as a set of entities, outcomes, and influences along with the relationships and effects between them.

Output• Risk report update

• Assessment of overall project risk exposure• Detailed probabilistic analysis of the project• Prioritized list of individual project risks• Trends in quantitative risk analysis results• Recommended risk responses

Plan Risk ResponsesPerformed in the Planning process group and Risk knowledge area. It is the process of developing options, selecting strategies and agreeing on actions to address overall project risk exposure in addition to treating individual project risks.

• Develop options and actions to enhance opportunities and reduce threats to project objectives.• Eliminate threats before they happen.• Make sure opportunities happen.• Decrease the probability and/or impact of threats.• Increase the probability and/or impact of opportunities.• For the remaining (residual) threats that cannot be eliminated:

• Plan resolutions if the risk happens (contingency plan).• Develop alternate resolutions if contingency plan is not effective (fallback plan).

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assets



4. Strategies for threat5. Strategies for

opportunities6. Contingent response

strategies7. Strategies for overall

project risk8. Data analysis

9. Decision making

1. Change requests2. Project Management Plan

Updates3. Project document updates

Tools and Techniques• Strategies for threat

• Escalate: The PM lacks the authority to manage the risk. The PMO or corporate management handle the risk. Once they agree to manage the risk, responsibility is limited to monitoring.

• Avoid: Stop a risk from occurring. Put a plan in place to ensure that the risk can not occur.• Transfer: Shift the responsibility for the risk to someone else.• Mitigate: The most common risk response strategy; it is where actions to make the risk

less of a problem are created if it occurs.• Accept: Used for non-critical risks. Remains in the risk register since there is no change in

risk exposure. The project team acknowledges the risk and does not take any action unless the risk actually occurs

• Strategies for opportunities• Enhance: Increases the chance of the risk happening; if the risk occurs it can be more

easily realized. This strategy is the opposite of the mitigate risk response strategy, where the probability of the risk occurring, or its impact is reduced.

a. Interviews

a. Facilitation

a. Alternative analysisb. Cost-benefit analysis


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• Exploit: Ensures that the risk is realized. It is the opposite of the avoid risk response strategy where the risk not occurring is ensured.

• Share: Join or invite another to realize the opportunity together as the opportunity cannot be realized by a single individual.

• Escalate: There is an opportunity, but a response cannot be developed. To realize this opportunity, management must be approached. When management agrees to manage the risk, responsibility is transferred, though continued monitoring will be noted in the risk register.

• Accept: Take no action. If a positive risk occurs, the team will benefit. This strategy is used when the cost of the response is high, there is a small chance of occurrence, or the benefit does not outweigh the effort involved.

• Strategies for overall project risk• Overall project risk is defined as “the effect of uncertainty on the project as a whole”. It is

the combined effect of all risks in the project as well as other sources of uncertainty. It is stakeholders’ perception of the effect of numerous variables/uncertainties on the overall outcome of the project. The main objective of the overall risk assessment is to understand the degree of achieving the final project goal.

• Contingent response strategies• Some responses are designed for use only if certain events occur.• For some risks, it is appropriate for the project team to create a response plan that will

only be executed under certain predefined conditions, if there is sufficient warning to implement the plan.

Output• Updated risk register

• Agreed upon response strategies• Specific actions to implement the chosen response strategy• Trigger conditions, symptoms and warning signs of a risk occurrence• Budget and schedule activities required to implement the chosen responses• Contingency plans and risk triggers that call for their execution• Fallback plans when a risk that has occurred• Residual risks expected to remain after planned responses have been taken• Secondary risks that arise as a direct outcome of implementing a risk response

Plan Procurement ManagementPerformed in the Planning process group and the Procurement knowledge area. It is the process of documenting project purchasing decisions, specifying the approach and identifying potential sellers. The plan procurement process involves deciding whether to “make-or-buy”, the consider-ation of potential sellers and the consideration of the risks involved.

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1. Project charter2. Business documents3. Project Management Plan4. Project document

enterprise5. Enterprise environmental


assets


3. Data analysis

4. Source selection analysis5. Meetings

1. Procurement Management Plan

2. Procurement strategy3. Bid documents4. Procurement statement of

work5. Source selection criteria6. Make or buy analysis7. Independent cost

estimates8. Change requests9. Project document updates10. Organizational process

asset updates

Inputs• Team Agreements – Legal contractual agreements between two or more entities to form a

partnership, joint venture or some other arrangement as defined by the parties. The agreement defines the buyer seller roles for each party. Whenever a teaming agreement for a project is in place, the roles of the buyer and seller are predetermined.

Tools and Techniques• Market Research – Examination of industry and specific seller capabilities. Procurement teams

may leverage information gained at conferences, online reviews, and a variety of sources to identify market capabilities.

• Source Selection Analysis – Review the prioritization of the competing demands for the project before deciding on the selection method.

• Make-or-Buy Analysis – It is a general management technique used to determine whether particular work can best be accomplished by the project team or must be purchased from outside sources.

Output• Procurement Management Plan

• Component of the PMP that contains activities to be undertaken during the procurement process.

a. Market research

a. Make or buy analysis

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• A narrative description of products or services to be supplied under contract.• Provides the basis of agreement between buyer and supplier• Sufficient detail to allow prospective suppliers to determine whether they can comply• Sufficient latitude for creative solutions, only if appropriate• Each procurement requires a separate statement of work (SOW). One SOW may cover

many items in a single procurement• May be revised as the procurement progresses• Should be clear, concise and unambiguous• May be developed by the project team or supporting offices (or the seller) depending on

policy and ability• Procurement Strategy – Determines the project delivery method, the type of legally binding

agreement and how the procurement will advance through the procurement phases.• Bid Documents – Used to solicit proposals from prospective sellers (i.e., request for information

(RFI), request for proposal (RFP), request for quotation (RFQ)).• Source Selection Criteria – The buyer seeks to ensure that the selected proposal will offer

the best quality for the required services. The source selection criteria may include, but is not limited to:

• Capability and capacity• Product cost and life cycle cost• Delivery dates• Technical expertise and approach• Specific relevant experience• Adequacy of the proposed approach and work plan in responding to the SOW• Key staff qualifications, availability, and competence• Financial stability of the firm• Management experience• Suitability of the knowledge transfer program, including training

Plan Stakeholder ManagementPerformed in the Planning process group and Stakeholder knowledge area. It is the process of developing management strategies to engage stakeholders throughout the project life cycle based on the analysis of their needs, interests and impact on project success. It allows the PM to develop ways to engage stakeholders in the project, manage expectations and to achieve project objectives.

94


1. Project charter2. Project Management Plan3. Project documents4. Agreements5. Enterprise environmental


assets


3. Data analysis

4. Decision making


6. Meetings

1. Stakeholder engagement plan

Tools and Techniques• Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix – Supports comparison between the current

stakeholder engagement levels and the desired engagement levels required for successful project delivery. The stakeholder engagement levels can be classified as follows:

• Unaware – Unaware of project and potential impacts.• Resistant – Aware of project and potential impacts but resistant to change.• Neutral – Aware of project, yet neither supportive nor resistant.• Supportive – Aware of project and potential impacts and supportive to change.• Leading – Aware of project and potential impacts and actively engaged in ensuring the

project is a success.

Output• Stakeholder Engagement Plan – Identifies the management strategies required to engage

stakeholders.• Desired engagement levels of key stakeholders• Scope and impact of change to stakeholders• Interrelationships and overlap between stakeholders• Stakeholder communication requirements for the current phase

a. Benchmarking

a. Assumptions and constraints analysis

b. Root cause analysis

a. Prioritization/ranking

a. Mind mappingb. Stakeholder

engagement assessment matrix

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• Information to be distributed to stakeholders (language, format, content and level of detail)

• Timing and frequency for distributing information• Method for updating the stakeholder management plan as the project progresses.

NOTES

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Review Exercises

NOTES

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1. A narrative explanation of what the project entails including the business need, scope description, and organization’s strategic plan

WBS Dictionary

2. Authorized, time-phased budget used to measure, monitor, and control cost performance of the project

Requirements Documentation

3. Contains the descriptions of the product or business process, business needs, goals and objectives

Project Statement of Work

4. Additional information about work packages (e.g., description of work, responsible person, cost estimate)

Cost Baseline

5. Approximate cost to complete project activities Requirements Management Plan

6. Comprehensive description of the project’s deliverables and the work required to create those deliverables

Project Scope Statement

7. How requirements will be planned, tracked and reported Activity Cost Estimates

MatchingDraw a line from the Process on the left to the corresponding Output on the right.

Process Output

1. Define Activities Scope Baseline

2. Create WBS Activity List

3. Estimate Costs Cost Baseline

4. Define Scope Source Selection Criteria

5. Determine Budget Activity Cost Estimate

6. Plan Procurement Project Scope Statement

100

Fill-in the BlanksUse one of the terms in the box to complete the questions.

Create WBS Cost of Quality Parametric Estimating

Funding Limit Reconciliation Bottom Up Estimating Analogous Estimating

Resource Smoothing Lag Lead

Decomposition

1. The process where all project work is subdivided and broken down to the work package level. _______________________________

2. The technique where work packages are broken down to activities. _____________________________

3. Starting an activity prior to completing the preceding activity. ________________________________

4. Delaying an activity’s start date.__________________________________________

5. Using a similar prior project to estimate activity durations or cost. ______________________________

6. Using a statistical relationship to estimate cost or duration. _________________________________

7. Breaking down an activity into smaller component to make an accurate estimate.

______________________________

8. Adjust the level of resources when resources have been over-allocated, without allowing the schedule to slip.________________________________

9. Adjustments made to project expenditures to account for funding limits.

_______________________________

10. Cost of conformance and non-conformance. ____________________________________

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Questions1. The main objective of the process in Planning is?

2. How does planning fit into the project life cycle?

Fill in the StoryComplete the sentences with the correct process or ITTOs.

the project charter and stakeholder register has been created. The project team is assembled to determine the project management approach for the project. What process is the PM in 1. _______________________. The output is the 2. __________________, which defines how the project will be executed, monitored, controlled and closed.

In order to determine what the project needs to accomplish; the PM and the project team must meet with the stakeholders and perform the 3. __________________________ process using the five data gathering techniques 4.__________________________, 5.__________________________, 6. _______________________, 7. ________________________, and 8. ________________________. The gathered information will then be in 9.

_____________________, which is the project document output of the process.

The output is then used in the 10. ________________________ process that develops a detailed descrip-tion of the project and product. The document called 11. ________________________ also documents the acceptance criteria of the project. From this document, the PM and project team will break down the project deliverables using the 12. _____________________ technique to create 13. _____________________ which facilitates better planning and tracking of project work. The details of this document will be further explained in the 14. ______________________. All three components are referred to the scope baseline which will reside in the project management plan.

The PM and project team will further decompose the work package items from the WBS to get a more detailed, granular description of all the work to be done, which is called a 15. _________________________ the PM is in the 16.____________________________ process. Once it’s completed, the PM will move on to

a. Determine the actions that must be taken to meet project objectives define project scope and refine project objectives.

b. Identify project stakeholders and authorize the project to start.c. Acquire resourcesd. Test the product

a. Once direct and manage project work begins plans cannot change.b. Project plans are updated as new information becomes available throughout a project.c. Detailed planning accounts for possible changes making it unlikely that plans will have

to be revised later in the project life cycle.d. Project plans are changed at every stage of the process.

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17. ________________________, which involves determining the logical order of the activities based on any dependencies, the output of this process is 18. ________________________. Upon completion of the process the PM and team can estimate the number of work periods needed to complete each ac-tivity in the 19. ________________________ process. The PM and team have their estimates and are now ready to complete the 20. ________________________ process. The output 21. ________________________will be approved by the sponsor and management will reside in the project management plan to serve as the basis of measuring actual schedule performance.

The PM and team are now ready to create a budget. They must first create a 22. ________________________ which serves as a how-to guide on the overall methods and standards that will be utilized in es-tablishing and controlling their budget. They will then move on to 23. ______________________, using the 24._____________________, 25. _____________________, or 26. ________________________ techniques. Then the team will be ready to aggregate all the items via the 27. ________________________ process to develop the 28. ________________________, which will reside in the project management plan and serve as the basis of measuring actual cost performance.

For the team to ensure they are producing quality deliverables, they must prepare a 29. _____________________, in which they will identify their overall approach to follow in terms of ensur-ing the quality of work which will include following certain processes and methodologies. As part of this effort, they will also produce 30. ________________________, which provides an objective way to test certain aspects of the deliverables. Another goal of this process is to identify those processes they will perform most frequently and determine how they can make them more efficient. The results of the analysis will be outlined in the 31. ________________________, which is another output of Plan Quality Management.

The team is ready to outline the resources needed for a successful project, they are in the 32. _____________________ process to produce a 33. ______________________. The PM will also produce the 34. _____________________ which clarifies team direction while establishing boundaries. The PM and team can estimate team resources and the type and quantities of materials, equipment, and sup-plies necessary to perform project work. They are in the 35. _________________ process.

The PM and team realize it is important to develop an appropriate approach and plan for how proj-ect information will be compiled, stored and disseminated based on the stakeholder’s needs and requirements. They are in the 36. _____________________ process.

The PM and team are ready to work on a plan for identifying, evaluating and handling risk, and this is laid out in the 37. ________________________. Once the outline has been completed on how risk will be managed, they will perform the 38. ________________________ process which involves identifying specif-ic risks the project faces. This information will be documented in the 39. ________________________. The team is ready to analyze the risks, prioritizing them according to their likelihood of occurrence, likely impact and how far off in time they are. They are in the 40. ______________________ process. The results

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can be viewed in a 41. ______________________. Non-critical risks are noted on the 42. _____________________, meaning the team does not act right away but will instead track the items to ensure they do not become more significant during the monitor risk process.

The next step can be skipped by the team, but involves numerically analyzing the effect of the various risks on project impacts such as cost, schedule, etc. This process is called 43. __________________________. The technique that is used in this process is 44. __________________________.

In terms of acquisitions, the team will determine using the 45. ________________________ technique if they need to go outside for services or equipment. They will develop an approach towards the han-dling of the acquisition which includes things like what items must be procured and when, which types of sellers are preferred and what types of contracts they want to use. The information will be documented in the 46. ________________________ which will guide their procurement efforts throughout the project.

When managing the stakeholders, the team will develop management strategies to engage stake-holders throughout the project life cycle, based on the analysis of their needs, interests, and impact on project success. This will be documented in the 47. ________________________.

104

Put in OrderPlace the boxed processes into the correct planning order.

Develop Project Management Plan

Estimate Costs Determine Budget

Estimate Activity Durations

Estimate Activity Resources

Determine Budget

Plan Scope Management Plan

Plan Cost Management Plan

Plan Schedule Management Plan

Plan Quality Management Plan

Plan Resource Management Plan

Plan Risk Management Plan

Plan Communications Management Plan

Plan Stakeholder Management Plan

Plan Procurement Management Plan

Plan Risk Responses

Define Scope Create WBS

Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis

Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis

Identify Risks Collect Requirements

Define Activities Sequence Activities

1. 9. 17.

2. 10. 18

3. 11. 19.

4. 12. 20.

5. 13. 21.

6. 14. 22.

7. 15. 23.

8. 16. 24.

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MatchingDraw a line to the correct data gathering technique on the right.

1. Comparing actual or planned products, processes and practices to those of comparable organizations to identify best practices, generate improvement ideas and provide a basis for measuring performance.

Interviews

2. A checklist is a list of steps to be carried out for an activity. The list is made as comprehensive as possible, so that it becomes the tool to verify all the required steps for a quality item are carried out without missing any.

Benchmarking

3. Also known as Tally Sheets used for gathering data, organizing facts and collecting attribute data during inspections.

Focus Groups

4. Talking to stakeholders directly to gather information about a specific product or requirement.

Check Sheets

5. Bringing together prequalified stakeholders and SMEs to learn about their expectations about a proposed product. A trained moderator guides the group through an interactive discussion designed to be conversational instead of a one on one interview.

Statistical Samplings

6. Gathering information from different sources like online reviews and conferences to identify market trends and capabilities. It refines the procurement objectives of the project management team to leverage the mature technologies, processes and organizations. It also balances the risks associated with vendors who provide the services or materials needed for the project.

Questionnaires and Surveys

7. Selecting a portion of the population to test since testing the whole population would be time consuming and costly.

Brain Storming

8. Gather information from stakeholders by sending out written questions. Market Research

9. Used in a group environment, led by a facilitator, a technique to gather ideas in a short period of time. The participants generate ideas and then analyze them.

Check Lists

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Questions1. Jennifer, the project manager, was informed midway through project planning that she was giv-

en inaccurate data regarding new regulations affecting the required end date of her project. She may need to make a few adjustments, but thinks she can still manage the project completion before the regulations take effect. She confirms this by analyzing the sequence of activities with the least amount of scheduling flexibility. Which of the following techniques is she using?

2. James is gathering data with the team to determine how various factors might be linked to po-tential problems. In which of the following quality management processes is the PM working?

3. You are a PM for a $2,000,000 website development project. Your project is 50 percent into proj-ect executing and remains on time, on budget and on specification. This morning, your project sponsor called to express concerns about the project. Based on the schedule baseline, the proj-ect should be nearing implementation but the sponsor does not know the current status of the project. You remind the sponsor that your team produces a detailed weekly status report dis-tributed via email. The sponsor says email is too impersonal and verbal updates are preferred. This situation suggests problems with which of the following project management processes?

4. Sophia has completed the WBS, estimates for each work package and the network diagram. The next thing for her to work on is:

a. Bottom upb. Precedence diagrammingc. Critical path methodd. Flowchart

a. Control Qualityb. Plan Quality Managementc. Quality Analysisd. Manage Quality

a. Plan Communications Managementb. Control Communicationsc. Quality Managementd. Plan Stakeholder Engagement

a. Estimate Resource Durationsb. Collect Requirementsc. Sequence Activitiesd. Develop Schedule

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5. The PM and her team are working with cost estimates, the resource management plan and the project schedule to determine a cost baseline for your project. Which process group are you in?

6. Once the charter has been signed, what is the next thing to start?

7. When would a team use SWOT analysis?

8. During the first half of a software development project, three developers left for other projects without being replaced and two additional team members went on vacation without informing the project manager. What did the project manager not do correctly?

9. Which of the following is part of the Project Management Plan?

a. Closingb. Executingc. Initiatingd. Planning

a. Begin to complete work packagesb. Start integrated change controlc. Validate scoped. Start to create management plans

a. Identifying risksb. Calculating the cost benefit analysisc. Creating WBSd. Verifying scope

a. Communications management planb. Responsibility assignment matrixc. Resource histogramd. Resource management plan

a. Risk registerb. Baselinesc. Lessons learnedd. Milestone list

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10. You are leading the construction of a new office building. The project sponsor asks you to email him a project document that was presented during the last project status meeting. The project sponsor states that he has forgotten the name of the document, but remembers it contained the description, owner, source, priority and status of product requirements. Which project doc-ument is the project sponsor requesting?a. The requirements management planb. The scope management planc. The work breakdown structure (WBS)d. Requirements Traceability Matrix

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Executing Process Group

NOTES

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So, you have your plan approved and had your kickoff meeting. What’s next? Yes, you guessed it Executing. Executing is defined as “carrying out or putting into effect (a plan, order or course of action)”.Doesn’t that fit right into what PMI teaches us?

Now, we are going to put our Project Management Plan in effect to complete our deliverables. The following list comes from the exam outline posted on www.pmi.org. Familiarize yourself with the bullets; understanding them will allow you to determine what process group the exam question is referencing. Upon determining your process group, one will know the answer must pertain to the processes in that group alone. In executing, we will discuss ten (10) processes. Those processes performed to complete the work defined in the project management plan to satisfy the project requirements.

• Acquire and manage project resources by following human resources; a procurement manage-ment plan is in order to meet project requirements.

• Manage task execution based on the project management plan by leading and developing the project team to achieve project deliverables.

• Implement the quality management plan using the appropriate tools and techniques to ensure that work is performed in accordance with required quality standards.

• Implement approved changes and corrective actions by following the change management plan in order to meet project requirements.

• Implement approved actions by following the risk management plan to minimize the risk im-pact and take advantage of opportunities on the project.

• Manage the flow of information by following the communications plan to keep the stakehold-ers engaged and informed.

• Maintain stakeholder relationships by following the stakeholder management plan in order to receive continued support and manage expectations.

Knowledge and Skills• Continuous improvement processes• Contract management techniques• Elements of a statement of work• Interdependencies among project elements• Project budgeting tools and techniques• Quality standard tools• Vendor management techniques

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Direct and Manage Project WorkPerformed in the Executing process group and the Integration knowledge area. It is the process of leading and performing the work defined in the project management plan and implementing ap-proved changes to achieve the project’s objectives. Creating project deliverables, staffing, training and managing the project team members assigned to the project. Documenting lessons learned and implementing approved process improvement activities.


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Approved Change

Requests4. Enterprise environmental


assets

1. Expert judgement2. Project Management

Information Systems3. Meetings

1. Deliverables2. Work performance data3. Issue log4. Change requests5. Project Management Plan

updates6. Organization process

assets updates

Inputs• Project Management Plan – Utilized by the project team to develop the deliverables.• Project Documents – Used by the project team to determine the risk, schedule or see any

process improvements for the deliverables.• Approved Change Requests – Output of the Perform Integrated Change Control process,

and include those requests reviewed and approved for implementation by the change control board (CCB). Change can be preventive action, corrective action or a defect repair.

• Enterprise Environmental Factors – That can influence the process (e.g., organizational structure, infrastructure, stakeholder risk thresholds).

Tools and Techniques• Project Management Information System (PMIS) – Provides access to tools such as

a scheduling tool, a work authorization system, a configuration management system, an information collection and distribution system or interfaces to other online automated systems. Automated gathering and reporting on key performance indicators (KPI) can be part of this system.

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Outputs• Deliverables – Any tangible, measurable result or outcome required to complete a project

or portion of a project. The scope statement should include a list of the summary-level sub-products that taken together, constitute completion of the project.

• Work Performance Data – Raw observations and measurements identified or gathered during activities being performed to produce the deliverables. The data is then passed to the controlling processes for further analysis.

• Issue Log – Throughout the life cycle of the project, the PM will face problems, inconsistencies or conflicts that occur unexpectedly that will require some action to avoid affecting the project performance. The issue log is a project document where all the issues are recorded and tracked. The document will help the PM effectively track and manage issues, ensuring that they are investigated and resolved.

• Change Requests –• A formal proposal to modify any document, deliverable or baseline.• An approved change request will replace the associated document, deliverable or baseline

and may result in an update to other parts of the project management plan.• Changes Requests May Include –

• Preventive Actions – Prevent anticipated problem• Corrective Actions – Problem already occurred• Defect Repairs – Defect in deliverable

Manage Project KnowledgePerformed in the Executing process group and Integration knowledge area. It is the process of using existing knowledge and creating new knowledge to achieve the project’s objectives and con-tribute to organizational learning. The key benefits are that prior organizational knowledge is lev-eraged to produce or improve the project outcomes. Knowledge created by the project is available to support organizational operations and future projects or phases. Knowledge is shared using a mixture of knowledge management tools and techniques (interactions between people) and infor-mation management tools and techniques where people codify part of their explicit knowledge by documenting it so it can be shared.

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1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Deliverables4. Enterprise environmental


assets

1. Expert judgement2. Knowledge Management3. Information Management4. Interpersonal and Team

Skills

1. Lessons learned register2. Project Management Plan

updates3. Organization process

assets updates

Inputs• Deliverables – Review of the deliverables for knowledge management.• Enterprise Environmental Factors – Influences the process, e.g., organizational structure,

geographic distribution of facilities and resources, organizational knowledge experts or legal requirements.

• Organizational Process Assets – Knowledge about project management is often embedded in processes and routines, e.g., organizational standard policies, personnel administration, organizational communication requirements, formal knowledge-sharing and information-sharing procedures.

Tools and Techniques• Interpersonal and Team Skills

• Active Listening – Reduces misunderstandings and improves communication.• Facilitation – Effectively guides a group to a successful decision, solution or conclusion.• Leadership – Used to communicate the vision and inspire the project team to focus on the

appropriate knowledge objectives.• Networking – Allows informal connections and relations among project stakeholders to

be established and creates conditions to share tacit and explicit knowledge.• Political awareness – Helps the PM to plan communications based on the project

environment.• Knowledge Management – Connects people so they can work together to create new

knowledge, share tactic knowledge and integrate the knowledge of diverse team members. For example:

• Networking, including informal social interaction and online social networking. Online

a. Active listeningb. Facilitationc. Leadershipd. Networkinge. Political awareness

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forums where people can ask open questions are useful for starting knowledge-sharing conversations with specialists

• Communities of practice, sometimes called communities of interest or just communities, and special interest groups

• Meetings, including virtual meetings where participants can interact using communications technology

• Work shadowing and reverse shadowing• Discussion forums such as focus groups• Knowledge-sharing events such as seminars and conferences• Workshops, including problem-solving sessions and learning reviews designed to identify

lessons learned• Storytelling – creativity and idea management techniques• Knowledge fairs and cafés• Training that involves interaction between learners

• Information Management – Create and connect people to information. Effective for sharing simple, unambiguous, codified explicit knowledge. For example:

• Methods for codifying explicit knowledge such as producing lessons to be learned and entries for the lessons learned register

• Lessons learned register• Library services• Information gathering, web searches and reading published articles• Project Management Information System (PMIS) which includes document management

systems

Output• Lessons Learned Register – Project document that gathers following information for use with

future projects.• Includes the impact, recommendations and proposed actions associated with the situation.• Created as an output of this process early in the project.• Used as an input and updated as an output in many processes throughout the project.• At the end of project or phase, the information is transferred to an organizational process

asset called a lesson learned repository.

Manage QualityPerformed in the Executing process group and Quality knowledge area. It is the process of trans-lating the quality management plan into executable quality activities that incorporate the organiza-tion’s quality policies into the project. Sometimes called Quality Assurance, it is about using project processes effectively. Following and meeting standards assures stakeholders that the final product will meet their needs, expectations and requirements.

116


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Organizational process

assets

1. Data gathering

2. Data analysis

3. Decision making


5. Audits6. Design for X7. Problem solving8. Quality improvement

methods

1. Quality reports2. Test and evaluation

documents3. Change requests4. Project Management Plan



• Checklists – A structured tool, usually component-specific, used to verify that a set of required steps has been performed or to check if a list of requirements has been satisfied.

• Data Analysis• Alternative Analysis – Evaluate identified options to select which different quality options

or approaches are most appropriate to use.• Document Analysis – Documents produced as part of the project control process outputs,

such as quality reports, test reports, performance reports and variance analysis. Can point to and focus on processes that may be out of control and may jeopardize meeting the specified requirements or stakeholder’s expectations.

a. Checklists

a. Alternative analysisb. Document analysisc. Proceeds analysisd. Root cause analysis

a. Multi-criteria design analysis

a. Affinity diagramsb. Cause and effect

diagramsc. Flowchartsd. Histogramse. Matrix diagramsf. Scatter diagram

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• Process Analysis – Identifies opportunities for process improvements.• Root Cause Analysis (RCA) – Analytical technique used to determine the basic underlying

reason that causes a variance, defect or risk. A root cause may underlay more than one variance, defect or risk.

• Decision Making• Multi-criteria Decision Analysis – Prioritization matrix used to identify key issues and

suitable alternatives to be prioritized as a set of decisions for implementation.• Data Representation

• Affinity Diagrams –Used to organize potential defect causes into groups showing areas the primary focus area.

• Cause and Effect diagrams – Also known as Ishikawa Diagram (on the name of the founder) or Fish Bone Diagram as the diagram resembles a skeleton of a fish. As per the PMBOK® Guide Cause and Effect Diagram can be define as; A Demonstration technique that helps trace an undesirable effect back to the root cause.

• Flowcharting – A graphical representation of a process showing the relationships among the process steps. It shows the activities, decision points, branching loops, parallel paths and overall order of processing by mapping the operational details of procedures existing within a horizontal value chain of a SIPOC model.

• Histograms – Special type of bar chart used to describe the central tendency, dispersion and shape of a statistical distribution. Can show the number of defects per deliverable, a ranking of the cause of defects, the number of times each process is noncompliant or other representations of project or product defects.

• Matrix Diagrams – Shows the strength or relationships among factors, causes and objectives that exist between the matrix’s rows and columns.

• Scatter Diagrams – Shows relationship between two variables, joint failures and temperature. The closer the points, the more closely related are the variables.

• Audit – A structured, independent process used to determine if project activities comply with organizational and project policies, processes and procedures. A quality audit is usually conducted by a team external to the project, such as the organization’s internal audit department, PMO or by an auditor external to the organization.

• Design for X (DfX) – A set of technical guidelines that may be applied during the design of a product for the optimization of a specific aspect of the design. DfX can control or even improve the product’s final characteristics. The X in DfX can represent different aspects of product development such as reliability, deployment, assembly, manufacturing, cost, service, usability, safety and quality.

• Problem Solving Method Elements – Finds solutions for issues or challenges. Defining the problem → Identifying the root-cause → Generating possible solutions → Verifying solution effectiveness → Implementing the solution→ Choosing the best solution

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Outputs• Quality Improvement Methods – Can occur based on findings and recommendations from

quality control processes, the findings of the quality audits or problem solving in the Manage Quality process. Plan-do-check-act and Six Sigma are two of the most common quality improvement tools used to analyze and evaluate opportunities for improvement.

• Quality Reports – Graphical, numerical or qualitative information. The information provided can be used by other processes and departments to take corrective actions to achieve project quality expectations.

• Test and Evaluation Documents – Created based on industry needs and the organization’s templates. They are inputs to the Control Quality process and are used to evaluate the achievement of quality objectives.

• Change Requests – The PM will submit a change that might have been identified during the process.

Acquire ResourcesPerformed in the Executing process group and Resource Knowledge area. It is the process of ob-taining team members, facilities, equipment, materials, supplies and other resources necessary to complete project work.




assets

1. Decision making


3. Pre-assignment4. Virtual teams

1. Physical resource assignments

2. Project team assignments3. Resource calendars4. Change requests5. Project Management Plan

updates6. Project document updates7. Enterprise environmental

factors updates8. Organization process assets

updates


a. Negotiation

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Tools and Techniques• Decision Making

• Multi-criteria Decision Analysis – Can be utilized in this process. Selection criteria are often used to select physical project resources or the project team.

• Interpersonal and Team Skills• Negotiation – Utilized in this process. The PM will negotiate with functional managers to

ensure competent staff are assigned to the project. Other project management teams will appropriately assign scarce or specialized resources.

• Pre-Assignment – The team members are selected in advance; promised in the proposal to have expertise or some members are defined within the project charter.

• Virtual Teams – Groups of people with a shared goal who fulfill their roles with little or no time spent meeting face to face.

Outputs• Physical Resource Assignments – Project document stating the resource assignments records

the material, equipment, supplies, locations and other physical resources used during the project.

• Project Team Assignments – Project document stating the team assignments records the team members and their roles and responsibilities for the project.

• Resource Calendars – Project document that identifies the working days, shifts, start and end of the normal business, weekends and public holidays when each specific resource is available.

• Change Requests – The PM will submit a change if there are any corrective or preventive actions that must be taken.

Develop TeamPerformed in the Executing process group and Resource knowledge area. It is the process of im-proving competencies, team member interaction and overall team environment to enhance project performance.

120




assets

1. Colocation2. Virtual teams3. Communication

technology4. Interpersonal and team

skills

5. Recognition and rewards6. Training7. Individual and team

assessments8. Meetings

1. Team performance assessments



factor updates6. Organizational process

asset updates

Tools and Techniques• Colocation – Opposite effect of virtual teams. PMs will attempt to get the team together

during planning as a team building effort.• Virtual Teams – Defined as groups of people with a shared goal, who fulfill their roles with little

or no time meeting face to face. Communications planning is extremely important.• Communication Technology – Shared portal, video conferencing, audio conferencing and

email/chat.• Recognition and Rewards – Performance is appraised and rewards and/or recognitions are

dispersed.• Training – Includes all activities designed to enhance the competencies of the project team

members. Classroom, online, computer-based and on-the-job training from another project team members, mentors and coaches.

• Individual and Team Assessments – Gives the PM and the project team insight into areas of strength and weakness. The tools help PMs assess team members’ preferences, aspirations, how they process and organize information, make decisions and how they interact with people.

• Meetings – The PM will conduct meetings to discuss personnel issues or developing a team.

a. Conflict managementb. Influencingc. Motivationd. Negotiatione. Team building

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Interpersonal and Teamskills• Conflict Management – The PM must resolve conflicts in a timely manner and in a constructive

way to achieve a high performing team.• Motivation – Provides a reason for action (e.g., letting them participate in decision making).• Influencing – Gather relevant and critical information to address important issues and reach

agreements while maintaining mutual trust.• Negotiation – Used to reach a consensus on project needs. Can build trust and harmony

among team members.• Team Building – Conduct activities that enhance the team’s social relations to build a

collaborative and cooperative working environment.

Tuckman’s Ladder• Forming – Where the team members meet and learn about the project and their formal roles

and responsibilities.• Storming – During this phase, the team begins to address the project work, technical decisions

and project management approach. If team members are not collaborative and open to differing ideas and perspectives, the environment can become destructive.

• Norming – Team members begin to work together and adjust work habits and behaviors that support the team building trust.

• Performing – Teams that reach the performing stage function as a well-organized unit. They are interdependent and work through issues smoothly and effectively.

• Adjourning – In the adjourning phase, the team completes the work and moves on from the project.

Motivation Theories• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – Maslow’s message is that people don’t work for money or

security. They work to contribute and use their skills. Maslow calls this “self actualization”. He created a pyramid to show how people are motivated. In addition, he said that one cannot ascend to the next level until the levels below are fulfilled.

• Expectancy Theory – It proposes that people are motivated by their conscious expectations of what will happen if certain things are done, and that people are more productive when they believe their expectations will be realized.

• McGregor’s X and Y Theory• Theory X

• People tend to be negative or passive, e.g., avoid responsibility, need to be watched.• Extrinsic motivation.

• Theory Y

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• People tends to be positive, e.g., want to achieve, willing to work without supervision, can direct their own effort.

• Intrinsic motivation.• Herzberg’s Theory – Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory and dual-factor theory are two-

factor theories that state there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction, all of which act independently of each other.

Output• Team Performance Assessments – A team’s effectiveness may include indicators such as:

• Skill improvements that allow individuals to perform assignments more effectively• Competency improvements that help team members perform better as a team• Reduced staff turnover rate• Increased team cohesiveness where team members share information and experiences

openly and help each other to improve the overall project performance.• Change Requests – The PM will submit a change request if any corrective or preventive actions

need to be taken.

Manage TeamPerformed in the Executing process group and Resource knowledge area. It is the process of track-ing team member performance, providing feedback, resolving issues and managing team changes to optimize project performance.


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Work performance reports4. Team performance

assessments5. Enterprise environmental


assets


2. Project Management Information Systems



factor updates5. Organization process asset

updates

a. Conflict managementb. Decision makingc. Emotional intelligenced. Influencinge. Leadership

123

Inputs• Work Performance Reports – Physical or electronic representation of work performance

information intended to generate decisions, actions or awareness.• Team Performance Assessments – PMs make ongoing formal or informal assessments of the

project team’s performance.

Tools and Techniques• Interpersonal and Team Skills

• Conflict Management – Conflict is inevitable in a project environment. Sources of conflict include scarce resources, scheduling priorities and personal work styles. Team ground rules, group norms and solid project management practices like communication planning and role definition, reduce the amount of conflict. Successful management of conflicts results in greater productivity and a positive working relationship. When handling conflict in a team environment, PMs should recognize the following conflict characteristics and their corresponding resolution.

• Five General Techniques for Resolving Conflict –• Withdraw/Avoid – Retreating from an actual or potential conflict situation; postponing

the issue to be better prepared or be resolved by others.• Smooth/Accommodate – Emphasize areas of agreement, rather than areas of

difference; conceding one’s position to the needs of others to maintain harmony and relationships.

• Compromise/Reconcile – Search for solutions that bring some degree of satisfaction to all parties in order to temporarily or partially resolve the conflict.

• Force/Direct – Push one’s viewpoints at the expense of others; offering only win-lose solutions, usually enforced through a power position to resolve an emergency.

• Collaborate/Problem Solve – Incorporate multiple viewpoints and insights from differing perspectives; requires a cooperative attitude and open dialogue that typically leads to consensus and commitment.

• Decision Making – Involves the ability to negotiate and influence the organization and project management team instead of the set of tools described in the decision-making tool set.

• Emotional Intelligence – The ability to identify, assess and manage the personal emotions of oneself and others.

• Influence – PMs often have little or no direct authority over team members in a matrix environment. Their ability to influence stakeholders on a timely basis is critical to project success, as well as the collective emotions of groups of people.

• Leadership – Successful projects require leaders with strong leadership skills. Leadership is the ability to lead a team and inspire them to do their jobs well.

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Output• Change Request – The PM will submit a change request if there are any corrective or preventive

actions that must be taken.

Manage CommunicationsPerformed in the Executing process group and Communications knowledge area. It is the process of creating, collecting, distributing, storing, retrieving and the ultimate disposition of project infor-mation in accordance to the communications management plan.


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Work performance reports4. Enterprise environmental


assets

1. Communication technology

2. Communication methods3. Communication skills


5. Project reporting6. Interpersonal and team

skills

7. Meetings

1. Project Communication Plan

2. Project Management Plan updates

3. Project document updates4. Organization process

assets updates

Tools and Techniques• Communication Technology – Factors that influence the technology include whether the

team is collocated, the confidentiality of any information that needs to be shared, resources

a. Communication competence

b. Feedbackc. Nonverbald. Presentation

a. Active listeningb. Conflict managementc. Cultural awarenessd. Meeting managemente. Networkingf. Political awareness

125

available to the team member, and how the organization’s culture influences the way that meetings and discussions are normally conducted.

• Communication Methods – Should allow flexibility in the event that the membership of the stakeholder community changes or their needs and expectations change.

• Communication Skills• Communication competence• Feedback• Nonverbal• Presentations

• Project Management Information Systems – Ensures that stakeholders can easily retrieve needed information in a timely manner.

• Project Reporting – Collecting and distributing project information.• Interpersonal and Team Skills

• Active Listening – Acknowledging, clarifying and confirming that the message is understood.

• Conflict Management – Resolve conflicts in a timely and constructive manner.• Cultural Awareness – Understanding the difference between individuals, groups and

organizations.• Meeting Management – Ensuring meetings meet their intended objectives• Networking – Interacting with others to exchange information and develop contacts.• Political Awareness – Assisting the PM in engaging stakeholders appropriately to maintain

their support throughout the project.

Output• Project Communications

• Performance reports, deliverable status, schedule progress and cost incurred, presentations• Other information required by stakeholders

Implement Risk ResponsesPerformed in the Executing process and Risk knowledge area group. It is the process of imple-menting agreed-upon risk response plans.

126


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Organizational process

assets

1. Expert judgement2. Interpersonal and Team

Skills

3. Project Management Information System

1. Change requests2. Project document updates

Tools and Techniques• Influencing – Ability to compel risk owners to effectively implement the risk responses.

Conduct ProcurementsPerformed in the Executing process group and the Procurement knowledge area. It is the process of obtaining seller responses, selecting a seller and awarding a contract. It may involve developing a short list of qualified sellers which are subjected to further information requests.


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Procurement

documentation4. Seller proposals5. Enterprise environmental


assets

1. Expert judgement2. Advertising3. Bidder conference4. Data analysis5. Information Management


1. Selected sellers2. Agreements3. Change requests4. Project Management Plan

updates5. Project document updates6. Organization process

assets updates

Inputs• Seller Proposals – Seller proposals, prepared in response to a procurement document package,

form the basic information that used by an evaluation body to select one or more successful bidders (sellers).

a. Influencing

a. Proposal evaluation

a. Negotiation

127

Tools and Techniques• Advertising – Communication with users or potential users of a product, service or result.

Advertising in select newspapers or trade publications. Government may require the advertising of certain kinds of contracts.

• Bidder Conferences – Also called contractor conferences, vendor conferences, and pre-bid conferences are meetings between the buyer and prospective sellers prior to proposal submittal. Ensure that all bidders have a clear and common understanding of the procurement and that no bidders receive preferential treatment.

• Proposal Evaluation Techniques – Comparison of alternative proposals on the basis of vendor responses. Weighted scoring is a commonly used technique.

• Procurement Negotiations – The project manager may not be the lead negotiator in many cases but will provide technical and project clarification. Undertaken to clarify structure, requirements and contract terms so that a mutual agreement on the contract terms can be reached prior to signing.

Outputs• Selected Sellers – Sellers which have been selected to provide a contracted set of services or

products. They are those who have been judged to be in a competitive range based upon the outcome of the proposal or bid evaluation, and who have negotiated a draft contract that will become the actual contract when an award is made.

• Agreements – A mutually binding legal agreement between the buyer and seller. It includes many requirements and terms that should be remembered.

Manage Stakeholder EngagementPerformed in the Executing process group and the Stakeholder knowledge area. It is the process of communicating and working with stakeholders to meet their needs, address issues as they occur and foster stakeholder engagement in project activities throughout the project life cycle. Managing stakeholders increases the likelihood of project success by ensuring the project goals, objectives, benefits and risk are clearly understood.

128




assets

1. Expert judgement2. Communication skills




Most of the funds and resources are utilized during the executing process group.

a. Feedback

a. Conflict managementb. Cultural awarenessc. Negotiationd. Observation/

conversation

129

Review Exercises

NOTES

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131

ExercisesMatchingDraw a line to the correct term on the right.

1. Any product, service or result required to complete a project. Lessons Learned Document

2. Project document where all issues that are negatively affecting the project are recorded and tracked.

Deliverable

3. Any project request that is submitted to a change control board or decision-making group to be reviewed for approval or denial.

Issue Log

4. Documentation of what went well and what didn’t throughout the project lifecycle. Used a reference for future projects.

Change Request

Fill in the StoryThe process in which the team executes the plans and produces the deliverables is called 1. ______________. In this process, the team relies on the 2. __________________________, which will help them keep track of all project information, documents and plans, and help facilitate effective communication. The team will be seeking ways to prevent failures from occurring, this is called 3.

__________________________. 4. __________________________, is when a problem has been identified, and the project’s goal is to bring future performance back in line with the project management plan. While the work is being performed, the team gathers raw information, such as percent comple-tion, time and money spent, etc. This information does not consider planned values and is called 5.

__________________________.

6. __________________________ process of using existing knowledge and creating new knowledge to achieve the project’s objectives and contribute to organizational learning. While the work is be-ing performed, the team, with the help of the stakeholders, will document factors that lead to the success and failures of the project is called 7. __________________________. It is also an output of this process.

Auditing the quality of deliverables to ensure the quality management plan is being adhered to is the process of 8. __________________________. This process involves implementing the steps the team planned in 9. __________________________ to help increase efficiency in the organization.

The PM negotiates with the functional managers based on what was identified in the Resource Management Plan to bring on resources with the correct skill set to successfully accomplish the project deliverables. The PM is in 10. __________________________ process. Now that the PM has brought

on the team members, he/she uses team building activities to develop the team to ensure de-creased turnover, improved individual skills and improved team. The team building activity theory is called 11. ______________________. The key output of this process’ evaluations are conducted to gauge a team’s effectiveness, and is called 12. __________________________.

Now the team has been developed, the PM continues to track team member performance, pro-viding feedback, resolving issues and managing team changes to optimize project performance. This is done via the 13. __________________________ process and utilizes tools such as conflict man-agement. The favorable conflict management technique that incorporates multiple viewpoints and insights from different perspectives and requires a cooperative attitude and open dialogue is 14. __________________________.

An efficient and effective information flow is ensured between the project team and the stakehold-ers using technologies and methods per the communication management plan. The PM is in the 15. _______________________ process. The main output of this process is 16. ________________________.

In order to successfully complete a required deliverable, the PM must acquire services from out-side the organization. The make and buy analysis hasd been completed along with all the plans needed to select a qualified seller. The PM must now choose the qualified seller who will com-plete the work as per the contract for the successful completion of the project. The PM is the 17. _________________________ process, and a key technique he/she can use is 18. _______________________. The main output of this process is 19. ________________________.

During project execution, the PM realizes she/he needs to proceed with the backup plan put in place during planning. The PM is the 20. __________________________ process, which implements agreed upon risk strategies to minimize the threats to the delivery of the deliverable in terms of time, cost or quality.

The PM communicates and works with stakeholders to meet their needs, address issues as they occur, and foster stakeholder engagement in project activities throughout the project life cycle. The process the PM is in 21. __________________________ whose objective is to increase the likelihood of project success by ensuring the stakeholders clearly understand project goals, objectives, benefits and risks.

133

Questions1. You are managing a project to update the packaging and digital media for a popular children’s

toy to promote a charity fundraiser. The project is well underway, and you are actively collect-ing and storing information about each deliverable team’s progress, creating forecasts for your sponsor, distributing work performance reports, planning presentations to key stakeholders and verifying delivery. Which process are you performing?

2. Sonia has recently been assigned to lead a project that is halfway through its execution. The project has many stakeholders and she is trying to determine how to engage them effectively. Which of the following will best help her in this effort?

3. At the start of project execution, a PM must acquire the development team. However, the func-tional manager indicates that of those developers who were planned for the project, one is unavailable as she is currently completing another project. What should the project manager do to understand the proposed team member’s future availability?

4. Susan has allowed her project team the use of flextime, where project team members may take time off during regular business hours and make up the time during the evening hours or week-ends. Recently, excessive use of flextime has become a roadblock, as some team members are not available when needed. The project team feels they should set a standard, that flextime is only to be used for personal emergencies. How should Susan handle this situation?

a. Monitor Communicationsb. Manage Stakeholder Engagementc. Plan Communications Managementd. Manage Communications

a. Project management planb. Project charterc. Work performance reportsd. Procurement documents

a. Contact the team member’s functional managerb. Review the resource requirementsc. Examine the resource breakdown structured. Look at the resource calendar

a. Contact the human resources department to update the corporate policies to prohibit flextime

b. Submit a change request to update the team charter based on the team’s inputsc. Discuss the issue with the team and update the team charter accordinglyd. Do nothing as the team has already agreed to use flextime for personal emergencies

only

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5. You are leading a project team with a software application upgrade project within a project-ori-ented organizational structure. You were recently informed that one of your project team mem-bers falsified required certifications on their resume’, and you have verified the information as accurate. You want to terminate the team member’s employment. What should you do first?

6. The updated version of the product is to be at the customer’s location by the end of the week, but your team realizes they will be unable to complete the deliverable by then. You have sat with the team to look for solutions to resolve this issue but there is nothing to be done for missing the deadline. The deployment team who are to install the product at the customer site is under a lot of stress to meet their deadline and will be furious that the update will not be there at the end of the week. What is your best action?

7. What is the output of Conduct Procurements?

8. The lessons learned register is the output of which of the following processes?

9. Which process has the objective of communicating and working with stakeholders to meet their needs and expectations, address issues and foster appropriate stakeholder involvement?

a. Contact the functional managerb. Review the resource management planc. Immediately terminate the employee for caused. Review the enterprise environmental factors

a. Ignore the issue and wait until the deadline hoping the team eventually makes itb. Send the status report to the customerc. Call the customer to inform him/her via phone of the delayd. Add more resources to the task

a. Bidder Conferencesb. Select Sellersc. Risk Registerd. Procurement Management Plan

a. Manage Knowledgeb. Direct and Manage Project Workc. Close Project/Phased. Collect Requirements

a. Manage Stakeholder Engagementb. Manage Communicationsc. Control Communicationsd. Monitor Stakeholder Engagement

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10. Sean just left his PM’s office after an attempt to get additional people for his team. His PM told him that everyone was working at maximum and there were no other internal resources avail-able. Sean was also told to take the appropriate action to correct the issue. What should Sean do next?

a. Submit a change request and evaluate the cost impact of external resource acquisition.b. Speak directly to his peers to see if they can share some resources.c. Provide overtime incentive to his existing team.d. Escalate to his project sponsor.

NOTES

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Monitoring and Controlling

NOTES

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139

Your team is executing the approved plans and making adjustments as needed. Your role is to monitor and control to ensure all the tasks and metrics necessary to ensure that the approved and authorized project is within scope, on time and on budget so that the project proceeds with minimal risk. This process involves comparing actual performance with planned performance and taking corrective action to yield the desired outcome when significant differences exist. Monitoring and Controlling is continuously performed throughout the life of the project. The Executing and Monitoring and Controlling process groups overlap as they exchange information.

The following list is extracted from the exam outline posted on www.pmi.org.Familiarize yourself with the bullets. Understanding them will allow you to determine what process group the exam question is referencing. Once the process group is determined, one will know the answer has to pertain to those processes in that group alone. The monitoring and controlling process group has twelve processes that we will review.

• Measure project performance using appropriate tools and techniques to identify and quantify any variances and corrective actions.

• Manage changes to the project by following the change management plan to ensure that proj-ect goals remain aligned with business needs.

• Verify that project deliverables conform to the quality standards established in the quality management plan by using appropriate tools and techniques to meet project requirements and business needs.

• Monitor and assess risk by determining whether exposure has changed and by evaluating the effectiveness of response strategies in order to manage the impact of risks and opportunities on the project.

• Review the issue log, update if necessary, and determine corrective actions by using appropri-ate tools and techniques to minimize the impact on the project.

• Capture, analyze and manage lessons learned using lessons learned management techniques to enable continuous improvement.

• Monitor procurement activities according to the procurement plan to verify compliance with project objectives.

Knowledge and Skills• Performance measurements and tracking techniques (e.g., EV, CPM, PERT, Trend Analysis)• Process analysis techniques (e.g., LEAN, Kanban, Six Sigma)• Project control limits (e.g., thresholds, tolerance)• Project finance principles• Project monitoring tools and techniques

140

• Project quality best practices and standards (e.g., ISO, BS, CMMI, IEEE)• Quality measurement tools (e.g., statistical sampling, control charts, flowcharting, inspection,

assessment)• Risk identification and analysis techniques• Risk response techniques• Quality validation and verification techniques

Monitor and Control Project WorkPerformed in the Monitor and Control process group and the Integration knowledge area. It is the process of tracking, reviewing and reporting the progress to meet the performance objectives defined in the project management plan. Allows stakeholders to understand the current state of the project, to recognize the actions taken to address any performance issues and to have visibility into the future project status with cost and schedule forecasts. Control includes determining corrective or preventive actions or re-planning and following up on action plans.


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Work performance

information4. Agreements5. Enterprise environmental


assets


3. Decision making4. Meetings

1. Work performance reports2. Change requests3. Project Management Plan


Inputs• Work Performance Information – Data is gathered through work execution and passed to the

controlling processes.The data is compared with the project management plan components, project documents and other project variables.The comparison indicates how the project is performing.

• Agreements – The PM must ensure all agreements meet the specific needs of the project while adhering to organizational procurement policies, if applicable.

a. Alternative analysisb. Cost-benefit analysisc. Earned value analysisd. Root cause analysise. Trend analysisf. Variance analysis

141


• Alternative Analysis – Select the corrective actions or a combination of corrective and preventive actions to implement when a deviation occurs.

• Cost-Benefit Analysis – Helps determine the best corrective action in terms of cost due to project deviations.

• Earned Value Analysis – Provides an integrated perspective on scope, schedule and cost performance.

• Root Cause Analysis – Focuses on identifying the main reasons of a problem.Used to identify the reasons for a deviation and what you should focus on to achieve the project objectives.

• Trend Analysis – Used to forecast future performance based on past results.• Variance Analysis – Quantitative review of the differences between what we thought

would happen versus what actually happened• Decision Making

• Voting – To decide on whether to accept, defer or reject change requests. Can be in the form for unanimity, majority or plurality.

Outputs• Work Performance Reports – Physical or electronic representation of work performance

information intended to generate decisions, actions or awareness. Reports are circulated to the stakeholders per the instructions in the communication management plan.

• Change Requests – Comparing the actual results to the planned results may result in a change in scope, quality, cost or schedule.

Perform Integrated Change ControlPerformed during Monitor and Control process group and Integration knowledge area. It is the process of reviewing all change requests, approving changes and managing changes to delivera-bles, organizational process assets and the project management plan as well as communicating their disposition.

142


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Work performance

information4. Change requests5. Enterprise environmental


assets

1. Expert judgement2. Change control tools3. Data analysis

4. Decision making

1. Approved change requests2. Project Management Plan


• Changes may be requested by any stakeholder involved with the project.• Reviews all requests for changes or modifications to project documents, deliverables, baselines

or the project management plan and approves/rejects the changes.• It should be written formally and entered to change control and configuration control systems.• The PM has the authority to approve or reject the change requests, when required. It will be

the responsibilities of the CCB.• It is an internal unit or department charged with not only monitoring, controlling,

coordinating and implementing changes to all elements of project work, but also with accepting or rejecting changes that have been requested by stakeholders.

• Normally, the CCB operates closely with the project’s sponsor, customers and other key stakeholders. The responsibilities of the CCB have been documented and agreed upon by the stakeholders, customers and project team.

Inputs• Work Performance Reports – Resource availability, schedule, cost data, earned value reports

and burn up or burn down charts.• Change Requests – Outputs from other processes that need to be evaluated.

Tools and Techniques• Change Control Tools – In order to facilitate configuration and change management, manual

or automated tools may be used.• Configuration Control – Focused on the specification of both the deliverables and

processes.

a. Alternative analysisb. Cost-benefit analysis

a. Votingb. Autocratic decision

makingc. Multi-criteria decision

analysis

a. Change log

143

• Change Control – Focused identifying, documenting and approving or rejecting changes to the project documents, deliverables or baselines.

• Data Analysis• Alternatives Analysis – Used to assess the requested changes and decide which are

accepted, rejected, or need modification to be finally accepted.• Cost – Benefit analysis helpsdetermine if the requested change is worth its associated cost.

• Decision Making• Voting – To decide on whether to accept, defer or reject change requests.Can be in the

form for unanimity, majority or plurality.• Autocratic Decision Making – Where one individual takes the responsibility for making

the decision for the entire group.• Multi-criteria Decision Analysis – Uses a decision matrix to provide a systematic analytical

approach to evaluate the requested changes according to a set of predefined criteria.• Change Control Meetings – A CCB is responsible for reviewing, approving or rejecting the

change requests.• All CCB decisions are documented and communicated to the stakeholders for information

and follow up actions.• The status of all of the changes, approved or not, will be updated in the change request log

as part of the project document updates.

Outputs• Approved Change Requests – Change requests are processed per the change management

plan.The outcome of the request will be documented in a change log which becomes part of the project documents.

Validate ScopePerformed in the Monitor and Controlling process group and Scope knowledge area. It is the process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables. It brings objectivity to the acceptance process and increases the probability of final product, service or result acceptance by validating each deliverable. This process is performed periodically throughout the project, as needed.

144


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Verified deliverables4. Work performance data

1. Inspection2. Decision making

1. Accepted deliverables2. Work performance

information3. Change requests4. Project document updates

Input• Verified Deliverables – Completed and checked for correctness through the quality control

process.• Work Performance Data – Data can include the degree of compliance with requirements,

number of nonconformities, severity of the nonconformities or the number of validation cycles performed in a period.

Tools and Techniques• Inspection – Measuring, examining and verifying to determine whether work and deliverables

meet requirements and product acceptance criteria.• Decision Making –

• Voting – Used to reach a conclusion when the validation is performed by the project team and other stakeholders.

Output• Accepted Deliverables – When the acceptance criteria are formally signed off and approved

by the customer or sponsor.• Work Performance Information – Information about project progress, such as which deliverables

have been accepted, which have not been accepted and the reasons why.• Change Requests – Completed deliverables that have not been formally accepted are

documented along with the reasons for non-acceptance. Those deliverables may require a change request for defect repair that will follow the Performed Integrated Change Control process.

Control ScopePerformed in the Monitor and Control process group and Scope knowledge area. It is the process of monitoring the status of project, product scope and managing changes to the scope baseline. Uncontrolled scope changes result in scope creep. Scope control is focused on three things:

a. Voting

145

• Influencing factors that create scope changes to ensure changes are agreed upon.• Determining that a scope change has occurred.• Managing actual changes when, and if, they occur.


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Work performance data4. Organizational process

assets

1. Data analysis 1. Work performance information



Input• Work Performance Data – The number of change requests received, the number of requests

accepted, and the number of deliverables verified, validated and completed.


• Variance Analysis – Project performance measurement is used to assess the magnitude of variation from the original scope baseline.

• Trend Analysis – Examines project performance over time to determine if performance is improving or deteriorating.

Outputs• Work Performance Information – Correlated and contextualized information on how the

project and product scope are performing compared to the scope baseline.• Change Requests – Analysis of project performance may result in a change request that will

go through the Performed Integrated Change Control process.

Control SchedulePerformed in the Monitor and Controlling process group and Schedule knowledge area. It is the process of monitoring the status of the project to update project progress and managing changes to the schedule baseline.

a. Variance analysisb. Trend analysis

146


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Work performance data4. Organizational process

assets

1. Data analysis

2. Critical path method3. Project Management

Information Systems4. Resource optimization5. Leads and lags6. Schedule compression

1. Work performance information

2. Schedule forecasts3. Change requests4. Project Management Plan


Tools and Techniques• Data Analysis –

• Earned Value Analysis – Schedule performance measurements such as schedule variance (SV) and schedule performance index (SPI) to assess the magnitude of variations to the original schedule baseline.

• Iteration Burndown Chart – Tracks the work still to be completed in the iteration backlog.• Performance Reviews – Measures, compares and analyzes schedule performance against

the schedule baseline, such as the actual start and finish dates.• Trend Analysis – Examines project performance over time to determine whether

performance is improving or deteriorating.• Variance Analysis – Looks at planned variances versus actual start and finish dates,

planned versus actual durations and variances in float.• What-if Scenario Analysis – Assess the various scenarios guided by output from the

Project Risk Management processes to bring the schedule model into alignment with the PMP and approved baseline.

• Critical Path Method – Compares the process along the critical path which can help determine schedule status.

• Project Management Information System (PMIS) – Scheduling software that provides the ability to track planned dates versus actual dates.

a. Earned value analysisb. Iteration burndown

chartc. Performance reviewsd. Trend analysise. Variance analysisf. What-if scenario

analysis

147

• Resource Optimization – Scheduling of activities and resources required by those activities while taking into consideration both the resource availability and project time.

• Leads and Lags – Applied during network analysis to find ways to bring project activities that are behind schedule into alignment with the plan.

• Schedule Compression – Brings project activities that are lagging into alignment with the plan.

Outputs• Work Performance Information – Information on how the project work is performing

compared to the schedule baseline.• Schedule Forecasts – Estimates or predicts conditions and events in the project’s future based

on information and knowledge available at the time of the forecast.• Change Requests – Modifications to the scope of the project may initiate a change request.

The request will go through a Perform Integrated Change Control process.

Control CostsPerformed in the Monitor and Control process group and the Cost knowledge area. It is the pro-cess of monitoring the status of the project to update the project costs and manage changes to the cost baseline.


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Project funding

requirements4. Work performance data5. Organizational process

assets


3. To-complete performance index

4. Project Management Information systems


2. Cost forecast3. Change requests4. Project Management Plan


Inputs• Project Funding Requirements – Includes projected expenditures plus anticipated liabilities.• Work Performance Data – Contains data on project status such as which costs have been

authorized.

a. Earned value analysisb. Variance analysisc. Trend analysisd. Reserve analysis

148

Tools and Techniques• Earned Value Management (EVM) – Commonly used method of performance measurement.

It integrates the project scope, cost and schedule measures to help the project management team assess and measure project performance and progress. Develops and monitors three key dimensions of each work package and control account: Planned Value (PV), Earned Value (EV) and Actual Cost (AC).

• Data Analysis• Variance Analysis – The explanation of cost, schedule and variance at completion.Cost

and schedule are most frequently analyzed measurements.• Trend Analysis – Examines project performance over time to determine if performance is

improving or deteriorating.• Forecasting – The project team may develop a forecast for the estimate at completion

that may differ from the budget at completion based on the project performance.• Reserve Analysis – Used to monitor the status of contingency and management reserves

for the project to determine if the reserves are still needed or if additional reserves must be requested.

• To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI) – Predicts the efficiency that must be achieved for remaining work to complete the remaining works with the available budget.

• Project Management Information System (PMIS) – Often used to monitor the three EVM dimensions (PV,EV and AC) to display graphical trends and to forecast a range of possible final project results.

Outputs• Work Performance Information – Includes information on how the project work is performing

compared to the cost baseline.• Cost Forecasts – Either a calculated estimate at competion (EAC) value or a bottom-up EAC

value is documented and communicated to stakeholders.• Change Requests – Analysis of project performance resulting in a change request to the cost

and schedule baseline.

Control QualityPerformed in the Monitor and Control process group and Quality knowledge area. It is the pro-cess of monitoring and recording results of executing the quality management activities to assess performance and ensure the project outputs are complete, correct and meet customer expecta-tions. Verify that project deliverables and work meet the requirements specified by key stakeholders for final acceptance.

149


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Approved change requests4. Deliverables5. Work performance data6. Enterprise environmental


assets

1. Data gathering

2. Data analysis

3. Inspection4. Testing/product

evaluations


6. Meetings

1. Quality control measures2. Verified deliverables3. Work performance

information4. Change request5. Project Management Plan


Inputs• Deliverables – Inspected and compared to the acceptance criteria defined in the project scope

statement.• Work Performance Data – Contains data on product status such as observations, quality

metrics and measurements for technical performance.


• Checklists – Manage the control quality activities in a structured manner.• Check Sheets (Tally Sheets) – Use for gathering data, organizing facts and collecting

attributed data during inspections.• Statistical Sampling – Choosing part of a population of interest for inspection.• Questionnaire and Surveys – Used to gather data about customer satisfaction after the

deployment of the product or service.

a. Checklistsb. Check sheetsc. Statistical samplingd. Questionnaires and

surveys

a. Performance reviewsb. Root cause analysis


a. Cause and effect diagrams

b. Control chartsc. Histogramsd. Scatter diagram

150

• Data Analysis• Performance Reviews – Measure, compare and analyze the quality metrics defined by the

Plan Quality Management process against actual results.• Root Cause Analysis (RCA) – Used to identify the source of defects.

• Inspection – Examination of a work product to determine if it conforms to documented standards.

• Testing/Product Evaluations – Conducted to provide objective information about the quality of the product or service under test in accordance with the project requirements.

• Data Representation• Cause and Effect Diagrams (Ishikawa Diagrams or Fishbone Diagrams) – Used to

identify the possible effects of quality defects and errors.• Control Chart – Used to determine whether a process is stable or has predictable

performance.• Upper and lower specification limits are based on requirements of the contract

reflecting the maximum and minimum values allowed. The data is reviewed by the PM showing the point where corrective action will be taken.

• Control limits ±3 sigma (standard deviation).• Histograms – Demonstrates the number of defects by source or component.• Scatter Diagrams – Shows the planned performance on one axis and the actual

performance on the second axis.

Outputs• Quality Control Measurements – Documented results of control quality activitiescaptured in

the format specified in the quality management plan.• Verified Deliverables – Determine the correctness of the deliverables.The result of the process

becomes the input of the validated scope process.• Work Performance Information – Information on project requirements fulfillment, causes of

rejections, rework required, recommendations for corrective actions, lists of verified deliverables, status of the quality metrics and the need for the process adjustments.

Control ResourcesPerformed in the Monitor and Control process group and Resource knowledge area. It is the process of ensuring that the physical resources assigned and allocated to the project are available as planned.

151


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Work performance data4. Agreements5. Organizational process

assets

1. Data analysis

2. Problem solving3. Interpersonal and team

skills






• Alternative Analysis – Select the best resolution for correcting variances in resource utilization.

• Cost-Benefit Analysis – Determines the best corrective action in terms of cost in case of project deviations.

• Performance Reviews – Measure, compare and analyze planned resource utilization to actual resource utilization.

• Trend Analysis – As the project progresses, the project team may use trend analysis based on current performance information to determine the resources needed at upcoming stages of the project.

• Problem Solving – The PM may use a set of tools to solve problems that arise during the control resource process. The PM should use methodical steps to deal with problem solving, which includes:

• Identify the problem• Define the problem• Investigate• Analyze• Solve• Check the solution

• Interpersonal and Team Skills• Negotiation – May need to negotiate for additional physical resources, changes in physical

resourcesor costs associated with the resources.

a. Alternate analysisb. Cost-benefit analysisc. Performance reviewsd. Trend analysis

a. Negotiationb. Influencing

152

• Influencing – Ability to work with the functional manager to obtain the needed resources to successfully complete the project.

• Project Management Information System (PMIS) – Includes resource management or scheduling software used to monitor the resource utilization which helps ensure that the right resources are working on the right activities at the right time and place.

Outputs• Work Performance Information – Includes information on how the project work is progressing

by comparing resource requirements, resource allocation and resource utilization across the project activities.

• Change Requests – Project manager will submit a change request for any preventive or corrective actions that might result from the process.

Monitor CommunicationsPerformed in the Monitor and Control process group and the Communication knowledge area. The process of monitoring communications throughout the entire project life cycle ensures the in-formation needs of the project stakeholders are met. Ensures optimal information flow as defined in the communications management plan and the stakeholder engagement plan. Determines if the planned communications artifacts and activities have the desired effect of increasing or maintaining stakeholders’ support for the project’s deliverables and expected outcomes.


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Work performance reports4. Enterprise environmental


assets

1. Expert judgement2. Project Management

Information Systems3. Data analysis


5. Meetings


2. Change request3. Project Management Plan



a. Observation/ conversation

153

Inputs• Work Performance Data – Contains data on the types and quantities of communications that

have actually been distributed.• Project Management Information System(PMIS) – Provides a set of standard tools for

the project manager to capture, store and distribute information to internal and external stakeholders with the information needed according to the communication management plan.

• Data Representation –• Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix – Provides information about the

effectiveness of the communication activities.• Interpersonal and Team Skills –

• Observation and Conversation – Team members and key stakeholders help determine the most appropriate way to update and communicate project performance and to respond to information requests from stakeholders.

Outputs• Work Performance Information – Information on how project communication is performed

by comparing the communications that were implemented with those that were planned.• Change Request – The PM will submit a change request if any adjustments, actions and

interventions surface due to communications management.

Monitor RisksPerformed in the Monitor and Control process group and the Risk knowledge area. It is the pro-cess of monitoring the implementation of agreed-upon risk response plans, tracking identified risks, identifying and analyzing new risk, and evaluating risk process effectiveness throughout the project.


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Work performance data4. Work performance reports

1. Data analysis

2. Audits3. Meetings

1. Change requests2. Project document updatesa. Technical performance

analysisb. Reserve analysis

154


• Technical Performance Analysis – Compare technical accomplishments during project execution with the technical achievement schedule.

• Reserve Analysis – Compares the amount of the remaining contingency reserves to the amount of risk remaining at any time in the project in order to determine if the remaining reserve is adequate.

• Audits – Type of audit used to consider the effectiveness of the risk management process.

Output• Work Performance Information – Includes how project risk management is performed by

comparing the individual risks that have occurred with the expectation of how they would occur.This information indicates the effectiveness of the response planning and response implementation processes.

Control ProcurementsPerformed in the Monitor and Control process group and the Procurement knowledge area. It is the process of managing procurement relationships, monitoring contract performance and making changes and corrections to contracts as appropriate. Both the buyer and seller will administer the procurement contract.


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Agreements4. Procurement

documentation5. Approved change request6. Work performance data7. Enterprise environmental


assets

1. Expert judgement2. Claims administration3. Data analysis

4. Inspections5. Audits

1. Closed procurements2. Work performance

information3. :Procurement

documentation updates4. Change requests5. Project Management Plan

updates6. Project document updates7. Organizational process

asset updates

a. Performance reviewsb. Earned value analysisc. Trend analysis

155

Tools and Techniques• Claims Administration

• A claim is an assertion that the buyer did something that has injured the seller, who ia requesting compensation.

• Changes that cannot be agreed upon are called contested changes.• Contested changes usually involve a disagreement about the compensation to the vendor

for implementing a change.• Contested changes are also known as disputes, claims or appeals. These can be settled

directly between the parties themselves, through the court system or by a process called arbitration.

• Data Analysis• Performance Reviews – Contract measures, compares and analyzes quality, resources,

schedules and cost performance against the agreement.• Earned Value Analysis – Schedule and cost variances along with schedule and cost

performance indexes are calculated to determine the degree of variance from the target.• Trend Analysis – Develop a forecast estimate at completion for cost performance to see

if performance is improving or deteriorating.• Inspections – Structured review of the work being performed by the contractor.• Audits – Structured review of the procurement process.

Outputs• Closed Procurements – The buyer, usually through its authorized procurement administrator,

provides the seller with formal written notice that the contract has been completed. Requirements for formal procurement closure are usually defined in the terms and conditions of the contract and are included in the procurement management plan.

• Work Performance Information – Includes information on how a seller is performing by comparing the deliverables received, technical performance achieved and the costs incurred and accepted against the SOW budget for the work performed.

Monitor Stakeholder EngagementPerformed in the Monitor and Control process group and Stakeholder knowledge area. It mon-itors the overall project stakeholder relationships and adjusts strategies and plans for engaging stakeholders. This process increases the efficiency and effectiveness of engaging stakeholders as the project evolves. The PM is responsible for engaging and managing stakeholders.

156


1. Project Management Plan2. Project documents3. Work performance data4. Enterprise environmental


assets

1. Data analysis

2. Decision making


4. Communication skills


6. Meetings




a. Alternative analysisb. Root cause analysisc. Stakeholder analysis


b. Voting


a. Feedbackb. Presentations

a. Active listeningb. Cultural awarenessc. Leadershipd. Networkinge. Political awareness

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Review Exercises

NOTES

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159

ExercisesMatchingDraw a line from the definition on the left to the correct term on the right.

1. Evaluate identified options to select the options or approaches to use to execute and perform the work of the project.

Earned Value Analysis

2. Provides an integrated perspective on scope, schedule and cost performance.

Performance Reviews

3. Tracks the work that remains to be completed in the iteration backlog. Used to analyze the variance with respect to an ideal burndown based on the work committed from iteration planning.

Trend Analysis

4. To measure, compare and analyze schedule performance against the schedule baseline such as actual start and finish dates, percent complete and remaining duration for work in progress.

Alternate Analysis

5. To determine the essential features and relationships of components in the PMP to establish a reserve for the schedule duration, budget, estimated cost or funds for a project.

Root Cause Analysis

6. Used to determine the basic underlying reason that causes a variance, defect or a risk.

Stakeholder Analysis

7. Systematically gathering and analyzing quantitative and qualitative information to determine whose interests should be considered throughout the project.

Technical Performance Analysis

8. Using mathematical models to forecast future outcomes based on historical results.

Variance Analysis

9. Determining the cause and degree of difference between the baseline and actual performance.

Reserve Analysis

10. Comparing technical accomplishments during project execution to the schedule of technical achievement.

Iteration Burndown Charts

160

Fill in the StoryComplete the sentences to test your knowledge on processes and ITTOs.

The process where the team examines the overall project work and comparing the actu-al results to the planned results while also identifying preventive and/or corrective actions to be taken, is called 1. _______________________.The main input used during this process is called 2. _______________________. Along the process if it is determined a change must be made, the PM must invoke the 3. __________________________ process. The project document output of this process is called 4. __________________________.

The PM regularly meets with the key stakeholders/sponsors to bring objectivity to the acceptance process and increase the probability of the final product, service, or result acceptance by validating each deliverable; the process is called 5. ________________________. The PM uses 6. ________________________ technique to measure and examine deliverables to determine whether the work meets the re-quirements and product acceptance criteria set in the project scope statement. The result is the 7.

__________________________ as the output.

The PM manages the activity progress and changes to the schedule baseline, the process is called 8. __________________________. Using earned value techniques, the PM wants to predict the future, 9.

__________________________ is the output of this process utilizing the technique.

Using 10. __________________________ which are projected expenditures plus anticipated liabil-ities as input, the PM manages the progress and any changes to the cost baseline. The PM is in the 11. __________________________ process using various tools and techniques to produce 12. __________________________ on how the project work is performing compared to the cost baseline.

The process that can be worked in parallel with the Validated Scope Process to ensure project de-liverables and work meets the requirements specified by key stakeholders for final acceptance. It is called 13. __________________________. This process is concerned with the 14. __________________________ of the deliverables. The main output of this process is 15. __________________________.

Once the project has procurement contracts in place, the PM must oversee the relationship and en-sure that the seller is meeting their obligations. The PM does this via the 16. __________________________ process. There are three specific tools used by the PM or team to oversee this process, the tools are 17. ________________________, 18. ________________________ and 19. __________________________. The main out-put of this process is 20. __________________________, which is a structured way of reviewing the seller’s performance relative to its contractual obligations.

The process by which the PM implements the agreed-upon risk response plans, tracks identified risks, identifies and analyzes new risks and evaluates risk process effectiveness throughout the proj-ect is called 21. _________________________ . The two data analysis techniques used in this process are 22. __________________________ and 23. __________________________.

161

The PM spends 90 percent of his/her time on communications. In a well-run project the PM and team ensure the information needs of the project stakeholders are met throughout the entire proj-ect life cycle. The PM is in the 24. _______________________ process using 25. ________________________ and 26. __________________________ techniques.

The PM uses interpersonal and team skills to monitor overall project stakeholder relationships and adjust strategies and plans for engaging stakeholders. This process will increase the efficien-cy and effectiveness of engaging stakeholders as the project evolves. The PM is in which process 27. __________________________.

Questions1. A change request has just been received from the customer that does not affect the project

schedule and is easy to complete. What should you, as the PM, do first?

2. If earned value (EV) = 350, actual cost (AC) = 400, and planned value (PV) = 325, what is the cost variance (CV)?

3. Your project has run into cost difficulties. The project scope must be completed but at less cost. As a PM what option could you use?

4. You have a contract stating that the seller must submit monthly acceptance tests to the PM. If the seller does not submit such acceptance tests, the seller is:

a. Contact the project sponsor for permissionb. Implement the changec. Evaluate the impacts on other project constraintsd. Perform the integrated change control

a. 400b. 350c. -75d. -50

a. Perform Earned Value Managementb. Perform a value analysisc. Recover some sunk costsd. Remove team members

a. In breach of contractb. Is not in violationc. Not following the procurement management pland. Can decide to submit the report or not

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5. What does estimate at completion (EAC) mean?

6. A technical defect was identified in a deliverable that is due to the customer today. The PM knows the customer does not have the technical understanding to notice the defect. The deliv-erable meets the contract requirements, but it does not meet the PM’s quality standard. What should the PM do in this situation?

7. What process group is the Validate Scope process in?

8. Your team member lets you know a scheduled activity has been delayed. What is the first thing you should do?

9. You receive a call from a team member notifying you that there is a variance between the speed of a system on the project and the desired or planned speed. You’re surprised because that per-formance measurement was not identified in planning. You are evaluating whether the variance warrants a response. In which part of the project management process are you?

a. Anticipated total cost at project completionb. Actual cost at completionc. Cost performanced. Work to be completed

a. Ignore itb. Inform the customer of the issuec. Document in lesson learned for future referenced. Obtain final approval from the customer

a. Executingb. Monitoring and controllingc. Planningd. Closing

a. Crash or fast trackb. Use contingency reservesc. Report to managementd. Determine how much of a problem it is

a. Executingb. Monitoring and controllingc. Closingd. Initiating

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10. A project manager discovers a work package has been completed for substantially less cost than planned. Which of the following is not among the first things to consider doing?

a. Make sure all the work was doneb. Make sure the right resources were usedc. Make sure all project processes were followedd. Identify ways to increase the result.

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Closing Process Group

NOTES

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WOW! You’ve made it to the end. There actually is a light at the end of the tunnel. What are we ready to do? Close is defined as “end, conclude, finish, complete”. Remember this process group not only means closing a successful project, it could mean closing a phase and deciding to move on to the next phase. Remember, we talked about the phase gate? Review your notes if you have forgotten.

But, what about projects that just stop due to funding or even a new direction? They get terminated, right? What does one do then? Do you just walk away? If you answered yes, your wrong! Stop! What are we learning with PMI – we are learning the process. We have to follow processes even if we are asked to stop work. This is where our closing process group comes into play.

Closing is the process of finalizing all activities for the project, phase or contract. The following list comes from the exam outline posted on www.pmi.org.Familiarize yourself with the bullets. Under-standing them will allow you to determine what process group the exam question is referencing. Once you determine the process group, one will know the answer has to pertain to those processes in that group alone. In closing, we only have one process group to worry about.

• Obtain final acceptance of the project deliverables from relevant stakeholders to confirm that project scope and deliverables were achieved.

• Transfer the ownership of deliverables to the assigned stakeholders in accordance with the project plan to facilitate project closure.

• Obtain financial, legal and administrative closure using generally accepted practices and poli-cies in order to communicate formal project closure and ensure transfer of liability.

• Prepare and share the final project reportaccordingtothe communications management plan to document and convey project performance and assist in project evaluation.

• Collate lessons learned that were documented throughout the project and conduct a compre-hensive project review in order to update the organization’s knowledge base.

• Archive project documents and materials using generally accepted practices to comply with statutory requirements and for potential use in future projects and audits.

• Obtain feedback from relevant stakeholders using appropriate tools and techniques based on the stakeholder management plan to evaluate to their satisfaction.

Knowledge and Skills• Archiving practices and statutes• Compliance (statute/organization)• Contract closure requirements• Close-out procedures

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• Feedback techniques• Performance measurement techniques (KPI and key success factors)• Project review techniques• Transition planning technique

Close Project or a PhasePerformed during the Closing process group and Integration knowledge area. It is the process of finalizing all activities across all of the project management process groups to formally complete the project or phase process. This phase includes the procedures to investigate and document the reasons for actions taken if a project is terminated before completion.


1. Project charter2. Project Management Plan3. Project document4. Accepted deliverables5. Business documents6. Agreements7. Procurement

documentation8. Organizational process

assets


3. Meetings

1. Project document updates2. Final product, service or

result transition3. Final report4. Organizational process

asset updates

Inputs• Accepted Deliverables – May include approved product specifications, delivery receipts and

work performance documents.• Business Documents –Any specifications about the project to determine if the benefits of the

project were achieved.

Tools and Techniques• Data Analysis –

• Document Analysis – Assessing available documentation for lessons learned and knowledge sharing for future projects.

• Regression Analysis – Analyzing the interrelationship between different project variables that contributed to the project outcome to improve performance on future projects.

a. Document analysisb. Regression analysisc. Trend analysisd. Variance analysis

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• Trend Analysis – Analysis used to validate the models used in the organization and to implement adjustments for future projects.

• Variance Analysis – Can be used to improve the metrics of the organization by comparing what was initially planned to the end result.

Outputs• Project Document Updates – Update all the documents, marking as final and archiving.• Final Product, Service or Result Transition – Hand over to a different group or organization

that will operate, maintain, and provide support throughout its life cycle.• Final Report – Summary of the project performance.• Organizational Process Assets – Update the processes, policies and templates for use with

future projects.

NOTES

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Review Exercises

NOTES

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ExercisesFill-in the StoryUpon closing of the project or phase, the PM must ensure that the deliverables have been properly 1. __________________________. The PM will gather inputs from the stakeholders citing what went well and could be improved next time and update the 2. __________________________ document. The doc-ument will be archived in the organizational process assets to be helpful for future projects. The PM will then release the team members per the 3. __________________________. Finally, the PM ensures deliverables are properly transitioned and a report is issued to the stakeholders that the project has been closed.

Questions1. Your project just came to an end; the team is breathing a sigh of relief. None of them were

confident the project would meet the end date. Which of the following is not a reason why the project was having difficulty?

2. Your website development project has progressed according to plan and comes to an end. Your team is excited about the product they have created. Now they are looking ahead to find new projects to work on. You caution them that the current project cannot be considered complete until after the closing process group. Closure includes all the following except:

3. Why is performance reporting important during administrative closure?

a. Lack of a payback periodb. Lack of a communications management planc. Lack of a staffing management pland. Lack of milestones

a. Updating the company’s organizational process assetsb. Determining performance measuresc. Turning over the product of the projectd. Documenting the degree to which each project phase was properly closed after its

completion

a. Gain approval to start the lessons learnedb. Communicate the team’s successc. Prove formal acceptance has been achievedd. Show progress made on activities

4. Which is an output of the Close Project or Phase process?

5. You have completed your project and sent the final deliverable to the customer, but the customer refuses to give final acceptance of the project. It is most important for the project manager to:

6. PMs will create and accumulate several documents during each of their project’s phases. Some of these will be completed early and won’t be updated during the project. Others will be main-tained throughout the course of the project as living documents. When should they archive documents as historical records for future projects?

7. You’re making sure the product of the project has been completed according to the project management plan. What part of the project management process are you in?

8. Which of the following is in the correct order?

a. A project management planb. Project archivesc. A risk management pland. A project charter

a. Let the CEO of the company knowb. Call a lawyerc. Document the issued. Tell the functional manager

a. Throughout the projectb. Before the end of project planningc. During project closured. Before the end of project executing

a. Executingb. Closingc. Monitoring and controllingd. Planning

a. Collect requirements; define acceptance criteria; final transition of product, service, or result

b. Define project scope statement; create list of stakeholders; final transition of product, service, or result

c. Create list of stakeholders; final transition of product, service, or result; close procurements

d. Validated deliverables; define cost performance baseline; final transition of product, service, or result

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9. Which activity would not occur during project administrative, legal or financial closure?

10. If the project is terminated prior to completion, what technique or tool may be used to close the project?

a. Closing control accounts with financeb. Closing team assignments; releasec. Closing collection of lessons learnedd. Closing contracts

a. Administrative Closureb. Expert Judgmentc. Contract Inspection and Remediationd. Close Project

NOTES

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Professional Responsibility

NOTES

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You did it! You have learned what project management is, the role of a project manager, the five process groups, ten knowledge areas, 49 processes and much more! Do you know now why it’s so important to have a process and plan in place. Did you notice the ethics component. We are all professionals and understand our responsibility to our industry and organization.

PMI is ensuring that we acknowledge this as PMP certified professionals, carrying it over in both our daily and professional lives. This section of the book reviews the four professional responsibility attributes called out by PMI. Remember when answering the exam questions, you are abiding by these traits.

1. Responsibility – Ownership of Decisions and Actions• Make decisions based on the best interests of the company and the team, as well as society,

instead of your own interests.• Inform the sponsor of your real qualifications if they do not match the project before

accepting the assignment.• Do what you say you will do.• Acknowledge your own errors.• Respect confidentiality requirements.• Uphold laws.• Report unethical behavior to the management.

• Report PMI’s code of ethics violations and professional conduct.2. Respect the appropriate treatment of people and resources

• Maintain an attitude of mutual cooperation.• Respect cultural differences.• Don’t gossip or say things that could damage another person’s reputation.• Engage in good faith negotiations.

• Respect others.• Be direct when dealing with conflict.• Do not use your power or position to influence others for your own personal benefit.

3. Fairness – Be Objective and Make Impartial Decisions• No bribery.• Don’t discriminate against others.• Don’t use your position for personal gain.

4. Honesty• Try to understand the truth.• Be truthful in all communications• Do not hide the project if it is in trouble.

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Earned Value Management (EVM) Exercises

NOTES

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Earned Value Management (EVM)1. You have just completed the third week of a 12-week project and have the following information:

CPI = 0.96SPI = 0.89AC = $125,000

Calculate the following values, assuming the original budget may still be achievable and you are expecting to work at the budgeted rate going forward. Assume that all work and spending are evenly divided throughout the duration of the project.

Given a project with the following characteristics, answer the following questions:

• You are the PM of a project to build fancy birdhouses.• You are to build two birdhouses a month for 12 months.• Each birdhouse is planned to cost $100.• Your project is scheduled to last for twelve (12) months.• It is the beginning of month ten (10).• You have built twenty (20) birdhouses and your CPI is 0.9091.

1. How is the project performing?

2. What is the actual cost of the project right now?

i. EV =ii. PV =iii. BAC =iv. EAC =v. ETC =vi. VAC =vii. TCPI =

A. Over budget and ahead of scheduleB. Under budget and ahead of scheduleC. Over budget and behind scheduleD. Under budget and behind schedule.

A. $1800B. $2000C. $2200D. $2400

3. If the costvariance experienced so far in the project continues, how much additional money will be needed to complete the project?

4. If the variance experienced so far were to stop, what is the project’s estimate at completion?

5. What is the project’s TCPI using the project’s budget at completion?

6. Senior management wants to know the percentage of the project that is complete. What should you report?

7. Imagine, if instead of ten (10) months and costing $2200, the project was in month three (3) and cost $4000. What formula might you use for BAC?

A. $400B. $440C. $2800D. $2840

A. $2400B. $2440C. $2600D. $2800

A. 0.5B. 1C. 1.5D. 2

A. 75%B. 83%C. 92%D. 95%

A.

B. New bottom-up estimateC. AC + new ETCD. AC + BAC – EV

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Critical Path Exercises

NOTES

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Critical Path Exercise1. Draw a network diagram based on the data listed in the following table.

Task Predecessor Duration

1 none 13 weeks

2 1 6 weeks

3 2 6 weeks

4 1 8 weeks

5 2, 4 10 weeks

6 3, 5 9 weeks

2. What are the paths based on the network diagram?

3. What is the duration of each path based on the network diagram?

4. What is the critical path based on the network diagram?

5. What is the early start, early finish, late start, late finish and float for each activity based on the network diagram?

6. Which path represents the least schedule risk based on the network diagram?

7. If the duration for activity B changes to nine (9) weeks, what is the impact to the project?

8. Based on the previous change, identify options to reduce the project duration.

NOTES

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189

Process Exercises

NOTES

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191

Process Matrix ExerciseComplete the matrix with the process groups, knowledge areas and processes.

Process Matrix

6th Edition

193

Inside each process box, write the project document outputs (some may have more than one)

Identify Stakeholder

Collect Requirements

Estimate Activity Duration and

Estimate CostsIdentify Risks Control Costs


Plan Quality Management

Direct and Manage Project

WorkDefine Scope

Perform Integrated

Change Control

Sequence Activities

Plan Resource Management

Manage Project Knowledge

Define Activities

Develop ScheduleEstimate Activity

ResourcesManage Quality Control Schedule

Acquire Resources Estimate Costs Control Quality

NOTES

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195

Glossary

NOTES

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GlossaryTechniques – Data GatheringCollect data and information from a variety of sources; there are nine (9) data gathering tools through-out the project management process.

• Benchmarking – Comparing actuals or planned products, processes and practices to those of comparable organizations to identify best practices, generate ideas for improvement and provide a basis for measuring performance. [Collect requirements; Plan Quality Management; Plan Stakeholder Engagement]

• Brainstorming – Led by a facilitator in a group environment, it is a technique to gather ideas in a short period of time. The participants generate and then analyze ideas. [Develop Project Charter; Develop Project Management Plan; Collect Requirements; Plan Quality Management; Identify Risks; Identify Stakeholders]

• Check Sheets – Also known as tally sheets used for gathering data, organizing facts and collecting attribute data during inspections. [Control Quality]

• Checklists – A list of steps to be carried out for an activity. The list is made as comprehensive as possible so that this becomes the tool to verify that all the required steps for a quality item are carried out without missing any steps. [Develop Project Management Plan; Manage Quality; Control Quality]

• Focus Groups – Brings together prequalified stakeholders and SMEs to learn about their expectations about a proposed product. A trained moderator guides the group through an interactive discussion designed to be conversational instead of a one on one interview. [Develop Project Charter; Develop Project Management Plan; Collect Requirements]

• Interviews – Talk to stakeholders directly to gather information about a specific product or requirement. [Develop Project Charter; Develop Project Management Plan; Collect Requirements; Plan Quality Management; Identify Risks; Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis; Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis; Plan Risk Responses]

• Market Research – Gather information from different sources such as online reviews and conferences to identify the market trend and market capabilities. It refines the procurement objectives of the project management team to leverage the mature technologies, processes and organizations. It also balances the risks associated with vendors who provide the services or materials needed for the project. [Plan Procurement Management]

• Questionnaires and Surveys – Gather information from stakeholders by sending out written questionnaires. [Collect requirements; Plan Stakeholder Management]

• Statistical Sampling – Select a portion of the population to test since testing the whole population would be time consuming and costly. [Control Quality]

Data Analysis TechniquesUsed to organize, assess and evaluate data and information.

• Alternative Analysis – Evaluate identified options in order to select the option or approachto execute and perform project work. [Manage Project Knowledge; Monitor and Control Project Work; Plan Scope Management; Create WBS; Plan Schedule Management; Estimate Activity Durations; Plan Cost Management; Estimate Cost; Manage Quality; Estimate Activity Resources; Control Resources; Monitor Stakeholder Engagement]

• Assessment of Other Risk Parameters – Take into consideration other characteristics of risk, in addition to probability and impact, when prioritizing individual project risks for further analysis and action (e.g., urgency, proximity; dormancy; manageability; controllability; detectability; connectivity; strategic impact propinquity). [Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis]

• Assumptions and Constraint Analysis – Explore the validity of assumptions and constraints to determine which poses a project risk. [Identify Risks]

• Cost of Quality – Total cost of all efforts to achieve product/service quality. Measures all work to ensure conformance to requirements and work resulting from nonconformance to require-ments. [Estimate Costs; Plan Quality Management]

• Cost Benefit Analysis – A financial analysis tool used to determine the benefits provided by a project against its costs. [Manage Project Knowledge; Monitor and Control Project Work; Plan Quality Management; Control Resources; Plan Risk Responses]

• Decision Tree Analysis – Uses Earned Monetary Value (EMV) analysis internally. Assists in making decisions when facing multiple options. [Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis]

• Document Analysis – Evaluates available project documentation to identify lessons learned and knowledge sharing for future projects and organizational asset improvement. [Close Project or Phase; Collect Requirements; Manage Quality; Identify Risks; Identify Stakeholders]

• Earned Value Analysis – Provides an integrated perspective on scope, schedule and cost performance. [Monitor and Control Project Work; Control Schedule; Control Costs; Control Procurements]

• Influence Diagrams – A graphical representation of situations showing casual influences, time order of events and other relationships among variables and outcomes. [Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis]

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• Iteration Burndown Chart – Tracks the remaining work to be completed in the iteration backlog. Used to analyze the variance with respect to an ideal burndown based on the work committed from iteration planning. [Control Schedule]

• Make or Buy Analysis – A general management technique used to determine whether particular work can be best accomplished by the project team or must it be purchased from outside sources. Budget constraints may influence make-or-buy decisions. [Plan Procurement Management]

• Performance Reviews – Measures, compares and analyzes schedule performance against the schedule baseline, i.e., actual start and finish dates, percent complete and remaining duration for work in progress. [Control Schedule; Control Quality; Control Resources; Control Procurements]

• Process Analysis – Identifies opportunities for process improvements. Also examines problem constraints and non-value-added activities that occur during a process. [Manage Quality]

• Proposal Evaluation – Review proposals provided by suppliers to support contract award decisions. [Conduct Procurement]

• Regression Analysis – Where a series of input variables are examined in relation to their corresponding output results in order to develop a mathematical or statistical relationship. [Close Project or Phase]

• Reserve Analysis – To determine the essential features and relationships of components in the PMP to establish a reserve for the schedule duration, budget, estimated cost or funds for a project. [Estimate Activity Durations; Estimate Cost; Determine Budget; Control Costs; Implement Risk Responses]

• Risk Data Quality Assessment – Evaluate the degree to which risk data is useful for risk management. [Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis]

• Risk Probability and Impact Assessment – Consider the likelihood that a specific risk will occur. It considers the potential effect on one or more project objectives such as schedule, cost, quality or performance. [Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis]

• Root Cause Analysis – Used to determine the basic underlying reason that causes a variance, defect or risk. [Monitor and Control Project Work; Manage Quality; Control Quality; Identify Risks; Plan Stakeholder Engagement; Monitor Stakeholder Engagement]

• Sensitivity Analysis – Used to determine which individual project risks or other sources of uncertainty have the most potential impact on project outcomes by correlating variations in the project outcomes with variations in elements of the quantitative risk analysis model. [Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis]

200

• Simulation – Modeling the combined effect of uncertainties to evaluate their potential impact on objectives. [Develop Schedule; Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis]

• Stakeholder Analysis – Systematically gather and analyze quantitative and qualitative information to determine whose interests should be considered throughout the project. [Plan Risk Management; Identify Stakeholders; Monitor Stakeholder Engagement]

• SWOT Analysis – Examine the project from each contributor’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threat perspectives. [Identify Risks; Plan Stakeholder Engagement]

• Technical Performance Analysis – Compare technical accomplishments during project execution to the technical achievement schedule. [Control Risks]

• Trend Analysis – Use mathematical models to forecast future outcomes based on historical results. [Monitor and Control Project Work; Close Project or Phase; Control Scope; Control Schedule; Control Cost; Control Resources; Control Procurements]

• Variance Analysis – Determine the cause and degree of difference between the baseline and actual performance. [Monitor and Control Project Work; Close Project or Phase; Control Scope; Control Schedule; Control Cost]

• ‘What if?’ Scenario Analysis – Evaluate scenarios to predict their effort on project objectives. [Develop Schedule; Control Schedule]

Data RepresentationGraphical representations or other methods used to convey data and information.

• Affinity Diagrams – Classify large number of ideas into groups for review and analysis. [Collect Requirements; Manage Quality]

• Cause and Effect Diagrams – Graphic technique that helps the team group ideas and identify the contributing cause of a problem. Shows how different variables may be linked to the effect (problem). [Manage Quality; Control Quality]

• Control Charts – Graphic display of process over time and against control limits. Determine whether a process is stable or has predictable performance. [Control Quality]

• Flowcharts – Graphic representation of a process. Identify and anticipate process problems. [Plan Quality Management; Manage Quality]

• Hierarchical Charts – Organizational chart structure can be used to show positions and relationships (e.g., WBS, OBS, Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS)). [Plan Resource Management]

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• Histograms – A vertical bar chart that shows how often events occur. Shows frequency of er-rors or periodic staffing levels. [Manage Quality; Control Quality]

• Logical Data Model – Visual representation of an organization’s data described in business language and independent of any specific technology. Can be used to identify where data integrity or other quality issues can arise. [Plan Quality Management]

• Matrix Diagrams – Used to perform data analysis within the organizational structure created in a matrix. Shows the strength of relationships between factors, causes and objectives that exist between the rows and columns that form the matrix. [Plan Quality Management; Manage Quality]

• Matrix Based Charts – Matrix-based chart showing connections between work packages and team members. Shows all activities associated with each person. [Plan Resource Management]

• Mind Mapping – Consolidates ideas created through individual brainstorming sessions into a single map to reflect commonalities and differences in understanding and to generate new ideas. [Collect Requirements; Plan Quality Management; Plan Stakeholder Engagement]

• Probability and Impact Matrix – Maps the probability of occurrence of each risk and its impact on project objectives if that risk occurs. [Perform Qualitative Analysis]

• Scatter Diagrams – Shows the relationship between two variables. Identifies possible relation-ships between independent and dependent variables. [Manage Quality; Control Quality]

• Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix – Used to graphically show the comparison between current and desired stakeholder engagement levels. [Plan Communications Management; Monitor Communications; Plan Stakeholder Engagement; Monitor Stakeholder Engagement]

• Stakeholder Mapping Representation – Categorizes stakeholders using various methods (e.g., power/interest grid, stakeholder cube, salience model). [Identify Stakeholders]

• Text Oriented Formats – Position descriptions show team member responsibilities, authority, competencies and qualifications outlined in a text document. [Plan Resource Management]

Decision Making TechniquesSelect a course of action from different alternatives.

• Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis – Utilizes a decision matrix to provide a systematic analytical approach for establishing criteria, such as risk levels, uncertainty and valuation to evaluate and rank ideas. [Perform Integrated Change Control; Collect Requirements; Define Scope; Plan Quality Management; Manage Quality; Acquire Resources; Plan Risk Responses; Monitor Stakeholder Engagement]

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• Voting – Make decisions based on unanimity, majority or plurality. [Monitor and Control Project Work; Perform Integrated Change Control; Collect Requirements; Validate Scope; Estimate Activity Durations; Estimate Costs; Monitor Stakeholder Engagement]

Communication SkillsTransferring information between stakeholders.

• Feedback – Interactive communication between the PM and stakeholders (e.g., coaching, mentoring, and negotiating). [Manage Communications; Monitor Stakeholder Engagement]

• Presentations – Formal delivery of information and/ or documentation to project stakeholders (e.g., progress reports, background information to support decision making, general information about the project and its objectives). [Manage Communications; Monitor Stakeholder Engagement]

Interpersonal and Team SkillsEffectively lead and interact with team members and other stakeholders.

• Active Listening – Acknowledge, clarify and confirm an understanding by removing barriers that might cause miscommunication. [Manage Project Knowledge; Manage Communications; Monitor Stakeholder Engagement]

• Communication Styles Assessment – Identify the preferred communication method, format and content for stakeholders for planned communication activities. [Plan Communication Management]

• Conflict Management – the PM will utilize techniques to help bring stakeholders into alignment on the objectives, success criteria and requirements. [Develop Project Charter; Develop Project Management Plan; Develop Team; Manage Team: Manage Communications; Manage Stakeholder Engagement]

• Culture Awareness – Understand the differences between individuals, groups and organizations and adapting that throughout the project life cycle. [Plan Communication Management; Manage Communications; Manage Stakeholder Engagement: Monitor Stakeholder Engagement]

• Decision Making – The ability to negotiate and influence the organization and project management team. [Manage Team]

• Emotional Intelligence – Ability to identify, assess and manage the personal emotions of oneself and other people as well as the collective emotions of groups of people. [Manage Team]

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• Facilitation – Ability to effectively guide a group event to a successful decision, solution or conclusion. [Develop Project Charter; Develop Project Management Plan; Manage Project Knowledge; Collect Requirements; Define Scope; Identify Risks; Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis; Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis; Plan Risk Responses]

• Influencing – Ability to compel people to behave or think a certain way. PMs often don’t have a lot of power or authority, they often need to use their influence. PMs influence stakeholders by their knowledge, charisma, trust or reputation. [Develop Team; Manage Team; Control Resources; Implement Risk Responses]

• Leadership – PMs communicate their vision and inspire the project team to focus on the appropriate knowledge and knowledge objectives. [Manage Project Knowledge; Manage Team; Monitor Stakeholder Engagement]

• Meeting Management – PMs ensure the meetings being run are effective and efficient. [Develop Project Charter; Develop Project Management Plan; Manage Communications]

• Motivation – PMs provide reasons for the team to act. Project teams are motivated by empowering them to participate in decision making and encouraging them to work independently. [Develop Team]

• Negotiation – Process that involves activities needed to resolve different kinds of disputes by conducting consultations between the involved parties to reach a consensus. Negotiations can happen at any time within the project management life cycle and can be either formal or informal. [Acquire Resources; Develop Team; Control Resources; Conduct Procurement; Manage Stakeholder Engagement]

• Networking – Informal and formal social interaction and online social networking among project stakeholders which establishes and creates the conditions to share tacit and explicit knowledge. [Manage Project Knowledge; Manage Communications; Monitor Stakeholder Engagement]

• Nominal Group Technique – Rank ideas from a brainstorming session in priority order. [Collect Requirements]

• Observation/Conversation – Provide a direct way to view individuals in their environment and how they perform their jobs or tasks and carry out processes. [Collect Requirements; Monitor Communications; Manage Stakeholder Engagement]

• Political Awareness – Helps the PM plan communications based on the project environment as well as the organization’s political environment. [Manage Project Knowledge; Plan Communications; Manage Communications; Manage Stakeholder Engagement; Monitor Stakeholder Engagement]

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• Team Building – Conduct activities that enhance the team’s social relations and build a collaborative and cooperative working environment. [Develop Team]

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Table 1. Initiating Process Group ITTO Matrix

Knowledge Area Processes Inputs Tools and Techniques Outputs

Integration Management


The process of developing a document that formally authorizes a project or a phase and documents initial requirements that satisfy the stakeholder’s needs and expectations.

1. Project Statement of Work

2. Business Documents

3. Business Case4. Agreements5. Enterprise

Environmental Factors

6. Organizational Process Assets

1. Expert judgement

2. Data Gathering [Brainstorming, Focus Groups, Interviews]

3. Interpersonal and team skills [Conflict Management, Facilitation, Meeting Management]

4. Meetings

1. Project Charter

2. Assumption Log

Stakeholder Management


The process of identifying all people or organizations impacted by the project and documenting relevant information regarding their interests, expectations, involvement and influence on project success.

1. Project charter2. Business Documents3. Project

Management Plan [Communications Management Plan, Stakeholder Engagement Plan]

4. Project Documents [Change Log, Issue Log, Requirements Documentation]

5. Agreements6. Enterprise

environmental factors

7. Organizational process assets

1. Expert judgement2. Data Gathering

[Questionnaires and Surveys, Brainstorming]

3. Data Analysis [Stakeholder Analysis, Document Analysis]

4. Data Representation [Stakeholder mapping/ representation]

5. Meetings

1. Stakeholder Register

2. Change Requests

3. Project Management Plan Updates

4. Project Document Updates

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Table 2. Planning Process Group ITTO Matri



Develop Project Management PlanThe process of documenting the actions necessary to define, prepare, integrate and coordinate all subsidiary plans.

1. Project charter2. Outputs from other

processes3. EEFs4. OPAs

1. Expert judgement2. Data Gathering

[Brainstorming, Checklists, Focus Groups, Interviews]

3. Interpersonal and team skills [Conflict Management, Facilitation, Meeting Management]

4. Meetings


Scope Management Plan Scope ManagementThe process of developing a scope management plan that defines how the project scope will be defined, validated and controlled.


3. Project charter4. EEFs5. OPAs

1. Expert Judgment2. Meetings

1. Scope Management Plan

2. Requirements Management Plan

Collect RequirementsThe process of defining and documenting stakeholders’ needs to meet the project objectives.

3. Project Charter4. Project

Management Plan [Scope Management Plan, Requirements Management Plan, Stakeholder Engagement Plan]

5. Project Documents [Assumption Log, Lessons Learned Register, Stakeholder Register]


7. Agreements8. EEFs9. OPAs

1. Expert Judgment2. Data Gathering

[Brainstorming, Interviews, Focus Groups, Questionnaires and Surveys, Benchmarking]

3. Data Analysis [Document Analysis]

4. Decision Making [Voting. Autocratic, Multi-Criteria]

5. Data Representation [Affinity Diagrams, Mind Mapping]

6. Interpersonal and Team Skills [Nominal Group Technique, Observation/Conversation, Facilitation, Context Diagram, Protypes]

1. Requirements Documentation

2. Requirements Traceability Matrix

207

Define ScopeThe process of developing the project scope statement that details the project. Includes detailed description of the deliverables, acceptance criteria, assumptions and requirements of the project.


Management Plan [Scope Management Plan]

3. Project Documents [Requirements Documentation]

4. EEFs5. OPAs

1. Expert judgment2. Data Analysis

[Alternative Analysis]

3. Decision Making4. Interpersonal

and Team Skills [Facilitated Workshops]

5. Product analysis

1. Project Scope Statement

2. Project Documents Updates

Create WBSThe process of subdividing project deliverables and project work into smaller, more manageable components.

1. Project Management Plan [Scope Management Plan]

2. Project Documents [Project Scope Statement, Requirements Documentation]

3. EEFs4. OPAs

1. Expert Judgment2. Decomposition

1. Scope Baseline [WBS, WBS Dictionary, Project Scope Statement]


Schedule Management

Plan Schedule ManagementThe process of defining how the project schedule will be planned, developed, managed, executed and controlled.

1. Project charter2. Project

Management Plan [Scope Management Plan, Development Approach]

3. EEFs4. OPAs


[Analytical Techniques, Alternative Analysis]

3. Meetings

1. Schedule Management Plan

Define ActivitiesThe process of breaking down work packages into activities for cost estimating, scheduling, monitoring and controlling the project work.

1. Project Management Plan [Schedule Management Plan, Scope Baseline]

2. EEFs3. OPAs

1. Expert judgment2. Decomposition3. Rolling wave

planning4. Meetings

1. Activity list2. Activity attributes3. Milestone list4. Change Requests5. Project

Management Plan Updates

208

Sequence ActivitiesThe process of putting the activities in a logical order to determine their dependencies and to establish an efficient schedule.


2. Project Management Documents [Activity List, Activity Attributes, Milestone List, Assumption Log]

3. EEFs4. OPAs

1. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)

2. Dependency Determination

3. Leads and lags4. Project

Management Information System

1. Project Schedule Network Diagrams


Estimate Activity DurationsThe process of estimating the time needed to perform each task.

1. Project Management Plan [Schedule Management Plan]

2. Project Documents [Activity attributes, Activity list, Assumption Log, Lessons Learned Register, Milestone List, Project Team Assignments, Resource Breakdown Structure, Resource Calendars, Resource Requirements, Risk Register]

3. EEFs4. OPAs

1. Expert judgment2. Analogous

estimating3. Parametric

estimating4. Three-Point

estimating5. Bottom-Up

Estimating6. Data Analysis

[Alternative Analysis, Reserve Analysis]

7. Decision Making [Voting]

8. Meetings

1. Activity Duration Estimates

2. Basis of Estimates3. Project Documents

Updates

209

Develop ScheduleThe process of creating a schedule baseline with realistic planned dates to complete the project.


2. Project Management Documents [Activity list, Activity attributes, Assumption Log, Basis of Estimates, Duration Estimates, Lesson Learned Register, Milestone List, Project Network Diagrams, Project Team Assignments, Resource Calendars, Risk Register, Resource Breakdown Structure]

3. EEFs4. OPA

1. Schedule Network Analysis

2. Critical Path Method

3. Resource Optimization Techniques

4. Data Analysis [What-If Scenario Analysis, Stimulation]

5. Leads and lags6. Schedule

Compression7. Project

Management Information Systems

8. Agile Release Planning

1. Schedule Baseline2. Project Schedule3. Schedule Data4. Project Calendars5. Change Requests6. Project



Cost Management Plan Cost ManagementThe process of developing a plan to estimate, track, monitor and control the project costs.

1. Project Management Plan [Schedule Management Plan, Risk Management Plan]

2. Project Management Documents [Activity List, Activity Attributes, Project Network Diagrams, Activity Resource Requirements, Resource Calendars, Activity Duration Estimates, Project Scope Statement, Risk Register, Project Staff Assignments, Resource Breakdown Structure]

3. EEFs4. OPAs


[Analytical techniques, Alternative Analysis]

3. Meetings

1. Cost Management Plan

210

Estimate CostsThe process of developing an approximation of the costs of each activity needed by identifying various approaches and their cost effectiveness.

1. Project Management Plan [Cost Management Plan, Quality Management Plan, Quality Management Plan, Scope Baseline]Project Documents [Lesson Learned Register, Project Schedule, Resource Requirements, Risk Register]

2. EEFs3. OPAs

1. Expert Judgment2. Analogous

Estimating3. Parametric

Estimating4. Bottom-up

estimating5. Three-Point

estimating6. Data Analysis

[Alternative Analysis, Reserve Analysis, Cost of Quality]



1. Activity Cost Estimates

2. Basis of Estimates3. Project Documents

Updates

Determine BudgetThe process of aggregating the estimated costs to establish an authorized time-phased budget.

1. Project Management Plan [Cost Management Plan, Resource Management Plan, Scope Baseline]

2. Project Documents [Basis of Estimates, Cost Estimates, Project Schedule, Risk Register]


1. Expert Judgment2. Cost aggregation3. Data Analysis

[Reserve Analysis]4. Historical

relationships5. Funding limit

reconciliation6. Financing

1. Cost Baseline2. Project Funding

Requirements3. Project Documents

Updates

Quality Management

Plan Quality ManagementThe process of defining quality requirements for the project and its deliverables. Documenting a plan that a project team can utilize as guidance on how to manage and validate quality throughout the project.


Management Plan [Requirements Management Plan, Risk Management Plan, Stakeholder Engagement Plan, Scope Baseline]

3. Project Documents [Assumption Log, Requirements Documentation, RTM, Risk Register, Stakeholder Register]

4. EEFs5. OPAs


[Benchmarking, Brainstorming, Interviews]

3. Data Analysis [Cost-Benefit Analysis, Cost of Quality]

4. Decision Making [Multi Criteria]

5. Data Representation [Flowcharts, Logical Data Model, Matrix Diagrams, Mind Mapping]

6. Test and Inspection Planning

7. Meetings

1. Quality Management Plan

2. Process Improvement Plan

3. Quality Metrics4. Project



211

Resource Management

Plan Resource ManagementThe process of defining how to estimate, acquire, manage and use team and physical resources.


Management Plan [Quality Management Plan, Scope Baseline]

3. Project Documents [Project Schedule, Requirements Documentation, Risk Register, Stakeholder Register]

4. EEFs5. OPAs

1. Expert judgment2. Data

Representation [Hierarchal Charts, Responsibility Assignment Matrix, Text Orientated Formats]

3. Organizational theory

4. Meetings

1. Resource Management Plan

2. Team Charter3. Project Documents

Updates

Estimate Activity ResourcesThe process of estimating human resources required to perform each scheduled activity.

1. Project Management Plan [Resource Management Plan, Scope Baseline]

2. Project Documents [Activity List, Activity Attributes, Assumption Log, Cost Estimates, Resource Calendars, Risk Register]

3. EEFs4. OPAs

1. Expert judgment2. Bottom-up

Estimating3. Analogous

Estimating4. Parametric

Estimating5. Data Analysis

[Alternate Analysis]6. Project


7. Meetings

1. Activity Resource Requirements

2. Resource Breakdown Structure


Communications Management

Plan Communications ManagementThe process of identifying the information and communication needs of the people involved in a project by determining what must be communicated, when, to whom, with what method, in which format and how frequently.

1. Project Management Plan [Resource Management Plan, Stakeholder Engagement Plan]

2. Project Documents [Requirements Documentation, Stakeholder Register]

3. EEFs4. OPAs

1. Expert Judgment2. Communication

Requirements Analysis

3. Communication Technology

4. Communication Models

5. Communication Methods

6. Interpersonal and Team Skills [Communication Styles Assessment, Political Awareness, Cultural Awareness]

7. Data Representation [Stakeholder Engagement Matrix]

8. Meetings

1. Communications Management Plan



212

Risk Management Plan Risk ManagementThe process of deciding how to approach, plan and execute positive and negative risks.


2. Project Charter3. Project Documents

[Stakeholder Register]

4. Enterprise Environmental Factors


1. Data Analysis [Stakeholder Analysis]

2. Expert Judgment3. Meetings

1. Risk Management Plan

Identify RisksThe process of identifying all negative and positive risks on a project.

1. Project Management Plan [Risk Management Plan, Cost Management Plan, Schedule Management Plan, Quality Management plan, Resource Management Plan, Scope Baseline]

2. Project Management Documents [Assumption Log, Activity Cost Estimates, Activity Duration Estimates, Stakeholder Register, Issue Log, Lessons Learned Register, Requirements Documentation, Resource Requirements]

3. Agreements4. Procurement

Documents5. Enterprise



1. Expert Judgment2. Data Analysis

[Documentation Analysis, Assumptions and Constraints Analysis, SWOT Analysis, Root Cause Analysis]

3. Data Gathering [Brainstorming, Checklists, Interviews]

4. Interpersonal and Team Skills [Facilitation]

5. Prompt Lists6. Meetings

1. Risk Register2. Risk Report3. Project Document

Updates

213

Perform Qualitative Risk AnalysisThe process of prioritizing the identified risks for further analysis or action by assessing and combining their probability of occurrence and impact.

1. Project Management Plan [Risk Management Plan]

2. Project Documents [Assumption Log, Risk Register, Stakeholder Register]




[Interviews]3. Risk Analysis

[Risk Data Quality Assessment, Risk Probability and Impact Assessment, Assessment of other Risk Parameters]

4. Interpersonal and Team Skills [Facilitation]

5. Risk categorization6. Data

Representation [Probability and Impact Matrix, Hierarchical Charts]

7. Meetings

1. Risk Register Updates

Perform Quantitative Risk AnalysisThe process of numerically analyzing the effect of overall project objectives of identified risks. This step might be skipped, depending on the project.

1. Project Management Plan [Risk Management Plan, Cost Management Plan, Schedule Management Plan, Scope Baseline]

2. Project Document [Assumption Log, Basis of Estimates, Cost Estimates, Cost Forecasts, Duration Estimates, Milestone List, Resource Requirements, Risk Requirements, Risk Register, Risk Report, Schedule Forecasts]




[Interviews]3. Interpersonal

and Team Skills [Facilitation]

4. Representations of Uncertainty Data Representation Techniques

5. Data Analysis [Simulation, Sensitivity Analysis, Decision Tree Analysis, Influence Diagrams]

1. Risk Register Updates

214

Plan Risk ResponsesThe process of developing options and actions to enhance opportunities and reduce threats to project objectives.

1. Project Management Plan [Risk Management Plan, Resource Management Plan, Cost Baseline]

2. Project Documents [Lessons Learned Register, Project Schedule, Project Team Assignments, Resource Calendars, Risk Register, Risk Report, Stakeholder Register]

3. EEFs4. OPAs


[Interviews]3. Interpersonal

and Team Skills [Facilitation]

4. Strategies for Threats

5. Strategies for Opportunities

6. Contingent Response Strategies

7. Strategies for overall Project Risk

8. Data Analysis [Alternative Analysis, Cost-Benefit Analysis]

9. Decision Making [Multicriteria Decision Analysis]

1. Change Requests2. Project



Procurement Management

Plan Procurement ManagementThe process of documenting project purchasing decisions, specifying the approach and identifying potential sellers.

1. Project Charter2. Business

Documents3. Project

Management Plan [Scope Management Plan, Scope Management Plan, Quality Management Plan, Resource Management Plan, Scope Baseline]

4. Project Documents [Milestone List, Project Team Assignments, Requirements Documentation, RTM, Risk Register, Stakeholder Register]

5. EEFs6. OPAs

1. Data Gathering [Market Research]

2. Data Analysis [Make or Buy Analysis]

3. Expert Judgment4. Source Selection

Criteria5. Meetings

1. Procurement Management Plan

2. Procurement Strategy

3. Bid Documents4. Procurement

Statement of Work5. Source Selection

Criteria6. Make or buy

decisions7. Independent Cost

Estimates8. Change Requests9. Project Documents

Updates10. Organizational Process Assets Updates

215


Plan Stakeholder EngagementThe process of developing an approach to involve project stakeholders based on their needs, expectations, interests and potential impact on the project.


Management Plan [Resource Management Plan, Communications Management Plan, Risk Management Plan]

3. Project Documents [Assumption Log, Change Log, Issue Log, Project Schedule, Risk Register, Stakeholder Register]


1. Expert judgment2. Data Gathering

[Benchmarking]3. Data Analysis

[Assumption and Constraint Analysis, Root Cause Analysis]

4. Decision Making [Periodization/ Ranking]

5. Data Representation [Mind Mapping, Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix]

6. Meetings

1. Stakeholder Engagement Plan

216

Table 3. Executing Process Group ITTO Matrix

Knowledge Area Processes Inputs Tools and Techniques OutputsIntegration Management

Direct and Manage Project WorkThe process of performing the work defined in the project management plan to complete project deliverables.

1. Project Management Plan [Any Component]

2. Project Documents [Change Log, Lessons Learned Register, Milestone List, Project Communications, Project Schedule, RTM, Risk Report, Risk Report]

3. Approved Change Requests



1. Expert judgement2. Project


3. Meetings

1. Deliverables2. Work Performance

Data3. Issue log4. Change Requests5. Project

Management Plan Updates [Any Component]

6. Project Document Updates [Activity list, Assumption log, Lessons Learned Register, Requirements Documentation, Risk Register, Stakeholder Register]


Manage Project KnowledgeThe process of using existing knowledge and creating new knowledge to achieve the project objectives and contribute to organizational learning.

1. Project Management Plan [All components]

2. Project Documents [Lessons Learned Register, Project Team Assignments, Resource Breakdown Structure, Stakeholder Register]




1. Expert judgement2. Knowledge

Management3. Information

Management4. Interpersonal

and Team Skills [Active Listening, Facilitation, Leadership, Networking, Political awareness]

1. Lessons Learned Register

2. Project Management Plan Updates [Any component]

3. Organizational Process Assets Updates

217

Quality Management

Manage QualityThe process of auditing the quality of deliverables to ensure the quality management plan is being adhered to and to continuously improve the process.

1. Project Management Plan [Quality Management Plan]

2. Project Management Documents [Lessons Learned Register, Quality Control Measurements, Quality Metrics, Risk Report]

3. Organization Process Assets

1. Data Gathering [Checklists]

2. Data Analysis [Alternate Analysis, Document Analysis, Process Analysis, Root Cause Analysis]

3. Decision Making [Multi Criteria]

4. Data Representation [Affinity Diagrams, Cause and Effect Diagrams, Flowcharts, Histograms, Matrix Diagrams, Scatter Diagrams]

5. Quality Audits6. Design for X7. Problem Solving8. Quality

Improvement Methods

1. Quality Reports2. Test and Evaluations

Documents3. Change Requests4. Project



Resource Management

Acquire ResourcesThe process of obtaining the best possible resources to build the project team for a successful completion of the project.

1. Project Management Plan [Resource Management Plan, Procurement Management Plan, Cost Baseline]

2. Project Documents [Project Schedule, Resource Calendars, Resource Requirements, Stakeholder Register]



1. Interpersonal and Team Skills [Negotiation]

2. Pre-Assignment3. Virtual Teams4. Decision Making

[Multi-Criteria]

1. Physical Resource Assignments

2. Project Team Assignments

3. Recourse calendars4. Change Requests5. Project



7. Enterprise Environmental Updates

8. Organizational Process Updates

218

Develop TeamThe process of developing the project team to ensure decreased turnover, improved individual skills and improved team work.

1. Project Management Plan [Resource Management Plan]

2. Project Management Documents [Lesson Learned Register, Project Schedule, Project Team Assignments, Resource Calendars, Team Charter]



1. Colocation2. Virtual Team3. Communication

Technology4. Interpersonal and

Team Skills [Conflict Management, Influencing, Motivation, Negotiation, Team Building]

5. Recognition and Rewards

6. Training7. Individual and

Team Assessments8. Meetings

1. Team Performance Assessments




5. Enterprise Environmental Factors Updates

6. Organizational Process Updates

Manage TeamThe process of managing the team through observation, using issue logs, keeping in touch, completing performance appraisal and resolving conflicts.


2. Project Management Documents [Issue Log, Lessons Learned Register, Project Team Assignments, Team Charter]

3. Work Performance Reports

4. Team Performance Assessments



1. Interpersonal and Team Skills [Conflict Management, Decision Making, Emotional Intelligence, Influencing, Leadership]





4. Enterprise Environmental Factors Updates


219


Manage CommunicationsThe process of ensuring timely and appropriate collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management, monitoring and the ultimate disposition of project information as defined in the communications management plan.

1. Project Management Plan [Resource Management Plan, Communications Management Plan, Stakeholder Engagement Plan]

2. Project Documents [Change Log, Issue Log, Lessons Learned Register, Quality Report, Risk Report, Stakeholder Register]




1. Communication Technology

2. Communication Methods

3. Communication Skills [Communication Competence, Feedback, Nonverbal, Presentations]


5. Performance reporting

6. Interpersonal and Team Skills [Active Listening, Conflict Management, Cultural Awareness, Meeting Management, Networking, Political Awareness]

7. Meetings

1. Project Communications




Risk Management Implement Risk ResponsesThe process of ensuring the risk owners are implementing agreed upon risk responses.


2. Project Documents [Lessons Learned Register, Risk Register, Risk Report]


1. Expert judgement2. Interpersonal

and Team Skills [Influencing]


1. Change Requests2. Project Documents

Updates

220


Conduct ProcurementsThe process of obtaining seller responses, selecting a seller and awarding a contract.

1. Project Management Plan [Scope Management Plan, Requirements Management Plan, Communications Management Plan, Risk Management Plan, Procurement Management Plan, Configuration Management Plan, Cost Baseline]

2. Project Documents [Lessons Learned Register, Project Schedule, Requirements Documentation, Risk Register, Stakeholder Register]

3. Procurement Documentation

4. Seller Proposals5. Enterprise


6. Organization Process Assets

1. Expert judgement2. Advertising3. Bidder Conference4. Data Analysis

[Proposal Evaluation]

5. Interpersonal and Team Skills [Negotiations]

1. Selected Sellers2. Agreements3. Change Requests4. Project





Manage Stakeholder EngagementThe process of communicating and working with stakeholders to meet their needs, address issues as they occur and foster stakeholder engagement in project activities throughout the project life cycle.

1. Project Management Plan [Communication Management Plan, Risk Management Plan, Stakeholder Engagement Plan, Change Management Plan]

2. Project documents [Change Log, Issue Log, Lessons Learned Register, Stakeholder Register]



1. Expert Judgment2. Communication

Skills [Feedback]3. Interpersonal and

Team Skills [Conflict Management, Cultural Awareness, Negotiation, Observation/Conversation, Political Awareness]

4. Ground rules5. Meetings




221

Table 4. Monitoring and Controlling Process Group ITTO Matrix



Monitor and Control Project WorkThe process of tracking, reviewing and regulating the progress to meet the performance objectives defined in the project management plan.

1. Project Management Plan [Any component]

2. Project Documents [Assumption log, Basis of Estimates, Cost Forecasts, Issue Log, Lessons Learned Register, Milestone List, Quality Reports, Risk Register, Risk Report, Schedule Forecasts]

3. Work Performance Information

4. Agreements5. Enterprise



1. Expert judgement2. Data Analysis

[Alternatives Analysis, Cost-Benefit analysis, Earned Value Analysis, Root Cause analysis, Trend Analysis, Variance Analysis]


4. Meetings



Management Plan Updates [Any component]

4. Project Document Updates [Cost Forecasts, Issue Log, Lessons Learned Register, Risk Register, Schedule Forecasts]

Performed Integrated Change ControlThe process of reviewing all change requests; approving changes and managing changes to deliverables, organizing process assets, and the project management plan; and communicating their disposition. Changes may be requested by any stakeholder involved with the project.

1. Project Management Plan [Change Management Plan, Scope Baseline, Schedule Baseline, Cost Baseline]

2. Project Documents [Basis of Estimates, RTM, Risk Report]


4. Change Requests5. Enterprise



1. Expert judgement2. Change Control

Tools3. Data Analysis

[Alternate Analysis, Cost-Benefit Analysis]

4. Decision Making [Voting, Autocratic Decision Making, Multi-criteria Decision Analysis]

5. Meetings


2. Project Management Plan Updates [Any component]

3. Project Document Updates [Change Log]

222

Scope Management Validate ScopeThe process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables. It brings objectivity to the acceptance process and increases the probability of final product, service or result acceptance by validating each deliverable. This process is performed periodically throughout the project as needed.


2. Project Documents [Requirements documentation, Requirements Traceability Matrix]

3. Verified Deliverables

4. Work performance data


2. Project Documents [Requirements documentation, Requirements Traceability Matrix]


4. Work performance data

1. Accepted Deliverables

2. Change Requests3. Work Performance

Information4. Project Documents

Updates

Control ScopeThe process of monitoring the status of the project and product scope and managing changes to the scope baseline.


2. Project Documents [Requirements documentation, RTM]

3. Work Performance Data


1. Data Analysis [Variance Analysis]





Schedule Management

Control ScheduleMeasure performance, determine variance, corrective and preventive actions.

1. Project Management Plan [Schedule Management Plan, Schedule Baseline, Scope Baseline, Performance Measurement Baseline]

2. Project Documents [Lesson Learned Register, Project Calendars, Project Schedule, Resource Calendars, Schedule Data]



1. Data Analysis [Earned Value Analysis. Iteration Burndown Chart, Performance Reviews, Trend Analysis, Variance Analysis, What-if Scenario Analysis]

2. Critical Path Method


4. Resource Optimization Techniques

5. Leads and lags6. Schedule

Compression


2. Schedule Forecasts3. Change Requests4. Project



223

Cost Management Control CostsThe process for ensuring that costs are carefully monitored and controlled. It ensures that costs stay on track and changes are detected whenever they occur.

1. Project Management Plan [Cost Management Plan, Cost Baseline, Performance Measure Baseline]

2. Project Documents [Lesson Learned Register]

3. Project Funding Requirements


5. Organizational process assets

1. Expert Judgment2. Data Analysis

[Earned Value Analysis, Variance Analysis, Trend Analysis, Reserve Analysis]

3. To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI)



2. Cost Forecasts3. Change Requests4. Project




Quality Management

Control QualityThe process of monitoring and recording results of executing the quality management activities to assess performance and ensure the project outputs are complete, correct and meet customer expectations.

1. Project Management Plan [Quality Management Plan]

2. Project Documents [Lessons Learned Register, Quality Metrics, Test and Evaluation Documents]


4. Deliverables5. Enterprise



1. Data Gathering [Checklists, Check sheets, Statistical Sampling, Questionnaires and Surveys]

2. Data Analysis [Performance Reviews, Root Cause Analysis]

3. Inspection4. Testing/product

evaluations5. Data

Representation [Cause and Effect Diagrams, Control Charts, Histograms, Scatter Diagrams]

6. Meetings

1. Quality control measurements






Resource Management

Control ResourcesThe process of ensuring that physical resources assigned and allocated to the projects are available as planned, as well as monitoring the planned versus the actual utilization of resources and taking corrective actions as necessary.


2. Project Documents [Issue Log, Lessons learned register, Physical Resource Assignments, Project Schedule, Resource Breakdown Structure, Resource Requirements, Risk Register]


4. Agreements5. Organizational

Process Assets

1. Data Analysis [Alternatives Analysis, Cost-benefit Analysis, Performance Reviews, Trend Analysis]

2. Problem Solving3. Interpersonal

and team skills [Negotiation, Influencing]



2. Change requests3. Project

Management plan Updates


224


Monitor CommunicationsThe process of ensuring that the information needs of the project stakeholders aremet by monitoring and controlling communication throughout the project life cycle.


2. Project Documents [Issue Log, Lessons Learned Register, Project Communications]




1. Expert judgement2. Project


3. Data analysis [Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix]

4. Interpersonal and team skills [Observation/Conversation, Communication Skills]

5. Meetings





Risk Management Monitor RisksThe process of monitoring the implementation of agreed upon risk response plans, tracking identified risks, identifying and analyzing new risks and evaluating risk process effectiveness throughout the project.


2. Project documents [Issue Log, Lessons Learned Register, Risk Register Risk Report]



1. Data analysis [Technical Performance Analysis, Reserve Analysis]

2. Audits3. Meetings






Control ProcurementThe process of managing procurement relationships, monitoring contract performance and making changes and corrections, as needed.


6. Project Documents [Issue Log, Lessons learned register, Physical Resource Assignments, Project Schedule, Resource Breakdown Structure, Resource Requirements, Risk Register]


8. Agreements9. Organizational

Process Assets

1. Expert Judgment2. Claims

Administration3. Data Analysis

[Performance Reviews, Earned Value Analysis, Trend Analysis]

4. Inspection5. Audits

1. Closed Procurements


3. Procurement Documentation Updates





225


Monitor Stakeholder EngagementThe process of monitoring project stakeholder relationships and tailoring strategies for engaging stakeholders through the modification of engagement strategies and plans.


2. Project Documents [Issue Log, Lessons Learned Register, Project Communications, Risk Register, Stakeholder Register]




1. Data Analysis [Alternatives Analysis, Root Cause Analysis, Stakeholder Analysis]

2. Decision Making [Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis, Voting]

3. Data Representation [Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix]

4. Communication skills [Feedback, Presentations]

5. Interpersonal and Team Skills [Active Listening, Cultural Awareness, Leadership, Networking, Political Awareness]

6. Meetings





226

Table 5. Closing Process Group ITTO Matrix



Close Project or PhaseThe process of finalizing all activities across all the Project Management Process Groups to formally complete the project or phase.


Management Plan [All Components]

3. Project Documents [Assumption Log, Basis of Estimates, Change Log, Lesson Learned Register, Milestone List, Project Communications, Quality Control Measurements, Quality Reports, Requirements Documentation, Risk Register, Risk Report]

4. Accepted Deliverables


6. Agreements7. Procurement

Documentations8. Organizational

Process Assets

1. Expert judgement2. Data Analysis

[Document Analysis, Regression Analysis, Trend Analysis, Variance Analysis]

3. Meetings

1. Project Document Updates [Lessons Learned Register]

2. Final Product, Service or Result Transition

3. Final Report4. Organizational

process assets updates

227

Process Group and Knowledge Area Mapping

Initiating Planning Executing Monitor & Control Closing


Develop Project Manager


Direct and Manage Project Work

Monitor and Control Project Work

Close Project or Phase


Perform Integrated Change Control

Scope Management

Plan Scope ManagementCollect Requirements

Define ScopeCreate WBS

Schedule Management

Plan Schedule ManagementDefine ActivitiesSequence ActivitiesEstimate Activity DurationsDevelop Schedule

Cost Management

Plan Cost ManagementEstimate CostsDetermine Budget

Quality Management


Manage Quality Control Quality

Resource Management

Plan Resource ManagementEstimate Activity Resources


Plan Communications Management

Manage Communications

Monitor Communications

228

Risk Management

Plan Risk Management

Implement Risk Responses

Monitor Risks

Identify RisksPerform Qualitative Risk AnalysisPerform Quantitative Risk AnalysisPlan Risk Responses


Plan Procurement Management

Conduct Procurements

Control Procurements



Plan Stakeholder Engagement

Manage Stakeholder Engagement

Monitor Stakeholder Engagement

229

Earned Value Management Formulas

1. Earned Value (EV)Sum of the planned value of the completed work. The value of the work accomplished until this point in time.

2. Actual Cost (AC)The realized cost incurred for the work performed on an activity during a specific time period. The costs actually incurred to complete the work until this point in time

3. Budget at Completion (BAC)Project Baseline; The total planned value or budget for completing the entire project.

4. Schedule Variance (SV) SV = EV — PV

Difference between the scheduled completion and actual completion of an activity or group of activities. Negative SV is behind schedule; Positive SV is ahead of schedule.

5. Cost Variance (CV)CV = EV — ACDifference between the budgeted cost of completing an activity/group of activities and the actual budget spent. Negative CV is over budget. Positive CV is under budget.

6. Schedule Performance Index (SPI)EVPVThe measure of efficiency managing the project’s schedule.SPI> 1 is good (ahead of schedule); SPI = 1 on target; SPI< 1 poor (behind schedule).

7. Cost Performance Index (CPI)EVAVThe measure of efficiency managing the project’s budget.CPI> 1 is good (under budget); CPI= 1 is on target; <1 is poor (over budget)

8. Estimate at Completion (EAC) BACCumulative CPIThis formula is used when ETC works, i.e., remaining work is predicted to be performed at the cumulative CPI. This assumes the to date CPI will continue in the future.

230

9. Estimate at Completion (EAC)AC + (BAC — EV)This formula is used when remaining work is predicated to be performed exactly as per the original budget. Assumes any variances until that date – both favorable and unfavorable – will not continue in the future.

10. Estimate at Completion (EAC)AC + Bottom — up ETCThis formula is used when new detailed bottom-up estimates developed for the remaining work.

11. Estimate at Completion (EAC)

This formula is used when both cost and schedule performance indices are considered for performing remaining work. Most useful when project schedule impact the ETC effort. CV is assumed to be negative.

12. Estimate to Complete (ETC)ETC = EAC — ACThis formula is used when work is proceeding as planned. ETC=Re-estimate the remaining work from the bottom up. How much more is expected for project to cost from this point in time.

13. Variance at Completion (VAC)VAC = BAC — EACHow much under or over budget the project is expected to be once it is completed.

14. To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI)

The project cost performance needed for the remaining work to stay within the planned budget (BAC) or the estimate at completion; (EAC) is the ratio of “work is remaining” to “funds remaining”.

15. Communication Channels

Communication channels between people; n= number of people involved.

231

16. Point of Total Assumption (PTA)

• Price – The amount charged to the buyer by the seller (contractor).• Target Cost – Expected cost for doing the work at the time of signing the contract.• Target Fee – Seller’s planned profit margin or fee for doing the work. Will be increased/

decreased using the share ratio based on performance.• Target Price – Target cost + target fee.• Share Ratio – Ratio by which the buyer or seller will share cost savings and cost overruns.• Ceiling Price – The maximum amount the buyer will pay for the contract, irrespective of the

costs.• Actual Cost – Costs actually incurred at the end of contract

17. Expected Monetary Value (EMV)Probability × ImpactA statistical concept that calculates the average outcome when the future includes scenarios that may or may not happen. Calculated by multiplying the value of each possible outcome by its probability of occurrence, then adding them together. An EMV analysis is usually mapped out using a decision tree to represent the different options or scenarios. Used to Perform Quantitative Analysis.

18. Three Point Estimate

WhereP is the Most Pessimistic Time;M is the Most Likely Time;O is the Most Optimistic Time for an activity.

19. Activity Variance, σ2

WhereP is the Most Pessimistic Time;O is the Most Optimistic Time for an activity

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20. Activity Standard Deviation SD (σ)

WhereP is the Most Pessimistic Time;O is the Most Optimistic Time for an activity

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ANSWERS TO EXERCISES

NOTES

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Answers to ExercisesIntroduction

Matching1. Project2. Operations3. Program4. Portfolio5. Stakeholder6. Sponsor7. Project Life Cycle8. Project Management

Fill in the Blanks1. Project Team2. Project Management Office3. Functional Organization4. Project Coordinator5. Project Expeditor6. Projectized7. Balanced Matrix8. Project Manager

Matching1. Integration Management2. Scope Management3. Schedule Management4. Resource Management5. Quality Management6. Cost Management7. Communication Management8. Stakeholder Management9. Risk Management10. Procurement Management

Crossword PuzzlesAcross2. Project Documents5. Project Management Plan6. Feedback

Down1. Work Performance Data3. Expert Judgment4. Change Request

Multiple Choice Questions1. C2. A3. C4. B5. A6. C7. A8. C9. A10. B

Project Management Roles and Responsibilities

Fill-in the Blanks1a. Leadership1b. Technical Project Management1c. Strategic and Business Management2. Laissez-Faire3. Transactional4. Servant Leader5. Transformational6. Charismatic7. Interactional

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Matching1. Positional2. Referent3. Expert4. Reward-Oriented5. Punitive or Coercive6. Authentic7. Social8. Managerial9. Emotional10. Intellectual

InitiatingMatching1. Business Case2. Agreements3. Assumption Log4. Stakeholder Register5. Project Charter6. Develop Project Charter7. Identify Stakeholders

Questions1. (B) The project scope statement is created in project planning. All the other choices are ad-

dressed in project initiating.

2. (D) Operational work is work that sustains the business. It may or may not be done in the con-text of a project.

3. (A) Evaluating the effectiveness of risk responses and recommending changes and defect repair occur in project monitoring and controlling. Updates based on lessons learned are done in proj-ect closing. High-level acceptance criteria are determined in project initiating.

4. (C) Assembly line in a car manufacturing is an example of a business process that is ongoing and repetitive.

5. (B) The project manager does not have the option of selecting stakeholders. Stakeholders are people or organizations whose interests may be positively or negatively impacted by the project

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or its product, as well as anyone who can exert positive or negative influence over the project. All stakeholders must be identified and managed to ensure project success.

6. (C) Assumptions are first identified in initiating, although additional assumptions may come to light as the project progresses. They are analyzed in project planning, and they are reviewed for validity and managed throughout the project.

7. (B) The project manager should be assigned during project initiating.

8. (A) When identifying new stakeholders, it’s important to add them to the list of stakeholders and determine what they will mean for the project. As these 600 stakeholders will likely have no influence or authority over the project, the best strategy may be to keep them informed. It is not practical to interview all 600 stakeholders, so this is not the best answer. Getting the stakeholders to sign off on requirements is also not correct, as it’s unlikely you’d need sign-off from all of them, and sign-off of the requirements would already have been done anyway. The stakeholder engagement assessment matrix is useful for evaluating the difference between the current and desired levels of stakeholder engagement It should already have been created and used in the planning that was done. It would be appropriate to add the new stakeholders to the matrix, to analyze their stakeholders’ engagement, but that is not an answer choice. In addition to the stakeholder engagement plan, the requirements, communications, and risk management plans will also be impacted by this discovery.

9. (A) The opportunity cost is simply the value of the project(s) the organization did not select.

10. (A) Interrelationships between stakeholders, their communication requirements, and level of engagement are determined in the Plan Stakeholder Engagement process and documented in the stakeholder engagement plan. The stakeholder register includes stakeholders’ roles, major requirements, levels of influence, and classifications.

Planning

Matching1. Project Statement of Work2. Cost Budget3. Requirements Documentation4. WBS Dictionary5. Activity Cost Estimates6. Project Scope Statement7. Requirements Management Plan

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Matching1. Activity list2. WBS3. Activity Cost Estimates4. Project Scope Statement5. Cost Baseline6. Source Selection Criteria

Fill-in the Blanks1. Create WBS2. Decomposition3. Lead4. Lag5. Analogous Estimating6. Parametric Estimating7. Bottom up Estimating8. Resource Smoothing9. Funding Limit Reconciliation10. Cost of Quality

Questions1. a.2. b.

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Fill in the Story

1. Develop Project Management Plan2. Project Management Plan3. Collect Requirements4. Brainstorming5. Bench Marking6. Interviews7. Focus Groups8. Questionnaire and Surveys9. Requirement Traceability Matrix10. Define Scope11. Project Scope Statement12. Decomposition13. WBS14. WBS Dictionary15. Activity list16. Define Activity17. Sequence Activities18. Network Diagram19. Estimate Activity Duration20. Develop Schedule21. Schedule Baseline22. Cost Management Plan23. Estimate Cost24. Parametric Estimating

25. Analogous Estimating26. Bottom Estimating27. Determine Budget28. Cost Baseline29. Quality Management Plan30. Quality Metrics31. Process Improvement Plan32. Plan Resource Management33. Resource Management Plan34. Team Charter35. Estimate Activity Resources36. Plan Communication Management37. Risk Management Plan38. Identify Risks39. Risk Register40. Perform Qualitative Analysis41. Probability and Risk Matrix42. Watch list43. Perform Quantative Analysis44. Expected Monetary Value45. Make or buy analysis46. Procurement Management Plan47. Stakeholder Engagement Plan

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Put in Order

1. Develop Project Management Plan2. Plan Scope Management3. Collect Requirements4. Define Scope5. Create WBS6. Plan Schedule Management7. Define Activities8. Sequence Activities9. Estimate Activity Durations10. Develop Schedule11. Plan Cost Management12. Estimate Costs

13. Determine Budget14. Plan Quality Management15. Plan Resource Management16. Estimate Activity Resources17. Plan Communications Management18. Plan Risk Management19. Identify Risks20. Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis21. Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis22. Plan Risk Responses23. Plan Procurement Management24. Plan Stakeholder Engagement

Matching1. Benchmarking2. Check lists3. Check Sheets4. Interviews5. Focus Groups6. Market Research7. Statistical Sampling8. Questionnaires and Surveys9. Brainstorming

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Questions1. (C) There are only two choices related to scheduling: critical path method and precedence

diagramming. Precedence diagramming is a diagramming technique that deals with the rela-tionship between activities, not schedule flexibility. The project manager is analyzing the critical path.

2. (B) The key words here are “potential problems.” They are looking into the future and, therefore must be in Plan Quality Management

3. (A) The Plan Communications Management process involves identifying communication re-quirements, including the identification of any communication preferences.

4. (D) This question is asking you about the process of project management. Estimate Resources Durations are completed during Resource Management. Collect Requirements is done before the WBS. Network Diagram is done during Sequence Activities. The next thing to do is Develop Schedule.

5. (D) Activity cost estimates, the resource management plan, and the project schedule are inputs to the Determine Budget process, which takes place in project planning.

6. (D) The project charter is created during project initiating. Completing work packages is done during project executing. Validating scope and performing integrated change control are done during project monitoring and controlling. Starting to create management plans is the best choice, as it is part of project planning.

7. (A) SWOT analysis involves assessing strengths and weaknesses within the project, looking for opportunities, and threats that could result from them. This technique is used when identifying project risks.

8. (D) The resource histogram shows the resources used per time period. The responsibility as-signment matrix shows the tasks the resources are assigned too. The resource management plan describes when resources will be brought onto and taken off the project, and how team members should communicate with the project manager, would provide the most benefit for this project.

9. (B) The milestone list and risk register are project documents. Lessons learned are an organiza-tional process asset. Baselines are components of the PMP.

10. (D) The requirements traceability matrix is a grid that links product requirements from their or-igin to the deliverables that satisfy them. Typical attributes used in the requirements traceability matrix may include a unique identifier, a textual description of the requirement, the rationale for inclusion, owner, source, priority, version, current status, and status date.

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Executing

Matching1. Deliverable2. Issue log3. Change Request4. Lessons Learned Document

Fill in the Story

1. Direct and Manage Project Work2. Project Management Plan3. Preventive4. Corrective action5. Work Performance Data6. Manage Knowledge7. Lessons Learned8. Manage Quality9. Process Improvement Plan10. Acquire Resources11. Tuckman Ladder

12. Team Performance Assessments13. Manage Team14. Problem Solving/ Collaborating15. Manage Communications16. Communication Reports17. Conduct Procurement18. Bidder Conference19. Select Sellers20. Implement Risk Responses21. Manage Engagement

Questions1. (D) First, determine under which knowledge area the described activities fall. With reference

to sponsors and stakeholders, you may guess that it is Stakeholder Management. However, the activities of collection, creation, distribution, storage, and monitoring project information fall under Communications Management. Next, determine what process group is related to these activities. Is it Planning or Monitoring and Controlling? No, the task is not to develop the communication models in Planning, nor is the task to identify if the planned communications artifacts and activities have had the desired effect. Instead, the current activities are mostly collection, creation and distribution and delivery, which take place while executing the work of the project. An important clue is that you are distributing work performance reports, which are an output of the Direct and Manage Project Work processes in the Integration knowledge area in the Executing process group. Therefore, the correct answer is that these activities fall under Manage Communications.

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2. (A) The scenario implies you are performing the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process which is concerned with communicating and working with stakeholders to meet their needs, address issues, and foster involvement. One of the inputs to this process is the project manage-ment plan which provides guidance regarding stakeholder communications, risk management, change management, and stakeholder engagement. Specifically, the stakeholder engagement plan contains information on how to manage stakeholder expectations thus helping to deter-mine how to engage the stakeholders effectively.

3. (D) A resource calendar identifies the working days, shifts, start and end of normal business hours, weekends, and public holidays when each specific resource is available. Information on which resources are potentially available during a planned activity period is used for estimating resource utilization. Resource calendars also specify when and for how long identified team and physical resources will be available during the project. Of the available choices the resource cal-endars, provides the best source of information for the project manager about the availability of a team member to perform project work.

4. (C) The team charter is a document that records the team values, agreements, and operating guidelines, as well as establishing clear expectations regarding acceptable behavior by project team members. The team charter may be updated to reflect changes to the agreed-upon team operating guidelines that result from team development. Of the available options, discussing the issue with the team and updating the team charter accordingly is the best course of action in this situation.

5. (D) The performing organization’s human resource management policies represent one of the enterprise environmental factors which may influence the Develop Team process. Before taking any action regarding the team member’s employment, you should first review the enterprise environmental factors, specifically, the human resource management policies that specify hiring and termination procedures.

6. (C) To communicate effectively, project managers must employ their interpersonal and team skills which are also among the tools and techniques of this process. In the question described, the project team has determined that there are no viable solutions to avoid the missing dead-line. This inevitable outcome must be communicated to the customer, even if the conversation is uncomfortable.

7. (B) The objective of Conduct Procurements is to select a seller and award a contract. Therefore, Select Sellers is the output. Bidder conferences are a tool and technique the project manager can utilize.

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8. (A) The objective of Manage Knowledge is using existing knowledge and creating new knowl-edge to achieve the project objectives and contribute to organizational learning. Therefore, the lesson learned document will be used throughout the project to document what worked well and what could be improved in the future. The document will be part of OPAs to use on future projects.

9. (A) Manage Stakeholder Engagement is where the project manager will communicate and work with stakeholders to meet their needs and expectations, address issues and foster appropriate stakeholder involvement.

10. (A) When internal resources are not available you have little choice except to go to an external source, following the change process. Answer-B seems reasonable but his peers most likely re-port to the same program manager, who should know if there are available resources. Answer-C is not a good idea as it was probably not budgeted as a long-term solution. Answer-D seems practical but could damage his relationship with his program manager who is empowered and has already made decisions.

Monitoring and ControllingMatching1. Alternate Analysis2. Earned Value Analysis3. Iteration Burndown Charts4. Performance Reviews5. Reserve Analysis6. Root Cause Analysis7. Stakeholder Analysis8. Trend Analysis9. Variance Analysis10. Technical Performance Analysis

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Closing

Fill in the Story

1. Monitor and Control Project Work2. Work Performance Information3. Performed Integrated Change Control4. Change Request5. Validate Scope6. Inspection7. Accepted Deliverable8. Control Schedule9. Schedule Forecasts10. Project Funding Requirements11. Control Costs12. Work Performance Information13. Control Scope14. Correctness

15. Verified Deliverables16. Control Procurements17. Claims Admiration18. Inspection19. Audits20. Closed Procurements21. Monitor Risk22. Technical Performance23. Reserve Analysis24. Monitor Communications25. Interpersonal26. Team Skills27. Monitor Stakeholder Engagement

Questions1. (C) Other project constraints such as scope, cost, quality, risk, resources and/or customer sat-

isfaction should be evaluated. Once these are evaluated, the integrated change control board should be initiated.

2. (D) The formula is CV = EV – AC. Therefore, CV = 350 – 400, or CV= -50. PV is not a factor in this calculation.

3. (B) The project manager should perform a value analysis, looking for less costly ways to com-plete the work.

4. (A) A breach of contract occurs when part of the contract is not performed. In this example, the breach is the lack of monthly acceptance tests.

5. (A) Estimate at completion means the total cost of the project at completion, based on current information.

6. (B) Although the deliverable meets the contractual requirements, it is best to bring the problem to the customer’s attention so an option that does no harm can be found.

7. (B) Validate Scope is a process of project monitoring and controlling.

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8. (D) The project manager must evaluate before deciding. Even if dealing with the problem is not within the project manager’s authority, it is still her job to do the evaluation before taking any other action.

9. (B) Even though the measurement was not identified in planning, the project manager would still have to investigate the variance and determine if it is important. The project manager is in project monitoring and controlling.

10. (D) Making sure project processes were followed, the right resources were used, and that all work was done could point out root causes of decreased cost. You cannot find ways to increase the result until after the root cause analysis.

NOTES

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Earned Value Management Answers

I.i.

Therefore:

EV = CPI × ACEV = 0.96 × $125,000EV = $120,000Since we know CPI and AC from the facts given in the question, use the CPI formula and solve for the missing value (EV) by multiplying the CPI by AC. This should be your first step, because knowing EV will be critical to answering the remaining questions.

I.ii.

Therefore:

EV = $134,831.46Now that we have the value for EV, we can plug in the other known values to the SPI formula to solve for PV. We are given the SPI in the question and we now know EV, so we simply plug those in and solve for the missing PV value by dividing EV ($120,000) by our SPI (0.89).

I.iii. BAC = PV × 4BAC = $134,831.45× 4BAC = $539,325.84We must determine BAC, which is our original total budget. The first step is to know where we are in time, and the facts tell us we are 1/4 of the way done. It may be tempting to just take AC and multiply by 4 to get the total BAC, but don’t take the bait. Remember, AC is what we actually spent, not necessarily what we planned to spend. We need to know what we planned to spend in total, so we look to the current PV because there are no other clues given. Because we know the work is evenly spread across the twelve (12) weeks, we know that our production rate should be linear, and therefore the PV for the next three (3) periods should each match that of the current period. Thus, we multiply our PV at the 1/4 mark by four (4) and get a BAC of $539,325.84. This will tell us the total value of work we planned to achieve, using the spend rate we built into our budget.

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I.iv.

EAC = $561,797.75 Things get a lot easier now, since we have the key values we need (EV, PV, BAC and AC) to perform any earned value equation. Because spending is expected to continue at the current rate (meaning variances are typical), we use the BAC/CPI formula to get an Estimate at Completion forecast (which is what we now believe will be spent in total to complete the project).

I.v. ETC = EAC - ACETC = $561,797.75-$125,000.00ETC = $436,797.75ETC tells us what we will spend from this point forward, to complete the project. The ETC formula is always the same (EAC-AC) regardless of the circumstances (we already accounted for those circumstances when we calculated EAC). We subtract our Actual Costs of $125,000 from our Estimate at Completion of $561,797.75, and we know we will need to spend another $436,797.75 to complete the project (assuming spending continues at the current rate).

I.vi. VAC = BAC - EACVAC = $539,325.84-$561,797.75VAC = $22,471.91Variance at Completion (VAC) tells us the difference between the EAC (updated total budget forecast now that we are doing the work) and the BAC (original budget established during planning). This formula is always the same regardless of the circumstances (we already accounted for those circumstances when we calculated EAC). The VAC of $22,471.91 tells us we expect to spend $22,471.91 over our original budget to complete the project.

I.vii.

TCPI = 1.01The ‘To Complete Performance Index’ (TCPI) tells us how efficient we must be with costs moving forward in order to finish within our original budget (BAC). This tells us that we need to get $1.01 in value from every $1 spent for the remaining nine (9) weeks of the project to make up for our current shortfall in cost efficiency and deliver the project on budget.

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1. A. Over budget and ahead of schedule. – The problem tells you that the CPI is 0.9091. We know that CPI = EV/AC. Applying that, a CPI less than 1 means that we aren’t getting enough value for each dollar put into our project, so it is over budget. However, the project is ahead of schedule because we have built twenty (20) birdhouses and after nine (9) months while we expected to build only two (2) birdhouses per month × 9 months = 18 birdhouses.

2. C. $2200. – If you weren’t quite sure whether the project was over budget in the last question, use this problem to strengthen your knowledge. In this problem, we need to determine the AC. In the body of the problem, you are given the CPI and can determine the EV. Use the CPI formula to back out the AC. EV = 20 birdhouse at $100 per birdhouse = $2000.

CPI = EV/AC0.9091 = 2000/AC, multiply both sides by ACAC (0.9091) = 2000, divide both sides by 0.9091AC = 2200

3. B. $440. –Use the context of the problem to determine that you need the ETC when a variance exists and is continuing. Based on that information, we know to use ETC = BAC/CPI – AC. We already know the CPI from the problem and AC from the solution to question 2, so let’s find BAC.

BAC = 2 birdhouses per month × 12 months × $100 per birdhouseBAC = $2400ETC =BAC/CPI – ACETC = 2400/0.9091 – 2200ETC = 440

4. C – $2600. – A few of the EMV questions encountered on the PMP exam will be straightforward. This question is asking for the EAC if a variance that was encountered on a project that is ex-pected to stop. Use EAC = AC + BAC – EV.

EAC = 2200 + 2400 – 2000EAC = $2600

This problem wouldn’t be straightforward if it were presented on its own. Based on our answers to the previous three questions, we already knew AC, BAC and EV. The real PMP doesn’t have answers built upon each other, so your steps to solving this problem on its own would be less straightforward. First, determine which equation to use, then calculate AC using the CPI (as in question 2), then BAC as in question 3, and EV is in question 2.

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5. D – 2. – Fortunately, PMI tells you which TCPI formula to use. This one says use BAC, so

6. B – 83%. – If you have the percent complete formula in front of you, then this problem is easy. Plug EV and BAC into (EV/BAC)× 100%. If you got this problem wrong, review this article (https://magoosh.com/pmp/pmp-topics-ev-pv-ac/) on EV, PV, and AC.

7. C –AC + new ETC. – It may be tempting to pick A but remember, the EAC formula is for when a project is past due. If you find that your estimates are wildly wrong at the beginning of a project, it is best to develop a bottom-up estimate and add that to your actual costs.

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Critical Path Exercise Answer

1. The paths based on the network diagram: (1236, 1256,1456)

2. 1236 = 34 weeks (13 + 6 + 6 + 9)1256 = 38 weeks (13 + 6 + 10 + 9)1456 = 40 weeks (13 + 8 + 10 + 9)

3. The critical path based on the network diagram: 1456, with a duration of 40 weeks (13 + 8 + 10 + 9)

4.

5. The path with the least schedule risk based on the network diagram: 1236, with a duration of 34 weeks(13 + 6 + 6 + 9)

6. If the duration for activity 2 changes to nine (9) weeks, the impact to the project is a new critical path:1236 = 37 (13 + 9 + 6 + 9)1256 = 41 (13 + 9 + 10 + 9) – New Critical Path1456 = 40 (13 + 8 + 10 + 9)

7. All options to reduce the schedule must be analyzed with respect to overall project impacts, and those options include:

8. “Crashing” involves adding resources to a project activity to make it finish sooner. Here, either internal or external resources can be added to Activity E on the critical path. However, crashing almost always increases costs. The activity on the critical path with the lowest crashing cost should be considered first.

• Utilize the same resource on a critical path activity but having that person work overtime.

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This could be considered a form of crashing because you are using more resource hours and costs will rise.

• Add a more skilled resource (if possible) on a critical path activity to reduce time. This is also a form of crashing since you are adding greater resources to finish sooner.

• “Fast tracking,” which involves changing the sequence of activities so that some activities run in parallel, instead of sequentially. Fast tracking assumes that the dependencies between the activities are discretionary. Fast tracking almost always increases the risk of rework.

• Lowering the quality standards, but only if approved by the stakeholders.

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Process Matrix Exercise Answer

Process Matrix

6th EditionInitiating Planning Executing

Monitoring & Controlling

Closing

Integration and Management



Direct & Manage Project Work

Monitor & Control Project

Work

Close Project or Phase


Perform Integrated

Change Control

Scope Management

Plan Scope Management

Validate Scope

Collect Requirements

Control Scope

Define ScopeCreate WBS

Schedule Management

Plan Schedule Management

Control Schedules

Define ActivitiesSequence Activities

Estimate Activity Duration

Develop Schedule

Cost Management

Plan Cost Management

Control Cost

Estimate CostsDetermine Budget

Quality Management


Manage Quality Control Quality

Resource Management

Plan Resource Management

Acquire Resources Control Resources

Estimate Activity Resources

Develop Teams

Manage Teams

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Plan Communications

Management

Manage Communications

Monitor Communications

Risk Management

Plan Risk Management

Implement Risk Responses

Monitor Risks

Identify RisksPerform

Qualitative risk AnalysisPerform

Quantitative risk AnalysisPlan Risk Response


Plan Procurement Management

Conduct Procurements

Control Procurements



Plan Stakeholder Engagement

Manage Stakeholder

Engagements

Monitor Stakeholder

Engagements

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Project Document Exercise Answers

Identify StakeholderCollect

RequirementsEstimate Activity

Duration and Estimate Costs

Identify Risks Control Costs

Stakeholder Register

Requirements Documentation/

RTM

Basis of Estimate/ Duration of Estimates

Risk Register/ Risk Report Cost Forecasts



Direct and Manage Project Work

Define Scope Perform Integrated Change Control

Project Charter Quality Metrics Issue Log Project Scope Statement

Change Log

Sequence Activities Plan Resource Management


Define Activities

Network Diagram Team CharterLessons Learned

Register

Activity List/ Activity

Attributes/ Milestone List

Develop Schedule Estimate Activity Resources

Manage Quality Control Schedule

Schedule Data/ Project Schedule/ Project Calendars

Resource Requirements/

Resource Breakdown Structure

Test and Evaluation

Documents/ Quality Report

Schedule Forecasts

Acquire Resources Estimate Costs Control Quality

Project Team Assignments/

Physical Resource Assignments/

Resource Calendar

Cost EstimatesQuality Control Measurements

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Good Luck