PMP - Lesson 1

 The Project Management Institute is the world recognized organization for setting standard for Project Management practices.
 The organization starting offering the exams & certifications senses 1984
 The exam consists of 200 questions

 Only 175 questions are scored & you must answer 141 of those questions correctly
 The exam is not based on memorization of the material but on how you applying the principal on a given situation.
 www.pmi.org

  Integration Management
  Scope Management
  Time Management
  Cost Management
  Quality Management
  Human Resource Management
  Communication Management
  Risk Management

  Allows for excellent organization and tracking
  Better control and use of resources
  Reduces complexity of inter-related tasks
  Allows measurement of outcome versus plans
  Early identification of problems and quick correction

  Different between project & operations
  Projects are temporary in nature & have definitive start & end dates.
  Projects exist to deliver a product, service or result that didn’t exist before.
  Operations are on-going & repetitive effort, work is continuous  (i.e. No End Date)

  Stakeholders are people, organizations or groups with a vested interest in a project & its results
  Stakeholders may be actively involved with the project work or may simply have something to gain or lose from the project.
  It’s not unusual for Stakeholders to have a conflict interest.
  Stakeholders may be external or internal to the organization.

  Bring together a set of tools & techniques to describe, organize & monitor the work of project activities
  It involves applying knowledge, skills & techniques  during the course of the project to accomplish the project requirements.
  Project management including the intention of a project, planning it, executing the plans & measuring the progress & the performance of the project work.
  Project Managers are responsible for managing the project process & applying those tools & techniques

  Program Management involves centrally managing & coordinating groups of related projects to meet the objective of the program.
  These groups of related projects are managed using the same techniques.
  Benefits are gained through this coordination of projects that would not be gained if managed individually.
  These projects may be   executed at the same time or dependencies may exist that require they be executed sequentially.
  This also achieves an economy of scale as all the projects would adhere to the same processes & standards.

  Collection of programs & projects that meet a specific business goal or objective.
  Projects or even Programs in Portfolios can be very different and have no specific relationship to each other.
  Projects are evaluated for their values against the portfolio's strategic objectives.
  Some portfolio managers are responsible for ensuring that projects adhere to the original objectives & monitoring resources usages.

  PMO function depends on the Company, Some Companies place a high degree of importance on the authorizations & control of projects that PMO can track & maintain Other may just want the PMO to set standards for the organizations & to  archive project documentation.
  In a projectized organization the project Manager(s) may report into the PMO.
  In a functional organization may only publish standers

  PMs are typically generalists, but naturally they different according their technically skilled filed.
  PMs are Microcosm of a small business owner who needs to know many things about running a business.
  Areas of general skill may include: accounting, strategic planning, personal administration, communication, leadership & supervision.

  One of the most important attribute in the project manager is the communication skill
  An Individual who can break down a complicated issue & write it up for a stakeholders review & consideration is one step closer to a successful project than someone who can’t.
  Verbal skills for conducting meeting for running the project from day to day are also important.
  It’s Very important that when a meeting has finished everyone have the same understanding of what was said.

  Organization & Planning Skills are also a key to a project Manager Success.
  All project documentation/communication must be organized and integrated into the project; information must be easily retrieved for unexpected request.
  Time Management & Planning skills are closely related to good organization.

  Many times project managers estimate project cost & mange them throughout the project.
  This could involves Vendor or material cost in addition to the typical resources cost of a project.