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The Three R's You need for Your PMP Exam

The Three R's You need for Your PMP Exam As part of the process of preparing to take the Project Management Professional (PMP®) Exam you have most likely read about the use of a Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM), Roles and Responsibilities, and the Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS). Each of these tools & techniques are discussed within A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2013, the globally recognized standard and guide for the project management profession. In this article we not only look at each of these tools & techniques individually, but also how they interact with each other.

What is a Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)? It is a tool used as part of the Plan Human Resource Management process that relates the organizational breakdown structure (OBS) to the work breakdown structure (WBS) and is used to ensure each project activity is assigned a specific resource. A RAM can be used at a high level, a low level, or a combination of both depending on the size and complexity of the project. A high-level RAM may show that Company A has been hired to complete the engineering portion of a project. A low-level RAM may show that Joe Smith of Company A will be completing the electrical engineering for the design portion of the project.

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PMP Exam Tip: Why do we need the communications channels formula?

The communications channels formula is N * (N-1) / 2. It is a way to numerically show the importance of proper communications management on a project. We all have a "gut feeling" in regards to this and most people would agree that "the larger the project, the more communications becomes a challenge".

The communications channel formula is a way to express this "challenge" numerically.

First of all, it expresses that the number of people on the project is at the heart of what makes communications a challenge. It's not the size of the budget or the technical complexity that poses our greatest communications challenge. It is the number of people with whom we need to communicate about our budget and technology that makes it harder, the more people we involve.

Second, the formula acknowledges, that it is not only us (the project manager) who has to communicate. The formula takes into account that on a 5 people team it is not just me who is communicating with 4 others, but it's everyone talking to everyone. The number of people who are constantly communicating with each other is much larger than that.

This second point highlights 2 facts: 1.) Harold Kerzner's figure that a project manager spends 90% of her/his time communicating suddenly makes a lot more sense. 2.) It is impossible for us to try and manage all the various conversations that will be going on between the members of our project team.

Third and last, I use the communications channels formula as a "teaching tool". Both in a classroom and an office environment. In the classroom, this is simply the formula that you have to know for your PMP Exam. There is a very high likelihood that one of the 200 questions on your exam will include this question. Second, being able to discuss this formula with the project sponsor and project team on an actual project allows me to highlight why we cannot just simply "do" communications. We have to plan the how, what, when, why and with whom we communicate early on in the project, so that communications will be effective and efficient.

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Featured PMP Exam Lessons Learned from - Jeffrey Tripp, PMP

certified-stamp-1 Lessons learned and some tips from the PMP exam shared by the PM PrepCast student - Jeffrey Tripp, PMP.

I studied and took the exam in just under 4 months. I would not recommend this approach, unless one has a lot of time available. My original goal was to complete the studying and test in 3 months.

My strategy was to first find a tutorial that provided the 35 contact hour requirement to apply for the exam. I considered multiple packages before settling on Prepcast. The biggest driver for me was the professional looking slides, but more importantly, the narration from Cornelius. I wanted a tutorial that was well thought out, but felt like I was actually in a class that felt interactive (as best as possible in a video). Prepcast certainly provided that for me.

Before starting on Prepcast, I wanted to be familiar with the content of the PMBOK guide, to allow be to better absorb the information presented in the Prepcast. So I went down to the local library (yes, check out the library for material! Although, look at the material closely as my library had historical guides for material prior to the latest version of the PMBOK Guide) and I checked out Head First PMP by Jennifer Greene, Andrew Stellman. I rapidly went through this substantial tutorial, taking the chapter exams and finally the overall exam. I found the book to be helpful, although I really did not study in depth. In fact, I found some of the terminology to be frustratingly repetitive, although now I understand why as the PMBOK guide is similar in nature and the subtlety of the descriptions was lost on me (I actually went back to flip through the guide after the Prepcast and found it to be very good in content once I took the time to understand the information). Shortly after starting the Head First review, I joined PMI and downloaded my version of the PMBOK Guide. I started reading the PMBOK Guide (ouch, it is a tough read and should be completed over a longer period of time) while completing the Head First tutorial...

Continue reading: https://www.project-management-prepcast.com/index.php/kunena/lessons-learned/3860-nothing-like-passing-on-first-try

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#PMPChat: Biggest advise to someone who isn't formally PM?

@LionDarrin Apply PM principles to all your work even if it's not officially a project. By doing that you learn about PM. #pmpchat
— Cornelius Fichtner (@corneliusficht) February 13, 2015

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Freebie Friday: PM Exam Simulator

The Three R's You need for Your PMP Exam

PMP Exam Tip: Why do we need the communications channels formula?

Featured PMP Exam Lessons Learned from - Jeffrey Tripp, PMP

#PMPChat: Biggest advise to someone who isn't formally PM?

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