Lessons learned towards becoming a Project Management Professional (PMP)^® shared with us by PM PrepCast student Siyamak Javadian, PMP.

"I passed my PMP^® exam on my first try yesterday in the city of Saskatoon/Canada. I got above target. Here I would like to share my study plan and a few tips.

1. Watching PrepCast videos and reviewing A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide): I started on August 1, 2018, with listening to PrepCast videos. After each chapter, I reviewed the book as well, which took much less time since I have already watched the related videos. During watching the videos, I was stopping the video, making notes and while reviewing the book I was making more notes. This process took me almost 6 weeks. Note that I had some free time because of my situation and I could spend on average 5 hrs/day.
2. Take tests and find gaps: Then I started taking Simulation exams. I took Simulation exam 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 at this point. The reason I jumped to Exam 8 was that this exam is just about Tools and techniques and could show me how good I am with the processes. As a result of these exams, I decided to spend some time and reviewed Rita’s book very quickly. It took me just 4 days to review Rita book. Then I reviewed my summary notes which I had made from first time reviewing the PMBOK^® Guide, Rita, and watching PrepCast videos..."

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You are developing the communications management plan for a construction project. You want to determine the information needs of the project stakeholders, specifically focusing on the type and the format of information that will be required to communicate with the stakeholders. What is your best course of action?

A. Develop the stakeholder register
B. Review the requirements documentation
C. Conduct a communication requirements analysis
D. Consult the stakeholder engagement plan

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HINT: What tool or technique associated with the Plan Communications Management process determines the information needs of the project stakeholders?
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All our questions are updated to the latest A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) standard. Stop by at http://free.pm-exam-simulator.com/ and try the PM Exam Simulator free for 7 days. We are a Project Management Institute (PMI)^® Registered Education Provider.

Answer and Explanation:
The correct answer is C.

The question implies that you are performing the Plan Communications Management process with the development of the communications management plan. Communication requirements analysis is one of the tools and techniques that may be used in this process. Analysis of communication requirements determines the information needs of the project stakeholders. These requirements are defined by combining the type and format of information needed with an analysis of the value of that information. Therefore, of the available answer choices, conducting a communication requirements analysis is the best course of action in this scenario.

Details for each option:

A. Develop the stakeholder register
Incorrect. According to the scenario, the project is in planning. The stakeholder register is first developed during the Identify Stakeholders process which belongs to the Initiating Process Group.

B. Review the requirements documentation
Incorrect. The requirements documentation provides a description of how individual requirements meet the business need for the project. Although the requirements documentation may provide useful information in developing the communications management plan, the requirements documentation addresses project requirements rather than communication requirements.

C. Conduct a communication requirements analysis
Correct. Analysis of communication requirements determines the information needs of the project stakeholders. These requirements are defined by combining the type and format of information needed with an analysis of the value of that information.

D. Consult the stakeholder engagement plan
Incorrect. The stakeholder engagement plan identifies the management strategies required to engage stakeholders effectively. These strategies are often fulfilled via communications. Although the stakeholder engagement plan serves as an input into the Plan Communications Management process, the information needs of the project stakeholders are determined by the analysis of communication requirements.

Reference: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute Inc., 2017, Page(s) 369

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Which of the following processes uses independent estimates of the cost of a procurement item?

A. Conduct Procurements
B. Close Procurements
C. Plan Procurement Management
D. Control Procurements

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HINT: Think of the purpose of independent estimates.
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All our questions are updated to the latest A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) standard. Stop by at http://free.pm-exam-simulator.com/ and try the PM Exam Simulator free for 7 days. We are a Project Management Institute (PMI)^® Registered Education Provider.

Answer and Explanation:
The correct answer is A.

During the proposal evaluation, the organization may need to use independent estimates to benchmark against the seller responses. Significant gaps may imply the deficiency of the statement of work or misunderstanding of the requirements, while other processes, such as Plan Procurement Management or Control Procurements, do not require the project to conduct such estimation.

Details for each option:

A. Conduct Procurements
Correct. When evaluating sellers' proposals, the procuring organization may need to estimate the costs of procurement items independently to benchmark against proposed responses.

B. Close Procurements
Incorrect. The PMBOK^® Guide does not include Close Procurements as a project management process.

C. Plan Procurement Management
Incorrect. The focus of the Plan Procurement Management process is to document the procurement decisions, identify the approach and potential sellers, and whether independent estimates will be needed. However, it does not use independent estimates.

D. Control Procurements
Incorrect. The focus of the Control Procurement Management process is to ensure that all relevant parties fulfill their obligations agreed in the contract, so it is not necessary to conduct estimating during the Control Procurement process.

Reference: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute Inc., 2017, Page(s) 485

Lessons learned towards becoming a Project Management Professional (PMP)® shared with us by PM PrepCast student Chethan Rajashekar, PMP.

"The materials I used:

1. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) - Sixth Edition
2. Rita Mulcahy 9th edition
3. PrepCast simulator

I studied for 3 months. I read the PMBOK^® Guide once, it was very dry and could not grasp everything, purchased Rita Mulcahy guide read it once and was able to relate the concepts. Then read Rita Mulcahy guide the second time, and started reading the PMBOK^® Guide and watching the PrepCast videos for those corresponding concepts.

I took all simulator exams, I went through the first 4 exams in study mode (which do not have time/stopwatch ticking and also you can get the explanation of each question without waiting for the exam to end), I took the exams 5,6,7 and scored 73%, 63%, and 69% respectively, I was very disappointed with my scores, but went through the wrong answers and analyzed why I was wrong..."

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