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You are leading a project to build an oil pipeline in a foreign country, and you are looking for local contractors to outsource some of the construction work. You are in the process of preparing the bid package for prospective sellers. Which of the following documents would you leave out of the package?

A. Request for proposal
B. Statement of work
C. Independent cost estimates
D. Source selection criteria

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HINT: To answer this question correctly, you need to consider the flow of information between the buyer and prospective sellers before the procurement selections are made.
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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.

Preparing the bid package for prospective sellers implies you are carrying out the Plan Procurement Management process. Bid documents (with the request for proposal (RFP) among them), procurement statement of work (SOW), source selection criteria, independent cost estimates are among the outputs of this process. These documents are also among the inputs to the Conduct Procurements process. However, not all of these documents are provided by the buyer to the prospective sellers. Sometimes, to benchmark procurements, the buying organization develops independent cost estimates either internally or using external resources such as a professional estimator. Buyers do not usually provide these estimates to the prospective sellers since a benchmark range may prejudice the sellers into proposing prices that do not actually work for their business model and resources. The buyer uses these benchmark estimates principally to verify if bids are reasonable, or if a large number of outliers indicate an issue with procurement processes or communications. Thus, of the choices provided, leaving the independent cost estimates out of the bid package makes the most sense and is, therefore, the best answer to the question asked.

Details for each option:

A. Request for proposal
Incorrect. The RFP, along with the request for information (RFI), and request for quotation (RFQ) are all bid documents that directly invite prospective sellers to bid for the project so that they may be included in the selection analysis. One of these types of documents should be in the bid package.

B. Statement of work
Incorrect. The SOW describes in detail the required products, services, or results. Without such detail, prospective sellers may not be able to determine if they can fulfill the requirements. Either the SOW or a similar document, terms of reference (TOR), should be in the bid package.

C. Independent cost estimates
Correct. The buying organization develops independent cost estimates either internally or using external resources such as a professional estimator. Buyers do not usually provide these estimates to the prospective sellers, because they are primarily for internal benchmarking purposes.

D. Source selection criteria
Incorrect. Competitive selection methods may require sellers to invest a large amount of time and resources upfront. Therefore, it is a good practice to include the evaluation method in the procurement documents, so bidders know how they will be evaluated.

Reference: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute Inc., 2017, Page(s) 477-479, 485

The PMP® Exam is a computer-based exam with 200 multiple-choice questions. This means that each question has exactly one correct answer. The exam will give you exactly four hours to answer these questions. If you prepared well, this should be a breeze. Most find four hours to be more than sufficient for the exam. (It took me 3 hours and 58 minutes because I wasn't feeling well on that day.) Out of these 200 questions, 25 questions are pretest questions. These are randomly placed throughout the exam and are used for research purposes. These questions will not count towards your final score. But even though you will only be evaluated on the basis of 175 questions you still must answer all 200 because you won't know which ones are the 25 pretest questions.

PMI does not release the actual score that is required for you to pass the exam. All they tell us is that "The passing score for all PMI credential examinations is determined by sound psychometric analysis." So nobody but PMI knows how many questions you have to answer correctly in order to pass.

This is important: Remember that there is no negative marking on the exam. This means that you are not penalized for questions that you answered incorrectly. There is just "correct" or "wrong" for the scoring. This means that if you leave any questions unanswered they will be counted as "wrong". So remember not to leave any question unanswered. You need to answer them all.

After you click on finish and submit the exam, you will see on-screen whether you passed or failed. This takes about 10 seconds but feels like an eternity. You will also receive a printed examination report that tells you how you did in the various domains.

To feel confident that you can do it, you must have undergone enough preparations and must have taken practice exams several times based on the lessons learned from the study materials of your choice.

Until Next Time,
Cornelius Fichtner, PMP, CSM
The PM PrepCast - http://www.project-management-prepcast.com

In which of the following communications skills is mirroring an important technique?

A. Nonverbal
B. Communication competence
C. Feedback
D. Organic

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HINT: Mirroring is a physical, subconscious reflection of the undertones in a conversation, which builds rapport.
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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

Mirroring is a subconscious nonverbal behavior, where one person adopts the gesture, body language, or speech pattern of another person during communication, which builds rapport between the sender and the recipient of a message. For example, people who are passionate about a topic lean forward while talking, and the listeners who are interested in the topic cannot help but lean in as well. In the case of a speech pattern, some people whose goal is to fit in with a new group may subconsciously adopt the tempo, volume, and pitch of speech during a conversation. Mirroring happens naturally; even babies use mirroring to start the process of attachment and learning. Mirroring is a natural part of charisma, and the skill can be studied and reinforced in a professional setting. Because mirroring is predominantly nonverbal, this behavior falls under nonverbal communication skills.

Details for each option:

A. Nonverbal
Correct. Nonverbal communication involves using appropriate body language to transmit meaning through gesture, vocal tone, and facial expression. Mirroring and eye contact are also important techniques. The team members should be aware of how they are expressing themselves through what they say and what they don't say.

B. Communication competence
Incorrect. Communication competence is a combination of tailored communication skills that considers factors such as clarity of purpose in key messages, effective relationships, information sharing, and leadership behaviors. The mirroring technique is not considered communication competence.

C. Feedback
Incorrect. Feedback is information about reactions to communications, a deliverable, or a situation. Feedback supports interactive communication between the project manager, team, and all other project stakeholders. Examples include coaching, mentoring, and negotiating. Since the mirroring technique does not provide a response from the perspective of the recipient, mirroring is not considered a feedback skill.

D. Presentations
Incorrect. A presentation is a formal delivery of information and/or documentation. Clear and effective presentations of project information to relevant stakeholders may include progress reports, background information to support decision making, information about project objectives to promote the profile of the project or increase support for the project. The mirroring technique is not considered a formal delivery of a message. Therefore, mirroring would not be considered a presentation skill.

Reference: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute Inc., 2017, Page(s) 384, 363; see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirroring_(psychology)

Today, we welcome Sunil Prashara (LinkedIn Profile) who is the President and CEO of the Project Management Institute (PMI)®.

This interview was recorded at the PMI® Global Conference 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. We discuss Sunil's responsibilities within PMI, how project management is changing the world, delve into PMI's transformational journey and touch upon how PMI members can help the organization succeed in today's constantly evolving environment.

Here is what one of my colleagues had to say after listening to the interview:

"Bravo! That was an awesome interview! I was very impressed with Sunil, on many levels. He is a true visionary who knows himself and the changing world around him. He is an excellent speaker who understands project management, PMI, and it’s potential future.

This is an interview that many people will listen to and say, "Wow! This is where the future of project management and PMI is headed and it’s inspiring."

Jonathan Hebert, PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP

I cannot agree more with what Jonathan is saying. This is one of our best podcast interviews.

In the interview, we also mention The CEO Corner and Straight Talk with Sunil, where he invites PMI staff to talk about what's going on behind the scenes at PMI. Check it out!

Read more here...

Click here to listen to the interview...