PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP®) Certificate

This post is for Project Management Institute (PMI)’s Agile Certified Practitioner(PMI-ACP) Certificate. Exam for this certificate is meant to test skills of agile practitioners. Pre-requisite for appearing in the exam includes having prior experience in general project management (2000+ hours) and agile specific project management (1500+ hours). Folks having prior PMP^® or PgMP^® automatically satisfy general project management experience and hence need not elaborate the experience while filling the form. Also pre-requisite requires having 21 contract hours earned in agile practice, which could include imparting or participating in agile training [Certified Scrum Master (CSM®), In-house agile training, Coaching Client, etc.]

My experience of the exam includes following tips

1. This exam tests knowledge on tools, techniques, processes, artifacts, etc. of those practicing agile. It includes knowledge on Scrum, XP, Kanban & Lean including each of the terminologies, ceremonies/meetings, roles, etc. associated with them

2. Its important to be familiar with agile specific principles and keywords including

• Agile Manifesto
• Agile Twelve Principles
• Adaptive Leadership, 
• Affinity Estimating,
• Agile Scaling Model
• Agile Leadership
• Agile Triangle
• Agile Earned Value Management (EVM)
• Definition of Done
• Burn Down Charts
• Burn Up Charts
• Chartering in Agile
• Collaboration
• Collocated or Distributed Teams
• Conflict Types or Levels of Conflict
• Continuous Integration
• Cumulative Flow Diagrams
• Customer Valued Prioritization
• Emotional Intelligence
• Empirical Process Control
• Escaped Defects
• Exploratory Testing
• Extreme Programming (XP) including roles, principles, TDD, CI, Pair Programming, etc.
• Fractional Assignments
• Information Radiator
• Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
• INVEST Model
• Iteration and Release Planning
• Lean including process, value, five why's, etc.
• Kanban including process, principles, task boards, etc.
• Kano Model
• Osmotic Communication (Open space or collocation advantage) 
• Pareto Principle
• Payback Period
• Relative Sizing 
• Refactoring
• Retrospections
• Risk Burn Down Charts
• Risk Exposure
• Scrum Ceremonies/Meetings (Release Planning, Sprint/Iteration Planning, Daily Scrum Meetings, Sprint Review, Sprint Retrospection)
• Servant Leadership
• Signal Card
• Story points (how to calculate them) 
• Use Cases
• Technical Debt 
• Triangulation
• User Stories
• Value Stream Mapping
• Velocity

3. I have been practicing Agile for 6 years and have digested most of the recommended reference books by PMI for this certification. Having said that when I tried answering the sample questions, was not getting more than 60%. That's when I realized that there are some gaps between practical and standard defined under PMI. After doing some googling, found AgileExams having some good set of questions and brought package of $49 for 9 months. 

4. Have to confess that going through this certification process was definitely beneficial for me as there are lot of things that I learned, which helped me improve upon certain processes that I follow. For example, how to control daily scrum meetings to not exceed more then 15 minutes, how earned value (Cost, Schedule) should be calculated for agile projects, getting familiar with keywords like osmotic communication, triangulation, servant leader, mapping agile values to my current projects, etc. 

5. I spent ~10 hours practicing the exams (short & long) and scheduled the exam in a prometric center, which luckily for me turned out to be less than a mile from my home and was having an opening slot within a day.

6. Allocated exam time is 3 Hours and consists of 120 questions. When I started the exam, I did answer the first question and then instead of 'marking' (middle button), pressed 'review' button (right bottom). It opened the review screen and I missed a beat, phew!!! :). I then went back to the exam screen and being little more attentive this time. After answering initial 2 -3 questions, found my rhythm & confidence and finished the exam within 40 minutes, marking ~10 questions. Took a break for using the restroom and finished reviewing the marked questions in next 5 minutes. I then spent some 1-2 minutes answering survey question about the prometric center and then it came on my screen something like " Congratulations on passing the PMI-ACP® examination"

7. I have prepared some notes on Agile Certified Practitioner exam, similar to my notes on My Notes on PMP® or My Notes on PgMP®, which I will be sharing in my next post. 

Following are some useful links which have free sample tests

1. http://www.agileexams.com/

2. http://starpmo.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=3

3. http://agiletraining.com/2011/09/24/pmi-acp-agile-certification-exam-study-tips/

4. http://pmiacptraining.com/

5. http://whitewaterprojects.com/pmi-acp-sample-exam/#

6. http://www.agiledream.com

7. http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=pmiacp

8. http://www.rmcproject.com/pmi-acp/pmi-acp-FreeContent.aspx

9. https://www.keysurvey.com/votingmodule/s180/survey/349789/69ea/

10. https://insite.velociteach.com/pmi_acp_practiceTest_A.aspx

How to say it

My fourth project from toastmasters competent communicator manual is 'How to say it'. I was thinking about what speech should I give for this project and that's when I realized that it is not about what I say but is about 'how I say'. So as part of today's speech, I have this story, which was told by my uncle when I was young. Title of today's speech, well, let me share it at the end. This way I can at least ensure that my fellow toastmasters & honored guests stay absorbed.
Story revolves around a fictitious character, places and events. Let us call the character John. John is a very hard working person who has a lovely wife and 2 kids. He is the sole breadwinner of his family and works very hard to keep his job. A job, which is not easy, especially because John has an eccentric boss who always does some weird things and has the knack of giving some very odd tasks to John. One time, the boss decides to learn Silvaneese, language spoken in a fictitious country, Silvan. So during that period, one day boss barges out of his cabin and hands over a piece of paper to John and tells him to go to Silvan and have the sentence written in Silvaneese, to be translated in English. Now this was pre internet era where we did not have the luxury of using a google or any other online translator. The Boss orders John to fly to Silvan that very evening and come back within a week. If John fails in his mission that he can look for another job. Now John needs to keep his job and reluctantly agrees to fly to Silvan.
John reaches Silvan and takes a cab to a very economical hotel since his boss had given just enough money. After finishing his check-in formalities, John decides to ask the receptionist to help translate the sentence. This way he can finish the task early and spend rest of the time going around tourist spots, as not very often he will get an opportunity like this to visit a foreign country. So he hands over the paper to the receptionist, requesting him to translate the sentence for him. Receptionist looks at the paper and then hands it back to John with an angry look and says very sternly, not to show this to anyone. John feels embarrassed and decides to stay in his room that evening. He gets up next day, showers and has breakfast in his room itself and then heads out. On his way out, he asks the hotel doorman if there is any good tourist place, which is at a walkable distance. Doorman guides him to a nearby park. In the park, John comes across an elderly person who is walking his dog. John thinks that the elderly person might have more empathy and would surely help him out. So John approaches the person and greets him. Old man greets back with a smile and this encourages John to open up. He asks the man if he could help him in translating a sentence in Silvaneese. Old man responds positively and John hands him the paper. Old man stares at the paper for a long time and then glares back at John angrily. He hands back the paper to John and orders his dog to go after John. John runs for his life and somehow climbs a tree to avoid the dog taking a pound of his flesh. Once the old man leaves with his dog, John musters the courage to climb down the tree and head back to the hotel. He does not come out of his room the whole day. John feels very depressed and is sure that he will most certainly lose the job. Thats when a housekeeper comes to clean up his room. Seeing her, John thinks about befriending her with the hope that she might help him. Next couple of days John is successful in making friendship with the lady but is still not comfortable in asking her help. So he decides to take the risk of extending his stay for couple of days more. Since he got short of money, instead of buying an air ticket, decides to go by ship unreserved. Day before he is supposed to leave, John musters the courage and confides in the lady that he needs a big favor from him. John shares all about his assignment and how important it is for him to keep his job. Lady feels very sorry for him and readily agrees to help him. John hands over the paper. Lady looks at it for some time and without saying a word, she lefts the room with tears in her eyes. John is heart broken and decides that its better he go back and search for another job. Next day he checks out and is waiting for the cab. That's when the housekeeper meets him at the door and passes the paper cautiously and tells John softly that she has translated the sentence and written it on the other side. She asks him not to read this in Silvan and wait to cross the border before reading. John thanks her profusely and gives a hug, saying that she did a big favor to him and takes the cab to catch the ship. Once in the ship, John is in an unreserved compartment full of people, so he does not get an opportunity to read the paper. Once the ship crosses Silvan border, John decides to head out to the deck and read the paper. He reaches the deck and makes sure that nobody is there before taking the paper out of his pocket to read it. John is full of anticipation and curiosity about what the sentence could possibly mean. He takes out the paper and is about to read it when a gush of wind blows the paper away. So the translated answer is in the air and into the dark and chilly sea water.
Fellow toastmasters & honored guests, Title of my speech is ' How to Say A Poor Joke'

Get to the point - Work & Personal Life Balance

Get to the point was my third speech at PSU toastmasters club. This was after my first Ice-breaker and second Organizing your speech speeches. Theme of my speech was 'Work & Personal Life Balance'

I started by explaining that in today's mechanical world, it is becoming more and more difficult to have a robust balance between work and personal life. Having priorities in life is important but more important is to manage them. I learned this even before I started my career. I have always been a firm believer in learning from other people's experiences in life. We need not step on a banana skin to understand the pain of slipping and falling.

This incident happened with me while I was doing my masters in Hyderabad, India. During that time, my parents were getting their house constructed and I used to visit the site to oversee the progress every now and then. During one such visit, I happened to meet this gentleman, who was working as an accountant for the construction company responsible for building the house. While there, we struck a conversation and started talking about different topics. That is when I came to know that earlier he was working for a reputed multinational company, with a fat package and in a good position. I expressed my surprise and curiosity to know how he ended up here and taking up a role, less glamorous and evidently paying less. That's when he shared his story, which struck with me since then. He was working in Mumbai, west of India for this large multinational company

He used to work for long hours, seven days a week. His day used to start at 4 AM, catching local train at 5 in the morning, spending time till 10 in the night at work and coming home at 11 PM. This was his routine for day in and day out, seven days a week.He had a wife, who was a home maker and a 3 year old son. His hectic work schedules were hardly giving him any time to spend with his wife or son. When he used to start for work in the morning, his son used to be still in bed and when he returned in the evening at 11 PM, son would have gone to bed. This was continuing for some time. One Sunday, he decided to stay home to spend time with his wife and son. He was excited and got up early, waiting in anticipation for his son to get up. He sat in living room, reading Sunday newspaper while waiting. After sometime he saw his son get up and come to where he was sitting. His son looked at him, gave a puzzled look and went into the kitchen where his wife was preparing breakfast. The man got up and followed his son into the kitchen. What happened after that completely changed his outlook towards life. He entered the kitchen and overheard his son asking his wife, 'Mum, who is this uncle?'. Next day he quit his high profile job and moved to Hyderabad, taking less demanding one with more 9 AM - 5 PM schedule.

That day I learned a very valuable lesson, which struck with me till date. Its very important to set priorities in life. Keeping work - personal life balance is crucial, especially in this mechanical time.

Organizing your speech - Meaning lost in translation

My second speech at toastmasters club was about Organizing your speech. It was a hot seat speech. Hot seat speech is the one in which a speaker gives a speech without a prior intimation when some scheduled speaker does not show up. I was asked whether I am willing to give a speech and i took up the challenge. In the competent communication manual, the second speech is about Organizing your speech. This was going to be my second speech after the ice breaker speech. I selected the topic 'Meaning lost in translation'.
I started my speech by explaining how in day-day life there are many instances when we tend to lose the true meaning in translation gaps. I elaborated this by sharing two incidents. First one I heard while I was learning Japanese language in Ramakrishna Math and the second one was one, which I experienced.


First incident was about this German scholar who came to give a session in one of the Indian universities. Since the scholar had very limited grasp over English, he was provided with a translator to translate his speech while he was delivering. During the speech, scholar thought of lightening things up and said that he would like to narrate a joke. And then went ahead and told the joke in German for couple of minutes. After finishing, the scholar looked at the translator for him to do his bit. Translator said something for few seconds and entire audience started laughing. Scholar was obviously impressed and asked the translator, how he was able to translate a couple of minutes long German joke into few seconds long in English language? Translator looked embarrassed and sheepishly admitted to the scholar that he actually did not get the joke. So he told the audience that since the scholar took so much effort in sharing a joke, please make sure that you all laugh


Second incident happened with me while I was working in Japan. I learned Japanese language till level III and was comfortable enough to have small conversations. But I understood my true limitations when I reached Japan and actually stated listening to native Japanese speak. One evening, I and 3 of my colleagues decided to have dinner at KFC. We went after work around 6:15 PM to KFC. Once there, lady at the counter said something in Japanese, even gesturing at the clock. I interpreted it as that the lady was indicating that if we come after 7, its like happy hours or something. I shared this with my colleagues and we all thought that if we can save few bucks, it makes sense to just wait. So we headed out and decided to kill the time by roaming around in the streets of Kawasaki near Musashi-Shinjō Station. One of my colleague was finding it little uncomfortable since he wanted to use a rest room but decided to wait till 7 and use the one in KFC. We roamed in the streets for 45 minutes during a chilly evening and once it was 7 PM, went back to KFC. Once we were in, lady in the counter greeted us and gave us a menu to choose from. I tried asking her about 'happy hours after seven' and she looked surprised. She said she was earlier indicating that if we are interested to wait, then after 7 PM there would be more menu items to choose from. Well, rest I leave it to your imagination when I shared it with my colleagues, especially the reaction from the guy, who wanted to use the rest room desperately.

I shared these two incidents to explain the topic of my speech 'Meaning lost in translation'. I concluded it by sharing how most of the Indians face a cultural gap when new in US of A. Most Indians have this tendency to nod their heads more diagonally side to side,

confusing Americans, who are never sure whether we are responding with a 'yes' or a 'no' to their question. That's when they specifically ask us to nod head straight sideways if its a 'no'

or vertically up and down if its a 'yes'


This was my hot seat and second speech at PSU toastmsters club 'Organizing your speech - Meaning lost in translation'

My 'Ice-breaker' speech at toastmasters club

I finally took the plunge of joining a toastmasters club. After being encouraged by couple of friend cum colleagues, David Johnson and Jayesh Mittal, I joined Portland State University's PSU toastmaster club. Intent of joining the club was multi-fold. Meet people from different walks of life, hone my communication, presentation & soft skills and improve the ability to think and speak on your feet (Table Topics).
So this week I gave my ice breaker speech. Theme of my speech was 'Stories that influenced my life". There are three stories that have a profound influence on me. Let me take this opportunity to share them with you. First story was told to me by my best & greatest teacher, my mum.

Story#1 (Old man, son & donkey)

Once upon a time there was an old man, his son and their donkey. One day they all were traveling from one place to another. While embarking on their journey, they came across few passer-bys, who passed comments that how cruel the father is to make his young son walk in this hot son. Hearing the comments, the old man made his young son sit on the back of their donkey and continued with their journey. After some distance, they came across some other passer-bys, who passed comments that how cruel the son is to make his old man walk in this hot son. Hearing the comments, the young boy got down and made his old man sit on the back of their donkey. They continued with their journey and across some more passer-bys, who passed comments that how cruel the father is to make his young son walk in this hot son. Hearing the comments, old man asked his young son to join him on the back of the donkey and they moved on. After covering some distance, they came across another set of passer-bys, who passed comments that how cruel the father-son are to make their donkey work so hard carrying them both in this hot son. Hearing the comments, father & son got down and tied the donkey's legs to a pole and started carrying the donkey on their shoulders. After covering some distance, they came across a river. While crossing the river, father's feet slipped and donkey fell into the river and drowned. So the moral of the story is "You cannot satisfy everybody. So live your life the way you would like to."

Story#2 (Adi Shankaracharya)

The second story is about the evil called 'caste system' prevalent in our society. With the changing times, its hopefully getting eliminated with every new generation. So this story dates back to the time when society was more caste based, in which upper caste people never used to allow lower caste people into their homes or place of worship. They did not even used to tolerate the lower caste people crossing their paths or even their shadows to fall on them.
Adi Shankaracharya, famous philosopher who restored the Vedic Dharma and did the reinterpretations of Hindu scriptures, especially on Upanishads or Vedanta and who had a profound influence on the growth of Hinduism, was born in an upper caste family. One day he embarked on the journey to seek God. While traveling he came across a shepherd, belonging to a lower caste. Seeing him, Adi Shankaracharya said 'move aside, move aside'. Thats when the shepherd said, "My noble lord, whom are you asking to move aside? Are you asking my body to move aside or you are asking the God within me to move aside?".Thats when Adi Shankaracharya realized that there is a God within all of us and fell down on the feet of the shepherd. The shepherd was none other than Lord Shiva, God of destroyer who had taken the form of shepherd to help enlighten Adi Shankaracharya that there is God within all of us. One should treat all human beings equally and nothing can be more divine than this.

Story#3 (Swami Vivekananda)

Swami Vivekananda was an inspiring spiritual man, who wooed the world and especially Americans when he gave an inspiring speech beginning by addressing the audience as "Sisters and Brothers of America". One day he was walking in the streets of London. From the opposite direction there was this person coming, who was formally dressed in a suite and hat. Looking at Swami Vivekananda's attire with saffron robe and turban, the person started laughing. Swami Vivekananda asked him, "My dear friend what makes you laugh?". Hearing this, the man was taken aback and said, "You know how to speak english? But you do not look like a gentleman". Thats when Swami Vivekananda said "My dear friend, in your country a tailor makes a gentleman but in my country, character makes one"
I appreciate all the feedback I got after the speech from my speech evaluator and fellow toastmasters. Feedback was very helpful for me to know where I am doing well and where not so well. Before joining toastmasters club, I was asking myself whether I need to improve my skills especially since I get to hone them in the profile I have. I anyway get to talk in public, meetings, with different groups, across time zones and with people in person or virtually. But after attending toastmasters club, I realized this is one of the best decisions I have taken and its time well invested. I am getting an opportunity to talk in front of audience with whom I do not have any business or personal strings attached and who in all their wisdom and experience, are going to give me the best feedback to improve.

My Notes on PMBOK V4

These are my notes based on PMI's PMBOK V4. These are not extensive notes as I prepared notes keeping Program Management Professional (PgMP) Exam in mind and not Project Management Professional (PMP) exam.
For those interested in PMP exam, I had earlier shared following posts
1. My Notes on PMP
2. My Notes on PMP Formulas
3. For PMP Some Useful Links for Sample Questions
4. PMP Lessons Learned (Journey to PMP Certification)
which were essentially based on PMBOK V3 but in my opinion, some points are still relevant for current PMP exam.

NOTESPROJECT LIFE CYCLE & PHASES1. Characteristics of a general project life cycle include

• Cost and staffing levels are low at the start, peak as the work is carried out, and drop rapidly as the project draws to a close
• Stakeholder influences, risks and uncertainty are the greatest at the start of the project. These factors decrease over the life of the project
• Ability to influence the final characteristics of the project’s product, without significantly impacting the cost, is highest at the start of the project and decreases as the project progresses towards completion

2. The project life cycle goes through a series of phases to create the product

3. Phase end reviews are also called phase exits, phase gates, or kill points

4. A Project Phase is “Marked by the completion of one or more deliverables”. In other words, a project phase is generally concluded and formally closed with a review of the deliverables to determine completeness and acceptance

5. Formal phase completion does not necessarily include authorizing the subsequent phase. For instance, if the risk is deemed too great for the project to continue or if the objectives are no longer required, a phase can be closed with the decision to not initiate any other phases

6. There are three types of phase – phase relationships

• A sequential relationship: where a phase can only start once the previous phase is complete
• An overlapping relationship: where the phase starts prior to completion of the previous phase. This can sometimes be applied in schedule compression techniques like fast tracking
• An iterative relationship: where only one phase is planned at any given time and the planning for the next is carried out as the work progresses on the current phase and deliverables. This approach is useful in highly uncertain, undefined or rapidly changing environments such as research.

7. The Process Groups are NOT project phases. As projects are separated into distinct phases or subprojects such as feasibility study, concept development, design, prototype, build, test, etc, all of the Process Groups would normally be repeated for each phase or subproject

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
8. In a Weak Matrix structure, functional management will have more authority than the project manager and the project manager role is more of a project coordinator or expediter than that of a true project manager.

• Project Expediter: The 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

9. Complex and large projects would be more effectively managed in “Strong” and ‘Projectized” Structure/Matrix

10. In a balanced matrix, Power is shared. This is a combination of both Functional and Projectized. Resources would have two managers – Project Manager and Functional Managers. After Project Completion, resources go back to Functional department.
GENERAL POINTS
11. The outputs of process groups are:

• Initiating: Project charter
• Planning: project management plan;
• Executing: work results;
• Monitoring & Controlling: corrective actions;
• Closing: project product

12. Scope includes

• The project and product requirements,
• Criteria,
• Assumptions,
• Constraints, and
• Other influences related to a project

and how each will be managed or addressed within the project

13. 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

14. It is recommended that the project manager participate in the development of project charter, as the charter provides the project manager with the authority to apply resources to project activities

15. Projects are authorized by someone external to the project such as sponsor, PMO or portfolio steering committee

16. Stakeholder identification is a continuous process and can be difficult

17. The project initiator or sponsor should be at a level that is appropriate to funding the project. They will either create the charter or authorize project manager to do.

18. The initiator’s signature on the charter authorizes the project

19. The Statement Of Work (SOW) is a narrative description of products or services to be delivered by the project

20. SOW references

• Business Need: An organization’s business need may be based on a market demand, technological advance, legal requirement or government regulation
• Product Scope Description: This documents the characteristics of the product that the project will be undertaken to create. The description should also document the relationship between the products or services being created and the business need that the project will address
• Strategic Plan: Documents the organization’s strategic goals. Therefore, all projects should be aligned with the strategic plan

21. Business case or similar document provides the necessary information from a business standpoint to determine whether or not the project is worth the required investment.

22. Business case includes business need and cost-benefit analysis

23. A contract is an input to the charter if the project is being done for the external customer

24. Project baselines include but not limited to

• Schedule baseline
• Cost performance baseline and
• Scope baseline

25. Common formats for performance reports include bar charts, Scurves, histograms, and tables

26. Performance Reporting is a Controlling process. It creates Performance Reports, which are comparisons of performance to the performance baselines. These are typically done in tabular or graphical format.

27. The “Earned Value Technique” is a method to measure project performance against the project baseline

28. Change Requests include

• Corrective action: Documented direction for executing the project work to bring expected future performance of the project work in line with the project management plan
• Preventive action: A documented direction to perform an activity that can reduce the probability of negative consequences associated with the project risks
• Defect repair: The formally documented identification of a defect in a project component with a recommendation to either repair the defect or completely replace the component
• Updates: Changes to formally controlled documentation, plan, etc. to reflect modified or additional ideas or content

29. Benchmarking compares previous similar activities to the current project activities to provide a standard to measure performance against.

30. Project scope management includes the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully.

31. Managing the project scope is primarily concerned with defining and controlling what is and is not included in the project

32. Scope baseline of the project include

• Approved detailed project scope statement,
• Its associated WBS and
• WBS dictionary

33. The scope baseline is then monitored, verified and controlled throughout the lifecycle of the project

34. The stakeholder register is used to identify stakeholders that can provide information on detailed project and product requirements

35. Several group activities can be organized to identify project and product
requirements. Some of the group creativity techniques that can be used are:

• Brainstorming: A technique used to generate and collect multiple ideas related to project and product requirements
• Nominal group technique: This technique enhances brainstorming with a voting process used to rank the most useful ideas for further brainstorming or prioritization
• The Delphi technique: A selected group of experts answers questionnaires and provides feedback regarding the responses from each round of requirements gathering. The responses are only available with the facilitator to maintain anonymity
• Idea/mind mapping: Ideas created through individual brainstorming are consolidated into a single map to reflect commonality and differences in understanding, and generate new ideas
• Affinity diagram: The technique allows large numbers of ideas to be sorted into groups for review and analysis

36. There are multiple methods of reaching a group decision including

• Unanimity: Everyone agrees on a single course of action
• Majority: Support from more than 50% of the group
• Plurality: The largest block in a group decides even if a majority is not achieved
• Dictatorship: One individual makes the decision for the group

37. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a deliverable oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team, to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables, with each descending level of the WBS representing an increasingly detailed definition of the project work.

38. The WBS is a decomposition of all the deliverables the project will create

39. The work package level is the lowest level in the WBS. Time and cost estimation is easily determined at this level as are resource assignments. Quality control measurements can be determined at this level as well

40. Each element in the WBS is assigned a unique identifier. These are collectively known as the code of accounts. Typically, these codes are associated with a corporate chart of accounts and are used to track the costs of the individual work elements in the WBS

41. Level one of the WBS is the project itself

42. A ‘Planning Package” is a WBS component below the control account but above the work package. It is used for planning unknown work content that does not have detailed schedule activities

43. Control account Plan (CAP) is a management control point where the integration of scope, budget and schedule take place and where the measurement of performance takes place. These CAPS are placed at the selected management points in the WBS.

44. A Control Account is a management control point where scope, cost and schedule are integrated and compared to the earned value for performance measurement. They are placed at selected management points of the WBS above the Work Package Level

45. Each Control Account may include one or more work packages, but each of the work packages must be associated with only one control account

46. WBS Dictionary” is a document which describes the details for each component in the WBS. It includes a brief description of the of the “Scope” or “Statement of the work”, defined deliverables, a list of associated activities, and a list of milestones

47. Scope Verification differs from Quality Control in that scope verification is primarily concerned with acceptance of the deliverables, while quality control is primarily concerned with correctness of the deliverable and meeting the quality requirements specified for the deliverables

48. Scope Baseline includes Project Scope Statement, WBS, WBS Dictionary

49. Scope Verification

• Verified work results

50. Perform Quality Control

• Assured quality requirements were met

51. You can remember the difference between Scope Verification and Perform
Quality Control this way:

• Scope Verification = accepting work results
• Perform Quality Control = checking for correct work results (assuring that the quality requirements are met)

52. Control Quality is generally performed before Verify Scope but these two processes can be performed in parallel

53. Scope verification must take place at the end of each phase

54. Scope Verification is done during Project monitoring and controlling BUT Product verification is done during the Project Closing

55. Control scope is the process of monitoring the status of the project and product scope and managing changes to the scope baseline

56. Rolling Wave Planning is a form of progressive elaboration planning where the
work to be accomplished in the near term is planned in detail and future work
is planned at a higher level of the WBS

57. In an environment where there is a great degree of flexibility or instability, it's good to
use a rolling wave planning approach. This approach allows team members to plan as
much as possible. While executing that part of the plan, they continue to plan future
work as they learn more about it

58. A milestone is a significant point or event in the project

59. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) includes four dependencies or logical
relationships:

• Finish to Start (FS):
• Finish to Finish (FF):
• Start to Start (SS):
• Start to Finish (SF):

60. Finish to start is the most commonly used logical relationship in PDM and most project management software packages.

61. PDM uses one time estimate to determine duration, while ADM can use more than one time estimate.

62. In Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) or Activity on Node (AON) network diagrams, nodes are activities and arrows are dependencies

63. Mandatory dependency, also known as hard logic. Mandatory dependencies are inherent in the nature of the work

64. Discretionary dependencies, also called preferred logic, preferential logic, and soft logic, are defined by the project team

65. A lead allows an acceleration of the successor activity

66. A lag directs a delay in the successor activity

67. Analogous estimating is not a qualitatively based technique. It is a top-down estimating technique that considers previous similar activities when calculating estimates

68. Analogous estimating is generally less expensive and time consuming but also less accurate

69. Parametric estimating multiplies a known element—such as the quantity of materials needed—by the time it takes to install or complete one unit of materials. The result is a total estimate for the activity

70. Three point Estimate originated from Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), which uses a weighted average formula to predict the length of activities and the project. Specifically, PERT uses a 'pessimistic,' 'optimistic,' and 'most likely' estimate to predict when the project will be completed

71. Critical Path Method (CPM) manages the total float of schedule networks paths, whereas Critical Chain manages buffer activity durations and resources

72. The critical path is the longest path to completion in the network diagram.

73. Activities on the critical path have no float or slack.

74. Free float is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the next activity's scheduled start date.

75. Total float is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the project end date.

76. Resource leveling can cause the original critical path to change. It is used when shared or critical required resources are only available at certain times, are only available in limited quantities, or to keep resource usage at a constant level

77. Heuristic is simply a rule of thumb

78. Crashing involves adding resources to activities in order to decrease their duration, which typically increases cost

79. Fast tracking adds risk as tasks are allowed to overlap

80. Rough order of magnitude is “rough” and is used during the Initiating processes and in range of +50/-50

81. There are three generally accepted categories of estimating accuracy:

• Rough order of magnitude This estimate is “rough” and is used during the Initiating processes and in top-down estimates. The range of variance for the estimate can be –25 percent to +75 percent.
• Budget estimate This estimate is also somewhat broad and is used early in the planning processes and also in top-down estimates. The range of variance for the estimate can be –10 percent to +25 percent.
• Definitive estimates This estimate type is one of the most accurate. It is used late in the planning processes and is associated with bottom-up estimating. The range of variance for the estimate can be –5 percent to +10 percent

82. Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) estimates are also knows as conceptual, ballpark or preliminary estimates

83. The opportunity cost is the amount of the project that was not chosen

84. Money already spent on a project is called sunk costs and should not be taken into consideration when determining if a project should continue. Instead, the cost of the work to complete is one of the elements that should be taken into consideration when considering to kill a project

85. Variance analysis involves comparing actual project results to planned or expected results.

86. Trend analysis involves examining project results over time to determine if performance is improving

87. Earned Value Management compares the baseline plan to actual schedule and cost performance.

88. BCR (Benefit Cost Ratio) compares the benefits to the costs of the project where the Benefits are the same as Revenues or often referred to as the “Payback period”

89. Management Horizon is also known as the Payback Period, which is the amount of time it takes for the program to break even on the investment. In business and economics, payback period refers to the period of time required for the return on an investment to repay the sum of the original investment. As it does not properly account for the time value of money, risk, financing, or any other important considerations such as the opportunity cost, the payback period is considered as method of analysis with serious limitations and qualifications for its use.

90. One concern is that as the payback period measure does not take into account benefits delivered after the payback period it does not measure profitability

91. Parametric (Top – Down) uses historical data and statistical relationships to determine costs

92. Each resource in the project must be accounted for and assigned to a cost category. Categories include the following:

• Labor costs
• Material costs
• Travel costs
• Supplies
• Hardware costs
• Software costs
• Special categories (inflation, cost reserve, and so on)

93. Quality is defined as the degree to which the project fulfills requirement

94. Quality MUST BE PLANNED IN AND NOT INSPECTED IN

95. The Project Manager ultimately has the responsibility for the Product of the Project and

96. Senior Management is responsible for the Quality of entire Organization

97. Cost of quality involves three types of costs:

• Prevention,
• Appraisal, and
• Failure costs
• • Internal costs and
• • External costs

98. Failure cost is also known as the cost of poor quality.
Internal failure costs – Failures found by the project
External failure costs – Failures found by the customer

99. Internal failure costs are costs associated with not meeting the customer’s expectations while you still had control over the product. This results in rework, scrapping, and downtime

100. External failure costs include Liabilities

• Warranty work
• Lost business

101. Quality Assurance (Executing) is focused on process: process analysis, quality audits, etc.

102. Quality Control (Monitoring and Controlling) is focused on sampling results to see if they meet quality standards.

103. Philip B. Crosby = Zero defects and prevention or rework results.
104. Juran = Fitness for use, conformance. Quality by design.
105. Fitness for use involves establishing what the customer needs and attempting to deliver it to them
106. Joseph M. Juran is noted for his fitness for use premise. Simply put, this means the stakeholders’ and customers’ expectations are met or exceeded.
107. W. Edwards Deming suggested that as much as 85 percent of the cost of quality is a management problem
108. Shewhart = Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle.
109. TQM = Quality must be managed in and must be a continuous process.
110. Total Quality Management (TQM) involves being proactive, utilizing accountability and leadership, and continuously improving as a company
111. Six Sigma = Six Sigma is a measurement-based strategy; no more than 3.4 defects per million.
112. Kaizen = Continuous improvement; improve quality of people first.
113. Kaizen involves proactively improving the organization and continuously trying to improve as an organization.
114. Continuous improvement = Watch continuously for ways to improve quality.
115. Benchmarking compares previous similar activities to the current project activities to provide a standard to measure performance against
116. Design of experiments (DOE) is a statistical method for identifying which factors may influence specific variables of a product or process under development or in production
117. The Design of experiments approach relies on statistical what-if scenarios to determine what variables within a project will result in the best outcome. Design of experiments approach is most often used on the product of the project, rather than the project itself. For example, a project team creating a new bicycle may experiment with the width of the tires, the weight of the frame, and the position of the handlebars in relation to the bike seat to determine the most comfortable ride at an acceptable cost to the consumer.
118. Five stages of a team development

• Forming
• Storming
• Norming
• Performing
• Adjourning

119. Techniques for resolving conflicts

• Withdrawing/Avoiding - Retreating
• Smoothing/Accommodating - Emphasizing on agreements than disagreements
• Compromising – Satisfying all parties
• Forcing – Pushing one’s viewpoint
• Collaborating – Incorporating multiple view points and driving consensus
• Confronting/Problem Solving – Head on with give-and-take policy and open dialogue

120. Forcing uses a direct order.
121. Smoothing focuses on the positive and distracts attention from the negative.
122. Compromise is consent based on mutual concession.
123. Problem solving attempts to work out the solution to the actual problem
124. There are five types of powers the project manager yields: ( E R F C R)

• Expert: The authority of the project manager comes from experience with the technology the project focuses on.
• Reward The project manager has the authority to reward the project team.
• Formal The project manager has been assigned by senior management and is in charge of the project. Also known as positional power.
• Coercive (Penalty) The project manager has the authority to discipline the project team members. This is also known as “penalty power.” When the team is afraid of the project manager, it’s coercive.
• Referent The project team personally knows the project manager. Referent can also mean the project manager refers to the person who assigned him the position—for example, “The CEO assigned me to this position so we’ll do it this way.” This power can also mean the project team wants to work on the project or with the project manager due to the high priority and impact of the project

125. The best forms of powers include Expert and Reward. Penalty is the worst
126. Formal, Reward and Powers are derived from the PM’s position in the company
127. Expert is earned on your own
128. The key components of the communication model include:

• Encode. To translate thoughts or ideas into a language that is understood by others.
• Message. The output of encoding.
• Medium. The method used to convey the message.
• Noise. Anything that interferes with the transmission and understanding of the message (e.g., distance).
• Decode. To translate the message back into meaningful thoughts or ideas

129. A risk is an uncertain event that could have a positive or negative effect on your project

130. Strategies for “Negative Risks or threats” (Avoid Transfer Mitigate)

131. Strategies for “Postive Risks or Opportunities” (Exploit Share Ehance)

132. Common Strategy for both threats and opportunities is “Acceptance”
133. There are 3 stages of “reaction to stress” (Alarm, Resistance & Exhaustion)
134. Risk Response Strategies
Threats
o Avoid – remove the cause of the risk so that it never materializes
o Mitigate – reduce the probability and or impact of the risk
o Transfer – transfer the risk to another party; usually done with insurance, performance bonds, warranties, guarantees or outsourcing the work.

Opportunities
o Exploit – make sure the opportunity occurs, you can add work or make a change to the project
o Enhance – increase the probability and or positive impact of the risk
o Share – share the opportunity with a third party to be able to take advantage of the opportunity
135. For both Threats & Opportunities
o Accept
Active acceptance – preparing a contingency reserve of cost or time
Passive acceptance – preparing for the dealing with the effects of the risk after the risk has occurred
136. Workarounds are unplanned responses. Workarounds deal with negative risk events as they occur. As the name implies, workarounds were not previously known to the project team. The risk event was unplanned, so no contingency plan existed to deal with the risk event, and thus it required a workaround Contingency Plans can be best described as “Planned responses to Risk Events”
137. Contingency Plan document outlines the actions to be taken if an identified risk event should occur
138. “Utility Theory” considers the pains or tolerance level a stakeholder has to risk
139. Residual Risk are those that “Remain” after Risk Responses have been taken
140. There are three key components to a Risk

• Risk Event (The Event)
• Probability of the Event
• Impact or Effects of the Event (Amount at Stake)

141. Delhi technique is a “Consensus Technique”
142. Risk is the notion of dealing with “Uncertainty”

• Knows at the extreme end of the Uncertainty Spectrum will definitely affect you, although you have no control over them
• Knows-Unknowns are items that will affect you although you are not able to predict how or how much they will effect you
• Unknown–Unknowns are items or situations whose existence we cannot imagine(Who knows?)

143. Fast tracking adds risk as tasks are allowed to overlap
144. Historical information is always an excellent source of information for risk identification
145. Brainstorming is likely the most common approach to risk identification
146. Force majeure is a powerful and unexpected event, such as a hurricane or other disaster
147. Fait accompli is a tactic used during contract negotiations where one party convinces the other that the particular issue is no longer relevant or cannot be changed
148. Some of the traits/qualities exhibited by effective leaders are Flexibility, Ambition, Intelligence, Decisiveness, Creativity, Persistence and Energy
149. Project manager must possess following interpersonal skills

• Leadership
• Team building
• Motivation
• Communication
• Influencing
• Decision making
• Political and cultural awareness and
• Negotiation

150. Ten most important skills and competencies for Project Managers

1. People skills
2. Leadership
3. Listening
4. Integrity, ethical behavior, consistent
5. Strong at building trust
6. Verbal communication
7. Strong at building teams
8. Conflict resolution, conflict management
9. Critical thinking, problem solving
10. Understands, balances priorities

PgMP Exam Objectives

Following are Project Management Institute (PMI)'s Program Management Professional (PgMP) Exam Objectives

DEFINING THE PROGRAM

• Perform a program assessment by defining the program objectives,requirements and establishing a high-level road map in order to ensure program alignment with the enterprise strategic plan or mission.
• Support business analysis functions in identifying marketplace needs for potential program offering in order to ensure program viability through researching, market analysis, and high-level cost-benefit analysis.
• Develop benefits realization plan by estimating the costs and benefits (ROI) of the program in order to establish the program feasibility and obtain funding.
• Perform a preliminary stakeholder analysis through RFP, contract, experience, and input from other sources in order to assess their position relative to the program.
• Establish alliances with other departments and organizations by recognizing dependencies in order to assess potential partnerships and commitment to the program.
• Evaluate the organization's capability by consulting with the groups involved with delivery in order to validate the program priority and alignment to the strategic objectives.
• Request authorization to proceed by presenting the program assessment for approval to the governance authorities in order to initiate the program.

INITIATING THE PROGRAM

• Define the program mission statement by assembling the stakeholders' concerns and expectations in order to establish program direction and set a baseline for any further action.
• Translate strategic objectives into high-level project scope statements by negotiating with stakeholders in order to create a program scope description.
  
• Develop a high-level milestone plan using goals and objectives of the program, applicable historical information, and other available resources in order to align program with expectations of sponsors and stakeholders.
• Develop an accountability matrix by identifying and aligning program roles and responsibilities in order to build the core team and to differentiate between the program and project resources.
• Establish project management standards within the program (governance, tools, finance and reporting) using industry best practices and enterprise standards in order to drive efficiency and consistency among projects.
• Define meaningful measurement criteria for success by analyzing stakeholder expectations and requirements across the constituent projects in order to accurately control program performance.
• Obtain senior management approval for the program by presenting the program charter with its high-level costs and benefits for the organization in order to receive authorization to proceed to the next phases.
• Conduct program kick-offs with stakeholders by holding a series of meetings in order to familiarize the organization with the program

PLANNING THE PROGRAM

• Develop a detailed program scope statement by incorporating program vision, objectives, out-of-scope items, schedule, financial milestones and legal/regulatory/safety concerns in order to aid in overall planning.
  
• Develop program scope definition using Work Breakdown Structure in order to determine the program deliverables and tasks.
• Establish the program management plan and baseline by integrating the plans for the constituent projects and creating the plans for the supporting program functions including management of scope, schedule, finance, benefits, quality, resource, procurement, risk response, change and communications in order to effectively forecast, monitor, and identify variances during program execution.
• Optimize the program plan by reviewing and leveling resource requirements (materials, equipment, facilities, finance, human capital, etc.) in order to gain efficiencies and synergies among projects.
• Define project management information system (PMIS) by selecting tools and processes to share knowledge, intellectual property and documentation across constituent projects in order to maximize synergies and savings.
• Develop the transition plan by defining exit criteria, policies and processes to ensure all administrative, commercial, and contractual obligations are met upon program completion

EXECUTING THE PROGRAM

• Consolidate project/program data (documented issues, status reviews, risks, financial reports, resources, etc.), using predefined reporting tools and methods to monitor program performance.
• Charter constituent projects by assessing project managers and allocating appropriate resources in order to meet program objectives.
• Motivate the team using appropriate tools and techniques in order to increase commitment to the program objectives.
• Establish program consistency by deploying uniform standards, resources, infrastructure, tools and processes in order to enable informed program decision making.
• Capture program status and data by ensuring the population of the program management information system (PMIS) in order to maintain accurate and current program information for the use of stakeholders.
• Execute the appropriate program plans (quality, risk, communication, staffing, etc.) by using the tools identified in the planning phase and by auditing the results of the use of these tools in order to ensure the program outcomes meet the stakeholder expectations and standards.
• Approve closure of the constituent projects upon completion through appropriate processes and procedures in order to obtain acceptance

CONTROLLING THE PROGRAM

• Analyze variance of costs, schedule, quality and risks by comparing actual values to planned values from the program plan, trends, and extrapolation in order to identify corrective actions necessary.
• Identify potential corrective actions by forecasting program outcomes using simulations, what-if scenarios and causal analysis in order to incorporate correctives actions into the program management plan.
• Manage change in accordance with the change management plan to control scope, quality, schedule, cost, and contracts.
• Address program level issues by identifying and selecting a course of action by taking into account the program constraints and objectives in order to enable continued program progress.

CLOSING THE PROGRAM

• Complete a performance analysis report by gathering final values and comparing to planned values for quality, cost, schedule, and resources data in order to determine program performance.
• Manage program completion by executing the transition plan (initiate benefits realization measurement, release the resources and acknowledge individual performance, perform administrative closure, obtain acceptance, transfer ongoing activities to functional organization) in order to close out the program.
• Conduct the stakeholder post-review meeting by presenting the program performance report in order to obtain feedback and capture lessons learned.
  
• Report lessons learned via appropriate methodologies to support future program or organizational improvement