S2 PMP

Session 2 Welcome and Introductions

  • Greeting and welcome to session two of the prototype minimum viable product beta testing.
  • Feedback is highly valued for ongoing improvements.
  • Project is adaptive; features, functions, and capabilities are added based on learning and priority.
  • There are 21 participants, 19 excluding the speakers.

Wins and Shout-Outs

  • Applications reviewed are considered genius, with impressive careers, service, and sacrifices.
  • Specific shout-outs to Franklin, Sonia, Kevin, Hunter, and Mark for their applications.
  • Commitment, project management experience, and progress are celebrated.
  • Appreciation for Brian's communication regarding Skillsoft (Percipio) access.
  • Cohort 34 or cohorts with expired Percipio access should receive an alumni benefits email.
  • If issues persist, contact Emily or Patty for Percipio access support.
  • Two videos related to step eight are in production: one about the PMP exam and another on accessing Percipio resources. They will be available along with the session replay.

Accountability Polls

  • First poll: Application approval status.
    • 50% of participants have applications approved (up from 46% last week).
    • Two are awaiting results.
    • Some have completed but not yet submitted.
    • Some are in progress.
  • Second poll: Completion of weeks one and two assignments.
    • 65% have completed the assignments.
    • 35% are working on them.

Session Objectives and Approach

  • Goal: Teach to the test by offering exam insights and strategies.
  • Aim: Prepare participants for the exam by focusing on critical analysis of questions, not just curriculum re-teaching.
  • Request: Continued live participation.
  • Beta test goal: Determine an achievable number of questions per session.

Agenda

  • Four-factor analysis for approaching questions
    *Study aids for a better outcome on the exam
  • Organizational structures (projectized, matrix, functional, PMOs)
  • Strategic alignment and business documents
  • Types of business value
  • Organizational change management frameworks
  • Compliance review

Analyzing PMP Exam Questions: Four Factors

  • PMP Approach:
    • Identify the project management approach (agile, predictive, hybrid) relevant to the question.
    • Understanding the approach is critical because certain tools and techniques are specific to each approach.
  • Process/Lifecycle Stage:
    • Determine where the project is in its lifecycle (initiating, planning, executing, monitoring & controlling, closing).
    • Knowing the stage helps determine which documents and information are available.
  • Area of Focus:
    • Identify the primary focus area of the question (scope, schedule, cost, quality, procurement, risk, communications).
    • Not all information in the question is relevant; discern what's important.
  • Relevant Information:
    • Extract the necessary details from the question to answer, ignoring any distractors.

Keywords for Project Management Approaches

  • Predictive Approach:
    • Detailed plan, stability focus, change control.
    • Fixed scope, sequential phases, low uncertainty.
    • Examples: construction.
  • Adaptive (Agile) Approach:
    • Rapidly changing requirements, iterative, incremental delivery.
    • Flexible scope, high uncertainty, customer collaboration.
    • Examples: software development projects
  • Hybrid Approach:
    • Combines predictive and agile elements.
    • Benefits from both approaches based on project needs
    • Example: Rolling wave planning

Lifecycle Stage Keywords

  • Initiating:
    • Feasibility study, business case, identify stakeholders.
    • Project charter, high-level scope, initial risk assessment.
  • Planning:
    • Detailed requirements, WBS, schedule and budget development.
    • Resource planning, communication plan, risk management plan.
  • Executing:
    • Directing and managing project work, implementing plans.
    • Managing resources, communication, and stakeholder engagement.
  • Monitoring & Controlling:
    • Tracking progress, managing changes, identifying and addressing issues.
    • Variance analysis, performance reporting.
  • Closing:
    • Finalizing deliverables, obtaining formal acceptance, transitioning deliverables.
    • Archiving documents, lessons learned, release resources.

Agile Lifecycle Clues

  • Sprint Planning:
    • User stories, sprint backlog, commitment, sprint goal.
  • Daily Scrum:
    • Impediments, progress updates, collaboration.
  • Sprint Execution:
    • Self-organizing teams, continuous improvement, working software.
  • Sprint Review:
    • Demo, stakeholder feedback, inspect and adapt.
  • Sprint Retrospective:
    • Lessons learned, process improvement, team dynamics.

Question 1

  • Scenario: Rapidly changing requirements. User stories for a sprint completed.
  • Question: What is the most probable next step?
  • Correct Answer: Agile sprint demo.
  • Explanation: The context of rapidly changing requirements indicates an agile approach, and presenting a demo is the next step.

Question 2

  • Scenario: A construction project is nearing completion. All major deliverables have been verified and client accepted with formal acceptance. Concern about transitioning the deliverables.
  • Question: What is the next process that needs to be completed?
  • Correct Answer: Predictive closing.
  • Explanation: The scenario involves verification, client acceptance, and transitioning deliverables.
    • All are elements of the “Closing” phase in a predictive project.

Key Areas of Focus

  • Traditional approach (PMBOK 6th edition):
    • Integration, Scope, Schedule, Cost, Quality, Resources, Communications, Risk, Procurement, Stakeholder
  • Agile (PMBOK 7th edition):
    • Stakeholder, Team, Planning, Project Work, Delivery, Measurement, Uncertainty.
  • It is important to determine which area of focus is linked to the specific question.

Identifying Relevant Information

  • Key: Ignore information that is irrelevant to the question's focus.
  • Longer questions often contain distractors.

Question 3

  • Scenario: Team cannot determine the dependencies of the tasks when planning the project. The project manager knows that the activity duration estimates.
  • Question: What methodology best helps the project?
  • Correct Answer: Network presidents Diagramming.
  • Explanation: The question is on techniques to display activity sequences.
    • risk register lists all risks related to the project.
    • activities list does not identify the interdependence.
    • WBS shows work broken down into work packages, but does not extend to the task level.

Organizational Structures

  • A key point is to know the reporting structure so you can identify potential issues.
  • Pay special attention to the relationships between employees.

Question 4

  • Scenario: A project manager reviews reporting structures where team members report to both a functional manager and a project manager.
  • Question: What is this reporting structure called?
  • Correct Answer: Matrix.
  • Explanation: A dual reporting structure is a characteristic of a matrix organization.

Question 5

  • Multiple team configuration with some agile and predictive elements.
  • Question: This can be defined as what type of an arrangement?
  • Correct Answer: Composite.
  • Explanation: The integration of multiple methods would be considered a composite form.

Key Comparison of Organizational Structures

  • Functional: Hierarchical, project team dedicated to the function, work driven by specialized expertise.
  • Projectized: Team reports to the project manager, focus on project objectives, high autonomy.
  • Matrix: Team reports to both functional manager and project manager, resource sharing, balanced authority, often has competing priorities.
  • Composite: Combines different organizational structures, adapts to project needs, complex.

Project Management Offices

  • PMOs can range from support, to controlling, to directive.
  • The specific type of PMO dictates how projects are planned and managed.

Question 6

  • Scenario: Project managers are supported with best practices and templates.
  • Question: What best describes this approach?
  • Correct Answer: Supportive.
  • Explanation: Providing resources to others in a non-intrusive method is considered supportive.

Question 7

  • Scenario: PMO provides direction to team members.
  • Question: What best describes this PMO?
  • Correct Answer: Directing.
  • Explanation: If a project team is receiving direction, that is indicative of a directing type of PMO.

The PMO Maturity Model

  • Agile Center of Excellence: Focused on Agile principles and practices, supports Agile teams, promotes Agile adoption, governance of Agile Methodology framework.
  • Supportive: Coaching, mentoring, templates, best practices, low oversight.
  • Controlling: Controlling templates and guidelines, adherence to reporting requirements.
  • Directive: Has control of all investment dollars and project resources, dictates how projects will be implemented.

Strategic Alignment

  • A strategy can be aligned using project key results.

Question 8

  • Scenario: Company needs to improve operational effectiveness for success. The project is supposed to reflect alignment with the strategic vision of the company.
  • Question: What is the first action the project manager should use?
  • Correct Answer: OKRs.
  • Explanation: Focus on long term results and operational effectiveness.
    * Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) are about the project's results and are therefore the answer.
    * critical chain speaks only to project duration.
    * Quality audit speaks to the compliance of deliverables
    * Identifying KPIs focuses on performance and process in flight.

Question 9

  • Scenario: Team requires assistance and input to enhance the project.
  • Question: What is the best technique to address this?
  • Correct Answer: Stretch Goals.
  • Explanation: This best describes encouraging team members.
    * benchmarking measures what is typically considered industry standard.
    * SMART goals focus goals on what is specifically attainable.

Strategic Order of Operations

  • A particular order of operations exists for proper strategic alignment:
  • Mission and vision --> Strategic Initiatives --> Portfolios --> Programs and Projects --> Key Performance Indicators.
  • Note: The order of operations matters.

Question 10

  • Scenario: Project manager is working on the requirements
  • Question: What are inputs that would not be included in establishing project goals?
  • Correct Answer: Multiple Choice (Not specified)
  • Explanation: You would not include business case because it happens after.

Business Value

  • It is important to recognize what drives market share and product share increases.
  • It can be difficult to establish or pinpoint what is the main success driver.

Question 11

  • Scenario: Project driving more market share and brand awareness.
  • Question: What action should the project manager take?
  • Correct Answer: Strategic value.
  • Explanation: Improved value refers to brand recognition.

Question 12

  • Scenario: Project completed with analysis of both tangible and intangible assets.
  • Question: What should be conducted to best define these types of measures?
  • Correct Answer: Cost benefit analysis.
  • Explanation: This represents the proper cost benefit analysis to be conducted.

Organization and Change management

*Organizations and people can sometimes be resistant to necessary change.

Business Value and Document Types

  • Both tangible and intangible benefits should be identified.

Question 13

  • Scenario: Fear of change due to uncertainty.
  • Question: Method to address the issue.
  • Correct Answer: Adkar.
  • Explanation: This involves change resistance.