PMI Study References

PROJECT LIFE CYCLE
(Project management Process Groups)

1. INITIATION
2. PLANNING
3. EXECUTION
4. CONTROL
5. CLOSE-OUT

PROJECT MANAGEMENT KNOWLEDGE AREAS
Inputs: documents or documentable items that will be acted upon

Tools/techniques; Mechanism applied to the Inputs to create Outputs

Outputs; Documents or documentable items that are a result of the process

1. Integration
   Project plan Development
   Project Plan Execution
   Integrated Change Control
2. Scope
   Initiation
   Scope Planning
   Scope Definition
   Scope Verification
   Scope Change Control
3. Time
   Activity Definition
   Activity Sequencing
   Activity Duration Estimating
   Schedule Development
   Schedule Control
4. Cost
   Resource planning
   Cost estimating
   Cost budgeting
   Cost control
5. Risk
   Risk management Planning
   Risk Identification
   Qualitative Risk Analysis
   Quantitative Risk Analysis
   Risk Response Planning
   Risk Monitoring Control
6. Quality
   Qulity Planning
   Quality Assurance
   Quality Control
7. Human Resource
   Organizational Planning
   Staff Acquisition
   Team Development
8. Communications
   Communications Planning
   Information Distribution
   Performance Reporting
   Administrative Closure
9. procurement
   Procurement Planning
   Solicitation Planning
   Solicitation
   Source Selection
   Contract Administration
   Contract Close-out

PROCESSES & Relationships

Authority= right to act

Responsibility=Obligation to act

Accountibility=being liable for actions

Power = ability to act without necessarily having a right to act
The parity principle states that authority and responsibility go hand in hand to effectively perform a task

ORGANIZATION TYPES;
 

Theory of Motivation:
 

Interpersonal aspects
 

Operating Profit; Amount of Money earned= Revenue- (direct+indirect costs)

EXPECTED VALUE =Probability * Impact

PRESENT VALUE  =FV/(1+r)n

EARNED VALUE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM EVMS EV brief descriptions and Formulas

PERT Weighted Average (expected time) Sandard Deviation Variance
 

SPC Statistical Process Control

MEDIAN = (TOTAL OF THE TWO CENTER DATA DIVIDED BY TWO)
MODE = (MOST REPEATED TWO DATA)
MEAN =(TOTALS OF VALUE DIVIDED BY TOTAL DATA ITEM)
RANGE = (LARGEST VALUE-SMALLEST VALUE)
MAD (Mean Absolute Deviation) = (DATA + MEAN FOR EACH, TOTAL / BY TOTAL DATA ITEM)
VARIANCE=(DATA + MEAN FOR EACH, TOTALS OF SQ2 /  BY TOTAL DATA ITEM)
SD (Standard Deviation) = ( SQ2 OF VARIANCE DATA)
Pareto Diagram 20-80 rule. data arranged in descending order of importance.

PROJECT TIME MANAGEMENT

ADM Arrow Diagramming Method: PERT and CPM Focuses on Float duration to determine which activities have the leaat scheduling flexibility

PERT Program Evaluation and Review technique; Emphasis on meeting schedules with flexibility on cost, Pessimistic, Most likely, Optimistic. Event oriented, uses Dummy, Activity On Arrow (AOA), Finish to start logical relationship, time estimates appear on arrow

Critical Path Method (CPM) ; Emphasis on cost and leaving the schedule flexible, one time estimate per activity, activity oriented, uses dummy, (AOA) Activity On Arrow, time estimates appear on Arrow

Precedence Diagram Method  (PDM) ; Activity Oriented, Represents improvement to PERT and CPM by adding lag relationship to activities, (Start to Start, Start to FInish, FInish to Start, Finish to finish) Arrow indicates dependency, Activity On Node (AON), No Dummy

GERT A network Diagram drawing method that allows loops between tasks. It is method of Sequencing

Barchart (GANTT) Effective progress reporting tool; no logical relationship shown between activities
Graphical Evaluation and Review techniques are similar to PERT but have the distinct advantages of allowing for looping, branching, and multiple project end results

ESTIMATES:

Definitive (+- 5%)

The smallest range estimate is the least risky
ANALOGOUS Estimating; Top down, based on similiar projects;Expert Judgment
Bottom Up Estimating ; Detailed cost estimates of work packages  Best overall quality of estimating
Parametric Estimating; Relies on knowledge of Mathematical relationships. Measured in $/unit.(duration prediction is based on past average)

Key Network Scheduling Principles

Earliest start: The earliest an activity can begin based on its relationship to its predecessor’s duration.

 Latest start: The latest an activity can begin and still satisfy requirements set forth by successor activities.

Earliest finish: Based on the relationship with a predecessor, the earliest an activity can be completed.

Latest finish: Based on the relationship with a successor, the latest an activity can be completed.

Float time: The amount of free time (slack time) an activity has without impacting due date of the project. FREE FLOAT same but applies to any immediatly folloving activities not the Project

Forward pass: A technique that works forwards, starting with the first node in the network, to determine earliest start and finish times.

Backward pass: A technique that works backwards, starting with the last node in the network, to determine latest start and finish times.

Programs and Tasks Versus Projects

Programs are generally larger in scope than projects and do not have a definitive end

Tasks can be secondary and support projects, or they can exist as part of ongoing operations. Tasks are often completed by an individual and may not be complex or need to be integrated with other tasks

Project is a temporary endeavor that has a beginning, a middle, and an end, only done once

The primary distinction between planning and control is that you normally use control after activities have begun.
Planning is not effective without control, and control cannot take place without a plan SEE CONTROL

Deliverables represent the need-satisfying outputs of a project. Deliverables are significant because of the role they play in determining if your project succeeds or fails

Stakeholders are those who enable the existence of a project. Indirect stakeholders are those who are unknowingly or unwillingly affected by your project

Brainwriting

Brainwriting is a means of increasing group participation. It is especially useful when one or more members tend to monopolize idea generation or when people are reluctant to participate

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a way to spontaneously produce many ideas in a short period of time

“Project Crashing“, the reduction of project duration by applying additional resources to labor intensive activities

Parametric modeling is reliable when
a) the historical information used to develop the model was accurate b) the parameters used in the model are readily quantifiable
c) the model is scalable (i.e. it works well for a large project as for a very small one