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 | Human Resources & Team Rewards-Choosing the BEST Answer |  |
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In the PMP e-Sim Human Resources Baseline I (pre-test), Question #9 talks about Team Rewards.
The PMP e-Sim exam question asks:
Appropriate rewards and recognitions are a vital component of the team development process. Win-lose rewards that only a limited number of people can achieve can hurt team cohesiveness and morale. Rewarding win-win behaviour tends to increase support among team members. Which of the following is NOT an example of win-win rewards and recognition?
Several choices of answers are proposed:
A) Recognizing team members who complete lessons learned documentation.
B) Recognizing team members who turn reports in on time.
C) Recognizing a "project team member" of the month.
D) A local hero reward program nominated by a co-worker
According to our PMP experts, the best (correct) answer is D, and the rationale is explained as follows:
This question is a very good example of selecting the "BEST" answer from the possible 4 choices. Note that the PMBOK states that a "project team member" of the month award can hurt the team cohesiveness. The key word in this quote is "can". The point PMBOK and other motivation experts are making is that individual awards tend not to be as effective as team awards so be careful when designing individual awards. The reason we select D as the correct answer: A local hero award would be yearly, vs the team member of the month is awarded at least 12 times a year. It could even be by designed to award different groups of team members resulting in more than one award a month.
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| Finding Study Material for Professional Responsibility |  |
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Student's Question:
I do not see anything in the PMBOK for Professional Responsibility. Where do I find the material to study from?
PMP Expert's Answer:
You may try other PMI material such as:
- Suggested Reading to be used for the Professional Responsibility section of the PMP Certification Examination
- Professional Responsibility Reference List
- PMP Code of Professional Conduct at:
you may download at: www.pmi.org |
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| Cost Reserve v. Management Reserve | |
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Student's Question:
Could you explain the difference between a cost reserve and a management reserve? Are management reserves included with the project plan or added to it later or kept separate?
PMP Expert's Answer:
Contingency/cost reserve: A separately planned quantity allowing for future situations, included in the baseline and managed by the PMP. Known unknowns such as "we know we will have rework to do" just not sure how much.
Management reserve: A separately planned quantity for future situations impossible to predict, unknown unknown. Not included in the original baseline budget and therefore requires a change in the baseline.
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| Work Packages | |
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Student's question:
If it is the case that work packages can be broken into activities, tasks and sub-tasks, won't the tasks and sub-tasks be the lowest level (as long as the 80-hour rule or some rule is followed), or is it that the WBS does not recognize anything below the work package?
PMP Expert's Answer:
PMBOK: defines a work package as "a deliverable" at the lowest level of the WBS. Developed during the scope definition process, the work package can be further decomposed into activities (vs deliverables at the WBS work package level) during the activity definition process. This process of further decomposition produces the activity list which is an extension of the WBS.
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| Cost of Quality |  |
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Student's Question:
Q#158 - Q and A says that the cost of quality is usually categorized as cost of conformance. But looking at Crosby, Taguchi and others, cost of quality is usually described as the cost of non-conformance. I would appreciate feedback on this.
PMP Expert's Answer:
The question states: cost of quality is "frequently" categorized as: and the best answer of all the choices is: A - the cost of conformance. Deming, the expounder of quality philosophy often states that 85% of the "costs of quality" are managements responsibility and can be categorized by both the cost of conformance (prevention, studies, surveys, appraisal costs) and the cost of non-conformance (failures both internal such as rework, scrap and external such as support calls and returns). |
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| Forcing, Smoothing, Withdrawing. | |
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Student's Question:
#193 - I think Forcing is better than withdrawing or smoothing, which result in no resolution.
PMP Expert's Answer:
Forcing: a.k.a. "my way or the highway" is the best response in an urgent situation, such as a crisis about a safety or quality issue when you do not have time to beat around the bush. Pick your position and stick with it. This method provides resolution but is considered to be a win-lose. |
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| Integration | |
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Student's Question:
Pre-test integration - Question 5
The answer "determine a management strategy" seems vague to me. Does it refer to the PMBOK?
PMP Expert's Answer:
The question asks, what is the FIRST thing as the new project manager you would do. Of all the choices, the best one is to first determine your management strategy on how you are going to manage this project going forward. Part of this action will be to review all the documentation to date such as the risk management plan, cost, schedule, performance reports etc. to evaluate why the previous project manager had to push the team so hard to keep to the schedule. Then you can meet with the team to solicit their input.
Since these type of questions are situational in nature there is no direct reference to the PMBOK. |
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| Quality | |
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Student's Question:
Pre-test: Quality - Comparing questions # 10 and Q#2.
PMP Expert's Response: Always keep in mind you need to select the best answer from the choices given, even though it may not be the most accurate answer. Do not try and compare one question to another set of questions. During the exam make sure you review each question independently. Regarding quality in general: the customer ultimately defines quality while the team members are responsible to ensure the quality is delivered. |
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| NPV v. Payback Period | |
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Student's Question:
What is the differnece between NPV or Payback? One of the e-SIM questions talks about NPV and payback and it also says that this project takes 6 years...PMP Expert's Answer:
You would always select the project with the highest NPV because it has the most benefit. However, you should be aware that projects with long durations means that your assumptions on your NPV are softer than for a shorter project. This means, that if you have two projects with similar NPV's and one is 1 year and the other is 6 years, that you should likely chose the shorter one since the numbers are harder. One of the points to be made is that project selection should never be based on one metric alone. You use different metrics to get a better feel for the project. Payback period is a totally separate metric and should be calculated totally separately. NPV incorporates a time aspect into its calculation, and this is why some people get confused between it and NPV, but NPV uses the time value of money, whereas Payback is strictly the period of time that the costs of the project will equal the benefits.
The final factor is, as you say, the time period of the project. Do you want to have a project that is going on for 6 years or 1 year. My comments above on NPV also apply to project cost estimation - can you tell me for sure what the cost of a server will be in 6 years? Therefore, projects with a longer duration have less accurate budgets while shorter projects are more likely to be on time and within scope. Also, shorter projects are over with sooner, and therefore free up resources to work on other projects sooner. In terms of project portfolio management, some combination of projects with varying durations, NPV's, paybacks, and resource availablities will likely maximize the value of the portfolio. This can be a heuristic calc |
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| Communication | |
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Student's Question:Mini Exam Plan #9Your answer says that transmitting is required for communication to occur, but how can communication happen unless there is someone to receive transmission?
PMP Expert's Answer:
The question asks: "For communication to occur there must be ..." (key word is "must"). It is not necessary to have many people involved, so this is not the best answer. Just 2 will result in communication. The transmitting of information must be executed in order to have communication take place. This is one of those questions where you have to select the best answer and not to say the other answers are necessarily completely incorrect. |
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| Vendor Contracts | |
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Student's Question:
Procurement Why is Cost Plus fixed fee contract selected over Cost plus incentive contract as the contract which enables the vendor to make maximum profit?
PMP Expert's Answer:
On the CPFF, the fixed fee is usually an agreed upon % of the original estimated costs. Therefore, the seller receives a flat fixed fee plus all actual costs regardless of what the original estimate of costs were. There is no incentive for the seller to reduce their allowable costs by improving their performance as all costs will be reimbursed. It is susceptible to abuse in that there is a ceiling on profit, but no motivation to decrease costs. Primarily used in research projects where the effort required to achieve success is uncertain until well after the contract is signed.
Bottom line: limit on profit but no incentive for the seller to control costs.
The CPIF means the seller is paid for allowable performance costs along with a predetermined fee and an incentive bonus. If the final costs are less than the expected costs, both the buyer and seller benefit by the cost savings based upon a pre-negotiated sharing formula. This sharing formula is an agreed upon percentage reflecting the degree of uncertainty each party will bear.
Example: If the expected cost is $100,000.00, the fee to the seller is $10,000.00 and there is a sharing formula of 85/15 where the buyer absorbs 85% of the uncertainty and the seller absorbs 15% of the risk. If the final costs are $80,000.00, resulting in a cost savings of $20,000.00, the seller is reimbursed for the final costs of 80,000 plus the fee of 10,000 and plus an incentive of $3,000.00 (15% of $20,000.00), for a total reimbursement of $93,000.00.
Both the buyer and the seller share the risk in this situation, but both can gain. The seller can increase the fee if costs are below the targ |
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| Pure Project | |
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Student's Question: Mini Exam Initiate #15Please explain what is a "pure project" and why it has the fastest response time.
PMP Expert's Answer:
A "Pure project organizational structure" is the same as "projectized organization". It is at the other end of the organizational spectrum with the project removed from the parent system which facilitates faster response time for a number of reasons:
Authority is centralized enabling the ability of swift decision making; Structurally they are simple flexible which makes them easy to understand and implement, Focus is on project and customer; Higher team morale; Establishes a unity of command and a single point of responsibility for the project; Increased project loyalty; Promotes effective informal communication between the project manager and his/her team, and among project team members. |
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| Known-unknowns | |
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Student's Question:
Risk - Mini Exam Risk #21I have read the given explanations distinguishing known-unknowns from unknown-unknowns. But in a practical situation I have a hard time distinguishing between the two. The moment an unknown is identified it becomes a known-unknown. Please explain.
PMP Expert's Answer:
Known-unknowns are built into the risk contingency reserve which is included in the original budget and managed within the project. We know interest rates will fluctuate we just do not know to what extent. Unknown-Unknowns a separately planned budget for events impossible to predict are part of the Management Reserves which is managed outside the project, i.e. upper management controls it. In the event an unknown-unknown does occur i.e. act of god resulting in a change to the baseline and funded from the management reserve. |
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| Power | |
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Student's Question: Mini HR #18
The answer says that the power source for a person to be an accepted person is referent power. The explanation does not seem to fit the choice of answer.
PMP Expert's Answer:
There are 5 major types of power an individual can exert to influence cooperation, outcome and acceptance.
3 are types of legitimate power, which are based on an individual's position within the organization and is very limited in its acceptance:
1) formal,
2) reward, and
3) penalty.
2 are types of earned power, referred to as "people" types:
1) referent (sometimes called "charisma" since it is based on personality) power is when people admire a person and want to follow that person as a role model;
2) expert power is when a person acquires power based on technical knowledge, skill, or expertise on some topic or issue. (A PM gains expert power based on his/her project knowledge since few others have the same access to all the project information to successfully coordinate the job.)
NOTE: I have added a chart with more detail on the various types of powers and what it means to the project manager in the "extra material" folder located in the training center. |
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| Fast Tracking v Concurrent Engineering | |
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Student's Question:
Mini Exam Time # 18What is the difference between fast tracking and concurrent engineering?
PMP Expert's Answer: The key difference is: fast tracking is applied only to activities on the critical path to reduce the existing schedule. It is a TnT in schedule development called duration compression along with crashing. While concurrent or simultaneous engineering is a conscious effort during the initial planning stages to accomplish work in parallel rather than in series by having the marketing, engineering, R&D and production teams work together actively during the planning stages of the project to accelerate the product development.
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| Project Archives | |
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Student's Question:
Question # 7/ Post test /CloseoutShouldn't we include lessons learned in the project archives?
PMP Expert's Answer:
Yes, project archives should also include lessons learned etc. This is one of those typical exam questions where you need to select the best choice from the options available - which in this case would be B.
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| Closeout | |
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Student's Question:
Question # 4/ Post test closeout
PMP Expert's Answer:
Since you have already obtained formal acceptance from the client which is a key deliverable for project close-out, and you double checked to confirm that the level of client knowledge was not identified as an objective, there is no reason not to continue on with project closure. Of course, you would still address the sponsors e-mail concern directly with the sponsor on a one on one not with the core team, as this obviously is a communication issue between the sponsor and yourself that you can work on resolving.
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| Prevention v Non-Conformance in Quality Management | |
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Student's Question:
Question # 10/Contol - Post tests
PMP Expert's Answer:
Traditionally the main focus of quality was 100% inspection. The cost of doing this is so high that modern quality philosophy now supports that it is always better to spend money up front on prevention instead of non-conformance. The fundamental tenet of TQM is "Quality is planned in not inspected in". This is PMIs philosophy and will appear numerous times throughout the exam. Ref: PMBOK pg 97 8.1 |
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| Specification v Control Limits |  |
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Student's Question:
Question # 6/Control-Pretests
What is the difference between "specification limits" and "control limits"?
PMP Expert's Answer:
Specification limits differ from control limits in that they are prescribed for a process, rather than resulting from the measurement of the process. They represent the end users' expectations of performance and quality. They are limits used when specific parametric requirements exists for a process, product, or operation. In other words specification limits are not calculated based on the control charts but are actually inputs from the client. Thus they can be inside or outside the UCL/LCL limits. Specification limits will be outside the control limits if the project can meet the specification limits and vice versa - they will be inside the control limits it the project can not meet the specification limits. Kerzner pg 1070 4th edition.
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| Triple Constraints | |
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Student's Question:
What does triple constraints refer to?
PMP Expert's Answer:
When we refer to "the triple constraints" we are referring to the scope, time, and cost constraints of the project. The PMBOK definition of
constraint is: any factor that affects when a task can be scheduled. PMBOK further states on page 6:
"The project team manages the work of the project, and the work typically involves competing demands for scope, time, cost, risk, and quality."
Scope, time, and cost have traditionally been referred to as the "triple constraints" affecting project scheduling. That said, we recognize that the overall project planning involves competing demands for scope, time, cost, risk, and quality. Note the distinction of "triple constraints" to project scheduling and "competing demands" to project planning. |
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| Win-Win Resolution, Fair Resolution, Forced Resolution. | |
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Student's Question:
I was going through your notes in HR. It is not explained cleary when a win-win resolution is better than a fair resolution, and when this is better than a forced solution. Do you have any information on this or a matrix that could explain this more clearly?
Expert's Answer:
I have posted a good summary document on conflict management in the "extra file" folder located in the training centre which explains the pros and cons and when to use the 5 types of conflict management approaches; 9 conditions that predispose organizations to conflict and the 7 principle sources of conflict by life cycle phase. This is good material to read that is not found in the PMBOK. |
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| What is CPI? | |
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Student's Question:
What is CPI?
PMP Expert's Answer:
CPI stands for "cost performance index". It is the cost efficiency ratio to the actual costs of the project. This index is frequently used to project the degree of possible budget overrun by taking the formula BAC/CPI where BAC is the "budget at completion". To calculate the CPI, take the EV "earned value" divided by the AC "actual costs".
For more detailed understanding of earned value concepts and the formulas - please review the "cost section" of condensed notes pages 7 and 8. Understanding the earned value concepts and formula is a "must know" for the exam as there can be up to 12 questions on the exam. |
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| PM Accountability and Responsibility | |
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Student's Question:
If the PM is performing the role of delegator in a matrix organization (weak or balanced), does he pass responsibility to the assignee but retain accountability OR does he pass accountability and responsibility to the assignee, OR does he just pass it out ... ?
PMP Expert's Answer:
Let me start with saying the PM must wear many, many different hats during their role as a PM. I like to say a PM is like a conductor in an orchestra - they don't really do the work, they just co-ordinate all the musicians starting and stopping their instruments to create a beautiful piece of music, or project shall we say.
When the project is a success all credit goes to the team. When the project fails, the PM must take responsibility.
Now that said, note the title of PM. We know in the matrix organization there are the 3 types - weak, balanced and strong. It is an organizational approach that maintains functional supervisors as well as project supervisors. A weak matrix organization resembles a functional organization with the addition of project expeditors or coordinators. A balanced matrix adds true project managers. A strong matrix treats project management as a separate function with its own administration and supervision.
So in answer to your question - the power and authority to the PM vs the functional manager increases as you go along the spectrum - with a 50-50 share in the balanced organization. Please refer to the attached chart that further breakdowns the power by the 3 types.
Also - in the "Framework study notes" page 3 and 4 there is a more detailed breakdown of the advantages and disadvantages, responsibilities and the roles of the PM, expeditor and co-ordinator in the matrix environment
Specific to the exam - the questions ask:
> who has the po |
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| PERT | |
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Student's Question:
In what situations would you use PERT versus other methods? What if the task durations are unknown? What if dependencies are not known?
PMP Expert's Answer:
Since PERT uses 3 estimates vs a single estimate (as is true with the CPM method), it is a "probabilistic" approach to estimating. We use this on projects where we have a high degree of uncertainty - ie. Never done this work before, a process project where a lot of learning and knowledge transfer will take place.
Personally, I used PERT estimates for the development portion, when I prepared firm price quotes for customized software applications. |
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| What does JIT mean? | |
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Student's Question:
What does JIT mean? Does it equate to having 0 inventory on hand ?
PMP Expert's Answer:
JIT or "just in time" delivery originated in Japan. Its introduction as a recognized technique/philosophy/way of working is generally associated with the Toyota motor company.
Bottom line we are continuously striving in the workplace to provide JIT delivery. For example: in the manufacturing process, although it is difficult to apply JIT to our end customers we can order enough raw materials each day that would be consumed throughout the day, effectively reducing/eliminating raw material inventory. Thus the reason JIT is also known as stockless production or lean production. |
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| Calculating Communication Channels | |
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Student's Question:How do you calculate communication channels?
PMP Expert's Answer:Here is an example of how to calculate communication channels.
You are leading a project team of 11 very senior chemical analysts.
11 analysts plus you as the PM brings the project team total to 12.
The client has agreed to accept a cost variance in order to add one additional senior analyst to the team so the project date can be advanced by one month. The new total with the additional senior analyst would be of course 13.
How many more communication channels does this add to your current
Using the formula below:
N(n-1)/2 where n is the number of team
12*11 = 132 /2 = 66 is the # of current channels
13*12= 156/2 = 78 is the # of channels with one additional person added.
Difference is 12.
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| Linear Responsibility Chart | |
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Student's Question:
What is the linear responsibility chart?
PMP Expert's Answer:
The Linear Responsibility Chart is a special type of matrix in which the rows list the series of functions, activities, or tasks in some logic
sequence, such as the project life cycle, and the adjacent columns identify the positions, titles or people involved. At the intersection
of each adjacent column and its line item is placed a distinguishing symbol representing the level or type of responsibility involved by that
person.
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| Verma Vol II | |
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Student Question:I just took the baseline tests for Human Resources and almost all the questions were related to theory and human behaviors. I noticed that the source cited on several questions was Verma Vol II.PMP Expert Answer:The full title of the reference is: Vijay K. Verma Human Resource Skills for the Project Manager. Vijay is a recognized global expert on Projects from the HR perspective. He has 3 books to his name and has been recommended reading for the PMP exam prep by PMI. You will note the PMBOK is very light on the HR knowledge area which means a good number of the questions on the exam come from sources outside of the PMBOK with Vijay being an excellent source. Now the good news is, the e-Sim has lots of questions related to HR that are not found in the PMBOK with extra explanations for the aspiring PMPs which means you do not need to read the 3 Vijay books as long as you understand the correct answers. If you are struggling with the HR questions I recommend you read the Extra Material located in the e-Learning centre specific to the HR. You will find supplementary information as follows: HUMAN RESOURCES Conflict management Is conflict good or bad; Traditional vs. contemporary view of conflict; 5 types of conflict management approaches; 9 conditions that predispose organization |
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| Critical Path, Resource Leveling and Critical Chain | |
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Student's Question:After reading the guide, I'm still not clear on some Schedule Development TnTÂ such as Critical path, Resource Leveling and Critical Chain. Where can I find more readings on these subjects?PMP Expert's Answer:There are many, many books that address these topics but rather than read thick books, I suggest you do a Google on each topic. This is a really fast method and you will find more than enough supplementary information on all these topics. Be careful not to spend too much time on any one topic. Remember the PM is not a subject matter expert we must be a mile wide in topics, but just an inch deep in subject matter expertise.
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| Payback Period | |
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Student's Question:Baseline I (Pretest) Cost Q#6I think that Payback is based on profit (or return) not sales.. The payback period would be very different if the product's manufacturing cost is $29,000 verses $1,000. Could you please provide more explanation about the correct answer. PMP Expert's Answer:I agree with you that Payback is based on profit (or return), not sales. I interpret in this question that the product has already been produced, which would include manufacturing costs (if applicable) at a cost of $180k, with expected sales/profit in this case of 30K in the first six months and 50K for every six months after. This supports our answer of "C" as the correct answer. In this age of technology, many products once launched, require no manufacturing and minimal (if any) operation costs, which makes the selling cost almost 100% profit. |
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| Backward Pass | |
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Student's Question:PMP 35H e-sim - Advanced Exam - Question #189 Please help me to understand the Backward Pass calculation. Please go through the process of arriving at the LS and LF of activity D. I will assume you know how to calculate all the early dates for the forward pass.PMP Expert's Answer:For the backward pass, you simply reverse all the logic of the forward pass - if you added then subtract; if you subtracted then add; if there is more than one activity dependency, you take the earlier/smaller number of all the successor LS dates to determine the predecessor LF date.An example of this is on the network diagram for this question: Activity C, D and I. Activity C has 2 successors, D and I. To determine the LF date for activity C you must select the earlier/smaller number of the LS of activity, D and I. In this case, it is activity I with LS of 10.Think of the backward pass as going back to day one of the project. How we arrive at the late dates for activity D: The last activity L - EF date is 31, therefore the LF date is the same, 31. The LS for L is the LF minus the duration of 4 equals a LS of 27. To determine the LF of activity E it is the earliest/smaller number of all successor tasks plus or minus leads or lags in this case the LF for activity E is 27 minus duration of 2 for a LS of 25, thus making the LF of D 25 minus the duration of 3, for a LS of 22.I am sure this is confusing to understand in text.I suggest you draw out the diagram and calculate the early and late dates for all activities and then compare them to the explanation answers. This will help you understand how we arrive at the early and late dates. You will need to do this for the exam as well in order to answer the questions. |
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| About preliminary project scope statement | |
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Student's Question: What is actual difference between preliminary project scope statement
and project statement? As PMI saying that we will have approval from
client on project charter (under initiation process) and on project
statement (under planning process), then what is the requirement of
preliminary project scope statement?PMP Expert's Answer: You are correct, the project charter developed during the initiation
process group is the formal approval to go ahead. Generally speaking
the charter includes the following: business need; project
justification or purpose; stakeholder influences ie who will be
affected by the outcome; summary milestones/deliverables; high level
summary budget; known assumptions and constraints; and groups that will
be involved in the project and of course the sponsor and hopefully a PM
is assigned as well.
PMI does not mandate a preliminary scope statement must be completed
during the initiation process but definitely is required during the
planning process of scope definition.
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| About Prince 2 and PMI project life cycle | |
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Student's Question: I am in the software industry and in the UK where we generally follow prince 2 methodology. Generally we used to keep so many session with
client to gather all information may be along with BA(like requirement
gathering and gap analysis and lots of use of USE CASES), but as per
PMI, when we will have to gather all required information from client,
under which process? In which document we are going to produce all this
information?PMP Expert's Answer: This would be completed during the planning process under the phase
appropriate to your project life cycle using your preferred documents.
Remember the five process groups and their 44 sub processes are
completed during each of the phases of your project life cycle. i.e. we
ensure the project goes through project selection criteria acceptance
before entering into the next phase. We plan and execute each phase and
close it out.
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| 7 sources of conflict | |
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Student Question:On the Integration Mini-Exam, question #23, which concerns the 7
sources of conflict, the answer given is "B". Can you point me to the
source of the answer, i.e., where and what are the 7 sources of
conflict, and where can I read more about them? PMP Expert's Answer:
Great question as the sources of conflict are not mentioned in the PMBOK specifically but many students report back there are exam questions related to this. Here is more explanation for this question:
There are seven sources of conflict in order of frequency as follows: Schedules, Project priorities, Resources, Technical opinions, Administrative procedures, Cost and Personality. Know the top 4 and note that personality is the last but the most difficult to manage. For more detailed information on conflict throughout the project life cycle, refer to PMCAMPUS.com study notes - extra material folder - named "conflict". You will find 7 pages of content related to project conflict.
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| Project Stakeholder | |
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Student's Question: Mini Exam Framework Q#14I took the mini test on the frameworks topic and came across few
questions for which I wanted some more clarification on the answers to this question: Which of the following is not a characteristics of the project stake holders ?
The correct answer was given as
Ans 1: They always share common objectives for the project
There was one more option which said
Ans 2: An individual who has a positive or negative interest in the project outcome
I thought Ans 2 is appropriate. Can you explain how is Ans 1 correct for this case?PMP Expert's Answer:This
question is asking what is NOT a characteristic of a project
stakeholder? In other words, of the possible answers which is not a
correct statement about stakeholders. The correct answer 1 is incorrect
about stakeholders as they do not always share common objectives for
the project. For example the technical and business departments have
competing needs and objectives for the project which the PM must manage
effectively.
Ans 2 is correct about stakeholders. Not all stakeholders will be happy
about the project result. Take the project that the new application
will decrease the number of employees required. This would create some
stakeholders that would have a lot of negative interest.
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| PERT and GERT - Terms not defined in PMBOK | |
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Student's Question: I just finished Chapter 6 and found there are
quite a few questions regarding PERT and GERT in all Pre/Post Test and
Mini exam, in which I have no idea what is that, not even knowing what
that stands for.PMP Expert's Answer:
PERT and GERT are important terms in Project Management, it is one of
these strange things that these two terms are not defined in the latest
version of the PMBOK yet you should know them... That it why the terms
are exposed in PMCAMPUS.com PMP exam prep course. If you have not a formal
education in management, we encourage you to search terms that are new to you in Google. You will find many websites that have interesting
definitions that will expand your knowledge base. For example, I
sometimes use this one:
http://www.netmba.com/operations/project/pert/
As you will see a PERT and network diagrams are very similar concepts!
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| LS date - Backward pass | |
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Student's Question: PMCAMPUS.com course PMP35H e-Sim Random -> All Questions , Planning - question #101. (PM-STAR ref: Advanced # 84)I cannot
figure out how the answer to this question
was done. I simply
do not understand. How can the ES date of
9 have 7 days added to it for an answer of
16, when there are no precedent activities
that could make a combination of 7 days!?
Sorry for being so dense.PMP Expert's Answer:First,
please do not for a second think you are
dense because you do not understand how
to calculate out the dates on a network diagram.
Many, manystudents do not know how to
do this as they have been relying on the
push of the button from the infamous MS
project s/w. The downside of technology.Below
is how I can best describe how to calculate
the dates on a network diagram. For the
question you are referring to - I suggest
you first drawout the network diagram
on paper and then work through each activity following
the rules listed below. Drawing out the diagram
and working through it step by step will
really help you to understand the concept.
At the end, I have listed the early and
late dates for each activity so you can compare
your answer.Take note, you, need
to understand the early dates and the late
dates are completely independent for each
activity. In other words, before you candetermine
the late dates of an activity you need to
determine the ES and EF dates for every
single activity in the network diagram, starting
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| Common Estimating Techniques | |
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Student Question: I am confused with analogus estimating, top-down estimating, parametric estimatic etc. Please let me know what are reach and how they are related with each other (if related). Also if there is a way I can remember these.PMP Expert's Answer:
There are many different types of estimating techniques with varying levels of accuracy degrees that we can use as we progress through our project life cycle. I have developed a small comparison chart below that will help you remember and differentiate between 3 commonly referred to estimating techniques. (Note: you should also fully understand the PERT estimating techniques as well.)Comparison chart
Types of Estimates
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| Project Risk - Contingency, buffer and reserve | |
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Student's Question:PMP35H - Mini Exam Cost Q#22Asks: Which of the following is NOT a term used to describe an additional
time frame added to the schedule by the project team to reduce risk?1. Contingency2. Buffer3. Reserve4. LagCorrect Answer is 4 - Lag.A better rationale would be that Contingency, buffer and Reserve are the same thing (PMBOK definitions) as explained in 6.4.2.5 .Lags are also additional time frames added to the schedule to reduce risk...Concrete may need to cure for x days in good weather and y days in wet weather. A lag of y days would reduce the risk of beginning building before the concrete curing has completed. Different values would be used for season of year and location (Phoenix vs. Portland). Therefore Lag is an additional time frame added to the schedule by the project team to reduce risk if building in Portland in the winter. PMP Expert's Answer:We can certainly enhance our explanation as you suggest include the statement: as per PMBOK, contingency, buffer and reserve are the same thing and are added to the project schedule in recognition of schedule risk.I do not agree with your statement that lags are also additional time frames added to the schedule to reduce schedule risk. Based on my personal project experience as well as my interpretation of the PMBOK pages 134 and 363 and many other scheduling sources, the real purpose of introducing lag into the schedule is to modify the logical relationship between the predecessor and successor. Lag is not added for schedule risk.If I understand your example on curing correctly: I would add a lag time for curing based on the most likely curing time considering the location the curing would occur and the expected weather conditions (i.e. winter vs.summer). During t |
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| Parametric modeling - Estimating Techniques | |
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Student's Question:Baseline I (Pre-test) Time - Q#4My copy of the PMBOK Third Edition Page 65 does not have the same definition for parametric modeling that your view rational references. Why is this?PMP Expert's Answer:You can reference more detailed and varied information on parametric modeling in the PMBOK on pages: 142, 165, 169, and the glossary page 365.In summary, parametric modeling is a type of estimating technique based on knowledge obtained from similar projects. It typically uses parameters such as weight, cost/square foot, lines of code or other characteristics to estimate or to scale costs or the schedule. It is most reliable, when historical information is accurate, parameters are quantifiable and the model is scaleable. |
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| How to select the BEST answer - | |
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Student's Question:Mini Exam Commmunication Q#4The mini-exam on Communication knowledge area contains the following question:"Para linguistic and metacommunication refer to what type of communication?"The right answer suggested by the expert is "Nonverbal".From my understanding, while paralinguistics has always to do with nonverbal ways of communication, the metacommunication may or may not be nonverbal. For instance, meatcomminication could be concerned with the interpretation of previous conversation which might be done via e-mail, presentation slide(s) or quoting the previous conversation with comments; such quotation could be done in an oral discussion. In this context paralinguistics appears to be a subset of metacommunication.I would appreciate if you would comment on this subject.PMP Expert's Answer:Thank you for the opportunity to comment further on your statement about metacommunications.You are correct when you say that metacommunications may not always be non verbal?.I agree, it sometimes is verbal with the samples you state below as well as in the context of "I am only joking" "I heard that" etc. However, it is more often expressed in non verbal communications such as tone of voice, facial expression, posture, gestures etc.In other words, it is largely how the message was said vs what was said: the old adage "it's not what he/she said, it was how he/she said it that really counts."For exam purposes, when answering the questions, your mindset should be on what would be the “best answer� of the 4 choices in most cases, on most projects any where in the world.p.s. here's another definition of metacommunication I scooped from google which I thought you might find interesting as |
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| Do not confuse - phase and process - *** | |
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Student's Question:Quality mini exam Question #20I have a discrepency with Question #20 the Quality mini exam.The question asks for a Phase. PMcampus says the answer is conceptualize, which is not a phase. The answer i think is correct, planning, is a phase. The description seems to support my answer.The first time I took this, my answer was marked correct, second time around it was not.PMP Expert's Answer:The answer A for this question is correct as we would start to address the quality standards and criteria during the "conceptualizing phase" when we work on the activities related to the "planning processes" during this phase.I believe you might be confusing the two terms "phase" and "process" as the term/word "conceptualize" can definitely be a phase and we know it is not one of the 5 processes groups or 44 processes.There are 3 fundamental dimensions of project concepts we need to understand as the exam will try definitely test you on these concepts:1. the project lifecycle which can be made up of any number of phases and is sequential.2. the project processes (44 processes grouped by 5 unique processes) are not sequential but, integrative, iterative and simultaneous throughout project lifecycle phases as required.3. the project topics, or 9 knowledge areas that make up the 44 processes.A lot of students initially confuse these concepts as they sometimes have the same naming convention. As mentioned, these are very important concepts to understand so it might be a good idea to review again PMBOK Chapter 2pages 19 - 23 for a detailed understanding of the Project lifecycle and Chapter 3 pages 37 - 41 for understanding of the process g |
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| Prof. Resp. - Ethics Question - Best Answer | |
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Student's Question:Random Simulator-> All Questions , Prof resp. - question #44. (PM-STAR ref: Advanced #122)While taking the Random Questions Simulator, I came across the following question-"You are a senior quality assurance manager working for a large software developer. Your company has been asked by its shareholders to prove the truthfulness of your quality standards and practices. This information could possibly impact your company's share value in the stock market. Your company president has asked you for your opinion. Your recommendation would be -"The choice of answers is - A) That an independent outside quality auditor should conduct the audit because the firm's own quality auditors might be under pressure to cover up improprieties, B) In order to minimize costs involved, your department should be requested to conduct the required audits and pass-on findings to the shareholders. C) Your company should issue a press release that the company follows documented procedures & D) Do nothing.I chose B) while the correct answer seems to be A). Can you please throw more light on this & the related topic?My argument is that suggestion of Independent Audit should follow the initial Internal audits. As my Company President is asking me for my opinion, I should only reflect on the goos procedures within my Company and hence recommend my Team as the first choice for auditing. Am I wrong?PMP Expert's Answer:First, thank you for bringing this discussion to the knowledge base for other aspiring PMP's to learn from.And now let's review this ethics question in more detail why A is the better answer than B:Since the shareholders are specifically requesting proof of the truthfulness of your quality standards and practices, this would lead us to believe there has been some indication or reports of impr |
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| Differences between stakeholders | |
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Student's Question:I am working on the Baseline Simulator Pre-test Framework question # 5. This question was regarding the differences between stakeholders. I thought the correct answer should be B - resolved in favour of customers. However, the correct answer per simulator is D. So, when I reviewed the
rationale button. It said it should be resolved in favour of customers
per PMBOK chapter 2 pg 24 on the 3rd edition.
Can you please clarify which is the correct answer?
PMP Expert's Answer:
As you state, B is a fairly accurate statement about stakeholders as we want to resolve in favor of the customer whenever possible.
For this question we are looking at which statement is the LEAST TRUE about stakeholders since all the answers are accurate/true to a degree. Answers A and C are very correct about stakeholders so we can eliminate these two
easily.
We now need to determine which is the least true between answers B and D when conflict exists between the stakeholders: should we sway our decisions towards keeping the customer happy or, make the most cost efficient decision
based on the project objectives?
D is the least true since resolving the conflict in the most cost efficient manner consistent with the project objectives leads to short term thinking and does not consider product life-cycle costing which looks at the decision in terms of the long term interests of the organization. Proactive and great PMs think long term and look at the big picture. All PMs are expected to do the right thing for the project, but not at the expense of the organization.
B is more true about stakeholders than D. A general rule of thumb when there is a conflict between various stakeholders is, we sh |
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| Differences in Cultures - Question Number 6 in post test Prof Resp | |
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Student's Question: Question Number 6 in post test Prof Resp
section view rationale is confusing. It says the correct answer is D
but in the view rationale it says that is wrong(we should not review
the companies rules and regulations in the first meeting).PMP Experts Answer:
This question is asking what would NOT be true in this situation making D the correct answer. I think perhaps your monitor has cut off the last part of the explanation as explanation starts with supporting why answer A is correct and then ends with stating why D would not be true in this scenario. I have cut and paste the current explanation in the database below for you to review. Let us know if you are not able to view the entire explanation shown below.
"Many cultures initial meetings are spent getting to know each other before actually discussing the real business issues. Since spouses are included in the invite, you can safely assume your prospective business partners wish to get to know you on a personal level first, therefore it is not necessary to review your company rules, regulations, standards etc. at this meeting."
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| Mini Exam Quality #9 - quality control procedures | |
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Student's Question:I was doing the quality mini-test. I
have a question about question no. 9: The right answer was "Variable
sampling". Now, why didn't we choose the "Design of Experiments",
especially that we have to do with testers at various locations with
different time zones. So, we have to do with 2 variables: the response
time and the locations of the testers?Expert's Answer:
Design of experiment is a tool and technique in Quality Planning where we look at two potential variables to determine their relationship, either negative, positive, moderate etc. It is not a QC measuring technique.
This question is talking about quality control procedures to measure the response time to ensure the response time is adequate meaning timeliness is related to quality in this case. Since they are expecting several hundred e-mails, we just need to sample some of the response times from the various areas to determine if we are responding in a timely manner. Since the response time is a variable it would not be an attribute sample.
I trust this helps explain why we answer D as the best answer for this question. |
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| Prof responsibility - q # 5 of 50 | |
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Student's Question:Prof resp Q # 5 (All question section )
You are administrating a FP contract that SPECIFIES ONE PAYMENT UPON
SATISFACTORY COMPLETION OF CONTRACT. The contractor approached for
partial payment for work completed to date, and explains that they are
experiencing cash shortfall which may affect payroll for contracotr/sub
contractors. As PM which of the followng options WOULD CREATE most
likely problem for project
I chose option C - Paying for work accomplished till date. The reason
is , as per the contract terms if PM has to make such decision he has
to go thro' change control procedure to change the contract. Otherwise
it would be in violation of the contract term.
The answer given is B - Making no payments because if would violate the condition of the contract.
Please explain.
Expert's Reply:
This question is asking what payment option would create the MOST problem to
the project. Answers A, C and D all deal with making payments in some
variable term. New payment terms would have to be negotiated and accepted
by both parties and vetted of course through the contract change control
process which should mitigate the problems to the project. Answer B would
create the most problems since it states NO payments would be made which
would be in direct violation of the contract.
I trust this helps you understand why B is the better selection for this
question.
----
PMCAMPUS.com Support Officer
http://support.mokacampus.com
www.PMCAMPUS.com |
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| Mini-exam integration #25 | |
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Student's Question:In Question 25 you say that correct answer is B. However in order to be correct it should be what the CBB is not:A. A required part of every projectB. A process where all decisions and recommendations are recordedC. Varies in size from project to projectD. A select board of individuals who propose changes to the project planExpert's Answer:
This question is asking you to select what is the best statement, or most
true about the CCB. This is a typical exam question where there are 2
answers that are easy to determine are not true and then we need to select
the best from the other 2 that are correct. So the first thing we need to
do is remove the 2 that are incorrect which is:
A. Not correct since a CCB is not necessary for small projects.
D. Not correct as the purpose of the CCB is to accept or reject changes not
make changes to the project plan.
C. Is correct as the number of people on the CCB can change by project
complexity or organization.
B. Is also correct as the CCB is a process that result in the changes being
recorded formally.
B is the most correct as it is more in line with the PMBOK and states it is
a process. Ref PMBOK page 353.
I trust this helps you understand better why we selected B as the best
answer in this case.
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| PMPAID Course - Cost planning content | |
| Student Question:I am not able to find the study material with voice explanation (PMPAID course) for Cost Planning.Expert Answer:The author of the course has included all the "cost planning" concepts and definitions within the lesson "Planning" along with time and other closely related subjects.Although "cost planning" it is not explicitely mentioned in any paragraph title, all the cost planning material is covered in the multimedia course content. Once you will have completed the "Planning" module, you will have been exposed to all the concepts related to this topic. Search for the following terms to access sequentially to the material:Budget baselineCost estimatingAnalogous estimatingParametric estimatingBottom-up estimatingCost Estimates: Order of Magnitude, Budgetary and Definitive Cost budgetingReserve analysis
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| order of magnitude - parametric - analogous - engineering estimating | |
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Student Question:I was taking e-sim mini exams. I am refering to the Cost knowledge area of the mini exam question 5. The answer given for this question is -25% to +75%. Where as if you refer to PMBOK guide page 161, the range given for rough order estimate is -50% to +100%. Could you please explain if I am misintrepretting PMBOK?Thanks,Murali Expert's answer:Hello Murali,Good question on the estimating accuracy as there is lots of material to reference on this. You certainly have an attention to detail which will be a big help during the exam and you are not misinterpreting the PMBOK. As you referenced, the PMBOK Guide page 161, states or suggest that an ROM estimate equals -50 to +100%. It also identifies a 'narrower range' of -10 to +15%.Here is good way to view this seeming inconsistency on estimating accuracy levels between the PMBOK and various reference material:1) The estimate values on page 161 of the PMBOK Guide are provided as GENERAL EXAMPLES ONLY, to present the concept of 'refining cost estimates as a project progresses'. They DO NOT represent formal estimate definitions.2) For exam purposes, we should recognize the accepted or normal project management standard project estimating methods of accuracy as follows:Order of Magnitude (ROM): -25% to +75% - a Parametric estimating method that takes only days to prepare.Budget(ary): -10% to +25% - an Analogous estimating method that takes weeks to prepare.Definitive: -5% to +10% - an Engineering or grass roots estimating method that takes months to prepare.Keep in mind these are generally accepted accuracy levels. Many companies standardize their estimating procedures by creating their own estimating manual for reference. In these cases, the estimating accuracy is decomposed furthe |
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| Master eSIM PR Prof. Resp Question#9 - | |
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PMCAMPUS Student Question: PR Prof. Resp. - Question#9 describes the following situation. A fellow project manager is a prime contender for a program manager position in your company. He is almost incontrovertibly the most qualified among those considered. You decide to advocate on his behalf because you know full-well that when it comes time to choose which projects to undertake, you can convince him to select yours. Is your decision a sound one? A) No because publically advocating on his behalf could engender resentment from other qualified project managers, B) No since you have ulterior motives, C) Yes since he is the most qualified, or D) Yes because he is the most qualified and will support your projects. I picked C), but the answer provided is B) No since you have ulterior motives. However, it seems that if my inaction results in the promotion of a less qualified candidate, I might have let down the company, their customers, and my fellow project manager. Isn’t that worse than gaining an advantage, as a side effect of assembling the best organization possible? PMCAMPUS.com GURU Expert Answer:Thanks for sending us your feedback on this question. It is a good thing to reflect on such matter because PR is one of the trickiest areas where you will be tested at the exam.The rationale is consistent and explains from the author perspective why answer B is the BEST answer. Several other answers are correct statements and your point is a valid one too, however they are not the BEST answer in this specific context.The question is worded in a way that there is no ambiguity about your drive at supporting this candidate and your drive is a non-ethical one. This is the main assumption to take into consideration when making the selection for the BEST answer in this specific situation.Your point is valid but not taking int |
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| Master eSIM, PR Prof. Resp., Question#20 - Conflict of interest - Disclosure | |
| PMCAMPUS Student Question:PR Prof. Resp. - Question#20 describes the following situation. Your project employs a preferred vendor based in a foreign country with a large on-sit presence in the U.S. The foreign company was the subject of a huge financial scandal where the CEO falsified the company financials. Your company is concerned about business continuity due to the possible collapse of the vendor, so there are plans in place to switch to a U.S. based company. However, this involves a breach of contract. You want to keep key employees from the vendor. Should you divulge your company’s plans to the vendor employees you want to hire? A) You should, but ensure that any conflicts of interest are disclosed, B) You should not, as the contract will be breached which could result in penalties, C) You should not, there will be conflicts of interest, or D) You should, all is fair I this situation. I picked C), but the answer provided is A) You should, but ensure that any conflicts of interest are disclosed. However, it seems that I would be the one putting the vendor’s employees in a position of conflict of interest if I told them that they could be working for us if their company collapsed. They could have to decide between putting their own company’s interests first or putting my company’s interests first in hopes of being accepted later. In addition, I would assume that my company would consider any preliminary plans concerning significant changes to preferred vendor relationships to be company confidential until they formally gave the go ahead to divulge them. PMCAMPUS Guru Expert Answer:Another good reflection on your side...This is a very tricky and ambiguous question and we want to look at the reasoning of the author to make sure there is consistency in the selection of the BEST answer.The main assumption here is a chaotic situatio |
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| Time Controlling - Question#23 - Wordy and confusing questions | |
| Student question:Time Controlling - Question#23 states that my
project has been delayed due to non-availability of skilled resources,
and I need to decide whether corrective action is needed or not. I have
the float variance, schedule variance, and the schedule performance
index information. It asks which of the following is the best technique
to use with this information: A) Variance Analysis, B) Critical Chain
Scheduling Method, C) Adjusting Leads and Lags, or D) What-if scenario
analysis. I picked B, but the answer provided is A) Variance Analysis.
The explanation is that this is used to assess the magnitude of
variation to the schedule baseline, per paragraph 6.6.2.2 of PMBOK.
However, don’t I already know the magnitude of variation to the
schedule baseline (equals schedule variance). I thought that paragraph
6.6.2.2 was saying that we should use variance analysis to calculate
the schedule variance, which has already been done in this example.Expert explanation:Hi PMP Aspirant!
One interesting aspect to this question is that if you look at the
choice of answers, the only correct answer is A since no other answer
is anywhere close to the question asked...
This shows also that students should eliminate wrong answers as soon as
possible as this will make the choice of the BEST answer much more easy
in several occasions.
The wording of the question is somehow confusing as it may seem that
the question and answer repeat themselves but as awkward as it is is,
this should not create confusion as to which answer is the correct
one....
Sometimes questions may appear wordy or unclear but remember the exam
is also about selecting the BEST answer and the process of eliminating
irrelevant answers or non related topics is qu |
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