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PMP Exam Prep Question of the Week

Guest Authors — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:54:24 +0000

Which of the following is not a component of the Close Project or Phase process?

Confirm that the project or phase has met all the requirements of the customer or sponsor.
Close procurements.
Verify that all deliverables have been validated and accepted.
Collect project or phase records.

The correct answer is 2.

Close procurements is the only answer that is not part of the Close Project or Phase process. The remaining answers are components of this process.

PMP Weekly Question Series

HDI From Inside the Booth

Amanda Alderman — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:24:06 +0000

I attended this show a couple of years ago with Hank Marquis. He was presenting for us, so I was at the booth alone most of the time. I didn’t schedule extra help in the booth this time because I was fine before. The first night the exhibits were open from 6 until 8pm, and Chuck Hernandez drove in from Tampa to be with me. Thank goodness, because we were slammed in those 2 hours!

Our giveaways were pop-a-doos (computer dusters that everyone loved because they could really use them) and bobble head pens that people thought were great. Of course their kids or grandkids needed one too. We also had a drawing for an iPad. I was offered a couple of bribes to draw particular names from the box, but I was strong and resisted. After the first night we were out of almost everything including catalogs, and normally I have boxes of them left over! When deciding what to order for the show, I sent a few options to some Global Knowledge IT people and got their votes. Cool Mates got the first spot but did not make it in time for this show, so if you’re going to Fusion in Dallas this year, please stop by our booth for those. They are little, round, rubber feet you put on the table before you set your laptop down so your laptop stays cool as it allows air to circulate under it. The pop-a-doos were in second place, and pens in third. I gave our receptionist one of these pens a couple of weeks ago. She put it by the sign-in book, and visitors still comment about how cute it is. As a marketing person, I am happy that the giveaways were a total WIN. We are attending eight PMI events this year. I am going to do drawings for Bose headsets and Nintendo 3DS at them because I figure people want something for themselves and for kids too.

We were across from ScriptLogic who had some cool giveaways too, and those guys were fun to talk with. On Day Two I was on my own at the booth. Traffic was not heavy, so I got to have some great conversations. I met some very interesting people, including Phil Gerbyshack who had the most interesting business cards I have ever seen before. It was like a playing card — very cool.

Rick Joslin from HDI came by, and we shared some ideas since Global Knowledge provides HDI training. I enjoy working with Rick. He trained all of our sales people when we first began offering HDI courses, and it has been a really nice partnership. He asked if I was going to stay an extra day for the HDI after party, but I couldn’t. He told me how much fun they are and about some of the past acts including Penn and Teller, Jay Leno, The Doobie Brothers and Dennis Miller. The fortune tellers sound like something I would have enjoyed, and I wonder if I have been missing out on a lot of fun. Note to self: Next year stay for the after party. I would stay this year, but my 3 year old expects me to be on a big plane Thursday night, and I miss my children like crazy. Oh yeah, and my husband, too.

I was happy that the gym was free for the HDI attendees. Tuesday night I was beside a man on the treadmill who was stoked about a team building class he took that day. He said he learned a lot of helpful hints he is going to take back and use with his team. The feedback I got from everyone who mentioned the sessions was they were helpful, particularly the Knowledge Management session.

Our own Michael Scarborough did a crack o’ dawn morning presentation Thursday that had about 40 attendees. He drew the winner for the iPad (Michele Karsk from Cox). She was super excited. A few people Michael trained on ITIL chatted with him. It was nice to hear about their wonderful training experience with him. Your instructor makes such a difference in your overall training experience.

2,200 people attended, and I feel lucky that I got to meet so many people. A lot of help desk managers were here — more than I expected.

The space was nice and of course the HDI was wonderful. I wish I had known our giveaways would be so popular so that I could have brought more. I felt bad when I had to tell people I was out. Traffic to the booths was really up this year. People spent more time in the exhibition hall talking to vendors. To me what makes a good show is when you can have conversations with people and learn what everyone does. I love finding out what people like and don’t like, what they look for in a training provider, and why they do and do not use certain providers. People seem more willing to share when you are face to face versus filling out our after class evaluation. Overall I am happy with the show, and I look forward to going back next year.

Related Post:
Cloud Issues and HDI Conference Orlando

PMP Exam Prep Question of the Week

Guest Authors — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:50:29 +0000

You are in the Executing phase of your project. As project manager, you receive weekly status reports on work progress from team members. In reviewing the inputs from your team members, you are particularly interested in two tasks: Task 89 has an EST of 45 and an LST of 58; Task 101 has an EST of 64 and an LST of 51. Which of these tasks is riskiest?

Task 89 is riskiest.
Task 101 is riskiest.
Risk cannot be determined based on the given information.
Both are equally risky.

The correct answer is 2

One way to determine the riskiness of a task is to look at the float of the task. The formula for float is LST — EST (late start time minus early start time). Task 89 has 13 time units of positive float. Task 101 has 13 time units of negative float. Negative float means that the project is behind schedule, so task 101 is the riskier of the two tasks. If this task is not finished earlier, the project will finish late.

PMP Weekly Question Series

PMP Exam Prep Question of the Week

Guest Authors — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:47:34 +0000

A PMP receives a contract from a client to manage a software development project. The PMP discovers that 25 percent of the software developers are also contractors and none of them have legal software licenses. What should the PMP do?

Report this vi+C8olation to the PMI.
Report this violation to the company’s senior management.
Fill out a Software Violation Report.
Report this violation to the software association.

The correct answer is 2.

The PMI® Code of Ethics in the chapter on responsibility states that the project manager has the responsibility to notify appropriate authorities of any violations of regulation or law.

PMP Weekly Question Series

PMP Exam Prep Question of the Week

Guest Authors — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:11:13 +0000

Who has the risk in a fixed-price contract?

Buyer
Seller
Sponsor
Customer

The correct answer is 2.

Fixed price contracts place the risk on the seller who has accepted a particular amount of consideration in exchange for the seller’s services, goods, or results. The seller risks incurring costs greater than planned and thereby experiencing reduced or eliminated profit.

PMP Weekly Question Series

PMP Exam Prep Question of the Week

Guest Authors — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:08:03 +0000

Your company has undertaken a quality program that focuses on involving everyone in the organization, manager and workers, in an integrated effort toward continuous improvement at every level. Which program is this?

Six Sigma
TQM (Total Quality Management)
QFD (Quality Function Deployment)
ISO9000

The correct answer is 2.

The scenario in the question describes Total Quality Management; therefore, TQM is correct. TQM is a process that encourages companies and employees to focus on continuous improvement, thereby improving the quality of their business practices and products.

PMP Weekly Question Series

Five Easy Steps to Apply for the PMP

Amanda Alderman — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:17:51 +0000

Applying for the PMP can be easy if you know what to plan for and cover. Make sure you have enough PDUs, know how to fill out the application, take the exam, and maintain your certification with these five steps.

Take a look at the application and make sure you meet the requirements. The main things are thirty-five contact hours (PDUs) and hours of experience working on projects. If you have a four-year degree then you need 4,500 hours, and if you do not (but have a high school diploma or equivalent) then you need 7,500 hours. The handbook on PMI’s website goes into the requirements in more detail, but those are the two main ones you need to make sure you have. If you do not have the experience for the PMP, you can qualify for the CAPM. The PMP Exam Prep Boot Camp will prepare you for the CAPM too since the pool of questions is the same. Then, once you meet the experience requirement for the PMP, you may take the PMP exam.
Start filling out the application before you attend the PMP Exam Prep Boot Camp. That way if you have questions your instructor can help you. Most people use this class to earn all or the remaining number of contact hours to get to the thirty-five they need. Unless you have thirty-five hours before the class starts, you can’t submit the application until class is over.
Since filling out the application can be a project in itself, we have a wonderful template you can use that will help you. Leave a note in the comments if you’d like a copy of the template emailed to you. Your email address will not show up in the comments or be used for any purpose other than receiving this template.
You will hear back from PMI in just a few days. Once you do, go ahead and schedule the exam. We recommend you take the exam within thirty days of the end of the class. Give yourself a few days after class to review the study materials before taking the exam.
Once you earn your PMP, you must maintain it by earning sixty PDUs every three years. You can find PMP renewal programs if you do not have time to take offsite classes. For instance, ours is a twelve month access to virtual short courses and over a hundred PDUs.

If you need more information, check out the PMP information handbook

PMP Exam Prep Question of the Week

Guest Authors — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:55:43 +0000

What does an SPI of 1 mean?

The project is on schedule
The project is on budget
The project is ahead of schedule
The project has only one CP

The correct answer is 1.

The project is on budget is a cost evaluation and The project is ahead of schedule would require an SPI of greater than 1. The project has only one CP is also not correct because SPI has nothing to do with the CP.

PMP Weekly Question Series

PMP Exam Prep Question of the Week

Guest Authors — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:51:58 +0000

You are doing quality planning for your project. You have decided to provide a cost-benefit analysis to show the benefits of meeting quality requirements relative to the expense associated with Project Quality Management activities. What is the primary benefit of meeting quality requirements?

Fewer undetected errors
Refined quality management practices
Less rework
Improved performance on quality audits

The correct answer is 3.

Less rework is the correct answer because according to the PMBOK GuideR, “the cost of preventing mistakes is generally much less than the cost of correcting them when they are found by inspection.” This position is most consistent with the Zero Defects theory of Phillip Crosby.

PMP Weekly Question Series

PMP Exam Prep Question of the Week

Guest Authors — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:46:39 +0000

You have just learned that the price for an important material element of your project is much higher than expected. You must proceed with the acquisition of the material; however, you recognize that the cost baseline for the project must be updated. Which of the following documents will define the procedure for updating the project’s cost baseline?

Chart of accounts
Responsibility assignment matrix
Work breakdown structure
Cost management plan

The correct answer is 4

Cost management plan is the correct answer because it is the component of the project management plan that defines how the processes of cost management will be approached and executed, and thus describes how the Control Costs process manages changes to the cost performance baseline.