Friday, March 6, 2020

PM1World Friday PMP Certification News - 6th Mar 2020

Deep Dive into one Task from the ECO: Planning Domain, Task 13
*** This only applies for PMP exam up to and including 30th of June 2020 ***


Planning, Task 13 

"Develop the stakeholder management plan by analyzing needs, interests, and potential impact in order to effectively manage stakeholders' expectations and engage them in project decisions."


Q. What is the ECO?


If you have been studying for the PMP Exam using reliable materials or through your own research, you should have come across a document published by PMI called 'The Examination Content Outline', referred to as ECO as a short form.

The ECO is the result of a Role Delineation Study conducted by PMI every few years to examine what do project managers actually do in their roles. This is the basis for PMP examination questions. When exam items are written, the ECO is the key driver of what PM tasks are tested. Because ECO does not contain all the detail, when a question is written, a valid reference must exist that supports the 'correct answer' -- in many cases the reference is the PMBoK Guide. But guess what? It does not have to be. PMP Exam questions can reference many textbooks in project management and questions are not constrained by the PMBoK content.

Why am I telling you this? Because you should review the ECO of the exam you are taking (i.e. from 1st July use the new ECO). It will hint at what the questions are going to be about. In fact, when you get the results from your PMP Exam attempt, PMI gives you an exam analysis showing you for each of the ECO tasks where your strengths and weaknesses are.

Q. Do you notice in Task 13 '... develop the stakeholder management plan' ?


Well, you are going to be tested on that, so make sure you understand it.  Did you notice that in PMBoK that document is called a 'Stakeholder Engagement Plan'? It's the same one and the exam can call it 'stakeholder management plan'.


  • Understand how it differs from a communication management plan
  • Understand what type of content it would have (read this in the PMBoK Guide)
  • Understand that it is a sub-plan of the project management plan so once the project management plan is approved --then changes to the stakeholder management plan need to go through a change control process. 

Q. Do you notice in Task 13 '...in order to engage them in project decisions' ?


So if you want to make sure you have figured out how to engage stakeholders in project decisions, what do you create? Well, the stakeholder management plan.

Q. Do you notice in Task 13 '...by analyzing needs, interests...' ?



You should know how to analyze interest to determine the engagement strategy. Using the stakeholder register that you already created containing what their levels of interest, power, etc are - you can use the stakeholder engagement matrix to help (read in PMBoK).

Also, --- what are some general engagement approaches for a Power/Interest grid?


High Interest - High Power (monitor closely)
High Interest - Low Power (keep informed)
Low Interest - High Power (keep satisfied)
Low Interest - Low Power (monitor)





Q. What did you learn from this analysis of ONE task from the ECO?


-ECO is a great resource to help you to be sure you haven't missed important items in your studies
-1 ECO task can represent 3-6 questions in some cases!!
- Not everything that is tested appears directly in PMBoK

Q. What does it take to pass the Exam ?


The PMP exam is a difficult and long exam. It is important to not only understand the content of the exam but also build up your endurance and timing ๐Ÿ˜† by doing a lot of practice questions. However, please be careful because if you practice with the wrong types of exam simulators, it can be detrimental. There are hundreds of people and companies out there who are selling exam questions and simulators with questions from 10 years ago that are nothing like the real exam today.

Q. What Instructor led training is recommended?


My classroom courses and corporate mentored learning are very popular and highly recommended by anyone who has participated. This is because of the quality, currency, and care that we focus on. We take pride in helping each student pass and provide personalised attention to our clients. Our 97% pass rate is extraordinary for this difficult exam. I teach public courses in Australia and dedicated corporate training anywhere

Q. Can't come to a class? What online training and or simulator is best and recommended?



We searched and compared the best simulators online out there to partner with and I would like to personally and strongly recommend Prepcast to you. Here is why ...

We (PM1World) have been a PMI Registered Education Provider for over 15 years and I have been teaching the PMP courses since then. Most of our PMP classes have been in-person instructor led classes. We still run our incredibly popular classes (97% pass rate) in Australia. We did not have the resources to maintain a high quality online simulation product and recently set out to find a reliable high quality company to collaborate with. We are including this and bundling it with our classroom courses. Precast has great support, realistic questions, great student feedback -and if you license through one of our links you get extended personal support from me.

After a lot of trials and speaking with customers, we selected Prepcast.  We signed up as an affiliate.

Why would you not just go directly to them to buy it? 

- Free extra support: 
Because if you purchase from us with our link, you get my free personal support to pass the exam. If you come across questions you don't understand, if you have a topic you are not sure of --- you can contact me for help to use any means you like, such as Skype, Zoom, Whatsapp, email.
- It does not cost you anything extra and you get extra support
You will also be helping me to keep engaged with the community to provide good accurate information and news. There is so much misinformation out there, scam products, and bad advice.
-Free SCRUM e-learning course to pass the PSM Exam. 
Yes, totally free e-learning included which also includes our support if you decide to take the PSM Exam. You can even start it later once you earn the PMP so you can get PDUs

Our link is noted above and you can just click or click here to purchase the best exam simulator for the PMP Exam. 

Please note that the extras noted above are ONLY available if you purchase the Prepcast Simulator using this link.

๐Ÿ‘‰Gina

Gina.Davidovic@PM1World.com
www.PM1World.com


PRINCE2®, PRINCE2 Agile®, MSP®, MoP®, P3O®, M_o_R®, MoV® and ITIL® are registered trademarks of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved. PMP®, CAPM®PMI-ACP® and PgMP® are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.


Sunday, March 1, 2020

PM1World Friday PMP Certification News - 28th Feb 2020

Writing the PMP Experience Statements and a Few Exam Tips


Q. How do I describe my work experience on the application?



  • You only have 500 CHARACTERS (not words) per project!
  • Each project must be entered separately with its own description
  • You must include the project objective/purpose in every project description
  • You must group the experience statements by each of the 5 domains (process groups)
  • The statements must demonstrate project management work that you did yourself
  • Don't include tasks that are not 'project management tasks' (i.e. project management work).
  • The domains can be abbreviated: IN, PL, EX, MC, CL

Here is an example for reference. PLEASE DO NOT JUST COPY AND PASTE THIS example. 

The objective was to increase productivity by 20%. In my role I led and directed a team of 4 team members. My tasks included: Initiation: assisted in the project charter development and completed stakeholder analysis; Planning; developed the scope, created the schedule, created the communications plan, updated the overall plan; in Execution I led the team, conducted team meetings, updated the schedule and distributed project reports; in Control I measured progress and developed status reports and managed changes; in Closing: I collected lessons learned and managed the transition.


Q. Do I have to send my resume or project documents with the application?


No, you don't have to send anything in with the application. The only time you need to send something is if you are chosen for an audit. See below.

Q. What if I get Audited?


You can get selected for an audit at various points. Usually it is a random audit where you get notified immediately when submitting the application. The other way that audits happen is if PMI has to ask you to correct the application wording and ask you to resubmit. In this latter case, you generally get audited automatically. These are only the typical cases and PMI could audit for other reasons.

If you get audited, you will need to send PMI an audit package (best to courier it) that includes:


  • Document that proves the 35 education hours that you listed in the application.
  • Copy of your University degree or diploma or letter that proves your educational level
  • Signed experience forms (these are provided by PMI and is basically a PDF of your application statements with a signature page for your 'referee'). 
    • You will need to take these to one or multiple people for the projects that you listed. Each person will sign them confirming they believe what you wrote is true. 
    • You can have ALL the experience statements signed by one person (i.e. your current director, manager, or a colleague). They must be familiar with that past work because they are signing that they do. It does not have to actually be the people you did the project for (some companies don't even exist anymore!).
    • FOLLOW the instructions provided by PMI fully 

Q. Is there anyone who can review my draft statements and provide me with feedback?


Yes, I can. Please write them and email me at Gina.Davidovic@PM1World.com. I'd be happy to take a look and give you some feedback on whether they are written properly.


Q. Do you have a few tips for the exam itself ?


  • Focus on understanding the documents, plans, tools, techniques. Memorisation will not help you except for maybe 10-15 questions. If you understand then you don't need to memorise anything! PLEASE IGNORE anyone that is telling you to memorise ITTOs (Inputs/Tools&Techniques/Outputs), it is not a good use of your time for the PMP Exam (If you were taking CAPM, it can help). 
  • Read and try to understand every single task in the ECO (Exam Content Outline). The exam is designed from this document, not from the PMBoK. Does that surprise you? The PMBoK is certainly an important input and reference for the details. Not everything in PMBoK is tested and also there is knowledge tested that does not come from PMBoK. 
  • You need to be familiar with the concepts of Predictive, Adaptive, Hybrid lifecycles. In the current exam you may get a few questions and in the new exam (from 1st July) you will get many questions on this. Don't however go and start trying to learn every Agile framework in detail. This does not replace the PMI-ACP or other Agile exams. 
  • Understand how questions are actually designed:
    • Questions are written to test the ECO tasks. One task could be related to many questions.
    • ECO does not have all the detail so PMBoK and other books are references
    • Each question has a STEM (the body) which is normally just 2-3 sentences long (the old question types where a question was like a paragraph do not exist in the real exam). The STEM will normally contain important details that will likely tip one answer as better than another answer -- pay attention to every word.
    • The 4 choices can be very close to each other and requires good understanding of the content and also ability to analyse the question quickly (1.2 seconds per question!)
    • A good quality and reputable course and trainer will help you understand this.

Q. Will the PMP application change in line with the new July Exam ?

PMI has not announced any changes to the application, however it is very possible and likely that it will change at some point. I suggest you submit the application now and get it approved if you think you might take the exam within a year. You normally have 1 year from approval in which to take the exam.


Q. What does it take to pass the Exam ?


The PMP exam is a difficult and long exam. It is important to not only understand the content of the exam but also build up your endurance and timing ๐Ÿ˜† by doing a lot of practice questions. However, please be careful because if you practice with the wrong types of exam simulators, it can be detrimental. There are hundreds of people and companies out there who are selling exam questions and simulators with questions from 10 years ago that are nothing like the real exam today.


Q. What Instructor led training is recommended?


My classroom courses and corporate mentored learning are very popular and highly recommended by anyone who has participated. This is because of the quality, currency, and care that we focus on. We take pride in helping each student pass and provide personalised attention to our clients. Our 97% pass rate is extraordinary for this difficult exam. I teach public courses in Australia and dedicated corporate training anywhere.


Q. Can't come to a Class? What online training and or simulator is best and recommended?


We searched and compared the best simulators online out there to partner with and I would like to personally and strongly recommend Prepcast to you. Here is why ...

We (PM1World) have been a PMI Registered Education Provider for over 15 years and I have been teaching the PMP courses since then. Most of our PMP classes have been in-person instructor led classes. We still run our incredibly popular classes (97% pass rate) in Australia. We did not have the resources to maintain a high quality online simulation product and recently set out to find a reliable high quality company to collaborate with. We are including this and bundling it with our classroom courses. precast has great support, realistic questions, great student feedback -and if you license through one of our links you get extended personal support from me.

After a lot of trials and speaking with customers, we selected Prepcast.  We signed up as an affiliate.

Why would you not just go directly to them to buy it? 

- Free extra support: 
Because if you purchase from us with our link, you get my free personal support to pass the exam. If you come across questions you don't understand, if you have a topic you are not sure of --- you can contact me for help to use any means you like, such as Skype, Zoom, Whatsapp, email.
- It does not cost you anything extra and you get extra support
You will also be helping me to keep engaged with the community to provide good accurate information and news. There is so much misinformation out there, scam products, and bad advice.
-Free SCRUM e-learning course to pass the PSM Exam. 
Yes, totally free e-learning included which also includes our support if you decide to take the PSM Exam. You can even start it later once you earn the PMP so you can get PDUs

Our link is noted above and you can just click or click here to purchase the best exam simulator for the PMP Exam. 

Please note that the extras noted above are ONLY available if you purchase the Prepcast Simulator using this link.

๐Ÿ‘‰Gina

Gina.Davidovic@PM1World.com
www.PM1World.com


PRINCE2®, PRINCE2 Agile®, MSP®, MoP®, P3O®, M_o_R®, MoV® and ITIL® are registered trademarks of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved. PMP®, CAPM®PMI-ACP® and PgMP® are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.


Thursday, February 20, 2020

PM1World Friday PMP Certification News - 20th Feb 2020

The New PMP Exam: Frequently Asked Questions


Q. What are the new domains?


Process: 50% of the exam
* this is the same knowledge currently tested in the PMP Exam today
People:42% of the exam
* Some of this may already be tested today but there is a much greater emphasis on leadership, conflict management, team building, motivation, organizational change--- with new approaches that were not tested before.
Business: 8% of the exam
* This will test your understanding of important areas like business cases, strategic alignment, benefits realization, compliance, environmental factors.

Q. Is PMBoK 7th Edition needed for the PMP exam after the 1st of July?


No. The Standard and Guide 7th Edition are not yet published. At some point (likely 2021), they may become inputs to PMP Exam questions, but not yet. This means that for the 'process' questions on the PMP exam, the PMBoK Guide 6th Edition is still applicable.

Q. Is the PMP exam from the 1st of July harder or easier?


PMI has not commented on whether it is harder or easier. In one way it might depend on the nature of your actual project management experience. If you already have well-rounded experience in project management including leadership skills and have been exposed to Agile ways of working as well as more predictive approaches --then the exam should not be any harder.

What makes it appear harder at the present time is that there is limited study material, simulation questions, etc for the new exam. There are about 8 different large textbooks (including PMBoK) which are inputs to the exam. You may need to read through them to capture the knowledge you need. In the future there will be courses, practice exams, etc.

Q. Should one try to take the exam before it changes?


This is really choice that depends on your own circumstances. We recommend that you take the exam before it changes mostly because we have a great arsenal of experience on the current exam patterns and there are many choices in training courses and simulations.  If you are the type of person who enjoys the learning journey and does not mind trying new things, then waiting for the new exams would be the right thing for you.

Q. Is it true that the new exam will test 'Agile' ?


Yes, you will need to clearly understand various delivery approaches including:Adaptive, Iterative, Predictive, Hybrid and the factors that go into your selection of which one to use. BUT ... don't jump to start studying Scrum in detail! You should have a basic understanding of Agile lifecycles, how the role of the PM changes or does not change, concepts like MVP, etc.  PMI has indicated that 50% of the exam questions may require this understanding.

Q. What online training and or simulator is best and recommended?


We searched and compared the best simulators online out there to partner with and I would like to personally and strongly recommend PMPrepcast to you. Here is why ...

We (PM1World) have been a PMI Registered Education Provider for over 15 years and I have been teaching the PMP courses since then. Most of our PMP classes have been in-person instructor led classes. We still run our incredibly popular classes (97% pass rate) in Australia. We did not have the resources to maintain a high quality online simulation product and recently set out to find a reliable high quality company to collaborate with. We are including this and bundling it with our classroom courses. PMprecast has great support, realistic questions, great student feedback -and if you license through one of our links you get extended personal support from me.

After a lot of trials and speaking with customers, we selected PMPrepcast.  We are an affiliate which means that we receive a small referral from clients who purchase through affiliate link.

Why would you not just go directly to them to buy it? 

- Free extra support: 
Because if you purchase from us with our link, you get my free personal support to pass the exam. If you come across questions you don't understand, if you have a topic you are not sure of --- you can contact me for help using any means you like like Skype, Zoom, Whatsapp, email.
- It does not cost you anything extra and you get extra support
You will also be helping me to keep engaged with the community to provide good accurate information and news. There is so much misinformation out there, scam products, and bad advice.
-Free SCRUM e-learning course to pass the PSM Exam. 
Yes, totally free e-learning included which also includes our support if you decide to take the PSM Exam. You can even start it later once you earn the PMP so you can get PDUs

Our link is noted above and you can just click or click here to purchase the best exam simulator for the PMP Exam. 

Please note that the extras noted above are ONLY available if you purchase the PMPrepcast Simulator using this link.

Gina

Gina.Davidovic@PM1World.com


PRINCE2®, PRINCE2 Agile®, MSP®, MoP®, P3O®, M_o_R®, MoV® and ITIL® are registered trademarks of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved. PMP®, CAPM®PMI-ACP® and PgMP® are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.