PMP-Basics you Need to knowBy: Pradeep Patel PMP

What is a Project

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service.Temporary means that every project has a definite beginning and a definite end. Unique means that the product or service is different in some distinguishing way from all other products or

services.Additional features that a project exhibits:

A project phase has deliverables.These deliverables are spanned across various stages that every project goes through, namely Initiating, planning,

executing, monitoring and Control and finally Closing.

TRIPLE Constraints • Time• Cost • Scope

These three are called triple constraints as the project whole purpose of project management revolves around these three.

These constraints are very tightly linked with each other, If one is altered, other two gets affected.If the Scope of deliverables increases, the associated cost and time are bound to increase.Alternatively, if Time is a constraint ,Scope of deliverables will be reduced, that will result in decreased costs.

Cost

ScopeTime

Project Management Life Cycle

• All projects follow a life cycle from start to close. Generic life cycle can be thought of as Starting, Preparing, Executing and Closing.

• Project can have multiple phases. Each Phase is like a new project and goes through Project Life cycle. Phases would generally have one of the following relationships

• Sequential – New Phase can only start after completing current phase• Overlapping – New Phase will start before ending current phase.• Iterative – Only one phase is planned initially and new phase will be

planned later as the work continues in the current phase.

Initiating Planning Executing Monitoring and Control

Closing

Project Phase Relationship TypesSequential Relationship: Phases happen one after another and do not overlap. Next phase can’t start until the previous finishes i.e. the phases are highly interlinked or interdependent.Every phase end has a deliverable, that might (might not) serve as an input to the next phase. Overlapping Relationship:The phases are not interdependent and can finish (follow all 5 processes) or start independent of each other.The whole team works at the same time.Since all the work is happening at the same time, there is high RISK and the team might need to do a lot of rework. Iteration: Executing the current phase and PLANNING the Next phase.(Agile Software development is based on this approach). While the team’s in Executing for the first phase, they’re also in Initiating and Planning for the second one.Highly useful in the environment which is highly uncertain or where there are a lot of RAPID changes. By the time the team is done with the first phase, the team is already

Basic Terminologies Fast TrackingFast tracking means doing project phases in Parallel(rather than following Sequential Processes approach).Crashing: This is the approach in which additional resources are added to the project to finish it on schedule. A corporate joke “Project manager is a person who thinks 9 ladies can produce a baby in one month” could have it’s roots from this .Progressive Elaboration:Move toward the project plan in incremental steps as the ideas about the final product are refined and more and more information about the requirements is made available in a progressive fashion.Types of Progressive elaborationsRolling Wave Planning/ Moving Window planning : Planning the project progress as things make clear, while doing the work. In this approach there can be repetitive project phases inside a project phase.Consider an example, where scope of work is not clear in the beginning. We plan and start the work, once we are inching towards the end of the phase, things become more clear and we plan upcoming work and repeat the cycle again.

Prototypes: a Tangible working model or Mock up is created initially, on which feedback is taken and, it is on this prototype that the further additions are made.

Organisation Types and Role of Project Manager. Organization

StructureFunctional Matrix Projectized

Project manager’s authority

None to low Low to high High to full

Project manager’s role

Part-time Part-time to full-time Full-time

Project management administrative staff

None to part-time Part-time to full-time Full-time

Project budget controlled by

Functional manager Functional manager project manager, or both manager

Project Manager

Matrix organizations are further classified as Weak Matrix and Strong Matrix and Balanced Matrix.Weak matrix exhibits features of Functional organization while strong Matrix is inclined towards Projectized organization. Balanced Matrix has mixed features of both Functional and Projectized organization.

Organizational StructuresOrganization Types Authority Team Reports To PE/PC

Functional FH FH PE/PC

Projectized PM PM ---------

Weak Matrix FH FH PE &PC

Balanced Matrix FH=PM PM& FH ----------

Strong Matrix PM PM &FH -----------

FH=Functional Head PM=Project Manager PE=Project Expeditor PC=Project Coordinator

Project expediter The person documents what is happening on the project and does not have any decision making powers. The person is not responsible for success/failure of the project. The person’s main job is to keep everybody informed.Project coordinators are like expediters, except that coordinators typically report to higher-level managers and have some decision-making ability.

Coordinators usually report to somebody who is pretty high up in the organization, while expediters are more like assistants to the functional manager.

How Projects Come into Existence

Inputs, Tools and Techniques ,Outputs-ITTOAll of 42 processes(refer to my earlier presentation ) will have some Inputs,

some tools and techniques and provide some Output(s).

ITTOs form a specific quantity of questions in the PMP exam and should be well versed, before taking the exam.

ITTOs, against the general misconception, should not be memorized.Rather there is always a logical relation between them that should be streesed upon rather than cramming them.

Output from one process can serve as an Input to other. There can be common Tools and Techniques across the processes.

Inputs

Tools and Techniques

Output

Enterprise Environmental FactorsEnterprise Environmental factors: These are the factors, tools and policies that

companies formulate or follow in daily routine functioning of the organization.

Some of the Enterprise Environmental Factors are listed below Organizational culture & structure, Infrastructure, Government rules, guidelines, regulations or industry standards, Marketplace conditions, Stakeholder risk tolerances, Project management information systems(PMIS), Existing human resources factors like skills, knowledge, disciplines, Personnel administration like hiring, performance review guidelines, training, Published commercial information or databases for estimations,risk data Company work authorization system.

These factors play critical role in the project lifecycle. These factors are inputs to almost all the processes across all process groups and Knowledge Areas()

Configuration Management System

Configuration Management System is a part of the overall Project Management Information System (PMIS). Change Management System is a subset of the Configuration Management System.

Detailed Document about this would soon be available (in the process of creating it)

PMIS

Change Management System

Organizational Process Assets

• Organizational process assets include any or all processes related to the assets from an organization(s) involved in a project that can be used to influence the project’s success.

• OPAs include the followingAny formal/informal plansOrganization’s standard processes, policies, procedures/methodologies,Guidelines,Lessons learned Historical information (case studies or information gathered from similar projects in the

past.)

• Lessons Learned is the term that is very common in usage in PMP context.It is the responsibility of the project team to document the details and the new lessons learned during the Project.

This can serve as a valuable information for the future projects that are similar in nature and can be used as a reference to start with.

Stakeholders

• Stakeholder, in simple terms is any one with an interest or impact on your organization or Project or Business.

Going by the above definition, stakeholders can be categorized into• Corporate stakeholders• Project Stakeholders • Corporate stakeholders are the individuals that form the Organization(Right from

TOP guns to lower clerical staff).• Project Stakeholders are the inviduals who can add to or negate from Project

progress and Success.• Stakeholder identification is a critical process that results in the list of

stakeholders. This list is sometimes referred to as Stakeholders Register.• In corporate and Project level communication, the stakeholder register forms the

basis for formulation Communication Management plan, policies and procedures.

Thank You!

For Any Queries/Suggestions Please mail me at : pradeeppatelpmp@gmail.com

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