Introduction

Congratulations on your decision to pursue the Project Management Professional (PMP) credential, one of the most widely recognized credentials within the project management industry! The PMP credential is offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI), a not-for-profit organization with thousands of members across the globe. PMI has been a long-standing advocate and contributor to the project management industry and offers several credentials for those specializing in the field of project management.

This book is meant for anyone preparing to take the PMP certification exam as well as individuals who are looking to gain a better understanding of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 4th Edition (PMBOK® Guide). If you are studying for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®) exam, you may also find this book useful because the CAPM exam tests your knowledge of the PMBOK® Guide contents.

This review guide has been formatted to work hand in hand with PMP: Project Management Professional Exam Study Guide, 6th Edition, from Sybex. The Study Guide provides a more comprehensive review of the concepts included on the exam along with real-world examples. This review guide will reinforce these concepts and provide you with further explanation and a handy reference guide to the project management processes within the PMBOK® Guide. You’ll find references to the Study Guide throughout this book, guiding you to where you may find additional information as needed. With all of these great resources at your fingertips, learning and understanding the PMBOK® Guide, along with other project management concepts, has certainly become easier!

Book Structure

This book has been structured in a way that carefully follows the concepts of the PMBOK® Guide, allowing you to understand how a project is managed from beginning to end. For this reason, we will review the processes in the order of the process groups:

• Initiating
• Planning
• Executing
• Monitoring and Controlling
• Closing

We start by covering the project management framework and the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and then move to a comprehensive review of the process groups. You’ll find that each chapter offers a concise overview of each project management process and concept as well as the process inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs. This structure allows you to go back and reference terms, definitions, and descriptions at a glance.

Overview of PMI Credentials

PMI offers several credentials within the field of project management, so whether you are an experienced professional or looking to enter into the project management field for the first time, you’ll find something to meet your needs. You may hold one or multiple credentials concurrently.

Over the years, PMI has contributed to the project management body of knowledge by developing global standards used by thousands of project management professionals and organizations. In total, there are 11 standards grouped within the following categories:

• Projects
• Programs
• Profession
• Organizations
• People

Several credentials offered by PMI are based on the PMBOK® Guide, which is part of the Projects category. As of the publication date of this book, PMI offers five credentials. Let’s briefly go through them:

Project Management Professional (PMP) You are most likely familiar with the PMP credential—after all, you purchased this book! But did you know that the PMP certification is the most widely and globally recognized project management certification? The PMP, along with several other credentials, validates your experience and knowledge of project management. This makes obtaining a PMP in itself a great achievement. The following requirements are necessary to apply for the PMP exam:

Work Experience The following work experience must have been accrued over the past eight consecutive years:

• If you have a bachelor’s degree or the global equivalent: three years (36 months) of non-overlapping project management experience, totaling at least 4,500 hours
• If you have a high school diploma, associate’s degree, or global equivalent: five years (60 months) of non-overlapping project management experience, totaling at least 7,500 hours

Contact Hours “Contact hours” refers to the number of qualified formal educational hours obtained that relate to project management. A total of 35 contact hours is required and must be completed before you submit your application.

Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) The CAPM credential is ideal for someone looking to enter the project management industry. You may meet the requirements through work experience or through formal project management education. If you do not currently have project management experience, you may apply if you have accumulated the requisite number of formal contact hours:

Work Experience 1,500 hours of formal project management experience

Contact Hours 23 contact hours of formal project management education

Program Management Professional (PgMP®) The PgMP credential is ideal for those who specialize in the area of program management or would like to highlight their experience of program management. A PMP is not required to obtain this or any other credential. You must meet the following requirements to apply for the PgMP exam:

Work Experience The following work experience must have been accrued over the past 15 consecutive years:

• If you have a bachelor’s degree or global equivalent: four years of non-overlapping project management experience, totaling at least 6,000 hours, and four years of non-overlapping program management experience, totaling 6,000 hours
• If you have a high school diploma, associate’s degree, or global equivalent: four years of non-overlapping project management experience, totaling at least 6,000 hours, and seven years of non-overlapping program management experience, totaling 10,500 hours

PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP®) The PMI-RMP credential is ideal for those who specialize in the area of risk management or would like to highlight their risk management experience. The following are the requirements to apply for the PMI-RMP exam:

Work Experience The following work experience must have been accrued over the past five consecutive years:

• If you have a bachelor’s degree or global equivalent: 3,000 hours of professional project risk management experience
• If you have a high school diploma, associate’s degree, or global equivalent: 4,500 hours of professional project risk management experience

Contact Hours

• If you have a bachelor’s degree or global equivalent: 30 contact hours in the area of risk management
• If you have a high school diploma, associate’s degree, or global equivalent: 40 contact hours in the area of risk management

PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP®) The PMI-SP credential is ideal for those who specialize in the area of project scheduling, or who would like to highlight their project scheduling experience. You must meet the following requirements to apply for the PMI-SP exam:

Work Experience The following work experience must have been accrued over the past five consecutive years:

• If you have a bachelor’s degree or global equivalent: 3,500 hours of professional project scheduling experience
• If you have a high school diploma, associate’s degree, or global equivalent: 5,000 hours of professional project scheduling experience

Contact Hours

• If you have a bachelor’s degree or global equivalent: 30 contact hours in the area of project scheduling
• If you have a high school diploma, associate’s degree, or global equivalent: 40 contact hours in the area of project scheduling

For the latest information regarding the PMI credentials and other exam information, you can visit PMI’s website at www.pmi.org.

PMP Exam Objectives

The PMP exam tests your knowledge of the competencies highlighted in the exam objectives. The following are the official PMP exam objectives, as specified by PMI.

Initiating the Project

The following objectives make up the Initiating the Project performance domain and are covered in Chapter 2 of this book:

• Perform project assessment based upon available information and meetings with the sponsor, customer, and other subject matter experts, in order to evaluate the feasibility of new products or services within the given assumptions and/or constraints.
• Define the high-level scope of the project based on business and compliance requirements, in order to meet the customer’s project expectations.
• Perform key stakeholder analysis using brainstorming, interviewing, and other data-gathering techniques, in order to ensure expectation alignment and gain support for the project.
• Identify and document high-level risks, assumptions, and constraints based on the current environment, historical data, and/or expert judgment, in order to identify project limitations and propose an implementation approach.
• Develop the project charter by further gathering and analyzing stakeholder requirements, in order to document project scope, milestones, and deliverables.
• Obtain approval of the project charter from the sponsor and customer (if required), in order to formalize the authority assigned to the project manager and gain commitment and acceptance for the project.

Planning the Project

The following objectives make up the Planning the Project performance domain and are covered in Chapter 3 of this book:

• Assess detailed project requirements, constraints, and assumptions with stakeholders based on the project charter, lessons learned from previous projects, and the use of requirement-gathering techniques (e.g., planning sessions, brainstorming, focus groups), in order to establish the project deliverables.
• Create the work breakdown structure with the team by deconstructing the scope, in order to manage the scope of the project.
• Develop a budget plan based on the project scope using estimating techniques, in order to manage project cost.
• Develop a project schedule based on the project timeline, scope, and resource plan, in order to manage timely completion of the project.
• Develop a human resource management plan by defining the roles and responsibilities of the project team members in order to create an effective project organization structure and provide guidance regarding how resources will be utilized and managed.
• Develop a communication plan based on the project organization structure and external stakeholder requirements, in order to manage the flow of project information.
• Develop a procurement plan based on the project scope and schedule, in order to ensure that required project resources will be available.
• Develop a quality management plan based on the project scope and requirements, in order to prevent the occurrence of defects and reduce the cost of quality.
• Develop a change management plan by defining how changes will be handled, in order to track and manage changes.
• Develop a risk management plan by identifying, analyzing, and prioritizing project risks and defining risk response strategies, in order to manage uncertainty throughout the project life cycle.
• Present the project plan to the key stakeholders (if required), in order to obtain approval to execute the project.
• Conduct a kickoff meeting with all key stakeholders, in order to announce the start of the project, communicate the project milestones, and share other relevant information.

Executing the Project

The following objectives make up the Executing the Project performance domain and are covered in Chapter 4 of this book:

• Obtain and manage project resources, including outsourced deliverables, by following the procurement plan, in order to ensure successful project execution.
• Execute the tasks as defined in the project plan, in order to achieve the project deliverables within budget and schedule.
• Implement the quality management plan using the appropriate tools and techniques, in order to ensure that work is being performed according to required quality standards.
• Implement approved changes according to the change management plan, in order to meet project requirements.
• Implement approved actions (e.g., workarounds) by following the risk management plan, in order to minimize the impact of the risks on the project.
• Maximize team performance through leading, mentoring, training, and motivating team members.

Monitoring and Controlling the Project

The following objectives make up the Monitoring and Controlling the Project performance domain and are covered in Chapter 5 of this book:

• Measure project performance using appropriate tools and techniques, in order to identify and quantify any variances, perform approved corrective actions, and communicate with relevant stakeholders.
• Manage changes to the project scope, schedule, and costs by updating the project plan and communicating approved changes to the team, in order to ensure that revised project goals are met.
• Ensure that project deliverables conform to the quality standards established in the quality management plan by using appropriate tools and techniques (e.g., testing, inspection, control charts), in order to satisfy customer requirements.
• Update the risk register and risk response plan by identifying any new risks, assessing old risks, and determining and implementing appropriate response strategies, in order to manage the impact of risks on the project.
• Assess corrective actions on the issue register and determine next steps for unresolved issues by using appropriate tools and techniques in order to minimize the impact on project schedule, cost, and resources.
• Communicate project status to stakeholders for their feedback, in order to ensure the project aligns with business needs.

Closing the Project

The following objectives make up the Closing the Project performance domain and are covered in Chapter 6 of this book:

• Obtain final acceptance of the project deliverables by working with the sponsor and/or customer, in order to confirm that project scope and deliverables were met.
• Transfer the ownership of deliverables to the assigned stakeholders in accordance with the project plan, in order to facilitate project closure.
• Obtain financial, legal, and administrative closure using generally accepted practices, in order to communicate formal project closure and ensure no further liability.
• Distribute the final project report, including all project closure-related information, project variances, and any issues, in order to provide the final project status to all stakeholders.
• Collate lessons learned through comprehensive project review, in order to create and/or update the organization’s knowledge base.
• Archive project documents and materials in order to retain organizational knowledge, comply with statutory requirements, and ensure availability of data for potential use in future projects and internal/external audits.
• Measure customer satisfaction at the end of the project by capturing customer feedback, in order to assist in project evaluation and enhance customer relationships.