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PMP Study

PMP Exam Study Summary

A summary of my studies for the PMP exam.

Overview

PMP is a project management certification. It is based on a guidebook called PMBOK (latest 7th edition). The PMP exam is 230 minutes long and consists of 180 questions, but 5 of them are dummy questions, so you pass if you answer 106 or more of the 175 questions correctly. The answers are multiple-choice, mostly with 4 options, but some have 5 options or are multiple-select.

Servant Leadership

A leadership style that supports from the bottom rather than commanding from the top.

10 Principles (Characteristics) of Servant Leadership

  1. Listening
  2. Empathy
  3. Healing
  4. Awareness
  5. Persuasion
  6. Conceptualization
  7. Foresight
  8. Stewardship
  9. Commitment to the Growth of People
  10. Building Community

Agile Manifesto 4 Values

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

  1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
  2. Working software over comprehensive documentation
  3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
  4. Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the left, we value the items on the right more.

Agile Manifesto

12 Principles Behind the Agile Manifesto

  1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
  2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.
  3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
  4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
  5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
  6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
  7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.
  8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
  9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
  10. Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work not done–is essential.
  11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
  12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

Principles behind the Agile Manifesto

Terminology

  • Epic (Outline)
  • User Story (Unit to be registered in the product backlog, unit for prioritization)
  • Task (Technical work item, target for time estimation)
  • Product Backlog / Product Backlog Item
  • Product Owner
  • Stakeholder
  • Agile Practice Guide (Book)
  • Lean Development
  • Kanban
  • Value Chain
  • AC (Actual Cost)
  • EV (Earned Value)
  • PV (Planned Value)
  • EVA (Earned Value Analysis)
  • SPI (Schedule Performance Index = EV / PV)
  • CPI (Cost Performance Index = EV / AC)
  • EVM (Earned Value Management)
  • BAC (Budget at Completion)
  • ETC (Estimate To Complete)
  • EAC (Estimate At Completion)
  • Functional Organization
  • Matrix Organization
  • Projectized Organization
  • Servant Leadership
  • Tuckman’s Model (Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning)
  • Team Charter
  • Planning Poker (Fibonacci sequence)
  • Retrospective (Looking back activity)
  • Virtual Team
  • Project Charter
  • Conflict (6 Coping methods: Confronting/Problem Solving, Collaborating, Compromising, Smoothing/Accommodating, Forcing, Withdrawing/Avoiding)
  • Value Stream Mapping
  • Mentoring
  • Coaching
  • Training
  • Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
  • SWOT Analysis: Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat
  • SECI Model (Socialization, Externalization, Combination, Internalization)
  • PDCA, PDSA
  • PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental)
  • VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity)
  • Monte Carlo Method
  • Decision Tree Analysis
  • Expected Monetary Value (EMV)
  • Net Promoter Score
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • Sprint Review
  • Release Management
  • SOW (Statement of Work) “Document containing a detailed description of the project scope, objectives, deliverables, duration, resources, etc.”
  • P-SOW (Procurement Statement of Work)
  • RFI (Request For Information)
  • RFP (Request For Proposal)
  • Fixed Price Contract (FP: Fixed Price)
  • Time and Material Contract (T&M: Time and Material)
  • Cost Reimbursable Contract (CR: Cost Reimbursable)
  • Fixed Price Incentive Fee (FPIF)
  • Scope Creep
  • Kano Analysis
  • Funding Limit Reconciliation
  • 100 Points Method
  • MoSCoW Method (Must, Should, Could, Would)
  • Traceability Matrix
  • WBS Dictionary
  • Velocity (Number of story points achieved in each iteration)
  • Velocity Chart
  • Engagement Assessment Matrix (Unaware, Resistant, Neutral, Supportive, Leading)
  • Phase Gate
  • Information Radiator
  • Burndown Chart
  • Burnup Chart
  • Cumulative Flow Diagram
  • QCD (Quality, Cost, Delivery)
  • Spiral Model
  • Critical Chain
  • Feature
  • Iteration / Sprint
  • Iterative
  • Incremental
  • Increment (Deliverable of an increment)
  • Resilience / Resiliency
  • Stewardship: Sincere, trustworthy behavior and responsible actions (decision making)
  • Escalation
  • KPT (Keep, Problem, Try)
  • RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed)
  • PMO (Project Management Office): Supportive, Controlling, Directive
  • Cadence
  • Tailoring
  • Neurological Levels (Environment, Behavior, Capabilities, Beliefs/Values, Identity)
  • Business Case (Document outlining project objectives, benefits, risks, ROI, etc.)
  • Trend Analysis (Executed using run charts, mathematical techniques to predict future outcomes based on results)
  • Quality Management Plan (Defines the strategy and approach for project deliverables’ quality)
  • Governance Process
  • Product Owner (Product vision, product backlog prioritization, product release)
  • Project Owner (Project sponsor/client)
  • Project Manager (Manages the overall project)
  • Project Leader (Directs on site)
  • Project Member (Drives the project)
  • Hybrid Approach
  • Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
  • Iteration Review
  • Workshop
  • Project Benefits Management Plan (Target benefits of project objectives, strategic means to realize them, and timeframes)
  • Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
  • On-site (In the field, locally)
  • Analogous Estimating
  • Three-Point Estimating
  • Parametric Estimating
  • Project Review
  • Big Bang Approach
  • DSDM (Dynamic Systems Development Method)
  • Brooks’s Law
  • Big Bang Approach (Introducing everything all at once)
  • Risk Register (Document used as a risk management tool to identify potential setbacks in a project)
  • Risk Register
  • Situational Leadership Theory (SL Theory) (4 behaviors matched to the other party’s situation)
  • Competence
  • Commitment

References

Study Materials

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