1. Welcome To The
Prof. Muzette Charles, PMP
mcharles2@pace.edu
Certified Associate Project Management
CAPM® Exam Prep – Week 1
2. Welcome
Prof. Muzette Charles, PMP
20 year professional career managing financial portfolios and
non-profit fund development projects
Pace University – Adjunct Professor, PMP / CAPM
Media Solutions – Project Manager, Finance & Marketing
Morgan Stanley – Financial Advisor
U.S.P.S. – National Account Manager
Project Management Professional – PMP / PMI Certified
B.S. Electrical Engineering – Fairleigh Dickinson University
3. Why take the CAPM® ?
Regardless of your career stage, the Certified Associate in Project Management
(CAPM)® is an asset that will distinguish you in the job market and enhance your
credibility and effectiveness working on — or with — project teams.
Project management is a rapidly growing profession. Through 2020, 1.57 million
new jobs will be created each year and qualified practitioners are in demand.
With the CAPM, you’ll be on the fast track to opportunity.
If you’d like to manage larger projects and gain more responsibility or add project
management skills into your current role, then the Certified Associate in Project
Management (CAPM) is right for you.
5. Tricks of the Trade
Studying for the CAPM® Exam
Chapter 1
Pass the exam on your first try
Learn, not just memorize
Shorten your study time
Determine the gaps in your knowledge
Gain insider tips on the exam
Make sense of the topics on the exam
6. Apply to Project Management Institute - PMI
Authorization Notice to make appointment to take exam
Designated Computerized Testing Sites
One year from date of Authorization Notice to pass exam
Can take exam up to 3x within that one year
If you fail all 3x times, must wait one year to reapply
Tricks of the Trade
Studying for the CAPM® Exam
Chapter 1
7. Rita Mulcahy’s CAPM® Exam Prep
This book combines full knowledge area
coverage, Quicktest reviews, practice
questions and creative ways to reinforce
your understanding of Process inputs, tools
and techniques, and outputs (ITTOs) with
page references to the PMBOK ® Guide.
Tricks of the Trade
Studying for the CAPM® Exam
Chapter 1
8. PMBOK® Guide
“CAPM candidates need to read (and
study) the PMBOK® Guide at least once, if
not twice. It is the primary source for exam
questions, so you need to be familiar with
it.”
Tricks of the Trade
Studying for the CAPM® Exam
Chapter 1
9. Tricks of the Trade
How is the CAPM® Exam Scored?
Chapter 1
10. 150 multiple-choice questions with 4
answer choices per question
3 hours to complete exam
15 experimental questions randomly
placed & not scored!!
Questions weighted by Knowledge Area
No penalty for wrong answers
135 questions scored on PASS / FAIL
Tricks of the Trade
How is the CAPM® Exam Scored?
Chapter 1
11. General PMI-isms
Planning the Project
While the Project Work is Being Done
Closing the Project
Tricks of the Trade
Studying for the CAPM® Exam
Chapter 2
12. Project
Project Management
Program
Portfolio
Operations vs. Projects
Enterprise Environment Factors
Organizational Process Assets
Work Performance Data, Information &
Reports
Organizational Structure: Functional,
Projectized, Matrix
Project Life Cycle: Predictive, Iterative,
Adaptive
Project Management Process
Project Management Office (PMO)
Stakeholders
Constraints
Project Management Framework
QUICKTEST – Chapter 2
13. What is a Project?
“A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique
product, service or result. The temporary nature of projects
indicates that a project has a definite beginning and end. The end
is reached when the project’s objectives have been achieved or
when the project is terminated because its objectives will not or
cannot be met or when the need for the project no longer exists.”
Project Management Framework
Chapter 2
14. Project Managers
“… keep the team focused on the business value the project is providing. By constantly
helping each team member to understand how his or her work impacts the project’s
value, the PM makes sure that everyone on the team makes the best decisions to keep the
project on track.”
Interpersonal Skills
Leadership
Motivation
Team Building & Trust Building
Influencing
Coaching
Conflict Management
Political & Cultural Awareness
Project Management Framework
Chapter 2
15. Business Value
is the sum of all of the resources a
company is made of; its people,
equipment and the intellectual
property they produce.
Portfolio - Strategic Goals
Program - Shared Benefits
Project – Deliverables
Project Management Framework
Chapter 2
17. OPERATIONS vs.
Work is REPEATABLE &
ONGOING to produce goods or
services in support of the
business/organization.
Supports the day-to-day business to
achieve the company’s strategic goals.
Ex: production, accounting,
software support, maintenance,
manufacturing
PROJECTS
Gathers a team together to do
TEMPORARY work to create a
UNIQUE RESULT and is
PROGRESSIVELY ELABORATED that
ends when the project is closed
Produces a product that is handed off
to operations
Require PM activities & skill sets
Are not always successful
Project Management Framework
Chapter 2
18. Stakeholders
“… include all members of the project team as
well as interested entities that are internal &
external to the organization…. that can have a
positive or negative influence.”
The team that actually does the work
The people who pay for the work
Everybody who will use the product when
the project is done
Everyone who may be impacted by the
project along the way
90% of PM’s job is communicating with
everyone to make sure their needs are met
Project Management Framework
Chapter 2
19. Project Constraints
Any limitation, change or addition that a Stakeholder tries to place on a project.
PM is responsible to analyze each change & the impact on the other constraints
thru Integrated Change Control.
Project Management Framework
Chapter 2
20. Enterprise Environmental Factors
“…refer to conditions, not under the control of the project team, that
influence, constrain or direct the project.”
The company culture, existing systems, “baggage”
Are INPUTS to most planning processes
Project Management Framework
Chapter 2
21. Organizational Process Assets
“… are the plans, processes, policies, procedures & knowledge bases
specific to & used by the performing org.”
aka Corporate Knowledge Base
Are INPUTS to most planning processes
Project Management Framework
Chapter 2
22. Organizational Structure
Functional
Most common, grouped by function/department – Acctg, Mktg,
PM has no direct reports & Team members work in a “Silo”
Matrix
Maximizes strength of both functional & projectized structures
BALANCED - PM shares authority with Func. Mgr & Team members have “Two Bosses”
WEAK MATRIX
Expeditor – Cannot make/enforce decisions, is a Staff Asst/Communications Coord.
Coordinator – Has some authority to make decisions & reports to a higher level Mgr
Projectized
PM controls the project & Team members have “No Home”
Project Management Framework
Chapter 2
24. Project Life Cycle
What you need to do to DO the work!!
“…is a series of phases that a project passes thru
from its initiation to its closure.”
“…provides a basic framework for managing the
project regardless of the specific work being
done.”
“Projects vary in size & complexity, but all follow
the Generic Life Cycle structure”
Project Management Framework
Chapter 2
25. Project Life Cycle
PREDICTIVE – aka Traditional / Waterfall
are Plan-Driven Projects where Scope, Cost, Time are defined in the beginning
INCREMENTAL & ITERATIVE – Rolling Wave Planning / Progressive Elaboration
enough early planning to create Time & Cost estimates. Successive iterations/levels of
details to create a usable product.
ADAPTIVE – aka Agile
are Change-Driven where Time & Cost are defined early, but Scope is defined over many
iterations. Stakeholder changes highly involved & prioritized as a “Backlog”
Project Management Framework
Chapter 2
26. Project Management Process
… is what you need to do to MANAGE the work!!
Only ONE Project Management Process, regardless of the life cycle
Project Management Framework
Chapter 2
27. Project Information
Work Performance Data – raw observations & measurements
% completion
Start & finish dates of activities
Actual costs & durations
# of change requests
Work Performance Information – data collected from control processes analyzed & integrated
Status of deliverables
Forecasted estimates to completion
Work Performance Reports – information compiled into Project Docs to generate decisions, raise issues,
actions or awareness
Project Status Reports
Memos
eDashboards, KPIs, etc
Project Management Framework
Chapter 2
28. Project Management Process
The Goal…
- Deliver the product on time
- Within budget
- Fulfill the customer’s needs & expectations
- Maintain a happy & well-functioning team
Project Management Framework
Chapter 2
Pg 20: Lessons learned: What was right or wrong about how we completed the work to produce the product? How did we do w/the WBS creation, risk planning…? How did we do with communications leadership as a PM?
Pg 22: Functional think Silo , Projectized Teams – PM choose Team Mbrs & releases them when Project is Closed
Don’t confuse with Product Life Cycle…. From its conception to its withdrawal from the marketplace
Iterations aka Phases means Executing 1 Phase while Planning another… Can be OVERLAPPING or SEQUENTIAL
Pg 21: DATA; an activity took 10 hrs & was completed on July 21. INFO; how does data compare to the project plan of 12hrs & 7/22? REPORT: status reports