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Five Key Advantages of PMP Certification

September 26, 2011 By Karen 2 Comments

Although there is an ongoing debate about whether or not project managers need to be certified, one thing is for certain: today’s job market is more competitive than ever. Increasing your skill set and expanding your knowledge increases your value in any employment setting. PMP certification can help you bolster your project management career by enhancing the experience and knowledge you bring to the table. Here are five key advantages of PMP certification:

1. PMP Certification broadens your knowledge base.

Getting certified will strengthen and add versatility to your skill set. PMP certification programs can help to augment your knowledge in the following areas:

Initiating – identifying the project and prioritizing goals; identifying challenges; setting strong managers in place.
Planning – scheduling and budgeting; addressing legal issues such as permits; setting up on-going communication.
Executing – monitoring progress; managing widespread effective communication across the full spectrum of day to day events.
Controlling – reporting on performance, making mid-stream adjustments when necessary; responding to concerns of workers and clients.
Closing – bringing the contract terms to a close; handling final details of project acceptance.

2. Certification can boost your networking exposure.

Use your certification to network with other certified professionals. Professional organizations offer conferences and regional opportunities to compare what you’ve learned and explore additional career advancement.

Reaching out to people who are pursuing their PMP certification might provide mentoring opportunities.

3. Certification can lead to new job opportunities.

If a potential client is deciding between two candidates with equal experience, having PMP certification could be the deciding factor.

Project management training shows prospective clients that you are invested in your continuing education and have a full spectrum of knowledge to offer.

International clients are more likely to hire a PMP certified project manager because they know that being certified means that a person is able to meet global requirements.

4. Certification can help build your credibility.

A certified professional has to adhere to specific industry-wide guidelines; holding certification reassures your client’s trust.

Many employers offer tuition assistance programs; inquiring about and partaking in such programs show your employer you are serious about the commitment you have made to their organization.

5. Certified project managers could boost salary potential.

Certification could potentially lead to more high profile and better paying projects; more exposure for you means more opportunities over your professional career.

If you are interested in maintaining the competitive edge in today’s job market, then PMP certification is a great investment to consider. Certification shows that you meet the standard for industry competence. Consider PMP certification to help add to your skill set and increase your chances of project success.

Getting certified should be an important part of your career. Villanova University offers online project management courses which are designed to help professionals take and pass the PMP certification exam.

Today’s post is a guest post from the team at Villanova University.
There are also many tools available and study methods out there to help you with your PMP Exam preparation and your overall project management success.

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How to keep a project simple

November 18, 2010 By Karen 2 Comments

Sometimes I am asked to act as a Project Management consultant on a project where the customer really needs to have a project manager but isn’t willing to put the money into having someone manage the project properly. This is a difficult ask – after all, if you want the project to be well managed then you need to invest in the project management! I have recently been involved in such a project and needed to really look at what value I could add to the project without breaking their budget. In instances like this you really do need to keep project management simple.

Now I do not advocate cutting corners or reducing your standards lightly, but we all know that sometimes there are situations in which we are placed where our options are limited. After all, it is the real world and things don’t always flow nicely along according to the PMBOK manual!

Here are a few tips if you find you need to ‘keep it simple’:

Make sure the customer understands that they are not getting a full project management service
It is imperative that customer expectations are managed. When people want to bargain with you about price and scope, something funny can sometimes happen later in the project – they think that they are still getting the same service for the reduced price! If things go awry, as the ‘project manager’ they will still want to see you as responsible. You need to ensure that if you decide to take on a role where your full standard of project management cannot be implemented then the customer knows and understands the risk associated.

Establish what exactly will be able to be delivered for the proposed budget
Be clear about what can and cannot be included in the project management service to be offered. For example, discuss the number of hours you will be able to invest in the project and what they will get for that. Discuss the expectations around meetings and reporting requirements as people often forget that these are necessary things that must occur and may leave those out of the budgetting process.

Institute simplified reporting systems
If you don’t have time or budget to implement your full reporting sytems – still institute something. You know the old saying, if you can’t measure it you can’t manage it! I implement a simple one page excel spreadsheet progress report. It contains a few basics, including:

Summary Section – project % complete, project date due, expected delivery date
Deliverables Summary – list of deliverables, date due, expected date, % complete, status updates/comments
Issues/Risks Summary – list of issues/risks, including date identified, person responsible, impact, status, status updates/comments

This is really bare bones stuff, but when you’re keeping it simple – well….

Executive management loves this sort of report as it is simple and quick to read and hopefully it is quick and easy for you to prepare and ensures that you are keeping up to date of where things are at.

Maintain regular contact with the project and institute actions quickly
Projects like this, where you are being asked to reduce your normal standard of management really are at risk. It is easy to lose touch or fail to keep up with what is happening in the project when you’ve been asked to do the ‘bare minimum’ – but it is imperative that you maintain a regular point and time of contact with the project to keep on top of it. It is also imperative that you act when required – quickly. Get on top of issues fast.

Document and communicate well with the key stakeholders
Even though your project documentation will be less than usual, do maintain it. As previously stated, projects like this are often at risk of going awry and if they do, you want everyone to know at what point that occured and why. I guess this is called ‘covering your own backside’.

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PMP simulation – Experience is everything in passing PMP exam

November 10, 2010 By Karen Leave a Comment

As we’ve talked about here at Project Management Success previously, preparing for your PMP is going to take some study time and effort. I’m sure you’re not surprised by that statement! Another thing we’ve discussed before as well is that although the PMP examination is based on the PMBOK guide, reading the PMBOK guide as your only study method is probably not the most efficient way to go about it.

There are several PMP exam preparation tools and resources available commercially, including study guides and video/audio tutorials as well as some free resources on the internet. There is, however, another PMP study tool that should be seriously considered as part of your PMP study resources and it is that study tool that I wanted to discuss in further detail now. That study tool is PMP simulation or PMP exam simulation software.

When I was at university – and this has been several times over the course of many years studying for several undergraduate and post graduate qualifications (I’m nothing if not well educated!!) – one of my most effective examination study methods was to obtain (legitimately, I might add!) copies of past exams for the subject I was studying for. Of all the study I would do, this method definately provided the most ‘bang for buck’. Using PMP simulation provides the same two main benefits for studying for the PMP certification as obtaining past exam papers did for my university exams. Those two benefits are:

Familiarity with sample pmp examination questions – This includes:

Familiarity with multiple choice style format of questions
Experience in reading and understanding the question and what it is asking of you.
Experience in critically analysing and comparing mutliple answers to select the best one, from potentially more than one correct answer.

Opportunity to simulate exam conditions - This includes:

Opportunity to simulate the relatively fast paced timing required to answer the 200 questions in a four hour period.
Simulation of the heightened anxiety state that goes along with sitting for an exam.

PMP simulators will usually provide many hundreds of sample PMP examination questions as well as several PMP preparation exams, which provides you with much needed experience. Experience with the same sort of questions, answering in the same required timeframe, with the same ‘nervous’ feeling that you may have in the exam. This sort of experience is invaluable and a very, very effective method of study.

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PMBOK Explained! Session 3 – Project management processes

November 8, 2010 By Karen Leave a Comment

In session 3 of our PMBOK series we get stuck into the project management process groups. A massive session!

This series is helpful for those wanting to get a high level overview of the Project Management Body of Knowledge before undertaking further study or PMP exam preparation.

By the way, you can read more about PMP exam preparation, specifically, PM Prepcast by reading our PM Prepcast review.

You can watch the video and download the slides below!

Download the slides from this presentation: Project Management Success – PMBOK Explained – Session 3 Project Management Processes (557k PDF)

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Focused PMP test study and PMP Simulation

November 4, 2010 By Karen 1 Comment

As we’ve discussed previously, preparing for the PMP test takes some time and effort studying the PMBOK Guide. Studying the PMBOK Guide alone, however, will not guarantee you a passing PMP exam! Many a good project manager has failed the PMP exam, but with some forethought and focused study techniques, you can ensure your chances of being successful are maximized.

So what do we mean by focused study techniques? Well, we’re going to discuss four targeted study techniques here for you to consider incorporating into your PMP study.

Use a targeted study guide – a targeted study guide will help you to focus on areas of the PMBOK manual that are most likely to be represented in the test and in a manner is which they are likely to be represented. Having a study guide that points you in the direction of the most important information will dramatically increase your study efficiency by ensuring the time you spend on the various subject areas is proportional to the representation of that area in the PMP test. An example of a targeted study guide is the mometrix PMP Exam Secrets Study Guide.

Use study materials in a variety of learning formats – another way to increase the effectiveness of your PMP study is to use study materials available in different formats. Consider not only reading the PMBOK guide and a study guide, but listening to audio and watching video. People have different ways of learning so these methods may appeal to some more than others, however, combining various formats can certainly boost your learning! Audio and to video also give you opportunity to study at times and in places where you may not have otherwise been able to study. The use of portable media players to listen to PMP study audio and watch video means that your study material can be wherever you are, at the ready. An example of a great video based PMP exam prep course is the PM Prepcast.

Use sample PMP questions – This item is imperative. Where many fall down is not in their knowledge of the PMBOK Guide but in how answering the questions provided to demonstrate that knowledge. The questions can be ‘wordy’ requiring thorough and careful reading through to ensure the question is understood. Likewise the answers can also require more than one read through and often there is more than one answer that may seem correct, requiring you to make sure the answer is the most appropriate answer according to the PMBOK manual. The way to become familar with PMP questions is to use sample PMP examination questions in your study. A lot of them! There are many places on the internet where you will find limited numbers of free questions available. Many of these are great and will help you, though you should make sure that they are based on the most up to date PMBOK manual. There are also many companies offering sample PMP questions for purchase on their own or as part of a study package or study guide – for example, the PMP Prep Kit offers 200 sample PMP examination questions as part of their video and audio study package. This sort of deal can often be more efficient in the long run as you can purchase a large amount at once and save yourself the time and effort of trawling the net for quality, up to date, free sample PMP questions.

PMP Simulation – There’s nothing like experience when it comes to taking the PMP test – by this, of course, I don’t mean you should fail and take it multiple times! There are many companies who have software with the prime purpose of PMP simulation. PMP exam simulation software provides you with not only the sample PMP questions but also with the simulated exam experience, including timing. PMP exam simulators can provide you with access to hundreds of questions, formatted into multiple exams and this should definately be a part of your study regime.

So there are some ways to focus your study and really maximize your study efficiency and effectiveness.

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PMP test

November 2, 2010 By Karen Leave a Comment

For those wondering the actual format and structure of the PMP test, I thought I’d just outline it here for you.

The PMP test a four hour test. The test requires you to answer 200 multiple choice questions in this time.

Of those 200 questions there are 25 pre-test questions which do not count toward your total score for the test. Pre-test questions are a way that the test creators can ‘try out’ new questions. They are placed throught the exam and you will not know which of the questions are the pre-test questions.

Of the 175 questions which contribute to your score you must answer at least 106 of these correct. This is 61%. The methodology used to develop this pass mark is called a modified Agnoff method. In this modifed Agnoff method a panel of PMPs draft, discuss and determine, through a process of review and iteration to agree upon the final pass mark. This method is quite prevalent in setting standards for multiple choice exams.

The spread of questions is based around the following domains:

11% – Initiating
23% – Planning
27% – Executing
21% – Monitoring and Controlling
9% – Closing
9% – Professional and Social Responsibility

In order to sit the PMP test you must pay a fee and also satisfy requirements related to:

Level of education
Experience directing and leading teams
Project management experience
Project management specific training

If you have decided to take the PMP test then thre are several tools and resources to help you. Using sample pmp questions, a pmp prep exam and pmp simulation are great ways to increase your familiarity with the types of questions you will be faced with in the exam. There are also many study guides and PMP exam preparation materials that can assist you in passing PMP exam – such as the PM Prepcast, which we have featured on this site before. Here at Project Management Success we will be aiming to bring you more of these great study tools and resources on our website.

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Project Management Tools

November 1, 2010 By Karen Leave a Comment

Just like any other profession, Project Managers have tools of the trade. Here are some suggestions and ideas of what to put in your ‘toolbox’ and how these tools can be applied:

Project Planning Tools

Creating the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), a hierarchical representation of the breakdown of project deliverables, is the core item in project planning. Tools that can be used to develop the WBS include:

Spreadsheet software
Gantt Chart software
Mind Mapping Software (this one is a favourite of mine for this purpose, particularly if you can then export your results to a Gantt chart format)
Flow chart software
Presentation software

Project task planning and tracking

This one really depends on skill and expertise of the Project Manager with various software tools, however the recommended tools for this one are:

Gantt chart software (highly recommended, however the Project Manager really needs to have some proficiency with this – but then again – there’s really only one way to learn!)
Spreadsheet software (if you don’t know or don’t have time to learn about Gantt chart software)

Project Documents

Documents such as the project charter, project mandate, project brief or project initiation document are best presented in the standard text based document type format. So the recommended tool here would be:

Word processing software

Project Reporting

Project progress reporting is really important but you really need to think through how you present this one. Given that you will need to regenerate a similar document many times over the course of the project. Tools that can be used to develop the progress report include:

Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

Issue/Risk/Deliverable Management

This area is about logs – issue logs, risk logs, quality/deliverable logs. Suggested tools for this area include:

Spreadsheet software
Database software
Specific software for issue management

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PMBOK Explained – Session 2: Projects, Lifecycles and Organizations

October 31, 2010 By Karen Leave a Comment

In session 2 of our PMBOK series we look at the project lifecycle and organization.

This series is helpful for those wanting to get a high level overview of the Project Management Body of Knowledge before undertaking further study or PMP exam preparation.

By the way, you can read more about PMP exam preparation, specifically, PM Prepcast by reading our PM Prepcast review.

You can watch the video and download the slides below!

Download the slides from this presentation: Project Management Success – PMBOK Explained – Session 2 Project Lifecycle and Organization (507k PDF)

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Passing the PMP exam – top five tips for PMP exam preparation

October 28, 2010 By Karen 2 Comments

Passing the PMP exam is a goal that many have in attaining professional project management qualifications and there are some great tips and tools that can help. Over the coming weeks I’ll be aiming to do a some full reviews of the pmp exam courses and guides that are available to assist you in passing the pmp exam and pmp exam certification. This post is to help you with some more general tips on how to pass the pmp exam and to introduce you to some of the pmp study guides and resources available to you.

So, let’s begin with the top five tips for passing the PMP exam:

1. The PMBOK guide is always right.
Many people coming to the PMP exam certification have years of experience in project management. Real life projects, with real life issues and have learned practical application of project management knowledge and experience. This is a great thing – but don’t let that get in the way of the objective of the PMP exam certification – which is to test your knowledge related to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, which of course is outlined in the PMBOK guide! Sometimes you may see an answer that you believe is right based on your experience and that answer may contrast with an answer that is correct from the perspective of the PMBOK guide. When it comes to the PMP exam certification, the PMBOK guide is always right.

2. Choose the best correct option – not the first correct option
When taking the PMP exam certification you will be under time pressure to answer the questions. There really is a lot to get through in a short time. One of the most important things that you need to remember when taking the PMP exam – in fact when taking any exam – is to read the question. I know that sounds simple but really read the question and understand what is being asked for – is it the best answer, the incorrect option, the most suitable option. Sometimes there will be more than one correct answer and it becomes a judgement call on what is the most appropriate answer. Of course your answer must come via the filter of the what is best based on the teachings of the PMBOK guide.

3. Focus your study
You will definately need to study for your PMP exam, but study the right things in the right way is much more important than simply quantity of study. There are many people, when looking at passing the PMP exam who simply read the PMBOK guide over and over and over. Many people have spent long, hard hours memorizing the PMBOK guide. Although this can and does work, it is certainly not the most efficient way to go about study for the pmp exam. Focusing your study on what is relevant and then focusing on practising with the same format of questions you will be expecting is a far more efficient way to study and pass the PMP exam.

4. Use practice questions
Related to the item above which talks about focusing your study – both in terms of content and format – is the tip to use practice questions. As many as you can get! The actual exam itself has a myriad of available questions, so you can’t expect to have seen all possible questions during your study but it is the exercise of reading and answering the same formats of questions and getting used to the pace of answering, reading the question, evaluating the options.

5. Use a targetted study tool
There are several organizations who have spent a lot of time and effort to provide a study tool that focuses on the very things that you need to focus on – so why not make use of those tools? There are many study guides you can purchase and even courses that you can attend and I do hope to bring you several of these on this website soon to help you learn about what is out there. There are two, however, that I have used and will present here:

PM PrepCast
This is a video tutorial study series that focuses on what you need to know and how best to learn it. For me the best part of PM PrepCast is that it is delivered in video format that is suitable for all sorts of devices, which means I can study in the car, on my iPhone when I’m sitting at an airport or in a waiting room or in bed! This is the big clincher for PM PrepCast as it means you can ‘catch’ bits and pieces of study whenever you can. I also find the presenter of PM PrepCast , Cornelius Fitchner, quite easy to listen to, which is nice! Over 11,500 have used PM Prepcast and it has significantly decreased their study time and increased not only their understanding of PMBOK but meant that more people have been more prepared to pass the exam first time! It is relatively inexpensive, well presented and they offer a 90 day guarateee which means that you can be assured of being satisfied or get your money back. Click the image below to learn more about PM PrepCast.

PMP Exam Secrets Study Guide

This is a book that offers to teach you the PMP test, not the PMP material. Sounds like a funny claim but the developers of the PMP Exam Secrets Study Guide proport that it’s not necessarily good enough to teach the MATERIAL, you must teach the TEST and know how to apply the knowledge of the material. The guide is concise and concentrates on what you need to know, avoiding mistakes and recognizing give-away questions. The PMP Exam Secrets Study Guide gives an EXACT STUDY PLAN for the PMP test that the developers say will give you the best results in the least time. It’s a plain language guide and they offer you email support, which is pretty good if you need some questions answered. You can read even more about the PMP Exam Secrets Study Guide at their site, but the basis of it is that it’s a relatively short, concise and easy to read guide that will give you some great strategies that are not just about the material itself but about taking the actual test and that sort of information is invaluable. It’s pretty cheap too! Click on the image above or the following link to learn more about the PMP Exam Secrets Study Guide.

So, they are my five top tips for PMP exam preparation. Hopefully these tips and possibly the resources discussed may be useful for you.

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How to pass PMP first go!

October 22, 2010 By Karen Leave a Comment

Ok, now everyone huddle in close, come on, lean in so I can whisper the secret of PMP exam success and tell you how to pass the PMP exam.

You ready for it……

PRACTICE!

Huh? You’re disappointed? Well don’t worry, I’ve got more, come on, huddle in again.

Here it comes…..

STUDY!

Err…yup! That’s all I got.

What’s that? You were waiting for a big secret? The magic bullet? Right, well, sorry about that then! You see, there really is only one way to pass the exam and that is to know your stuff and there’s only one way to know your stuff – ok, I’ve named two – so there’s only two ways to know your stuff, our old friends practice and study!

But you know what that secret is, that magic bullet, it’s how you study. Some people spend hours wading over the PMBOK manual but really, that’s not it. You really need to understand practical application and know your stuff well and if you are yawning over a dry text book, well it sure is hard to stay motivated! Some people get focused on knowing every single detail and focus in on the stuff that isn’t as important – but how do you know the difference between the ‘really must know the detail’ stuff from the ‘I can just gloss over this bit’ stuff?

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind…ah, sorry, got a bit carried away there! The answer is really in getting yourself a killer PMP exam preparation guide. Now there are heaps of books you read and some of these are great, in fact, I’ll be doing a book review series soon where I’ll cover some of those, but in all honesty and I’m sure you’ve looked at my site and know, I have to recommend PM Prepcast because I honestly just think, it is the best value, best format, best presented PMP exam course that you’ll find. And if you’re anything like me and just lost the time and inclination for studying textbook (you know, full time job, kids, busy, busy) then you can watch these videos on the iPhone out and about, listen to the audios whilst running/walking or in the car on the way to work. I just love it. Full stop!!

You can see my full review of PM Prepcast here.

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