Project Selection Methods

Simple payback is the most simple project evaluation tool, and the least meaningful business justification from the resulting financial benefits. How long it takes to recover the initial project investment cost from the resulting financial benefits.

Project Selection Methods and Measuring Benefits

Continuing with project selection, we look at measuring benefits, net present value, return on investment and cost benefit analysis.

Project Selection Methods Extended

The Project manager participates in project selection decisions, benefit analysis and help other stakeholders in validating project alignment with organizational strategy and expected business value. Simple payback is the most simple project evaluation tool and the least meaningful business justification from the resulting financial benefits.

Project Management Plan

The Project Management Plan is a single, formal document that defines how the project is managed, executed, and controlled.

Project Management Plan Extended

A formal, approved document that defines how the project is managed, executed, controlled and closed. The Project Management Plan may be summary, detailed, or split into sections. The Project Management Plan is progressively elaborated! The Project Management Plan Communicates the intent of the project, serves as a guide for the project manager, provides project's structure, provides documentation and project baselines

Manage Project Knowledge

This is a new process in the PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition so expect to see exam questions on this topic. Manage Project Knowledge is a way of managing existing knowledge – the knowledge that already exists within an organization...

Monitor and Control

This process compares results to the plan, and making any needed adjustments to ensure the two align. This compares the work results with the plan and adjusts the work or the plan via corrective action.

Agile Monitoring and Control Part ONE

You will learn the different set of metrics and measurements used in an agile projects, and why traditional metrics may not be suitable within agile.

Agile Monitoring and Control Part TWO

Here we look at the use of Kanban and its different measurements along with the use of story points and feature tracking. I introduce the feature chart and the product backlog burnup chart.

Project Compliance and Measuring Work Results

You will learn how to plan for project compliance and its various categories, while working with key stakeholders to determine compliance. I introduce the dangers of non-compliance along with team health and safety.

Supporting Organizational Change

You and I look into the organization culture, structure, and policies and how the project leader must navigate through these. You will learn of the two drivers for change management within an agile context, and the need of readiness for change.

Integrated Change Control

Integrated Change Control is used throughout the project, reviews all change requests, sets up a configuration management and change control process, and approves or denies changes. Integrated Change Control is focused on identifying, documenting and controlling changes to the project and its baselines.

Integrated Change Control 2

Integrated Change Control is used throughout the project, reviews all change requests, sets up configuration management and change control process, and approves or denies changes.

Close Project or Phase

This is where gathering project records and disseminating information takes place in order to gain project product acceptance, and to perform project closure.

Applying Agile to PMBOK – Project Integration Management

Here you learn how to apply agile to pmbok and how the project manager and the team reacts to an adaptive environment. You learn of the project managers role in agile integration and how the project charter and project management plan is developed.

Project Scope

This process ensures the product, service or result of the project matches the documented scope. Scope Management is a presentation of the processes to plan, define, and control the project scope. The project manager should always be in control of scope by actively defining and managing it.

Collect Requirements 1

The project manager needs to identify key deliverables based on the business requirements in order to manage customer expectations and direct the achievement of project goals.

Collect Requirements 2

Collect Requirements - the primary means of understanding and managing stakeholder expectations.

Define Scope

Refined by additional analysis, changes, requirements, and detail. Analysis of the project’s product, service, or result – used to improve the team’s understanding and capture as requirements.

Create WBS 1

The WBS is the hub of information for the project. Time, Cost, Work, and Deliverables are mapped back to it, breaking down the deliverables into smaller lower-level components such that you can plan, execute, monitor and control, and close out the project deliverables.

Create WBS 2

Time, Cost, Work, and Deliverables are mapped back to it, breaking down the deliverables into smaller lower-level components such that you can plan, execute, monitor and control, and close out the project deliverables.

Validate Control Scope

Validate Scope is the process of ensuring that the product, service or result of the project matches the documented scope.

Applying Agile to PMBOK – Scope Management

Here, we examine the differences between project and product scope and how agile methods manage such scope. We dive into the product roadmap and the part that plays in the plan scope management and colect requirements processes.

Managing the Product Backlog

You will learn how this represents prioritized requirements, and how this is used to manage and control scope product release and set customer expectations. We cover how user stories provide iteration/product acceptance criteria.

Schedule Management

The Schedule Management Plan defines how the schedule will be defined, measured, when and how often progress is tracked, and actions for project deviation, and how progress will be reported. The SMP becomes part of the Project Management Plan.

Define Activities

This process can be performed as soon as the scope baseline has been created. Work Packages identified on the WBS often contain multiple activities – it is these that will be further broken down to create the Activity List.

Sequence Activities

Here, we arrange the activities in the order that they must be performed, ensuring a logical schedule sequence and logical activity relationships. this will be used to create the schedule later – but for now, it ONLY contains the activity order and dependencies – there are NO start or finish dates yet.

Activity Durations and Estimating Part ONE

Estimating the average available work effort and productivity. Creating task cost estimates, in addition to labour cost may need the cost of materials, equipment, facilities, etc.

Activity Durations and Estimating Part TWO

Estimating the average available work effort and productivity. Creating task cost estimates, in addition to labour cost may need the cost of materials, equipment, facilities, etc.

PMP Develop Schedule

Critical Path Analysis is a procedure that calculates the critical path and floats in a network, and analyses this information to predict project duration.

PMP Mastering Develop Schedule

Critical Path Analysis is a procedure that calculates the critical path and floats in a network, and analyses this information to predict project duration.

PMP Develop Schedule Gannt to Baselines

Here we examine the Gantt Chart and schedule baseline, and how it shows early and late task dates. You will learn an overview of resource management and how it applies to the project schedule.

PMP Resource Smoothing

Unlimited resources, moving activities within their free and total slack, to achieve a ‘smooth’ and manageable resource profile across the project WITHOUT moving the project end date. Resource Levelling. Using fixed or limited available resources, moving activities within their free and total slack if that is possible, to achieve an achievable resource profile and with a realistic project end date.

Schedule Review

SCHEDULE REVIEW. Showing how many resources are on each task will allow you to determine in which time-period resources are needed, and their cumulative total. Resource Histogram. Each week’s total is shown as a bar whose height represents the number of people working on that (and any other activity) during that time-frame.

Control Schedule 1

The project must measure the project’s progress, and be able to recommend and implement, corrective and preventative actions that adjust the project in order to agree with the schedule baseline. Schedule changes can cause the need for resource-leveling or smoothing, plus lead and lag adjustment and schedule compression.

Control Schedule 2

Agile Scrum Planning 1

The heart of Scrum is a Sprint, a time-box of one month or less during which a “Done”, useable, and potentially releasable product Increment is created. Sprints have consistent durations throughout a development effort.

Agile Scrum Planning 2

Here we look at the product vision and release planning, including how an agile release plan is used. I take you through sprint planning and the application of velocity to control and forecast sprints.

Agile Project Schedule Management

We look at how agile schedule managent can be applied to PMBOK, and the use of the high-level product roadmap. You will learn how to perform detailed scheduling using sprints and how these are used for agile release planning.

Harnessing Critical Chain

I teach you the critical chain benefits and method of development. You will learn how to use critical chain buffers while contrast and comparing the critical chain method against the critical path technique.

PMP Earned Value Management

Earned Value Management (EVM) is a project control process based on a structured approach to planning, cost collection and performance measurement.

Earned Value Management 2

In this lesson I take you through a simple step-by-step earned value example to anchor in exactly how you apply the basic formula for understanding the earned value status and forecasting techniques.

Earned Value Management 3

Earned Value Management. Earned Value Management (EVM) is a project control process based on a structured approach to planning, cost collection and performance measurement. EVM facilitates the integration of project scope, time and cost objectives and the establishment of a baseline plan for performance measurement.

Earned Value Management 4

In this lesson you will learn how to apply earned value indices and variances by working through several examples. We then examine how to estimate the project completion date.

Earned Value Management 5

Here, I show you my earned value management memory tricks to summarize all the exam formula. I describe how to use schedule performance indicators and cost performance indicators. I demystify the calculation of the cumulative cost performance indicator, and go on to explain the six categories of project costs.

PMP Earned Value Management Examples 1

Earned Value Management. Earned Value Management (EVM) is a project control process based on a structured approach to planning, cost collection and performance measurement.

Earned Value Management Examples 2

Earned value has several key formulas, and resolved the ambiguity between cost and schedule forecasting by creating an extra ‘earned value’ criterion. Here, I take you through a detailed EVM case study completed with worked examples and answers.

Earned Value Management Examples 3

The Cost Performance Index (CPI) is your past performance and the TCPI is your future performance, which you must meet to complete the project within the approved budget.

Earned Value Management Examples 4

Here you will learn to answer: What is the expected total cost of completing the project? What is the expected total cost to complete the remaining project work? What is the expected cost to complete the remaining project work?

Cost Management

Cost Management Deliverables. The costs of human and physical resources and when those costs will be incurred. It is the job of the Project Manager to monitor and control cost against time, scope, quality and risk so that forecasts remain realistic, clearly defined and achievable

Cost Management Estimation

Cost Management Estimation. Estimate Costs evaluates and analyses the activity time and their resource estimates to produce a cost estimate.

Determine PMP Budget

A Budget is known as the Cost Baseline. A Cost Baseline takes the estimated project expenditures and relates them back to the Project Calendar – this will give the cash flow requirements as well as the total budget.

Cost Management Control

Controlling processes are proactive, they do not wait until a change occurs, rather, they try to influence the change factors.

Agile Project Cost Management

You will learn how harness lightweight cost estimation methods to agile projects and where detailed estimates are needed.

PMP Quality Management 1

Quality Management is balance quality needs against scope, time, cost, risk, and customer satisfaction. Quality Management is to recommend changes or corrective actions.

PMP Quality Management 2

To start with, I explain various aspects that affect quality, and the various metrics needed to measure it. We then examine the differences between quality planning, quality assurance, and quality control.

PMP Plan Quality Management

This defines what the quality specifications are for this project and how these specifications will be met.

PMP Quality Tools

Multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) is an advanced field of operations research and management science, devoted to the development of decision support tool methodologies.

Manage PMP Quality

Manage Quality is ensuring that the project complies with both organizational and project policies and processes.

PMP Control Quality

Process analysis is another technique that can be used in Control Quality to help identify the potential sources of problems or variance from the plan as part of root cause analysis.

PMP Control Quality 2

Process analysis is another technique that can be used in Control Quality to help identify the potential sources of problems or variance from the plan as part of root cause analysis. Each product and project deliverable is inspected, measured, and tested. Root cause analysis of problems can be diagnosed with process analysis techniques such as Lean, Six Sigma, and Kanban. Control Quality can also involve statistical sampling (also discussed in Plan Quality Management) and inspections to make sure quality standards have been met.

Agile PMP Project Quality Management

Here, I cover the use of sprint quality reviews and retrospectives to manage quality, reduce defects, and customer feedback at key iterations.

Resource Management Overview

Resources can be human or physical – for example, equipment, material, tools, facilities, etc. PMI’s approach is that everyone on the project has a role – and corresponding responsibilities.

Plan Resource Management

Plan Resource Management gives guidance to the rest of the resource management processes. Lays out how you will staff, manage, team-build, assess, and improve the project team. People, tools, equipment, facilities, cost, etc.

Estimate Activity Resources

How long an activity takes is usually based on the work effort and the number of resources available. The Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS), is similar to the Work Breakdown Structure, but it organizes the resources by category and type. Bottom-up estimating is an estimate activity resources technique based on making estimates for every work package (or activity) in the Work Breakdown Structure and summarizing them to provide a total estimate of cost or effort required.

Acquire Resources

Staffing the project, and procuring the physical resources. Getting the right resources working on the project. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis – use of a weighted matrix to select the most suitable candidate for a position.

Develop Team 1

Develop Team process focuses on building a sense of team and improving its performance. The project manager is responsible for increasing team performance. Recognition and Rewards (Theories of Motivation)such as Tuckman’s Ladder.

Develop Team 2

The presence of certain factors does NOT make someone satisfied – but their absence will make someone unsatisfied. Poor hygiene factors can destroy motivation. Hygiene factors must be present, but they do not motivate themselves. Motivation factors will motivate, but will NOT work without the Hygiene factors in place.

Develop Team 3

Relative to the managers perception of an individual’s attitude, and this informs and drives the style of management towards their staff.

Manage Team 1

The project manager is actively managing the team to ensure they perform according to the plan.

Manage Team 2

Here you learn the seven types of leadership styles and the two steps needed to manage conflict. I cover the six types of conflict management methods. I show you the many constructive team roles and destructive team roles.

Control Resources

The control resources process makes sure that the physical and human resources on the project are available with the uninterrupted flow and usage lines up with the Resource Management Plan.

Agile Project Resource Management

Here, you learn to flexibly plan for resources and adapt communications management to deal with adapting projects with collaborative teams. You will learn the servant leader approach to management and work with self-empowered project teams as well as estimating resources in agile

Agile Team Roles

We start by discussing the value of project management within an agile project and the trade-off of interpersonal verses technical skills.

Developing Agile Teams

You will learn how to boost productivity and problem solving skills as well as utilize communal workspaces.

Leading and Supporting Agile Teams

Here, we focus on the project manager's job of team leadership using the servant leader style while supporting diversity and inclusion. Why the project manager may provide training on the road to boost morale, confidence and team competence.

Managing and Resolving Conflict

Such conflict typically occurs in the Manage Team process and may also include functional managers. I show the five stages of conflict including analysis and problem solving. We finish by looking at the four main methods used in resolving conflict.

PMP Communications Management

Communication Management focuses on all tasks relating to producing, compiling, sending, storing, distributing, and managing project records.

Communications Management Plan

The Communications Management Plan documents the type of information needs the stakeholders to have, when the information is distributed, and how the information will be delivered. It defines the lines of communications upfront that will reduce conflict.

Manage and Monitor Communications

The project manager, assisted by the sponsor, must understand each stakeholder and their organizational influences and interest areas within the project. Executing the Communications Management Plan. This compares the results of Manage Communications with the Communications Management Plan.

Applying Agile to PMBOK

In this lesson you will learn the importance of agile communication needing to be low-tech, high touch and face-to-face, to enhance discerning issues and plans. I cover the key communication meetings such as the sprint planning meeting, the daily stand-up, sprint reviews and retrospectives.

PMP Risk Management Overview

The Project Manager must understand how to plan for them – anticipate and identify areas of risk – how to quantify and qualify them – and how to control them. There are TWO risk characteristics that must be understood.

Planning Identifying Risk

The Risk Management Plan should be created early in the project as it will have an impact on the project scope, cost, time, quality and procurement aspects.

Risk Analysis

Risk Analysis is performed on a list of risks that are identified from the Identify Risks Process. This list of risks is documented in the form of a Risk Register.

Risk Qualitative Analysis

Each risk is analyzed for probability and impact so each risk can be prioritized and ranked – according to their effect on project objectives. Risks normally change their status as the project progresses – so analysis will need to occur more than once

Risk Quantitative Analysis

This process evaluates the impacts of risk prioritized during the Qualitative Risk Analysis process and quantifies project risk exposure on the combined effects of the probability of occurrence and impact on project objectives

Plan Risk Responses

Strategies for Negative Risks or Threats. To avoid a risk means you’ll evade it all together, eliminate the cause of the risk event or change/isolate the project plan to protect the project objectives from the risk event. Essentially, you eradicate the risk by eliminating its cause.

Implement Responses and Monitor Risk

Project Manager ensures risk responses are carried out. Risk Owners are empowered to implement risk responses. Risk reduction needs justification – cost/benefits and PIM. Include the cost of risk prevention and risk responses. Schedule delay risks often cause cost increases

Applying Agile to PMBOK – Agile Risk Management

Agile's approach to risk responses are similar to those in a predictive project. However, the differences when using adaptive approaches is the use of frequent reviews of incremental work to manage risks more effectively.

PMP Project Procurement

Procurement is the set of processes performed to obtain goods, services or scope from outside the (buyers) organization. The procurement management approach should be formal.

Plan Procurement Management 1

The project manager must determine a strategy for conducting procurements and the type of contracts to be used. Project management best practices currently favors buying externally rather than building internally.

Plan Procurement Management 2

Here I describe the procurement management plan and source selection analysis and review the key points of procurement.

Procurement Tools and Contracts

Here, we cover Plan Procurement Management Tools. Source Selection Criteria. The source selection criteria are determined before the seller is selected and may, or may not, be shared with the prospective sellers.

Point of Total Assumption

The Point of Total Assumption is the point in the contract where a subcontractor/seller assumes responsibility for all additional costs. Used to calculate how risk is allocated between the Buyer and Seller – Particularly when using Fixed Price Incentive Fee contracts.

Contract Example Calculations

Fixed Price contracts are used for acquiring goods or services with well-defined specifications or requirements.

Conduct Procurement

Conduct Procurements carry out the Project Procurement Plan, selects one or more sellers and award the procurement, usually in the form of a contract.

Control Procurement

Control procurement is Monitoring the vendor’s performance and ensuring that all contract requirements are being met.

PMBOK Agile Procurement

You will learn how the use of agile leads to a more collaborative relationship between all parties with a focus on contracts allowing some form of adaptive scope. Indeed, on hybrid projects you may use a combination of predictive and agile procurement.

Identify PMP Stakeholders

The Project Manager must manage the expectations that drive stakeholder satisfaction Stakeholder management is “the creation and maintenance of relationships with the aim to satisfy needs”

Plan Stakeholder Management

Plan Stakeholder Management is all about enhancing stakeholder relationships. Stakeholder relationships should use two-way communication with an emphasis on stakeholder involvement and engagement.

Manage and Monitor Stakeholder Engagement

The Project Manager must manage the expectations that drive stakeholder satisfaction, and determining all the interested and affected people and organizations.

PMP Agile Stakeholder Management

Agile projects likely have high amounts of change and need regular and more stakeholder involvement. I cover the benefits of stakeholder engagement when using an adaptive method, and the vital need to agree ground rules for engagement. I introduce why it is important to mentor stakeholders when using an agile method.

PMP Negotiation within Agile

Here, the same negotiation rules and approaches apply as for a predictive project. I delve deeper into the negotiation principles and techniques needed such as BATNA and ZOPA plus MFP.

PMP Professional Conduct Standards

The professional responsibility of a project manager is that they should be a leader, deal with issues in a direct manner, should act legally and ethically, and should be open and up-front.

PMP Professional Conduct Categories

Here, I introduce the six professional categories that must be applied, giving advice and guidance to implement such practices at all times. I summarize the nine key actions to best practice professional conduct.

PMBOK Guide Exam Wizard 1

Passing your PMBOK PMP Exam is not all about mastering the PMBOK syllabus – you need exam skill ‘secrets’. Sure you’ll need some time management too, but there is an art and science to exam-taking – so learn how to do that here, and romp through your PMP exam at first try!

PMBOK Guide Exam Wizard 2

Passing your PMBOK PMP Exam is not all about mastering the PMBOK syllabus - you need exam skill 'secrets'. Sure you'll need some time management too, but there is an art and science to exam-taking - so learn how to do that here, and romp through your PMP exam at first try!

PMBOK PMP Ethics and Exam Tips

Here you will learn the eight PMP Exam ethical areas to be applied if appropriate to all exam ethical questions. Passing your PMBOK PMP Exam is not all about mastering the PMBOK syllabus - you need exam skill 'secrets'. Sure you'll need some time management too, but there is an art and science to exam-taking - so learn how to do that here, and romp through your PMP exam at first try!

PMP Masterclass Study Guides

We've had a few people asking for a central location for all the PMP MASTERCLASS study guides. As you know, each PMP MODULE that has a related study guide is downloaded from the MATERIALS TAB on that module:

Common Agile/Scrum Practices - Scrum Overview

Here you learn the five scrum values and six principles. I cover the structure of sprints and iterations, and provide an overview of scrum artifacts, roles and ceremonies.

Common Agile/Scrum Practices - The Agile Team

I introduce the concept of scrum master and their daily activities along with the product owner. You will learn the purpose and role of the scrum team members.

The Product Backlog

You learn what the product backlog is, how it works, and who is responsible for it. I describe how the product backlog is created and what product backlog prioritization and grooming is.

Agile Story Points

You will learn how story point estimating is carried out, what the fibonacci sequence is, and how this is applied to the project requirements. I describe what the scrum points system is and how it is applied.

Common Agile/Scrum Practices - Estimating Techniques

I show you what planning poker is and how it is sued to estimate user stories and velocity. I teach you in detail the planning poker approach to estimate user stories. I introduce you to The Fist of Five technique - a fast and convenient method for reaching a consensus estimate. I describe affinity estimating and t-shirt sizing techniques and the affinity estimating sequence, finishing off with the advantages of using story points.

Common Agile/Scrum Practices - Sprint Velocity

You will learn how velocity helps determine team capacity to commit work for the next sprint and how, along with story points, this enables project forecasting. I give several examples on the application of velocity and its calculation. I describe the use of sprint backlog refinement meetings and the roles involved.

Common Agile/Scrum Practices - Sprint Planning and Execution

I describe in detail how sprint planning works and the sequence of activities required. You will learn how each user story is broken down into activities to be carried out in the upcoming sprint. I show you how the scrum board is used and the use of burn down charts.

Common Agile/Scrum Practices - Reviews and Retrospectives

I show you the objectives of the sprint review, and the roles involved. I cover the sprint retrospective, its purpose when it is used and the learning and improvements that come from it. Finally, I describe release estimating and tracking.

Common Agile/Scrum Practices - Sprint Reviews

You will learn of the Scrum daily standup meeting, how it is managed and the roles involved. I discuss the use of information radiators and the sprint review. I cover demonstrations and reviews, how they work and the roles involved.

Agile Methods Overview

Here, you will learn how many agile methods are available, and how each fits within the project lifecycle plus the amount of detail covered. I introduce agile iterative, incremental and flow-based approaches, as well as hybrid methodology approaches.

DEVOPS and SDLC

DEVOPS is the merging of development and operations and relates to the kanban method. Here, I explain what DEVOPS is and how it can be applied, as well as agile and DEVOPS differences. SDLC refers to the Software Development Life Cycle, and therefor covers the phases that software development passes through.

Extreme Programming (XP)

Here, I describe the structure and benefits of using extreme programming and then go on to describe how it works and the various software development techniques it uses. I describe extreme programming project development flow and the four XP team roles.

Crystal Methods

The Crystal Methodology realizes that each propject requires a set of tailored policies, practices and processes to meet each project's unique characteristics. You will learn the crystal agile framework and the seven crystal properties as well as the crystal family of methods.

Feature Driven Development (FDD)

Here, I introduce you to the five steps of FDD, its best practices, and the six primary FDD roles. You will also learn the eight steps of the FDD process.

Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)

DSDM is an agile project delivery framework designed to add more rigor to existing iterative methods. I explain the DSDM lifecycle and its eight DSDM principles.

Disciplined Agile (DA), and Scrum of Scrums (SoS)

You will learn the scope of DA by use of its four layers and four delivery process goals. I discuss the seven DA principles, and the DA toolkit.

Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)

SAFe promotes alignment, collaboration and delivery across large numbers of agile teams and merges agile software development, lean product development and systems thinking. I describe SAFe benefits, its principles, and how it should be implemented.

Large Scale Scrum (LeSS)

LeSS is a framwork for organizaing several development teams toward a common goal extending the scrum method, it is applied to many teams working together on one product. I describe the LeSS framework and its approach to planning and implementing LeSS sprints. I show you how large scale scrum would be applied across a project organization.

Lean and Lean Principles - Part ONE

In this lesson, I describe lean product development (not an agile method but is closely aligned with it. I describe the logic of lean, its principles and seven core concepts. I describe lean product development and how it is applied to software projects.

Lean and Lean Principles - Part TWO

Here I describe the origins of lean and its core values of continuous improvement and respect for people. You will learn the seven wastes of lean and its core values. I show you the five steps of lean management.

Scaling Frameworks and Agile Up

Scaling Frameworks and Agile Up: I describe how scaling frameworks consist of standardised processes and teams wishing to tailor their own version of agile parts of multiple agile methodologies.

The Kanban Method Part ONE

You will learn how the Kanban method is a system for scheduling inventory control and replenishment (just-in-time), how it can be applied to agile projects, and the conditions and benefits obtained.