If you would like to access a larger set of free questions as well as a detail breakdown of the PMBOK 5th edition changes, please proceed onto the new Mister Exam Study Portal using this link. 

The New 5th Edition PMP Exam Released for July 31, 2013

The Project Management Institute (PMI)® recently released the official dates for when the Project Management Professional (PMP)® and some other of its exams will be updated to the latest standards. Here is what we have learned and our recommendations for studying.

If you want the section-by-section details of the changes, refer to this link.

 

Project Management PMP Bank is thus established in 2009 and rebranded in the last days of 2011, with the vision of providing FREE and BENEFICIAL resources to all Project Management practitioners. We have provided 2 good years of free Project Management resources with many more years to come.

The Earned Value technique is broadly used as a performance measurement method for projects of any size. It enables a project manager to assess if there are variances from the base project plan that require some sort of corrective action. This method presents an overview of the health of the schedule, cost and scope of a project and reflects the actual performance of the project. This is accomplished by calculating three main values for each task on the project plan: 1. Planned Value (PV): also known as Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS) is the value of the cost (calculated at the initial planned cost) of the work planned to have been done so far; 2. Actual Cost (AC): also known as Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP) is the value of the cost (calculated at the actual cost) of the work done so far; 3. Earned Value (EV): also known as Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP) is the value of the cost (calculated at the initial planned cost) of the work actually done so far. Some people like to think of it as the “physical progress of the work”. The following figure illustrates the concepts based on our three days project: Let us assume that our resource costs 100/h. The grey bar represents the initial plan. The key values are: 1. PV at day 1 is 100*8; at day 2 it’s equal to PV at day 1 plus 100*8; at day 3 it’s equal to PV at day 3 plus 100*8; 2. AC at day 1 is 100*10; at day 2 it’s equal to AC at day 1 plus 100*10; at day 3 it’s equal to AC at day 2 plus 100*10; 3. EV at day 1 is 100*8; at day 2 it’s equal at EV at day 1 plus 100*8; at day 3 it’s equal to EV at day 2 plus 100*8. The figure bellow displays in a graph the three key EV values: So lets see what would be our conclusions each day. Since AC is greater than EV this would tell us that our resource is doing more work to get the same results. At day 2 that situation maintains and at day 3 the same result. So you could have act since day 1 to try to solve the situation. Another curious conclusion is that if we look closer at the results EV and PV are always the same. This tell us that we are actually on schedule and the project is going to finish at the planned date since the work actually done is always the same as the work planned. Great, now we can get a clear picture of the current project status instead of just hopping for the best. Lets look at one more example. Resource 1 costs 100€/h while Resource 2 costs 10€/h. As we can see, we are currently one day late and the current date is Day 3. Instead of starting working at Day 1 the resources only started at Day 2 and reported only 4 hours each instead of 8. The figure bellow displays in a graph the three key EV values: So PV at day 1 is equal 100*8+10*8. PV at day 2 is equal to PV at day 1 plus 100*8+10*8. EV for day 1 is zero since no work was done. At day 2 EV is EV at day 1 plus 100*8+10*8. AC at day 1 is zero, at day 2 is AC at day 1 plus 100*4+10*4. These values represent two things: 1. Since the work actually done (EV) is greater at day 2 than the work reported (AC) then we are more productive than expected;Since the work planned (PV) at day 2 is greater than the work reported as finished (EV) then we are behind schedule. 2. Since the work planned (PV) at day 2 is greater than the work reported as finished (EV) then we are behind schedule. The following is a basic Mind Map on the Project Management Prof Knowledge Areas, for easy diagrammatic reference.  How to Use This Site - Study Preparation 1. First of all, welcome to this website 2. A large collection of PM study tips can be found on the left hand side's navigation bar 3.  PM Notes and  PM Rita's Process Chart will offer useful heuristics towards mastering the various  P+M+P topics 4.  PM Processes - Key Points will elucidate on the essentials of the P+M+P processes 5.  PM Life Cycle offers a chronological process view and perspective 6.  PM Worksheets are very detailed, and is a MUST to understand which parts fall under which processes. Many questions will relate to these worksheets.  7. Once your revision is complete, do attempt the 400+ PM practice questions.  8. For those not familiar with PM body of knowledge 4th Edition, the Lessons Learned portion will be a good reference. 9. Last but not least, good luck!

Basic Tips for Passing the PMP Exam

Question-oriented tips

PMI Concept Oriented Tips

• The project manager takes an active approach to the job by not waiting until a risk materializes and becomes a problem. This is an extremely important concept that might affect many questions on an exam. The project manager does not escalate problems to upper management or to the customer before fully analyzing them and identifying options. When answering a question related to what the project manager should do in a specific situation, you should rephrase the question to: What is the first thing the project manager will do given such a situation and given his or her proactive nature?
• Assume that lessons learned and historical databases are available. This might not be true in a real life situation.
• PMI does not approve adding extra functionality without benefits or gold plating.
• Project managers have all kinds of soft and hard skills.
• The Work Breakdown Structures (WBSs) are wonderful tools.
• Roles and responsibilities need to be properly defined.

PMI Concept Oriented Tips

• You should memorize all formulas, especially the Earned Value and PERT.
• Practice eliminating the completely implausible options first.
• There is no penalty for guessing; thus, do not leave any question blank.
• There will always be those situations where you have no idea what the question is asking. Use educated guessing to select the most appropriate option. Remember, you have only 80 seconds for each question. If you do not know the answer of a question, mark it and move on and revisit it later if you have time.
• Answer the questions based on the PMBOK concepts first, then consider your experience. If they are in conflict, the PMBOK wins. 

Your 14 Essential Tips to the PM Studying Process

#1 - Fix the date for the PM exam. Take note that you need at least three months to prepare for the exam.

#2 - Read PM Book thoroughly at least once.

#3 - Read PM Exam Preparation written by the author RITA MULCAHY at least two/three times.

#4 - Memorize the Sequence of the processes in Rita chart especially for initiate, planning and closing process groups.

#5 - Revise the RITA MULCHY. No need to worry about the Tools and Techniques. (Hardly 10 questions).

#6 - Try to do as many questions from the test bank as you can. Review those you have made mistakes and then retry the questions until you get 90% of them correct. 

#8 - Time, Cost, Human resources, Professional Responsibility are easier and very easy to score.  

#9 - Attempt all the questions in PMP Bank, and then find even more questions from our noteworthy links. 

#10 - Assess your score.  Review the incorrect answers.

#11 - Day before the exam, relax yourself.  Do not read and take good rest.  The exam is more on practical and not theory.  If you are not in good mood, definitely you will face problems in answering the questions.

#12 - Write the exam.

#13 - Pass the exam.

#14 - Good luck!