Ealmm6January 2023

5. More on the mindset: The prescribed approach is to always think it through BEFORE you act on
something (unless it deals with dire consequences like health and safety or mandatory
regulations). So questions about what you should do first or next almost always calls for thinking
it through (i.e. assessing the situation, evaluating the impact/ root cause, or reviewing the plan)
BEFORE doing the actual action.

6. The rule of don'ts (not absolute but in general): Don't remove a team member or a vendor.
Don't escalate to sponsor or PMO or product owner. Don't ask for budget increase. Don't add
more people. Assess the situation, evaluate the impact/root cause, review the plan, meet with the
team, then come up with the best solution.

7. If a team member is deficient in skill, put them on a training. If the stakeholders or the org are
new to agile, show them the benefits of agile (i.e. workshops, trainings).

8. If a stakeholder complains about a missed or incomplete/incorrect item, revisit the agreed

criteria and walk them through it. If a stakeholder complains about comms or status report, revisit
the management comms plan/stakeholder engagement plan then find out where they're coming
from (i e. what do they need?). If a stakeholder wants to know more about the project status,
invite them to sprint reviews.

9. You are a servant leader. Your role is always to support the team. Team conflict? Put them in
"one room" and facilitate mediation. Demotivated? Find out why, then act based on their
personal motivations. Erring team members? Remind the team about ground rules. Shared
resource? Talk to the functional manager and figure something out.

10. Changes? Assess and evaluate the impact on the project then go through the formal change
process, including approval. Never put a change through without approval.

11. If project is delayed, follow the following in order: a. Check risks and re-estimate b. Fast-track
c. Crash d. Cut scope e. Reduce quality

12. Take note of cue words: May/might/could means revisiting the risk register and risk
management plan. Will/would/has (or any event already done) means revisiting the issue log and
requiring an issue resolution.

13. MVP is the way to go when there are just too many wish lists from stakeholders but limited
resources. Use prototype when demonstrating the product's value.

14. Face to face communication is always the best unless team is dispersed geographically, in
which case you have to settle with virtual meetings.
15. In the process of closure? Get formal acceptance of the project deliverable with stakeholders
BEFORE lessons learned, BEFORE handover to Ops, BEFORE releasing team.

16. SPI is Schedule while CPI is Cost. To remember if it's good or bad, treat 1 like 100%, which is
the ideal baseline. Anything above 1 is good; anything below 1 is bad.

Xxxxxxx

Posted before but here it is again, also this is from someone else’s post:
The exam: Lots of situational questions Tips: Calculations: Always remember that (SPI
and CPI above 1) or (CV and SV above zero) are good, below is bad. S is Schedule
and C is Cost.
Situational questions: First, make it a habit to read the last sentence (the main
question) FIRST before reading the whole prompt. So you know to search what to:
Do? Action, normally see impact or if there is something already set in stone (The
approval has been given, Law regulations enforced) then do it
Do first? Normally review a document/asses situation
Should have been done? Look for Reactive things. Not actions to do now that there
is a problem.
Not do? Least likely/most likely? Most important least important? Notice the
subtlety.
Second, what framework are you in? (Agile, hybrid, predictive/waterfall?). That will
Help eliminate good sounding options that are not valid because they are from
another framework.
Third, which process are you in? Are you initiating,executing, M&C, closing?
Play this game until you got it almost perfectly. You need to know where you are in
the situational questions to exclude the options that are in before or later in the time
https://pmaspirant.com/project-management-process-group-and-knowledge-area-mapping-
game

Mentality: Always think like servant leader, forget about experience while attempting
pmp
Never ask for others to do your job (The sponsor, the pmo, the product owner...)
Always try face to face communication, Train your people is normally the best option.
May/might/claims = questions is about risk
Will/should/could = questions is about issue
Related to team issue = team charter
Stakeholder related = stakeholder engagement
Action is next step, assessing and review is 1st step
Remember while selecting answer = assess > review > action/implications
If questions related to safety problem, stop the project immediately (unless may
stop..)
If question likely to have problem due to new law may introduce or from internet
information = update the risk register. If not may then do the action to follow it.
If there is problem due to new law implications, seek for guidance
Problem between member = team charter, meeting preferably face to face(not apply
in case of multiple locations)
Asking help from Sponsor and pmo is NOT an option
Before any change, always asses and check impact
Change request is approved in formal process. NEVER implement any change by
yourself. Always with approval.
If anything missed in scope which may lead to rejection of deliverable = change
request
Adding extra features = talk to team
Meeting and coaching are the best options for conflict.
Quality control customer are best option
Not performing as expected = Quality
Bottom-up estimate is best option for cost
Prototype is best option for demo
Never remove a member, remove a vendor or hire a consultant
There should be predetermined acceptance rules for acceptance of delivery
If project required close, follow the formal process always.
If stakeholder don't know about agile, coach and teach them about agile
If there is any issue related to payment/contract with vendor always ask them to
check with appropriate department
Delay in item sent by vendor/ quality issue with vendor, meet and brainstorming with
team and come up with solutions
Always add communicated with pmo about status of project and customer in Sprint
Sprint is important for communication for both customer and team.
Not to take any bigger actions like a change request or closing a project without
taking care of the smaller tasks first. So whenever we see that "what should PM do
next/first" it's almost always a preliminary action like reviewing a plan or meeting
with the team and using the information gleaned in THAT step to make the decision
on the larger task:
1- assess/ analyze the problem to find out root cause 2- review the plan 3- meeting
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Oh, here are also some notes I took from Andrew’s videos that helped…
always wrong:
Contact sponsor/escalate to management
Kick the can down the road/postpone things
Give the work to someone else (ask XYZ to do something)
Never replace staff -> never fire anyone
Always:
Assess as much as possible and don’t rush to action (if one answer is a risk
assessment and the rest are actual actions, more often than not it will be the right
choice)
Always hit problems head-on
Always try to find the root cause
Phrasing in questions
Threats -> negative risk
Opportunity -> positive risk
“May impact” -> risk
“Will impact” -> issue
Definition of done -> acceptance criteria in agile environments
Servant leadership encourages listening and communicating. Being a servant leader
means to talk to people, to “fetch food and water”, provide resources etc., remove
obstacles on the teams way, help them fix their issues.
Synonyms are scrum master, agile team lead, team facilitator.
Servant leadership: Listening
Empathy
Healing (when team members have had bad managers before)
Self awareness
Persuasion and collaboration
Conceptualization (how does this tie into company strategy)
Foresight (look at past and apply to future)
Stewardship (you have to be willing to put in the work for your team)
Commitment to people growth
Building community

Mindset:

 PM should be proactive & not reactive

 Aim to select a choice that would solve the core problem in the question
 Strategy to tackle scenario-based questions:
1. Determine Project lifecycle
2. Determine Stage/Process Group
3. Determine - do next, should have done.
4. Approach:
Review appropriate PM Plan

Assess/analyze (include team)

Update relevant project documents as required

Talk to the relevant stakeholders/team

Take Action

Continue review to make sure the fix is working

 Communication Mgmt Plan - Refer for any escalations

 Health hazards/ Mandatory regulation/Environmental Issues/Safety
1. Emergency/Mandatory ==> Halt work & begin the change control process .
2. Rumours/Potential ==> Review with legal/relevant governance teams & Route to change
control
 Resource requirement
1. Try to work with a functional manager
 Lesson Learned
1. Should be collected throughout the project
2. Should be done by the PM
3. Stored in a repository with appropriate controls
 Agile Teams
 1. Coach the team to handle/deal/resolve issues, don't leave them on their own to fend for
themselves
2. Research and provide training based on the project needs, PM should not conduct
training
3. Work with Senior team members to coach the team
4. PM should be an agile advocate - train team, and stakeholders and make them aware of
the benefits of agile values and principles
5. Customer feedback should be gained throughout the project as the products are being
made
6. Retrospective - problem-prevention in future
7. Servant Leader - don't give solutions, work with the team to help them come up with one.
Shield team from interruptions
 Resolving Conflicts
1. Between two members, work individually first and then bring them together
2. Don't delay to take action
 Dealing with Vendors
1. Review procurement mgmt plan/ agreements/contarcts
2. Talk to them face to face or call to resolve issues
3. Evaluate alternatives if needed
4. Audit procurement as needed
5. In event of a claim, Escalate to Claims Administration
 Risk
1. Check if the risk is documented in the risk register or risk report
2. Implement the risk response, if the risk materializes
3. If new, Update the risk register and then analyze - qualitative/quantitative, etc.
 Project Kick-off
1. After Planning, during the execution of large projects
2. After Initiating, during planning for small projects
These were some of my major takeaways that came out of my preparation in
addition to those shared by others in this group. Hopefully, you
Xxxxxxxxxxxxc

This is what I have gathered so far:

For Situational Questions

- Review corresponding plan

- Assess/analyze with team
- Update relevant project docs
- Communicate with stakeholders and or team
- Take Action
- Continuously Review
Solving Problems

DIGCIV
- Determine problem
- Identify root cause
- Generate Alternatives
- Choose best alternative
- Implement
- Verify problem is solved
General Items:

Do not ask a sponsor to solve a problem

Assess the situation before you do anything, do not take action immediately
If it is an administrative task, the PM should just do it
The PM does not decide things, project sponsor and team members usually help with
this
If a stakeholder is unhappy review and implement the plan they are happy about.
Changes always go to the change control board
PM Motivates the team
Do not hand over issues or tasks to other people, PM should not run away from their
problems
If you change stakeholders, you need to change things to accommodate…
stakeholder engagement plan, stakeholder register, communications plan, etc…
Bad thing may happen - risk
Bad thing DID happen - issue
PM cannot remove things
7PM does not hire, fire or create budget
PM resolves conflict

Cccccccc
Mindset says - To look for "do first" in question which means not to take action right
away. Understand, review, assess, examine
We do not change scope just because someone is unhappy. Cause SH is unhappy,
PM would need to meet him to Understand, review, assess, examine the situation.
Once that is known the 2nd step is to make any necessary changes
Xxxxxxxxxx

**My tips for fellow aspirants:**

1. AR's Udemy Course

2. AR's Simulator
3. Vargas' 7th edition video on youtube
4. Agile 200 on youtube by David McLachlan

These four materials are good enough.. But what really helped me pass was the PMP
mindset.. Its simply that:

If the project = predictive AND you are being asked to next/first then dont take any
action

If the project = predictive AND you are being asked to solve the situation then apply
servant leadership

If the project = agile AND you are being asked to do next/first/solve = the answer is
enforce agile principles (that covers the servant leadership)

Ďdddddddddddd

PMP Exam Cheat sheet (Update 2022)

Pham Manh Cuong

1 month ago
Click to rate this post!
[Total: 0 Average: 0 ]
This is definitely an article that anyone preparing for the PMP exam needs
to check out. The article will summarize tips & tricks to take the PMP exam
and will be constantly updated.

Content
1. Team
2. Stakeholders
3. Process
Team
 The team's work let the team do it themselves, only help the team
when there is a blocker
 If the team lacks certain skills, it is better to prioritize internal
training in the team than outsourcing
 In a team that has a problem member, the PM must solve it in the
spirit that it is the problem of the whole team to help that member,
avoid blaming or blaming.
 2 members conflict with each other, PM talks to both to find out the
reason, then uses interpersonal skills/emotional intelligent to
mediate
 To motivate the team, prioritize the option of empowerment
(empower), trust, show them that their contribution is important to
the common goal, rather than using money, salary increase or
incentives
 When a member has a performance problem, the PM must find out
the reason first, talk directly, handle it internally before escalate.
Stakeholders
 Every time there is a new stakeholder, it is necessary to add the
stakeholder register and update the stakeholder engagement plan
 When stakeholders are not interested in the project's information
system (PMIS), it is necessary to review whether the project has
provided enough and necessary information for them.
 When there are communication problems with stakeholders
(stakeholders complain that they do not receive information, or
receive too much information), it is necessary to review the
communication management plan and stakeholder engagement
plan.
 Once the customer has accepted the deliverables through each
iteration, the job is considered complete, even if the customer
complains about missing features at the end, client acceptance is
the basis for closing the project.
  If you are a new PM assigned to the project, you need to talk to the
sponsor to know the overall status of the project
 If the project lacks support from stakeholders because they are not
familiar with agile, prioritize agile training for them to gain support
 Always prioritize win-win options when there is a resource conflict
with other projects or with the seller
Process
 Always find a way to solve the problem first, discuss with the team,
then seek help from the expert, escalate upwards.
 When there is an issue, PM must evaluate before making decision
 PM's mindset is to always find the root cause to solve the problem
 When there is a change request (from sponsor, customer,
stakeholder), it must go through the Product Owner
 Any changes related to the contract must go through the change
contract process
 Agile project always emphasizes incremental delivery to get early
feeback, thereby delivering value
 Having difficult technical problems, new technology in agile projects
needs to be spiked
 Velocity is trending down, discussed in retrospective
 When a project is slow, never ask the team to work overtime or push
the team to do it fast. Always look for other options like
smoothing/crashing/leveling. If not, then escalate to sponsor.
 If you encounter issues beyond PM's control (new request but out of
budget, issue related to community coucil), contact sponsor for
help
Źzzzzzzzzzzzz

**Tips for answering questions:**

1. I have seen many blog posts suggesting that you read the last line of
a question before you read the entire question to develop an
understanding about the context. My suggestion: DO NOT DO THIS.
It only wastes time as you have to reread everything again. Read
through the entire question as you naturally would. The questions in
the main exam will generally not have any unnecessary information,
so it’s better if you read normally through the entire question to get
the context.

2. I had only 1 theoretical question in the main exam and remaining

all were situational questions.
3. For most questions, out of the 4 options, you would be able to
easily eliminate 2 options. The remaining 2 options will be really
close. Try to rank these 2 options based on which one should be done
first and then select that option.

4. While answering the questions, you must think like a servant

leader. I think what they actually mean by a “servant leader” is that
you take actions which would be appropriate in ideal scenarios. In the
exam, forget about how your real world experience as a project
manager tells you to deal with situations.

5. Project manager does not make decisions.

6. I didn’t have to answer any question which had to do with

mathematical formulae and calculations in the main exam but I
would suggest you focus on understanding what CPI, SPI, CV and SV
are and what they signify.

7. Understand the differences between Iterative and Incremental

development approaches. This will help you answer questions that
ask you to determine which development approach is to be used in
which situation.

8. An ISSUE is something that has already occurred, a RISK is

something which may occur.

9. A PM should always do their tasks themselves, don’t ask sponsor,

stakeholder, team member to do your job. Don’t ask anyone for help.

10. Do not involve HR.

11. First step to take in a situation is reviewing or assessing the

situation.

12. Your answers should never be like you as a PM have done nothing
about the situation. Your action could be reviewing or assessing a
situation, implementing an action which is already approved or
coaching people or resolving conflicts or anything. Your answer
should always make it seem like the PM has acted/done something
about the situation.
13. If it’s a team related issue, you should refer to the team charter.
Read about the team charter.

14. Face to face interaction is best to resolve conflicts expect for cases
which involve multiple locations.

15. If the question is about performance issue of a team member,

discuss one on one with the team member.

16. Never select options which involve drastic actions like terminating
contract, firing people, stopping payment, hiring people, closing
projects because of inconveniences.

17. Regarding changes: Always assess and analyse the impacts, then
follow change management process and if the change is approved
then implement the change. Do not implement change by yourself
without any approval for the change.

18. If people don’t know what Agile is, coach them.

19. If there is a new stakeholder or if a stakeholder is leaving, update

the stakeholder register first.

20. If there is any issue with the stakeholder, refer to stakeholder

engagement plan.

21. Understand the purpose of Scrum Planning, Daily scrum, Sprint

Review, Sprint retrospective. Daily scrums are only to receive updates
from team members about their work and any impediment that they
might be facing. Discuss risks or impediments or conflicts later in
separate meeting not in daily scrum.

22. A retrospective could be interim or at the end of a project.

23. While selecting a vendor, always follow procedure. Do not select

vendors based on reference from seniors/peers.

24. In case of a new regulation or law, first assess impact then seek
stakeholder’s advice
 25. In case of contract related issues or payment related issues,
involve the respective department.

All the best!

ZZZZZZZZZXZZZXXX

Best feedback

Here is the **list of tips** that I gathered from different reddit post:

# STRATEGY OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT:

1- Assess/ analyze the problem to find out root cause

2- Review the plan
3- Meeting / communicate
# MINDSET:
• Do not ask a sponsor to solve a problem
• Assess the situation before you do anything.
• If it is an administrative task, the PM should just do it
• The PM does not decide things.
• If a stakeholder is unhappy review and implement the plan, they are not
happy about.
• Changes always go to the change control board
• Assume the PM is stepping in
• PM Motivates the team
• Answers to the questions should be a solution - not passing the buck
• If you change stakeholders, you need to change things to accommodate
• Bad Thing may happen - RISK -
• Bad thing DID happen – issue
• May/might/claims = question is about risk
• Will/should/could = question is about issue
• PM cannot remove things
• PM Does not decide things
• PM Does meet in person
• PM does not hire, Fire or create budget
• PM resolves conflict
• The goal of a project is to increase profit
• PM build trust with transparency
• Any changes to baseline requirements must be done using the change
management procedure.
• if you think a conflict in brewing, step in before it escalates.
• when managing a team, you are supposed to help/facilitate the team to come
to a solution, not directing them
• never escalate to anyone or defer decision, pm role is to solve not to deter
decision to someone else (know kinda ironic with the above point)
• if there is a trouble maker or someone that isn't performing, always talk to
him/her alone to understand the situation instead of discussing in a team.
• Always think like servant leader, forget about experience while attempting
pmp
• Never ask for others to do your job (The sponsor, the pmo, the product
owner...)
• Always try face to face communication,
• Train your people is normally the best option.
• Related to team issue = team charter
• Stakeholder related = stakeholder engagement
• Action is next step, assessing and review is 1st step
• Remember while selecting answer = assess > review > action/implications
• If questions related to safety problem, stop the project immediately (unless
may stop..)
• If question likely to have problem due to new law may introduce or from
internet information = update the risk register. If not may then do the action to
follow it.
• If there is problem due to new law implications, seek for guidance
• Problem between member = team charter, meeting preferably face to
face(not apply in case of multiple locations)
• Asking help from Sponsor and pmo is NOT an option
• Before any change, always asses and check impact
• Change request is approved in formal process. NEVER implement any change
by yourself. Always with approval.
• If anything missed in scope which may lead to rejection of deliverable =
change request
• Adding extra features = talk to team
• Meeting and coaching are the best options for conflict.
• Quality control customer are best option
• Not performing as expected = Quality
• Bottom-up estimate is best option for cost
• Prototype is best option for demo
• Never remove a member, remove a vendor or hire a consultant
• There should be predetermined acceptance rules for acceptance of delivery
• If project required close, follow the formal process always.
• If stakeholder don't know about agile, coach and teach them about agile
• If there is any issue related to payment/contract with vendor always ask them
to check with appropriate department
• Delay in item sent by vendor/ quality issue with vendor, meet and
brainstorming with team and come up with solutions

• Always add communicated with pmo about status of project and customer in
Sprint

• Sprint is important for communication for both customer and team.

• Not to take any bigger actions like a change request or closing a project
without taking care of the smaller tasks first. So whenever we see that “what
should PM do next/first” it’s almost always a preliminary action like reviewing a
plan or meeting with the team and using the information gleaned in *THAT*
step to make the decision on the larger task
• **Crashing = adding resources (hours) Fast tracking = activities in parallel,**

# Tips: Calculations:

CPI and CPI above > 1 or CV and SV above > 0 are good, below is bad.

S is Schedule and C is Cost.

# Test Tips:

**First**, make it a habit to read the last sentence (the main question) FIRST
before reading the whole prompt. So you know to search what to…

• Do? Action, normally see impact or if there is something already set in stone
(The approval has been given, Law regulations enforced) then do it

• Do first? Normally review a document/assess situation

• Should have been done? Look for Reactive things. Not actions to do now that
there is a problem.

• Not do? Least likely/most likely? Most important least important? Notice the
subtlety.

**Second**, what framework are you in? (Agile, hybrid, predictive/waterfall?).

That will Help eliminate good sounding options that are not valid because they
are from another framework.

**Third**, which process are you in? Are you initiating, executing, M&C,
closing?
Play this game until you got it almost perfectly. You need to know where you
are in the situational questions to exclude the options that are in before or later
in the time

**Every project needs both a project charter and a team charter** in order to set
clear:
# Project Charter:
· The project vision
· Projects Benefits
· Definition of Done
· The intended flow of work
# Team Charter:
· Team value
Working agreements (such as what “ready” means so the team can take in
work; what “done” means so the team can judge completeness consistently;
respecting the time box; or the use of work-in-process limits)
· Ground rules (such as one person talking in a meeting)
· Group norms (such as how the team treats meeting times).

# Drag and drop

**Dropped baton**: This refers to the impact of poor coordination. If an activity

is completed early and the resources for the new dependent activity is not
ready, the time gained by completing the activity early, is lost.

**Sandbagging**: In project management, sandbagging refers to the practice of

holding a complete work until the true due date arrives.

**Parkinson’s Law**: This occurs when an activity is completed before deadline

but resources are still improving the work until the due date is reached. The
time spent on the activity is often expanded and finished at the last minute (ie
to fill the time that’s been allocated)
**Self-protection**: This is the concept when workers fail to report early
completion of activities out of fear that management team will adjust future
standards and demand more next time.

# Servant leadership
1. Involve your team, train them, don’t be a jerk
2. Review first, do after, never postpone actions
3. Never ask the Sponsor for help
4. Face-to-face solves conflict. Remind team of team charter.
5. Working with Virtual teams, invest in collaboration tools.

# Project Life cycle

In a **predictive life cycle,** the project scope, time, and cost are determined in
the early phases of the life cycle. Any changes to the scope are carefully
managed. Predictive life cycles may also be referred to as waterfall life cycles.

**Adaptive life cycles** can be iterative, or incremental. The scope is outlined

and agreed before the start of an iteration. Adaptive life cycles are also referred
to as agile or change-driven life cycles.

▹ In an **iterative life cycle**, the project scope is generally determined early in

the project life cycle, but time and cost estimates are routinely modified as the
project team’s understanding of the product increases. Iterations develop the
product through a series of repeated cycles, while increments successively add
to the functionality of the product.

▹ In an **incremental life cycle**, the deliverable is produced through a series

of iterations that successively add functionality within a predetermined time
frame. The deliverable contains the necessary and sufficient capability to be
considered complete only after the final iteration.

A **hybrid life cycle** is a combination of a predictive and an adaptive life ju

cycle. Those elements of the project that are well known or have fixed
requirements follow a predictive development life cycle, and those elements
that are still evolving follow an adaptive development life cycle.
Ddddd
Question no 1 i ticked - Register the issue in issue log and plan necessary
corrective action. I remember we have discussed first to enter the issue in the
log and then check what will the action. Yes, but not when compared to
reviewing a plan or guideline. Reviewing these documents is like doing your
homework before taking any action.

So, before registering the issue I’m issue log, just check what the plan says
about non-conformity. May be you need to send a mail to the process owner
first and then register in issue log.

_always take your decisions based on the scenarios given in questions and
*compare the 2 confusing options* before choosing a correct one_
Dddddddddd
1.What should the PM do/do first *Assess/analyse the problem to find out the
root cause
*Review the plan
*Meeting
2.APG Pages 8,9,14,18,19,27,28,50 -56,90 -95
3.If a team is falling behind, use self-organizing method, thus work together.
If a team member is falling behind, PM must intervene

4.Some tips from me that helped me a lot were:

- Correct answer candidates are usually answers that say about assessing the
issue and finding the cause of something, selecting the "servant leadership"
way and trying discussion/collaboration in conflicts.
- Incorrect answer candidates are the ones that propose to stop, delay the
project or propose to do nothing, escalating to management or sponsor, or
blaming others for project problems.*
5. Always pick the answer that involves the PM taking action and what will
progress the project. If the answers relate to asking others to do something or
provide approval, it is most likely incorrect
DSSSSSSSSSSD
Review extremely helpful to me.
Best so far

1. Learn Andrew Ramdayal's PM mindset by heart. For the uninitiated, this is

part of his PMP Exam Prep Course at Udemy (Section 27), which outlines your
way of thinking as a PM if you're working on a traditional/predictive or an agile
project. This is helpful since almost all of the actual PMP questions are
situational. If you do have the time though, go through the entire course.

2. To reinforce your mastery of the mindset, invest on the PMI Study Hall or the
TIA Mock (or both) and practice answering as many questions as you could. I
would recommend investing on the SH for exam conditioning; the questions
there are more like the actual PMP questions than the TIA questions, both in
structure and content. On average, I was hitting 65-70% on the SH mock exams.
Without the expert questions, I was 85-90%.

3. If you have time, also watch this guy's practice questions, answers, and
explanations. Helps you solidify the PM mindset.

4. Watch Ricardo Vargas' PM processes video. THIS IS REQUIRED READING

WATCHING! I was struggling with all the processes and ITTOs and how they all
fit together but the way he explained it totally made sense. If PMBOK only
structured them the way Vargas did, then this would have helped more people
tremendously. Once you have a good grasp of the processes, it would be easier
for you to eliminate choices that look okay but are, in fact, wrong because
they're not part of the project phase that the question is asking about.

5. More on the mindset: The prescribed approach is to always think it through

BEFORE you act on something (unless it deals with dire consequences like
health and safety or mandatory regulations). So questions about what you
should do first or next almost always calls for thinking it through (i.e. assessing
the situation, evaluating the impact/ root cause, or reviewing the plan) BEFORE
doing the actual action.
6. The rule of don'ts (not absolute but in general): Don't remove a team
member or a vendor. Don't escalate to sponsor or PMO or product owner.
Don't ask for budget increase. Don't add more people. Assess the situation,
evaluate the impact/root cause, review the plan, meet with the team, then
come up with the best solution.

7. If a team member is deficient in skill, put them on a training. If the

stakeholders or the org are new to agile, show them the benefits of agile (i.e.
workshops, trainings).

8. If a stakeholder complains about a missed or incomplete/incorrect item,

revisit the agreed criteria and walk them through it. If a stakeholder complains
about comms or status report, revisit the management comms
plan/stakeholder engagement plan then find out where they're coming from (i
e. what do they need?). If a stakeholder wants to know more about the project
status, invite them to sprint reviews.

9. You are a servant leader. Your role is always to support the team. Team
conflict? Put them in "one room" and facilitate mediation. Demotivated? Find
out why, then act based on their personal motivations. Erring team members?
Remind the team about ground rules. Shared resource? Talk to the functional
manager and figure something out.

10. Changes? Assess and evaluate the impact on the project then go through
the formal change process, including approval. Never put a change through
without approval.

11. If project is delayed, follow the following in order: a. Check risks and re-
estimate b. Fast-track c. Crash d. Cut scope e. Reduce quality

12. Take note of cue words: May/might/could means revisiting the risk register
and risk management plan. Will/would/has (or any event already done) means
revisiting the issue log and requiring an issue resolution.

13. MVP is the way to go when there are just too many wish lists from
stakeholders but limited resources. Use prototype when demonstrating the
product's value.
14. Face to face communication is always the best unless team is dispersed
geographically, in which case you have to settle with virtual meetings.

15. In the process of closure? Get formal acceptance of the project deliverable
with stakeholders BEFORE lessons learned, BEFORE handover to Ops, BEFORE
releasing team.

16. SPI is Schedule while CPI is Cost. To remember if it's good or bad, treat 1
like 100%, which is the ideal baseline. Anything above 1 is good; anything
below 1 is bad.

April 2023
17. Read the question to understand what framework you're currently in. This
was a key thing for me because a lot of times the answer choices had an option
of Reviewing Change Management Plan when the question was asked about
agile framework.

If there's an option to Empower the team, letting the team self organize it's
generally the best option regardless of the framework. For instance, one of the
questions I had was on predictive framework and team is in the executing
phase. One of the options was to Empower the team to decide on the way
forward. I know this was the right answer because all the other options were
either escalating to Sponsor/PMO or replacing the entire team

In case of what should PM do next, the better option is to discuss with your
internal team/stakeholders before communicating something to external
stakeholders/customers. I had a question where the choices were either to
discuss with sponsor to find a way, stop the project and restart, halt the project
till a way is found and inform the customer that the project is having issue and
ask them to discuss this with sponsor.

Do not ask the team to work overtime - If the situation demands work with
them to find a way. For instance, if a critical resource is unavailable and there is
an upcoming deliverable. The best way is to work with the team to see how the
tasks could be managed.
A lot of questions were focused on removing impediments. There would be a
situation that would block the team from proceeding further, and as a
PM/Servant Leader you would need to determine your next action. In these
cases, I selected the option which was removing those impediments - generally
talking to the other department/vendor/functional manager.

There were options which were leaning towards being directive - Inform the
team member, Ask the team member and then the same question had a more
collaborative option - Work with the team member, Discuss with the team. I
selected the one which sounder more collaborative and inclusive.
18. It's hard to explain, but practically here are some elements to be aware of
when reviewing and answering questions and answer choices with this PM
mindset in mind:
1. Be proactive in your approach to problem solving as a PM. Don't transfer
responsibility and don't put problems off. Relatedly, don't elevate to the
sponsor unless rare circumstances call for it (eg major resource issues)
2. Emotional intelligence is key. PMs need to listen carefully and resolve
conflicts/problem solve collaboratively. You want to be as proactive as possible.
3. You often want to address an issue with the following process: identify issue,
assess/analyze issue with a focus on root cause (if not readily apparent), plan to
take action, take action, update plans accordingly (the last two may be flip-
flopped depending on issue/concern). I'd say this is a major piece of the
mindset - learning how to identify the issue and understand the sequence for
how to resolve it. 90% of the time it's going to be to follow this order of
operations
. 4. Project governance and compliance are key. You can't skip steps/processes
and these things must be upheld. Change processes must be followed
regardless of methodology. Again, all about sticking to established plans and
processes.
19. Always review or assess first, no matter what
Only act if something has been approved
Never delegate your job to someone else (PO, PS, PMO)
Always choose the answer that has colocation or face-to-face convos, even if it
seems like an illogical answer
For team issues, always pick the answer that facilitates collaboration and
enforces the ground rules/team charter
Bottom up costing will almost always be the correct answer in terms of costing
methods
Always use the formal change control process!!!"
20. More than half the questions had a simple trick as its either of the below
options –
Always analyse when there is a problem –
Never escalate –
Don't go to sponsor –
People issues – Always have individual discussion to understand why the
person has issues and either Empathize with them BUT If issue is skill - support
them by doing skill gap analysis and provide training (never remove, escalate
to HR or functional manager).
21. Always review or assess first, no matter what
Only act if something has been approved
Never delegate your job to someone else (PO, PS, PMO)
Always choose the answer that has colocation or face-to-face convos, even if it
seems like an illogical answer
For team issues, always pick the answer that facilitates collaboration and
enforces the ground rules/team charter
Always use the formal change control process!!!"
22. One key element that will help you pass this exam is endurance. I had
intended on taking a mock exam each of the last four days leading up to the
test... needless to say that didnt happen. By the 3rd round of questions, I was
having trouble focusing on the question and would have to read it 3-4 times.
Work on having the endurance to take this test. It could be the difference
between passing and ffailing.
23. Read the final sentence of the "Scenario Paragraph" and the question
prompt first. If you still need additional info, then read the full question.
The key detail is usually in the final sentence of the "scenario paragraph". This
will save a TON of time, and helps eliminate a lot of the clutter details
You most likely will have to pick out the methodology in the first sentence
though
Never take any action right away or escalate. Always analyze, evaluate,
facilitate, meet with project team and find a solution
Make sure to look for those key words. This usually helps eliminate 2 of the
answers, which are obviously incorrect. This will be wrong about 5% of the time
if there is a massive regulatory change or something, but just fall on the sword
for those questions to ensure you get the other 95% correct
There is usually an ESCALATE RIGHT AWAY/CANCEL THE PROJECT or a DO
NOTHING AND HOPE THINGS WORK OUT.
Identify which Methodology you are using (Predictive vs Agile)
The questions will help eliminate that final option. This answer sounds good,
but uses processes/methodologies from the wrong framework
EXAMPLE
Question: You are working on an experienced agile team developing a software
application. You have worked with stakeholders to gather all of the
requirements, and completed a product roadmap and feature release schedule.
An executive has requested delivery of the software to be delivered 6 months
ahead of schedule. What should the project manager do?
Correct Answer: Schedule a meeting with the project owner and team to
prioritize the backlog and define an MVP
Note that this sounds good, and uses all of the right terminology for the agile
framework
Incorrect Answer #1: Evaluate the impact of the request on the scope and
schedule, and complete the approved change control process
Note this answer sounds really good, BUT it uses the processes in a PREDICTIVE
approach instead of AGILE
Incorrect Answer #2: Ignore the executive's request and explain that changes
cannot be made since the schedule has already been approved.
Obviously wrong, you can't just ignore requests
Incorrect Answer #3: Remove features from the backlog yourself and inform
the project team of the updated schedule
Obviously wrong, you can't just go haywire

May
24
1. May/might/could, check the risk register and risk management plan.
2. Will/would/has (or an event taken place) -> Issue log and Requires a
Solution.
3. Questions with: what should the PM do first? -> Review/Assess, do not take
action!
4. Questions with: What should the PM do next?-> Do not take Action, Review,
Assess, Analyze. No action yet.
5. If offered the answer or situation: Always - meet with the team, then come
up with the best solution.
6. When asked for action-> Take Action! Do not review or analyze, you are
being presented with a scenario that asked this.
Ownership rules:
Don't escalate to sponsor or PMO or product owner.
Don't remove a team member or a vendor.
Money Rules:
Don't ask for budget increase.
Don't add more people.

Focus on Servant Leadership principles: Support, Motivate, Empower, Facilitate

etc.
Understand team cohesiveness.
Really understand Agile, Sprint Cycles: Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review,
Sprint Retrospect.
25. 1. Understand the project management framework: Familiarize yourself
with the different project management frameworks, such as Agile, hybrid, and
predictive (waterfall). This will help you eliminate options that are not valid
based on the framework being used in the question.
2. Know the process group and knowledge area mappings: Understand the
relationship between the process groups (Initiating, Planning, Executing,
Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing) and the knowledge areas
(Integration, Scope, Schedule, Cost, Quality, Resources, Communications, Risk,
Procurement, Stakeholder). This knowledge will help you identify the
appropriate process group and knowledge area relevant to the question.
3. Focus on situational questions: When encountering situational questions,
read the last sentence (the main question) first before reading the entire
prompt. This will guide you on what to do, what to do first, what should have
been done, or what not to do. Pay attention to keywords like "most important,"
"least important," "likely," and "may/might/claims" to identify the nature of
the question (risk or issue-related).
4. Serve as a servant leader: Adopt a servant leader mentality, thinking about
the team's needs and facilitating effective communication. Consider face-to-
face communication as the preferred option and prioritize training and
coaching to empower team members.
5. Assess, review, and take action: Understand the sequence of steps in
problem-solving and decision-making processes. Assess the situation, review
relevant information or plans, and then take appropriate action or make
informed decisions based on the assessment and review.
6. Follow formal change management processes: Recognize that any changes to
the project should go through formal change management processes. Change
requests should be approved following the appropriate procedures and never
implemented without proper approval.
7. Utilize appropriate tools and techniques: Understand which tools and
techniques are suitable for different project management aspects. For example,
bottom-up estimation is best for cost estimation, prototypes are effective for
demonstrations, and meetings and coaching are recommended for conflict
resolution.
8. Adhere to project management principles: Remember key project
management principles such as stakeholder engagement, quality control,
following acceptance criteria for deliverables, and following formal project
closure processes.
9. Communicate and collaborate effectively: Maintain open communication
channels with the project management office (PMO), stakeholders, customers,
and team members. Report project status and updates regularly to keep all
parties informed.
10. Apply risk management practices: Identify and address risks throughout the
project lifecycle. Update the risk register when new risks arise or when there are
implications due to new laws or information from the internet.
11. Consider contractual and vendor management: If there are issues related to
vendors, consult the appropriate department for guidance. Address vendor-
related problems through meetings and brainstorming sessions with the team
to find solutions.
12. Prioritize smaller tasks before bigger actions: When faced with a decision on
what the project manager should do next or first, ensure that preliminary
actions like problem assessment, plan review, or meetings with the team are
completed before making decisions on larger tasks like change requests or
project closure.
13. Some general tips on how to answer these situational questions: -Its almost
always the wrong answer to kick the can down the road. Never pass on to
senior management. Almost never ask the sponsor to change something. -Most
answer choices that involve increasing the project budget or schedule are
wrong. The answer choices usually give you a way out of that. -most of the
time, discussing options with project team is going to be a good answer. - a lot
of questions ask you what to do first/ next after learning of a delay. The answer
to those is almost always to assess or learn more about the issue before taking
action. -team management questions really favor 1:1 conversations to deal with
issues, talking through conflicts. The answer is never to ignore or escalate a
conflict to hr.
14. Regarding the exam itself, it mainly consisted of scenario-based questions,
with 3 multiple-choice questions (with only 2 choices), 1 PERT question, and 2
"Match the following" questions. I would estimate the distribution to be
approximately 65% agile, 30% predictive, and 5% hybrid.
15. In the exam more than half of the questions are agile questions, 2 mix and
match, 1 formula question, a few process questions and, a few traditional
project questions. The questions were 90% situational scenarios so really
practice those questions, in what others have posted about mindset . . . having
the PMI mindset.
16. 1. Understand the project management framework: Familiarize yourself
with different project management frameworks like Agile, hybrid, and
predictive (waterfall) to eliminate invalid options based on the question's
framework.
2. Know the process group and knowledge area mappings: Understand the
relationship between process groups and knowledge areas to identify the
relevant process group and knowledge area in each question.
3. Focus on situational questions: Read the main question first before diving
into the prompt. Pay attention to keywords like "most important," "least
important," and "likely" to identify the nature of the question.
4. Serve as a servant leader: Embrace a servant leader mentality, considering
the team's needs and facilitating effective communication. Prioritize face-to-
face communication and empower team members through training and
coaching.
5. Assess, review, and take action: Follow a systematic problem-solving and
decision-making approach. Assess the situation, review relevant information or
plans, and then take appropriate action or make informed decisions.
6. Follow formal change management processes: Understand the importance of
formal change management processes. Any changes to the project should go
through proper approval procedures and should never be implemented without
approval.
7. Utilize appropriate tools and techniques: Gain knowledge of suitable tools
and techniques for different project management aspects, such as cost
estimation, demonstrations, and conflict resolution.
8. Adhere to project management principles: Keep key project management
principles in mind, such as stakeholder engagement, quality control, adherence
to acceptance criteria, and following formal project closure processes.
9. Communicate and collaborate effectively: Maintain open communication
channels with the project management office (PMO), stakeholders, customers,
and team members. Regularly report project status and updates to keep
everyone informed.
10. Apply risk management practices: Continuously identify and address risks
throughout the project lifecycle. Update the risk register when new risks arise
or when there are new laws or information from the internet.
11. Consider contractual and vendor management: Seek guidance from the
appropriate department when facing vendor-related issues. Address such
problems

June
12.The exam uses variations of
terms a lot especially in agile
(product backlog, project backlog)
3- the exam was mostly agile 4 -
there were almost no calculations.
Just prompts to demonstrate
understanding of the calculated
things.
For questions, use a PM mindset:

Review, assess, analyze UNLESS the

question prompt states you already
have reached a conclusion or
produced analysis results.

If analysis is complete and an action

is indicated, use the knowledge
areas and process groups in order
to decide the action to take. Know
the key outputs and inputs.

pay close attention to the question

prompt, they’ll say what should the
PM do next/do/should have done
indicating immediate future,
present, or past actions that should
be / should have been taken. This
will guide which process group /
knowledge area to think about.

Stop, collaborate, and listen.

Attempt to do no action by yourself.
Always bring people together.
Always empathize and support.
Never punish.
Use process of elimination, but not
for each full answer. Phrases in each
answer may be right, others wrong.
One of my answers had one correct
phrase and one I disagreed with,
but the others had fewer correct
phrases.
13.

14.
Mindset and study questions. Below are some notes I've taken from my studies
and from around the web (including here). As I mentioned before, I like to take
concepts I got wrong on SH and structure them into mindsets for review. I used
this as a review before the test to shore up the knowledge that had gaps.
15.

1. At least prepare for a month.

2. Right after you finish the PDU course go for the third rock. After that
finish DMs videos and again review Thirdrock.
3. If you think your preparation is worst either reschedule or sleep with
AR mindset and Thirdrock's SH review note.
4. Time management is crucial. Took 90 mins to finish 1st part. At least
do a full mock.
5. SH answer review is a must.

6. Look for assess/review/evaluate/review. 30-40% of the question is like

this- As a PM you'll
7. execute/(take action without assessment)
8. execute/(take action without assessment)
9. execute/(take action without assessment)
10. assess/review/evaluate/review.

July

Various tips:

-Generally do NOT ask for more money or more resources (not

always true but usually asking for more is the wrong answer)

-Usually firing a troublesome person or removing them from the

project is not the right answer, look for the answer that focuses on
getting an understanding on what the issue is and trying to resolve
it.

-Focus on answers that encourage training when there seem to be

knowledge gaps. Careful when they say "some teammates seem to
have knowledge gaps" in the question prompt. One of the answers
will talk about giving the whole team training vs. just the ones who
need it.

-This might not be the best way to phrase this, but YOU are the
leader and manager so generally it's on YOU to deal with issues
before immediately escalating to a higher power as your first course
of action. So things like "Immediately escalate to the functional
managers" type of answers typically isn't the right one.

-Almost never take immediate action on modifying a project plan

and goals -if someone wants a change in scope for example, don't
just go change the project plan wildly at any time, it needs to have
some sort of analysis usually and then go through a formal change
management process.

-I got a lot of conflict resolution questions - generally this is on YOU

to figure out so the answers where you're facilitating a
discussion/resolution seemed to be right.

-Lots of questions about remote and global teams and the

challenges that come with that

-I personally didn't get a lot of technical knowledge questions like

"what style management is John employing?" Annoying cause those
came up in the SH exam so I wasted some time learning those

-Understand what predictive and adaptive are, that comes up a few

times.

-Lots of risk questions and how to handle them

3. Test Content: A lot of hybrid questions. A lot of conflict

resolution questions with teammates and stakeholders.
4. The turning point for me was when you explained that selecting the answer is not really
about right or wrong one but the BEST answer. Most of the questions were Agile, hybrid or
transitioning to agile scenarios!No calculations but one question gave worsening SPI and CPI
values and asked what to do. How to handle resistant to agile stakeholders, how to handle
risks to schedule slippage, one question asking how cost is estimated in agile, one graph
 showing velocity over first 5 iterations and asking to calculate or select number of iterations
for 520 story points, given the average velocity.

August

TIPS:

*Practice taking mock exams for 3hrs. Get enough rest and eat a clean breakfast. Something that
won't make you drowsy or upset your stomach.

*Eliminate answers using the strikethrough method, reread the questions and think about the
answer as it relates the question. Both answers might be right but the question might ask what
should you do FIRST or to RESOLVE the issue.

*For MOST questions DO NOT escalate to the sponsor, cancel the project, ask for an
extension/budget increase, or add more resources.

*The PRODUCT OWNER is the only person that prioritizes the backlog.

*PM should remove impediments. Empower, coach, and guide the team.

*Assess and analyze issues before acting on them, ensure they are added to the issue log first.
Discuss and consult with the team if that is an option.

*DO NOT invite stakeholders or intervene in the daily stand-up meetings.

*Always add the risk to the risk register, issues to the issue log.

*Have a great understanding of the tools used for Data Gathering, Data Representation, Data
Analysis.

*Understand how to find SPI, CPI, and PERT.

*If there is a risk not previously identified, add it to the register then discuss it/assess it with your
team. Any risk on the risk register, refer to the risk management plan.
*Follow the change management process. Requests should be submitted to the CCB, do not make
changes before they are approved.

October
1) pick options that involve “speak/discuss/inform with the team”. They’re right 90% of the time

2) options that involve you making the decision on someone’s behalf is always wrong.

3) options that involve firing someone is always wrong

4) options that involve increasing budget and scope is always wrong

5) options that involve the HR is always wrong

6) fk the math questions. Just roll a dice and move on. I only had 2 math questions

Źzxxxxxxxxxx

People

Employ emotional intelligence when solving problems. Utilize the

skills of emotional intelligence to analyze your own feelings and those
around you to respond to stakeholders' needs and requirements.
Emotional intelligence allows you to solve problems quicker and more
effectively.
Analyze stakeholder needs before communicating. Before
communications are sent out to stakeholders, ensure to analyze their
needs and determine what they’re looking for, how often, what method
they would like it to be delivered, and who will deliver it to them.
Aim to resolve personal conflicts to benefit the project. Conflicts
between team members should always be resolved for the benefit of the
project objectives not to satisfy one member over another.
Determine the conflict source before acting. Before resolving a
conflict between team members, be sure to understand the source of the
conflict.
Discuss issues with your team before taking action. Consult with the
project team before making decisions, as they will have a more practical
approach.
Conduct stakeholder analysis throughout the project lifecycle.
Identification and analysis of stakeholders is something that is done
throughout the project not just at the beginning.
Frequent stakeholder engagement is key. Engage stakeholders
regularly through a variety of methods, such as meetings, individual
conversations, phone calls, and presentations. Communicate with
stakeholders to clarify their requirements and keep them informed about
the project schedule updates.
Be clear when communicating with stakeholders. Engage
stakeholders by ensuring they comprehend the communications they
receive. Personalize your communications to meet each stakeholder's
individual needs.
Face-to-face communication is the preferred way of interacting. In-
person communication provides greater chances for productive
conversation and active listening, resulting in a more profound
comprehension of the subject. It also allows for prompt feedback,
ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
Provide a safe environment for disagreements. Don't punish anyone
for having a different opinion. Understand that conflicts can be a positive
step and an opportunity to learn.
The Product Owner should prioritize the backlog. Engage the product
owner to document the features and prioritize them in the product
backlog.
Always be a servant leader to the team. Servant leadership involves
empowering individuals, understanding their obstacles, and providing
them with the necessary resources to succeed. It also requires leaders to
stay out of their way once they have provided the necessary support.
Project vision should always be communicated. Ensure that the
project vision is regularly communicated and reinforced to the team so
that everyone understands their part in achieving it. This should include
regular check-ins to ensure each team member is tracking toward the
goals, and to reinforce the importance of their individual contributions.
Discover your team's needs. Understand the needs of your team
members and discover what could motivate them. Identify what drives
them and how you can create an environment that encourages success.
Focus on creating a positive atmosphere where everyone can thrive.
Communicate what constitutes success and failure for the project.
Make sure everyone is aware of the criteria for success and failure.
Be a leader, not a dictator, to the team. Focus on inspiring and
motivating them, rather than ruling over them. Encourage collaboration
and open communication to foster a productive and successful team.
Have good ethical values. Adhere to a code of conduct that is based on
integrity, honesty, and respect for others. Make sure to treat everyone
with fairness and kindness, and always strive to do the right thing. Be
mindful of the impact your decisions have on others and strive to make
decisions that are ethical and beneficial to all.

Process

Responding to project impediments. Primary actions to take when

faced with a project risk or issue to be resolved:
1. Assess and evaluate: Gather the team and relevant parties to
understand the impact to the project and explore options.
2. Review and plan: Validate the effectiveness of the solution by
reviewing the associated plan and carrying out the predetermined
actions.
3. Act: Implement the actions based on the plan.
 Low tech, high touch. Opt for inclusive tools like whiteboards and
markers over complicated software. Provide agile teams with lots
of wall space to write on and use sticky notes. This will help build
relationships, manage expectations, and foster collaboration.
 Focus on integration. Your primary responsibility is to ensure that
all components of a project work together seamlessly. Avoid
focusing too much on one specific task and neglecting others.
 Bottom-Up estimating is more accurate. When estimating, use a
bottom-up approach instead of a top-down approach. This
method leads to more accurate estimates but requires more effort.
 Follow the plan. It's important to stick to a plan and not make
changes without an approved change request. Always create a plan
before taking any action.
 Put the project objectives first. Always make decisions that
benefit the project objectives. If there are conflicting methods for
completing a task, choose the one that delivers the most value to
the project outcome.
 Incorporate customer feedback. Customers are the most suitable
individuals to review a deliverable for scope, conference, and
quality requirements, as they will ultimately use the product.
 Check quality early and often. It is important to define quality
requirements at the beginning of the project and regularly check
that they are being met.
 Frequently update lessons learned register. Maintain the lesson
learned register consistently throughout the project lifecycle to
ensure that it can be applied to future projects within the
organization.
 Scope changes. Assess all scope changes for their impact on
project schedule, cost, quality, resources, communication, risk,
procurement, and stakeholder engagement.
 Follow change control procedures. To modify any aspect of the
project management plan, stakeholders must submit a change
request. All change requests will need to be reviewed and
assessed.
 Early project termination. Even if a project is terminated
prematurely, it still needs to be formally closed through the close
project or phase process.
 Complete all tasks before ending the project. Before closing the
project, ensure all procurement documentation is collected,
indexed, and filed. Ensure all bills are paid off and resources
released.
 Identify, document, and manage risks. A risk that may have a
negative impact is called a threat, whereas a risk that may have a
positive impact is called an opportunity. It is important to identify
potential risks as early as possible in a project and document them
in a risk register to plan mitigation and develop corresponding risk
responses.
 Choose a beneficial project contract. It is important to choose a
contract that benefits both the buyer and seller and aligns with the
project objectives when working with potential sellers on a project.
 Consider team perspectives on decisions. Project managers should
not take actions solely based on stakeholders' desires without
conducting proper analysis and taking into account the
perspectives and concerns of team members.
 Use visual aids for effective information conveyance. To
effectively convey information, it is recommended to use visual
aids such as burn-up or burned-down charts. Large charts and
graphs can help make the information more understandable.
 The product owner prioritizes backlog, not you. Only the
product owner can prioritize the features in the product backlog. If
the product owner refuses to do so because they feel all of them
 are valuable, then you must train them on the benefits of doing so.
DO NOT prioritize the features yourself, this is the job of the
product owner.
 Utilize feedback loops. Feedback loops occur when you complete
a task and use the lessons learned to improve your performance
on the next task.

Study Hall Questions for Review

 Assess vendors based on the contract for superior options.

When deciding between two vendors, assess their work
performance based on the contract and choose the superior
option.
 Always prioritize project objectives and stakeholders' needs.
When a customer requests additional features that were not
included in the requirements documentation, the project manager
should gather more information about the new requests before
taking action. They should then re-prioritize the features and
submit them to the Change Control Board or Product Owner for
approval. It is essential to ensure that the agreed-upon work-in-
progress (WIP) limit is maintained during this process.
 Make sure to transfer knowledge effectively. Ensure adequate
knowledge transfer when an SME is replaced on your project.
 Conduct root cause analysis for product defects. When a product's
quality is decreasing due to a defect, the first step should be to
conduct a root cause analysis.
 Empower the team to access project data. The project manager
should ensure that team members understand how to retrieve
project data, making them self-sufficient. Empowering project
team members to access authorized information is essential.
 Release planning. In case of any modifications to the deliverable
release schedule, the team should organize a release planning
 meeting as a first step. This meeting would enable them to
reprioritize tasks in order to deliver the necessary changes.
 Organizational changes. If changes in the organization's strategy
or decisions affect the project, the project manager should
evaluate the project's feasibility and viability with the product
owner.
 Employ servant leadership. As a servant leader, it's important to
coach your team on agile practices and emphasize the benefits of
each activity and ceremony. The project manager should educate
stakeholders on the agile approach being followed.
o Encourage collaboration and communication among team
members and across teams.
o Facilitate and remove organizational impediments and coach
teams in agile.
 Resolving conflict. When a conflict arises, the project manager
should first understand the situation by gathering all relevant
information from the team, analyzing the issue, devising a
situational plan, and creating a suitable environment.
 Resolve conflict collaboratively. When addressing conflict issues
within the team, it is important to make decisions collectively.
Collaborative planning and decision-making enhance team
member engagement and commitment, leading to increased
motivation.
 Team behavior problems. In case of problematic team member
behavior, it's necessary to discuss the team norms and ground
rules with the entire team. Unclear ground rules can lead to
different expectations among team members.
 Backlog refinement. When there is confusion about the priority of
requirements, the project manager should arrange a backlog
refinement meeting with the team and produc6t owner to
prioritize the value of the requirements.
 Support the team in resolving conflicts. Although the project
manager may step in when necessary, conflict resolution is
 primarily the responsibility of the project team. Utilize
retrospectives to tackle any project issues that the team may be
encountering.
 Plan communication effectively. To create an effective
communications management plan, it is important to be mindful of
cultural differences within your team. Adapt your communication
strategy accordingly to prevent misunderstandings and improve
overall communication. Take the time to understand the
organizational culture, structure, and communication style
differences to ensure successful communication.
 Update the communication management plan to include new
stakeholders. Updating the communication plan is essential in
case of changes in project stakeholders. This ensures that all
stakeholders receive the necessary information and that key
stakeholders are kept informed of any new developments.
 Power/Interest grid. Before considering a stakeholder's threat to
pause a project, it's important to first assess the power/interest
grid to determine its potential impact on project planning,
execution, or outcomes.
 Meet with new stakeholders. In case of any changes with
stakeholders, immediately schedule a meeting to introduce
yourself and address any project-related concerns. Focus on
building a rapport with your new stakeholders and connect them
with your other stakeholders and sponsor, if necessary, to establish
trust.
 Agile teams ownership. It's important to remind stakeholders that
in the agile approach, the team is responsible for their own work
and processes. It's not possible to dictate terms or deadlines within
the iteration.
 Agile teams self-management. Agile teams are expected to be
self-managing and learn from past iterations to improve future
ones.
 Secure buy-in for performance goals from the outset. At the
start of a project, it is important for the project manager to obtain
 approval of performance parameters from stakeholders and agree
on the requirements for measuring progress.
 Incorporate Customer Feedback. In order to develop a
satisfactory product for the customer, the project manager should
conduct regular reviews with them. Incorporating input from real
users can lead to the creation of a more valuable product.
 Variance analysis. Explains the cause, impact, and corrective
actions
 Cost performance index (CPI) (CPI = EV / AC). The CPI measures
the cost efficiency of budgeted resources. A value of less than 1.0
indicates a cost overrun for completed work, while a value greater
than 1.0 indicates a cost under-run for work done so far.
 Schedule performance index (SPI) (SPI = EV / PV). SPI is used to
measure schedule efficiency. A value below 1.0 means that less
work was completed than planned, while a value above 1.0 means
that more work was done than planned.
 Cost variance (CV = EV - AC). Refers to the current budget deficit
or surplus.
 Schedule variance (SV = EV - PV). The amount by which the
project is ahead or behind the planned delivery date, at a given
point in time.
 Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix. Documents and
captures the current and desired levels of stakeholder engagement
necessary for the success of the project. Stakeholders can be
classified into five categories based on their level of awareness and
involvement in the project:
 Unaware: These stakeholders are not aware of the project and its
potential impacts.
 Resistant: These stakeholders are aware of the project and its
potential impacts but are resistant to any changes that may occur
as a result of the work or outcomes of the project. They will not
support the work or outcomes of the project.
  Neutral: These stakeholders are aware of the project but have no
clear position, neither supportive nor unsupportive.
 Supportive: These stakeholders are aware of the project and
potential impacts and support the work and its outcomes.
 Leading: These stakeholders are aware of the project and its
potential impacts and actively engaged in ensuring the success of
the project.
 Stakeholder engagement plan. This document outlines strategies
and actions necessary to encourage stakeholders to effectively
participate in decision-making and implementation processes. By
identifying and mapping stakeholder requirements and
expectations, we can develop appropriate strategies and
approaches.
 Stakeholder analysis. When identifying relevant information
about project stakeholders, it is important to consider their
organizational positions, project roles, stakes, expectations,
attitudes (levels of support for the project), and interest in the
project information.
 Stakeholder responsibility. To ensure completion and maintain
engagement, keep stakeholder responsibilities concise. Assign only
one responsibility at a time and assign a new one only after the
prior deadline has been met.

Areas Review points

11 months back
Tips:
1.Know the characteristics
&difference between Traditional
/Iterative/Incremental/Agile &
Hybrid. You should be able to read
the question and be able to guess
the correct project lifecycle.
2.EVM formulas and how to
interpret them to deduce if the
project is behind/ahead of schedule
or over/under budget
3.Virtual team requirements - Video
conferencing, etc.
4.Team charter
5.Schedule compression: Crashing,
Fast-tracking
6.How to read the Burn-up/Burn-
down/ CFD charts - what is their
use.
7.Retrospective and scenarios when
one should conduct it.
8.Difference between
Communication Management &
stakeholder Management
9.Know when does a risk become an
issue, and how do you proceed to
handle it via the risk response
captured in the Risk Register
10.Dealing with vendors - conflict,
issues & procurement strategy
12.Organization Structure/Type -
Matrix, project-oriented, simple,
virtual, etc.
13.Resolving resource conflict with
the Functional Manager
14.Project Manager Leadership
Styles - Laisez Faire, Servant Leader,
Charismatic, etc.
15.Communication requirement:
face-to-face, etc.
16.Project Closing activities
17.Tools & Techniques:
Brainstorming/Facilitation/Audits/E
motional Intelligence/RCA
18.Stakeholder
Engagement/Register
19.Review Examination Content
Outline
January
1.How to engage or motivate distributed /virtual team,dealing with remote
teams
2.How to sooth unhappy stakeholders
3.How to solve communication problems
4.Prioritising backlog or user stories
5.Documents to update After agile ceremonies
6. How to reward high performance
7.Most questions have schedule delays due to stakeholders not attending
meetings, sole supplier not delivering, law of the land,unplanned leave,people
quitting,
8.Business case
9..Burndown and burnup charts interpretation
10.Lessons Learned, make sure you know the exact flow of Lessons Learned
register as to who, when, why prepares it.
12.Team ( what if Team member is on leave, doesn’t have the knowledge,
having conflicts etc )
13.. Estimation Techniques
14.. Risk – Understand the difference between various risks
15.Understand the flow of Process from PMBOK 6 ( No need to memorise ) For
example, if you are in initiating, you shouldn't be performing a Quality Audit or
developing a risk management plan (one of my questions).
16. Make sure to know thoroughly the following before going to the exam.
A.Project Management Plan
B. Risk Management Plan
C.Stakeholders Management Plan
D. Communications Management Plan
E. Parkinsons Law, Sand Bagging and Self ProtectLead
F.Role of Servant Leader, Development Team and Scrum Master,PO
17. Agile decision making, Agile process selection, Agile problem solving, etc
18. Lots of questions on conflict, schedule delay and stakeholders unsatisfied
with communication and too many team members going on leave type of
questions
19. Many questions were smth like 'vendor says the equipment/resources will
be late' or 'you noticed that a team member performed worse than in the
previous iteration' and of course, the answer was 'assess the situation or
discuss with the vendor/team member'
19.EVM oone
20.Organisational questions. They were mostly asking how would you react/act
to a situation or how would you support the team if your company was
predictive but is now moving towards agile/hybrid methodology.. the answers
were not that difficult to make out though
21. estimating i had a few questions asking what estimation tool would you use
(3 point, analogous, parametric, etc)
22. 4. I had one calculation question regarding PERT calculation, not
complicated but tricky, understand the calculations and apply them.
23. Always ask yourself "Is this a risk or an Issue?" and respond appropriately.
Again, this felt like another 20 questions that were worded tricky, the key to
solving them was understanding what is an Issue and what is a Risk and what
the appropriate actions are. Basically, it just boiled down to log this in the risk
register or issue log?
24. Also too many questions focused on travel restrictions. During this always
review organization policies. Reach out to senior leadership for
implementation since travel restrictions are under compliance wing if those
are the options before doing anything else.
25.Agile questions focused on using "Velocity" as a keyword. Choose your
answers appropriately. Know what velocity is and what is used to calculate it.

26. example, if a team member is struggling due to a lack of skills..... what do

you do. Obviously, provide training. Expect the exact same question, but due
to a lack of experience... the answer would then be coaching.
27. Don’t memorize the Knowledge Areas & Process Groups or the ITTOs
(input, tools, techniques & outputs) - understand it. Not directly tested, but on
the exam you will need to know which document to review and update as
needed -Any option to escalate/remove/replace most likely incorrect
27.construction project was going on and neighbors concern was not heard -
Ans. Involve them in the stakeholder list and know their requirements.
how will you inform the people of native village that their construction project
is about to be finished - Options ( Newspaper, Email, meeting) I chose
Newspaper
28.Agile mindset questions ( how will you conform from stakeholders in agile
that they have understood the requirements)
Predective questions were all based on AR Mindset. *whenever you read the
question saying what will the project manager do FIRST? that FIRST word
changes the answer from the option so be careful *Term PROJECT LEAD is
used in all questions instead of Project manager or scrum master.
29.I had 3 matching questions: know Parkinson's Law/Student Syndrome/Self
Protection, also know roles in agile Product Owner/Scrum Master/Project
Team, and know the types of Project Life Cycles.

30. calculation question with PERT Beta estimation; the question was to
calculate an estimation from a new contractor and compare it to an existing
contractor's price, and how much would you save was the real question.

31. Drag and drop was scenario had to distinguish if it was Agile, Hybrid,
Predictive,risk categories. A simple value analysis… how much would you save
if you sourced the resources internally vs externally.
32. One mapping was risk terms most won't be familiar with but can be figured
out based on the words ( Proximity simply means how close we are, in terms of
time, to a risk occurring. Dormancy is the window of time in which the risk has
occurred, but its impact went undiscovered. These were the two trickier terms
in the 4-set). The other was about lifecycles (matching examples as Predictive,
Agile, Hybrid, Both. Key is knowing the difference between a hybrid project and
an activity that is done is BOTH pure agile and pure predictive.). The calcs were
easy, a PERT question with the trick being the answer was how much was saved
not the pert estimate, and an easy communication channel ask ( n*[n-1] ) / 2. I
also had a burndown chart reading question that was pretty easy though I had
to read the answers twice as they were quite similar with minor differences.
33. calculation about pert. No risk vs issue questions. Many about regulations.
Few about change order. Very agile heavy. In fact, many about transitioning
into agile. And even some stuff that I swear I never heard befor

April 2023
34. Probably there were only 7-10 questions where I had some serious doubts. In
total there were 10 questions to select 2 answers and 3 questions to match the boxes
(type of project approach with some basic assumptions). One question with the basic
calculation (risk based budget calculation) and one with a burnup graph
interpretation.
35. That said if you don’t know your agile ceremonies and roles or the basics of
servant leadership you are likely to have major issues on the exam.
36. I got 2 match up questions and 1 of them was unknown to me (matching risk
conditions with Dormancy and Proximity, etc). And 1 PERT calculation question which
also got me (with multiple viables and cannot fit into (O + 4M + P)/6).
37. The questions were fairly easy and very similar to those in SH. 01 PERT, one odd
of EVM and 02 drag and drops. Mostly agile related questions. I found all three
sections equal as far as difficulty level is concerned
38. Agile questions mostly. I got PERT calculation. I got 2 drag and drop one related
to Risk characteristics and the other related to agile/waterfall/ hybrid management
models.
39. Exam tips - the exam was a FULL ON 70% agile. Understand the soft skills you
need to work in a agile environment. Understand what servant leadership means,
practically. Get good at distinguishing between agile and hybrid projects. Understand
the differences between how scope is managed in agile versus traditional projects.
Definitely understand earned value but don't memorize, wrap your head around it.
Know when to escalate to sponsor - (HINT: way less often than many people would
IRL).
40. The first section was pretty easy, but the other two were slightly more difficult.
One PERT question ,2-3 matching questions (they were pretty straightforward).No
questions on student syndrome, sandbagging, etc. Mind-set is key. Over 80% of the
questions were situational. Whenever you answer the questions, be a kind soul and
try to be inclusive, welcoming, and motivating as much as possible.
41. My exam did have a PERT question and mentioned scrum a couple of times but
those were things was familiar with already
42.My exam experience-
had a couple "choose 2" questions.
had a couple "choose 3" questions.
had 2 drag & drop questions.
one pert question.
one chart interpretation question- burnUP chart.
nothing on Parkinson law or student syndrome. was familiar with already.
42. Around half of the questions were agile or hybride PM. 2 drag and drop, 5
multiple choice, 1 interpretation of burn up chart, the rest were single choice
questions. 95% or even more were situational questions. Some had really easy and
obvious correct answer, but most had 2 answers you can rule out right away, and 2
that both seemed as they could be correct response.
43. Bottom up costing will almost always be the correct answer in terms of costing
methods.. Only one calculation and that too PERT. Nothing on SPI or CPI
44. Exam Questions:
 PERT calculation - I didn't memorize any formulas (lol) so I took an educated
guess
 2 drag and drop - 1 on methodology and 1 on management style
 Questions were almost all situational with quite a few related to
o handling conflict between team members

o handling conflict between team member and client

o managing a struggling team member i.e. developer was doing

great, but is going through something, what should you do as
PM?
o managing risk!

 delay in materials
 change in resources
 new system implementation will lead to delays
o Understand if it is a risk/issue and the impact of said risk/issue to
determine if you have time to analyze or need to act/escalate
o regulatory changes i.e. new government regulation will impact
project, what should you do first
45. Make sure to memorize formulae - PERT evaluation, CV,SV, SVI, CPI ( had
questions on the exam w.r.t formulae based calculations on these topics)
46. Have your concepts straight. Understand where and when the most important
artifacts are used, Assumptions Log, Risk Register, Issue Log (subtle differences
between Risk and Issues), Change management process, etc. There were at least 7-8
choose two options, 1 PERT question that I wasted at least 5 mins on but couldn't get
the correct answer to and two drag-and-drop questions.
47. Overall, almost all situational questions, knowing the process and definitions
helps. I had 2 drag and drops. 1 formula question that was way long and I spent the
longest time on this question - it required 2 PERT formulas to solve the question, I'm
pretty confident I got it right after all that.

Things I kept reminding myself was "what would PMI do". Never skip a formal
process. Never delegate your work to someone else. Let the team make decisions. Be
a servant leader. If multiple answers looked correct, I would try to put them in order
of what you really should do FIRST, which was usually analyze something or get more
info/facts.
48. If you ask me what type of questions - 1 -PERT, 2 Drag & drop, 1 Burnup
chart, rest all scenario-based questions - Agile/hybrid/predictive - mostly
agile.Once again Guys------ M I N D S E T is the KEY.....!
49. There were a couple of silly easy ones like a simple PERT calculation + which
process should we use in this situation; otherwise - lots of conflict management
questions. And tons of questions where you just had to pick the option which
was “review with the team” There were a few arbitrary ones I literally didn’t
know the answer to them. I just eliminated the options I knew was wrong and
hoped I clicked on the right one. There was a lot of agile specific questions and
more “what will you do, what should you do”. I had a couple questions where I
had to be the “product owner” so my biggest biggest advice is - READ THE
QUESTION. There are hints in it. Highlight the important key words.
50. One PERT calculation which seems to be the norm lately. 2 drag & drop.
Good mix of quality, risk, conflict management, when to go to sponsor,
schedule & budget issues, compliance,0 estimating, life cycle choice & “what to
do next/first”.
Oh, and several on remote teams….to me seemed like Covid scenarios stating
“unforeseen circumstances” causing remote teams & how to handle. But also
global teams & how to work with & keep engaged.
Did you also get any burn chart related question! If yes, was it easy to
understand? There was one, yes, and it was easy. It has a chart that you just had
to interpret what it said ie too much work, not enough, etc.
51. Literally barely any questions on predictive, fairly exclusively on agile
mindset. Two drag and drop. One to interpret a burndown chart and what
action to take based on it. Zero on CPI / SPI. One on PERT.
52. I had 1 PERT Question, 0 Hot Spot Questions, and 3 Drag/Drops. The exam
was almost entirely situational, and around a 70/30 split of hybrid/agile vs.
traditional.I
53. 1 PERT Question; most questions are 2 -3 sentences long and 1 Burnup
question. Most questions were situational (What would you do first / next /
How would you approach etc.).

Exam:

54.Nearly all MC, 2 drag and drop, 1 calculation (PERT), and one chart. The
PERT wasn't straightforward, you had to calculate the PERT # and then use it to
input in other numbers. I hadn't seen this additional piece before so that was
interesting.
Heavy agile like most people say.
I honestly was not confident throughout. I didn't think I missed enough to fail
but my confidence was all over the place. The mindset is absolutely necessary
to understand, but my biggest hurdle was all of the terms. While I didn't need
to necessarily know what input/output of everything, there were so many terms
that I recommend really knowing. For example, requirements traceability
matrix vs. work breakdown.
Lots of quality and risk questions. Some wording I found frustrating/confusing
as they tell you not to assume but the question mentions two areas and you
have to figure out which one is the actual problem area. For example
mentioning identifying a risk but also implying a communication breakdown
and then having to decide whether it's a risk issue or a communication issue.
It's possible I overthought these.
55I had one PERT calculation, 2 matching, one graph to figure out, and pretty
much everything else was "what should the PM do now/first/next/etc."
Understanding servant leadership/EI and agile were pretty important in my
experience. Always assess first. I also wore blue in honor of the folks here than
routinely share their feedback.
56. My exam impression: Nearly 100% of the exam was situation and non
specific. I was shocked at not getting a single question requiring knowledge of
specific agile frameworks or principles, ittos, process groups, not one single
formula or calculation (ok technically one PERT but the numbers were such that
if you took a regular old average you would have gotten the right answer
anyway haha). Frankly, if you are decent at test taking and reading
comprehension, you’ll probably pass with not that much prep.
57. Hi guys, most is covered by others, I wanted to share my findings. 2 x drag
and drop, few multiple answer, 1 x calculation. 20 minutes left on the clock.
Most questions I felt were about agile and hybrid however nothing with
complex terms, mostly agile mindset and leadership. A lot of questions on
distributed teams, solving issues remotely and dare I say Covid-like scenarios
(e.g your entire team needs to switch to remote by unforeseen circumstances).
A lot of questions on switching from predictive to agile (I guess it’s a popular
topic)

June
58.There we’re a lot more
questions on regulatory projects
than I was expecting. A lot of
conflict management. Lots of
stakeholder communication as
well.
59. Exam and Questions:
1. 70% Agile
2. 60-70 % were from Risk, Quality,
Stakeholder, and Communication.
3. 15/20 govt/regulation project
questions 3. 7 Multiple
4. 2 Drag & drop
5. 1 PERT
6. 80% SH moderate standard
7. Left 4 marked
8. In the last segment marked
options that start with

assess/review/evaluate/review 😂

60. There were perhaps 2-3 Expert-

type questions, but most were
moderate situational type questions
and at least 35-40% were agile. I did
get a burnup chart, one critical path
question, and one math question
about CPI/SPI, plus 2 fairly easy
drag-and-drop questions. One was
matching type of PM style
(predictive, agile, hybrid, kanban) to
its attributes.

The other was conflict management

modes (force/direct,
avoid/withdraw, etc.) and matching
to their
61. 1 PERT question that was super
easy, 1 equation that was a very
simple planned value/actual value
question and 2 drag and drops. 70%
Agile and 30% waterfall, and around
25 of the Agile questions were
Scrum specific.
July
62. The exam questions were very
lengthy and it’s was tough also, and
I feel there were plenty of question
related to

1.“change management” and many

are like 2.“ if scope change what will
happen”. 3.All the questions were
situational base. 4.And there are
only 3 to 4 direct easy questions .
5.Balance all questions were difficult
and similar to SH. 6.Many question
answers were give training to
employee. Multiple questions were
there.
Also not even a single question with
equation. Also there were 3
question with CPI and SPI, like
what’s will happen if it’s less than 1
etc. There were nearly 10 to 15
multiple choice questions.multiple
choice questions are not as hard as
in SH.
63. I had no calculations. I'd say 80%
agile. Stakeholder engagement and
management, and team
building/coaching/training seemed
to be the focus
64. I had around ten 2-choice and 3-
choice questions, no calculation
questions, and much about what a
servant leader does, change
management process, and quality
management. My exam was equally
distributed between hybrid, agile,
and waterfall scenarios. I noticed
several questions that are almost
identical to SH's. More than 60% of
the questions are 3-4 lines in length.
65. There are a couple of questions
from Study Hall and almost the
same wording! My exam was heavily
on hybrid and there are 3
CPI/SPI/BAC calculations.

Lots of questions are on stakeholder

management, being proactive on
the regulatory requirements and
team problems. There were 3
questions on remote/virtual team
environment and how a PM can
facilitate the issues resulting from
the remote work setting. The team
members training requirements, a
junior team member's performance
assessment vent, and team inclusion
might be among the common
topics overall.

A new contractor manager joined

the team, a new stakeholder joined
the team, what is the first thing that
needs to be done? Schedule
slippage,, scrum events especially
the daily scrum and retrospective
were also in the exam.
63. Test Content: A lot of hybrid
questions. A lot of conflict
resolution questions with
teammates and stakeholders.

64The exam itself was reasonably

straightforward. Not too many
select 2-3 choices - maybe 10-15
questions and they were mostly
easy selections. As others have said,
it was heavily focused on Agile,
Hybrid, and transitioning from
Predictive. Lots on team conflict,
remote teams, servant leadership.
Quite a few questions around issues
with deliverables not being
accepted due to stakeholders not
being properly engaged, quality and
testing issues, velocity, resource
availability, etc.
The first two sections were pretty
easy to the point where I was
questioning myself a lot! The last
section was mostly
predictive/process focused with
longer more complex questions
comprising various elements such as
organisational context and
governance, specific stakeholders
and issues, managing impact, and a
few on how schedule (SPI) and cost
(CPI, AC, EV) affect decision making
at various points in the project (but
no calculations).
65.Sewa
The turning point for me was when you explained that selecting the answer is not really about right
or wrong one but the BEST answer. Most of the questions were Agile, hybrid or transitioning to agile
scenarios!No calculations but one question gave worsening SPI and CPI values and asked what to do.
How to handle resistant to agile stakeholders, how to handle risks to schedule slippage, one
question asking how cost is estimated in agile, one graph showing velocity over first 5 iterations and
asking to calculate or select number of iterations for 520 story points, given the average velocity.

.TIME
Once you finish answering the 60th question, the computer will pop up a prompt
asking if you want to review your questions, you can then proceed to review any you
might have flagged or didn't answer. After you're finished reviewing, or if you opt to
skip reviewing, it'll ask if you want to take your break now. You can then select yes,
and the timer will start. Then you will raise your hand and the proctor will either
come inside to get you, or wave you to come out. They'll check you out of the test
room, and you can take your break. Please keep in mind that you might have a few
min b/c of the start of the officially timer until you actually get checked out of the
room, and also it might take a few min to get back in as well, as they do thorough
check-in process when you come back. The second break is the same deal, after your
120th question, it'll give you the option to review questions then proceed to your
break.
Please keep track of your time, go with a plan, and never get hung up on one
question for a long time; mark it for review and move on. It is tough to think
correctly at the end when time is running out.

Application

The application part was actually easier than I had expected. I suppose it helps that I
wasn't audited. Beyond AR's Application section on Udemy, I just searched for
previous application formats within the sub and formulated mine similar to theirs. I
would say I borrowed the most from u/WayneHrPr's Application Review post. Once I
realized that all I had to do was translate actual actions into the keywords they were
searching for, things got much less stressful and I was able to essentially build from
the format used in Wayne's application. Again, I wasn't audited, so I'm not sure how
correct of a strategy this was, but it's what I did.
ECO Mindset
After doing an exam analysis, I noticed that the PMP Exam Content Outline already shows what the
MINDSET should be in approaching the situation-based questions.
People Domain:

1. Task: Manage conflict

1. Enabler: Identify and address conflicts promptly to maintain a positive team environment and
project progress.

2. Task: Lead a team

1. Enabler: Set clear expectations, provide guidance, and motivate team members to achieve project
goals.

3. Task: Support team performance

1. Enabler: Provide necessary resources, remove obstacles, and offer support to optimize team
performance.

4. Task: Empower team members and stakeholders

1. Enabler: Delegate authority, encourage ownership, and involve stakeholders in decision-making

processes.

5. Task: Ensure team members/stakeholders are adequately trained

1. Enabler: Identify skill gaps, provide training opportunities, and promote continuous learning and
development.

6. Task: Build a team

1. Enabler: Select and onboard team members with the right skills, capabilities, and diversity to
enhance team performance.

7. Task: Address and remove impediments, obstacles, and blockers for the team

1. Enabler: Identify and resolve issues that hinder team progress, ensuring a smooth workflow.

8. Task: Negotiate project agreements

1. Enabler: Facilitate discussions and reach mutually beneficial agreements with stakeholders to
establish project expectations.

9. Task: Collaborate with stakeholders

1. Enabler: Foster open and constructive communication, actively involve stakeholders, and seek
their input throughout the project.

10. Task: Build shared understanding

1. Enabler: Promote effective communication, facilitate discussions, and encourage shared

knowledge and understanding among team members and stakeholders.

11. Task: Engage and support virtual teams

1. Enabler: Leverage virtual collaboration tools, establish clear communication channels, and provide
support to remote team members.
12. Task: Define team ground rules

1. Enabler: Establish agreed-upon norms, guidelines, and communication protocols to promote

teamwork and project success.

13. Task: Mentor relevant stakeholders

1. Enabler: Provide guidance, support, and knowledge transfer to stakeholders, helping them
contribute effectively to the project.

14. Task: Promote team performance through the application of emotional intelligence

1. Enabler: Recognize and manage emotions, build rapport, and foster a positive team culture to
enhance overall performance.

Process Domain:

1. Task: Execute project with the urgency required to deliver business value

1. Enabler: Prioritize tasks, manage dependencies, and drive project execution to achieve timely
delivery of value.

2. Task: Manage communications

1. Enabler: Establish effective communication channels, ensure clear and timely information flow,
and engage stakeholders appropriately.

3. Task: Assess and manage risk

1. Enabler: Identify and analyze risks, develop mitigation strategies, and monitor and respond to
potential risks throughout the project.

4. Task: Engage stakeholders

1. Enabler: Identify stakeholders, understand their needs and expectations, and involve them in
project decisions and activities.

5. Task: Plan and manage budget and resources

1. Enabler: Develop a comprehensive budget, allocate resources effectively, and monitor

expenditures to ensure optimal resource utilization.

6. Task: Plan and manage schedule

1. Enabler: Develop a realistic project schedule, track progress, and manage schedule changes to
meet project milestones and deadlines.

7. Task: Plan and manage quality of products/deliverables

1. Enabler: Define quality standards, establish quality assurance processes, and conduct regular
inspections to ensure deliverables meet requirements.

8. Task: Plan and manage scope

1. Enabler: Define project scope, manage scope changes, and ensure alignment between project
objectives and deliverables.

9. Task: Integrate project planning activities

1. Enabler: Coordinate various planning processes, align project components, and ensure
consistency and integration across project activities.

10. Task: Manage project changes

1. Enabler: Assess change requests, evaluate impacts, obtain approvals, and implement changes
following established change management procedures.

11. Task: Plan and manage procurement

1. Enabler: Identify procurement needs, define procurement strategies, solicit bids, and manage
contracts with vendors and suppliers.

12. Task: Manage project artifacts

1. Enabler: Develop and maintain project documentation, including plans, reports, and records, to
ensure accurate and accessible project information.

13. Task: Determine appropriate project methodology/methods and practices

1. Enabler: Select and tailor project management methodologies, frameworks, and best practices
based on project requirements and organizational context.

14. Task: Establish project governance structure

1. Enabler: Define project roles, responsibilities, and decision-making authority, and establish
governance processes to ensure effective project oversight.

15. Task: Manage project issues

1. Enabler: Identify and track project issues, analyze their impact, and implement appropriate
actions to resolve or mitigate them.

16. Task: Ensure knowledge transfer for project continuity

1. Enabler: Document lessons learned, facilitate knowledge sharing, and ensure the transfer of
critical project knowledge to support future projects.

17. Task: Plan and manage project/phase closure or transitions

1. Enabler: Define and execute closure activities, conduct project reviews, and ensure a smooth
transition to the next project phase or project closure.

Business Environment Domain:

1. Task: Plan and manage project compliance

1. Enabler: Understand and comply with relevant laws, regulations, and organizational policies
throughout the project lifecycle.
2. Task: Evaluate and deliver project benefits and value

1. Enabler: Identify and measure project benefits, align project outcomes with organizational
objectives, and deliver value to stakeholders.

3. Task: Evaluate and address external business environment changes for impact on scope

1. Enabler: Monitor external factors, assess their impact on project scope, and proactively adapt the
project to address changes.

4. Task: Support organizational change

1. Enabler: Identify change impacts, develop change management plans, and support stakeholders in
adopting and embracing organizational changes.

To test, try to comment on a situation question you have encountered and try to map under what
Domain, Task, and Enabler that question would fall. The answer will be patterned with an Enabler.

Team Charter

Formal document, a social contract.

Drafted by the team, for the team

Team’s purpose, goals, roles, responsibilities etc.

Ground rules

These are simple guidelines, which team is expected to follow during the project execution.

Generally, formed at the time of team formation

Some examples of the ground rules : Only 1 person can speak at a time in a meeting

Working agreements

Similar to ground rules, but focuses on team's overall efficiency and working agreements are specific
to the team's ongoing work and evolve as the team learns and adapts throughout the project.

Some example of the working agreement can be, 1. team deciding to do the sprint
retrospective meeting at the end of sprint or 2. scrum team decides to send the sprint report 2-
days after the sprint end

What I took from that section was there are more appropriate responses/actions to take based
on what is being asked in the question. What should a project manager DO, the answer is
usually something that involves taking action to resolve the issue. DO FIRST is usually
assess or analyze a situation. DO NEXT is kind of similar, but for these types of questions the
responses were usually review a plan or update a plan or update an issue log and work with
change management. That was my interpretation.

I don't know if this helps but when I think of NOT DO or NOT DONE I look for the worst
answer. What's the last thing I would pick in this situation. What sounds so awful that it has
to be picked. I find that with those types of questions, I'm not even reading them because
they're far too wordy. And they're far too confusing when you've been training your brain in a
certain way to prepare for the exam. For what it's worth, there were probably less than 5 NOT
DO questions. Most of them were DO or DO FIRST/DO NEXT.

PERT is the one that multiples M*4 and divides by 6.

Changes can be requested by any SH; but a CR is only needed if scope, cost or
schedule is affected.
Conflicts always need to be managed. Talk to the people involved (and only the
people involved) before deciding on any action or involving more people.
Likewise, make sure to gather all the relevant information needed to make a
decision on any topic.
The Project Sponsor is not necessarily well-versed in the project management
practice or any methodology. Assume you have to explain everything.
When something logged in the Risk Register occurs, is no longer a Risk but an
issue. Update the register, and treat it like an issue (aka, work on resolving it).
Planning and ownership is always a PM's responsibility.
The information in the question is all you have to rely on to select an answer -
Nothing more, nothing less. Frame the situation with just that info, don't
assume anything else.
Answer with the 12 Principles in mind.
Look after SH/Customer satisfaction while also preserving product quality and
compliance.
When a question asks about project's success, is more likely about having to
engage the right people and getting early buy-in rather than creating fancy
plans or signing off docs.
Reminding people about their job's responsibilities is not a bad thing (eg.: a
dev does not feel like attending the standup meeting because they'd rather use
the time in coding).
Never delegate a responsibility that is the PM's.
Sometimes there will be questions that are correct PARTIALLY. Like covering a
and b topics from the question but leaving c out. That makes them incorrect.
-Lots of schedule, scope, and resource changes and what you should do about
it.
- Lots of international groups, problems, and what you should do about it.

Agile, we never compare a team's performance by velocity (story points

achieved). Because the team will have different skills/capacities/experiences of
each team and may depend on self-organizing. So, we cannot measure based
on velocity (story points achieved)/the unit of work to compare for each team.
That's why we will check based on the defect unit/error unit of work and user
stories completed in the Sprint backlog.

1, First image: We will check on the defect/error rate

2, Second image: We will check on the user stories completed, not the story
points
Nnnnnnnn
I passed my PMP Exam at a test centre! I wore a heavy blue shirt of course!

I sat at my desk at 9.10am and finished at 12.23 including the 2 10 min break which I
took.

I found the exam equally difficult in each part. I was never really sure of the answer I
was giving and I was seriously doubting succeeding it when I clicked to submit it. I
had 2 drags and box and 5 or 6 multiple answer question

That being said here is my Study plan and timeline. It took overall 84h in 1 month

- Material AR

- Study Hall
- 200 Agile Questions

Here is the list of tips that I gathered from different reddit post:

STRATEGY OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT:

1- Assess/ analyze the problem to find out root cause

2- Review the plan

3- Meeting / communicate

MINDSET:

• Do not ask a sponsor to solve a problem

• Assess the situation before you do anything.

• If it is an administrative task, the PM should just do it

• The PM does not decide things.

• If a stakeholder is unhappy review and implement the plan, they are not happy
about.

• Changes always go to the change control board

• Assume the PM is stepping in

• PM Motivates the team

• Answers to the questions should be a solution - not passing the buck

• If you change stakeholders, you need to change things to accommodate

• Bad Thing may happen - RISK -

• Bad thing DID happen – issue

• May/might/claims = question is about risk

• Will/should/could = question is about issue

• PM cannot remove things

• PM Does not decide things

• PM Does meet in person

• PM does not hire, Fire or create budget

• PM resolves conflict

• The goal of a project is to increase profit

• PM build trust with transparency

• Any changes to baseline requirements must be done using the change

management procedure.
• if you think a conflict in brewing, step in before it escalates.

• when managing a team, you are supposed to help/facilitate the team to come to a
solution, not directing them

• never escalate to anyone or defer decision, pm role is to solve not to deter decision
to someone else (know kinda ironic with the above point)

• if there is a trouble maker or someone that isn't performing, always talk to him/her
alone to understand the situation instead of discussing in a team.

• Always think like servant leader, forget about experience while attempting pmp

• Never ask for others to do your job (The sponsor, the pmo, the product owner...)

• Always try face to face communication,

• Train your people is normally the best option.

• Related to team issue = team charter

• Stakeholder related = stakeholder engagement

• Action is next step, assessing and review is 1st step

• Remember while selecting answer = assess > review > action/implications

• If questions related to safety problem, stop the project immediately (unless may
stop..)
• If question likely to have problem due to new law may introduce or from internet
information = update the risk register. If not may then do the action to follow it.

• If there is problem due to new law implications, seek for guidance

• Problem between member = team charter, meeting preferably face to face(not

apply in case of multiple locations)

• Asking help from Sponsor and pmo is NOT an option

• Before any change, always asses and check impact

• Change request is approved in formal process. NEVER implement any change by

yourself. Always with approval.

• If anything missed in scope which may lead to rejection of deliverable = change

request

• Adding extra features = talk to team

• Meeting and coaching are the best options for conflict.

• Quality control customer are best option

• Not performing as expected = Quality

• Bottom-up estimate is best option for cost

• Prototype is best option for demo

• Never remove a member, remove a vendor or hire a consultant

• There should be predetermined acceptance rules for acceptance of delivery

• If project required close, follow the formal process always.

• If stakeholder don't know about agile, coach and teach them about agile

• If there is any issue related to payment/contract with vendor always ask them to
check with appropriate department

• Delay in item sent by vendor/ quality issue with vendor, meet and brainstorming
with team and come up with solutions

• Always add communicated with pmo about status of project and customer in Sprint

• Sprint is important for communication for both customer and team.

• Not to take any bigger actions like a change request or closing a project without
taking care of the smaller tasks first. So whenever we see that “what should PM do
next/first” it’s almost always a preliminary action like reviewing a plan or meeting
with the team and using the information gleaned in THAT step to make the decision
on the larger task

• Crashing = adding resources (hours) Fast tracking = activities in parallel,

Tips: Calculations:

CPI and CPI above > 1 or CV and SV above > 0 are good, below is bad.

S is Schedule and C is Cost.

Test Tips:
First, make it a habit to read the last sentence (the main question) FIRST before
reading the whole prompt. So you know to search what to…

• Do? Action, normally see impact or if there is something already set in stone (The
approval has been given, Law regulations enforced) then do it

• Do first? Normally review a document/assess situation

• Should have been done? Look for Reactive things. Not actions to do now that there
is a problem.

• Not do? Least likely/most likely? Most important least important? Notice the
subtlety.

Second, what framework are you in? (Agile, hybrid, predictive/waterfall?). That will
Help eliminate good sounding options that are not valid because they are from
another framework.

Third, which process are you in? Are you initiating, executing, M&C, closing?

Play this game until you got it almost perfectly. You need to know where you are in
the situational questions to exclude the options that are in before or later in the time

Every project needs both a project charter and a team charter in order to set clear:

Project Charter:

· The project vision

· Projects Benefits
· Definition of Done

· The intended flow of work

Team Charter:

· Team value

Working agreements (such as what “ready” means so the team can take in work;
what “done” means so the team can judge completeness consistently; respecting the
time box; or the use of work-in-process limits)

· Ground rules (such as one person talking in a meeting)

· Group norms (such as how the team treats meeting times).

Drag and drop

Dropped baton: This refers to the impact of poor coordination. If an activity is

completed early and the resources for the new dependent activity is not ready, the
time gained by completing the activity early, is lost.

Sandbagging: In project management, sandbagging refers to the practice of holding

a complete work until the true due date arrives.

Parkinson’s Law: This occurs when an activity is completed before deadline but
resources are still improving the work until the due date is reached. The time spent
on the activity is often expanded and finished at the last minute (ie to fill the time
that’s been allocated)

Self-protection: This is the concept when workers fail to report early completion of
activities out of fear that management team will adjust future standards and demand
more next time.
Servant leadership

1. Involve your team, train them, don’t be a jerk

2. Review first, do after, never postpone actions
3. Never ask the Sponsor for help
4. Face-to-face solves conflict. Remind team of team charter.
5. Working with Virtual teams, invest in collaboration tools.

Project Life cycle

In a predictive life cycle, the project scope, time, and cost are determined in the early
phases of the life cycle. Any changes to the scope are carefully managed. Predictive
life cycles may also be referred to as waterfall life cycles.

Adaptive life cycles can be iterative, or incremental. The scope is outlined and agreed
before the start of an iteration. Adaptive life cycles are also referred to as agile or
change-driven life cycles.

▹ In an iterative life cycle, the project scope is generally determined early in the
project life cycle, but time and cost estimates are routinely modified as the project
team’s understanding of the product increases. Iterations develop the product
through a series of repeated cycles, while increments successively add to the
functionality of the product.

▹ In an incremental life cycle, the deliverable is produced through a series of

iterations that successively add functionality within a predetermined time frame. The
deliverable contains the necessary and sufficient capability to be considered
complete only after the final iteration.

A hybrid life cycle is a combination of a predictive and an adaptive life cycle. Those
elements of the project that are well known or have fixed requirements follow a
predictive development life cycle, and those elements that are still evolving follow an
adaptive development life cycle.
Came across so many question on which documents to update scenario based,
AGILE Team member informed taking sick leave for few weeks, how you manage

Q. Local community not informed about the project impacting people, how you
would have prevented this situation

Q. Managing Team member conflicts internally , conflicts with external Team ( 2 diff
questions)

Q. Project manager is new to Projected in planning or execution stage , do you

replan ? Or there is a risk in execution ..how you manage ?

Q.team charter related questions if Team member is misbehaving