Exploration

This is a complement to scripted testing, andnotinanyway a replacement for it.

Using a combination of scripted testing (whether manual or automated) along
withunscripted exploratory testingincreases test coverage andreduces the risk that a defect
won’t be detected.

The goal of this kind oftestingis to diagnose how easy itis touse the system, and help
uncover where there are problems that might needredesign or changes. This typically
involves observingusers as they interact with the system for the first time
Continue to integration
Continuous integrationis apractice usedby software developers to frequently incorporate
new and changed code into their project code repository. This helps minimize the
integrationproblems that result frommultiplepeople making incompatible changes to the
same code base

Inadditionto checking whether any new and changed code compiles correctly, the team will
use automatedunit tests to ensure that the system stillperforms as intended after the new
code is integrated.

TDD
The process ofwriting
a test thatinitially fails, addingcodeuntilthe test passes, and thenrefactoring the codeis
knownas “Red,Green,Refactor” or sometimes "Red, Green, Clean.”

Tdd n atdd
Test-Driven Development (TDD) is a form of testing that has a specific flow. First, a test is
written. Then, the tests are run to prove that the test fails - this is called "red". Code is
written such that the test passes - this is called "green". Finally, the code is refactored and
the test suite is run and is kept "green" since the tests continue to pass. The process
repeats. In TDD, the tests are typically written at a unit level, testing individual methods or
functions or classes. TDD works to drive the design of the code with respect to its interfaces.

Acceptance Test-Driven Development (ATDD) is an extension to TDD. The tests that are
written are written at an acceptance test level. Rather than encoding tests at the level of
methods or functions or classes, they are written to define system behaviors. ATDD tests
tend to help capture requirements and ensure that the system has the intended behavior.
Unit tests ensure that code behaves as expected in isolation, integration tests verify that
components of the system are working together, regression tests catch issues introduced by
changes to the codebase, and acceptance tests ensure that the system meets the
requirements of the stakeholders
Stakeholder
Stakeholder: An individual, group or organisation who may affect, be affected by, or
perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity or outcome of the project.
Some examples of internal stakeholders would be:

Product Owners
Product champions
Different departments
Marketing and sales personnel
Project sponsors
Management teams
Customer support staff
Manufacturing
Testing and quality assurance
Legal and Compliance
Different development teams
Different stack level developers
DevOps teams
DBA and Infrastructure teams

Some examples of external stakeholders would be:

Customers
Re-sellers
Affiliates
Integration partners
Industry partners
Suppliers
Industry journalists
Regulatory agencies

First page

stakeholder management”is theprocess ofmanaging the people who are

involvedintheproject

Educate stakeholder
Itisnormalfor any change tobe met withsome degree ofskepticism and caution.
engaging stakeholders in an agileproject,we need to recognize some ofthe concerns that the
stakeholders mayhave, andaddress them directly

Contract

While agile methodsprovide great flexibility and allow us to manage changingrequirements and
priorities, this adaptability and scope flexibility can create problems when defining acceptance
criteria for contracts or outsourcing work.

++usingdifferent hourly ratesbased on early, on-time, orlate delivery

ifthe supplier delivers on time, they get paid for the hours workedat their
standard rate.Ifthey deliver early, they get paid for fewer hours—but at a higher rate. The customer
is happybecause the work is done early and they pay less overall. The supplier ishappy because they
make a higher margin.However,ifthe supplier delivers late, they will get paid for morehours,but at a
lower rate

Fixed
Fixed-price work packages mitigate the risks ofunderestimating or overestimating a chunk ofworkby
reducing the scope and costs involvedin the workbeingestimated.

For example, for one project Marriott International

broke down their statements ofwork (SOW) intoindividualwork packages, each withits own fixed

price.14 Thenas the workprogressed, the supplier was allowed tore-estimate theremainingwork
packages inthe statements ofworkbased on newinformation andnewrisks.
Using fixed-price work packages allows the customer to reprioritize the remainingworkbased on
evolving costs.It also gives the supplier the ability to update their costs as new details
emerge,removing the need for the supplier to buildexcess contingency funds into theproject cost

Customized contract

Different types ofagile contracts canbepieced together to create a customized contract thatbest
matches the needs ofboth thebuyer and the seller.Withsuch contracts, the customerretains
flexibility to reprioritize work, and the seller is notpenalized for sharinginformationabout
increasedcosts.They also
remove theincentive for the seller to addlarge contingencies to theprojectprice.By combining
elements of a graduated fixed-price contract and fixed-price work packages andincorporatingthe
concepts of early termination (money fornothing) andreprioritization (change for free), we can
create a contract that protectsbothparties and encourages positivebehavior.
Any type ofprocurement—whether for agile or traditional contracts—worksbest when both parties
want successfulresults thatlead to future work.Aprojects success isultimately determinedby the level
of ongoing collaborationbetween the customer and the seller

Frequent

Agile techniques are designed to resolve problems as soonaspossible,before they can growbigger
and moveup the cost of change curve.agile uses regular testing, checkpoints, andreviews to
addressproblemsbefore they getbigger. Thispractice is referred to as frequent verification
andvalidation.

With frequent verification andvalidation, we are checking tomake sure things are
workingandprogressing as they should, as well as looking for any mismatches inexpectations.

Incremental delivery is another way that agile methods optimize the delivery
ofvalue.Withincremental delivery, the team regularly deploys workingincrements of theproduct
over the course of the project
test

environment for evaluation, or production in increment

Incrementaldeliveryreduces the amount of rework by findingissues earlier and thereby

contributingto the delivery of value onthe project.

Low tech high touch tools

Instead ofusinghigh-tech tools, agile teamsprefer to employ a “low-tech,high-touch” approach

toplanning

and tracking.As impliedby that term,these tools are simple, such as cards and charts,and therefore
easy for allteam stakeholders tomanipulatebymoving the cards,reorderingthelists, etc.Byadopting
these deliberatelyprimitive techniques, we avoid a tool-relatedperception ofdata accuracy and
allow more people to update theplans as appropriate for the reality oftheproject.

Kanban
task or Kanbanboardis generally a whiteboard withcolumns that show the various stages ofwork.
The tasks that are beingworked on are representedby stickynotes that teammembers move
through the columns to show theirprogress.

Use your kanban info

WIP Limits

touseKanbanboards that restrict the amount ofwork in the system and help ensure that WIPlimits
are not exceeded.

WIPlimits to help identify and remove bottlenecks so they can keep the process running efficiently
with optimal levels of WIP.As a result, these tools help reduce the risks of tied-up capital,rework,
and waste on the project.

WIP limits is to optimize throughput ofwork, not to optimize resource utilization

CFD

Cumulative flow diagrams (CFDs) are valuable tools for trackingand forecasting the delivery of
value.

They canhelp us gaininsight intoprojectissues, cycle times, andlikely completion dates.Basically,

CFDs are stacked area graphs that depict the features that areinprogress,remaining, and
completed over time.
PMI Study Hall mini practice exam 11

1 During project initiation, the project manager learns that a key stakeholder will leave the project
for a month to consult on another strategic project. What should the project manager do first?
A.Update the issue log and notify the other stakeholders. B.Ask the functional manager to provide a
replacement while the stakeholder is unavailable. C.Interview the stakeholder to gather relevant
information and expert judgment. D.Update the risk management plan to include the impact of the
stakeholder's absence. The FIRST thing the PM needs to do is to capture this as an issue and
communicate this to the other stakeholders. Until then, no action can or should be taken.

PMBOK® Guide--Fifth Edition (5th) PMI/PMI/13/408-409 [Item] | The Project Management Tool Kit:
100 Tips and Techniques for Getting the Job Done Right (2004) Tom Kendrick/AMACOM/31/74
[Item]

2 A project manager is preparing the charter for a software development project that will outsource
33 percent of user interface (UI) evaluation. The project manager needs software developers to
identify the parts of the UI that a third-party can evaluate. However, the software functional
manager believes that the project will reduce staff in the software development department and
refuses to cooperate. What should the project manager do first? A.Meet with the functional
manager to review the statement of work (SOW). B.Ask the project sponsor to explain the rationale
for third-party evaluation to the functional manager. C.Provide a cost/benefit analysis of third-party
evaluation to the functional manager. D.Explain the intent of the UI evaluation to the functional
manager.

The FIRST thing the PM need to do is to make sure the project goals are clearly understood by the
stakeholders. PMBOK® Guide--Fifth Edition (5th) PMI/9.1.2/4/66-72 [Item] | Project Management:
The Managerial Process (2015) Clifford F. Gray & Erik W. Larson/McGraw-Hill Irwin/2/32-35 [Item]

3 A project is initiated to develop a several new financial products and services for a company with
offices in several countries. The project manager has researched the regulations for each of the
countries governing the project. The project manager is concerned that some new products and
services do not offer enough protection for the consumer. What should the project manager do?
A.Identify the high-level project risks. B.Quantify the project risks in the risk register. C.Develop a risk
response strategy.D.Perform scheduled risk audits.

The project manager must first identify the risks before you can quantify them, develop risk
mitigation plans or review them. Fundamentals of Technology Project Management, 2nd Ed (2015)
Colleen Garton, Erika McCulloch/Mc Press//80 [Item] | PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition (2018)
PMI/PMI//81 [Item]

4 A project to expand a municipal building is on schedule and within budget. During excavation for
the foundation, the project manager learns that the new addition will cover the ruins of a historical
site. As a result, the construction will need to be moved to a different location. What will the project
manager need to manage this situation? A.Results of an archaeological or environmental study
B.Conflict management and change management skills C.Understanding of scope creep D.Ability to
run what-if scenarios

This new development will undoubtedly result in conflict and require a change to the project plan.
PMBOK® Guide--Fifth Edition (No Date) PMI/PMI Inc/4.5/ [Item] | Project Management & Project
Network Techniques (10/24/2005) Keith Lockyer & James Gordon/Prentice Hall/5/38 [Item]
 5 A project manager learns that a new law will go into effect that will regulate the type of products
the company can manufacture. The company is planning to launch a new product in the next few
weeks that would not comply with the new regulations. The project manager meets with the
sponsor and stakeholders to discuss the changes. What should the project manager do next?
A.Update the project charter to reflect the results of the meeting. B.Plan to launch the product on
time without modification but update the risk management plan. C.Plan to modify the product to
meet the new regulations before the law goes into effect. D.Advise the sponsor and stakeholders to
cancel the launch until the product can be modified to meet the new regulations.

This new law can have a profound effect on the project. It will certainly lead to new potential risks,
new assumptions and a possible charter change. PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition (2018) PMI/PMI//81
[Item] | The AMA Handbook of Project Management, Third Edition (No Date) /AMACOM/Project
Management Process Groups' Interactions, Par.3/ [Item

Xxxxx

Study Hall mini practice 10

1 A project stakeholder has been missing scheduled facilitation workshops and has delegated
assigned tasks to another member of the stakeholder community. What should the project manager
do to engage this stakeholder? A.Review with the stakeholder the roles and responsibilities of
everyone involved as specified in the project charter. B.Explain to the stakeholder the differences
among the tasks assigned to each project team member. C.Ask the program manager to brief this
stakeholder and to require the stakeholder's attendance at all relevant meetings. D.Pair the
stakeholder with a more experienced team member who can act as a mentor.

The first version of the stakeholder engagement plan is developed after the initial stakeholder
community has been identified by the Identify Stakeholder process. The stakeholder engagement
plan is updated regularly to reflect changes to the stakeholder community.

Implementing Program Management: Templates and Forms Aligned with the Standard for Program
Management , Second Edition (2008) (No Date) Ginger Levine, Allen R. Green/Auerbach
Publications/5/ [Item] | PMBOK® Guide--Fifth Edition (5th) PMI/Project Management
Institute/13.1.1.1/394 [Item]

2 A complex manufacturing project has multiple stakeholders in multiple locations. The project is
entering a high-activity phase and the project manager needs to ensure that all stakeholders are
kept informed with timely updates. What should the project manager do? A.Schedule training
sessions on effective communications with all stakeholders. B.Determine the most appropriate
technology to use to communicate with all stakeholders. C.Schedule regular status reports to be sent
to all stakeholders. D.Revise the communications management plan to have a more frequent update
schedule.

The choice of communication technologies should be suitable for project participants and proper
training events should be planned, where appropriate Fundamentals of Technology PM, 2nd Ed
(2nd) Colleen Garton, Erika McCulloch/Mc Press/14/457 [Item] | Information Technology Project
Management, 7th Ed. (2015) Kathy Schwalbe/Schwalbe/10/409 [Item]
3 During development phase of a construction project, key stakeholders approved a budget for risks
that included natural disasters, which they categorized as having high levels of probability and
impact. However, during project execution, an unexpected local health emergency stopped work on
the project. This event type was listed in the risk register but was not included in the risk budget.
What should the project manager do first? A.Meet with the risk owner to execute the risk response
plan. B.Submit a change request for a budget increase and schedule change. C.Update the risk
management plan to include information on the new risk. D.Conduct an impact analysis of the new
risk.

Monitor Risks is the process of monitoring the implementation of agreed- upon risk response plans,
tracking identified risks, identifying and analyzing new risks, and evaluating risk process effectiveness
throughout the project. The key benefit of this process is that it enables project decisions to be
based on current information about overall project risk exposure and individual project risks. This
process is performed throughout the project.

PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition (2018) PMI/PMI/11.7/453 [Item] | The Project Management Tool Kit:
100 Tips and Techniques for Getting the Job Done Right (No Date) /Amacom/81/203 [Item

PMI Study Hall Mini Practice Exam 12

1 A project integrates with several systems developed by various vendors and one of these vendors
has gone out of business. What should project manager do first? A.Meet with this vendor to identify
a replacement. B.Revise the risk register according to the format specified in the risk management
plan. C.Calculate the delay resulting from a change in vendors and notify the project sponsor of the
new timeline. D.Negotiate with another vendor to produce the deliverable.

The risk register contains response strategies that may affect the project scope, such as reducing or
changing project and product scope to avoid or mitigate a risk. Before developing a risk response
strategy, you must FIRST document WHAT the risk is.

Fundamentals of Technology PM, 2nd Ed (2nd) Colleen Garton, Erika McCulloch/Mc Press/10/ [Item]
| PMBOK® Guide--Fifth Edition (5th) PMI//11/327 [Item]

2 A project's statement of work (SOW) requires that the project be delivered in nine months. The
project manager believes that the timeline is not realistic. What should the project manager do?
A.Involve the change control board (CCB) in the Perform Integrated Change Control process
B.Submit a written request to the project sponsor for additional resources and budget C.Meet with
subject matter experts (SMEs) and the project sponsor to set expectations D.Negotiate a new
timeline with the project sponsor If a project timeline is not realistic, then the project manager need
to provide the proof to the sponsor so that a realistic expectation can be set.

The SMEs can provide that information and allow the sponsor to decide on a course of action.
PMBOK® Guide--Fifth Edition (No Date) PMI/PMI/4/71 [Item] | Project management : A Systems
Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling (2009) Harold Kerzner/John Wiley/11/521 [Item]

3A stakeholder requests more frequent and detailed project status reports. The stakeholder also
expresses interest in getting more involved with the project. What should the project manager do
first? A.Meet with the stakeholder to provide an update on the project's status and send detailed
status reports as soon as possible. B.Update the stakeholder engagement assessment matrix to
show the stakeholder's engagement level as supportive. C.Review the stakeholder register and
discuss stakeholder roles and reporting requirements with the project sponsor. D.Develop a
stakeholder cube that defines the relationship between the stakeholder and the project.

The stakeholder register provides details on the project participants and their interests in the
project.

PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition (2018) PMI/PMI/13.2.2.5/ [Item] | Project Manager's Portable
Handbook, 3rd Ed (2015) David I Cleland and Lewis R Ireland/McGraw Hill Companies, Inc./4/138
[Item]

4A multidisciplinary project with numerous interested stakeholders is kicking off. The project
manager needs to assign the newly identified stakeholders to phases of the project life cycle based
on their expectations, interests, and potential impact. Which document should the project manager
use to record this information? A.Stakeholder register B.Stakeholder engagement plan C.Stakeholder
engagement assessment matrix D.Stakeholder analysis

Stakeholder analysis results in a list of stakeholders and relevant information such as their positions
in the organization, roles on the project, “stakes,” expectations, attitudes (their levels of support for
the project), and their interest in information about the project

PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition (2018) PMI/PMI/13/512 [Item] | PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition (2018)
PMI/PMI/Glossary/723 [

Exam 1

3 A key stakeholder has submitted several requests for new functions for a product under
development. The project manager just completed the scope definition for the product's next
version release and communicated the scope statement to all stakeholders. What should the project
manager do next? A.Revise the communications management plan to define the number of new
feature and function requests that can be submitted. B.Review the acceptance criteria for the
product deliverables as defined in the scope statement. C.Meet with stakeholders to emphasize
their alignment with product objectives and the goals of the project. D.Review the scope
management plan and undertake the work via a short iteration followed by a demonstration of
functionality.

The scope management plan documents how the project and product scope will be defined,
validated, and controlled. The key benefit of this document is that it provides guidance and direction
on how scope will be managed throughout the project.

Information Technology Project Management, 7th Ed. (2015) Kathy Schwalbe/Course

Technology/5/188-191 [Item] | PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition (2017) //X3.3.3 EXECUTING PROCESS
GROUP/ [Item] | PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition (2018) PMI/PMI/5.3/147 [Item]

4A project manager is on a project currently in the release planning stage. Project team members
are arguing about which tasks need to be completed first resulting in the development team being
frustrated and losing interest in the project. What method of conflict resolutions should the project
manager use in this scenario? A.Reconcile B.Force C.Avoid D.Compromise
If there is a conflict it is the customer's needs that must be prioritized. Everyone in the team must
have the same goal: deliver value to the customer. The plan can't afford different solutions that do
not deliver value to the customer

Coaching Agile Teams (00/00/0000) Lyssa Adkins//6/ [Item ..the product backlog has been made
ready because the highest value product....] | O'Reilly Platform (No Date) //5. Conflict Management
Skills/ [Item The Complete Project Manager, 2nd Edition]

5Nearing the end of a project, a project manager received an email from the finance department.
The email says that the finance team was never involved in developing the project’s business case
and will not approve the return on investment (ROI) estimation. What should the project manager
do in this scenario?

A.Record this in the risk register and discuss it with the sponsor during the weekly meeting. B.Email
the finance team the analysis that was performed to develop the ROI estimate. C.Meet with the
finance team, project sponsor and the product owner to develop a course correction. D.Update the
communications management plan to include the finance team.

Responsibility of the project manager in case of an issue during the delivery of the project is to
identify the nature of the issue and plan course correction accordingly specifically related to critical
stakeholders.

O'Reilly Platform (No Date) //Effective Project Management Tradition Agile Extreme - Chapter
Defining the 9 knowledge areas/ [Item] | PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition (2018) PMI/PMI/Initiating
process group/561 [Item]

7A project manager is responsible for a new agile project that is global in nature. After a few sprints
have been completed, the remote quality assurance team has generated a long defect list. The
project also has issues related to the budget and time management. The project manager is certain
that these issues are not related to project quality, but are from language misinterpretation. What
should the project manager do to address these issues? A.Request additional budget to hire a local
quality assurance team. B.When the project is nearing completion, merge the development team
with the quality assurance team to test the deliverables. C.Meet with the quality assurance team to
criticize the list they provided. D.While performing sessions with the full project team, review the
project requirements and their descriptions.

This question requires a level of understanding of the agile processes as well as an understanding of
how to manage team dynamics. There are options for the answer, but they don't serve team
dynamics in a positive fashion.

Information Technology Project Management, 7th Ed. (2015) Kathy Schwalbe/Course

Technology/2/68 [Item] | O'Reilly Platform (No Date) //3/ [Item
https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/managing-virtual-
teams/9781631574061/Chapter_03.xhtml]

8A project manager is managing a technical system implementation that has missed multiple
milestones and is now in critical status. Two months ago, the project’s senior engineer left the
organization and an intern was provided to fill the role. The project manager assigned the intern to
the remaining project engineer to coach during the project. What should the project manager have
done to prevent this situation? A.Request the sponsor to offer the senior engineer financial incentive
not to leave the organization. B.Promote the remaining project engineer to senior engineer as
incentive for higher performance.xxxx

Exam 2

4A project management office (PMO) is moving from waterfall to agile project management. The
project team has been trained on agile but encounter issues working with company executives using
the new processes. How should project manager address this issue? A.Invite the executives to the
project standups so they can learn the importance of the project. B.Meet with the executives to
train them on the benefits of agile practices. C.Inform the PMO that the project needs to use
waterfall as the project will not succeed without executive acceptance. D.Replace the current project
stakeholders with the executives.

Many a times it is felt that executives know all, but as key stakeholders, they also need to have the
Agile mindset and training needs to be planned for all executives at the beginning of digital
transformation.

Choose Your WoW! A Disciplined Agile Delivery Handbook for Opitimizing Your Way of Working
(January 2019) Scott W Ambler and Mark Lines//22/306 [Item] | The Agile Practice Guide (No Date)
PMI/PMI/TableX2-1/123 [Item When executive buy-in is missing, teams will encounter a clash
between the agile mindset and approaches and the more predictive mindset and approaches. Find
common ground, areas for improvement based on the organization’s needs, and then use
experiments and retrospectives to progress. Consider education/training for executives. Consider
explaining agile in terms of lean thinking: short cycles, small batch sizes, frequent reviews, and
retrospectives with small improvements.]

5A project team is meeting with the product owner to review the project backlog. The product
owner wants to focus on specific items in the backlog and the project team is focusing on obstacles
that impact some of the items. How should the project manager proceed with this project?
A.Identify the obstacles that can be resolved for the least impact on the budget. B.Develop a Pareto
chart of the backlog to identify which tasks to prioritize, regardless of the product owner’s input.
C.Align the obstacles with the backlog item and work to remove the obstacles, leveraging
management if necessary. D.Begin removing obstacles starting with the easiest ones progressing to
the more difficult.

By capturing the impediments in the backlog and linking them to the items' priority, we ensure that
the impediments will be removed before the work on the respective item starts

Coaching Agile Teams (00/00/0000) Lyssa Adkins//5/101 [Item] | O'Reilly Platform (No Date) //Agile
Management - Chapter 11 - The think phase create a flexible plan/ [Item]

6An agile project that a project manager has been managing for three years is replacing one of the
stakeholders with one more familiar with the project’s technology. Additionally, the project manager
is being moved to a more urgent project and is instructed to hand off project management duties to
another project manager. The project is scheduled to run for another three years. What step should
the project manager take next? A.Clarify the new stakeholders expectations for the project and
update the engagement plan to align with these expectations. B.Recommend that the new
stakeholder meet with the product owner to ensure expectations are in alignment. C.Meet with the
new stakeholder to learn their expectations for this project and update the other stakeholders of
these proposed revisions. D.Ensure that the new stakeholder can attend all future sprint meetings
and update the project plan with the stakeholder’s proposed revisions.

In Agile environment, the product owner must work closely with stakeholders, teams, customers to
define the product direction

PMI Study Hall mini practice 13

1 The day before construction is scheduled to begin, the project manager learns that the structure
blueprint was not accepted by the customer. What should the project manager do to ensure that the
project timeline is met? A.Meet with the customer as soon as possible to discuss changes to the
blueprint. B.Begin construction as scheduled while simultaneously reviewing the blueprint with the
customer. C.Discuss the process of deliverable component acceptance with the customer. D.Review
the stakeholder engagement plan and stakeholder expectations.

The project manager needs to follow the design acceptance process that was agreed to. This is the
best way to insure that the timeline is met.

PM: Sys Aprch Plng, Sch & Cntrl,11th (11th) Harold, Ph.D. Kerzner/Wiley/10/478 [Item] | Proj
Managers Portable HB, 3rd Ed (3rd) David I Cleland and Lewis R Ireland/McGraw Hill Companies,
Inc./4/140 [Item]

2 After the kick-off meeting, the project manager realizes that certain components must be imported
to meet the project's requirements. The project manager knows that fluctuations in the exchange
rate have not been accounted for in the overall budget. The project manager decides that a loss
because of a potentially unfavorable exchange rate does not justify spending money to avoid it.
Which risk response strategy did the project manager use? A.Transfer B.Avoid C.Mitigate D.Accept

In risk mitigation, action is taken to reduce the probability of occurrence and/or impact of a threat.
Early mitigation action is often more effective than trying to repair the damage after the threat has
occurred. Information Technology Project Management, 7th Ed. (2015) Kathy Schwalbe/Course
Technology/11/467 [Item] | PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition (2018) PMI/PMI/11/443 [Item]

3 A manufacturing company receives customer complaints that a product is defective. A project

sponsor has said that these complaints might be outliers.

What should the project manager use to investigate the cause and quantity of defects in this
product? A.Flowcharts B.Affinity diagram C.Control chart D.Histogram

Control charts are used to determine whether or not a process is stable or has predictable
performance. e-Reads (No Date) /J. Ross Publishing/Project Quality Management: Why, What and
How by Kenneth H. Rose/Chapter 7 - Collecting and Understanding Project Data [Item] | PMBOK
Guide Sixth Edition (2018) PMI/PMI/8/298 [Item]
4 A project is in the implementation phase when a team lead leaves the project. The project
manager is informed that the project sponsor has identified a replacement. What should the project
manager do first? A.Determine the competence levels of the new resource. B.Review the project
baselines to assess the impact of the change. C.Document the change according to the change
management plan. D.Update the communications management plan.

The project manager should always first assess any change to see if it will impact the scope, schedule
or budget of their project. PMBOK Guide Sixth Edition (2018) PMI/PMI/10/363 [Item] |
Understanding and Managing Risk Attitude, 2nd edition (3/30/2007) David Hillson and Ruth Murray-
Webster/Gowar Publishing/8/135-136 [Item]

5 A key project team member leaves the organization at the halfway point of the project. What
should the project manager do first? A.Meet with remaining team members to reassign workloads.
B.Work with the functional manager to find a replacement. C.Evaluate the impact of the loss of the
team member on the project. D.Reassess the resource roles and team composition.

The FIRST thing the project manager needs to do is to understand what impact (if any) this absence
will have on the project.

e-Reads (No Date) /Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and
Controlling, Tenth Edition, Harold Kerzner/The Human Aspects of Project Management: Managing
the Project team, Volume Three/ Chapter 1/ [Item] | PMBOK® Guide--Fifth Edition (No Date)
PMI//11.5.2.1/ [Item]

Vvvvvv

For some reason, people always ask about the background. Not sure if it affects your performance
on the PMP exam unless you are in IT and familiar with Agile. That would make the agile questions a
piece of cake for you.

I started in Low Voltage and IT system integration and moved to project management after 5 years in
the field (2006-2012). Then came back to project management in low voltage domain (2017-2022).

I read the PMBoK first 15 years ago and it completely changed my perception. The exam was not
affordable, and PMP was like an exotic instead of a requirement, so I didn’t take it. I came back to
the idea of taking PMP 5-ish years ago and even started Joseph Phillips’ course on Udemy. It was so
boring, so I stood like 3-4 hours of it and dropped.

And this time I finally decided to make it happen. I’m happy I found this r/pmp as it helped a lot with
the strategy and overall exam advice.

**Resources used**

* [The first step is the official

resource](https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/certifications/project-
management-professional-handbook.pdf).

* Then, I went to google and read the different articles, forums, linkedin posts, etc. Until I found
r/pmp which is the best online resource for the general exam guidance. I started reading [all the top
posts here](https://www.reddit.com/r/pmp/top/?sort=top&t=month) and then moved to daily
reading.

* As many suggested here, I bought Andrew Ramdayal’s (AR - it’s him) book on Amazon and it came
[with the 35-hours course](https://www.tiapmtraining.com/). I listened to it on 1.25x speed. I know
some people even do 1.5x or faster. I mentioned a course from JP I tried before, and I can tell you
it’s not comparable. AR keeps you interested in the subject, and it was not hard to go through all
those hours. The course also has three long mock exams which I didn’t do. The book is not
mandatory, I saw a lot of people buy his course on Udemy.

* I bought PMBoK 7 book. After the fact, I realized that the exam is actually built on PMBoK 6 and
the 7th edition is not a replacement but an amendment. Reading PMBoK is not required to pass the
test, and you don’t need to do it if your goal is just a certificate. I read it though.

* As I signed up for PMI membership, I was able to download the PMBoK 6 and Agile Practice Guide
for free.

* If you’re not in agile, the best resource to understand the idea is David McLachlan’s youtube video
where he answers the exam questions and explains his answers - [David’s 200
questions](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNIHysh2ZW4). I did maybe 150 of those and felt
confident enough.

* To get an idea of how all the processes and knowledge areas are interconnected, view [this video
of Ricardo Vargas](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVlrxOQoSUw). Download and print his
poster, [it’s an amazing job he’s
done](https://ricardo-vargas.com/downloads/download-file/15087/15092). Ricardo has another
good video, [which I didn’t finish](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC7pN8Mjot8&t=5s).

* Talking about the mock tests, I used these two resources:

[PMI Study Hall exams, practice questions,

flashcards](https://www.pmi.org/certifications/certification-resources/pmi-study-hall)
[AR’s Simulator](http://tiaexams.com)

* Technically, David’s 200q video can be considered as a mock too. I paused the video every time,
answered, and then listened to his explanation.

* Two days before the exam I found this [video made by Aileen
Ellis](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ0f7WLYTlI). I liked how she made the questions in a
style of “what to do before/next/after”, as it’s the most often scenario you’ll see in the exam. Just 30
min and very helpful.

* Last but not least. I use the [BrainScape app for flashcards](https://www.brainscape.com/). I
created my own set while analyzing the wrong answers, and you can also subscribe for someone’s
card sets (huge database!). Works both on PC browser and phone. I like how they track you progress
and confidence. Quite

**Exam details**

I did the exam at the test center. In my city, there are three eligible centers and there are slots
available for the next day, including Saturday. [You can check
here](https://findseats.pearsonvue.com/testtaker/registration/seatsearch/PMI?locale=en_US). You
don’t need anything to check availability and locations, just select PMP and your city name.

I was alone in the room, and four more sits were not occupied. So, no issues with noise or someone
else’s presence. I tracked the time I spend on the 60-questions sections. I used 70, 80, and 80 min
intervals, but in reality, it was around 60, 75 and 55 minutes. In my case, I felt like the second section
was the most complicated and the time spent reflects it. It took me 190 min total. The second brake
I took was 15-min long, so it ate 5 min of the exam time.

I tried to do the 180-questions marathon at home only once when I took 3x AR’s mocks in a row with
10 min brakes. During the real exam, it felt like time flies faster. When I was close to Q160, I couldn’t
wait to end it and see the result, so for the last 10-20 questions, I was just clicking without thorough
thinking. Maybe that was the exam fatigue AR mentioned. I flagged some questions but didn’t feel
like I want to return to them and re-think the answer.

Some people reported that the exam questions are hard, long, confusing, and wordy. I can’t say I
noticed a big difference between SH and the exam. As I’m not a native speaker, I was concerned
about the complexity of English they will use. I’d say it was a high school level. Pretty .
Type of questions. I’d say a lot of those were agile or hybrid-related. Very often the framework
wasn’t specified, but you can say it’s not traditional as they used the words sprint, product owner,
retrospective, etc. And you don’t know if it’s pure agile or hybrid, so the answer “review the change
management plan” could be right. I didn’t have any formulas. I think one or two questions
mentioned SPI/CPI. No MBTI, no definitions. No weird agile frameworks like SAFe, DA, LeSS, etc. No
detailed ITTO questions but you need to understand it pretty well. Just no need of memorizing which
I think is great. Most questions were situational. Maybe even all of them.

There were some strange questions which felt like Expert level from the SH mock. Not PM-related,
but more about business decisions.

In general, I feel like the 2021 exam version is simpler if you understand the process and PMI way.
And adding agile made the exam so much easier, if you are related to the technology field somehow.
You can see that most of the people reported AT/AT/AT here. You’ll get it too, the exam is not that
hard!

**After the exam**

You see the results right away. When you leave the test room, they will give you a printout of the
Certification Exam Report. This one is a high-level, just shows if you’re on Target or Above Target in
one of the three domains (People, Process, Business Environment). They also state, that each right
answer provides one point but you don’t know where the passing threshold is.

A day or two later, you will be able to download the certificate from my.pmi.org and you can also
see Exam Analysis - the breakdown of your answers by Tasks, which [are explained in the Exam
Outline](https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/certifications/project-
management-professional-exam-outline.pdf).

**Outcome**

I had three requests from recruiters in two weeks after I added PMP to my linkedin profile. Not
much but better than nothing! I don’t think I’ll get the pay raise with my current employer, but PMP
definitely helps with the next job, as all the good positions have PMP requirement now.

**Tips**

Wear blue, sleep well, don’t overthink (it’s not too hard!), read r/pmp and pass the exam! I saved
some posts that I really liked:
https://www.reddit.com/r/pmp/comments/ldxk3f/pmp_exam_cheat_sheet/

https://www.reddit.com/r/pmp/comments/sqbmvj/passed_today_11022022_atatat_exam_tips/

https://www.reddit.com/r/pmp/comments/xxl49g/passed_pmp_atatat/

https://www.reddit.com/r/pmp/comments/vsn18i/test_tips/

https://www.reddit.com/r/pmp/comments/y8to53/passed_20_oct_atatat/

https://www.reddit.com/r/pmp/comments/yazk1w/pm_mindset_taking_exam_on_tuesday_help/

https://www.reddit.com/r/pmp/comments/y97euv/
atatat_pmi_certified_pmp_on_10202022_time_for/

Ggggggggggg

Passed 11/18 AT/AT/AT with just 2 weeks of studying.

Passed my exam today Above Target in all domains with just two weeks of prep, below you'll find my
recommendations for this exam. Note: My experience is unique, and I do not recommend cramming
for the PMP. If I were to do this again I'd allot roughly 2 months for a complete prep.

My background:

3 years of corporate finance experience, 7 years of military experience, currently a management

consultant. No traditional PM experience but have "project" experience through managing teams
with the military to achieve short-term endeavors.

Useful study materials:

* 35 hours course with a in-house PMP instructor at my company - this was a useful introduction to
PMP and enabled me to obtain familiarity with concepts and topics. I don't think it's necessary or
needed in order to pass in this time frame

* AR Udemy Course and associated documents (on sale $20) - singlehandedly one of the most
valuable resources, overview of all processes is extremely useful as well as familiarity with the tools,
plans and project documents. I would buy this course solely for the "mindset" sections as it tells you
everything you need to know to pass the exam.
* TIA Exams PMP Exam Simulator ($45) - a must purchase, these exams were extremely similar to
the PMP exam and AR breaks most of the questions down very thoroughly. Go through every exam
and every question review, even for the ones you got correct.

* Professional Pocket Prep study app (1 mo subscription $20) - I haven't seen this posted in this
subreddit but I found good value in this simple app. It's only test questions and explanations. It
enabled me to pop on my phone and take a quick 10 question quizzes or customize my tests. Most
of the questions in this app are nothing like the exam however the explanations of processes, tools
and outputs are extremely useful.

* Free materials from [projectprep.org](https://projectprep.org) \- they made some great charts,

study resources, and handy exam cheat sheet. Review these frequently while you go through the
Udemy course.

I did not utilize or did not find value in these common resources:

* 200 Agile Questions on YouTube - I had this bookmarked and it was on the list to review, but I ran
out of study time. I had a good enough handle on agile and ended up not needing it.

* Vargas PMBOK 6 & 7 YouTube videos - I watched both of these but don't think they're necessary
unless you have no idea how the processes flow together. They're free though, so I'd only watch
PMBOK 6 if you need to understand process flow.

Study tips:

1. Take rigorous notes on everything. Some individuals simply just watched AR's videos, I don't
recommend that. Writing the knowledge down helps cement it into your brain. It gives you a quick
resource to flip to when reviewing questions or mindset. It enables you to look through your notes
when he mentions previous tools or how the processes interact. **TAKE NOTES.**

2. Watch AR's Udemy videos at 1.5x speed. Don't watch it any faster than that just to get through it,
as the knowledge will just pass through your brain. Pause the videos for your notes if you're writing
slow. Watch it with subtitles to help retain.

3. Don't get hung up on ITTO's. AR promotes these a lot during his Udemy course, but the exam is all
scenario based. You need to have a general understanding of what documents and processes exists
and what they're used for. Focus on that.

4. Take frequent quizzes with the Pocket Prep app and make flashcards of things you don't know.
Start on Day 1 when you know nothing about PMP, as you progress through Udemy Courses the
terms and processes will make more sense and begin to click. Utilize flashcard study techniques of
reviewing everything daily and making separate pile for what you do and don't know.

5. Mindset and Project documents. Honestly the mindset alone can probably get you a passing score
with very little knowledge of processes. Understand the mindset of the project manager: never fire
anyone, never escalate to the project sponsor, be a servant leader. Knowing the project documents
can assist you with tough questions. If you're stuck on a question and one of the responses is talking
about a risk log, you can eliminate it because you know there's only a risk register and report. This is
also true for processes but I honestly didn't see many process specific questions on my exam.

6. Focus on practice exams at the end. Take one and then work through all the review videos. If you
score extremely poorly continue to review flashcards, processes, project docs and refresh on the
mindset. Spend a little bit of time learning before taking the next one, there's only 6 and if you
retake them you'll have already unknowingly memorized some of the answers.

That's about it. I spent my first week in my instructor led course, and my second week doing Udemy,
Pocket Prep and flashcards, and TIA Exams. By the end of week 2 I was scoring in the 85-95 range on
the TIA exams. I stayed up late, woke up early and got far too little sleep. It's possible to cram, but I
wouldn't recommend it.

After submitting the final section's answers, I was just praying to see if I had passed. Saw the
message -" Congratulations!!" and was relieved.

Agile leadership

“Managementis gettingpeople to do what needs tobe

done.Leadership is gettingpeople to want to do what needs to be done.

Management has amoremechanical focus thanleadership;itis concernedwithtasks, control,

andspeed.

Incontrast, leadership assumes a humanistic focus onpeople andpurpose;itis more concernedwith

empowerment, effectiveness, and doingthe right things

Above table

Introduction for servant leadership

Agile promotes a servant leadership model thatrecognizes itis the team members. .It focuses the
leader on providing what the team members need,removingimpediments to their progress,
andperforming supporting tasks to maximize their productivity.
Carry food n water. providing the essential resources a team needs to keep them nourished and
productive.S oils, encouragement, compensation, reward, recognition, training

Intro to agile leadership practice

Asleaders, we canhelp create aproductive project environmentbyusingpractices like modeling the
behavior wewant the team to follow, communicatingthe project vision, enabling stakeholders to act,
and beingwillingto challenge the status quo.

Enable others to act

collaborative environment. This involves

buildingtrust among team members andstrengtheningothersby sharingpower

This involves buildingtrust among teammembers andstrengtheningothersby sharingpower

create a safe work environment where people are not afraid to ask what they may think are dumb
question

Risk

1.For agile purposes, a riskis a potential event or circumstance that could have a negative impact on
the project

2.negative project risks (threats) is considered as anti-value

3. agile teams engage development team, sponsors, customers, and other relevant stakeholders in
the process of risk identification.
4.Their ideas, along with the lessons learned from previous projects,risk logs, and industry risk
profiles, should all be considered to come up with a complete list of the known and likely risks for
the project

***

Features or stories that carryhighlevels ofrisk canbe tackledinearly iterations to prove the
technological approach andremove doubts.

Primary tools used by agile teams to manage risk are the risk-adjusted backlog and risk burn down
charts

Prioritization