Activity Dependencies

Types of Activity Dependencies include:

• Mandatory / Hard Logic
  - Inherent in the nature of work done.
  
  
• External
  - Based on the needs of a party outside of the project.
  
  
• Discretionary
  - Dependencies defined by Project Management Team at their discretion.
  - There is no choice between Mandatory and External Dependencies.
  - This is the preferred method of arranging activities based on conditions, guidelines or best practices.
  
  

Facelift for PMP® and CAPM® Score Reports

Please note that recent change to PMP score reports. To me, this seems to be a good idea where more details on your scores will be provided if you fail the test. More information, you may want to refer to PMI website.

With the launch of the PgMP^SM credential on 1 October 2007, PMI instituted a new look for its score reports. This new look will also appear on the PMP and CAPM score reports by the end of the year.

Q: What information is provided on the new score report?

A: Just as before, there are two levels of information provided. One is the overall examination results, which will tell you whether you passed or failed. The other is a diagnostic representation of your proficiency level per domain for PMP and PgMP and by chapter for CAPM. Each domain or chapter is accompanied by one of three possible proficiency levels—Proficient, Moderately Proficient, and Below Proficient.

Q: Why did PMI change the score report?

A: PMI improved how the diagnostic results are presented in the score reports. Instead of percentages by domain/chapter, PMI is instituting global best practices in examination administration by using proficiency levels.

Q: How can the proficiency levels guide my professional development?

A: The proficiency levels serve as an aid in measuring your knowledge in specific areas of study and practice. For example, if your result is Below Proficient in one of the domains/chapters, you then know what you need to study to improve.

Q: What else has changed in PMI’s examination practices?

A: Nothing. The credential examinations remain the same.

Q: Does the change in the score report indicate a different score or standard to pass the examination?

A: No. Results are based on the same scoring standards as before. This means that people who receive the new score report are evaluated the same way as those who received the old score report.

Q: Do I have to be proficient in every domain in order to pass the examination?

A: No. There are not a minimum or maximum number of domains in which you need to demonstrate proficiency in order to pass the exam. Your pass/fail rate is determined based on your overall performance, not on how many questions you answered right or wrong in a particular domain.

What is Activity Sequencing and Activity Dependency in PMP

Activity Sequencing is:

• a planning method for the purpose of creating the project schedule.
• identifying and documenting interactivity dependencies among project activities.

An example of activity sequencing is the flowchart.


Activity Dependency is:

• a logical relationship that exists between 2 project activities.
• the sequence among project activities.
  

What is Activity?

Activity in PMP is defined as:

• must be performed to produce the project's deliverables.
• is usually defined at the work package level.

Work Packages or Tasks are:

• activities that can be broken down into tasks by the work package owner.
  

An Activity:

• is an element of project work that requires action to produce a deliverable.
• shares some common characteristics such as expected duration, budget and resources.
  

PMP Application Checklist

I have received the following PMP application checklist from PMP Resource and it is a very good remainder. Please find the information below:

Prior to submitting your application, please make sure that you have checked all of the following:

Category I

• I have written my name as it appears on the identification that I will present when I take the PMIC examination
• I have included a current resume
• I have included proof of my degree
• I have included payment information
• My Experience Verification Form(s) dates back at least 3 years from the date of application
• My Experience Verification Form(s) does not date back farther than 6 years from the date of application
• My Experience Verification Form(s) reflects a total of at least 4500 hours
• When I count the months listed on my Experience Verification Form(s), the total is at least 36 (not counting gaps or overlap)

Category II

• I have written my name as it appears on the identification that I will present when I take the PMIC examination
• I have included a current resume
• I have included payment information
• My Experience Verification Form(s) dates back at least 5 years from the date of application
• My Experience Verification Form(s) does not date back farther than 8 years from the date of application
• My Experience Verification Form(s) reflects a total of at least 7500 hours
• When I count the months listed on my Experience Verification Form(s), the total is at least 60 (not counting gaps or overlap)

* The above information is obtained from the PMP Resource mailing list.

Project Time Management in PMP

Project Time Management in PMP consists of the following areas:

• Activity Definition
  Identify the specific scheduled activities that need to be performed to produce the various project deliverables.
  
  
• Activity Sequencing
  Identify and document the dependencies among the scheduled activities.
  
  
• Activity Resources Estimation
  Estimate the type and quantify of resources that will be needed to complete each scheduled activity.
  
  
• Activity Duration Estimation
  Estimate the number of work periods that will be needed to complete each scheduled activity.
  
  
• Schedule Development
  Analyze activity sequence, duration, resource and schedule constraint to create the project plan.
  
  
• Schedule Control
  Control changes to the project schedule.

Scope Control in PMP

What is Scope Control?

Scope Control is the process of holding changes to project scope in check by:

• ensure that changes are agreed upon.
• evaluate change requests to determine the actual need and impact of the change to the project objective.
• manage the actual change to ensure that they are implemented correctly and effectively.

Scope control must be integrated within the other controlling processes because a change in scope is likely to affect cost, time, quality and other areas.

Scope Verification with Inspection

What is Scope Verification?

• Scope verification is a process of formalizing acceptances of the completed project deliverables and project scope by stakeholder.
  

What is Inspection?

• Inspection is the tools and technique required for Scope Verification. It includes product reviews, audit, walkthru, etc. This ensure all work and deliverables meet the requirements and acceptance criteria.
  

Create WBS with Bottom Up Approach

When creating a WBS, a bottom-up approach is a thorough and easy way to validate a WBS. This ensure that:

• The lower-level components are necessary and sufficient for the completion of each decomposed item.
  
• Each element is described as a deliverable and is distinguishable from all other deliverables.
  
• Each element can adequately budgeted, scheduled and assigned to an individual or group.

Key Terms in WBS

Some of the key terms used in Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) includes:

• Code of Account / Control Accounts
  - a system by which WBS elements are uniquely numbered.
  - allows these individual WBS components to be more easily tracked, especially in the area of performance and costs.
  
  
• Work Packages
  - A deliverable or project work component at the lowest level of each branch of WBS.
  - Divided further into scheduled activities.
  
  
• WBS Dictionary
  - Can be used as part of a work authorisation system to inform team members of when their work package is going to start, scheduled milestones and etc.
  - It also contains a number identifier, control account, who is responsible for the work, schedule and milestones.
  

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) in PMP

What is Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)?

• A WBS is a logical grouping of project deliverables arranged in a hierarchical structure.
• A WBS defines the total scope of work required to complete the project.
• The deliverables and their component sub-deliverables are represented on the WBS in levels of descending order.