These notes will be shared daily at the end of our class.

[Link]

The community forum - if you want a class thread on the forum, just say so -
[Link]

This class' forum thread

[Link]

Code of Ethics
[Link]

Exam Content Outline

[Link]
[Link]?v=149cfab8-bd04-4b7b-bacf-c4b1c5e2d164

====================================================
Team Charter 'an agreement between the team so we can be affective
in our work.'

Objectives: This is what we aim to attain through this class and its
results -

* Obtain our PMP

* Get through this entire content
* Obtain our Simplilearn certificate so we can apply for the exam
* Establish a solid preparation plan.
* Learn something that helps us continue to move forward in our careers

Ground Rules
Values
* Responsibility - take ownership for decisions we make, actions we take,
and consequences as these outcomes.

* Respect - Show a high regard for *OURSELVES* others, and what's entrusted
to us.

* Fairness - Make decisions and acti impartially and objecitvely.

I don't want my opinion to be right, I want to hear ALL opinions
and work with you to find the best one.

* Honesty - Understand the truth. Act and speak in a truthful manner.

We find out what's right and we speak of it and do it.

**** We leave no one behind. Everyone crosses the finish line together.

* Communications: We take statements and comments in chat as opinions and

perceptions, not facts or truths. Even facts, without analysis, are not truth.

We use debate to negotiate and come to agreement.

Opinions and perceptions may be wrong; PEOPLE are not wrong.

We embrace the truth. Being right doesn't get us closer to the truth; being
wrong Does get us closer to the truth.

"Greater clarification and transparency, less confusion."

 (Precision in our definitions)

* Responsibility - we own our personal growth. This class requires not only
acquisition of knowledge, but changes in perception and habit.

This includes a sense that we will be confused and frustrated. We accept

that this is just part of the process, and evidence we are doing this right.

Tour -
[Link]
[Link]
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This last website provides PMI - created training material.

We have ana greement with PMI to use this.
You have a choice to pay for this or not.

If you do, this is great content.

If you don't - DON'T WORRY. I will supplement so much of our discussion

with references and details.

Content is a different cost from the paid PMI membership.

When you signed your Simplilearn contract, you approved or did not to this
charge.
If you did,
SImplilearn sent you (or will send you) an access key.
If you haven't received, follow up with support
Good idea to check junk file.

* this content is there for you for at least 6 months.

* you can downlod most of it.

It's not PMI membership that gains you access here.

It's payment for the PMI-created PMP Prep content.

* the PBMOK and this student handbook are not the same.
We'll discuss the PMBOK and its use later.

!!!!!!!!!
If you ask Tim to share his slides, he must say no.
There are reasons, and we can discuss.

The slides are already laid out in the student handbook.

The issue:
THe main content that we use is at PMI.
I will show all the documents, guides, and standards
that we reference.
I will list contents.
YOu will have more than enough to keep you busy in your
review.

Hi Tim, if we only refer, 1) PMI Exam Prep 2) Your sessions. Is it enough to crack
the exam?
 I have studied almost 9,000 students across almost 18 years.
I have created a very simple (but takes effort) preparation that
will incorporate everything you need.

1st - we need to get through the content.

====================================================
10:17 PM 8/13/2021
Let's get started!

The application:

Experience required:
1) not a job title
not an assignment
You merely need to have done the work leading and directing teams and
projects.
"... as described in the Exam Content Outline..."

Handbook
[Link]
[Link]?v=2fd95224-cd5a-4e1d-8ee2-
6b726ae568ff&sc_lang_temp=en

ECO
[Link]
[Link]?v=ef41743a-9156-4137-a9a6-
fd31e19a9668&sc_lang_temp=en

'Domains' People (leadership)

Process (scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, etc)
Business (organizational context for the project)

'Tasks' work a PM generally performs

'Enablers' Examples of that work

*****
"My company went out of business and I cannot reach anyone"
Contact PMI (I'll share contact information in a minute)
They've solved this problem 100s of thousands of time.

Filling out application, they'll ask:

Starting MM/YYYY
Ending MM/YYYY (you can also use current projects)

your role in the project

the project name
a short description of the work you did.

for EACH PROJECT you submit

It doesn't matter how many projects that you submit;
what matters is the time adds up to 36 (or 60) months

Operations experience DOES NOT COUNT.

Operations: ongoing, repeat

Projects: unique (require their own plan)

time-bound (specific start / end)
 I am certain that if you have been working for 3 years
you have such project management experience.

It doesn't matter organization, company, or nation.

What only matters is that you did the work managing
projects.

*****
After you submit your application - you may be audited.
3-5% of all applications are audited. It's random, not generally
due to quality.

PMI reserves the right to request

proof of eduction (diploma/transcrip)
proof of contact hours (simplilearn certificate)

Proof of experience.

Each project you submit will have 1 (one) reference.

Reference: "Someone in greater authority willing to stand for you if audited

and who understands the work you did."

supervisor/manager, sponsor, client

CANNOT be a team member, a peer.

If PMI asks for this, they will not contact this person directly.
They will send you a pdf for you and your reference to fill out.
YOu'll have 90 days to get this pdf signed by you and reference, and send
back.

Each project will have 1 reference

a reference can be such for more than one project

"What if I can't contact my reference?"

Contact PMI, and they'll help you clarify.

PMI takes 5 business days to review and accept your application

THen, if not audited (or after succesful audit)

YOu passed, now you get to pay.

Exam
Non-members $555 USD
Members $405 USD
Discount $150

Membership $129/$139 for 1 year.

Already a savings...

With paid membership you also get:

Free pdf copy of PMBOK (6 and 7ed currentl)
Free pdf copy of Agile practice guide
all the other guides, standards, a lot of research.

*****
The ECO
Frames the tasks a PM performs
Frames the random questions on the exam
 Frames the topics and sections we will discuss.

The exam:
you have ~ 1.3 minutes to finish each question.
80% of the questions are situational - they test
your behavior, not your memory.
Test - how you think, decide, prioritize, analyze
and act in a state of urgency, throughout different
project issues.

All random, established at the beginning of the exam

(the questions will not get harder if you get them right)

Passing grade? PMI doesn't share this.

PMI analyzes the results using certain algorythms....
They'll determine by domain whether you passed easily,
passed barely, or need more work.
For the entire exam, they'll say "you passed"

How do I know I'm ready for the exam?

When you are scoring consistently 80-85% on random practice questions.

YOu have enough knowledge to pass the exam.
You also need focus, confidence and time-management.

When you are scoring that 80-85%, you will schedule your exam.

is there data or evidence that PMP is going to improve your Project management
ability
Look on the PMI website for "Pulse of the PRofession"
a yearly survey that shows the ability of PMP vs. non-pmps to move up
as well as expected salaries. Broken out globaly, nationally, by education,
age, etc

For more questions, let's discuss post-session.

====================================================
Creating a high performing team.

THIS is the first section

1) it DOES NOT MEAN it's the first thing you do on the project.
2) it DOES mean it's the most important thing you do on the project.

Well take the output of this discussion and use it as input in other
sections.

* definitions
* concepts
* visionary discussions

Everyone loves to discuss:

* I don't have time for this
* I don't get the team I need
* It's not my fault.

If the project fails, it's your fault.

You don't have to believe me, you will agree with this at the end.

I managed 3-6 month projects for years.

I managed 3-5 year projects with 100MM-300MM budgets for years.
 You get the team right (and you must do this), the project will be
successful.

This is PRoject Management Professional

There is PgMP
There is PfMP

*****
Topics start with
Deliverables and tools
Why:
Generally tasks a PM Performs
use processes.
If we understand tools associated to the processes
as well as the outputs (deliverables)
it gives us better context.

Project Resource Management

Acquisition
management
monitoring and control
of my resources
human (team)
Physical materials nuts, bolts, cabling
tools shovels, heavey construction equipment
supplies Cases of bottled water
also includes
acquisition
training
team-building human resources

Team: Group of individuals

* supporting each other
* in performing work
* that creates a deliverable
* that meets an objective (includes value).

Deliverable: something I hand over, or "deliver" in a project

Objective: the Purpose of the project ("WHY")

Project Manager (PM)

* Ensures the deliverable meets the objective/s.
"Project Success"

Many, many students are frustrated.

If you're frustrated, it's a good sign.

TIm: "This is a dog."

"The exam is about the dog."

Students: "What about the dog's ear? It's nose? It's tail?
What about yellow dogs?"

TIm: "Let's first understand the dog - that will get us through the exam.
If we have time, we'll discuss the details."

Team:
* High-performing
* effective
 * self-organizing (adaptive)
* generalizing specialists
* "T-Based"
This is a special type of team.
They won't start out this way, and you get to train them.

PM's Job:
Create the environment where it's easy for people to do good work.

Water going downhill:

As a PM you create the channel or the canal for the water.
THIS is your job.
"Servant Leadership" (we'll define this later)

General specialist:
They know their work well (specialist)
THey know how to integrate their skills with the other skills
to make the team effective.

* what is " avoid single points failure ?

1) if I have someone with a unique skill and they go away
it can cause the project to fail
"single point of failure"

2) If I have someone cross-train with that person,

the project may go slower if the expert leaves,
but it will continue

*****
Clients can be stakeholders
end users can be stakeholders
executives, janitors, peers
can be stakeholders
How can I determine who is a stakeholder?

Understand the definition.

If they:
* can impact my project
* be impacted by my project
* perceive they can be impacted by my project

THey are stakeholders and must be considered.

Janitor: If I don't make them aware, when they clean behind

the computers they can accidentally kick out the power cables.

Executive: If I make them aware, they can positively support

my project in their speeches and initiatives.

Competitors: Stakeholders?

If they deliver their product 6 months early, does it impact my work?

If I deliver my product 6 months early, does it impact their work?

yes and yes.

 They are negative, external stakeholders, and MUST be considered.

The PM (you) a stakeholder

The team a stakeholder

the SPonsor a stakeholder

Sponsor:
* provide funding/resources
* provide project authorization

Should a PM be also technical?

Can a PM can also be a team member?

Let's say
* the same person
* can fill the role of PM
* can fill the role of team member

In AGILE : PM can play both roles

Let's say instead:
* the same PERSON
* can fill the role of PM
* can fill the role of team member

The Same PERSON

can fill the role of PM
can fill the role of sponsor
these are all groups of tasks.

The role of PM can also be shared across multiple people.

You can run the schedule and the team,
your supervisor manages the budget.

Until this is TOTALLY CLEAR...

Can a project have more than one PM

There will be ONe. PM. Role.

That role may be filled by
* one or more people
* one or more individuals
* one or more entities

for same project PM can be sponser ??

The SAME. PERSON.
can fill the role of PM
can fill the role of SPonsor.

Now days there is role seen as Technical Project Manger

the role of team
performs the work
The role of PM ensures the deliverable meets the objective

One. Person. or many.

can fill the role of PM
One. Person. or many.
Can fill teh role of team.
 One person can also carry the role of both team and PM.

We are not discussing people, or titles, or assignments.

We are discussing ROLES
"Groups of tasks"
"performed by one or more person, group, entity"

GOOD PRACTICE. THis is not a rule or law. This is Good practice.

*****
If stakeholders can impact or be impacted by my work, I need to ID them.
How many? All of them.
Am I ever done identifying? NEVER.

Stakeholders change:
We gain and lose stakeholders throughout.
Stakeholders' needs, expectations, objectives change throughout.

Stakeholder Register: Project document (container of project information)

captures
* stakeholders and contact information
* needs, expectations, objectives
* other details to help us understand how they may impact/be impacted

I use expert judgment

* my subject experts
various team members and stakeholders
hold and can use various infromation necessary
They assist the project
- in voting
- contributing knowledge, information, lessons learned

Analysis:
'breaking a concept down into smaller pieces
for greater clarity.'

Analysis doesn't help us in making decisions;

however, it does help us in determining that we are making GOOD decisions.

Project Documents:
containers of information
used for reference and
* creating evidence
* validation / version control

How expert judgment can help in identify stakeholder?

Is it like judging the requirements? tool required to start a project?
I'm currently running a project:
How do you develop a community that resists climate change
and environmental change and changes in the needs of the community?

A subject matter expert is a friend who has an understanding of

building communities and funding
He said, "YOu talk with this person and this person, and they'll
help you."
1) my friend is a stakeholder (he's impacting)
2) he has helped me identify other stakeholders.

I need to understand all stakeholders:

 needs, expectations, objectives
impact and potential for impact
power, influence, authenticity, sense of urgency...

Since this is a very critical project, I'll do this very very formally.

We're discussing not only simple projects, but major, critical projects
that have to have all that we discuss in a formal manner.

*****
The Team does the work.
If they don't know which work they're responsible for...

We communicate.
We ensure everyone understands what work is assigned to which team members.

The way we ensure everyone understands the work they are responsible for...
"Responsbility Assignment Matrix"
It may be called something differently in your organization.
I use these terms because they are the common PM terms.
This way, if your organization aligns with the PMBOK
and other organizations align with the PMBOK, both organizations
know what we mean when we say Resource Assignment Matrix ("RAM")

FOr our material, we use a RACI Chart as an example of a RAM.

RACI Chart (acronym)

Responsible Performs the work (team, sometimes stakeholder/s)

Accountable 'Owns the work (Lead, PM - team, sometimes stakeholder/s)
Consulted HAS information (Subject Expert - team, sometimes
stakeholder/s)
Informed NEEDS information (team, sometimes stakeholder/s)

The RACI chart does not assign based on role.

It assigns based on work and relationship to work.

Sponsor doesn't have a direct relationship to work.

* provides funding / resources
* authorizes the project

"Sponsor also directs the Projects..."

If you go into the project with this perception, you'll face confusion.

WE define these roles based on GOOD PRACTICE.

Your organization may not follow good practice
FOR GOOD REASONS.

1) Good PRactice: 'we figured out a good way to do this,

and if you do it the same way, you'll have a better
chance at success.'

2) Good reasons for not following good practice:

organizational preference: the organization has their own
way that works perfectly well for them.

business requirement: finance, legal, HR have rules that

sometimes don't allow us to follow good practice.
 The problem: The exam is not about your experience.
It is about GOOD PRACTICE.

"The AE ( Account Executive ) can direct the project "

THe AE <= THIS. IS. A. JOB. TITLE.
PM <= THIS. IS. A. ROLE.

This is a totally different way of looking at PM than you have before.

You get to do a change in perception.
You get to change the way you look at PM.
That means you are going into the unknown.

Prepare to be and stay confused for a while. I am confident that

after section 1, this will clarify very quickly.

*****

APpraisal
Analysis
Data gathering

Allows us to determine differences as well as trends.

We do this with our teams.

Initially in the project to understand initial gaps in
competencies (more on this later)

and constantly as the project and the teams change

Why do we analyze team strengths

* we understand that the team enjoys working
where it's strong
I get better results this way

* we also understand that weaknesses can hurt the

team
I protect the team from its weaknesses

*****
Pre-assignment

Early, you will have a vague, general idea of the work involved
and a general when.

That means you have an idea of competencies necessary to do that work.

YOu identify potential team.

YOu work with their managers and determine

Their availability
YOu compare their availability with the schedule of work

Good practice:
negotiate:
"I need this work done, and this person is probably the
best person to do this.

This is when I expect the work to be done. Can we agree

that this person is set aside for this work?"
 What are the tools we use? Let's only look at understanding the
capability of the team...

Skills: help me complete work.

Behavior: helps me do the work easily.

Behavior: 'attributes'
components of behavior and character.
Responsibility
Accountability
emotional intelligence
conflict management
self-awareness

*****
Diversity & INclusiveness
Diversity means we bring in different people with different ideas.
We have opportunities for innovation. (a lot of profit for companies)

If everyone on the team thinks the same way,

they won't have different ideas.

People with differences also argue and have conflicts.

COnflict is not bad - only when it is not managed does it impact work.
COnflict: a road sign that says "we have a potential innovation"

If we celebrate innovation and differences in opinion,

the people realize we and teh culture will protect them.

Maybe not in the organization, but AT LEAST within our projects.

If you allow people to feel safe, they will open up and share.
If they don't feel safe, they'll spend more time on their resumes/CVs
and less time on their work.

We will use consensus:

"We all agree"
* I may not like what the group decides,
but it's important that I support the group.

I may not like the outcome, but if the group likes

it, I support the group.

a method: "Disagree and commit"

you may have 1 or ust a very few people in disagreement:
* Can I get you on record as disagreeing,
* yet able to support this team in its direction?

If I can get the team to vote and debate on the outcome,

their support and their personal value isnow part of the project
success. I now have their commitment in the project's results.

is it not pre-emptive statement, guard in case of failure..??

not at all. It's setting expectations.

*****
Artifacts, items
PMBOK: "Project Management (PM) process outputs.
- Project documents
- PM Plan (more later)
 - Work performance (data, information, reports)
- deliverablein its various states
- ...

'Plan' => "HOW" document

Resource Management Plan

* How we will
* acquire resources
* plan resources
* train and build my teams
* monitor my physical resources
* make necessary changes

Good practice: Document this and review on a regular basis.

REsource Breakdown Structure (RBS) another 'artifact'
"My project's grocery list"
Bill of Materials. Bill of Quantities.
List of resources and relationship to the scope.
RBS: resources
WBS: deliverable and work required to complete
If you're curious about these documents, PMBOK 6ed describes well.

*****
Virtual teams:
My remote workers.

* the needs of workers working remotely are generally

the same as the needs of workers in the office
* the difference is in the tools and their capability
to support the work.
* What the tools cannot do, the PM and the team must
fill the gap.

Interesting..How did u manage to monitor?

strong relationships.
This made the project even better than if I'd managed face-to-face.

is this introduced newly due to covid..

I started teaching remotely in 2004. Imagine the tools I had to use.
Strong relationships.
Undersanding of emotional intelligence, self-awareness, human behavior.
Understadn yourselv, you understand others.

AN ongoing topic:
How can I be a more effective remote team member
How can I be a more effective remote manager

Whenwe have good practice, we tailor it for a "better project fit"

Competencies:
Knowledge information needed to complete work
Skills tasks and tools needed to complete work
Attributes behavior and character needed to complete work

*****
"Work" activities and tasks a team performs.

Traditional -> "Predictive"

Agile -> sometimes 'Adaptive' (self-organizing)

These two define the work, not necessarily

how the work is managed.
"What does a PM do?"

Predictive work:
we understand it pretty well
we can develop a pretty good plan
and follow that to project success.

Agile work:
We understand the work is unknown, uncertain, complex
We build a team that can work in teh unknown with confidence
- building an early project framework
that allows for exploration and quick
understanding
- through constant change
- finds the best way to meet the objective
We build a pretty good team
and engage with them to project success.
THIS is why we are talking about teams before we
talk about plans.

Is Agile ever going to work when resoruces are fixed when nature of work is agile
Agile requires intense communication
intense engagement of stakeholders and teams
adoption of a different mindset.

Can you give an example on predictive work pls

BUild a data center
-------------------
Application and Data Inventory
Server and support architecture design (and analysis)
power
data
thermal management
Facilities planning and design
Physical & Data security

An example of an agile project

------------------------------
Marketing campaign
We don't know what the best message for our new product will be,
We know generally how to get there.
We start with a simple, general marketing message
and we try it out
we receive feedback
analyze the confusion
update the message with more clarity
We repeat. And repeat. And repeat.
Until the consumers are really excited.

*****
THroughout the project, we will assess:
team performance
Team bonding (team-building)
individual contributions
 This will allow us to analyze the effectiveness of the team.

*****
Dashboard, task board, kanban board
This organizes data and information into reports
in order to control the project
decisions, analyze, review
meet, etc etc

The dashboard does this.

Infformation is 'radiated' or sent out to stakeholders and teams

through an INFORMATION RADIATOR

1) I set up a large monitor in the lab

and display the dashboard

* dashboard is the information being radiated

* monitor is the radiator

2) I place the dashboard on the initial page of the Sharepoint site.

* dashboard is the information being radiated
* intial page is the radiator

I know the topics we need to cover.

This is listed in the agenda.
Every group is different and needs to spend different amounts of time
on different topics

I will not use predictive methodologies in this lcass.

I will teach this class as an agile project.

* Does digital key access is itself a membership? I have digital

key access but not ale to download PMBOK/agile guide. Not sure if I have to pay?

Digital key payment gives you access to PMI's training content

Paid membership is separate and gives you many many benefits.

If you sit back, sip your tea, relax, stay engaged, and copy a few questions
down on paper, you'll begin to realize
1 - TIm talks about broad topics early
2 - Tim reviews these topics constantly
3 - Tim brings in extra information later
that is much much more informational.
====================================================
9:02 PM 8/14/2021

Knowledge Transfer & Lessons learned

We capture lessons learned to:
Improve our own projects
Improve other projects
Provide the organization an opportunity to improve.

*****
Defining Ground rules
1) Ground rules describe and define how the team will play well together.
2) The team participates in developing ground rules-
 It creates a better sense of commitment.

How the team is to behave: this is the first order of business in pulling
together a team.
we need to validate and possibly train in many attributes.

'Norms' Expected or "normal" behavior

Part of the culture we are establishing
Culture - the unwritten rules and laws that define the group.

Ethics: What is wrong, what is right.

Morals: Behavior shaped by ethics (wrong and right)

PMI's code of ethics:

Aspirational Conduct: we "strive to uphold"

We may not get it perfect
We may never attain it.
We'll continue to try to be better than yesterday
every day.

Mandatory Conduct: legal and other requirements that we must

not ignore.

1) BY adhering to this code we don't make others wrong.

We support them in their growth and celebrate when they grow.

2) People are neither wrong nor right.

Behaviors are either wrong or right.

Hammers - they're not bad or good. THey're just hammers.

They are designed to place nails in wood - this is good.
Their unique design makes them good at breaking windows.

It's not the hammer that's good or bad; it's the hand that guides
the hammer that creates good or bad behavior.

People are like hammers.

It's our behaviors that are the hand that guide us.
If we see bad behavior, we have an opportunity to help others.

If you call someone wrong, they are now isolated and are closed off
from opportunities to work with you in an open manner.

The leader establishes an environment where people feel safe enough

to share their ideas and opinions.
This is one of the reasons Tim allows comments and questions.
It allows everyone to drop their guard and be receptive to
better learning.

HOWEVER, if it gets in the way of the objectives, it's up to the leader

to maintain discipline.

"high regard of respect for yourslef when you are the least
experienced in the team is a tough proposition"

HOWEVER -
If you have your respect founded in something inside of yourself
instead of looking outside for your validation of respect,
 you will not be shaken.

Is it better to have your own values internally that

you respect, or is it better to receive respect from others?

OThers come and go - you will be your personal dancing partner

the rest of your life.

Respect comes from an internal connection to values (ethics => 'good')

This cannot be shaken. (this is the summation of the last few paragraphs)

We confront:
WE raise the issue at its source, quickly and efficiently.
We ALSO don't make people wrong.

We argue the issue, not the person.

Conflict:
The emotional attachment to a consideration, decision, opinion, perception,
outcome....

WE become emotionally attached to an idea -

such that if that idea is questioned, we feel we are being questioned,
and we start feeling a sense of our values being attacked.

Conflict can be a part of an argument (dispute)

"arguments within rules" - DEbate.
Debate looks for negotiation.

Negotiation: Attempting to influence others to agree with

what you think.

Formal negotiation:
Persuasion doing this in a 'good and right' manner
using logic, emotion, ethics

Manipulation doing this in a 'bad and wrong' manner

using coercion, other tools.

Instead, we MANAGE conflict. We re-direct the emotional energy from

the conflict to resolving the issue.

Conflict is NOT BAD.

It demonstrates people have different ideas.
However, we must manage the conflict first, and then
we can explore the ideas and choose the best.

The fairness of a PM:

"I don't want my idea, I want the BEST idea - and you will help me
find it."

The PM facilitates - they step out of the process of deciding,

and guide it such that the voters and experts follow the proper process.

Ground rules
* clear expectations
* regarding the code of conduct

Negotiation
 Discussion / debate
intended to lead to agreement

Agreement: we share the same opinion.

Consensus:
I may not agree with the outcome / decision / opinion,
But I will support the team in the optino it chooses.

You can support the team without agreement.

"Tim, does a PM take decisions on consensus or agreement with team?"

Consensus.
Agreement is very difficult, sometimes impossible.

Consensus can allow people to disagree, yet still work as a team.

as a PM I protect and support the team -

the TEAM does the work, not individuals.

*****
Ground rules not only discuss wrong or right
they establish boundaries for good behavior.

When those boundaries are continuously ignored

1) we set expectations that behavior will change
2) if that behavior is not changed, then we consider replacing those team
members.

When you have a team, you have the 'optimal' team

"just enough people" to attain project success.
even one person inneffective can upset the project success.

*****
Negotiation

Predictive (traditional) projects:

we use acceptance criteria as the measure of
expected project success.

We negotiate this.

Agile (adaptive) projects:

We use definition of done as the measure of
expected project success

- Acceptance Criteria
- a set of conditions
- required to be met
- before deliverables are accepted

- Definition of Done
- Criteria needing to be met
- so that a deliverable can be considered
- ready for customer use

Accepted deliverables
relies on testing and validating that deliverables are complete
Definition of done
relies on negotiation between team and stakeholders
and agreeing the deliverable is now usable.

Accepted deliverables complete

definition of done functional (usable)

"for definition of done - to agree the deliverable is usable,

they hve to test and validate right?
so how different it is from acceptance criteria"

Acceptance criteria complete

The deliverable has passed inspection and tests.
This does not infer those inspections and tests validate functionality.
It merely says - 'this work is complete.'

definition of done functional (usable)

Deliverable is functional.
It not only has passed tests, it can function.

Definitions alone will help us navigate through the confusion.

Negotiation leads to agreement

Agreement: 'Common (shared) understanding'

BUilding a negotiation strategy:

* Have a plan for a happy outcome
* have a plan for a bad outcome
have alternatives. (fire in the house? front door, back door, kitchen
window)

*****
Prioritization:
Leaders: Must be able to prioritize
(Many, many exam questions)

How do I determine what goes first and what comes next?

19 analysis techniques, and many, many tools.

MScW analysis: (acronym)

Must have: We will do this first
Should have We will do this next
could have and next
Won't have and not now

When I say urgency (prioritization for time)

I can apply this
to how the work is performed
To how the pm activities (controls) are applied

Urgency in creating the deliverable

We need the cell tower updated by the end of the month.
therefore, we need to start it 3 weeks prior.

Urgency in controlling the work

 We need to resolve the highest priority defects first.
This will ensure the greatest impact for quality
in the shortest amount of time.

*****
Work Performance (p. 26-7 PMBOK 6ed)

Data - raw, unformatted

"We spent $5,000 last week."
Good? Bad? we don't know - it's only data...

Information - data, in context

"We are now $500 over budget."
'Oh - this is bad.'

Reports - formatted information

Used for Control
{Dashboard}

Expert Judgement
My subject Experts ('SMEs')
The output / information that experts can provide
Can include
* team
* various stakeholders

Resource Calendar:
"Availability of my team" (when they can be available)
"Availability of my vendor"

My schedule will determine when we perform activities.

I need to understand how the availability of my team
intersects with the schedule of the work.

*****
Lessons learned are captured and organized in
Lessons learned Register
I use this to improve my project.

Lessons learned are also entered into the lessons learned repository
(a knowledge base accessbile by other projects and the organization)
Others use these to improve their projects and add value to the organization

Lessosn learned register

Organized lessons learned to improve the work

RIsk register
organized risks to manage risk

*****
Predictive life cycle:
work that is well known and we can develop a plan around it
adhering to a firm plan can improve project success

Agile life cycle:

work that is generally unknown, uncertain, and complex.
Adhering to a general framewrok and investing in relationships
 can improve project success

"does PMP cover agile topics or it separate"

Agile is the way the team performs the work
Predictive is another way the team performs the work

Project management is the control of the work

the way work is performed can influence the way work is controlled.

"The selection of life cycle can and will impact the way we perform
project management."

'picking up a stick and talking about the results'

is performed through a series of meetings
(part of our Agile "ceremonies")

* Standup - meeting before work: we collect this information:

also called 'scrum' (generally a team meeting)

- what did we do yesterday?

- what are we doing today?
- what do we expect to do tomorrow?
- what are our issues and risks?

* restrospective- meeting after work: we collect This information:

(generally a team meeting)
- what went well?
- what could have gone better?
- if we knew what we knew now, how would we do it differently?

why don't I ask retrospective questions at the beginning?

you have a chance of losing information by pushing out this discussion
to the next time you meet.

* review generally between team and stakeholders

DURING the work
Team creates a prototype
a small subset of functions that are demonstrated.
stakeholders provide feedback.

Reviews, standups and retrospectives contribute to lessons learned

and changes necessary for project success.
"continuous improvement"

"Review is nothing but demo"

Rita Mulcahy - 'beware of absolutes'.
Always, never - are very risky options to select on the exam.

Review is THE CRITICAL information that the team and

stakeholders will use to reset the course of the project.

*****
- Acceptance Criteria
 - a set of conditions
- required to be met
- before deliverables are accepted (complete)
when deliverables are accepted, the work is done.

The process that determines: validate scope

the output is: accepted deliverables
this ONLY means that the work is complete.

The PM and team and stakeholders get to determine if the final owner
is ready to accept.
On that acceptance, the deliverable can be transitioned.

Black-out:
* we will make no more changes:
* occurs after deliverables accepted (work is complete)
"code freeze" No. more. changes.

Upon transition of the deliverable (when the final owner receives the
deliverable)

Go-Live:
* the deliverable starts its work in the environment.
server starts performing the work of a server
manufacturing tool starts manufacturing
business process starts its function.

we now have a sequence:

* deliverable accepted (user acceptance testing is part of this)
* black-out
* deliverable transition
* go-live

This slide usually takes 25 minutes. I have gone through it in 10.

Block-out, if required right?

it's good practice.

What exactly is deliverable transitioned to?

transition is for the deliverable to change ownership
* from the team and project
* to the final owner

Is Go-Live is considered as work Done ?

Go-live is simpler than this.
It is merely: the deliveable starts its function in its final home.

In delivering system applications we dont usually do the black-out, because after

Go live we still encounter issues taht we need to address

I am describing "GOOD PRACTICE"

WE've observed this for many decades, and found if you do it this way
it raises teh probability of success.

You don't have to follow good practice.

WE tailor good practice when:
Organizational preference is different
Business requirements are different.
 however, across all industries, sectors, cultures, nations
it has been determined that good practice is a very very good way of doing
things.

Have we talked about sprint?

If I have not defined or typed it, we have not discussed it.

Iteration - a 'repeat'
Let's build a plastic duck toy.
we don't know how to do this, but we need to show it to children
to ensure we're getting the duck toy right.
Let's break the deliverable (toy) into 'pieces' ("features")
* color_of_duck
* size_of_duck
* paint_colors_on_duck

Let's take our 'color_of_duck' "feature"

Create a prototype,
REVIEW it with our stakeholders. (children)
they provide feedback (yes/no)

based on that feedback we update the backlog

update the features,
try again until we get a 'yes'

"Try again" is iteration.

Reviews:
PROTOTYPES
Developed within Features
Then REVIEWED with stakeholders
and iterated if necessary.

what if the iteration (afew sequence of steps) itself has problem(s)?

is it possible to identify the details of the problem?
yes. how? analysis.

Prototypes will only be for products? What if the project is about a service?
Prototype: a model:
a 'small piece of reality'
used to demonstrate a product, function, or outcome.

Please, don't try to limit the definition. It will only hurt

your understanding.

can we say this is a try & error method?

This is:
"Fail early, often
in order to quickly come to a better solution"

*****
Empower Team and Stakeholders

Empower - to 'hand over' some of my power

"Delegation"

*****
If we understand our team's strengths, and associate the individuals
 with the work they're strong in
they'll get it right more often
they'll care about getting it right
they'll enjoy the work
they'll be more confident in the work
...

This is one way we can make it easy for the team to be very successful.

The capability of the individuals of the team are primarily through their
COmpetencies:
Skills the ability to perform tasks.
Knowledge information necessary to perform tasks
Attributes behavior and character that guide the
way we do the tasks
- patience
- conflict management
- emotional intelligence
- responsibility, accountability

We will ensure the team understands how to make effective decisions.

Brainstorming:
coming up with a general set of data.
A facilitator standing at a whiteboard
and writing down the ideas the participants are coming up with.
no organization or format.

If we are in early planning (predictive OR agile)

we rely on assumptions.
assumption
* planning factor
* considered to be real, true, certain
* without proof
It's the best idea we have now -
we'll capture it, and when we have something better,
we'll replace it.
Assumptions bring with them a bit of risk.

We replace them with -

ESTIMATES.

estimation:
I take generally reliable data
and by applying a reasonable analysis
generate a reasonably accurate forecast.

These can be
high-level "Rough order of Magnitude" (RoM)
very accurate "Definitive" (actual actions and steps)

Predictive and agile work

is estimated in different manners.
however, both use estimation.

*****
The team will be
responsible: 'noone has to tell me to get my work done'
 accountable: 'The outcome is based on me and my efforts'

when shld we call for a retrospective? whenever there is any issue?

When. Necessary. When it makes the project better.
Generally we want retrospectives to be very very regular (short, easy)
this way they'll turn into a habit,
and we can get regular feedback on what's working and what isn't.

For more discussion, we'll add details later. For a basic understanding refer
to the above definitions: standup, review, retrospective

But would we need retrospective even when things are going well?
Does that mean when everything is going well I get to put my
feet up and read a magazine?

In a perfect world, we are still continuously improving.

* what went well?
* what could have been better?
* if we knew then what we know now, what would we do differently?
This does not infer we're having problems.

We use the output of the team as the primary indicator that

work is progressing.
Progress of the work is used to assess:
Performance of the team
Health of the team (is the team bonding)
contributions of the individuals.

*****
Train Team and Stakeholders

Training: a general activity that assists in confering

competencies:

Coaching: providing support in another or others gaining skill/s.

When the skill is gained, the coach is no longer needed.

Mentoring: providing a relationship in order to support the exploration

practice and demonstration of attributes.

Why mentoring: there are many attributes that require much time to integrate -
self-awareness, emotional intelligence (to name a couple)
this will take time, and lots and lots of experiments and practice.

Training
can incorporate both coaching and mentoring.

You want the training and using teh training in the work to be close together.
the application of the results of training enhances comprehension.
Training also must not get in the way of work, so you will address
scheduling training carefully.

Analysis helps us identify areas of improvement that can be influenced through

training.

*****
We want a team that is generalizing Specialists:
"T-based Skills"
* Depth in their own expertise
 * Breadth in their understanding how their expertise
works with the expertise of others

One more example of T-shaped skills please

BUilding a web service:
There are three parts to building a web application
Amazon,
your favorite fast food app

I want to select a t-based development team:

* select a good user interface designer
* select a good data management developer
* select a good business interface developer

The data will be utilized by the business interface

the user inteface will reflect the results of the
business interface

The team must be t-based.

They must be strong in their areas
they must also understand how their
work and decisions impact the work and decisions of the others.

a lot of time spent on a very incosequential topic.

*****
Pairing (training)
if you have two people going through the same training,
why not have them perfrom the tasks together?
1) it allows them to learn from each other (they have different perspectives)
2) they learn more than if they learned on their own

How do I decide whether to do ANYTHING on my project?

Use the law of "NECESSARY"

We select necessary when

* it will improve project success
* it will minimize project failure.

When you are considering alternatives, ask yourself

Is this necessary?

* if you have to negotiate and arrive at consesus with internal stake

holders etc constantly are you wasting your time at the job?

Consensus -
Will it improve the project
Will it get in the way of teh project?
I can't tell you, unless we understand context.

However, I can tell you that using "necessary" will

help you gather the information you need to decide
when consensus helps and when it hinders.

It's simple, AND it can be very very difficult.

You must set your opinions, perceptions, and expectations aside -
and as humans, we tend to be very very selfish.
for definition of done - to agree the deliverable is usable, they hve to test and
validate right? so how different it is from acceptance criteria

for definition of done - to agree the deliverable is usable, they hve to test and
validate right? so how different it is from acceptance criteria
apologies to take yo back, in terms complete, and functional is there an example
for the exam.

Tim- can u please add all the slides in the dropbox folder ?
Asked this question once.

"I can't." I am under ethical obligation. I have a contract that says I will not.
If I am unethical, how can you trust me as a teacher who discusses ethics?
====================================================
8:38 PM 8/20/2021

Pairing -
I have two team members or stakeholders who need the same
skill or attributes. I suggest they work together and use
the skill together in their work.

If you are the trainer, you want to demonstrate to yourself and

your trainees that your training is effective. You need
to have someway to capture progress

A great way:
* pre-test
* post-test
* what's the difference?

*****
Engaging and supporting virtual teams

1) remote team members still have the same needs

in order to be effective team members.

2) the tools we use to engage and communicate with

our teams define how we fill those needs.

Why all this effort in the manager supporting virtual teams?

1) the virtual worker is greatest at risk
for feeling disengaged and irrelevant

2) the progress of work requires:

the team doing the work
the team being healthy
the members of the team supporting the team

communications
2-way exchange of information
intended or unintended

90% of our time is spent ensuring proper communications

- planning communications
- 'doing' communications
- monitoring communicatinos (and making necessary changes)

Every project benefits from sitting down and discussing (and

agreeing on)
 Communications Management plan
* How we'll get together and agree on communications
Which meetings do we hold?
Who participates?
What information is shared?
What confidential information is necessary
Who is required to release confidential infromation

TIme-box (agile concept)

When we don't have a good time estimate
we place an artificial estimate around it.
It's inaccurate, but provides an initial assumptino
of duration.

After we've gone through, we have a better estimate.

*****
ANalysis is a tool that helps us refine our understanding
We capture relevant data
we apply a reasonably appropriate analysis
we determine a reasonably accurate forecast

An "estimate" or estimating

Variance analysis - looking for 'differences'

Review:
Where do we get most of our data?
From the work we do.

Standup (pre-work meeting, usually the team, sometimes stakeholder/s)

* What did we get done yesterday? progress
* Where are we now? status
* What do we expect to complete tomorrow? forecast
* What are our issues, risks?

Review (during the work, team collaborating with stakeholder/s)

Within each PBI, we will develop a prototype and demonstrate
it to the stakeholder/s. They will provide feedback.

REtrospective (post-work meeting, usually team, sometimes stakeholder/s)

* what did we do well?
* what could we have done better?
* if we knew what we know now, what would we have done different?

We take the results of all these meetings and integrate them back
into the PBIs and teh backlog.

*****
Best Practice in virtual working
We look at shared commitment
This is a better metric than individual accomplishment

*****
Building a shared understanding...
If we don't work at understanding the project in the same way
we won't even be able to gain project approval.
Team Charter a 'shared understanding' of teh team
values and norms

Project Charter a 'shared understanding' of the project

objectives and high-level details

Shared understanding
Concensus

Generally:
Vision: 'What does success look like at the end?'
Objective 'WHat is the purpose of the deliverable/work?'

Project Charter "Project Document"

* authorizes the project
* provides the PM authority

In comparison, Team charter:

the document that contains
team values
team norms
what we need to agree on in order to work together.

Predictive project generally allow us to capture enough information

to develop a project charter.

Agile: we might not have relevant data to build a project charter.

Instead, we may elect to use:
Project Overview Statement...

Project Charter:
We need a box to cover the switch on the tool. Every time the
tool is moved, teh switch is triggered and the tool turns on.

Project Overview Statement:

Your director sends you an email:

'Please get with the shift manager on the manufacturing floor,

One of the tools is a safety risk and they need help in a
solution.'

Project charter
the authorization of the project
rovides a high-level analysis of the
details and objective/s of the project.
Also contains
* project approval
* assignment of the PM.

Project Overview STatement

'Can' also be a replacement for the Project Charter.
Instead of a high-level analysis, it may provide
merely intent and vision
Vision: "What does success look like at the end?"
Intent: 'Initial direction we will go on the project.'

In Agile, since we don't have enough information to

 build a project charter (SOMETIMES), it is often
reasonable to replace the charter with a project
overview statement.

One of the first things we do upon project approval:

Predictive? Agile? Hybrid?
Based on our understanding of the work
and the characteristics of the work environment.

* a clear understanding of work and environment?

Predictive

* unclear, unknown, uncertain? complex?

Agile

*****
Once you have concensus on the objective:
You can go down your predictive path (we'll explore in section 2)
You can go down agile. We'll also explore this in section 2.

This is only a preview.

Kickoff is a time to ensure everyone understands the

'destination' of the project.

Gives clarity to how we will determine the path.

Agile:
* We will not collect requirements.

Predictive project:
"We need a box that fits over the manufacturing tool switch."
We need to determine:
the box needs to be black
the box needs to be 20x20x20 cm
"requirements"

These are valuable when you're developing a solid plan.

Agile project:
"We need a solution that ensures the safety of the workers
using the tool. We'll start with a box that fits over the tool,
but we may change our direction."

Let's look at
use cases: processes the workers go through
in using the tool

user stories: the description of the workers,

their needs and objectives

We'll start off with creating features from tehse use cases and user
stories:

Size_of_box feature
Color_of_box feature.

f WE'll repeat or iterate these features

and show them to the stakeholders
 for size of box,
we'll create a paper box and bring it to the tool users
on the factory floor.
we may get broad ansewrs:

1) great! Perfect -
2) it needs to be bigger/smaller
3) why don't you just put a handle on the tool here
and here? that's a better solution
4) Did anyone look at the user manual in thedesk on the
back wall?

Requirements are great in predictive

and lock you into a solutino in agile which may not be the best.

Example: "Build a university registration system

that ties together the functions
of students, counselors, and professors."

* we will collect other ('agile') items / artifacts

- Use Cases
A description of a process
either being created, changed
or removed.

"The student walks up to the university kiosk,

enters registration information, and submits
for approval."

- User Stories
a description of stakeholders, their
needs and objectives.
"I, as a student need to request and submit
my registration in order for it to be approved."
stakeholder student
need request and submit registration
objective receive registraion approval

we're looking at a high-level framework

that we can repeat to get feedback from our stakeholders.

My understanding: User Stories are centered on the result and the benefit of the
thing you're describing, whereas Use Cases can be more granular, and describe how
your system will act (Business process)

User story
REsult, beneift -> objective

Use cases process (set of sequential tasks)

Are we describing the same thing? Yes.

*****
User stories are features. This is a comment.
 We USE user stories and processes and major project objectives
in order to define our product backlog items.
"PBIs"

a 'feature' may be one PBI.

can be one or more user story that defines
a component of functionality and value
(more on this later)

a possible feature

user stories are more on stake holder needs/requirement?

Before I'm able to answer one question, I'm getting two more.
Please help me.

from Pooja chatta to All Participants:

User stories are Epics inAgile?
I will define epics later. They are like features.

I am providing an overview, and you are asking me for specific details.

We are not at that point of the lecture yet.

Agile:
Your stakeholders want all the precise details,
yet you are trying to tell them
don't worry about the details; all we need to lay out
is the big picture pieces,
and by the team and stakeholders
epxloring the big pieces together,
they will expose the details quickly.

Predictive focuses on requirements

and uses them to develop a solid, predictable plan.

Agile focuses on
general processes
users, needs, objectives

and builds them into groups of work.

Through Agile we can focus on a deliverable which more user

friendly at the end, Correct Tim?

Even better -
We can use the flexibility
to increase functionality (it can do better, more)
to increase value
get to a solution quicker

My agile 'schedule' is called a backlog.

Plz also share..How we are doing the project cost/budgeting and if thr is any delay
in sprint how we are mentioning same in terms of cost?
 This is a REALLY rough estimate. We set that expectation when
we get consensus on running this as agile.

AND - what about the schedule? How do we build a schedule around

no duration estiamtes?

a time-box is a really rough estimate of time

for a feature estimate.
- without any estimate, we have no value of time.

with a time-box
* we establish a sense of urgency
(we don't have all the time in the world)
* we also create an initial estimate
(we'll continually refine it as we progress).

f Features commonly repeat, or 'iterate'

With each 'iteration', we refine our estimates.
inside this iteration, we demonstrate our
prototypes with the stakeholders and collect feedback.

With all these features, we may not need a schedule.

Let's create a task board....

*****
Consensus: a type of agreement

We all agree.
We may not agree on the result that the decision supported,
but we do agree to support the team in its decision-making.

Consensus: "ensuring teh unity of the team, even when we don't

share the same idea."

People seldom agree.

People also need groups.

I'm okay with people having their own ideas - it gives them sense
of value and self respect.

If they can do that and still support the team,, I'll capture their
opinions - this might be valuable later.

consensus: 'the unity of the team is more important than the

direction of the decision.'

If you delegate decision-making, it empowers the team

it provides them more respect, and
puts the votes in the hands of experts.

Does this vote need a simple yes/no?

"ROman Voting" thumbs up yes
thumbs down no

Does this vote need a range decision?

I really don't like this.
I don't like this
I don't care
 I really care
"fist of five"

Do we need a little discussion as we go through the

voting? "Polling"

Do we want to use some level of prioritization

based on a ranged vote?

More than two options.

Let's provide everyone with a finite set of 'dots'.
* pieces of paper
* sticky notes
* drawing on a whiteboard with dry-erase markers.

Everyone distributes the dots across all the options.

All dots on one option?
Dots equally distributed across one option?
Each voter does what they consider the right vote.

*****
Duration estimates in agile are really complex.
You can't use time units.

Let's measure work by

* how complex it is
* how uncertain it is
* how unknown it is

We'll define a unit that measures

* amount of complexity
* amount of uncertainty

Walking through water is not too uncertain, and not too complex
Walking through mud is very uncertain and very complex.

Let's give walking through mud 5 units

Let's give walking through water 1 unit.

Let's give these units a name.

"Story Points" -> units in complexity and uncertainty.

If I have a feature really complex/uncertain, it gets a lot.

If I have feature pretty well understood with little risk, it gets a few.

Even further...

Let's call a feature

with 1-3 story points small
with 3-5 story points medium
with 5-13 story points large

Let's organize our features into these categories

DOing all these actions
is called "T-shirt sizing"

Prioritizing your backlog features based on level of uncertainty

and complexity (measured in number of story points)
 * as we go through our iterations...
we will get more realistic estimates of
our feature durations

we'll come to learn that (example)

2 story point features = 3 days
5 story point features = 7 days
8 story ont features = 12 days

all of a sudden we don't just have benchmarks

we have duration estimates and a forecast.

complexity, uncertainty generally are approached in similar manners.

I'm using them interchangeably for this purpose.

more generally:
our experts determine number of story points
and analyze and vote on rpirotization.

prioritization in agile features can also be driven by

organizational preference
the marketing feature may be an early feature
because 'that's the way this organization likes to do things'
stakeholder need / expectation
deliverable requirement
the experts will decide what drives prioritization and
the priority fo the features.

I think, story points are for the developers...

WHen I say experts
I include stakeholders and team
when I say team, that includes developers (they do the work)

In the 1990s, agile had many different names and types

scrum
XP (extreme programming)
FDD (feature-driven design)
agile
adaptive

2001: they all got together and agreed on what agile was.

Extreme programming is still an agile methodology, but

not discussed alot
primarily for sofware development.

One of the issues XP fixed was communication

Software developers like to call their
features
0x00_black
TheIteratingSwitchColor

when we bring the prototype to the stakeholders, they'll

get lost in the terminology

XP agreed to use XP Metaphors

"Exit_Program_button"
 We have XP Metaphors and features that fix problems with
communication in agile.

another problem
Example: you're interviewing a stakeholder.
You: 'What do you need this function to do?'
They: 'I need it to be responsive and not have
me wait more than 7 seconds.'

you: 'No - what's the objective?'

They: 'It should have its data stored in another
database.'

you: 'No. I"m not asking you to design the solution.

I need you to tell me what result you need
and why you need it.'

This is one reason we use user stories.

are designed to collect
"I, as a <<insert user>>, need <<insert need>> in order to <<objective.>>"

You: "I'm handing you an invisible box.

Don't tell me what the box looks like.
Tell me what you need the box to do
and why you need it."
game: "Product Box"

In AGile, you focus on needs and objectives early,

in order to describe pieces of work that you will use
to explore further.

====================================================
Starting the project
Determining the papropriate methodology

*****
When we select objectives, or components of the project:
we attempt to ensure they are SMART (acronym)
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
realistic
Timely/time-bound

Business Case:
Project document
Defines
The business value

GENERALLY an input into developing the project charter.

"This project has the potential for generating 20% RoI

"This project can break even within 4 years."

What if our project is agile, and we don't have

enough information to build a business case

"Business Needs document"

How it is different than balance sheet
balance sheet: finance/business document
that tracks and analyzes the financial health of a company/organization

* An idea is a project (PM is deployed) once we have the business

case approved. Is business case preparation a responsibility of a PM?
business case is one input into the Charter
Charter
* what headers come under business doc?
We can look at the business case in the PMBOK in a few minutes.

Is Business Needs doc similar to BRD?

Business needs document is like business case
it represents the VALUE

Business Requirements Document

can also represent functionality

Do we need to keep revision history in Business needs documents since its agile and
may have changes ?
yes. COnfiguration management is embraced by agile and predictive.

Implementation means:
'move it from the project into operations.'

do you have a quick visual of a project charter

just a sample - which shows a basic format

*****
Rolling wave planning - a 'form' of progressive elaboration....

Progressive Elaboration:
- Progress: we move forward
- Elaborate: we add detail

Build a Data Center

----------------------
Application & Data inventory
Server & Support Architecture
Data
POwer
Thermal Management
Facilities Design
Physical and Data Security

Iteration 1: we attempt to gain consensus

Rolling wave: a "form" of progressive elaboration

It starts with:
- we move forward (we "iterate")
- we add detail

It adds
Near term work is defined in detail
while Far term work is kept at a high level...
Build a Data Center
----------------------
Application & Data inventory
Server & Support Architecture
Data
POwer
Thermal Management
Facilities Design
Physical and Data Security

?
"How many square feet are required for the data center?"
We need to
- plan and work through the early phases
- and keep the facilities design phase at a high level.

Agile - COordination of Team and stakeholders drives the project forward.

Predictive - Plans drives the project forward
Hybrid - a 'combination'
*we may start off predictive and convert to agile
* we may start off agile and convert to predictive
* we may have phases that are predictive and
other phases that are agile

Adaptive: 'self-organizing'
include
agile
iterative
incremental
(we'll discuss this more tomorrow)
Are sprint planning and standup the same?

Sprint planning developes the project schedule (in agile)

Standup: captures data we will use to analyze project progress (agile)

When I see 3-5 people confused on fundamental concepts, I will repeat.

ITs that
1) I want to ensure we have consensus on comprehension
2) I want to ensure we all pass the finish line together

* Tim - Team members working in totally different time zones (may be with time
difference of 9-10 hrs), how the daily stand-ups can be handled in a better way so
that everyone can attend the daily stand-up?

* I can attempt to capture as many questions as possible

and I will answer post-session and in the forum
and in the session notes.

Don't see your question answered? Please understand,

and remind me with respect.
====================================================
5:49 PM 8/21/2021
Selecting the Appropriate Methodology

The main category:

Adaptive "self-organizing"

The categories:
Agile: "responding to change"

Iterative: "Repeats"

Incremental: "Adds detail"

Agile, as an adaptive methodology

is both iterative and incremental.

Predictive: "The plan drives success"

Waterfall:
- Predictive
- All the work is sequential (none of the work overlaps)

Example: Convert a nuclear facility to a public park

* Decommission the facility
* Clean up nuclear waste
* Build the park

Hybrid:
 COmbined life cycle approaches:

"Design and launch a new product"

* product development (predictive)
* product marketing (agile)

Adaptive Life Cycle:

Design and launch a smart phone
* We start with the basic phone
get it out quickly so consumers can explore it

* We launch the phone with better memory

* We launch the phone with a better camera

* We launch the phone with lots and lots of apps

1) We get funcionality out into the hands of the consumers early

2) We get VALUE out into the hands of the consumers early

Apple
World of Warcraft
Microsoft

Many many commerical product companies use this.

BOTH iterative and incremental.

WE used agile as hunter-gatherers.

- We learned to build pots.
- We learned to build pots that were
- long-term use (firing them into ceramics)
- short-term use (remaining clay)
- we learned to elaborate on pots
- to carry liquids
- to carry dry goods

- to store things
- to use things immediately

Agile:
An approach that is both iterative and incremental
to refine work and deliver incrementally.

Iterative, Incremental methods use

Progressive Elaboration

Progressive "moves forward"

Elaboration "adds detail"
technique that is used often in both predictive and
agile methodologies

(We'll discuss later)

*****
Planning Managing Scope

Scope is
* the deliverable WHAT
 * how we'll create it HOW

Schedule
Takes scope what and how
and assigns a "WHEN"

Project Charter "WHY"

Scope:
* The deliverable in its end state "WHAT we'll have at the end"
"Product" scope

* The work required to create it "How we'll reach our destination"

"Project" scope

Predictive will discover the exact scope early in the project

we will use REQUIREMENTS

Agile will discover scope as a general framework of work

and through iterations and reviews will refine to
the necessary result quickly

*****
Scope Management Plan
* How we will
* Plan and develop our scope
* Use that scope to control changes
Scope control ("Control Scope")

* Use that scope to determine if the work is yet complete

Scope validation ("Validate Scope")

If you really want to be clear when defining something

You start off saying
* It is this.

YOu then say

* It is NOT that.

When you research and define this, you also have to

be very clear in understanding THAT.

Is this change necessary?

What does the result look with the change?
What does the result look with NOT the change?
Alternatives analysis

ALWAYS consider your alternatives

Not only what we want
ALSO
What we DON'T want

"The project requires this or it won't be successful"

THAT is a requirement.

'The box must be black' product/project requirement?

product
The DELIVERABLE
 The work must be complete before
November. product/project requirement?
project
The WORK required to complete it

We have requirements for

* The project (the work)
* the product (the deliverable)

*****
Predictive SCOPE BASELINE
Agile BACKLOG

Tolerance: "acceptable variation"

'we can have a little variation without being too concerned'

We can finish the work sometime between the end of August and the middle
of November. ("acceptable variation")

*****
Additional planning factors

Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEFs)

* The team doesn't control these
* these do Constrain the project

Constraint: "Limiting Factor"

Organizational Process Assets (OPAs)

* process documents, checklists, and other assets
* knowledge bases that carry previous projects' lessons learned

they show us good practice (how to easily be successful)

they shorten the planning time

*****
Focus Groups a 'subset' of my stakeholders, using some functional
or non-functional characteristic

"Build a university class registration system"

Focus groups may include
- students
- professors
- counselors

We may ask certain questions to general stakeholders

We may wish to ask specfic questions to our focus groups

FUnctional characteristics
students study
professors profess
counselors counsel

on-campus resident
off-campus resident It doesn't describe
a function
yet it describes a defining characteristic
 on-campus residents can use kiosks
off-campus residents can use apps

Each tool I provide you has not only the purpose I'm showing.
On the exam, the purpose I'm showing is generally where you'll
see it asked.
in your work, these tools are really really general and have broad
application

Questionnairs, surveys
Good for collecting 'general'information

Focus groups
Good for collecting 'specific' information

Example:
You are going on-site with the client in 2 weeks.
Send out a survey to everyone right now and collect
the results before you get on-site.

This provides a broad framework of understand you

can further explore through interviews with focus groups.

Benchmark: External reference (data)

used in analysis.

Telecommunications
"Telecordia Standard"
'When you tie cables to cable ladders, tie them down
every 18 inches. You can use waxed thread, velcro, zip-ties.'

Benchmark.

An agile benchmark: a time-box (sprint)

What else can be a benchmark in Agile?

our feature prototypes?
The schedule / cost results of previous feature iterations...

Baseline: a 'type' of benchmark

"An initial estimate" (scope, cost, schedule)
"used in planning and control"

Interviews:
You can structure them so you get more than just yes/no answers.
You can ask 'open-ended' questions and get more information
than you would have predicted.

"Interviews/Survey can be done only with stake holders? considering to get

more information on requirement or project"

Remember -
"Stakeholders" (especially considering its definition)
includes
* team
* sponsor
* and EVEN YOU.
 Stakeholder
- can impact my work
- can be impacted my work
- can perceive to be impacted by my work

*****
When we have alternatives we need to make decisions:
* voting - an easy form based on prioritization of number of votes
* autocratic - is this a good way to make decisions?
* What about safety decisions?
* What about legal decisions?

* multi-criteria decision analysis

we may want to consider a large set of criteria
- it will take more time to collect data for analysis
- it can add complexity
it will if performed appropriately, result
in a better outcome

Do you want some ice cream?

compare this to

do you want ice cream -

in a bowl, in a cone?
with toppings, without?
chocoloate, vanilla, strawberry?

Voting types:
Unanimity
"We all agree"
sometimes requires consensus
(agree on supporting the team, if not the outcome)

Majority
"Greater than 50%"
51%? 66%? 75%? 84%? 95%? 99%?

if you declare this vote being decided on a majority you

will declare the value of the majority before votes are
collected.

otherwise, you may be perceived to be attempting to sway

the vote...

"Whole domocracy is working majority voting..."

Plurality
When you cannot reach a majority, you use the greatest
ratio (look at political votes)
even if it is < 50%.

You may have too many options and not a lot of voters...

*****
Data representation (reports and graphs)

* affinity diagrams
 ("Affinity" similarity)

'placing your data into categories'

* YOu have a group of about 20-25 people.

* YOu break them reandomly up into groups of 5-6
* YOu have them discuss a topic
* you bring everyone back for a summary

You will collect

- a large group of similar topics
- a few groups will have unique topics

*****
Facilitated workshop

- workshop: extended meeting

- facilitated: a person is designated as a 'facilitator'; their role
is to guide the process, not participate in the discussion and voting

Context Diagram
Graphical representation
of the business environment ('context')
to show interactions of the components

"How context diagram act as tool for scope managemet plan?"

1) your deliverable will not function in a vacuum - it must
be designed with the business environment in mind
2) the context of the business environment will provide
critical requirmeents for the deliverable to function
within the business environment.

*****
Storyboard - a graphical representation of
a process.

"The student walks up to the registration kiosk, selects the preferred

classes, and submits for approval"

In this case, we're using an agile use case as our 'process' to be

represented in a storyboard.

A "flow chart" can also be defined as a type of 'story board'

These storyboards can be used as prototypes in features.

*****
Model: a simplified version of reality
used to demonstrate a small set of characteristics

Prototype: a model
used to elicit feedback from stakeholders

If our feature is Size_of_box

we can construct a paper box as a prototype
and bring it with the stakeholders down to the factory
floor to determine fit.

Requirements Documentation: project document (a container of project information)

that lists the project requirements
and their characteristics

Example:
"This university registration system must support the
simultaneous use of up to 10,000 users."

Requirements will be quantifiable -> "SMART"

Specific
Measurable
Achieveable
Realistic
TImely/TIme-bound

Scope Management Plan

How we'll develop and use scope

Requirements Management plan

How we'll develop and use requirements

WE consider both:
1) scope is used not only in how and what
but also as an input in when (schedule palnning)
how much (cost planning) with what items (resource planning)

2) requirements are used not only in scope

they are used to validate the deliverable not only manage
the accuracy of scope

*****
Requirements Traceability Matrix
Links Product requirements
From their origin
To the deliverables

This document allows you to 'trace' or capture progress

of completion of scope against plan, benchmark.

We use all this analysis of requirements to create:

a SCOPE STATEMENT (P. 154, 6ed PMBOK)

Describes:
project scope
deliverable (product scope)
assumptions
planning factors
considered to be real, true, certain
without proof
constraints
'limiting factors'

defines
* what 'is' in scope
* what 'is not' in scope
"Scope boundaries"

'All and only' <= ('this is describing scope')

 Requirements:
- The box will be black
- The box will be 20x20x20 cm

Scope Statement
'The box needs to be black to match the rest of the manufacturing tool.
It also needs to be 20x20x20 cm to fit over the switch, yet still
fit within the switch housing.'
This describes our 'all and only'

In building our scope, we -

* identified requirements
* developed our scope statement

Scope statement come after requirement document or prior .....

Requirement document also limit boundary of scope (All and Only)

Scope statement is a result of analyzing and integrating

our requirements.

Whenever we need clarity in what we agree the scope is,

we ALWAYS go back to the scope statement.

Integration: 'coordination, consolidation, unification'

"Tying them all into a single whole unit"

"Tim, why do we call Product analysis a tool and not a concept. When you say tool
it should be installable, may or may not have license. please define tool?"

If you dig into the PMBOK (beyond the slides)

There are 49 PM Processes that do all this work.
Each has inputs and outputs
Each has tools (nouns)
techniques (verbs)
that turn these inputs into outputs

if analysis is a verb (and it is)

we call it a 'technique'

It's great to understand these ITTOs (inputs, tools, techniques, outputs),

but
the exam doesn't generally go into this level. It does help to understand
these
for a conceptual understanding of the framework.

Do I need to memorize all this? It's beneficial for you, but not necessary.
What is necessary is to consistently score 80-85% correct on your daily
practice questions. That determines whether you have enough information
to pass the exam.

Building the scope:

* Identify requirements
* develop scope statement
* develop WOrk Breakdown Structure (WBS) (p. 160 6ed PMBOK)

Work Package Most discrete (lowest level detail)

 component on a WBS

You can consider a work package (VERY informally)

as a "summary task"

What is output/result expected out of WBS

The WBS IS the output of decomposing (breaking down) the scope statement
REAL question
- What is the PURPOSE of the WBS?

WBS Dictionary Project Document

captures extra details regarding WBS elements
used for further planning and control

I have the team in a conference room and we're developing the

WBS.
2 engineers:
1 - "Didn't we use those software developers from
Germany for similar work last year?"
2 - "Yes - and I think they cost about $35 / hr...."

PM: 'Let's get back on task; we're not discussing

resource or cost...'

This is valuable information and I want to save it.

The elements of teh WBS Dictionary ARE NOT a GANTT Chart.

We'll use the elements of the WBS dictionary TO CREATE a GANTT Chart.

Capture requirements
Develop a scope statement
Decompose scope statement into WBS and WBS Dictionary

We gather the Scope Statement, WBS, WBS dictionary together

and call it...

SCOPE BASELINE.
- my initial scope estimate for the project.
My most crisp and complete definition of project and product scope
all
only
"HOW and WHAT"

Charter = a high level discription of my project

provides authorization of project and assignement of PM
"WHY"

Decomposition:
Breaking down into smaller components

Right now, we have decomposed the scope statement into WBS elements

Later, in schedule planning, we'll decompose the work packages

into "activities"

If a Work Package = "Concrete Pad"

 Activity (a SCHEDULE, not a SCOPE component)
will look like:
mix concrete (2 laborers, 15 minutes, 6 bags concrete)
then
pour concrete (1 laborer, 10 minutes)
then
smooth concrete (1 laborer, 10 minutes)

Activities are a WHEN item, not a how or what

we know this, since they include
* duration
* sequence
* resource
(this is too much detail for the Scope baseline,
but perfect for the schedule)

The WBS is not only good in

controlling scope

It is an indexing system for the entire project.

The Scope Statement defines scope boundaries

WBS organizes all the data and information for the project.
BOth are used in validation and control of scope

*****
Control: analysis, review, decisions, authorizations, meetings...

Control Account

but first....

Milestone:
A control point on the schedule (the 'when' part of control)
example:

Finance: "We need that cost breakdown for construction

every Tuesday 8 am."
I need to place a milestone on the schedule
that reminds me to send finance a cost report.

Control Account:
A control point on the WBS (the 'level of detail' part of control)

Finance: "We don't need the breakdown by individual buildings.

Just give us a summary."

Where Milestones establish the 'when' of control (schedule)

Control Accounts establish the level of detail (WBS)

We don't only control cost.

We control schedule, resources, quality, risk, etc etc etc etc.

The WBS and establishing control accounts allow us to organize

and use effectively the WBS as a grand indexing system for our analysis.

*****
Agile and Scope
Instead of a Scope Baseline
WE have a
Backlog (Product Backlog)

Scope Statement is the ALL and ONLY planned work

Backlog is "Expected" work

Where the SCOPE BASELINE

is made of scope statement WBS and WBS Dictionary
and
the WBS is made of phases and work packages

Backlog includes
Product Backlog items
(for our purposes)
Feature
"A service that fulfills a stakeholder need"
NOT a Requirement.
"Color of box"
"I need to submit my class registration"

Epics
* a large, related body of work (sounds like a phase)
* intended to hierarchically organize
* a set of requirements and business outcomes

Features: single 'work packages' that are defined from needs

Epics: collections of features

Predictive:
Building the scope:
* Identify requirements
* develop scope statement
* develop WOrk Breakdown Structure (WBS)
we call this a baseline

Agile
Building teh backlog
* identify
use cases (processes and activities)
user stories (stakeholders, needs, objectives)
objectives
* integrate these into features
* we organize some features into epics (when necessary)
* we bring this all together into a backlog

Some agile projects also get very very complicated

Instead of using planning packages,
We go into the iterations of the features.
Each feature and its iterations
can also have backlogs.

If features don't include sequence,

I can constantly re-prioritize my features based on changing
needs of users.
User Story:
"As a <<insert user>>, I need <<insert need>> in order to <<insert
objective>>."
Used to gather stakeholders, needs, objectives
WITHOUT
defining requirements.
Why?
Defining requirements sets you down a path you might not
want to go on this project.
*****
- Acceptance Criteria
- a set of conditions
- required to be met
- before deliverables are accepted

- Definition of Done
- Criteria needing to be met
- so that a deliverable can be considered
- ready for customer use

Acceptance criteria define acceptance: "It can pass inspection"

Definition of Done define useability: "It is usable"

Definition of Ready
Criteria needing to be met
so that a deliverable can be considered
ready for team to start the work

- Work Authorization System (WAS)

* a written method that sanctions the right work is done
in the right order.
* It also provides direction that enables a team member
to begin work on a specific activity or work package.

*****
Variance Analysis "Difference"
IN predictive:
generally, we look at 'actual' compared to 'plan'

In Agile
generally, we look at 'actual' and progress,
compared to benchmark or prior iteration.

Trend Analysis "change over time" ('slope' in math)

Where variance can help us with status

Trend can help us with forecast

*****
Plan and manage schedule
WBS gave us our how and what
NOW
we'll use our WPs
and decompose them further into a when

Schedule:
Primary component:
 activity
- sequence
- duration
- resource

THe start of my first activity will be the start of my project

The end of my last activity will be the end of my project.

*****
Schedule Management Plan
* How we will
* define our activities
* sequence our activities
* determine activity effort / duration
* determine schedule duration
* determine schedule baseline
* control schedule

*****
Next week we'll discover 2 Agile methods
to work with a schedule:

* Iterative Scheduling with a backlog

we work with a prioritized list
we iterate through prioritized features until the feature is complete.

* On demand scheduling ("Flow")

IF all the features are really similar
We can just have a stack of features
and when the team is not working, they grab a new feature from
the top of the pile.

* sorry to making you answer this... you could have answer this...
WBS looks more feasible for Waterfall...am I right
We also need something like a WBS in agile.
Don't we need to organize financial data for finance
on agile projects too?
Breaking down costs
by phase
by work package
by ...
* Are we not creating WBS in Agile, right?
If we had a WBS in Agile
What would a "work package" be?
We'll explore this later.
====================================================
9:17 PM 8/27/2021
Planning and Managing Schedule

Product Owner another role: (usually Agile)

They 'own'
the product life cycle

Much like the PM owns

the proJECT life cycle

Product Life Cycle looks like:

We'll have a product that we will
design * project
launch into operations * project
maintain * OPERATION
change * project
remove when obsolete * project

Product life cycle can be bult from many

Project life cycles.

Product owner owns the objective for the PRODUCT

Project Mgr owns the objective for the PROJECT

Agile:

Iterative scheduling with a backlog -

p. 24 Agile practice guide - 'iteration-based agile'

Project Manager can get with the PRoduct owner and plan for
the project:
* first we'll develop a basic phone
* then we'll develop a basic phone with better memory
* then we'll develop that phone with a better camera
* then we'll develop that phone with lots of apps.

Each one of these will be a release.

Each iteration will be its own mini-release.

That way, we can release
* earlier
* more often

Deliver value and functionality as soon as possible.

Doesn't work well when features require connection to

other features in complex ways.

When you have features like:

we need to dig trenches,
and we need to lay cable as we run it through
 conduits
we need to be preparing radios and power supplies
at the same time...

*****
On-demand scheduling ("Flow" - p. 24 Agile Practice Guide)

All the features tend to be similar.

When a team member is available, they take the next feature
from the "stack" (backlog)

We use this when:

all the features are pretty similar (there's no specific
priority)

Software development: we have lots of pieces of code that are

the same, and take the same time.

Example: Video game:

elf_sword
dwarf_shield
Mage_armor

* manages equal utilization of team members (they grab more

work when free)

Doesn't work well when features require connection to

other features in complex ways.

"So can we say Agile itself dont work with complex dependancy features?"
Yes - that's a valid statement.

*****
For our purposes:
"activity" is a predictive artifact (generally)
"task" is an agile artifact (generally)

Activity: a distinct portion of work

performed during a project.

'Concrete Pad' work package

* Mix concrete activity
* Pour concrete activity
* smooth concrete activity

will include: duration, sequence, resources

Feature
"A service that fulfills a stakeholder need"
NOT a Requirement.

'I, as a student ('stakeholder') need to register for

classes in order to graduate.'

Right now, we can say

Predictive Agile
---------- -----
 Scope Backlog
Work Package Feature
'Phase' Epic
Activity ??Task??

*****
Epic a large collection of user stories
(can incorporate multiple time-boxes)

Epic ...Epics
* a large, related body of work (sounds like a phase)
* intended to hierarchically organize
* a set of requirements and business outcomes

Phase large collection of work in predictive scope

and schedule, generally defining a specific skill.

Deterimining progress, status of features:

What are my features accepted (past inspection)?

What are my features remaining?

Ratio of completed work compared to ratio of remaining work...

*****
Milestone:
0-duration activity ("point")
on the schedule - when we are to apply control.

- deciding to continue with the project

- deciding to move to the next phase
- reviewing the current phase for completion
- making other decisions, analysis, review meetings

are Phase gate is same as milestone?

Milestone can be placed at a phasegate, if you are
going to apply control there.

Phase gate: 'an entry/exit point betweenphases'

PMBOK - a 'good/"natural" place to apply control.'

since ending of Phase is Milestone,Can Epic can be related to Milestone?

An epic defines the work
A milestone defines the control.

An epic can have a milestone at its begining, throughout,

at the end (depending on where control is needed)

schedule Milestone marks the "when" of control

scope Control Acct marks the "level of detail" of control

*****
Predictive planning:
We'll decompose work packages into their activities
2 documents:
* activity list
* activity attribues
 We determine the activity dependencies
"Sequence"
Predecessors ('which goes first?')
Successors ('which follows?')

Dependency

Mandatory "hard logic"

'inherent in the nature of the work'

"We must let the concrete dry and cure before

we build on it."

Discretionary "soft logic"

'based on preference of the team'

"WE may decide to build the servers at our desks and move
them to the lab, or take all the components to the lab
and build them there."

External "outside the project" Between activities and non-

project activities.

'We must get approval from city hall before we

break ground on construction.'

Internal "inside the project"

'Within the project team's control'

"As soon as the team has brought concrete mix to the

worksite, they can start building the concrete foundation."

*****
Relationships:
The start/finish of one activity is related to
the start/finish of another.

Finish-to-Start One activity must finish, then another activity can start.
"we must finish all the concrete work before we frame
the house."

"Most common"
"NO OVERLAP"

FInish-to-finish One activity must finish, then another activity can finish.
"We must finish the electrical and plumbing work, then
we can finish putting up the walls."

"May have SOME overlap."

Start-to-Start One activity must start, then another activity can start.
"We must start collecting at least some data before we
start analyzing."

"May have SOME overlap."

Start-to-FInish One activity must start, then another activity can finish.
 The night guard can only clock out after the day guard
has clocked in.

We can remove the old server after the new server is

online and operational.

We can decommission the old manufacturing tool as soon

as its replacement is functional.

in the business environment, this represents...

Continuity.
the ongoing operations must be protected and maintained.

REQUIRES overlap.

Start to Finish relationship, the Finish of Second Activity

is dependent on the Start of First Activity
also, the finish of the first activity
is dependent on the start of the second.
first activity: night guard duty
2nd activity: day guard duty

The result of establishing relationships and sequencing:

a "Schedule network diagram"
- activities and sequences
Precedence diagramming method (sequencing) will assist us.

we also determine (p. 192 6ed PMBOK)

* lags
amount of time a succeeding activity will be delayed
in relationship to a preceding activity:

we will finish the concrete work preceding activity

we will wait 2 weeks lag
we will start the house foundation succeeding activity

* leads
amount of time a succeeding activity will be Advanced
in relationship to a preceding activity

We will start the kitchen build out before

the landscaping is finished.

Leads may create overlap, or may not.

*****
Duration estimates

Effort - "Total work required."

1 hamburger requires 5 minutes to cook
5 hamburgers require 25 minutes to cook
whether they all cook at the same time
or not.
Duration - "Time from start to end"
assumption: 1 cook can cook 1 hamburger at a time.

Hamburgers Cooks Effort Duration

------------------------------------------------------------------
1 1 5 minutes 5 minutes
5 1 25 minutes 25 minutes
1 5 5 minutes 5 minutes (4 cooks standing around)
5 5 25 minutes 5 minutes

IN order to derive duration, we need effort and resources.

Does it means Effort estimation is not only in time or but also

in number of resources as well
Effort is effort regardless of resources.
We can estimate effort without our resource estimates.

We need our resource estimates in order to determine duration.

4 Cooks Standing around means Overallocation of resources

correct.
*****
Efforts dont have relation to skill & competency ?
cooking hamburgers = 5 minutes
have defined skills and competencies.
what they DON'T have is how many cooks.
*****

In estimating duration,
we "review the risk register"

Issue: has occurred, is occurring

MIGHT impact

Risk: MIGHT occur

If it does, WILL impact

We need to add risks to our schedule some way.

When we first started out in Project Management,

Our supervisor said,
"Just take 10% of the schedule, add it to the end.
We'll call this 'buffer'."

Buffer is not that accurate. It is also

NOT GOOD PRACTICE.

A better way:

Reserve,
Reserve analysis

Reserve: The amount of time, schedule I add to an

activity to cover the response to a risk
if it is to occur.
 Reserve
Analysis: estimation of the risk occurring and responding
to that risk if it occurs.

20% chance we will have to get gas, causing a 20 minute

delay to our schedule.

The reserve we are estimating is "contingency" reserve.

Reserve for IDENTIFIED risks. (Known Unknowns)
If we can identify them, we'll quantify the reserve
and add it to our schedule/budget.

Why is this good practice?

* more precise estimate than'buffer'
* duration is associated with the specific activity within
which it occurs.

*****
Developing schedule:
we tie together activities, sequences
schedule network diagrams
durations, leads, lags, reserve

WE estimate the Schedule Model

- Schedule Data - raw data from which the other schedule model
components are developed.

we may have unique questions we need to ask.

"How many bulldozers (heavy construction equipment) are
we going to use in September?"

- Project Schedule
My running schedule estimate, used for control and analysis.
We'll compare the modified project schedule against the baseline.
this will allow us to compare initial forecast to current
forecast as well.

- Schedule Baseline
My initial schedule estimate, used for further planning
and control.

- Project Calendar
What does this provide that the other components don't?
non-work time.
weekends, holidays, vacations.
how many hours per day we will be working.

*****
GANTT chart
a 'type' of schedule network diagram
Includes activities, sequence, duration
*AND* completion as a%age. <=== "important detail"

Schedule Network Diagrams

'Precedence diagram'
'Activity on Node' (AON)

Where the activities are in the shapes

the arrows are specific to relationships
Critical Path:
- The longest path on a precedence diagram.
- ALSO represents the shortest project duration.
(We can't make the project any shorter than
the critical path)

* lags
amount of time a succeeding activity will be delayed
in relationship to a preceding activity:

A lag exists because we must push out an activity in relationship to its

predecessor

Float exists because of an activity's duration, its relationships to other

activities, and its relationship to the critical path.

Float: amount of time an activity can be delayed

* without impacting the end of the project
* without impacting succeeding activities

free Float: amount of time an activity can be delayed

* without impacting succeeding activities

total Float: amount of time an activity can be delayed

* without impacting the end of the project

Total float protects the end of the project

Free float protects succeeding activities
On the CP there will be NO free or total float.
"Critical Path" (CP)

*****
In Predictive Project, the PM can estimate the overall schedule (period) of
the project (at least close to it).
We may have a high level estimate, or a very refined ('definitive')
estimate.

in Adaptive Projects, the requirement may change as we start receiving feedbacks

and start realizing the portion of the product.

Predictive: we change the scope when necessary

and we use a formal change management system.
* If it makes the project more successful
* If it keeps the project from failure

As we are not keeping the scope constant (backlog keeps refined) in Adaptive
Projects, how we can estimate how long the overall project may run?

This is the role of story points.

The backlog may grow and grow.

We ensure communication is very tight
between team and stakeholders
between PM and team
 Between PM and stakeholders
Between PM, Stakeholders and team

Communication and engagement is much more critical in agile.

PM: Ensures the deliverable meets the objective.

In agile, we understand the impact of changing teh objective
because we are all communicating and engaging

Stakeholders will need to know the overall timeline for the project so that the
budget can be allocated accordingly and will a guestimate works in that case?

Sometimes, stakeholders will say

* just run the pilot for 6 weeks. schedule
* just run the pilot until we're out of money. budget
* just run the pilot until we have our answer. scope (objective)

agile can encompass all these situations.

*****
Predictive life cycle:
EIther in planning, or while the work is ongoing,
You may need to adjust your resources.
(Pl 211 6ed PMBOK)

"Resource optimization" - adjusting resource needs to fit

resource availability...

* Resource Levelling
- we have a resource constraint:
'The engineers can't start work until mid-September.'
If we can adjust their work to meet their availability...
"resource levelling"

* Resource Smoothing:
- we have certain resource limits:
"Noone will work overtime"

Engineer A: 25% utilized

ENgineer B: 65% utilized
Engineer C: 125% utilized

Can we move C's over-utilization to B,A?

If so...
"Resource smoothing" ('balancing the workload')

*****
Is it PM who is going to look into Resource Smoothing and Resource
Levelling? Or the Team Supervisor as we may have many resources and
a PM may overloaded by eying on individual level. May be silly question.

The experts decide and vote

The PM facilitates
"The PM ensures the processes are followed correctly."
The PM 'delegates'

*****
Schedule Compression -
 "What if I need to pull in the end of the project?"
* you'll need to compress along the critical path.
If you compress the non-critical path, you'll
remove float.

1) if possible, we run sequential activities in parallel

"Fast-tracking"

2) if possible, we add resources to critical path activities.

"Crashing" ('throwing money at the problem')

*****
Program: a group of related projects, run as a group,
in order to gain extra benefits.

Let's say there are 5 projects that use the same

2 cranes (heavy construction equipment)

your program manager says, "slow down your work,

we need to wait for the other project to catch up."

*****
Planning and managing budget and resources

Budget (noun) the money I set aside to pay for something

(verb) the action of setting aside that money

*****
"Estimating costs"
'activity costs'
"Determining budget"
'project cost'

*****
Estimation - applies to
schedule
budget
resources
PREDICTIVE

Estimate:
* capture reasonable data
* apply a reasonably accurate analysis
* determien a reasonably accurate forecast

High-level 'bigger than a breadbox, smaller than a truck'

Definitive 'actual actions, steps, cost'

We can estimate
TOp-down We determine a project-level estimate.
the end.

Great for urgency

Poor for accuracy

Analogous "estimating using analogy"

Using history
 Since previous projects took 6 weeks, and
this is similar to those, this should also
take 5 weeks.

Parametric "estimating using parameters"

Using history and a bit of math.

Other projects were able to create 1 km road

every 10 days.

This project requires 10 km road, so should

require 100 days.

BOttom-up We determine individual activity estimates

combined for a project total

no derivatives of bottom-up.
It's just "bottom-up"

great for accuracy

poor for urgency

*****
Level of accuracy for our estimates:
ROugh Order of Magnitude / RoM
'high level'
great for charters, usable early in agile.
"-25% to +75%" (of what I expect the actual result to be)

Definitive Estimate
'Actual actions, steps'
great for a predictive plan, later in agile.
"-5% to+10%" (of what I expect the actual result to be)

"Phased" estimate.
* the money you spend is spent when the work is complete.
* You acquire the money you need as you predict the work.

"Phased means - we wont have estimates until phase is started ?"

We will only set aside money for a portion ("phase") of that work.
Generally, high cost projects don't have a total budget at the start.

*****
GOvernance
Authorizations, signatures, approvals.
* we'll need to track and monitor these, and manage.

COmpliance
"Staying within necessary boundaries"

*****
Lessons Learned - 'innovations'
we discovered it, and determined it makes the project better.
we add it to the lessons learned register

We can also add lessons learned to

 the knowledge base (PMO, organization)
* helps improve other projects
and even the organization

Cost Baseline
includes contingency reserve
reserve for identified risks

DOES NOT include management reserve

reserve for unidntified risks

*****
Funding Limit Reconciliation
"How much cash or budget do I have across a certain timeframe?"
"How much cost do I have across this timeframe?"
"What's the difference?"
('will I have any budget left over?')

*****
Quality 'doing work correctly'

Joseph Juran:
"Quality is...
* conformance to requirements
it meets requirements (acceptance criteria)
* fitness for use (usable)
it also is usable (definition of done)

We measure quality in this manner:

example: 'we need a hole in the top of the box.
- centered
- 16.3 cm in diameter.'
Requirement
SCOPE

16.3 cm +/- 1 cm
scope 'tolerance'

Tolerance - acceptable variation

16.3 cm +/- 1 cm Quality metric

Accepted Deliverable "Complete" Scope

Validate scope generates accepted deliverables

Verified Deliverable "correct" Quality

Control Quality generates verified deliverables

*****
Standard
Established as a model
by authority, custom, consent

Regulation
Government mandated compliance

De Facto "of the fact"

widely accepted
 adopted through use

De Jure "of the jury"

mandated by law
approved by an approved body of experts

*****
We verify deliverables
we determine if they are correct.
a verified deliverable: we did the work correctly

Incorrect work -> "defect"

For tomorrow:
QUality Assurance: 'are we following process and procedure?"
Qualtiy Control: 'we inspect for defects'

we look for precision and accuracy.

* But schedule needs also to be changed if there is any external dependency

* How we will address that?
====================================================
8:53 PM 8/28/2021
Planning and managing Quality

Quality Management Plan

* How we will
* manage quality
* ensure we are following process and procedure
(Quality Assurance / QA)
* continuously improve
* control quality
- inspect for defects

1) WE plan quality in.

This ensures we do work correctly in the beginning.
2) Part of the value of quality is how visible it is.

Crosby: 4 absolutes -
* Quality is conformance to requirements
"When we are meeting requirements we are doing
work correctly."
Joseph Juran added "... and fitness for use (useability)."

* Causing quality is prevention, not appraisal

We do quality not by fixing problems, but by building
quality into the way we work (into our plan).

"Quality is PLANNED in, not bolted onto the outside

like a set of inspections."

* Performance standard must be zero defects

We aim for perfection and continually strive for it,
assuming we may never attain.

* Measurement is the price of nonconformance

Humans make mistakes. Therefore, even though inspections
 are not quality, we still add them to find mistakes (defects).

*****
Root cause analysis:
I find the initial cause of defects ,and I remove it.
That action fixes the defect for now and for the future.

guarantee:
"a formal assurance that certain conditions will be fulfilled,
especially that a product will be of a specified quality"

warranty:
"a written guarantee promising to repair or replace an article
if necessary within a specified period."

Liability:
"Being responsible, especially by law."

*****
Requirement: 16.3 cm
Tolerance: +/- 1 cm
Quality Metric 16.3 cm +/- 1 cm

"Tolerance" = acceptable variation."

Cost of QUality

(1) Cost of QUality =

cost of doing work correctly (conformance costs)
plus
cost of doing work incorrectly (nonconformance costs)

(2) THe more I invest in conformance costs

*to a point*

The lower will be my noncoformance costs

(3) Conformance costs will generally be less

than nonconformance costs.
example: rework can be up to 3 times the effort and
cost of doing work correctly the first time.

Add these three, and you can now say,

"investing in conformance costs (to a point)
will lower your total cost of quality."

"To a point" means

optimal quality. There is a point where
the cost of quality is greater than
the benefits achieved from investing in it.
How measured?
Benefits of quality compared to costs of quality
When that equals zero,
we have obtained *optimal* quality
 When quality pays for itself, we maintain that level of
quality. If we put more effort, we are getting no benefit.

you build cars.

You increase turn-around time to a point you limit your
safety features of the car.
That's doing too much quality in turn-around time.

There are 3 activities in quality management

Quality Assurance "We *audit* the *process*"

We ensure the process is being followed.
Precision. Repeated results are the same.

Archery:
Precision I hit the same part of the target with each arrow.

Continuous Improvement

QUality Control "We *inspect* the *deliverable and data*."

We inspect for defects (nonconformance)
Accuracy. The results are within the target and
tolerance

Archery:
Accuracy THis arrow hits the center of the target.

Quality assurance ensures we have repeated performance

QUality control ensures that performance is on target
together we can ensure we have repeated performance on target

Manufacturing: "get your process down, and then get your accuracy.
Accuracy without repeated success, is random."

the army says Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. How would you relate this to
quality?

Latin: "Festina Lente" - 'Hasten slowly.'

Measure twice, cut once.
Quality is in the plan, not fixing mistakes.
"Quality is PLANNED in, not bolted onto the outside by adding inspections."

Quality Assurance "We audit the process"

Quality audits

Quality Control "We inspect the deliverable and data"

Quality inspections

*****
PMBOK 6ed
QUality management has 3 processes
Manage QUality -> Executing process group
* Quality Assurance
* Continuous Improbement
 Control QUality -> Monitoring & Controlling process group
* QUality Control

*****
Quality Tools
WOrk Performance reports used in QUality Management

- Statistical Sampling:
* how many data points do I need to capture
to talk about a large group?

- attribute sampling
used to answer "yes or no" questions.
Is this a defect?

- variable sampling
used to answer questions of range.
How far from target are we?
Are we still within control limits?

WE have to determine
* are we collecting enough data?
* are we collecting the right data for
the 'right' question?

*****
QUality Reports

FIshbone/Ishikawa/Cause and effects:

* Root Cause analysis
* Brainstorming

Scatter Diagram:
* 2 variables (can be more, but traditionally - 2)
* correlation

Correlation there is a relationship between the two

(there is a hidden hand influencing both variables)

Causation there is one variable influencing the other

Control Charts:
* Control limits
* rule of 7

Proper control charts have:

Control Limits
Specification limits

We can be in control and in specification

WE can be out of control and in specification
We can be out of control and out of specification

Specification limits determine defects

Control limits determine control
 "Control" means behaving 'normally' or 'naturally'
Random data has a certain behavior.
If we understand that behavior
we can use this to not only look
at defects forcontrol,
but even use non-defect data for control

Central Limit Theorem (CLT)

"Data, when random/natural, has a certain behavior...

The odds of 7 sequential data points on one side of the target:

(50%)*(50%)*(50%)*.... 7 times
(.5)^7 = very very very small.

"Rule of 7"
* If I observe 7 sequential data points above, or below the target
EVEN IF WITHIN CONTROL LIMITS
I am observing a process out of control."
It's not natural. It's not random.
There is an external factor causing this.

If interested in more details of the control chart,

pick up (free on internet) "Juran's Quality Book"

Histogram: "historical diagram"

* compares frequency
* across categories

Pareto diagram
* histogram, the categories prioritized frequency highest to lowest.
* the "critical few"

Pareto: "The wealth of western europe is held by the 'critical few'."

He observed the impact of the critical few
against the impact of the non-critical many...

In quality,
Our critical few are the most important category
that represents the greatest number of defects.

This is where we start our defect reduction.

*****
Integration: unification, consolidation, coordination.
"Tying everything together in a single unit."
Integrity,
Integral

Example: Your director:

"I want it now schedule constraint
I want it cheap cost constraint
I want it fancy." scope constraint

What do you say.

'THank you (they gave you something - information).'
 'Please select two.
By selecting 2, the 3rd is defined.'

Constraints not only impact the project,

but will impact each other.
We often don't see these until we pull everything
together (integrate).

You don't solve a dilemma - you 'balance' it.

WHen you have multiple competing constraints,
they must be balanced.

Triple constraint ('iron triangle')

Opportunity cost:
by selecting one thing, you are automatically
denying the other.

PM Plan
* How we will execute
* How we will control
* How we will close
* the project

* 49 !!!! do we have to remember all of these , to crack the exam?

No.
You will review certain details in the PMBOK that help you understand
what topics you are weak in to strengthen yoru exam score.

You CANNOT memorize your way to a perfect grade.

You can have a bit of a sigh of relief

and a bit of anxiety because of the unique nature of the exam.

*****
Project Management Information System (PMIS)
a "SYSTEM" that manages
my PM Process outputs
my 'artifacts / items'
- project documents
- PM Plans
- WOrk performance data, information, reports
- deliverable in its various state/s

It's not just MS project / P6 / Sciforma....

It's sharepoint and includes

* who has access
* who can make changes

It's a shared network folder (cloud folder)

* who has access
* who can make changes

It's my local PC's project folder

* who has access
* who can make changes

MS project manages my schedule, cost, resource,

 data so I can report on it.

MS Project does NOT manage quality.

It doesn't (easily) manage risk.
It doesn't (easily) manage contracts / stakeholder engagement.

*****
Change Management Plan
* How we will
* receive change requests
* document change requests
* analyze change requests
(impact and type of impact)
* dispense with change requests (approved, rejected, deferred)
* apply approved change requests
* confirm change requests that are applied are behaving
as we expected

COnfiguration Management Plan

* How we will....

Configuration management says

- The deliverable must remain
* consistent (repeatable)
* operative (it must function)

then it asks:
WHich items, and their details need to be captured
to ensure this occurs?

*) My tests and inspections

*) My version control

Configuration management is the set of tests and inspections

and version control that cconfirm the deliverable will remain
consistent and operative.

*EVERY* project has its version of configuration management.

In my smaller projects,
my team managed the configuration of the deliverable.
I managed the configuration of my project documents.

Many academic articles state

Configuration management and change management go well together.

Configuration management defines

the minimum criteria of inspections and tests
to ensure a successful project.

If you run a proposed change through configuration and

it passes, you have an initially acceptable change.

This is REALLY powerful when you have a very complex project.

There are Integrated topics in agile:

Scrum of Scrums -
 Your daily standup (Scrum) creates information.
So do your retrospectives and reviews.
The results of these information sources
are integrated and consolidated
* into features and the backlog
* even developed into their own PRoduct Backlog Item (PBI)

The act of collecting the 'result of scrums' and consolidating into

backlog - "Scrum of Scrums"
This is performed by the scrum master, who for our purposes,
is the PM.

Backlog is 'the remaining work' in an agile project

It organizes and helps manage features and other
product backlog items

Backlog in agile relates to the scope baseline in predictive.

Scaled Agile (for Enterprise / SAFe)

Your organization wants to embrace agile, but isn't ready for
all components.

Scaled agile helps you analyze the organization's current

state and capabilities such that you can determine the
best components to bring into the organization
you may choose to limit prototyping and reviews,
but incorporate scrums and retrospectives.

Disciplined Agile
* incorporates predictive and agile methodologies
* and treats this combination as a set of tools
for you to choose from on a project-by-project basis.

Discplined Agile vision:

what if we treated projects not as predictive
or agile, but just as 'projects', and then
used the appropriate tools?

What if this is the intent of the direction

of 7ed PMBOK?

Hybrid discusses the fact that the toolbox includes

both agile and predictive

"Disciplined" discusses a formal approach to assessing

how to apply agile or predicitive tools based on the
work at hand

*****
Planning and Managing Procurement
Procurement
* contracts
* outsourcing
* purchasing

Procurement
integrates
* finance
* purchasing
 * your project work
* legal

You get to understand how legal, finance, and purchasing

work together to help you select and manage your contracts.

*** FOR THE EXAM ***

You are the buyer.
You are taking a piece of your project's scope
and putting it out for bid for the best vendor.
The vendor is the seller.

The buyer buys, the seller sells.

* you will be the PM on your project
* the seller will be the PM on their project
* you will be the seller's sponsor
* you are also responsible for receiving the
deliverable and integrating it back into
your project.

you will be very busy.

My project is delivering a personal home.

I don't build swimming pools.
Therefore, I need to
select a good seller
manage the contract and the seller's work
integrated the pool's development
into my building the house.

Since I am paying for the pool, I am the buyer

to the seller.

The seller creates the product, service, result.

The buyer provides fair value in exchange.
This is called an "agreement"
an agreement is a form of legal relationship

*****

2 times we ask,
"Do we make or do we buy?"

1) developing the charter - does outsourcing hurt

our chances of gaining project approval?

2) developing the plan - what are the actual actions

and steps we'll go through in managing
the contracts?

*****
5ed PMBOK: (Project) Statement of work:
"a narrative description of the deliverable
and work required..." (scope)

Generally used as an input in developing the charter.

6ed PMBOK: This project statement of work has been integrated

into the business case and included in the financial
 justification.

What we need to worry about:

PROCUREMENT statement of work
"Contract" statement of work

Discussion of scope under contract, and its details.

SOW provided by buyer to seller...?

It is the Statement of work as agreed on between buyer and
seller, included in the contract.

*****
Source Selection Criteria
The criteria I (the 'buyer') will use to select
my final seller.

There are 2 types of qualified vendors:

1) the bidding process has a cycle that
early limits the potential sellers with
selection criteria. They pass this, they
are 'qualified' to go to the next part
of the bidding process.

2) "Preferred" vendors. These have gone

through initial negotiations with purchasing
and legal. All you need to do are final
specific detail negotiations.

*****
Bidding process
* VERY FORMAL
* Many rules are part of contract law...
- Fair and equitable. Everyone who can do the work
shall be allowed to participating
- Transparency. No decisions, discussions 'behind
closed doors ("public")

A series of requests from the buyer

a series of responses from the sellers

Request for Information

Buyer: "We need this work. If you're interested in doing it for us,
fill out this paperwork and send it to us by ___________."

This provides the buyer with their initial list of potential sellers.

REquest for proposal

Buyer: "How do you propose to do the work?"
(technical bid or 'scope')

Request for quote

BUyer: "How much do you expect this will cost?"

We differentiate the RFQ from RFP when we want to demonstrate

'Price is only one component of our selection criteria.'
 Questions will be asked from both sides,
answers will be provided.
The answers and questions will be shared to all potential sellers.

If there are a lot of questions, we set up meetings

called 'bidder conferences' where we can share details
with all potentail sellers and they can ask questions 'in public'.

As you go through rounds of RFP and RFQ, you will eliminate

potential sellers:
* a great body of them will start bidding
in similar manners (same quote, proposal)

* a few will have unique bids

- they have an innovation
- they perhaps shouldn't be bidding
YOU get to decide.

You will finally have your final list of potential sellers.

Request for bid

Buyer: "I am giving you one last chance to compete on cost."
- This is *NOT* the buyer trying to drive down cost.

- This is the buyer strategically asking in order to determine

the response.

- is this seller ready to forego profit?

this is scary.
- is this seller carefully analyzing profit margin
and willing to walk away from work?
this is a healthy customer.

At the end of this effort,

you will select your final seller, negotiate and sign the contract.

*****
The seller will have
their own resource calendar ("When will they be available?")
their own business and communication needs

You will have to assess what they need to deliver the deliverable
successfully

Contract
* mutually binding agreement (bound by contract law)
* obligates the seller to provide deliverable
* obligates the buyer to provide fair value in return
* defines the 'relationship'

*****
Contracts

Fixed: The price and procurement statement of work

are defined in the contract.

This is good when the details of the project

 are very well known.
"Predictive" projects use fixed / lump sum contracts.

If the seller spends too much, or doesn't spend

all, the price stays the same.

The buyer isn't concerned, they know exactly

what they'll pay, and it won't change.

The risk of cost increases is on the seller not the buyer.

Cost: the details of the project are not well known.

Buyer: "I need a fence, but I don't know exactly
what I want.
* I'll reimburase you for costs,
* I'll give you an extra amount as a fee (profit)."

This is good when the work is unknown / uncertain.

"Agile" projects.

The buyer has committed to cost reimbursement.

This means the risk of cost changes is now on
the buyer?
How can we influence the seller to control
costs?

... incentives!!!
Buyer: Let's agree on a cost estimate. At the end,
let's compare the actual to the estimate.

Cost savings? I'll share it with you (buyer/seller, 70/30, 80/20, etc)

Cost overrun? I'll share THAT with you (buyer/seller, 70/30, 80/20,
etc)

"Cost Plus Incentive Fee (CPIF)" contract

At no time is the seller at risk of no profit.

This is unethical, and no seller will sign such a contract.

TIme & Material

* you need expertise
* you need it for a short time
* they will become a member of your team.

hourly, daily, weekly, monthly.

******
Control Procurements
* We audit contracts
* We inspect vendor performance
* We're analyzing approved change requests on our project.
TO ensure we are not impacting the contract on changes in
our project
*****
can a seller representative participate in project CCB process ?
If they are a stakeholder
If they are positive
If they are an expert

*****
Waiver: 'relinquishment' or giving up of a contract right.

You have a legal right to copyright, trademark anything

you created.

The buyer may ask the seller to waive their rights (especially
to trademark)

*****
Contracts, being a relationship will discuss
how we argue (Dispute resolution, Alternative Dispute resolution)

Governance
oversight, authorizationsm approvals

Project-level
deliverable level
industry level
sector level

* who authorizes safety compliance?

* who authorizes quality compliance?
* who authorizes good PM practice?

topic-specific
Sarbannes-Oxley (SoX)
HIPAA
HIMSS

*****
"Build a Restaurant"
--------------------
Landscape phase
BUilding phase
Kitchen phase
Bar phase
Dining Area phase
Menus
Staff

*****
"Convert a nuclear test site to a public park"
* decommission test site
* clean up waste
* build park

Phase Gate:

Gate: 'an entry/exit point between territories.'

Phase gate: 'an entry/exit point between phases.'
 PMBOK: '... a natural place to stop, review, analyze,
meet...'

*****
When we have a predictive life cycle where
all the phases are sequential...
"A Waterfall project"

*****
Project/Phase Close
2 components
- acceptance of deliverable/transfer
- administrative closure of the project
communication, archiving, harvesting
lessons learned...

* Closing a project early is not necessarliy project failure

Sometimes it's the best thing we can do.

* who governs the contract, like if there is a conflict/dispute

after the contract is signed, will there be any party where the
buyers or seller reach out to incase of dispute

Purchasing manager owns the processing of the contract

Legal/Attorney owns the interpretation of the law
YOU (Buyer) owns the Procurement Statement of Work

Cost: the actual cost of the project.

FEE: The seller's profit

Price: includes cost, fee and even sometimes

includes risk.
(what the buyer will pay)
====================================================
9:09 PM 9/3/2021
Close Project or Phase

Acceptance Criteria
- a set of conditions
- required to be met
- before deliverables are accepted

Definition of Done
Criteria needing to be met
so that a deliverable can be considered
ready for customer use

Acceptance Criteria ensure

Deliverables are accepted
(they will have passed all inspections and tests)

Definition of done ensure

deliverables can be considered
functional (they'll work)
We can say:
Predictive life cycles utilize acceptance criteria
Agile life cycles utilize definition of done
HOWEVER

These two concepts apply to both life cycles.

There are two sets of activities in closing

- The transition of the deliverable
- The administrative closure of the project

"mise en place"
'Clean as you go.'
If you do this when you cook, you get to sit
down with your guests after dinner.

Just because a project is closed early does not mean the project failed.
It will mean this is the best use of cost, time, resources.

You don't leave contracts open throughout the project;

when the work and the exchange between the buyer and seller
are completed, THIS is when you close contracts.

to do otherwise would keep your organization at risk.

Like everything else regarding contracts,

payments will be performed as documented. There is no other
way.

Knowledge Management:
Yet ANOTHER area where we constantly do the work throughout the project
And merely organize and archive when we're done.

"mise en place" - capture the lessons learned and organize throughout,

and archiving at the end will be easy.

* WE use the lessons learned register

to organize innovations for our project's greater success.

a PROJECT DOCUMENT for our project

* We bring these into the lessons learned Repository

to organize innovations for other projects' greater success
and
to benefit the organization

a KNOWLEDGE BASE for the organization

Transition Planning Artifacts

Scope Statement (p. 154 6ed PMBOK)

"Ancillary Results" - test results, inspection results, checklists,

meeting notes - anything the project requires for us to hand over
when the project is done.

When we started as PMs, we merely handed the deliverable over at the end.
Now that we're experts, we ensure the final home of the deliverable
is ready.
 * We may not do the work.
* We'll ensure it is, however, indeed ready.

Also a point in the project where we focus on continuity:

moving the deliverable into a working environment ALWAYS carries risk.

"Project termination checklist" is not in the PMBOK. However, it's a

GREAT idea.

It will list all the items that need to be performed before you
can put the project to rest.

Administrative details
documents, data/information, and artifacts/items
surveys, meeting notes, communications

anything pertaining to control of the project.

Transition of the deliverable details

Anything pertaining to what, when, how with whom
the deliverable was transitioned to its final owner.

====================================================
Doing the work

Assessing and managing risk.

Issue: Has occurred, is occurring

MAY have an impact.

Risk MIGHT occur (probability / %)

WILL impact.

If a risk occurs, it is now an issue, and we will treat it as such.

"occured risk is an issue..please correct me"
These two statements are saying the same.

Risk has:
* probability (%)
* impact
* other factors used to analyze/prioritize

Risk Register:
a list of
- My project risks
- Their probability, impact
- other characteristics

Example:
15% one of the company cars will get in an accident
generating about $7,000 in damages.

Used to organize, analyze and manage individual risks.

Risk Report:
a list of
My project's GENERAL risk
- the highest priority
threats
 opportunities

Example:
THis project carries a lot of technology risk due to the
approach to developing the data base.
There is also some administrative risk, since the sponsor
will be on vacation for 2 weeks.-

used to communicate, analyze, and control general project risk.

Is it like we can't estimate the probability in when capturing for Risk

Report?
You can and will estimate general project risk and We'll discuss in a few
slides.

- Positive impact of risk

"Opportunity" (something good MIGHT happen)

- Negative impact of risk

"Threat" (something bad MIGHT happen)

We use the same processes and tools

to ensure greater outcome from our opportunities
to ensure less outcome from our threats

Triggers ("Contingent Response Strategies", PMBOK 6ed p. 445)

The manufacturing tool has a 20% chance of overheating and locking up,
causing 4 hours' delay of cleanup and maintenance.

Let's establish a 'trigger'.

Let's place a thermostat on the tool.
When that thermostat reaches a certain temperature just before
the tool locks up,
We bring the tool off-line and allow it to cool (~ 15 minutes).

Responses to triggers are often called:

* contingency responses
* fallback plans

Risk management plan

* how we will
* identify risks
* prioritize risks QUalitative Risk Analysis
* perform further analysis on some QUantitative Risk Analysis
* determine responses
* monitor risks
* respond to risks, triggers
* continue to improve our risk management

"Why can`t we say Risk management planning is part of Start of Project as well"
Is this training material sequential?

If you observe the processes in 6ed, they discuss the fact

that we start our risk identification (first risk activity) when
we are establishing scope.

We approach risk and quality management in the same manner

1) it's planned and managed throughout.
 2) it's VISIBLE.
One of the greatest statements of PM value
can be how risk and how quality can be managed
into the solution.

"Prompt" list
list of 'prompts' or reminders
much like a checklist or outline.
Did you remember to reveiw cost risks?
Did you remember to review resource risks?

1) why should I consider risk categories?

If a lot of my risks are coming from a single category, perhaps
one risk response could assist in managing multiple risks.

2) TO better understand the experts who will need to be involved in

developing the risk responses.

What about PM risk?

Errors in estimation ('epsilon')?

Bias:
Halo effect: "If I have an expert in databases,
I may assume they are experts in networking, data analysis,
business processes."

Known unknowns
Identified risks
Known may or may not occur

unknown unknowns
unidentified risks
unknown may or may not occur

If a previously unknown risk occurs,

* it is now an issue and will be resolved as such.
* We also apply a work-around

Workaround - A temporary fix that implies

that a genuine solution to the problem is needed.
You're on the freeway and a tire goes flat.
You replace it with a temporary to get to the tire store
and get a permanent tire replacement.

*****
Risk Tolerance - "The degree of uncertainty (risk) that an
organization or individual is willing to withstand."

15% one of the company cars will get in an accident

generating about $7,000 in damages.

Let's place $15,000 in a separate account to cover this risk.

* I have $15,000 of 'tolerance' before I need to set more money aside.
* I can 'tolerate' up to two of these events before I need to
take further action.
 Risk Appetite - The degree of risk willing to accept
in anticipation of a reward ("opportunity")

I have multiple threats to opening a restaurant early.

I'm willing to carry those threats on the opportunity of
making LOTS of extra money.

Risk Threshold - "A measure of the level of risk (exposure)

above which action must be taken to address risks proactively,
and below which risks may be accepted."

We'll address risk proactively HERE

Threshold -----------------------------------------
We'll accept risk HERE

Accept:
We consciously decide to 'do nothing' if such a risk occurs.

Risk averse - willing to take action in order to eliminate risk.

*****
How do we prioritize risk?
Do we use probability?
Do we use impact?
We use a combination of both.

We'll prioritize primarily using a

Risk Priority Number (RPN)
RPN = % * impact

15% probability * $7,000

= $170 + $85 = $255

On its own, this is not consequential.

Compared with OTHER risks, you can determine which is more important.

When we do quantify impact by $$$,

we call RPN "Expected Monetary Value" (EMV).

RPN= SEVIARITY*OCCURRENCE*DETECTION
Yes. This is yet another level of detail.
For our purposes, we're going to stay at the fundamental
level of probability * impact.

Where do I get estimations in %, impact? from my experts.

Another consideration is:

how do I discuss and communicate impact?

* probability is easy:
50% 'coin-flip'
25% '1 of 4', 25 of 100'
75%
84%

* impact takes more effort.

 Let's create an impact scale we can use on ANY project...

Ordinals Cardinals Description

---------------------------------------------------
1 Low Green 'If I weren't looking, I wouldn't notice'
3 Moderate Yellow 'We need to slow work in order to respond'
5 High Red 'We need to stop work in order to respond'

1) risks will change.

2) risks occurring can be triggers for other risks

WE will prioritize ALL risks

We will quantitatively analyze (perform "further" analysis)

only the ones above the identified threshold

There will be some projects that don't even need this 'further' analysis.

"Opportunity" 'positive' risk

It might have a beneficial impact.

Example:
"Build a Restaurant"
4 weeks before we open

Local sports coach walks in:

"Can you host a banquet in 2 weeks? I'll give you lots of money..."

Opportunity: "... lots of money..." (it may or may not happen)

Threats tables and chairs might be broken
menus might not be ready
staff may not be fully trained.

We need to compare:
Benefits to Costs
Opportunity to Threats

This is called a "BUSINESS" risk

*****
To this point:

Identify risks
Prioritized risks qualitative risk analysis
performed 'further analysis' to some risks quantitative risk analysis

We now plan reponses to risk

Responses to Threats
"Build a hotel on the beach in S. America"
Risk: 'HURRICANE'

Avoid Change the plan

Build somewhere else.
Transfer Hand over to a third party
Insurance
Local property manager

Mitigate Minimize %, impact, both

Build sandbag walls around buildings
Residual risk
Water may go over the top of sandbag walls

Secondary risk
sandbags might be thrown around by hurricane winds

Accept Do Nothing
When impact very, very small
When impact very, very high
The response may have no value.

Escalate Raise to appropriate decision-maker

Whenever we select a 'mitigate' response, we WILL

determine secondary risk
Risk occurring out of the response

determine residual risk

a little of the original risk left over

Responses to Opportunities
Project: "Build a Restaurant"
Opportunity: SPorts Coach, "... lots of money..."

Exploit Change the plan

Move up the menu design and staff training...

Share *Bring in* a 3rd party

Hire a catering agent

Enhance Maximize %, impact, both

advanced marketing that demonstrates we are a 'sports-friendly'
restaurant

Accept Do Nothing
IMpact is very very small
Impact is very very large

Escalate Raise to appropriate decision-maker

*****
Deliver Business Value

In the old project management days,

Business Case: articulated the value.
We use this to create the charter and gain project approval.

in these new times

* we build this value into the deliverable
* we monitor, test, inspect and control to maximize that value
* we hand the value over with the deliverable
Business Value:
Example: "Build a community park"
Benefit: 'community good will'

Value chain:
If I can attract families to a neighborhood, they'll stay longer.
These families will attract more families.
With a local park, they'll attract even more families

We can estimate that local businesses will come into and around
the community. These businesses will generate greater revenue
and a larger tax base.

That tax base is an esitmatable and quantifiable value we can call

the 'beneift' of good will

*****
Project: unique, time-bound.
Creates a 'deliverable'
product a 'thing'
service an 'action'
result an 'outcome' (decision, other results)

Product: a 'thing' a company uses to generate revenue.

Project life cycle:

the cycle of a project from it's approval to
the handover of the deliverable at the end.

Product life cycle:

Cycle a product goes through
from it's instantiation (creation)
through its obsolescence (non-usefulness)

Product life cycle:

contain many project life cycles
create the idea of a product project
create the first example project
launch the product into operations project
change/update the product project
maintain the product OPERATION
when the product is obsolete, remove project

Product Roadmap (owned by Product Owner)

FORECAST of the product life cycle
* First we'll launch a basic phone
* Then we'll launch a phone with better memory
* then we'll launch that phone with a better camera
* then we'll launch that phone with lots of apps

Project life cycle can include these multiple launches

as multiple releases inside a project life cycle

*****
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
* Smallest collection of features
 * Customers can still call it 'functional'

Minimum Business Increment (MBI)

* smallest amount of value
* and can still benefit business

MVP measures earliest and smallest functionality

MBI measures earliest and smallest value

MVP: 26 % Return on Investment...

Example:
remote PC management.

5,000 computers, generally need a patch every month.

Prior to the project,
all PCs were left on overnight every night.
After the project
All PCs were turned on and only affected PCs
were 'woken up' for patches, fixes, other activities.

HUGE savings in electricity.

*****
Time-boxes: we use these in agile -
* create a sense of urgency
* use as a benchmark

*****
Manage Communications

Communications:
Exchanging information 2 ways
Intended OR unintended

90% of your effort is in ensuring effective communication

* planning communications
* 'doing' communications
* monitoring communications and making appropriate changes

We 'engage' stakeholders by sharing information (keeping them informed, curious)

we 'engage' teams by providing information they need to get the work done
we 'engage' experts by providing information they need to analyze

*****
Written vs. oral communications

Why do we write information down?

* create evidence
* version control (control the document, control the information)

We do not write information down to make information formal.

Formal means: it's easily understandable.

Extra effort was applied to ensure noone is confused.

Example:
Your director sends you an email:
"See me."
 'SHould I pack up my desk?'
'Should I prepare for a promotion?'
I'm confused.

This is poor effort from a manager/leader.

Not ony is this confusing, but it is also permanent evidence.

How do we 'formalize'? What are the actions/steps?

Oral, formal communications:

presentations.

Formal communications: p. 363 (5 Cs)

You will spend time developing communications management plan...

* How we will
* do communications
tools
methods
styles
which meetings? Who is to attend?
Where does this information go to? Where
is it organized, maintained?
* monitor communications and make appropriate changes

Model: 'simplified version of reality used to demonstrate

a small set of concepts'

Communication model - a 'simplified version of communcation...'

Acknowledgement
---------------
How can I as a manager ('sender') ensure that the information is
received and the receiver knows what to do?

* The manager is responsible and accountable for communications.

If communications fails, it's *your* fault.

You ask - do you understand? Are you able to do what you need?
you validate when you can.

Noise
-----
* something that gets in the way of receiving information
* something that gets in the way of interpreting information

*****
When communication is 'push'
I "send" information out on schedule
Great for urgency.
"sending an eamil"

When commuincation is 'pull'

That information is available in a central location.
Great for ease of access.
"Posting the dashboard up on sharepoint"
Tim, sorry if this is off topic, how can we improve our written/email communication
as project managers. Any recommended tools by PMI.
PMI rewards us for practicing, practicing, practicing.
We practice, and we receive LOTS of feedback.

Articles, blogs, youtube videos

Tweets, all these can be considered PDUs if we have our PMP
and need to re-certify.

Acknowledgement (part 2)
IF I receive no acknowledgement (no 'feedback')
50% they acknowledge
50% they don't acknowledge

Are you willing to accept that risk?

*****
Engage Stakeholders
we 'involve' stakeholders
primarily through sharing information ('communicating')

Definition:
Impact the work
be impacted by the work
perceive themselves to be impacted by the work

Stakeholder register project document

lists stakeholders and their characteristics
needs, expectations, oorganization, any other characteristics

*****
In order to assess engagement:
engagement 'levels'

unaware unaware of work and impact

resistant aware of work and resistant to change
neutral aware of work and neither resistant nor supportive
supportive aware of work and supportive of change
leading actively involved in supporting project success

Where are they now?

1) supportive is our preferred level
2) we would like one or two leading.
- requires certain authority
- with too many, we have chaos

"Current"

Where do we want them to be?

Where do we "desire"

****
Artifact or 'item'
"PM Process output"
Project Documents
PM Plan and its components
work performance Data, Information, Reports
Deliverable in its various state/s.
In Agile
we have PB, PBI - product backlog Item (component of 'scope', component of pm
plan)
Sprint Backlog same thing (component of scope)
also as artifact?

*****
Configuration management
how I use and analyze my 'items'
to ensure a deliverable
- has repeatable performance
- will decidedly function as planned.

For
* the deliverable
* my artifacts/items
what are the tests, inspections needed?
What is the version control requirement/s?

PM Plan
1) what do we need to ensure the PM plan
- serves its purpose
- does it more than once - repeatedly

we review the details and perform a walk-through

of details.
inspection or test.

We have some form of versioning to confirm this is the

most up to date version

This is configuration management of my PM Plan.

====================================================
9:20 PM 9/4/2021
Manage Project Changes

When I need a way to manage work in the middle of unknown

uncertain and complex,

I use adaptive / Agile methodologies

They allow me to create a framework that's
flexible enough to explore work early and find
a better solution.

When I need a way to manage work that's well-known,

I use predictive methodologies

They allow me to create a definitive plan
that I can follow to success.

WE start off talking about managing change in predictive life cycles.

* we enable, or "turn on" formal change control

When the baselines are established.

* ALL changes will go through formal change control

We approve necessary changes and reject unnecessary changes.

Issue log Project document
Captures
* issues and their details
* assumptions and their details

The way change is managed:

* We receive changes

- Formal change request (our preferred way)

- Unapproved change

- Necessary changes (change in the environment, law,

other external events)

* WE document changes
and their characteristics

"Change Control Log"

* We analyze impact
*) is it large or small?
Small? Is the change really necessary?

*) What's the impact? Scope, schedule, cost,

quality, risk, communications, resources,
stakeholders, contracts?

* dispensation: Recected, approved, deferred ("not today")

* approved CR is applied
* We go back and confirm the applied approved CR is behaving as expected.

*****
Managing Project Issues

Risk: MIGHT occur

if it does, will have an impact.
This is a *possible* future event.

Issue: Has occurred, is occurring

May impact.
An issue is here, now.

[Ethics]
"We resolve issues at their source, quickly and
efficiently."

*****
Managing Project Knowledge

We o-capture and organize our lessons learned in

The lessons learned register.

This assists with improvements in our projects.

 We also capture these lessons learned in
the lessons learned repository
A knowledge base either with the PMO or our organization
provides other projects and the organization access to
our lessons learned.

***** Tacit Knowledge

Explicit Knowledge

Knowledge sharing is not the easiest in teams coz

pple tend to get insecure. Would you give an example of how you can encourage
it ..?

On the kickoff, in the team charter:

We create an environment of safety.
- everyone's ideas are sacred,
we expect everyone to respect their ideas and the
ideas of others.
0 we use debate to compare the different ideas, and
we work together to ensure the best ideas are selected.
====================================================
Keeping the Team on track
Lead a Team

Managers
Leaders

Servant Leadership
------------------
“an understanding and practice of leadership
that places the good of those led over the self-interest of the leader,
emphasizing leader behaviors that focus on follower development,
and de-emphasizing glorification of the leader”

"The servant who, by acting with integrity and spirit, builds trust and
lifts people and helps them grow, *and* the leader who is trusted and
who shapes others' destinies by going out ahead to show the way.
(Greenleaf, "The Servant-Leader Within", 1970)

Servant Leader:
Protects both the loud and energetic and teh quiet and the more
meek team members. Creates a work environment that is supportive
to the needs of both.

Creates an open environmene twhere we can talk about such things

as how we work together well and how we can do it better.

Only one aspect - protecting and respecting everyone equally

to create an environment of safety and trust.

Managers keep the business running and ensure processes are followed.
Leaders inspire and motivate and create continuous improvement

Leadership generates new ideas

Management keeps the operations stable.

*****
Status Quo: this is the way we do things. It gives good results.
Emotional Intelligence -
"the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions,
and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically."

Be aware of, control, and express MY emotions

handle MY interperpersonal relationships.

How we engage in developing a relationship with others

interpersonal relationships
An emotional bond that extends beyond one person.

*****
Supporting the team performance
What are my key performance indicators in understanding
Team performance?

1) primary - is the work progressing toward the deliverable?

2) is the team working together?
3) are the members engaging and supporting the team?

2: number of arguments per week

effort required to agree and vote
ability to organize quickly around tasks

Positive criticism:
"The criticism sandwich"

* 'YOu have been doing great'

* 'Currently I seem to experience your behavior as _____.'
* Care to discuss?
* I'm certain if we focus on this, we can improve performance together.

******
We don't 'build' teams.
They build themselves (self-organization/adaptive)

They have a distinct pattern in their self-development

*****
Measuring business value

"Earned Value Analysis (EVA)"

"Earned Value Management (EVM)"

There are a great number of formulas. They're of less importance.

Of more importance:

What does this form of analysis mean?

With this understanding, what do I do?

*****
3 variables.

Planned Value (PV) -

"Authorized Budget
Assigned to scheduled work"
Actual Cost (AC) -
"Actual money spent on the project"

We need 'actual work completed'

Earned Value (EV) -
"the work performed as a ratio of
the planned work and its value"

Planned Value (activity a) = $5,000

Work complete = 50%

EARNED (completed) Value (EV) = $2,500

Schedule Variance (SV)

= EV-PV
work complete minuse money spent

Schedule Performance Index (SPI)

It's all right comparing

actual costs to plan costs.

We can do better though.

We *want* to compare actual money spent to actual work performed.

Schedule Performance Index (SPI)

= EV/PV
"What is the size of EV compared to the size of Planned value?"
"WE are progressing at xx% of our planned work.

Velocity
miles/hr, Km/h

Work Complete over Planned work

Cost Variance (CV) = EV-AC

What is the size of work complete relative to the size of the cost?

Cost Performance Index (CPI)

= EV/AC
"What is the size of work complete compared to size of
money spent?"

'We are receiving [Link] effort for every $1 spent.'

Cost 'efficiency'
Mi/gallon, Km/L ("fuel" efficiency)

WE took
our progress: ev, ac, pv
and generated
status CV,SV, CPI, SPI

We took status and now we generate a forecast.

Our initial forecast variable

Budget At Complete (BAC)

 our Project Cost Baseline

Estimate at Completion (EAC)

My revised Project budget.

Variance At Completion (VAC)

My total project Variance

Estimate to Complete (ETC)

"How much money I need to spend to complete the rest of the work..."

ONE example:

Let's determine the EAC, based on the way we've been spending money lately.
EAC = BAC/CPI
"what if I were to run my project at my current rate?"

"What if I were to take the entire holiday and run my car

at my current gas mileage?"

EV = 30k
PV = 40k
AC = 25k
BAC= 50k

SV = 30-40 we are behind schedule

CV = 30-25 we are under budget

SPI = 30/40 we are progressing at 75% of planned rate.

CPI = 30/25 We are receiving $1.20 effort for every $1 spent.

EAC = BAC/CPI
= 50k/1.2 If we continue at a CPI of 1.2, we should have
an EAC (revised estimate) of about 42k
showing a VAC of about 8k.

The math is secondary, of primary importance

"what does this mean?
What do I do with the results?"

*****
Value Stream Mapping:
How can I use project information to validate value throughout the
project life cycle.

By understanding the value of savings and the difference before and

after the projects,
we were able to recognize the savings as a form of profit.

The project, based on this savings was now valued at a RoI of 120%

'Value chains'
will value stream capture the interdependency between processes as well?

The information flow represents both

the functionality and the value of the deliverable.
allows us to demonstrate both.
*****
Impediments "Slows down work" ('yellow')
Obstacles "I can go over, around, through, under" ('green')
Blockers "Stops work"

These are different types of issues

Issue: Has occurred, is occurring

might impact

If we prioritize issues, it's like prioritizing risks and defects:

we apply our efforts in the areas of greatest potential impact.

* can you explain why it was on w2 only in kanban board?

I created this as a quick example,

I was demonstrating that although you may not know the root cause
you may also be able to determine that an issue does indeed exist.

* we left we only 1 more class. will yoy be able assist with

pmp questions patterns & tricks to clear exams

I wish we could.
I gave us every chance to use the time to ask aquestions
throughout the entire class, and that time was used up
in our early classes.

* What is salliance model?

====================================================
====================================================
9:20 PM 9/4/2021

* Does Negotaion can not leads to consensus

 Negotiation finds an outcome both sides can find agreement on.
This can be consensus.

Consensus means a special type of agreement:

"I may not agree with the outcome, but I agree to support
the team's decision."

Negotiation can indeed lead to this.

* Hi Tim ... wanted to check if it is possible to get the exam related practice
Question for the topics we finished ?

They are out there somewhere, I don't have access.

I would like to create some, but have other priorities right now.

* How and where can i get PMBOK hard copy for a best price,
thanks for answering mine

Amazon can get an earlier print version, but you must confirm the
print version and look for errata available.

6ed PMBOK has multiple print releases available, where 7ed is

still on its first print cycle (I believe).

* When we consider someone to be stakeholder what attributes

they acquire in influnecing the decision making process of the
project?
this is discussed in section 2,3,4 across about 17-20 slides.
we will discuss this.
whenever I say, "we will discuss"
this means I have slides we will review.

The answer depends on their level of power, their interest,

their salience (authenticity), their sense of urgency and other
factors.

* what is the role of sponser,, can you please provide an example?

Review session notes in first class, but we can also discuss

* What is good practice?

* my bosses say not to servant leadership, a question
you can answer later, it is a cultural issue, but is it common??

* PMP exam questions

* Exam prep questions

* (Tim) PfMP and PgMP credential details

* Hi Tim, I have just started working on PM activities from a month.

I have more than 7 years of experience as report developer (team member).

* As a fresher does this course help me to gain knowledge on PM? please

suggest

* Can we say Jira is a information raditor??

* Thanks Tim - great session.. please also clarify the PM role in agile projects.
who is/are performing this , how the role of the PM distributed within agile
teams

* Is it mandatory to complete PMP to get PgMP??

* Can we consider a chat group on one of the social media platforms being
used for relaying project information as Information Radiator?

* It is viruse free right..??

* Apart from prep for PMI..Do we really get to learn the skills of
Project Management??

* Tim - if you could include this question as well -- Is it necessary

to go through PMBOK for the exam or utilizing Simplilearn content
with PMP Student Guide v2 in [Link] would also suffice?

* Hi Tim, I have just started working on PM activities from a month.

I have more than 7 years of experience as report developer (team member).

* As a fresher does this course help me to gain knowledge on PM. Please suggest

* Im currently in a program manager role. Is PMP or PgMP a better course for me?

* What is roll out plan of 7th edition n phase out plan of 6th edition...
which we have to prepare to target certification in next year

* Can you also add more examples of Predictive and Agile approach?

* Do we have access for PMBOK 7th edition?

* The slides you were ref to -- are they part of material in PMI LO

* How do I prepare for the exam (once the class is over)?

I saw some notes on the break screen abt project 15 days and review 5 days
* But schedule needs also to be changed if there is any external dependency
* How we will address that?

* Tim - In Predictive Project, the PM can estimate the overall schedule (period) of
the project (at least close to it). However, in Adaptive Projects, the requirement
may change as we start receiving feedbacks and start realizing the portion of the
product. As we are not keeping the scope constant (backlog keeps refined) in
Adaptive Projects, how we can estimate how long the overall project may run?
Stakeholders will need to know the overall timeline for the project so that the
budget can be allocated accordingly and will a guestimate works in that case?

* (Tim) Can you please give some more examples of resource levelling and smoothing?

* When we decide to Mitigate the risk, We already plan to

implement the response as part of project activity
(even before occurance)?

This is the reserve analysis we discussed in cost and schedule planning

This determined the amount of time, cost required if a risk occurs

and we respond to it...
* how we can calculate the probabality of a risk. Is it always based
on intuitions /rough estimation? I may say the probabaility of
occurence is 5% and it may be 25% as well.

We do have an opportunity to analyze

Example 20% in a week we may need gasoline.

We can use history that says we normally get gas once a week.
1 day out of 5 days, or 1/5 = 20% probability...

* please let me know if, I need to go through PMBOK7

version or if 6 would help current Exam content outline ,
appearing EXAM in next 2 months time- your suggestion would help- Thanks

Both apply.

PMBOK 6: PM PRocesses
How

PMBOK 7: Behaviors and principles

What and Why

* Information on projects - THis is from our FAQ...

* Project Charter will not go through change mgmt process, right?

1) what if I disallow ANY project charter changes?

this may cause a project to fail. I need to ensure
if there is a question that could cause the charter to change,
I would be able to advise my sponsor the impact.

2) Disallowing the charter to go through change management

may not forego changes. This statement framed as such questions
not only should charters change or not, but should they go through
formal change control.

EVERY artifact / item will go through formal change control.

* 3 magic words in mastering exam questions

practice.
practice.
practice.

You want to have a practiced behavior approach

that is automatic.

One way:

Say to yourself when you look at the question:

Context?
REAL question?
Options and differences?

*****
choice of elimintaion principle / odd one out / 50-50 ,
I remember TIM you told, please add if possible
 with 4 options
25% chance through guessing.
with 3 options
33% chance
with 2 options
50% chance
with 1 option
85% chance

50-50 means you've eliminated 2, and the other two are very similar
and/or can easily answer the quetsion.

* (Tim) How to calculate the ROI? Management asks about the ROI of the project to
make some decisions to Go-No Go with the project? what are the factors we need to
consider while presenting the ROI with substential data?
an exam answer
a 'real life' answer

They're the same answer, at different levels of detail.

need to complete for 9/5

* In Adaptive - Management and Stakeholders are keen to know the
Release Plan to understand the Time to Market. If we crate a
Relese Plan and during the sprint cycles as feedback we encounter
changes/modifications which will ideally extend the timeline.
When is the best time for Release Planning?

Good news:
Product Owner has the first and last say on release plan.
They own the product roadmap.

They are your buddy and will assist in

1) setting expectations
2) helping ensure everyone understands the impact
of change on schedule.

Product owner
'owns' the product from its instantiation to obsolescence.
in effect they are the initiator of the project as
well as the customer.
they have first and last say.

* Do they ask in exam to calculate the Risk ?

* What about those projects?

Some of you (not all) subscribed to a program that requires projects.

* go to the 'certificate' tab in your course console. The requirements

for the certificate will either mention a project or not.

* If it does mention a project, the 'assessments' tab will have details

that you will complete. It's easy, and there are buckets of information
all over the PMP community forum.

* If not, focus on review of the content, and what we have in front of

us right now.

* If you are still concerned whether you need to complete a project,

 contact support or the account manager who first set you up in the course.

* There IS a 15-day requirement to submit after class ends. This is not intended
as a punishment; this was created to generate a sense of urgency.

If you have issues finishing, BEFORE YOUR DEADLINE, contact support and
negotiate a new deadline.

* How does verified deliverable apply to

Acceptance Criteria
Definition of Done?

* Tim, can we close the project even if variance is there but need in acceptable
limits?

* (Tim) How do I apply formailty on communications?

* Can you please talk about subsidiary PM Plan?

* Can u give an ex of questions where calculations would need to be done

====================================================
====================================================
9:10 PM 9/3/2021
* Let's agree
We're looking at a summary discussion.
We can't go into detail but we can discuss detail
on the forum.

If we are to discuss detail, we need context, a bit of history,

and other items that shape and tailor the concept.

Tim, can we close the project even if variance is there but need in acceptable
limits?
The only appropriate response is "it depends."

Every project will have its tolerance to variance in schedule, budget,

scope. Each project will have its planned outcome
* if in tolerance
* if not in tolerance

* : Difference between Project Plan & Project Schedule. Does project schedule
means the dates defined in MS Projects tool?

PM Plan
* How we will
* execute the project
* control the project
* deliver the deliverable at the end.

Project Schedule
* My planned 'when'
 * The activities and milestones and other
schedule details I'll use to monitor and control progress
through time.

How does MS Project play in plan and schedule?

MS Project can maintain the project schedule, schedule baseline,

Cost baseline, scope baseline, resource breakdown structure
* and *
Track actual compared to plan for these components.

* ok..but its a PM responsibility to make the right decisions and help

team hence cant agree all the time with team's consensus rt?

The PM is a leader. They know their expertise is more in line

with bringing people together and assist in finding a better outcome
than just one person saying, "I think".

The PM ensures the deliverable meets the objective. The PM ensures the
objective is relevant, and ensures the project work and deliverable are
worth that effort and cost to meet the objective.

The PM "pumps the brakes" or ensures people slow down and provide
appropriate analysis and decision making so the best possible outcome
can be reached.

To that extent, the PM responsibility is to make the 'right' decisions.

The PM also understands that today's right decisions may be different than
the decisions in a few days because information changes over time.

* (retrospective) Tim I notice u dont say :what went Wrong." you stay
positive.

One does not assume that someone or some thing was wrong. It does no
benefit to point out wrongness. It doesn't give a better answer, and
if anything, ensures that someone feels shame or at least senses they're
not of the same value of others.

If a leader allows that, everyone will not be able to give their all
to an effort.

* What happens when someone consents but disagrees- will that not be
detrimental to the health of the project

* Hi Tim, is it possible to do quick summary of the topics discussed

in the session yesterday at the start of the session??
We probably have about 3 minutes at the start of each class to review.
I prefer you utilize the notes and the recording.

* I would like to understand more on TCPI topic

We'll discuss this about 5 times.

* Where could we find relevant questions for practicing for

the topics we studied in a day.
You can find general practice questions referenced on the forum
and listed in the FAQ. For a list by topic, you'll be pressed.

* Tim, kindly post the link for yesterday's notes since I seem to have missed it
 I share the link every class end of the session.

* Tim, a question to answer later - a member of a development team behalves

negatively with the other peers becuase the member considers he/she is
over occupied with things compared to other and doesn't support others
wholeheartedly. The Team manager has been informed about it and a formal
discussion held with the member. The member took the feedback, but didn't
make any changes in behaviour. He/she is working all okay on his deliverables,
however the support to the team including internal communication is
something which he/she is not upto yet. How to handle such member(s) /situtions?

====================================================
====================================================
8:54 PM 8/28/2021

* can such formula related questions can be part of exam which will need
calculation Hi Tim, you were going to guide us on how to study today.
Will it be ok if we just focus on PMP Exam Prep content and your
sessions? Also from where can we get questions for practice?

Check the FAQ for sources of practice questions.

Check the FAQ on how to prepare.

* Tim, you have walked us through many slides, but i am not sure how to prepare,
could you please share some materials/books.

Reference materials and practice questions, as well as practice methodology

are laid out in the FAQ.

* What if the customer does not respect the values or ethics?

It is now up to you to decide whether to stick to your values,

or allow others to dictate the values. This is a hard decision to make.

On the exam, you will choose the hard road / the high road / the
right road, and in life, you are allowed to choose for yourself.

* Question: Consensus or Conlict of Interest - does PM breaching PMI ethics

or breaching team ideas.

PM initially ensures the team charter supports strong values and

ethics. This ensures the team starts in the right direction. THroughout,
the PM reminds the team of the commitment to the charter.

We cannot change others, but we can influence the environment based on

our authority and

* How many questions in procurement?

1: we knowl ~ 40% leadership
~ 50% process
~ 10% business
 If you look at that ratio across 180 questions
and look at the number of tasks in the exam content outline,
you can estimate about 5 questions per task.

5 questions
5 questions

* Is compliance included in quality?

definitely
*) often QUA has an external audit team / auditor
*) if not, often a team member acts as an audit team/auditor

* (Tim) What is Critical Chain?

Activity on Arrow vs. Activity on Node diagramming
What is PERT diagramming?
What is GERT?
What is the value of knowing this?
Immense.

* (Tim) leads and lags in Quality - pl discuss in after class discussion

Leads and lags are evidence of project relatsionships, dependencies.

These are neither correct or incorrect - they are constraints
that are part of the work.

Quality is doing work correctly.

QUality is controlling what we can control. Doing work
correctly by planning the correct way to do the work.

Leads/lags may be an effect of something we cannot control.

The only correct thing we can do is respond to leads/lags

"Dicotomy of control", stoicism

You can't control a lot of the world.
However, you can create a lot of satisfaction through
how you respond to these items.

It's not necessarily that leads and lags are evidence of

good or bad quality. However, how we respond to and managed
through and around leads and lags, will speak to the level
of our project quality.

* Where can I get a copy of the slides?

If you have access to the content on [Link],
you have access to the student manual - the slides and extra detail.

* Even after closure (project acceptance), we may need to have support

1) this may be part of the plan. It's scoped in and agreed upon
as a baseline component.

2) this may come up as a late requirement. We need to determine the

appropriate decision
* extend the project to incorporate?
* create a new project
 phase to customers for any bugfix etc... do we open new project for that ?
If it's a late requirement and appropriate (natural, easy) to
open a new project, let's do that.

====================================================
====================================================
9:17 PM 8/27/2021

eg PMBOK - Do we need to review both 6th and 7th Editions for teh PMI exam
They both help.
6ed: provides processes, tools, techniques for managing a project.

7ed: provides behaviors, principles, mindsets for managing a project.

They BOTH are valuable.

It has not been mentioned yet, but there will be a time when 6th edition
is moved into PMIStandards+ and used as a reference.

7ed is a higher level, more actionable discussion of Project Management,

and was primarily crafted to incorporate both aspects of Agile and
Predictive projects in a more integrated manner.

* How we can use PMBOK for preparation?

Use it primarily as a reference. When you are missing a concept or a
definition,
look it up. This will get you into the habit of deep research and
comprehension
as compared to quick reading and scanning (recognition).

* what is the major different Scrum and Kanban

Scrum is a set of agile tools used in work that is generally
uknown, uncertain.

Kanban is one type of schedule framework, that is useful when

you are utilizing backlogs and backlog items in your schedule
planning and control (agile).

Scrum is a broad range of tools, Kanban is one specific tool.

* I understand that the individuall SMEs provide the inputs for the
respective domains, but who does the integration of plan and
communicates to the forum

Generally, the PM owns and performs the integration of the

various parts into a whole.

* Tim, apart from the tests available on the simplilearn platform where
can we find the pretest and post test questions?
The FAQ has specific class details, the forum (search it) has more
general hints to free practice questions.

* hello Tim how many hour of addtional learning is

required to clear the exam
Let's review the FAQ post-session that recommends a preparation plan.

Generally it takes 4-8 weeks of review for practice questions, and

 then people generally have enough knowledge. The specific details
are in the FAQ.

* (Tim) Can we have a discussion of mission, vision, values?

What about north star? How does it fit in?
How is objective different?

* Why is whattsapp a problem?

When students talk about whatsapp they start sharing emails
and phone numbers in chat.

We share these recordings publicly.

This breaks our contract with you, so we can't allow you
to share phone numbers and emails in our session chats.
Also to share on the forum would be a very very bad idea.

Preparation Process
Here is how Tim suggests EVERYONE prepare. This is only an overview and
we'll go into Painful detail later.

Phase 1 This class. Pay attention, document where you are confused
and / or frustrated. These are your weakness, focus on reviewing,
researching and asking questions there.

Phase 2 After this class is over. Daily challenge yourself -

20-50 practice questions, sitting as if in the real exam -
no support material, only paper, pencil and a simple calculator.

DOCUMENT: the questions you are gettin wrong. Dissect these

questions, and ask, ask, ask. Review in the material Tim recommends.
Ask for clarificaiton.
Focus on your weaknesses.
If you are doing this daily and not seeing progress in your
practice every 3-4 days, ask about that as well.
People get stuck here, because their analysis is generally not
as thorough as they think it is.

Phase 2 generally takes people about 4-8 weeks, you can do it

sooner, but you will sacrifice work-life balance.

This assumes studying about 1 hour per day.

WE also suggest...

Phase 3 When you are consistently scoring 80-85% you have enough
knowledge. THEN: schedule your exam
* work on staying on task (focus).
* work on confidence.
* work on time management.

What about Rita?

The exam itself considers academic resources.

Among these are included
PMBOK 6,7
Exam Content Outline
Agile PRactice GUide
Code of Ethics
 Rita is an entire preparation program
also an INTERPRETATION. IT's not the direct source of information.

Some people resonate with the interpretation. Some don't.

Rita has LOTs of practice questions.

Some practice questions are complex because of how Rita

interprets and describes concepts.

* there is benefit to these materials

* part of the benefit is teh confidence gained from having
an extra resource

* Tim, Could you also talk about the project (at the end of the course)?

* What about those projects?

Some of you (not all) subscribed to a program that requires projects.

* go to the 'certificate' tab in your course console. The requirements

for the certificate will either mention a project or not.

* If it does mention a project, the 'assessments' tab will have details

that you will complete. It's easy, and there are buckets of information
all over the PMP community forum.

* If not, focus on review of the content, and what we have in front of

us right now.

* If you are still concerned whether you need to complete a project,

contact support or the account manager who first set you up in the course.

* (Tim) Define EPIC

Epic ...Epics
* a large, related body of work (sounds like a phase)
* intended to hierarchically organize
* a set of requirements and business outcomes
* can you explain how is critical path as shortest path duration. is it beacuse it
has float 0

====================================================
====================================================
5:49 PM 8/21/2021

* we don't have to wait for these sessions to complete

When to take on practice questions is your preference

* do you want to challenge yourself on topics you haven't

covered yet?
this is your decision criterion.

* Hey Tim when I took the PMI membership it was showing including application fees.
Should I start filling the application form now before completing the sessions.
It depends on whether you are on a schedule that is weekly, monthly, or
yearly.
 First of all, start your application right now.
fill in as much data as you can; you won't be able to submit
until after you receive your certificate

* What about those projects?

Some of you (not all) subscribed to a program that requires projects.

* go to the 'certificate' tab in your course console. The requirements

for the certificate will either mention a project or not.

* If it does mention a project, the 'assessments' tab should have details

that you will complete. It's easy, and there are buckets of information
all over the PMP community forum.

* If not, focus on review of the content, and what we have in front of

us right now.

* If you are still concerned whether you need to complete a project,

contact support or the account manager who first set you up in the course.

* More practice questions?

Right now, [Link] and [Link] have about
6 - 8 weeks of questions.

You can also try [Link], "PMChallenge"

Use your PMI account ID to log in.

*** scope ***

* Can I say when the project is completed, the product is also completed.
Yes. The work creates the product (deliverable)
Completion of the product signals completion of the work ("we are done")

Whereas, When the product is completed, the project may or may not be completed.
What does scope validation measure? Project, or PRoduct scope completion?
we actually measure the project completion by Completion Criteria

There are aspects of project closure that go beyond scope.

Archivnig of the lessons learned, survey results, administrative project
closure.

* Can Interviews and Discussions be used interchangeably.. as both are

two way communication.

Discussion is more general. It is primarily communication

(exchange of information 2 ways)

Interviews are a form of discussion

intended to elicit specific information.

* What Scope statement is part of "Scope baseline"...Since "WBS & WBS Dictonary"
are prepared from Scope statement
Why is scope statement included in this baseline?
Why is WBS included?
 Why is WBS Dictionary included?

Purpose of each document

Scope Statement
* ensures consensus on scope
* provides foundation of further decomposition into WBS
* used in controlling scope (go back and ensure scope statement
in alignment)

WBS
* Used as a project-wide data and information indexing system
* also used in scope control and validation
* also used in further planning

* Does acceptance criteria for a user story may or may not undergo
change/modification during grooming sessions, please advise.

* "All and Only" is okay to estimate for Predictive?

Can we say "All and Only" scope estimates in Agile as the scope may chanage?
all and only 'considering what we know right now'.

Even if predictive, we may need to change scope.

Project: "Let's bake cookies"

Scope Validation 'Are teh cookies done?'
Scope Control 'Do I need to change
thermostat?
timer?
recipe?

Changing the 'recipe' or plan (including baselines)

can be a scope change.
Why? It may be necessary.

* What about those projects?

Some of you (not all) subscribed to a program that requires projects.

* go to the 'certificate' tab in your course console. The requirements

for the certificate will either mention a project or not.

* If it does mention a project, the 'assessments' tab will have details

that you will complete. It's easy, and there are buckets of information
all over the PMP community forum.

* If not, focus on review of the content, and what we have in front of

us right now.

* If you are still concerned whether you need to complete a project,

contact support or the account manager who first set you up in the course.

* when is variance analsis done in agile

Whenever you need to turn data into information. Consider:
* After your standups, you have progress, status, and forecasts.
This gives you an opportunity to compare your progress against
expectations (variance).
 * After reviews, the feedback may expose various potential changes.
changes are a variance from actual or perceived actual.
* After retrospectives, you have an opportunity for change, based on
outcomes (variance).

Every time you have two data sets and want to compare differences,
that is variance analysis.

* What is difference between Team charter and RACI matrix

Team Charter: records

* project team values
* agreements
* operating guidelines
* establishes expectations regarding acceptable behavior
by project team members

RACI matrix:
* A form of Resource Assignment Matrix (RAM)
* A common way of showing stakeholders who are Responsible,
Accountable, Consulted, Informed
* and are associated with project activities, decisions, and
deliverables.

* Where can I find templates (let's look for team charter template)
[Link], 'templates' tab off the front page ribbon.
Log in with your PMI account ID.

[Link] has a few items.

PMBOK (6ed, 7ed) has some outlines of the standard 33 project documents.

* What is PO / LOI in relation with project charter?

Project Charter:
* authorizes the project
* provides PM authority

Purchase Order (PO):

* represents money set aside to purchase.

Letter of Intent (LoI):

* a legal document
* with commitment and obligation
* that can represent a contract, agreement, understanding

Can I declarre domiain/task for every single slide?

That is difficult. There are multiple slides for each topic.

Each topic may map to multiple tasks.

The tasks will not map 1:1 to individual slides.

However, you can review the mapping of tasks to topics on the Dashboard.

* sorry to ask this question, where to find past class videos as it is empty in
simplilearn site. i understand Tim told it needs a specific application to open the
video

You should be able to find the link to recorded videos associated with your
class in the "live classes" tab.
 The videos show up within 24-48 hours after class ends.

If you do not see them there, contact support.

* In simplilearn slides, in one of the slide, it has mentioned that "The team
charter contains methods of conflict management". Is that project charter and team
charter are different?

Team Charter: records

* project team values
* agreements
* operating guidelines
* establishes expectations regarding acceptable behavior
by project team members
Project Charter:
* Authorizes the project
* Provides PM authority

* When do I first start practice tests?

When you are ready.

People consider being ready differently -

* sometimes we want to get to the practice questions right now to
pursue the mechanics of the questions and sense the experience
of being in such an exam.

* sometimes we want to go through all the content, on the expectation

we want to challenge ourselves on what we should know, not on what
we don't know yet.

Ask yourself, and tell yourself what you're ready for now.

* Where can we find the recordings?

====================================================
====================================================
8:38 PM 8/20/2021

* When you say Paid accoun do you mean I aneed to be a paid membert to downlaod
PMBOK
TO download the free pdf, you need to be a paid member.
and if you are a paid member, this pdf (and all the other standards and
guides PFS) are free.

Where can I find teh ppt slides?

They are in the student handbook.

how do we access PDU's

FIRST - we must define PDU
Before you pass teh exam,

you collect CONTACT hours

you need 35 of these, in order for PMI to accept you to take the exam.

Once you have your PMP, you can collect PDUs.

 "Professional Development Units
- a unit of self-education, training, classwork,
lecturing, writing white papers, and other leader
activities that contribute to and support project management
value.

How can we find delta between 6th and 7th and start prepare
from dean jones to All Participants:
What is the difference between project chatter / team chatter - Can you give an
example pls
from Deepa T to Tim Jerome (Faculty) (privately):
I am trying see where i can find ppt slides, you asked to refer FAQ,

* If the team members are working in different products and with

different stakeholders who are sitting in different regions/locations
remotely then how we can connect all the team members together?

I was in New Mexico

My technical architect was in Austin, TX

My engineers were on-site (ho chi minh city)

My stakeholders were across 5 cities.

My technical architect and I had worked together for 7 years.

We created a strategy to engage the engineers such that the
engineers easily adopted our tools and communication behavior.

How important is face-to-face communication and how does it affect the connect with
team compared to just voice calls? Team members are sometimes not comfortable with
video interaction..will this hamper the team connectivity?

There are 3 scenarios we need to analyze:

face-to-face team meetings
remote internet team meetings
remote internet telecom meetings

What are the strengths?

What are the weaknesses?

* I started off this entire class with teh expectation

you may share questions with me privately.
I have the authority to share those questions with the
group if they are valuable.

This is NOT to make you wrong. It is to serve a point

in assisting the group (not necessarily the individual)
in understanding.

====================================================
====================================================
9:02 PM 8/14/2021

* What can I do between today and next week?

Between today and next weekend - I recommend what I always recommend:
review the session notes in combination with the recording (when available)
 Review the pre-recorded content on [Link] ("self-learning" tab)
write down the topics that confuse you.
* submit to forum this week
* you can review on your own / ask in the next session.

* Could you share some links for practice questions, tried searching through the
forum wasn’t successful
Start with
[Link], "PMChallenge"

Can you please guide us to prepare for yesterdays and todays session.
I review the dashboard at the beginning and end of each session
it documents progress and status
it also aligns with the session notes
if you are keeping up with these documents you know where we are and
what we expect to complete.

Secret
If
we have 4 hours
each slide can take about 3 minutes...
we have teh potential for covering up to 80 slides per session.

You can use that estimate and the dashboard to determine where
we will end up both saturday and sunday.

A PM who worked on IT domain can he/she work and manage projects realted to say
Civil construction?
There is a learning curve, but it can be done this way.

The terminologies/technicalties used, milestones and deliverables would be

different in a civil construction project compared to IT project. Is domain
knowledge key element for a PM?
It depends.

If you have been managing relationships for about 10 years, you can minimize
the amount of expertise you understand.

If you have 3-5 years managing projects through analysis of technical

details,
you have a bit of learning to do.

from prathikamedappa47 to All Participants:

Right. same question here
On our last 2 days, you will tell me I have to review practice questions.
I'll say: "We used up all our time the first few days."
I have laid out the best way to go through this class. I will attempt
to influence and negotiate. If you do not agree, I cannot assist in
changing your behavior.

Consider THIS:

"Idea if all agree to save time: We can post questions but can be answered in
breaks and after class"
 Even by submitting this content we are digressing. By attempting to guide and
direct,
we are taking up extra time.
We are all responsible to understand this.

* Tim, in real lide how to manage situations where let's say a critical resource
needs to go on leave while there is imp milestone to be accomplised?

To find topic-specific questions, it's difficult.

I am observing that you do not hear me when I say, "we are digressing".
"We are digressing" means -
You are curious, and it has very little bearing on the exam.
It is humnan behavior AND it is getting in the way of progress.
It is unnecessary.

I am now for the rest of today's class, capturing questions in our

notes and will attempt to answer them post-session, outside of class
and if I have time, on the forum.

By me being patient, I am also wasting time.

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I have lots of open questions. If I don't answer them post-session,

I'll start answering them outside of class and leave the answers in the notes.
I can even carry some questions into the forum (you can too if you need to)

This is a list of questions I don't have time for...

We may have time post-session -

I have these questions I'll work on ost-session.

After I leave class, I'll add this material to the session notes
and THEN upload the files to the shared drive.

I have 1 session notes file, and I organize it using gates and time/date stamps

is there a start to fisnish check list for a proejct with full list of all
alternative options
If each project is unique
any checklist is going to be general.
The best we have is 6ed PMBOK p. 25

* Is there a difference between good practice and best practice

I use 'good practice' because this is how the PMI standard describes.

* What about PMBOK 7ed? Should I use 6ed? 7ed? both?

We will refer to the 6th edition primarily
AND I will introduce you to the 7ed.
BOTH these apply to the exam
6ed processes and procedures
7ed principles and behaviors
 they talk about the same good practice.

Is PMP Exam Prep content and your sessions enough for the exam? Or we need to go
through PMBOK etc. also?
How do I prepare?
I'll discuss this initially tomorrow begining of class.
WE'll discuss details throughout.
Right now, just attend to all the concepts, and we'll weave them into
a pattern very quickly.

Tim would be feasible for you to upload session notes in the forum as well. Reason
being I am using my office machine and it won't allow me access dropbox for
security reason

* How do I use the PMBOK in my preparation?

PMBOK has been found by everyone as a good reference
like 'wikipedia for PM'
SOme have said it helped if they read it all the way.
If you don't, don't feel bad.
If you can, at the very least it'll increase confidence.

* Can there be a situation when a PM is not aware of certain information needed

while assigning certain responsibilities

Happens all the time.

YOu can't be frustrated.
You must find a solution that easily resolves.
I have to reset my personal expectations
* I cannot have perfect information at the start
* I can expect to build my understanding constantly
and course-correct throughout.

"Perfection is the enemy of progress"

"Good enough is progress' friend."