PMP Certification Renewal: Learn Project Management / 18PDUs

In this lecture, I will talk about the definition of Project, Portfolio, and Program. First, I will explain what a Project is, after that we will discuss why we initiate projects. Then, we will understand what a Project and a Portfolio is.

In the previous lecture, we understood what a project, a program, and a portfolio are. Now we can talk about Project Management and why it is important.

Let’s discuss the Program Management and Portfolio Management.

Organizational Project Management, or in abbreviated terms “OPM”, provides guidance while doing all of the organizational work. It defines the strategic framework to achieve the strategic goals of the company.

In the previous lectures we have mentioned the word “Operation” a few times but we haven’t talked about what the operation is. In this lecture, we will understand what the operation is and we will see the differences between an operation and a project.

Project Management Office, which is generally abbreviated as PMO, is a department within an organization, which provides, shares and maintains the standards and the procedures to manage the projects. Here in this lecture, we will talk about what a Project Management Office is and what it does.

In this short lecture, we will talk about Organizational Governance and Project Governance.

In the previous lecture, we have learned the terms “Organizational Governance” and “Project Governance”. In this lecture, we will talk about the Organizational Structure.

As you remember from the previous lecture, there are 3 major Organizational Structure types. These are: Functional, Matrix and Project-oriented organizations. Let’s discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these organization types.

Who is the Project Manager? Of course, he is the one who manages the projects. In most of the cases, he is responsible for everything about the project.

In the previous lecture, we have talked about the role of the Project Manager. Now, it is time to talk about the Stakeholders and the Project Sponsor.

Project works are done by the Project Team. They are the ones who plan, execute and monitor and control the project. Some of the Team members may work during the Initiation and the Closing. Let’s talk about the role of the Project Team.

In the previous lecture, we have mentioned some key roles of the Project Team members. Now, we will talk about the role of the Functional or Resource Manager.

Up to now, we have seen most of the stakeholder roles. In this lecture, we will talk about two more: The Role of the Program Manager and the Role of the Portfolio Manager.

In this lecture, we will talk about the difference between two concepts: The Project Life Cycle and The Project Management Processes. You may confuse these two terms. These are different than each other and therefore, you need to know the difference between them.

In this lecture, I will explain what the Organizational Process Assets and the Enterprise Environmental Factors are.

In this lecture, we will see what an Assumption Log is. This is also a frequently used ITTO, therefore we need to know it very well.

Up to now, we have learned three of the most frequently used ITTOs: Organizational Process Assets, Enterprise Environmental Factors, and Assumption Log. In this lecture, we will learn three more which are relevant to each other.

In this short lecture, we will talk about Expert Judgment, which is one of the most frequently used ITTO.

In this lecture, we will mention the Data Gathering, Data Analysis, and Data Representation tools and techniques. These are the group of tools and techniques which are categorized by their function. I will explain these tools and techniques briefly in this lecture, then in the future lectures, I will talk about some of them which are important for the exam in detail.

Up to here, we have mentioned some of the most frequently used ITTOs. Now, in this lecture, we will mention one more: the Project Management Information System.

In this lecture, we will learn another frequently used ITTO: Decision Making.

The success of a project is closely related to Interpersonal and Team Skills. This is why it is one of the frequently used ITTOs. Some of the Interpersonal and Team Skills we will discuss are: Facilitation, Conflict Management, Meeting Management, Leadership, Influencing, Motivation, Emotional Intelligence, Active Listening, Networking, Political Awareness, Cultural Awareness, Nominal Group Technique, Observation/Conversation, Negotiation, Team Building, Communication Styles Assessment.

Before talking about the process groups, let’s start with the definition of the Process.

In the previous lecture, we have learned what a process is. Now, we are ready to talk about the Process Groups.

In this lecture, we will talk about the Knowledge Areas. At the end of this lecture, you will have a general idea about each knowledge area; so after we start to the knowledge areas sections, you will be able to understand the concepts better.

Before starting the project, some analysis should be conducted to decide whether or not to start the project. Sometimes, not starting a project, may be a better option than starting it. There are some methods help us to make the right decision.

You need to know the Economic Models for the exam. In this lecture, we will talk about the Economic Models you need to know for the exam.

In this lecture, I will explain some of the accounting terms you need to know for the exam.

This is the first lecture about the Integration Management knowledge area. In this lecture, we will first learn what the Tailoring is. Then, we will talk about the Tailoring activities of Integration Management.

In this lecture, we will first learn what a Project Charter is. Then, we will talk about what we need to develop the Project Charter, how we create it and what we get as the result of these activities.

In this lecture, we will talk about the ITTO’s of the Develop Project Charter Process.

There are two business documents: The Benefits Management Plan and the Business Case. In this lecture, we will talk about one of these two documents, the Business Case.

In this lecture, I will mention some important notes about this process. Some of these notes are already mentioned in the previous lectures, but there is still new information in this lecture. These notes may be helpful for your exam.

In this lecture we are going to talk about the only planning process of the Integration Management knowledge area: Develop Project Management Plan. First, I will explain what the Project Management Plan is. Then we will talk about what is going on in this process. This is an important process, and you need to understand this process very well for the exam.

In this lecture, we will talk about the Performance Measurement Baseline which is a component of the Project Management Plan.

In this lecture we will talk about the Change Management Plan, which is a component of the Project Management Plan.

In this lecture we will talk about the Configuration Management Plan, which is a component of the Project Management Plan.

Up to here, we have learned what the Project Management Plan is and what the components are. Now we are ready to mention the ITTOs of the Develop Project Management Plan.

We are almost done with the Develop Project Management Plan process. I said “Almost done” because I still have some important notes on this process for you.

We are done with the Initiating and Planning processes of the Project Integration Management knowledge area. Now we are in the Executing Process Group. There are two Executing processes of the Integration Management knowledge area. These are: Direct and Manage Project Work and Manage Project Knowledge. In this lecture, we will talk about the Direct and Manage Project Work process.

In this lecture, we will see the ITTOs of the Direct and Manage Project Work process.

Up to this lecture, we have learned three processes of the Integration Management knowledge area. Here, I would like to schematize what is going on during these processes basically. This is going to be a good reminder for you in the future, so you may want to bookmark this lecture.

In the previous lectures, we learned that there are two Executing processes of the Integration Management knowledge area. The first process is the Direct and Manage Project Work, and we have seen that process in our previous lectures. The other Executing process of the Integration Management knowledge area is the Manage Project Knowledge process, and in this lecture, we will talk about this process.

In this lecture, we are going to talk about the ITTOs of the Manage Project Knowledge process.

Before completing the lectures about Manage Project Knowledge process, let’s talk about some important notes.

The integration Management knowledge area has two processes in the Monitoring and Controlling process group. And Monitor and Control Project Work is one of these processes. If you are ready, let's start the lecture.

In the previous lecture, we learned the main work done in the Monitor and Control Project Work process. So, we can now better understand the ITTOs of this process.

Up to here, we have talked about almost everything about the Monitor and Control Project Work process. But I still have some notes for you.

In this lecture, we will start a new process named Perform Integrated Change Control. Perform Integrated Change Control is one of the two monitoring and controlling processes of the Integration Management knowledge area. So we are still in the Monitoring and Controlling process group. In the exam, you may get 15 to 20 questions related to this process, therefore you should know this process very well. So, if you are ready, let’s start the lecture.

Here in this lecture, we will talk about the changes and how to deal with them in detail. We will also take a look at the big picture so that we understand this process clearly.

In the previous lectures about Perform Integrated Change Control process, we talked about what is going on in this process. Now we are ready to talk about the ITTOs of this process.

Until now, we have talked about almost everything about the Perform Integrated Change Control Process. I have only a few reminders for you in this lecture.

We are almost done with the Integration Management knowledge area. We have only one process left: The Close Project or Phase process. This process is not only the only Closing process of the Integration Management knowledge area, but also the only closing process of Project Management. In the exam, you will get around 14 questions about this process, therefore by learning this process, you will be able to solve those questions easily.

In this lecture, we will learn what we need for this process, what we use and what we get as a result of this process.

In the previous lecture, we have seen the ITTOs of the Close Project or Phase Process. The Benefits Management Plan is one of the Inputs to this process, but we haven’t mentioned this document in our previous lectures. Therefore, in this lecture, we will talk about the Benefits Management Plan.

In this lecture, we will talk about the Agile Considerations of the Integration Management knowledge area.

In this lecture, we will talk about what the Scope Management is and why we need such a knowledge area.

In this lecture, we will talk about the Plan Scope Management process.

In this lecture, we will talk about the ITTOs of this process.

In this lecture, we start the second process of the Scope Management knowledge area; this is the Collect Requirements process.

Here in this lecture, we will be discussing what we need, what we use and what we get from this process. We will have a long list for this process, but don’t worry, if you learn why we need and why we use them very well, you will be able to learn all of them easily.

In this lecture, we will learn how to deal with competing requirements and how to balance these kinds of requirements. This is not going to be a long lecture, but this is an important one since you will be dealing with these kinds of situations both in real life and in the exam.

Define Scope is another planning process of the Scope Management knowledge area.

In this lecture, we will talk about the ITTOs of the Define Scope process.

You need to learn what the Work Breakdown Structure is, where we use it, and what benefits we get from it if you want to pass the exam. Here, starting from this lecture, we will be answering these questions.

In this lecture, we will talk about the WBS Dictionary. Please note that we are still in the Create WBS process of the Scope Management knowledge area.

Up to here, we have discussed the Scope Baseline a few times in our previous lectures. In this lecture, we will talk about it detailly, so that you understand it clearly.

In this lecture, we will discuss the inputs, tools and techniques and the outputs of the Create WBS process.

Up to this lecture, we have learned almost everything about the Create WBS process. But I want to draw your attention to some of the important issues.

We have completed the planning processes of this knowledge area. We have two more processes left: The Validate Scope and the Control Scope processes. These are the Monitoring and Controlling processes of the Scope Management. In this lecture, we will talk about one of these two monitoring and controlling processes: The Validate Scope process.

In the previous lecture, we have seen the big picture of the Scope Management and now we are ready to talk about the Validate Scope process.

In this lecture, we will talk about the ITTOs of the Validate Scope process.

In this lecture, we will discuss the Control Scope process, which is the last process of this knowledge area. This is a Monitoring and Controlling process just like the previous Validate Scope process.

In this lecture, we will discuss the ITTOs of the Control Scope process.

In this lecture, we will learn how the scope management is done in an agile environment.

In this lecture, we will talk about the tailoring considerations related to the Scope Management knowledge area.

In this first lecture about Schedule Management, I want to briefly talk about this knowledge area. We will see what processes are involved and what works are done in this knowledge area.

In this lecture, we will talk about the Plan Schedule Management process, which is also part of the Planning process group.

In this lecture, we will talk about the inputs, tools and techniques and the outputs of this process.

In this lecture, we will talk about the Define Activities process of the Schedule Management knowledge area.

In this lecture, we will discuss, what we get as a result of this process and what we need and use to get these results.

Up to here, we have created our Schedule Management Plan and we have determined the activities and the milestones. Now, we need to sequence the activities. Here in the Sequence Activities process, we will talk about how we sequence the activities.

We will learn how to draw a network diagram from a given activities list with dependencies.

We are still discussing the Sequence Activities process, and in this lecture, we will talk about what we get as a result of this process, what we need to get these results, and what tools and techniques may be helpful for us.

Up to here, we have determined the activities and then arranged them while drawing the network diagram. Now it is time for estimating the activity durations.

In the previous lecture, we have seen the One Point Estimating, Analogous Estimating and the Parametric Estimating techniques. Here in this lecture, we will discuss the Three-Point Estimating technique in detail.

This process is not a Calculation Only process. There are lots of other information we need to know in addition to doing calculations. So, let’s start to talk about them.

In this lecture, we will talk about the inputs, tools and techniques and the outputs of this process.

In this lecture, we will mention some important points about the estimating processes. You need to know these not only for the duration estimates, but also for the cost estimates.

Here in this lecture, we will learn how to do the scheduling calculations by using the Critical Path Method.

In this lecture, we will learn how to do the Critical Path Method calculations. First, we will talk about the Forward Pass and the Backward Pass. Then, we will learn how to calculate the Floats and how to find the Critical Paths.

In the previous lectures, we have learned, how to make schedule calculations; so, we know how to find the critical path and how to calculate the total duration of the project. OK, what about this? Let’s say you calculated the project duration and when you present it to your sponsor, he said: “We need to complete the project in a shorter time”. What would you do?

There may be hundreds of activities in a network diagram. Each activity has its own source. For example, resources are different for each activity. Differences in these sources may result in different results on the Project. We use simulation techniques to investigate the different results of different scenarios.

In this lecture, we will talk about the two Resource Optimization techniques: Resource Leveling and Resource Smoothing.

Up to here we have talked about the major works we do in this process. Now, let’s talk about the ITTOs and let’s see if we have any other activities to do in this process.

In this lecture, we will discuss the Control Schedule process which is the last process of this knowledge area.

Although we have talked about most of the work done in this process in the previous lecture, there are still some other works to do in this process. Here in this ITTOs lecture, we will learn them, too.

Here in this lecture, I would like to talk about the Agile Considerations a little bit.

In this lecture, we will talk about the tailoring considerations for the Schedule Management knowledge area.

In this lecture, we will take a look at what we have in this knowledge area.

In this lecture, we will discuss the Plan Cost Management process of the Cost Management knowledge area.

In this lecture, we start to discuss the Estimate Costs process, which is another Planning process of the Cost Management knowledge area.

In this lecture, we will talk about the ITTOs of this process.

In this lecture, we will talk about the Determine Budget process, which is the last planning process of the Cost Management knowledge area.

In the previous lecture, we have seen how we determine the Project Budget. Now, it is time to talk about the ITTOs of this process.

We have learned all of the planning processes of the Cost Management knowledge area. There is only one process left and it is a Monitoring and Controlling process; it is the Control Costs process. The most important item you need to learn in the Control Costs process is the Earned Value Analysis. There will be 15 to 20 questions on Earned Value on the Exam. Not all of them have required calculations; some of them require you to understand the results. So, if you want to pass the exam, you definitely need to learn it. This is why I have created separate lectures for Earned Value Analysis before starting the Control Costs process. I will explain this concept as simple as possible so that you understand it easily.

In this lecture, we will go through an example to understand the basic EVM concepts.

In the previous lectures, we have talked about the basic principles for the Earned Value Analysis. By only knowing the subjects we have seen up to here, you will be able to solve 2 third of the questions regarding Earn Value Analysis. But since you want to solve all of the questions, you need to follow the rest of the EVM lectures.

In this lecture, we will discuss the 4th and the last process of this knowledge area, the Control Costs process.

In this lecture, we will talk about the Inputs, Tools and Techniques and the Outputs of this process.

In this lecture, I would like to talk about Agile Cost Management.

In this lecture, we will mention the tailoring considerations for Cost Management.

Before starting to talk about Quality Management, let’s take a general look at this knowledge area.

In this lecture, we will discuss the Plan Quality Management, which is the only Planning process of this knowledge area.

In the previous lecture, we have mentioned the Plan Quality Management and what we do in that process in general terms. Now we will discuss the ITTOs of this process.

In the previous lectures, we have talked about the only Planning process of this knowledge area, the Plan Quality Management process. Now, it is time to discuss the only Executing process of this knowledge area, the Manage Quality process.

Since we have talked about the Manage Quality process and since we have a general idea about what we do in this process, we can now talk about the Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs.

The Control Quality process is about measuring the deliverables, services, product or the result in terms of Quality. Control Quality and Manage Quality processes are closely related to each other. In the following lecture, when we talk about the tools and techniques, we will see that most of the tools and techniques are the same with the Manage Quality process; but of course, there is a difference.

In this lecture, we will discuss the Outputs, Inputs and the Tools and Techniques of the Control Quality process.

Although we have discussed all 3 processes of this knowledge area, I have still some notes for you.

In this lecture, we will talk about Quality Management in Adaptive Environments.

In this lecture we will talk about the tailoring concepts we should consider while determining the best fit Quality Management processes for our Project.