Delays!

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the delay in my posts, things have been hectic around here lately ~!

Will resume posting next week.

Enjoy the days!

Earned Value Worksheet

Hi everyone,

I've put together a neat little tool for learning the principles and formulas of EVT. Email me for your free copy of the worksheet and I'll be happy to send it to you. (cannot attach files to blogger)

The worksheet itself is quite simple, it allows you to plug in your BAC (Budget At Completion) your AC (Actual Cost) your planned percentage complete and your actual percentage complete, then generates the EVT figures for you.

The neat feature however is that I've assigned a color coordinated cell formatting to the CPI and SPI values. (that can be fully manipulated) as seen in the photo.

I've also included the standar EV formulas in the third tab of the document as well.

Please email me at reubenbutterfield@gmail.com for your copy and don't hesitate to provide feedback for how I might make this tool more useful or functional for study purposes and/or performance monitoring and control.

Sunny Sunday in beautiful Victoria BC!

Technorati Claim Post

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Just a quick post to ensure visibility on Technorati.

This blog is intended to provide pmp exam tips to aspiring pmp candidates. The pmp credential is a certification that is recognized internationally for a level of excellence in project management using the pmi methodology.

Project, Portfolio, Program, Process, Operation.. what's the difference? We're all managers!

According to the PMBOK, a project is a "temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result." (you may want to remember this line!)

Let's look at some characteristics of projects:

-temporary

-unique

-a clear beginning

-a clear end

-long and involved

-short and simple

-can create a product, capacity to perform a service or other deliverable

Next comes portfolios, which, according to the PMI, are a "collection of projects or programs and other work that are grouped together to facilitate effective management of that work to meet strategis business objectives" The projects and programs contained in the portfolio can be -but do not have to be- directly related or dependent on oneanother.

Then we have programs, which the PMBOK describes as "a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not availabale from managing them individually". Furthermore, when you have a program, it always means you have more than one project, however you can have a project without it part of program.

As for operations, sometimes referred to as process, these are the functions that are performed to promote the ongoing activities of the organization, providing the same product or repetitive service. Several administrative functions and production line functions fall under the label operations.

~~Short and simple today to get the blog moving, so join me again very soon for more PMP review in preparation to sit for the PMP exam!

Feedback on the technical set up of this blog and feed!

Hi there, well now that it looks like a couple of people have joined up, *thank you* I'd like to ask for a little feedback on how the site, and particularly the feed are coming through to everyone.

Please let me know if anything is less than optimal, as I'm a newbie to the web publishing world.

Thanks in advance for any feedback provided.

More to come soon!

Overview of Processes by Knowledge Area

Project Integration Management	Develop project charter (initiating) Develop project management plan (planning) Direct and manage project execution (executing) Monitor and control project work (monitor and control) Perform integrated change control (monitor and control) Close project or phase (closing)
Project Scope Management	Collect requirements (planning) Define scope (planning) Create WBS (planning) Verify scope (monitor and control) Control scope (monitor and control)
Project Time Management	Define activities (planning) Sequence activities (planning) Estimate activity resources (planning) Estimate activity durations (planning) Develop schedule (planning) Control schedule (monitor and control)
Project Cost Management	Estimate costs (planning) Determine budget (planning) Control costs (monitor and control)
Project Quality Management	Plan quality (planning) Perform quality assurance (executing) Perform quality control (monitor and control)
Project Human Resource Management	Develop human resource plan (planning) Acquire project team (executing) Develop project team (executing) Manage project team (executing)
Project Communications Management	Identify Stakeholders (initiating) Plan communications (planning) Distribute information (executing) Manage stakeholder expectations (executing) Report performance (monitor and control)
Project Risk Management	Plan risk management (planning) Identify risks (planning) Perform qualitative risk analysis (planning) Perform quantitative risk analysis (planning) Plan risk responses (planning) Monitor and control risks (monitor and control)
Project Procurement Management	Plan procurements (planning) Conduct procurements (executing) Administer procurements (monitor and control) Close procurements (closing)

Overview of Project Process Groups

Initiating	Develop Project Charter (integration) Identify Stakeholders (communications)
Planning	Develop Project Management Plan (integration) Collect Requirements (scope) Define Scope (scope) Create WBS (scope) Define Activities (time) Sequence Activities (time) Estimate Activity Resources (time) Estimate Activity Durations (time) Develop Schedule (time) Estimate Costs (cost) Determine Budget (cost) Plan Quality (quality) Develop Human Resource Plan (human resource) Plan Communications (communications) Plan Risk Management (risk) Identify Risks (risk) Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis (risk) Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis (risk) Plan Risk Responses (risk) Plan Procurements (procurement)
Executing	Direct and Manage Project Execution (integration) Perform Quality Assurance (quality) Acquire Project Team (human resource) Develop Project Team (human resource) Manage Project Team (human resource) Distribute Information (communications) Manage Stakeholder Expectations (communications) Conduct Procurements (procurement)
Monitoring and Controlling	Monitor and Control Project Work (integration) Perform Integrated Change Control (integration) Verify Scope (scope) Control Scope (scope) Control Schedule (time) Control Costs (cost) Perform Quality Control (quality) Report Performance (communications) Monitor and Control Risks (risk) Administer Procurements (procurement)
Closing	Close Project or Phase (integration) Close Procurements (procurement)

PMP Resources

Project Management Institute

PMP - My Lessons Learned

Passed on JUNE 29th, 2009 took just under three hours in total, no breaks.

As for my Lessons Learned:

I used Head First PMP and PMBOK, studied both somewhat intermittently over
two months, but really didn't lean into it to say the least. (kept
reading the same chapters over and over again, thinking THIS time I'll
actually start studying!)

The two weekends leading up to the exam:

1. Went camping about three km away from any civilization, just me,
the ocean and the PMBOK! Made it through all the knowledge areas
twice and made some crude notes.

2. Had to go to Vancouver to write the PMP exam on Monday (today)
so decided to go over on Friday night and lock myself in a hotel room
and study the last bits. I read all the areas that I was the least
bit unsure of, focusing particularly on risk, earned value management (EVT), and procurement. I
did several of the 50 question sample exams from Head First PMP web site,
and all of the exercises in the Head First PMP book. I focused heavily on
EVT and understanding what the various charts and graphical
representations are for. (Pareto, Decision Tree etc. etc)

By Sunday night, I was feeling pretty good.

In the exam first thing on Monday morning, I wasn't feeling the same
for the start, but then it got better.

Overall, if I was doing it again, I would focus more on the ITTOs, and
page 70 of the PMBOK.

The exam was challenging, and certainly you want to have read the
PMBOK at least twice, THEN use some other resources.

Earned Value Formulas

Acronym	Term	Formula	Description
CV	Cost Variance	CV = EV - AC	CV is the cost performance and helps determine whether the project is executing as planned. Subtracting AC from EV calculates the cost variance.
SV	Schedule Variance	SV = EV - PV	SV indicates the schedule performance of the project. This value can indicate whether the project work is proceeding as planned. Calculate the SV by subtracting the PV from the EV.
CPI	Cost Performance Index	CPI = EV / AC	For the CPI, divide EV by AC. Cost performance index allows the project manager to see where they're at on the budget; a CPI greater than one indicates the project over budget, while a CPI lower than one indicates under budget.
SPI	Schedule Performance Index	SPI = EV / PV	Project managers can use the SPI to help predict when their projects will be completed. To calculate the SPI, divide EV by PV. An SPI of one indicates the project is on schedule, greater than one indicates it is ahead of schedule; and lower than one indicates it is behind schedule.
EAC	Estimate at Completion	EAC = BAC / CPI EAC = AC + ETC EAC = AC + (BAC - EV)	EAC is used by project managers to give their best estimate of the total costs of projects based on perofmance to date. The simplest formula to remember for EAC is BAC/CPI.
ETC	Estimate to Complete	ETC = EAC - AC	ETC is the estimated cost to execute the remaining work for the project (or phase, sub-project. ETC helps project managers predict what the final cost of the project will be upon completion.
VAC	Variance at Completion	VAC = BAC - EAC	VAC is the difference between the budget at completion and the expected total costs of the project based on current performance.