FAQ
Project Management Professional (PMP) FAQ
What are the pointers I should consider while preparing my PMP application ?What are the pointers I should consider while preparing for PMP certification exam ?Any specific strategy to be followed while trying Question bank ?
Program Management Professional (PgMP) FAQ
During evaluation 1 stage what are the pointers I should consider while preparing my PgMP application ?During evaluation 2 stage what are the pointers I should consider while I prepare for my PgMP Credential Examination ?Any specific strategy to be followed while trying Question bank ?
General
Project Management Professional (PMP) FAQ
What are the pointers I should consider while preparing my PMP application ?
1. Before you start preparing your PMP application, make sure you are satisfying the necessary pre-requisites for PMP certification by going through "PMP Hand Book" at least once.
2. Your experience summary details should be written in proper English. No charts, graphs allowed.
3. All your responses should be within the specified word limitation as mentioned in the application form
4. Do not describe project management activities performed by others / or in general by the team etc. PMI is interested to hear your experience in managing the Projects
5. Support your experience with Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) defined Project Management best practices. Avoid using theory concepts. Show more practical examples with qualitative & quantitative information wherever applicable
6. Few PMP applications can be selected for Audit. So please be prepared that you can evidence the necessary experience details which you have filled in the application in case your application is selected for audit.
7. It’s advisable to go through PMBoK at-least once before you fill the experience summaries in your application. PMI will look for whether have you managed your project in line with the PMI best practices outlined in Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK)
8. Re-read your application form before submission to ensure that they are correct and complete.
(Word of Caution: In case, PMI rejects a candidate's application then as a part of their refund policy PMI will reimburse only less than 100 USD back to the applicant. The remaining amount will be considered as processing fee and will not be re-imbursed. So, the applicant will end up in time loss & cost loss in such scenario. Hence, its very important the applicant should be very careful while preparing the application so that there should not be any chances of rejection in this stage).
9. Please send your application to me for a FREE review so that I can recommend any modifications which are deemed necessary. My email: s_anupkumar@yahoo.com
Please Note: In case you are facing difficulty in preparing your application then its highly recommended to buy PMP sample application which comes along with necessary DOs & DONTs instruction manual.
To buy "PMP Sample application with detailed instructions" please visit the below link: http://www.intellectarea.com/our-products
2. What are the pointers I should consider while preparing for PMP certification exam ?
Basically, PMP Credential exam will focus on the level of your understanding about the PMBoK Concepts. The candidate is expected to have very good understanding about PMI based Project management best practices. This exam tests your attitude about your decision making in a given situation. Most of the questions will be scenario / situation based and the exam will be conducted based on psychometric analysis which tests the psychology of the candidate in effectively managing large Projects in line with PMI based best practices
This stage is considered to be more challenging & time consuming. More reading part involved and you may need to have thorough understanding about PMBoK concepts before you face the exam. Your time commitment & dedication is very important in this stage.
I would recommend its very much important to have a study plan with clear timelines scheduled considering all the essential materials so that your target date for exam will be very clear and you can monitor your progress in ongoing basis and ensure to keep the variance as minimal as possible. More hours you can spend a day for studies then sooner you can finish this stage.
Treat this certification journey itself as a Project. A "Special Project" to achieve a career defining goal in your life....
Below mentioned materials are necessary. In case, you dont have any of the below docs please let me know I can help you in getting those.:
1) Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK)
2) Rita Mulcahy
Also, it’s recommended to go through some useful docs for FREE of cost in "PgMP reference material library" available in below link: http://intellectarea.com/apps/links/
The concepts mentioned in PMI materials particularly PMBoK is very high level. Hence it’s recommended to choose a study material to smoothen the journey. You can consider using "PMP one stop shop V1.0" which I authored for the benefit of PMP certification aspirants.
To buy "PMP one stop shop V1.0" please visit the below link: http://www.intellectarea.com/our-products
For any queries please feel free to write to me s_anupkumar@yahoo.com
3. Any specific strategy to be followed while trying Question bank ?
Basically, the intention of question bank is twofold:
1. The score what you get in your first attempt to check your level of preparedness & readiness for the exam.
2. Perform Gap analysis. To identify the grey areas and fix it before it get exposed in the actual exam.
Basically, any question bank you may use for the exam preparation, First of all please do not try it when you are un-prepared / half-prepared. You should consider question bank as to test your level of preparedness. So, in that context try to answer the question bank once when you are completely done with the preparation and do it in exam conditions by simulating an actual exam experience.
The score what you get in your first attempt is considered to be a valid score. However, the primary focus should be given for wrong answers. Try to analyze what was your thought process when you make that choice and re-align your thought process in the right way and strengthen your concept level understanding by going through the relevant area (not complete book) and perform gap analysis.
You may not need to repeat the question bank all together again. It's infact not the right way to use your valuable exam preparation time. Because, you are already familiar with most of the questions and necessary thought process related to their respective answers.
Hope now the strategy is clear....!!!
Program Management Professional (PgMP) FAQ
During evaluation 1 stage what are the pointers I should consider while preparing my PgMP application ?
1. Before you start preparing your PgMP application, make sure you are satisfying the necessary pre-requisites for PgMP certification by going through "PgMP Hand Book" at least once.
2. Your experience summary details should be written in proper English. No charts, graphs allowed.
3. All your responses should be within the specified word limitation as mentioned in the application form
4. Do not describe program management activities performed by others / or in general by the team etc. PMI is interested to hear your experience in managing the Program
5. Support your experience with SPM defined Program Management best practices. Avoid using theory concepts. Show more practical examples with qualitative & quantitative information wherever applicable
6. Most of the PgMP applications will be selected for Audit. So please be prepared that you can evidence the necessary experience details which you have filled in the application
7. It’s advisable to go through SPM at-least once before you answer the questions in your application. The reason behind is, during Panel review stage your application is verified by a group of PgMP’s how are nominated by PMI. During this process, they will look for whether have you managed your program in line with the PMI best practices outlined in Standards of Program Management (SPM)
8. Re-read your responses before submission to ensure that they are correct and complete.
(Word of Caution: In case, PMI rejects the application in panel review stage they will reimburse only 375 USD back to the applicant. The remaining amount will be considered as processing fee and will not be re-imbursed. So, the applicant will end up in time loss & cost loss in such scenario. Hence, its very important the applicant should be very careful while preparing the application so that there should not be any chances of rejection in evaluation 1 stage).
10. You can share your application form to me by email s_anupkumar@yahoo.com for a FREE review and I can recommend any modifications which are deemed necessary.
Please Note: In case you are facing difficulty in preparing your application then its highly recommended to buy PgMP sample application which comes along with necessary DOs & DONTs instruction manual.
To buy "PgMP Sample application with detailed instructions" please visit the below link: http://www.intellectarea.com/our-products
2. During evaluation 2 stage what are the pointers I should consider while I prepare for my PgMP Credential Examination ?
Basically, Credential exam will focus on the level of your understanding about the SPM & PMBoK Concepts. The candidate is expected to have very good understanding about PMI based Program management best practices. This exam tests your attitude about your decision making in a given situation. Most of the questions will be scenario / situation based and the exam will be conducted based on psychometric analysis which tests the psychology of the candidate in effectively managing large Programs in line with PMI based best practices
"Evaluation 2" is considered to be more challenging & time consuming. More reading part involved and you may need to have thorough understanding about SPM concepts before you face the exam. Your time commitment & dedication is very important in this stage.
I would recommend its very much important to have a study plan with clear timelines scheduled considering all the essential materials so that your target date for exam will be very clear and you can monitor your progress in ongoing basis and ensure to keep the variance as minimal as possible. More hours you can spend a day for studies then sooner you can finish this stage. Tentatively 2-3 hours in daily basis for 2 months will be sufficient.
Treat this certification journey itself as a Program. A "Special Program" to achieve a career defining goal in your life....
For Evaluation 2, the below mentioned materials are necessary. In case, you dont have any of the below docs please let me know I can help you in getting those.\
1) PMBoK V5 (Chapters: Time, Cost, Quality, HR Management should go through in detail)
2) Rita Mulcahy V8 (Chapters: Time, Cost, Quality, HR should go through in detail)
3) Standards of Program Management (SPM V3)
4) PgMP handbook (for your reference)
5) PgMP Exam content outline (Task based details in all domains)
6) PMI Code of Ethics & Professional Responsibility
How to read Standards of Program Management (SPM) ?
While you read SPM, you should read (line by line, word by word) and do a lot of analysis in terms of who initiates, who approves, how benefits are achieved, try to find answer for questions related to What, When, Where, Who, Why, How by visualizing various situations & scenarios and do "What IF" analysis that's the recommended approach of reading SPM. Understand every processes, process mappings, work flow etc.
The GOLDEN RULES about how to study SPM:
"Do more Analysis than Reading"
"READ BETWEEN THE LINES"
"Do not memorize. Do mind mapping"
By doing this, you will gain in depth understanding about the big picture of Program Management. In exam you will be facing lot of analytical questions which test the practical implementation of SPM program management concepts. So your analysis skills really matters..:-)
Also, it’s recommended to go through some useful docs for FREE of cost in "PgMP reference material library" available in below link: http://intellectarea.com/apps/links/
The concepts mentioned in PMI materials particularly SPM are very high level. Hence it’s recommended to choose a study material to smoothen the journey. You can consider using "PgMP One-Stop-Shop Version 1.0" which I authored for the benefit of PgMP certification aspirants.
To buy "PgMP One-Stop-Shop Version 1.0" please visit the below link: http://www.intellectarea.com/our-products
For any queries please feel free to write to me s_anupkumar@yahoo.com
3. Any specific strategy to be followed while trying Question bank ?
Basically, the intention of question bank is twofold:
1. The score what you get in your first attempt to check your level of preparedness & readiness for the exam.
2. Perform Gap analysis. To identify the grey areas and fix it before it get exposed in the actual exam.
Basically, any question bank you may use for the exam preparation, First of all please do not try it when you are un-prepared / half-prepared. You should consider question bank as to test your level of preparedness. So, in that context try to answer the question bank once when you are completely done with the preparation and do it in exam conditions by simulating an actual exam experience.
The score what you get in your first attempt is considered to be a valid score. However, the primary focus should be given for wrong answers. Try to analyze what was your thought process when you make that choice and re-align your thought process in the right way and strengthen your concept level understanding by going through the relevant area (not complete book) and perform gap analysis.
You may not need to repeat the question bank all together again. It's infact not the right way to use your valuable exam preparation time. Because, you are already familiar with most of the questions and necessary thought process related to their respective answers.
Hope now the strategy is clear....!!!
To try my "440 PgMP advance Scenario question bank V2" please follow the below link:
General
How to make use of Study group for PMP / PgMP certification preparation ?
"Study group" is really a good initiative.
First of all, its very important to form a study group by gathering like minded certification aspirants together who shares the common objectives and who are ready to do their time commitment & dedication towards the certiication goal.
Fix a common point related to the communication protocols, meeting timings, methods, frequencies & other administrative formalities.
Before the meeting
Make use of this meeting to discuss all PMboK / SPM related concepts & best practices outlined. Be prepared about the topic for the discussion and ensure the agenda of the discussion is very clear before the meeting by setting a common expectation.
So that, all participants will go through the necessary topics and will be prepared so that discussion will be more advance level & more productive.
During the Meeting
Discussions should focus on concept by concept. Take a concept and talk in & out about the respective work flow and analyze various situations & scenarios and try to find out answers for What, When, Where, Why, How etc. also analyze if's & but's scenarios...
Its very important to make use of the meeting effectively & Productively. So, its better to have a "Chairperson" in the meeting.
You may nominate anyone within the study group and you can keep this position rotational that's up-to-your convenience.
The role of the chairperson in conducting the meeting (not limited to):
* Optimum usage of the participant's time. "TIME IS MONEY"...!!!
* Ensure the discussion focuses in the right direction.
* There are situations where the discussion may get deviated so Chairperson should take control and bring back the discussion on track by saying "TIME OUT"...:-)
* Avoid "Story telling session" etc. unless & until its needed considering the best use of everyone's time taken into consideration.
Also, discuss the agenda for the next meeting and finalize the plan
After the meeting
We use to share the materials & send clarifications by emailing to all participants so the discussions where we left in the meeting may continue through mail chains.
If further analysis required, we will consider discussing that topic in the next meeting. We share the materials in box.com with customized access privilege so that it really help multiple participants to review & update the information in shared location.
Its also recommended that all participants schedule the exam in a common time frame so that the preparation speed will be well aligned.
PgMP journey is very challenging. No doubt about it. It's very interesting though. So keep enjoying every moment in this journey...:-)
Once when you are credentialed, you will cherish all these valuable memories & share your experience to future aspirants like how I did...