PMP Project Management Practice

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet requirements.

The classic triple constraint is scope, schedule, and cost, with quality and risk also influencing them.

The project sponsor or another authorizing body approves the project charter.

The project charter formally authorizes the project and provides authority to the project manager.

The Initiating process group authorizes the project and identifies stakeholders.

The Planning process group develops the project management plan and subsidiary plans.

The Executing process group directs and manages the work defined in the plan.

Monitoring and Controlling tracks performance and takes corrective or preventive action.

The Closing process group completes deliverables, archives records, and closes the project.

The WBS decomposes the total scope into manageable work packages.

A work package is the lowest level of the WBS and represents definable work.

The critical path is the longest sequence of dependent tasks that determines project duration.

Float is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying successor work or project completion.

Activities with zero float are on the critical path and directly affect project duration.

Planned value is the authorized budget assigned to scheduled work.

Earned value is the value of completed work measured against the approved budget.

Actual cost is the amount of money actually spent for work performed.

CPI below 1 means earned value is less than actual cost, indicating a cost overrun.

SPI below 1 means earned value is less than planned value, indicating the project is behind schedule.

Risk is an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has an effect on project objectives.

The risk register records identified risks, their analysis, owners, and planned responses.

Risk appetite is the degree of uncertainty an organization is willing to accept.

Mitigation reduces the probability or impact of a negative risk.

Avoidance changes the plan to eliminate the threat or protect objectives from its impact.

Transfer shifts the risk impact to another party, such as through insurance or contracts.

Acceptance acknowledges the risk and monitors it without proactive response.

Each risk has an owner accountable for implementing and monitoring the response.

Stakeholders include anyone who can affect, be affected by, or perceive themselves to be affected by the project.

Stakeholder engagement plans communication and involvement strategies for each stakeholder.

A RACI matrix clarifies who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each task.

The Accountable role is ultimately answerable for the correct completion of the work.

The CCB reviews, evaluates, and approves or rejects change requests.

Change requests formally propose modifications to baselines or project documents.

A baseline is the approved plan version against which performance is measured.

Scope creep occurs when scope grows without controlled change management.

Gold-plating adds unrequested extras and is generally discouraged because it does not add authorized value.

Requirements describe conditions or capabilities that must be met by the project.

The traceability matrix connects requirements to their sources and verification activities.

Milestones mark significant events in the schedule and have zero duration.

Rolling wave planning uses progressive elaboration to plan near-term work in more detail.

A burndown chart tracks remaining work against time, common in agile projects.

A sprint is a timeboxed iteration, usually one to four weeks, that produces a usable increment.

The product backlog contains prioritized work items for the product.

The Product Owner is accountable for the product backlog and its priorities.

The Scrum Master facilitates the Scrum process and helps remove obstacles.

Servant leadership prioritizes the needs of the team and enables their success.

Collaborating works with the other party to find a solution that satisfies both sides.

Forming is the initial stage when team members meet and orient themselves.

Quality assurance evaluates processes and applies standards to prevent defects.

Quality control verifies deliverables against requirements and detects defects. It is performed through inspections, testing, and measurements while work is being completed. Budget planning, stakeholder updates, and charter writing are different project management processes that do not focus on inspecting deliverables.

Prevention focuses on doing work correctly the first time, which lowers rework cost.

In a firm fixed-price contract, the seller bears the risk of cost overruns.

Cost-reimbursable contracts reimburse seller costs, so the buyer bears more cost risk.

The procurement statement of work describes the work or product to be purchased.

The project management plan defines how the project is executed, monitored, and closed.

Lessons learned capture knowledge and experience to improve future projects.

Configuration management ensures that product versions and documentation are controlled.

The assumption log records assumptions and constraints used during planning.

The sponsor champions the project, provides resources, and removes high-level obstacles.

Initiating, Planning, and Executing are process groups; Marketing is not.

Scope, schedule, and cost are common constraints; vacation time is not.

PV, EV, and AC are earned value components; SWOT is a strategic analysis tool.

Avoid, mitigate, and transfer are threat response strategies; gold-plating is scope misuse.

Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Developers are Scrum roles; a CCB is not a Scrum role.

The charter, stakeholder register, and assumptions log can be created during initiation; sprint review is agile.

Quality planning, assurance, and control are quality processes; the WBS decomposes scope.

Fixed-price, cost-reimbursable, and time-and-materials are contract types; a WBS is a scope tool.

The critical path is the longest sequence of dependent activities.

Earned value is the budgeted cost of work performed. In earned value management, it shows the planned cost of the work actually completed at a point in time. Comparing earned value with planned value and actual cost reveals schedule and cost performance.

The project charter formally authorizes the project. It names the project manager, defines the high-level scope and objectives, and gives the authority to use organizational resources. Without a charter, the project has no formal authorization to begin.

Avoidance changes the plan to eliminate a threat. The team removes the risk by changing scope, schedule, technology, or approach so the threat cannot occur. This is different from mitigation, which reduces probability or impact while leaving some risk.

The Product Owner owns the product backlog. This Scrum role prioritizes backlog items, represents stakeholder interests, and clarifies requirements for the team. The blank should be product because the role is called Product Owner.

A burndown chart shows remaining work over time. It helps agile teams see whether they are on track by tracking unfinished tasks from sprint start to completion. The blank should be burndown because that is the chart name used in agile planning.

Initiating authorizes, Planning plans, Executing performs work, and Closing finalizes deliverables.

The WBS decomposes scope, critical path determines duration, RACI assigns roles, and change requests modify baselines.

PV is planned work value, EV is completed work value, AC is money spent, and CPI is EV/AC.

Avoid eliminates, mitigate reduces, transfer shifts, and accept acknowledges the risk.

The Product Owner owns the backlog, the Scrum Master removes impediments, developers build increments, and sprints are iterations.

Assurance audits processes, control verifies deliverables, prevention avoids defects, and inspection detects them.