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In this issue... |
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Hello again! This week marks the third month of the PM exam tips newsletter. We would like to take this opportunity to learn from you how the newsletter is helping you and how we can improve it.
We would therefore appreciate it, if you could take five minutes and answer our seven-question survey. Almost all questions are "point and click", so it's a very easy survey to take. Please help us understand how we can make the newsletter better and help you become PMP certified.
The survey is here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LJ85BRZ
We would love to hear from you.
Let me also remind you of the gantthead PMXPO2011:
gantthead is once again excited to be bringing you our annual virtual
conference and exhibition on May 19th. Learn, network, earn PDUs and
gain valuable knowledge from the comfort of your home, office or
somewhere in between. Registration is free.
Until Next Time,
Cornelius Fichtner, PMP
President, OSP International LLC
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Win a Free Game for your iPhone
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 Are you preparing for the PMP Exam? Want to add some fun to your studies? Yes? No problem.
Stop by at www.facebook.com/prepcast and sign up every day for the next 6 days to win one free license of The ITTO Game. We're giving away one game every day. Learn all about the PMBOK Guide ITTO's in a fun way on your phone.
Remember: The giveaway continues for the next several days. So come back to www.facebook.com/prepcast daily to check if you have won and sign up for the next day's contest.
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What if you get audited on your PMP Exam Application?
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By applying to take the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam you also automatically agree to comply with the Project Management Institute's (PMI) audit terms. The PMI writes about this in the PMP credentials handbook as follows:
"To ensure that only qualified individuals attain credentials from PMI, we routinely conduct audits of candidate applications. The audit process is primarily random however, PMI reserves the right to audit any candidate or PMI credentialed individual at any time."
Here is what you can do in order to make a possible audit go smoothly and what to expect.
First of all, start out by reading the PMP Credentials Handbook to gain a basic understanding of the audit process. You can find this handbook on the PMI website in the Career Development section. While it doesn't list all the details of the audit process it is the only official information that PMI has published about it.
Now it's time to proactively avoid any possible issues should your PMP Exam application be selected for an audit: As you fill in your application for the PMP certification exam simply answer all questions truthfully. The intention of the application is to show that you fulfill PMI's eligibility requirements. The intention of an audit is to ensure that only viable candidates apply. Consequentially, if you fill in your PMP application truthfully, then you will have nothing to fear from the audit. This audit process is one of the reasons that the PMP credential retains its high regard.
The audits are completely random and you will be informed via email that you have been selected. This email is usually sent to you the moment that you submit your application. Along with the statement that you have been selected for an audit, the email also contains detailed audit instructions for you.
At this point, it is important to realize that once you are being audited the "clock stops". By this I mean that you have 1 year following the submission of your application to take the PMP exam. But during the audit, this "clock stops" and does not continue until after your audit has been processed. So if your audit takes 6 weeks, then you have 1 year and 6 weeks to take the exam from the moment that you submitted the application.
After informing you that you are audited, the PMI will prepare the "audit package" for you. Log on to your account at PMI to find it. This package contains the details that you have submitted for each of your projects on your application. It also contains further instructions. You will now have to do the following:
In your application you named a primary contact person for each of the projects that you had worked on. Forward the appropriate section of the package to each of your primary contacts. They now have to verify that the information listed is correct, print and sign the document, put it into a sealed envelope and then put another signature across the sealed flap of the envelope. And yes, the PMI is very serious about this last one.
You will also have to make photocopies of the certificates you received from your training courses, to show that you have received 35 Contact Hours of training related to the 9 PMBOK Guide Knowledge Areas.
Once you have gathered all this information you have to send the sealed envelopes and your certificate copies to PMI for review. I recommend that you send everything as one package and request a delivery receipt from the postal service.
PMI will inform you about their decision via email. Should you fail the audit, then PMI will refund the money that you paid minus an administrative fee of $100.
It is important to realize, that you have the power to expedite the audit process. The sooner you respond, the sooner it is processed. PMI is usually rather quick in processing your audit documents after you send them in. In some cases it can take as little as 4 days.
To make an audit go as smooth as possible I always recommend that PMP exam aspirants take one more step to resolve any possible issues should they get audited. After all PMI advocates that we project managers must be proactive, so let's apply this concept here as well. My recommendation is that once you are ready to submit your application to PMI, submit it first to your primary contacts. Allow your primary contacts to review your application and confirm that they agree with the information that you have listed. If they don't agree then you can make changes before you send it off.
Many of my students have been audited by PMI. And they tell me that if you are prepared and if you know what's coming then being audited is simply a formality and nothing to be worried about.
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Prepare Mentally for the Day of the PMP Exam
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 Prepare yourself physically and mentally before you take the PMP Exam. Mental preparation in the last 24 hours before you take the PMP exam is very important.
Watch this video we have prepared for you: http://bit.ly/fg2D3W
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Sample PMP Exam Question
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You are managing a construction project. You are currently estimating the duration of a very critical activity. You have gathered the following information from the experts:
Best case scenario: Activity can take 3 days to complete.
Worst case scenario: Activity may take up to 12 days to complete.
Expected scenario: On average it takes up to 6 days to complete such activities.
What duration you will put into your schedule for this activity if you want to put some weight on the expected scenario?
A. 7 days
B. 7.5 days
C. 6 days
D. 6.5 days
Hint: Use PERT to calculate.
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Exam Tip: What to Write in Your PMP Exam Application
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 We often receive a question similar to the following from PMP Exam Applicants who are in the process of filling in their application form:
Question: Do you have an example of project write ups on PMI application - best in class examples of how to summarize your projects - I have drafted mine and would like to evaluate my application against best in class for structure, etc.
Answer: The answer is "No, we don't have any examples". This is because we don't collect them, but even if we had any, we would not share them. Each PMP application should be written specifically based on the individual experience by the applicant. Every project is different and the summary should not be just a "boilerplate" statement.
We do, however, have a small example for you in our experience verification worksheet. Click on this link here to open up the XLS document:
http://www.project-management-prepcast.com/index.php/freetry-it/exam-links/81-qualification-requirements-/167-experience-verification-worksheet - There isn't much here, but it's a start.
We also have a tip: When writing the summary go ahead and use as much "PMI language" as is appropriate. So if you have created a project plan as part of your work, then call it by that official PMBOK name, even if your company calls it a "Project Base Document". Use PMI terminology to make it easier for the reviewers to understand.
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Solution
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 Correct Answer: D
Reference: PMBOK4 - pg:150
Explanation: Since you want to put some weight on the expected scenario, you will use the PERT formula. Your estimate will then be 6.5 days. Hence choice D is the correct answer.
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Lessons Learned from Rodrigo A.
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Hello,
I couldn't wait to come home and write my lessons learned for my path on becoming a PMP. First of all I had purchased my prep cast a long time ago but due to work the new 4th edition came out and I had to upgrade, during the upgrade I bought the following
- The PM Prepcast
- Rita PMP book
- Andy C. how to pass on the first try
- PMBOK
- PMBOK QA's
I started studying on my own but felt like I had no plan, as priorities were not letting me concentrate on my studies, that is when I came across a well defined study plan I purchased the study coach and I did this.
I read the PMBOK and Rita book once (skimmed it mostly) and then I follow the study coach, and listen to each episode (per knowledge are per week), I also purchased two exam banks and at the end of each week I did the questions for each Knowledge area, after finishing all areas, I read the PMI code of ethics twice and the corresponding chapter on the prep books.
During the last week (this one for me) I took some days off and just did practice test, I took 3 two hour test (one each day) and then studied the area that I scored the least on.
I felt I was very well prepared and today I passed my exam having moderate proficiency in most areas except initiation and professional responsibility.
I would like to Thanks Cornelius for his coaching and teachings couldn't have done it without you.
and BTW the hardest question on the EXAM is answering YES when they ask you if you are sure you want to finish the test....
Best regards,
Rodrigo A
To read more success stories go here..
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