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In this issue... |
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 Hello ,
Welcome to another issue of The PM Exam Tips Newsletter.
What will you expect in this week's issue?
First, you will have access to the last FREE 4 videos on "How to Prepare for The PMP Exams". Hope you don't miss it.
I will also share with you another valuable information about "The Project Manager's essential interpersonal skills" including the importance of influencing people. We will review each of the skills I have mentioned in the next issues of our newsletter.
Take time to read guest writer Jessica Parklanes' article "The PMP Course- Preparing For the Course Starts With Your First Project". Another brilliant tip to keep in mind for project managers and aspiring project managers.
New PMP Linda Jones will share her PMP exam preparation tips. She mentioned reading Andy Crowe's How to Pass PMP Exam in the First Try, which simplifies the language in the PMBOK 60 days before your exam. Read more about Andy Crowe's book in our Recommended Study Materials portion below.
Enjoy!
Until Next Time,
Cornelius Fichtner, PMP
President, OSP International LLC
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Recommended Study Materials
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 The PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try, 4th Edition by Andy Crowe
We recommend this book because it contains a wealth of information that a project manager needs to know to pass the PMP Exam -- the first time!
If this is your first attempt to pass the PMP exam, Andy's The PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try, 4th Edition (Disclosure: Compensated Affiliate) is an essential part of your study materials. Based on the PMBOK Guide, 4th Edition, it provides 44 processes, 592 inputs, tools and outputs that will thoroughly prepare you for the exam.
It also contains insider secrets, test tricks and tips, hundreds of sample questions and intelligently created exercises to reinforce your proficiency of key concepts that will guide you to achieve a successful result.
Some highlights of this book include:
- Project Management Processes and Knowledge Areas - A detailed breakdown of all Processes and KAs with clear explanations and no extraneous information to confuse you.
- Tools, Tips and Tricks - Tools such as formulas and various project management process tables are well organized and explained and will strengthen your comprehension and retention. Insiders' tips are presented In an easy to understand style to give you an edge.
- Sample Exam Questions - Quizzes at the end of each chapter and a final exam give you a better feel of the exam. The book keeps pace with the ever-evolving PMP test and helps you understand and navigate the complex exam questions. You'll learn how to correctly answer questions on the first try.
Order The PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try, 4th Edition from Barnes and Noble by clicking HERE!
Full Disclosure: The PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try, 4th Edition is an affiliate product. If you click and choose to purchase the book, we will earn a commission.
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The PMP Course- Preparing For the Course Starts With Your First Project by Jessica Parklanes
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When the boss asks you to manage a project, no matter how insignificant it is, take it. That small project will lead to more projects that will earn you the number of hours to qualify for a PMP Course; you never know when you can cash on it but it is best to be prepared.
Why Start Now
When people decide to take a PMP Course they are disappointed to learn that there is a number of project management hours to chalk up before they can take the course. Some will have to wait for a few years to get the required number of hours and the delay may cool or fan their desire to get a PMP certification.
You may not have decided yet about the course but if you become a project manager, because of an emergency problem, do not view the task as an extra task heaped on you; take it as an opportunity and do not dismiss your accomplishments. It could be the start of anything, a PMP Course and eventually a PMP certification.
How to Manage Your First Project
A project mostly involves managing people to work towards a goal. It could be as simple as leading a dish washing crew, selling a new product, or difficult as synchronizing work in one unit of the company. To bolster your raw management skills, read management books and learn how to apply it on the job. These questions will help shape your project plans along the lines of project goals, project resources, and project monitoring.
- How well do you understand company objectives?
- What is the project's short-term or long-term goal?
- Is the project timetable sufficient?
- Are varied resources available?
- Are skills appropriate and relevant?
- What are the additional resources that might be required?
- Is this the first project for most of the team members?
- What information should be shared and how should this be shared?
- Can risks be overcome?
- Are resources sufficient to cover the risks?
Do what the seasoned managers are doing and include the following activities; these strategies prepare you for a future PMP Course.
- Prepare a back-up plan
- Get feedback from the team members
- Categorize tasks according to their major and minor significance
- Document progress development
- Document problems that occurred during the course of the project
- Document the best practices that prevented and solved problems
Record everything from the planning, execution, and the completion of the project and keep an eye on team members to evaluate the appropriateness of their skills, their response to crises, or the level of their competencies.
You have to work with other units too - procurement, customer service, accounting, and top level management. By now, you know that a project manager must have great oral and written communication skills, good interpersonal skills, and must have effective leadership skills to keep team members well-motivated.
From your notes and your first-hand experience, you learn the practical applications of different management theories, which make up the different learning areas in a PMP Course. By now, start reading the PMI Credentials Handbook and do more research on PMP certification.
All of these tips prepare you to the demands of a PMP Course. So take up that project with confidence; you can do it.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jessica_Parklanes
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| How To Prepare for The PMP Exam Videos 5-8 |
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 Video 5:
The amount of material you need to master to pass the PMP certification
exam may seem overwhelming, but it's doable. Just follow this simple,
four-step study process. http://bit.ly/pmpstep5
Video 6: Despite all the
studying you've done for the PMP Exam you may be nervous about taking
the test. Here's how PMP sample questions and PMP Exam Simulators can
help test your knowledge and prepare you for the big day. http://bit.ly/pmpstep06
Video 7: Don't blow your
chances of passing the PMP exam and earning PMP certification by failing
to prepare for the exam day. Here's how to make sure you're ready
mentally, physically and logistically.
http://bit.ly/pmpstep07
Video 8: Earning professional
development units is key to maintaining your PMP certification after you
received your certification. Here are tips on staying PMP certified
over the years. http://bit.ly/pmpstep08
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Sample PMP Exam Question
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The team members follow what the project manager tells them because they fear that the manager has the authority to provide negative feedback in their appraisal. Which of the following types of power describe this situation?
A) Referent Power
B) Formal Power
C) Technical Power
D) Coercive Power
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Exam Tip: The Project Manager's Essential Interpersonal Skills |
A successful project manager must have many different types of skills. Those that come to mind immediately are the technical skills that we need to put together a project plan, schedule, budget and all of the necessary documentation. It is also important for us to have the conceptual skills needed to 'see' the project as it is being developed.
However, those skills won't ensure a successful project unless the project manager is able to complement his / her technical skills with many different types of interpersonal skills.
These essential skills include the following:
- Leadership
- Team building
- Motivation
- Communication
- Influencing
- Decision making
- Political and cultural awareness
- Negotiation
Being able to call upon and apply these skills at the right moment in your project can help ensure success. We will review each of these skills in our upcoming weekly exam tips.
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Solution
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The correct answer is: D
All our questions are updated to the latest PMBOK Guide standard. We are a PMI Registered Education Provider.
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Lessons Learned from Linda Jones
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I passed the PMP exam on July 29th and I am so overwhelmed with joy that I survived it.
Here are a few of my best practices for others to consider as they go through the same process:
- Read the PMBOK book (from start to end) and then take time to read Andy Crowe's How to Pass PMP Exam in the First Try, which simplifies the language in the PMBOK 60 days before your exam.
- Study and memorize the formulas in PMBOK, for 15 to 20 min a day..and develop a Brain Dump Review Sheet to produce formulas from your memory each day 45 days before the exam.
- Review PMBOK second time, and try to focus on understanding the Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs (ITTOs) for every process group and the 9 Knowledge Areas. No need to memorize, but review them constantly on a daily basis, so they become familiar to you. It should make more sense after reading Crowe's book. This should be happening 30 days before the exam.
- Sign up with The PM PrepCast and take the full length practice tests- I took 8 practices tests in the final 2 weeks before the PMP exam.
- Before each test, review the ITTOs and complete brain dump sheet of formulas before each practice, do the test, and then review the answers you missed and make notes during final 2 weeks before exam.
- Once you see your practice test scoring at the passing rate or higher rate needed for PMP exam, then you are most likely ready for the exam, On day of exam, schedule it for afternoon, so you have one more time to review all the ITTOS and do brain dump of formulas in the morning before you arrive at site to do the exam.
More stories here..
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