Project Management Professional (PMP) Predictive (Plan-Driven) Project Management Syllabus

Predictive (Plan-Driven) Project Management syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Predictive (Plan-Driven) Project Management in Project Management Professional (PMP), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Integration and Scope Management

   5 topics

   • Develop project charter and project management plan
     • Business case, benefits management plan, assumptions log
     • Subsidiary plans and baselines
   • Direct and manage project work; manage project knowledge
   • Collecting requirements and defining scope
     • Requirements traceability matrix
     • Scope statement and acceptance criteria
   • Creating the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
     • Decomposition and work packages
     • WBS dictionary and the 100% rule
   • Validate scope and control scope; managing scope creep
2. 2

   Schedule Management

   4 topics

   • Defining and sequencing activities
     • Precedence diagramming and dependency types
     • Leads and lags
   • Estimating activity durations
     • Analogous, parametric, three-point (PERT)
   • Developing the schedule
     • Critical path method and float/slack
     • Schedule compression: crashing and fast tracking
     • Resource leveling and smoothing
   • Controlling the schedule and milestone tracking
3. 3

   Cost Management

   3 topics

   • Planning cost management and estimating costs
     • Estimating techniques and reserve analysis
     • Cost of quality considerations
   • Determining the budget and cost baseline
     • Cost aggregation and funding limit reconciliation
     • Management vs. contingency reserves
   • Controlling costs with earned value management (EVM)
     • PV, EV, AC; CV, SV, CPI, SPI
     • Forecasting: EAC, ETC, TCPI, VAC
4. 4

   Quality, Resource, and Procurement Management

   4 topics

   • Planning and managing quality
     • Quality assurance vs. quality control
     • Seven basic quality tools
   • Estimating, acquiring, and developing resources
     • RACI and responsibility assignment matrix
     • Resource calendars and team development
   • Procurement planning and contract types
     • Fixed-price, cost-reimbursable, time and materials
     • Make-or-buy analysis
   • Conducting and controlling procurements; closing contracts
5. 5

   Risk Management

   5 topics

   • Planning risk management and risk appetite/thresholds
   • Identifying risks and the risk register
   • Qualitative and quantitative risk analysis
     • Probability and impact matrix
     • Expected monetary value, decision trees, simulation
   • Risk response strategies
     • Threats: escalate, avoid, transfer, mitigate, accept
     • Opportunities: escalate, exploit, share, enhance, accept
   • Implementing responses and monitoring risks

Predictive (Plan-Driven) Project Management flashcards for Project Management Professional (PMP)

25 of 77 cards from the Predictive (Plan-Driven) Project Management deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is a project charter and who issues it?

   A document that formally authorizes the existence of a project and gives the project manager authority to apply organizational resources. It is issued by the project sponsor or initiator (external to the project).

2. What key information does the project charter typically contain?

   High-level project purpose/justification, measurable objectives and success criteria, high-level requirements, overall risk, summary milestone schedule, summary budget, key stakeholders, exit criteria, the assigned project manager and their authority, and the sponsor authorizing it.

3. What is the project management plan?

   The comprehensive document that integrates and consolidates all subsidiary management plans (scope, schedule, cost, quality, etc.) and baselines, defining how the project is executed, monitored, controlled, and closed.

4. What are the three baselines integrated into the project management plan?

   The scope baseline, the schedule baseline, and the cost baseline. Together they form the performance measurement baseline (PMB).

5. What is the purpose of the 'Direct and Manage Project Work' process?

   To lead and perform the work defined in the project management plan and implement approved changes to achieve the project's objectives. Its key outputs include deliverables, work performance data, and change requests.

6. What is 'work performance data' versus 'work performance information' versus 'work performance reports'?

   Data = raw observations/measurements from executing work. Information = data analyzed in context against baselines (in controlling processes). Reports = physical/electronic compilation of information for decisions or action.

7. What is the goal of the 'Manage Project Knowledge' process?

   To use existing knowledge and create new knowledge to achieve objectives and contribute to organizational learning. It manages both explicit (codified) and tacit (experience-based) knowledge.

8. Distinguish explicit knowledge from tacit knowledge.

   Explicit knowledge is easily codified using words, numbers, and pictures (documents). Tacit knowledge is personal and difficult to express, such as beliefs, experience, insights, and know-how.

9. What is the difference between product scope and project scope?

   Product scope = the features and functions that characterize the product, service, or result. Project scope = the work that must be performed to deliver that product with the specified features (completion measured against the project management plan).

10. What is a requirements traceability matrix?

    A grid that links product requirements from their origin to the deliverables that satisfy them, ensuring each requirement adds business value and is tested/tracked throughout the project.

11. What is the project scope statement?

    The detailed description of the project and product scope, including deliverables, acceptance criteria, project exclusions, assumptions, and constraints. It is part of the scope baseline.

12. What three components make up the scope baseline?

    The approved project scope statement, the work breakdown structure (WBS), and the WBS dictionary.

13. What is a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)?

    A hierarchical, deliverable-oriented decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the team to accomplish objectives and create the required deliverables.

14. What is a work package in a WBS?

    The lowest level of the WBS, where cost and duration can be reliably estimated and managed. Work packages are decomposed into activities for scheduling.

15. What is the 100% rule in WBS construction?

    The WBS must include 100% of the work defined by the project scope and capture all deliverables (internal, external, interim). The sum of the work at the child level must equal 100% of the parent, with no extra work and no omissions.

16. What is a control account in the WBS?

    A management control point above the work package level where scope, budget, and schedule are integrated and compared to earned value for performance measurement.

17. What is the WBS dictionary?

    A document providing detailed deliverable, activity, and scheduling information about each component in the WBS (e.g., code of account, description, responsible org, milestones, resources, cost estimates).

18. What is the purpose of the 'Validate Scope' process and who performs validation?

    Formalizing acceptance of completed project deliverables. The customer or sponsor inspects and accepts the deliverables, resulting in accepted deliverables (or change requests if rejected).

19. How does Validate Scope differ from Control Quality?

    Control Quality is internal and checks correctness of deliverables against quality requirements (verified deliverables). Validate Scope is typically external and obtains customer/sponsor acceptance of those verified deliverables (accepted deliverables). Control Quality is usually done first.

20. What is the purpose of the 'Control Scope' process?

    Monitoring the status of the project and product scope and managing changes to the scope baseline, ensuring all changes are processed through integrated change control.

21. What is scope creep and how does it differ from gold plating?

    Scope creep is the uncontrolled expansion of product or project scope without adjustments to time, cost, and resources. Gold plating is the team adding extra features the customer never requested. Both are uncontrolled additions to be prevented.

22. What is the primary defense against scope creep?

    A clearly defined scope baseline plus a formal integrated change control process, so every requested change is evaluated and approved/rejected before any work is done.

23. What is the 'Define Activities' process?

    Identifying and documenting the specific actions (activities) to be performed to produce the project deliverables, by decomposing work packages. Outputs include the activity list, activity attributes, and a milestone list.

24. What is a milestone?

    A significant point or event in the project; it has zero duration and consumes no resources. Milestones may be mandatory (e.g., contractual) or optional.

25. What is the Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)?

    An activity-on-node technique for constructing a schedule network diagram that uses nodes for activities and arrows for logical relationships (dependencies).

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