Interested in taking the PMP exam?

Bismillah.

I recently studied for and passed the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam, alhamdullilah. If you are interested in learning about leading project management practices, working towards the PMP certification maybe for you. 

In my opinion, the PMP gives two main benefits, it gives you an opportunity to review and learn about concepts within project management that you might not have formally encountered through your work experiences and it serves as a signal to employers who are looking for candidates with an understanding of project management methodology. Even if you are an entrepreneur and/or are not working in the project or portfolio management space, studying for the PMP will give you a useful perspective on various issues that should be considered when working in a team or project with varying customers/stakeholders. 

In regards to study tips, I suggest you read through the office PMBOK Guide and work through all the practice problems listed in Rita's guide on the pmp (2) listed below. Working through practice problems will be very important to cement the knowledge and will prepare you for the exam. Please read the benefits of practice problems/tests via the following NY times article:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/science/21memory.html?_r=0

I used two main books as a reference for the exam:

1. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)-Fifth Edition

 http://www.amazon.com/Project-Management-Knowledge-PMBOK%C2%AE-ebook/dp/B00BR3P4IC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369672023&sr=1-1&keywords=A+Guide+to+the+Project+Management+Body+of+Knowledge

2.
4/11/13 update
Although I used 7th edition when I took the exam, it probably makes most sense to use the 8th Edition in preparing for your exam (8th edition is based on PMBOK 5th edition, which is currently the frame of reference for the PMP exam)

PMP Exam Prep, Eighth Edition: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1932735658/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d1_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1RK86GMZMA91N94GH9VY&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

PMP Exam Prep, Seventh Edition: Rita's Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam

http://www.amazon.com/PMP-Exam-Prep-Seventh-Passing/dp/1932735410/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369672073&sr=1-1&keywords=rita+project+management

In addition, I also did practice problems/exams from http://practice.pm-exam-simulator.com/.

Reach out if I can help-

Review of Strategic Project Portfolio Management (written by Simon Moore)

Bismilllah

I recently read Strategic Project Portfolio Management (PPM)- Enabling a productive organization (written by Simon Moore). The book had a excellent review of the application of PPM theory in the workplace. The book is filled with case studies and provides a easy-to-read background on the intersection of PPM and technology.

For those new to PPM theory, Microsoft defines PPM as the following: "Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is the continuous process of  identifying, selecting and managing a portfolio of projects in alignment with key performance metrics and strategic business objectives."

I listed notes that summarize key lessons from the concluding chapter on leading PPM practices:

1. Set bold goals for the business and therefor the portfolio, and share these goals repeatedly and broadly.
2. Collect far more project ideas than you can execute on from as broad and diverse group as possible
3. Manage your portfolio as a whole against your strategic goals for the business.
4. Estimate key project parameters early and improve on those estimates over time.
5. Share portfolio information broadly with as many employees as possible
6. Monitor and report on the portfolio with a view to faster and more effective decision making.
7. Track everything that is consuming resources go beyond formal projects to anything that is a meaningful piece of work or use of resources.
8. Drive communication across everyone involved in the portfolio.
9. Support extensive planning before-hand and postmortem processes afterward.
10. Recognize the portfolio management skills that your organization already has.
11. Keep everything as simple as it can be.

How is the book organized?

• Chapter 1, 2: Focuses primarily on creation of business goals and strategic alignment of projects to them
• Chapters 3,4: Emphasizes benefits from disciplined planning and cost focus
• Chapters 5,6,7: Serves as a guide to best practice implementation
• Chapters 8,9, 10:  Expands on the prior chapter to explore the need for effective communications structures, people-centric processes, together with appropriate use of workflow, and process overall
• Chapter 11: Takes a more theoretical look at project management, surveying the key perspectives
• Chapter 12: Looks at future trends across project and portfolio management, combining a business and technology perspective

If you are interested in reading more notes from, feel free to click on the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RR14wnn-FNXmpw2oMGZXDqNlndEwyrawXiMfrw1gfM4/pub

If you would like to read a white paper by Microsoft on PPM, click below:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/C/A/B/CABA5F40-FDF5-46D6-9610-A2AF2A2014B5/Project%20Portfolio%20Management%20White_Paper.docx