Essential Interpersonal Skills of a Project Manager

PMP® 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 interpersonal 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.

Why do we need a Risk Register?

PMP® Exam Tip: Why do we need a Risk Register? A risk register is a critical project document and should not be short changed. Regardless of how well your project is planned and executed, there are always risks associated with it. The key to a successful project is being aware of those risks and documenting them so that if they materialize, they don’t completely derail the project.

Each potential risk is identified and added to the risk register. Then the risk is analyzed to decide how likely it is to occur, how much of an effect it would have and whether or not any steps should be taken to either reduce the likelihood of the risk occurring or to mitigate the possible damage.

In many cases, plans are also made on how to handle the situation if the risk occurs. This may include the steps that must be taken and who will be responsible for those actions.

Being prepared is an essential part of a successful project. Completing a comprehensive risk register, and reviewing it after each stage of the project is completed will help to keep the project on track and ensure that it s a success. A good risk register also makes it easier to keep senior management aware of the risks associated with a project so that they are not surprised.

One final note: The risk register is not part of the project management plan but it is instead “just” another project document. See A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide).

What is Cost of Nonconformance in Projects?

What is Cost of Nonconformance There are two separate components within Cost of Quality (COQ). We looked at the Cost of Conformance in our last tip and this time we’ll focus on the Cost of Nonconformance. The Cost of Conformance is focused on avoiding potential failures and the Cost of Nonconformance in projects is the cost incurred as a result of any failures because the quality expectations were not met.

This “failure” is really easy to understand: You built a product, service or result through your product and it failed to meet quality expectations. Now you have to fix it, which is going to cost you.

There are both internal and external costs related to failure. Internal costs are those identified within the scope of projects. This includes things like the time and money it will take to rework part of the project. It also includes any cost involved if you have to throw away parts of your project work, which is officially called “scrap”.

External failure costs are those identified after the product or service has been delivered to the customer. This includes things like warranty fulfillment, liability costs and the potential of a loss of business.

Is Cost of Nonconformance vs Cost of Conformance in projects now clear?

Preparing for your Project Management Professional (PMP)® Exam can be a daunting task. That is why Cornelius Fichtner, PMP has created a series of 8 videos in which he answers the 8 most important questions for you. Learn what the expert knows in these 8 videos at http://www.pm-prepcast.com/8videos

Watch the first video here:

Study Cost of Conformance for the PMP® Certification Exam

PMP® Exam Tip: Cost of Conformance There are two separate components within Cost of Quality (COQ) and you must have a complete understanding of both of them for your Project Management Professional (PMP)^® Exam. One is the Cost of Nonconformance, which is the money (and time) that will be spent due to the failure of a deliverable from your project. The other is the Cost of Conformance. This is the figure that is determined to be necessary to avoid those failures in the first place.

There are two categories within it. The prevention costs are those associated with building a quality product or service so that any errors are within the range that is considered acceptable. These usually include the elements of training and equipment. Also included in this category is the time and effort required to fully document processes and to do things the right way.

The other category within the Cost of Conformance is the appraisal costs. These are the costs associated with determining the level of quality to ensure it meets the required standards. Appraisal costs include things like inspections and various types of testing that are then evaluated to ensure the quality expectations are being met.

In our next tip, we’ll take a closer look at the Cost of Nonconformance.

Understanding the Basic Concept of Cost of Quality

PMP® Exam Tip: Understanding Cost of Quality The cost of quality (COQ) as it relates to project management is frequently misunderstood. It is a monetary figure but it does not solely relate to how much it will cost to provide a quality product or service through the project as most people initially believe.

Instead, COQ is also about the costs that will be involved to bring a product or service that is considered sub-standard up to the standards as they are described. This concept isn’t limited to only the duration of the specific project either. It also takes into consideration costs that occur after the project has ended, such as product returns, recall campaigns and warranty claims. So the complete product life-cycle (not just the project life-cycle) is included when figuring out COQ. The overall cost of quality is reviewed as part of the project to make decisions on how much will be invested in quality.

There are two main categories within the COQ definition. They are the cost of conformance, which is the money spent to avoid problems, and the cost of nonconformance, which is the money spent because of the problems that occurred. We’ll look at those in our next tips.

The Project Management Tool to Help You Pass The PMP® Exam

Windows Calculator As you prepare for your Project Management Professional (PMP)® Exam, you should know that there are many PMP® Exam formulas that you will be expected to know. Among them are Earned Value, PERT, communications channel and about 40 others you must have memorized.

Since these formulas must be in your head, you will not be allowed to bring your own personal calculator into the exam room with you because it could have some of the formulas saved with it. This is when your alternative project management tool comes in... Windows Calculator.

Some of the calculations you will be required to complete are likely to be complex enough that they will require the use of a handy project management tool. So during the exam you will have to use the Microsoft Windows-based calculator.

It’s important for you to be prepared for all facets of your PMP® Exam, and being comfortable with the Windows calculator should be included in your preparation.

That’s why after learning that they will not be allowed to bring their own calculator into the exam room, most people simply stop using their hand-held calculators and fire up an alternative project management tool - the Windows calculator, every time they are faced with a formula in a sample question. I recommend that you do the same.

And here is my most surprising recommendation: use the calculator for every single calculation you have to make: 100 divided by 2? Use the calculator. 3 times 10? Use the calculator.

The reason for this is simple: Taking an exam is stressful and it’s easy to make a silly mistake in your head. And we don’t want 100 divided by 2 to suddenly to be 200. So use the calculator.

Passing your PMP Exam is too important to your future. It will be stressful and you may struggle to have enough time to finish it. It only makes sense to use all of the tools you have at your disposal to make it as easy as possible. This includes being prepared to use the Windows based calculator.

If you want to study the correct formulas for your PMP Exam, then the PMP Exam Formula Study Guide is a must-have. It is THE authoritative reference and contains all the correct PMP exam formulas for you to study and practice. In this video we show you an overview of The PMP Formula Study Guide.

PMP® Exam Tip: Crashing & Fast Tracking explained

PMP® Exam Tip: Crashing & Fast Tracking explained...

Every project manager knows that schedules change constantly. And unfortunately, schedules usually don't get shorter -- they get longer! Or your customer wants the product delivered sooner. And now, what looked like a perfect schedule at the beginning of the project is a total mess and you will never be able to complete your project on time!

Unless of course you take immediate action in the form of crashing or fast tracking.

And that is what this article is all about. I will teach you everything you need to know about both techniques for the Project Management Professional (PMP)® Exam. I'll even include a video and an exam sample question below. Let's begin:

Crashing and Fast Tracking are Schedule Compression Techniques

Schedule compression is used when you want to shorten the duration of your project without changing project scope.

This is useful in those situations when you have fallen behind the original schedule and now need to "catch up", or if you want to finish sooner because a competitor is working on the same type of product and you want to be first to market. It may also be a strategic decision to complete a project more quickly than originally scheduled based on other factors.

There are two schedule compression techniques that you need to understand for your PMP® Exam:

Crashing: Add resources to your project so you can finish faster. Crashing almost always involves a financial cost.
Fast Tracking: Perform tasks in parallel so you can finish faster. Overlapping tasks in this way often increases risk.

Schedule compression should always be focused on the critical path of your project, because the critical path defines the end date of your project. And if you want to finish your project sooner then it does not make sense to compress any activities that have no effect on your project end date.

Schedule Compression Definition

A technique used to shorten the schedule duration without reducing the project scope.
PMBOK® Guide

What is Fast Tracking?

Fast Tracking Definition

A schedule compression technique in which activities or phases normally done in sequence are performed in parallel for at least a portion of their duration.
PMBOK® Guide

Fast tracking is applied by re-scheduling various activities within the project to be worked on simultaneously instead of waiting for each piece to be completed separately. Always start with this technique first. Why? Because there is no cost involved. You are basically "just rearranging the schedule".

However, this method can only be used if activities can actually be overlapped.

For example it is possible to begin the construction of a prototype even if the design specifications are not 100% complete. You can overlap them as long as enough of the specifications have been defined for you to begin prototype development.

The risk involved with fast tracking is that problems can occur if parallel aspects of the project include dependencies. In our example your risk is that you need to rework the prototype if the design is change half way through the process. But your opportunity is that production will be done much sooner if the design remains stable.

So risk and opportunity must be weighed against each other by the project manager.

Fast Tracking Example

You are reviewing your project schedule and notice that your project end-date has slipped beyond the promised end-date. You need to bring things back on track without spending any additional money.

A detailed analysis shows that there are three tasks that can be started earlier in order to shorten the project:

End-user documentation can begin after integration testing but before final sign-off.
User training sessions can be started before the final system is set up and installed if the first 3 sessions can be trained using the test system
Set up and installation of the final system could be started three days before testing is complete.

Each of these ideas will shorten your schedule, but also add addtional risk to the project. It is your responsibility as the project manager weigh the options against each other and determine wich (or all) of these you will apply in order to shorten the schedule.

What is Crashing?

Crashing Definition

A technique used to shorten the schedule duration for the least incremental cost by adding resources.
PMBOK® Guide

When the crashing approach is used, any additional costs associated with rushing the project are reviewed against the possible benefits of completing the project on a faster timeline. Additional items to consider when using the crashing approach include adding more resources for the project, allowing additional overtime, paying extra to receive delivery of critical components more quickly, etc.

Crashing only works when additional resources allow you to complete the project sooner. For instance, crashing will not work by adding more human resources when "the concrete in the foundation has to dry for 3 days".

Crashing Example

You are leading a project to implement new regulations in your organization. The new law comes into effect on June 30th and every day of delay will cost your organization a government imposed fine. You have already tweaked and streamlined the project schedule as much as possible but no further improvement seems possible without drastic measures.

In a discussion with the project sponsor you both agree that finishing the project on schedule is the primary constraint. Additional budget must be requested.

You analyze the critical path.
You identify all tasks that can be shortened by adding additional resources.
You make a calculation for each task, determining the cost and number of days saved by adding additional resources.
You identify the least costly approach.
You provide a crashing budget and updated schedule to the sponsor.

How do I use Crashing and Fast Tracking on my Project?

Expert Advice

We've used both fast tracking and crashing as a means of meeting deadlines. However, these techniques to meet the deadlines do come with their own costs/technical debt. (Read more...)
Jeremy Papp

The examples we've given above are intended to explain crashing and fast tracking from a textbook perspective. They explain the theoretical application of these techniques in a simple situation in order to show how they work. On paper.

But what about using these techniques on actual projects? Is it possible to simply implement the textook process, or are there any specific insights that we have to take into consideration? What are the lessons learned from other project managers?

We decided to go ahead and ask the participants of our discussion forums. Just like you they are all project managers in charge of ongoing projects and many of them have experience with these techniques. Here are the questions we asked:

How have you used crashing or fast tracking on your projects?
What lessons learned can you share with us?
And of course... How have you studied these two techniques for your PMP Exam?

We went ahead and asked in our discussion forum and we received a great number of extremely insightful responses. You can read everything here.

Watch this PMP Training Video on Crashing + Fast Tracking

Click the image below to watch a video where we explain everything you need to know about crashing and fast tracking for your PMP exam in under 10 minutes:

Click to watch the video...

PMP Exam Sample Questions

Test your understanding of crashing and fast tracking with this sample question from the PMP Exam Simulator:

You are managing a software development project. In the middle of the project, you find out that you are way behind schedule. Your company has invested a lot in this project, and if you don't deliver the project on time, it will be a total disaster. You analyze your project schedule to adjust it so that you may be able to complete the project on time with the existing resources. You find out that you have a lot of discretionary dependencies in your project schedule. What is the best way for you to adjust the project schedule so that you may be able to complete the project on time?

A) Keep the discretionary dependencies intact and apply Crashing
B) Keep the discretionary dependencies intact and apply Fast Tracking
C) Remove the discretionary dependencies and apply Crashing
D) Remove the discretionary dependencies and apply Fast Tracking
Correct Answer: D) Remove the discretionary dependencies and apply Fast Tracking.

Explanation: As you need to find a way out of this problem with your existing resources, you can't apply the Crashing technique. You can only apply Fast Tracking after removing the discretionary dependencies from the project.

Reference: PMBOK Guide 5th Edition, page 158

Learn More about Crashing and Fast Tracking

Summary

Crashing and Fast Tracking are schedule compression techniques. You apply them in order to shorten your schedule and to reach a certain schedule target.

Fast tracking means executing two activities at the same time, even if they would normally not be done in this way.
Fast tracking is free but adds additional risk to your project.
Crashing means to add additional resources to your project.
Crashing requires additional budget. So you want to crash those activities that give you the biggest bang for the buck -- the most schedule compression at the least cost.
Both techniques only make sense if you apply them to activities on your critical path.

Last but not least, don't forget to stop by at our discussion forum and read up on how other project managers have used these techniques on their projects and what they did to study them for their PMP exam.