Three Point Estimating

Three-Point Estimating is an estimating technique used in Estimate Costs process of Project Cost management process area. This provides accuracy over the single-point activity cost estimates
The three estimates used are
Most likely (M) = Realistic cost estimate of the activity
Optimistic(O) = Best case cost estimate of the activity
Pessimistic (P) = Worst case cost estimate of the activity

The expected Cost using Triangular Distribution
                            (O + M + P)
                C =      ---------------
                                   3

The expected Cost using Beta Distribution 
                          ( O + 4M + P)
               C =       ----------------
                                    6

Sample question.
If it takes 8 hours to build a wall on a normal day and 7 hours if the weather condition is very good and 12 hours if the weather condition is bad. What will be the estimate using Beta Distribution?
C =  (7 + 4 * 8 + 12) /6 = 51/3 = 17

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PMP Exam Overview, Eligibility Criteria, Application process

Overview

Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP)^® credential is the most important industry-recognized certification for project managers.

To earn your Project Management Professional (PMP)^® credential, you need to meet the experience and education requirements, and pass the PMP^® examination, a 200-question, multiple-choice test. The duration of the test is 4 hours. There is no negative mark for wrong answers.

Eligibility Criteria

A four-year degree (bachelor’s degree or the global equivalent)

Minimum three years of project management experience

4,500 hours leading and directing projects

35 hours of project management education.

OR

A secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree, or the global equivalent)

Minimum five years of project management experience

7,500 hours leading and directing projects

35 hours of project management education

PMP Examination Fees

                 PMP Examination fee is for Non-PMI member is $555. For Non-members the exam fee is $405.Annual membership is USD $129 (plus USD $10 application fee for new members). So it is better to take PMI membership first and then apply for PMP examination.

How to Prepare for the Exam

PMI members can download a complimentary PDF copy of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide)—Fifth Edition from PMI website.

To meet the 35 hours training need, you can register for a training which helps you in the preparation of PMI exam. The PM PrepCast is one of the best programs which provides in depth coverage of the PMI examination topics. It also provides 35 PDU hours required for PMP examination .

Practice Tests – There are many practice tests available on the internet which you can utilize for your PMP examination. The following free sites have good quality questions.

http://www.ajithn.com/
http://www.oliverlehmann.com
http://www.preparepm.com/mock1.html
http://www.examcentral.net/pmp/pmp-exam-questions#
http://certification.about.com/od/projectmanagement/a/pmp_test_whiz.htm
http://www.tutorialspoint.com/pmp-exams/pmp_mock_exams.htm

Application for PMP Examination

If you are not a member of PMI, you can start with  PMI Registration Page and complete the registration process. After completing the registration, you can take PMI membership.

The PMP Handbook provides all the necessary details regarding the application process.

Earned Value Analysis

Why Earned Value?
You are halfway through a project and you know how much work is finished and how much money you spend. How do you know whether you have completed the work which was supposed to be done for the money you spend? Earned value calculations will provide you the necessary tools for these.

Let me explain this with a simple example.
You are in the third week of a 5 week project. You were planning to spend $100 per week. Each week you were planning to complete 20% work. At the end of 3rd week, you found that only 40% of the work is completed and you have spent $400.
Now let us look at the earned value terms.
Your Planned Value (PV) = $300 (3 weeks $100 each)
Your Actual Cost (AC) = $400 (You know how much money you spent)
Your Earned Value = Budgeted Cost of Work Performed. In this case your budgeted cost for completing 40% of the work was $200.
So your Earned Value (EV) = $200.

Now let us look at the Schedule Variance, Cost Variance, Cost Performance Index and Schedule Performance Index.
Schedule Variance (SV) = EV-PV = 200 - 300 = -100
Cost Variance (CV) = EV-AC = 200 - 400 = -200
Schedule Performance Index = EV/PV = 200/300 = 0.67
Cost Performance Index = EV/AC = 200/400 = 0.5
-ve SV indicates schedule overrun and -ve CV indicates Overspend.
Similarly SPI less than 1 indicates schedule overrun and CPI less than 1 indicates Cost overrun.

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Earned Value Analysis :Cost Variance

Earned Value Analysis is a Cost Control Tool/Technique. For a project manager Earned Value gives an idea on what you have achieved for the amount of money you spent. The main calculations in EV techniques are

1. Cost Variance : Compares Cost with budget

Cost Variance = Earned Value - Actual Cost

CV = EV - AC

If your Earned Value = 1000 and your Actual Cost is 900, your Cost Variance is 100. In this case CV is a positive number and you are running with in the budget or spending less than what you have budgeted. Instead of 900, if your actual cost is 1100, your Cost Variance is -100. In this case you have to be careful and check your spending against plan.



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Risk Identification : Tools & Techniques - SWOT

Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis is a technique to systematically analyse the project,processes,resources, organization etc. Your focus will be on finding the S,W, O or T in each of these area. It is part of Tools & Technique section of Risk Identification

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Your companion in PMP preparation

How to pass PMP Examination

To pass PMP examination, you have to read the PMBOK thoroughly. But this will not ensure that you will pass the exam. You need to practice PMP questions.
One site which will be useful for PMP exam practice is
http://www.ajithn.com/
You can take unlimited number of trials. There are over 100 questions which check your understanding of PMBOK and there are many real life PMP questions