Manage Project Team Whiteboard

Another whiteboard animation explaining the processes of the 6th edition of the Project Management Body of Knowledge or PMBOK has been posted to YouTube. This time on the Manage Team process.

As part of the Drawn Out Project Management series, I am attempting to draw out the inputs, outputs, tools and techniques of the 47 processes of the PMBOK to help explain them and make sense of the overall process. I used this technique when I was preparing for my PMP exam about 14 years ago when it was the 3rd edition of the PMBOK. Today, the PMBOK and the PMP exam is on its 6th edition; nevertheless the drawing of the components of the processes stills works just as well today as it then. In some respects, it works better today because the process inputs, outputs, and tools/techniques are more condensed and universal. There are fewer details to remember and less precision needed in the drawings since the drawings can represent more broad, high level concepts. 

The Manage Team process whiteboard illustrates the ITTOs of the process as it exists in the 6th edition. There is not much different in this process compared to when I created a similar video for the 5th edition. Really the only major item of note is that it resides in the Project Resource Management knowledge area and not the Project Human Resource Management knowledge area – mind blown, I know!

Hope this helps you understand this and the other processes more. I shall keep updating The Crowd Training YouTube channel with new videos. When they will post depends on my time and motivation. I am about 3/4ths of the way through the processes. After I complete the processes, I may move onto explaining other project management concepts and best practices on a whiteboard or with my animated character PM Guy I use for my PM City online courses. But not making any promises yet. I do want to do more with the agile project management and the book and courseware I have recently finished.

https://youtu.be/x261NvcsP_Q 

LMS Selected. All Systems Go!

As I getting closer to launching my interactive online project management course called PMP City – www.thecrowdtraining.com/pm6 – I have to prepare for users to access the content, track their learning progress, and authorize their certificate of completion for their PMI Application. To do that and a great deal more, I had to select a Learning Management System (LMS). Then I had to modify and prepare it for my learners. This is what I choose and what I am doing to set it up.

After searching and exploring the literally hundreds of learning management system providers out there, I selected Absorb by Blatant Media out of Canada. I worked with them over 12 years ago and their product has only gotten better.

This system will enable those enrolled in my interactive online PMP certification exam prep course to access the content 24×7. More importantly, it enables my unique interactive presentation of the PMP content to be, well… interactive. There are also randomize quizzes per knowledge area, comment/discussion boards, and resources learners can access.

Beyond enabling users to navigate the project management content at their own pace, they can see their certificate of completion that is valid in case they are audited during the PMI application process to sit for the PMP exam. The PMP City online course fulfills the 35 hours of project management training requirement.

The PMP City online interactive course is only $720 for lifetime access when it launches on February 1, 2018. For those who visit http://www.thecrowdtraining.com prior to that date, you should discover a pre-order discount price.

http://www.crowd.myabsorb.com is the site to access your online PMP course when it launches in February, as well as access to all the project management games and PMP mock exams.

Take the 5th Edition Exam or Wait for the 6th?

I get the question regularly, “Should I rush and sit for the 5th edition of the PMP exam or should I wait for the 6th edition? Everyone is telling me to take the PMP exam now because it is changing.”

As this is a common inquiry, I decided to type up one of my responses here in this blog to hopefully help others with the same question.

In short, whether you obtain your PMP via the 5^th edition or 6^th you should be ok. The reason that a changeover gathers so much attention is that when the PMBOK changed from 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th they were relatively drastic. The exams also got more difficult – more situational, less memorization. And in terms of the 4th edition, the structure of the naming conventions got more logical and consistent, but drastically different for those who learned it in previous editions. Now the exam changes are more subtle. I would even argue that the changes are for the betterment of everyone and not overbearing. So now the rush to take an exam is more for those people who have been studying and want to test on the edition they have been working off of, as well as training companies wanting to capitalize on reason to push classes.

I have been thru many changeovers. I got my PMP on the 3^rd edition. I started instructing with the 3^rd edition. Was a contributor to the 4^th and 5^th editions of the PMBOK [so if you get a 5^th edition, you will see my name on p501, but if you get a 6^th you will not].  Have created courses for 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th editions. Now I am building a 6^th edition online course in the way that I would have liked – interactive, visual, and engaging. Point being, whether you cram and take a weekday or weekend in person class (which is the way I got my PMP 13 years ago) or online or a combination of them in either 5^th or 6^th, you will be fine. My recommendation to people is to choose study options that fit your learning style and your timing. Are you better at reading… sitting in a class with an instructor… talking with others… going at your own pace or the pace of others… visual learner or prefer lectures… like to do a little each day or fully immersed days…etc.

Do you have a time crunch or just want to get it out of the way? The quickest way is to buckle down and do nothing but prepare and sit for the exam. If not able to afford the high costs, the time off work, and the hours of dedication in short order, then get online courses like mine and other resources and carve out a plan that is realistic AND hold yourself to it! Schedule your exam early and hold yourself to it. Having a deadline set and telling yourself you cannot move it makes you more focused and motivated. It is too easy to pushback something that is not rooted or set. Much harder to deprioritize the exam when you are committed to a date and time.

There are a lot of options out there. Many people use many options. Really it comes down to you. Are you disciplined to study on your own? Are you disciplined to focus for 2-5 days in a class and sit for exam soon after while everything is still jiggling around in your brain?

Let me know what you decide. I am curious about your story. You can enter your stories and thoughts in the comment section.

If you would like to take advantage of my training offering, snagging it now is definitely financially advantageous [only $99 if pre-order; $720 if post-launch in January]. If your plan is to time it for the 6^th edition, then using The Crowd Training course on its own or in combination with any other type of course puts you in good hands. If you plan to go for the 5^th edition, I do have some games that you could play to help you prepare!

Best of luck!

New PMBOK 6th Edition Out Now

The Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge 6th edition is official out and available for download. I have been a reviewer of the PMBOK 6th edition for many months now. I have advised many project management training companies seeking to update their 5th edition PMBOK content to the newly released 6th edition. Now it is accessible to the masses.

If you are PMI member, you can download a PDF version of the 6th ed PMBOK by going to http://www.pmi.org and entering your credentials. You are then provided the option of downloading a digital copy of the latest PMBOK to your computer or device. Every time you open the downloaded PMBOK 6th edition on your device you are prompted to enter your PMI member password. So, I recommend you keep your password easy enough to enter frequently. I had a friend who had a very complex password. Very secure, which is normally a good thing. But every time he opened the PMBOK on his Kindle he had to enter the password. And a password with too many symbols and upper/lower cases in various orders was not very convenient.

The hard copy of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)– Sixth Edition by Project Management Institute is not yet shipping. I have pre-ordered my physical copy from Amazon, here  http://a.co/hN7Zjkd According to Amazon, the book is scheduled to ship out September 15, 2017. Currently, it is priced for $84 US for the English version.

The Crowd Training’s fully interactive PMP certification exam prep course based on the PMBOK 6th edition is planned for release in October 2017. More information on this at https://www.thecrowdtraining.com/pm6

Once complete, the 35 hour project management course will be available on the web and for mobile devices. You can stay up to date by joining the mailing list on http://www.thecrowdtraining.com

Until then, there are 5th edition PMBOK games available. If you order a lifetime subscription, I will give you all the 5th edition versions of the games, plus all the new games that I develop for the 6th edition of the PMBOK. Currently there are over 15 games. A lifetime membership is now only $23 at http://www.thecrowdtraining.com/games

Look for a more thorough breakdown of the differences between 6th edition from 5th edition in this blog soon. Let me know your impressions, if you have taken a look at the new edition.

Another Project Management Game Added to The Crowd Training Game Pack

Designed, developed, and published another project management learning game on my The Crowd Training Games pack. This game is based on travelling to different locations and answering questions at each stop. The questions for the first set are all based on the Project Quality Management knowledge area of the 5th edition of the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). Now that I have the base structure and all the gameplay figured out, I can create multiple versions of the game for the other nine knowledge areas, as well as create updated versions of the game for the 6th edition of the PMBOK once that is formally released.

Currently, the 30 day access to The Crowd Training Games pack for $30.  This newest game release brings the number of games in the pack to 17 games. Since I am working on a full 6th edition project management professional PMP certification exam prep course in addition to more games to include in The Crowd Training Game pack, I am offering a 90 day access and a lifetime access for less than the 30 day access so you may get more games over time. The 90 day access is offered for a limited time for $23 and the lifetime is $25. Obviously, these won’t remain at that price for too long. But since I am just rolling out the new website and the new games, I thought I would extent generous pricing to my early adopters. Thanks and enjoy! Visit: https://www.thecrowdtraining.com/games to start playing!

Discounted 5th Edition PMP Exam Questions Course to $10

For those needing to get a few more Project Management Professional (PMP) certification exam questions before sitting for the real PMP exam, I created a course featuring some of best PMP exam questions along with my advice.

Instead of just having a learner take a 100 questions, I also:
– introduce each knowledge area and provide some pointers
– draw out with my hand drawings and explain each of the process in the knowledge area
– give you an knowledge area concentrated exam
– debrief and provide tips on each and every question

Since this was made with 5th edition questions, I decided to cut the price from $75 to $10.  PMI is changing the PMP exam to reflect the update to the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) to a 6th edition in Q1 of 2018, this 5th edition focused practice exam course may be obsolete by the end of 2017. Figured it better to reduce the cost so more people can take advantage of its contents.

So if you are in need of some more exam question practice before you sit for the PMP exam, use coupon code ‘success10′ at https://www.thecrowdtraining.com/product-page/success-pmp-exam-questions-and-answers-5th-ed

Have Course Published at GoGogh

Want to hear my voice?

What to learn something?

What to earn PDUs – if you are a PMP?

I have produced a course for the Training website: GoGogh.com

You can see my course and the others offered.  My bio and list of podcasts (Radio Shows) are listed too.  I have more courses and podcasts in the pipeline and should appear soon.

If you would like a discount on your GoGogh subscription, use the code: gogogh46

Off to Phoenix next week to film a course at their headquarters.  That one is on the PMP Exam prep.  Look for it soon!