For those that are about to Rock. I salute you

First, Happy Halloween. I guess second, I'm writing this very brief blog to repost a couple of my more interesting video finds. This is to let those (who will remain anonamous) that were interested in my fun-factor to peek in on what happens in my mind. Yes...it can be scary!!!!! But, remember, it is Halloween.

Some may be aware that this blog started in an Internet Marketing Course. If you are at DePaul in a masters program that grants you the ability to take MKT 595, I recommend it. Great class, and I've been able to see some truly applicable parallels between the classroom and life. So, wit that said, the title, Blog...from Blammo! came from a memory of me watching Ren and Stimpy cartoons. If you're a guy...you may be more apt to remember these cartoons. I'm not being sexist....but us guys tend to watch more meaningless cartoony things than women. No offense to either side of the genetic divide I hope. Anyway, this was the video (or one of them) that inspired the title.




So, that was Log, from Blammo. Now, this is another video which I found to be hilarious. Especially now with the Mac vs. PC wars. Which I do believe are in some way or another legitimate. Macs have a "virtual Windows" application that simulates windows....so it can theoretically perform most of the standard business applications. Macs are more stable....etc. However, let it be known that I'm blogging on a PC. Mwaaahaahaa. But, what about Linux? So, this is a little overview about Linux.

busy....not lazy

So, I may seem to have been a bit of a flake lately on the blog front. However, I truly have been busy. So, I thought that maybe writing out the questions and then answers from books would help me study....but, actually, it probably is just more of a study tool for those just starting out regarding their PMP testing journey. I need to just focus on the PMBOK.

I have also been doing some simulation tests from Whizlabs. It seems that I pass this test. But, with really only around a 75%. That leaves a little wiggle room (of 30 questions). I want to get it up to around 80% before sitting to take the test (fortunately I've heard that the Whizlabs test is more difficult than the PMP exam) But, with the test coming up on Tuesday there seems to be a bit more studying to accomplish. So, I'm focusing on that--instead of the blog.

I did take the Mensa test today. I felt pretty good about the test. Everything seemed fine and dandy. But, when I got home I realized that perhaps I may have missed some questions on one section. It involved adding items together using a specific # of items. I added the items together just fine....but I forgot to go back and look at the # of items to see if they matched up. So, if a particular question had more than one answer....I may have written the wrong answer. *shrug* I'll find out the results in a couple of weeks. I'm certain to blog about it either way....and I just wish that this test could be used for the GMAT and/or GRE. I want to do a PhD program eventually, but I just don't have the time to study for those tests. An assessment of intelligence should really be good enough, don't you think?

Well. If you have any opinions on the matter...please, leave a comment.

PMP Questions

Ok. I know...I know. I've been sort of not blogging for awhile. I do apologize. Most of my online time has truly been devoted to applying to jobs. It appears to be a 4hr/day commitment to search through employee website for relevant jobs when performing a national job search. Plus, I'm trying to snazzy up my linkedin profile

I did send an email off the the Harvard professors calling for a MBA body of knowledge. I have not heard anything from them...which is disappointing. However, they could be busy with their students.

But, now I'm going to jump right into the sample PMP questions. What I am doing here is posting sample questions from Michael Newell's book, Preparing for the PMP Certification Exam. The following will be questions from the Scope Management Section. Tomorrow I will try and post the answers. If you have any questions regarding the answers please add a comment, as I will just post them as:
1. g
2. f
3. e

Good Luck.

Scope Management

1. Decomposing the major deliverabiles into smaller, more manageable components to provide better control is called:
  a. Scope planning
  b. Scope definition
  c. Scope baselining
  d. Scope verification

2. Any numbering system that is used to monitor project costs by category such as labor, supplies, or materials, for example, is called:
a. Chart of accounts
b. Work breakdown structure
c. Universal accounting standard
d. Standard accounting practices

3. A person who is involved in or may be affected by the activities or anyone who has something to gain or lose by the activity of the project is called a:
a. Team member
b. customer
c. stakeholder
d. supporter

Questions 4-6 refer to this:
A project manager is assigned to a project early in the project life cycle. One of the things that must be done is to do a justification for the project. Since very little information is known about the project, the estimates are considered to be rough estimates. The following table is the project manager's estimate of the cash flows that will take place over the next five years:

-----------------------------------------------------------------
End of Year Cash Flow in Cash Flow Out
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1 0 500,000
2 300,000 90,000
3 400,000 100,000
4 100,000 175,000
5 50,000 35,000

4. What is the payback period for this project?
a. One year
b. Two years
c. Three years
d. Four years

5. What is the net cash flow at the end of five years?
a. $50,000
b. -$50,000
c. $850,000
d. $100,000

6. If the net present value for each of the cash flows were calculated at a 10% interest rate, the net present value cash flow at the end of five years would be:
a. Greater than the total cash flow without the net present value applied.
b. Less than the total cash flow without the net present value applied.
c. The same as the total cash flow without the net present value applied.
d. Unable to be calculated with the information supplied.

7. A group of related projects that are managed in a coordinated way that usually include an element of ongoing activity is called a:
a. Major project
b. project office
c. program
d. group of projects

8. During the full life cycle of the project, a plot of the project's expected expenditures will usually follow a characteristic "S" shape.

This indicates that:
a. there is a cyclic nature to all projects.
b. problems will always occur in the execution phase.
c. there are high expenditures during closeout
d. the bulk of the project budget will be spent in the execution phase.

9. A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a new product or service is called a:
a. new product development
b. project
c. program
d. enterprise

10. A project manager makes a narrative descritpion of the work that must be done for her project. This is called a:
a. project plan
b. control chart
c. statement of work
d. project objective

11. An example of scope verification is:
a. reviewing the performance of an installed software module.
b. managing changes to the project schedule
c. decomposing the WBS to a work package level
d. performing a benefit-cost analysis to determine if we should proceed.

12. The process of establishing clear and achievable objectives, measuring their achievement, and adjusting performance in accordance with the results of the measurement is called:
a. strategic planning
b. contingency planning
c. detailed planning
d. management by objectives

13. Configuration management is:
a. used to ensure that the description of the project product is correct and complete.
b. The creation of the work breakdown structure
c. the set of procedures developed to ensure that project design criteria are met.
d. a mechanism to track budget and schedule variances.

14. A project manager is employed by a construction company and is responsiblbe for the furnishing of the completed building. One of the first things that the project maanger for this project should do is to write a:
a. Work breakdown structure
b. budget baseline
c. project charter
d. project plan

15. A project manager is creating a work breakdown structure for her project. In the breakdown structure the lowest level of the breakdown for the project manager is called the:
a. activity
b. task
c. work package
d. cost account

16. A project manager is reviewing the scope of the project and the scope baseline of the project. This includes which of the following?
a. the original project schedule, budget, and scope
b. the original project description and the project charter
c. the original scope of the project plus or minus any scope changes
d. the current budget of the project

17. A project manager has just become the manager of a project. The document that recognizes the existence of the project is called:
a. the statement of work
b. the project asignment
c. the project charter
d. the product description

18. A project manager is reviewing the work breakdown structure for her project. The WBS for the project represents:
a. All the tangible items that must be delivered to the client.
b. All the work that must be completed for the project.
c. The work that must be performed by the project team.
d. All the activities of the project.

19. A manager who manages a group of related projects is called a:
a. project manager
b. project expiditer
c. program coordinator
d. program manager

20. A new project has begun. The project charter has been written and the project manager has been assigned. The project manager is preparing the work breakdown structure for the project. The WBS is typically used for:
a. Explaining the scope of the project relevant to the client.
b. the basis for organizing and defining the total scope of the project.
c. Showing the resource conflicts that exist in the project.
d. the logical relationship between tasks in the project.

21. During the life of a project, the project will go through several phases--initiating, planning, execution, and closeout. Which phase of all the project is likely to have the greatest amount of its funding spent?
a. Initiating
b. Planning
c. Executing
d. Closeout

22. During the course of the project it is important that the stakeholders be informed of the progress of the project. One of the reports that is frequently used is a progress report. Which of the following is true about progress reports?
a. they allow stakeholders to judge the performance of the project according to its plan.
b. they are generally considered to be overkill on very small projects
c. they require the use of earned value reports.
d. they must be produced by the project manager.

23. The coordinated undertaking of interrelated activities directed toward a specific goal that has a finite period of performance is a:
a. project charter
b. project
c. set of project objectives
d. program

24. The document that is proof of upper management's commitment to the project and gives the authority to manage the project to the project manager is called:
a. the project plan
b. the project goals and objectives
c. the project charter
d. the project definition

25. A project manager works in a company favoring the weakest authority for the project manager. The type of organization that holds the project manager to be the weakest is:
a. projectized organization
b. strong matrix organization
c. weak matrix organization
d. balanced matrix organization

26. A project manager has been asked by the client to meet the promise date of the project. The project manager analyzes the schedule before promising a date to the customer. The project manager uses the program evaluation and review technique to evaluate the project schedule. She decides that based on the results of the PERT calculations she can promise a delivery date of June 30. The expected value of the project completion date is May 30. If the project manager is willing to accept a 5% probability that the project will be delivered later than June 30, what is the standard deviation of the durations of the activities on the critical path? Assume a five-day workweek.
a. ten days
b. fifteen days
c. one-half month
d. one month

27. A project is proposed to a customer. Price and schedule for delivery are agreed upon. The work breakdown structure is agreed to as well. The customer request that one of the milestones of the project be completed by a certain date. The project schedule is reviewed, and it is found that the expected completion date for this milestone is considerably earlier than the date requested by the customer. The date for this milestone is which of the following?
a. Consideration
b. Summary activity
c. Constraint
d. Suggestion

28. A project manager is managing a project. The original scope baseline of the project was budgeted at $100,000. Since work on the project started there have been seventeen authorized and approved changes to the project. The changes have a value of $17,000 and the cost of investigating them prior to their approval was $2,500. What is the current budget for the project?
a. $100,000
b. $114,500
c. $117,000
d. $119,500

29. In a very large project having a budget of $5 million and a project team of over one hundred persons, the project manager constructs a work breakdown structure. The project manager will do the WBS to the detail level of which of the following?
a. task
b. activity
c. WBS element
d. work package

30. A project manager is managing a project that has reached the end of the planning phase. The work scope has been agreed to and definitive cost estimates have been completed for the project. The total estimated cost of the project is $100,000. It is reasonable to expect that the project will not cost over which of the following values?
a. $100,000
b. $110,000
c. $125,000
d. $175,000

31. The change management plan should be included in which of the following?
a. scope management plan
b. communications management plan
c. configuration management plan
d. quality management plan

32. A project team has made up the work breakdown structure for a project. Senior managmenet for the company and all of the stakeholders including the client have approved the WBS. The client later requests that a change be made in the project, which will cost a considerable amount of money. The client says that the company's salesman promoised this feature prior to sign-off on the WBS. Who should pay for the change?
a. the client should pay
b. the company managing the project should pay
c. both the company and the client should pay part of the cost
d. the change should not be implmented

33. A project manager is managing a software development project for a hospital. There is a new computer available that will speed up the development process considerably. The new computer costs $50,000 including shipping, installation, and start-up computer will cause a gross savings of $100,000. What is the net present value of the savings if they occur one year after the expenditure for the computer? Assume a 10% interest rate.
a. $90,000
b. $40,900
c. $45,555
d. $91,110

34. A project manager is managing a project during the planning phase. She chooses to use a prcedence network diagram as a graphic planning tool to assist in making the project schedule. The most important reason for using the network diagram as a graphic planning tool is that it makes it easier to see which aspect of the project plan better than the other tools available?
a. the probability that the tasks will be completed on time
b. the logical relationships between activities in the schedule
c. the start and finish dates of the activities
d. the float between activites

Just busy...I promise

While some of you may be new viewers of the blog...some may be long time (since April 2008) readers. I have been extremely busy with school/applying for jobs/preparing for the PMP exam/applying for jobs/working on group projects, etc.

I still have a few more postings of pictures from my summer adventure left. The trip from Portland, Oregon to Los Angeles, CA to Albaquerque, NM. Trust me...there was a helluva story in that trip.

Plus, I'm needing to talk about an October Harvard Business Review Article about a Body of Knowledge for Management. Very good article that should stir the management community up a bit and maybe you'll send off a quick email the Harvard professors that wrote the article.

Anyway....I have to quickly prepare for another group meeting...but please--stay tuned. I will have a flurry of posts very soon.