I first saw the term Horse Blanket in reference to project scheduling in the Project Management Institute’s Practice Standard for Scheduling. There in a flowchart for the Select Scheduling Method step, Horse Blanket is mentioned alongside Critical Path Method and Critical Chain. The term was undefined in the book’s glossary and a search on information about Horse Blanket will lead to an abundant amount of information on equine apparel! The Double-Tongued dictionary has the following definition: “horse blanket n. a large, complex, or comprehensive report or chart” at http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/horse_blanket/. There are several references to large charts called Horse Blankets, especially in the military. So as one can imagine, a Horse Blanket Project Schedule is an exceptionally large chart illustrating the schedule activities.
January 21, 2010
January 20, 2010
Newly Released Standard for Risk Management
Risk is an important topic for project managers. The Project Management Institute (PMI) awards a Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP) certification and within PMI there is a Risk Management Special Interest Group (SIG). The Project Management Institute has released its official Practice Standard for Project Risk Management. It can be purchased at http://www.pmi.org/Marketplace/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?GMProduct=00101169201 for $55.95 for non-members and $44.75 for members. This book is consistent with the fourth edition PMBOK® and covers the PMBOK’s risk processes of Plan Risk Management, Identify Risks, Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis, Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis, Plan Risk Responses, and Monitor and Control Risks. PMI is clear that this book is meant as a guide for single projects only (not programs or portfolios). Also, it is emphasized that these are general guidelines and specific situations and organizations may need a different approach. I have been reading others’ opinions on this new standard. If you have read it, what are your thoughts?
January 19, 2010
New Core Values for Project Managers
The Project Management Institute has unveiled its new core values. According to the January 2010 edition of PMI Today, the Core Values Review Task Team obtained feedback from stakeholders which led to 45 candidate values. The definition of core values are “essential and enduring principles guiding PMI.” From these 45 candidates, the 5 values deemed as best meeting this criteria were: Project Management Impact, Professionalism, Volunteerism, Community, and Engagement. PMI is clear that, among other purposes, these core values are designed to be “guiding principles” to help those in the project management profession make decisions.
December 21, 2009
The Influence of Professional Ethics Codes
Project Managers, does the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct matter? Individuals who are certified by the Project Management Institute (PMI) have all agreed to abide by this code. What influence does the code actually have?
I have often thought of professional codes as primarily a means for a profession to rid itself of its most unethical, and therefore embarrassing, members. In fact, I have mostly seen ethics codes mentioned in terms of listings of members who have been expelled from their organization. Take for example the recent news of three physicians in Mexico City who were telling mothers that their newborns were dead and then selling the very much alive babies. (More can be read about this at http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/11/06/mexico.stolen.babies/index.html). I can imagine other physicians saying “hey, we don’t want people like that called doctors. They give the rest of us a bad name. How are we going to get rid of them? Hmmm… how about finding something in our ethics code that we can use to kick them out?”
Bruce J. Rodrigues’ article “Do Ethics Make a Difference” in the December 2009 issue of PMI Today referred to a PMI survey for which 30% of respondents reported that the ethics code had helped them make decisions in their professional life. I found it impressive that this many people were first of all that familiar with their professional code (or perhaps cared enough to take the time to reference it) and secondly, that they applied it to a decision.
I am curious as to which sections of the ethics code people are finding most helpful in guiding their decisions. When I read sections of the code such as “3.3.3 We do not act in an abusive manner towards others” it is hard for to me imagine that an abusive project manager would instantly cease their bad behavior after earning their PMP® (Project Management Professional certification). In support of this, I received questions from someone taking practice PMP Exam tests who struggled because they could not see anything wrong with the abusive behaviors described in the ethics questions. Try as I might, I could not convince the individual that the described behaviors were in any way abusive or wrong. However, the section of the code stating “2.3.2 We report unethical or illegal conduct to appropriate management and, if necessary, to those affected by the conduct” describes a specific action to perform that people may be able to apply more easily. In any case, it is good news that this ethics code appears to be having a positive influence on practicing project managers and is much more that simply an instrument of discipline. The PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct can be found at http://www.pmi.org/PDF/ap_pmicodeofethics.pdf.
December 11, 2009
What’s Your PMP Certification Status?
A PMP® (Project Management Professional certification) status is either Active, Suspended, or Retired. As soon as someone has earned their PMP, their status is Active. If they maintain their Continuing Certification Requirements by earning and reporting 60 PDUs (Professional Development Units) during each three-year cycle, they continue to have Active status. If they do not earn and report the required number of PDUs, their certification status is Suspended. If someone has Suspended status for one year, they lose their PMP entirely and must start from the beginning to re-apply to re-take the PMP Exam. If you have been a PMP for at least ten consecutive years and are retiring, you may apply for Retired status by writing a request to PMIs certification department. For more details, please see the PMP Handbook at: http://www.pmi.org/PDF/pdc_pmphandbook.pdf.
December 10, 2009
Earning PDUs to Keep Your PMP
Congratulations–you’ve earned your PMP® (Project Management Professional certification)! Now you must earn PDUs (Professional Development Units) in order to keep your PMP. One PDU represents about one hour of experience or activity. From the time you earned your PMP, you have three years to earn 60 PDUs. After earning PDUs, they must be reported to PMI (Project Management Institute) using their Continuing Certification Requirements System (www.pmi.org). If you earn more than 60 PDUs in your three-year certification cycle, you may transfer up to 20 PDUs to the next cycle that were earned in your third year. For more details, please see the PMP Handbook at: http://www.pmi.org/PDF/pdc_pmphandbook.pdf.
PDUs are organized into five categories:
Category 1: Formal Academic Education
These PDUs are earned by taking an academic course for degree credit relating to project or program management. One hour of degree credit is worth 15 PDUs.
Category 2: Professional Activities and Self-directed Learning
There are a number of ways to earn PDUs in this category. First of all, you can write an article on a project management topic. If you’re the author of an article published in a refereed journal, you may earn 30 PDUs. If the journal isn’t refereed, your article is worth 15 PDUs. If you’re a speaker or teacher at an event, you may earn 10 PDUs per activity. As a panel discussion member or a speaker at your local chapter meeting, you may earn 5 PDUs. For developing a new project management course, you may earn 10 PDUs. Although you can claim self-directed learning activities for PDUs, you’re limited to claiming 15 PDUs of this type per three-year cycle. For those of you who are working as project managers, you may claim 5 PDUs per year for practicing project management as long as you are working at least 1,500 hours per year.
Category 3: Courses offered by PMI Registered Education Providers/PMI Components
These PDUs are earned by taking courses through providers that are registered with PMI. We at TAPUniversity (www.tapuniversity.com) are a REP (Registered Education Provider) and our subscription courses fall into this category. We have a number of 100% online 4-week courses worth 14 PDUs as well as a subscription program that includes all the courses needed to keep your PMP certification.
Category 4: Courses offered by Other Education Providers
For every hour of learning about project management from education providers that are not registered with PMI nor formal academic institutions, 1 PDU may be claimed.
Category 5: Volunteer Service to Professional or Community Organizations
Getting involved and volunteering with your local project management chapter is a good way to earn these PDUs. You may claim a maximum of 20 of this type of PDUs in a three-year cycle. If you serve as an officer for 12 months for your project management chapter, you may earn 10 PDUs. If you’re on a committee for your chapter for 12 months, you may earn 5 PDUs.
December 8, 2009
If Santa Thinks Chimneys Qualify He Calls “Reindeer Pause!”
A frequent reason people visit our blog is to find mnemonic devices for learning the nine project management knowledge areas listed in the PMBOK®. The nine knowledge areas are: Integration, Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, HR, Communication, Risk, and Procurement. A couple examples were posted on January 28, 2009. Here are some more starting with some Christmas spirit for this time of year:
If Santa Thinks Chimneys Qualify He Calls “Reindeer Pause!”
I Saw Ten Coaches Quit However Champions Really Play
I Swam The Coast Quickly Having Chased Rare Porpoises
I Search The Cupboard Quickly Having Cravings for Red-Peppers
In Season The Cooing Quail are Hunted on CRP (conservation reserve program land)
December 7, 2009
Project Management Jobs in Today’s Economy
Project managers, how has today’s economy affected your career? Towards the end of 2008, we noticed a trend of less interest in employers paying for training for their employees as training budgets were reduced. However, there was also increased interest from project managers in earning their Project Management Professional (PMP) who believed that it was more critical than ever to earn their PMP either to stay competitive or to find employment. A number of project managers have told me they are overwhelmed with their current workload due to their organizations not replacing other project managers who are no longer working there. At our local project management chapter meeting some months ago, a new attendee approached others and asked how long it had been since they had been laid off, apparently assuming that most people there were unemployed. The Project Management Institute (PMI) has published optimistic forecasts for project managers, stating that “the global and long-term employment outlook for project managers is promising” (http://www.pmi.org/CareerDevelopment/Pages/Employment-Outlook.aspx) and cites the trend of many people retiring and the growth of global projects as positive indicators (http://www.pmi.org/Pages/PM-Profession-Thrive-Despite-Troubled-Economy.aspx). Project managers, what have been your observations and experiences with project management in today’s economy?
September 18, 2009
What is the PMBOK®, PMI®, and PMP®?
PMI® (Project Management Institute) describes itself as the world’s leading non-profit project management association with over half a million members. PMI awards several certifications relating to project management, with the PMP® (Project Management Professional) certification for project managers being the most common. Those who contribute to projects, but do not lead them, may earn their CAPM® (Certified Associate in Project Management), and those who manage multiple projects simultaneously in the form of programs may earn their PgMP ® (Program Management Professional). There are also two project specialty certifications awarded by PMI—the PMI-SP® (Project Management Institute Scheduling Professional) and the PMI-RMP® (Project Management Institute Risk Management Professional).
The PMBOK® (Project Management Body of Knowledge) is the book produced by PMI that is the recognized standard for the profession of project management and the foundation for PMI’s certifications. Currently in its fourth edition, the PMBOK describes 42 processes that are “generally recognized as good practice” in the field of project management.
July 21, 2009
Exercise and Certification Exam Peformance
Greetings.
Laura Hilkemann, the chair of TAPUniversity, has done the heavy lifting on this blog the last several months. As of July 21, 2009, there are 124 core descriptions of project management. We’ve indexed over 500 core learning objects across business analysis, human resource management, information technology, project management and quality management disciplines. A good number of those objects cross over those disciplines – for example group formation and development (forming, storming, norming, performing and reforming).
To help your understanding and mastery of those objects, over the last six months I’ve been researching the impact of physical, spiritual and mental performance on each other. The gate swings all ways. There’s some solid, reliable research out there to back it up. Call it the body, spirit and mind game. My interest is twofold:
- from our work to help professionals achieve certification results as efficiently as possible and
- my passion for exercise – primarily in triathlons, marathons and quests to reach milestones in each.
Exam Day
What started as “ten things to do before your PMP exam” five years ago has grown into a deeper passion of mine. In looking at 9 certification exam experiences of mine since 2000, I did very well on 8 and so/so on 1. One of the factors on the so/so one in 2004 was taking exam after a period of 2 weeks of semi activity and on depleted resources (lack of sleep, stress and poor nutrition).
Before my most recent exam (CBAP – certified business analyst professional – in April of 2008) I purposely ran two miles (7 minute pace) , 30 minutes prior to the exam. I had a good overall aerobic and anaerobic exercise week (30 mile running week and 3 strength training sessions). I felt pumped, though sweaty. Pity my fellow exam takers 
. My pulse was moderate through the experience – not spiking up. I got up twice to grab some water and finished the exam rather fast. Now, my mental preparation wasn’t necessarily text book – I crammed during a 6 hour lay over at the St Louis airport. Granted I had been immersed in the BA jargon for 15 years –still not the ideal prep.
So what? We coach and recommend that exam takers get up and move around during an exam. Prior to entering the exam we recommend aerobic exercise commensurate with the exam takers current level of fitness. It helps the different pieces and parts of the brain. It will not replace adequate preparation! It does help you reach the optimum mental state.
Day to Day Performance
I’ll share more on later blogs in terms of how it does that. The essence of it is that we’re wired to move; as we move our brain thinks and learns better; as we move we also touch a spiritual pulse inside and the spirit and mind also propel our body to move. The three are connected.
To complete this first “exermindspir” blog – I want to share two links to one of the works I’ve studied from Dr. John Ratey’s “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.” Take a peek and let me know what you think!
http://brainsciencpodcast.wordpress.com/2008/03/21/brain-science-podcast-33-exercise-and-the-brain/
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