With Project Management, you must understand that EVERY project has constraints.  Unfortunately, project managers tend to ignore this and it will come back to haunt them time and time again.  Constraints include time, scope, cost, quality, risk, or any other factors that will limit what your options are when managing a project or deliverable. “Triple Constraint” is a term that originally included time, scope, and cost.  Newer definitions include customer satisfaction, risk, and quality.  If you’re preparing[¹] to take the PMP® exam, include both the original and newer definitions.  Sextuple constraint just doesn’t quite role off the tongue.

I try to stress to stakeholders every time they try to expand scope that it will directly impact the other constraints.  If you expand the scope, you will either have to expand cost or time.  If you don’t expand either of these two constraints, you’re going to increase risk and lower quality.

You’ll first read about constraints in section 1.3 of the PMBOK®.  PMI will only refer to them as constraints at that time.  Y0u’ll find them referenced at other locations within the PMBOK as project constraints.  What you will not find in the PMBOK 4th edition is an actual definition in the glossary.

[¹]This is a link to a product I created

On a daily basis, I hear managers, directors, and executives referring to the MS Project file as “the project plan”.  I must frustrate a lot of people because I refuse to call it that.  I refer to it as the activity list and Gantt Chart.  Some PMPs call Gantt charts “bar charts” but I am one of those people who still calls a cotton swab a Q-Tip.  Either way, if you refer to the MS Project file as an activity list and bar chart, you’re on the path to passing the PMI exam.  If you’re still convinced it’s a project management plan, I can almost guarantee you’re not going to pass.

A project management plan, as defined in the in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is “A formal, approved document that defines how the project is executed, monitored, and controlled.  It may be summary or detailed and may be composed of one or more subsidiary management plans and other planning documents.

I usually refer to my “plans” as a project management packet.  I include my signed charter, the communications plan, risk plan, resource plan…  I keep them in a central packet and also a central virtual folder for easy access. 

And that’s all I have to say about that.

I was at a vendor site yesterday, discussing how they were going to satisfy our needs on four upcoming projects.  There were four people in the meeting:  the technical lead from the vendor, the product manager from our organization, a director from our organization, and myself.  Since I am the project manager, I had to take into account each perspective of each participant.  Communications grows exponentially, every time you add another person to a meeting or project.  A project manager needs to realize the complexity and manage it accordingly.

The situation reminded me of a few questions that were on the PMP exam.  Communication Channels  can be calculated by using the following formula:  [N (N-1)]/2 where N equals the number of people involved.  Do not just memorize the formula, UNDERSTAND it.  Below is an illustration of the formula that should help you visualize it.

If on the PMP exam, I had been asked how many channels of communications existed in the meeting, I could either draw a picture with lines between the people or I could just use the formula.  Take my word for it, just memorize the formula and understand when it applies.

For the PMP exam, know that risks can be categorized under two main types:

Business  Risk of a gain or loss
Pure (Insurable) Risk  Only a risk of loss (e.g., fire, flood, theft…)

When identifying and categorizing your project risks, don’t forget that risks can also be positive.  Many mistakenly only list the negative.  Regardless, the purpose of risk management is to lower it.  Again, business risk can be beneficial or detrimental.  Pure risk is always detrimental. 

If you’re looking to take the PMP exam, there are several definitions you need to know.  You MUST know and understand the definitions listed in the table below.

The exam won’t come right out and ask you “What does Actual Cost mean?”  The questions are more like:  “What kind of Variance do you have on a deliverable if the Earned Value is $75,000 and the Actual Cost is $77,000?�
I won’t tell you the answer. I will, however, tell you how to figure it out.
Cost Variance (CV) = Earned Value (EV) – Actual Cost (AC).
A negative cost variance means you are over budget.
A positive cost variance means you are under budget.