Tips #18 :: What is the Question Trying to Ask?

05 Aug Tips #18 :: What is the Question Trying to Ask?

The PMP® exam is different from the other certification examinations in the way questions are designed. There are absolutely no theory questions. The questions are based on some practical scenarios, they describe what happens in day to day project scenarios. When you read these or similar scenarios, you will realize what the examination questions are trying to do.

The PMP® exam is not about finding out how well you know the management theory. It is about how effectively you can manage day to day situations using best practices and standards on the project and give results in the end.

Today, the industries need people who can solve problems and are not only theory masters. If you want to be the problem solver, you need to realize what you should be doing throughout the project. The PMP® Exam questions are trying to test just that. Let us take one example:

Question: A project manager realizes that one of the activities is getting delayed considerably. What should he do FIRST? 

Options:

• Fast Tracking
• Crashing
• Resource Smoothing
• Risk Register Update

Let us now understand the situation the question is talking about. The question only says that one of the activities is considerably delayed. It does not indicate whether that activity is on the critical path. Neither does it indicate that the schedule baseline is getting impacted.  There is no reason why we should assume that the schedule is getting impacted. But yes, it may possibly get impacted at some point in time as one of the activities is delayed considerably. If the project manager has realized a risk, the risk register should be updated so that it can be planned in time. 

Rather than mechanically reading the question and jumping to the conclusion that the schedule is getting delayed, think what the question is asking.

A few tips:

Imagine that you are the project manager the question is talking about. Imagine that a similar situation has occurred on your project. How will you handle it?

Always remember, you are a project manager and your focus is to solve the problem successfully. Other things do not matter. For example, if a supplier has delayed delivery, then you do not check the contract and levy penalty immediately at the very first instance. You talk to him and find a way out to resolve the problem. If practically this is what you do, then why should you select an option that suggests a penalty for the supplier?… Think about it