Exam Essentials

Identify the ongoing weekly activities a project manager performs as part of executing according to the baseline. A project manager reviews progress reports, spending reports , issues tracking logs, the project scope, the schedule baseline, the budget baseline, and the status and approval of major deliverables.

Understand the impact of a delay of a vendor deliverable to the project plan. Any changes to the project deliverables can impact the scope, the critical path end date, the budget, and the required resources. A vendor deliverable delay may add new risks to the project or create the need to establish new baselines for the schedule or budget.

Name the key components of an effective team meeting. A successful meeting has a stated purpose, a defined time limit, and a documented agenda distributed in advance. The project manager is accountable for setting a consistent day/time for the meeting, keeping the meeting on track, obtaining input from all appropriate team members , and sticking to the agenda.

Understand the various means to recognize or reward team members. Team member contributions can be recognized with monetary rewards or prizes, mention in a formal project review, a letter to executive management, or a team celebration .

Define a strategy for dealing with wavering project support from the sponsor. The strategy for dealing with wavering project support includes identifying the reason for the lack of support, determining the most effective means of communicating with the sponsor, enlisting the support of the allies , and potentially requesting a new sponsor or recommending cancellation of the project.

Recognize the components of an effective working relationship between the IT organization and the client organization. An effective working relationship requires team building, regular written and verbal communications based on the facts, joint issues management, timely decisions, and ongoing management of client expectations.

Understand that vendor relationships are critical to the process of getting your project finished.

Be aware that often you come into a relationship with a vendor with one set of expectations, the vendor with quite a different set. Managing those expectations by coming to consensus and making sure that you're on top of what the vendor is going to deliver is critical to project success.