If you are considering to get your Project Management Professional certificate, you have come to the right place! Below are steps you can take to dive into the world of project management and pass the PMP exam.
1. Become a member of PMI
There are many benefits to becoming a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI). It is a great organization for meeting professionals like yourself and they offer discounted rates on exams, materials and events to all members. Check them out at www.pmi.org.
2. Join the nearest PMI chapter
Local chapters offer study groups and help preparing for the exam. In my case, my local chapter linked me up with a great person who is helping me with my job search. You can locate the nearest PMI chapter via www.pmi.org.
3. Download the PMBOK
Once you are a PMI member, you can download a PDF version of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) guide from their website.
On July 31, 2013, PMI will be changing the PMBOK to Version 5 and as a result, the exam will be changing. So you have the choice of cramming now to take the Version 4 exam or studying under the new version
4. Obtain 35-hours of project management education
In order to apply for the PMP certification, you need 35-hours of project management experience. If you don’t have the hours, this iPhone app is definitely the way to go: Instant PMP® Video Prep Course and Practice Exams – BetterPM.
Personally, I am thankful I found BetterPM because I didn’t have 35-hours of PM education. I had signed up for my local chapter’s PMP Exam Prep Boot Camp but didn’t like their style of teaching. So I dropped the course and resorted to BetterPM’s videos for training. The best part is that BetterPM offers *three* 200 question practice exams!
If you sign up for their gold membership, you can watch the videos on your computer. And you have access to all the exams on your computer. The videos are professional and well made. Check them out at http://www.betterpm.com/dap/a/?a=883.
5. Learn Inputs, Tools & Techniques and Outputs
I downloaded the iPhone app PMP Help by Srikanth Punuru, which provides info on Process Groups, Knowledge Areas, Formulas and more. They have a comprehensive list of Inputs, Tools & Techniques and Outputs (ITTOs).
6. Memorize formulas
I have downloaded the iPhone app Formulas PMP®Exam by Shinil Paulose, which includes all the formulas you need to know.
7. Do a lot of 200 question practice exams
Practice, practice, practice.
I have been doing 200 question exams at the same time each day (the time I plan to take the test) so my body is programmed to sit non-stop for 4 hours without a bathroom break, drink or food.
I read that iStudy PMP ® Exam – 335 Questions by Panacea Solutions Limited is a good iPhone app.
Currently, I am going through PMP Practice Makes Perfect: Over 1000 PMP Practice Questions and Answers
I have also purchased PMP Exam Prep Questions, Answers, & Explanations: 1000+ PMP Practice Questions with Detailed Solutions
I am considering to purchase PMStudy’s online exams as well.
8. Read more than one book
I say read more than one book because each author has their own way of presenting the information. Reading more than one book will give you different perspectives on how to understand the material.
I started with PMP Certification, A Beginner’s Guide (Certification Press)
He highly recommends reading PMP Exam Prep, Seventh Edition: Rita’s Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam
Once the test changes in July 2013, these books will no longer be valid.
The new exam will cover PMBOK version 5
Apparently the last two weeks of July 2013 are blacked out to account for the change over (from Version 4 to Version 5). So be sure to schedule your test date soon, which you can do at http://www.pmi.org/Certification/Project-Management-Professional-PMP.aspx.
Helpful spreadsheets
Click here to download a helpful spreadsheet to use for completing PMI’s application. The spreadsheet calculates hours worked by processes.
Click here to download a handy spreadsheet I made of all the Knowledge Areas, Process Groups and ITTOs. It’s an expanded version of Table 3-1 (the famous pg. 43) in the PMBOK version 4.
Good luck!
Here are a few questions to keep you on your toes. They’re taken from the Ultimate IQ Test Book
Question
How many minutes is it before 12 noon if 20 minutes ago it was three times as many minutes after 9 am?
Lets figure it out
Between 9 am and 12 pm is 3 hours or 180 minutes.
3x + 20 + 1x = 180
x = 40
Answer
It is 40 minutes before noon or 11:20 am.
Question
A bag of potatoes weighs 16 kg divided by a quarter of its weight. How much does the bag weigh?
Lets figure it out
16 / 2 = 8
Answer
The bag of potatoes weighs 8 kg.
Question
Four explorers deep in the jungle have to cross a rope bridge in the middle of a moonless night. Unfortunately the bridge is only strong enough to support two people at a time. Also, because deep in the jungle on a moonless night it is pitch black, the explorers need a torch to guide them, otherwise there is every possibility they would stumble and plunge to their deaths in the ravine below. However, between them they have only one torch. Young James can cross the ravine in 2 minutes, his sister Jane can cross in 3 minutes, their mother Henrietta can cross in 5 minutes; however, old Colonel Hopalong can only hobble slowly across in 10 minutes. How quickly is it possible for all four to reach the other side?
Lets figure it out
The secret is to make sure that the fastest people do the most crossings and the slowest people the fewest. The two slowest people are Colonel Hopalong and Henrietta. They should cross together.
First, James and Jane cross.
Then James returns.
Then Henrietta and Colonel Hopalong cross.
Jane returns.
Finally, James and Jane cross.
Answer
21 minutes
Question
A photograph measuring 8.5 by 7.5 cm is to be enlarged. If the enlargement of the longer side is 13.6 cm, what is the length of the smaller side?
Lets figure it out
(13.6 ÷ 8.5) × 7.5 = 12
Answer
12 cm
Question
In a game of 12 players lasting for 65 minutes, three reserves alternate equally with each player. This means that all players, including the reserves, are on the pitch for the same length of time. For how long?
Lets figure it out
(65 x 12) ÷ 15 = 52
Answer
52 min
Question
Alf is one and a quarter times as old as Jim, and Jim is one and a quarter times as old as Sid. The total of their ages is 61. How old are Sid, Jim and Alf?
Answer
Sid 16, Jim 20, Alf 25
Question
In four years’ time the combined age of me and my two daughters will be 107. What will it be in five years’ time?
Lets figure it out
In another five years we will each be five years older (i.e. 5 × 3 = 15, and 107 + 15 = 122)
Answer
122
Happy April, bright minds!
App: AppZapp Pro
Developer: ConIT AG
Class: Social Networking
Price: $0.99
Reviewed On: iPhone 4S
There are a few apps that fall into the Can’t_Live_Without category. AppZapp Pro is one of them! AppZapp’s main function is to keep you in the know when it comes to the latest apps in the App Store.
{ When an app is offered for free in the App Store, you find out about it on AppZapp. }
{ When a new app hits the streets, you hear about it on AppZapp. }
{ When an app has been updated, you know through AppZapp. }
App Junkies, this one is for you!
Through AppZapp you find out about all price drops and version updates on the most popular, exclusive apps on Apple’s App Store. It’s the online equivalent of “Attention All K-Mart Shoppers,” where you hear about Blue Light Specials. I have downloaded apps that were reduced from $4.99 to $0.00 and have seen apps on AppZapp reduced from $19.99 to $0.00! Some specials don’t last long so you need to visit AppZapp regularly. Or you can create a Wish List within the app and when your Must_Have_This app goes on sale, AppZapp notifies you.
One feature that you get on AppZapp and not on the App Store is the ability to see all activities associated with the app. Included in “App Infos & Activity” is the date the app was released, the dates of all price changes and the dates of the lastest updates. With this information you can identify trends of the app and whether the developer is committed to customers. Also, when you see features in the “Top In-App-Purchases” you know that you will have to spend more money to use the app to it’s full capacity. All of this gives you greater buying power.
Another feature is the ability to sync your apps in iTunes with your AppZapp account. By syncing your apps, you create accurate search results. Syncing also allows you to see how much you have spent on the apps you downloaded.
AppZapp’s user interface is friendly and offers the following options: Live Stream, Community, Top Lists, Sales, Now Free, New Apps, News, My AppZapp and Settings. It has a lot more features than AppShopper and AppsFire. Sometimes it even displays reduced apps that aren’t on AppShopper. I have used AppShopper and like it’s simplicity. However, I converted to AppZapp because it has greater functionality.
The only downside I see with AppZapp is the inability to sort by price, rating or change.
One improvement that the developer can incorporate is adding a Wish List button to the same screen that provides the app info. That way users don’t have to leave the screen.
Scoreboard
Top Features:
* Up-to-date prices and seller alerts
* Track apps for iPhone, iPad and Mac
* Detailed information on every app and developer
* Latest news
* Live streaming
Design: 4 / 5
Functionality: 5 / 5
User Interface: 5 / 5
Overall: 4.7 / 5
Overall, AppZapp Pro is a great app! Why are you still reading the review?! Go and get it from the App Store (click here).
Walking through the powdery snow today, I was struck by the beauty of everything. From the snow covered branches to the icicles hanging from rooftops. It was like seeing through the eyes of a child. Everything was so pure and exciting.
May you experience childlike joy during this holiday season!
~ AnneMarie
There are more than 700,000 mobile apps in Apple’s app store! I don’t know about you but sometimes I have a hard time choosing which ones to download. Or I simply don’t find a really great one until a friend tells me about it.
I am starting this iPhone/iPad App Review series to share with you the apps that are superfragilistic. While you have probably heard of most of them, I’m sure there are a couple that escaped your radar. These are the ones I’m most excited to share because they should be in the hands of all iPhone/iPhone lovers!
For starters, I have generated the list below of my most favorite apps. Future articles will provide an in-depth look at them and more.
I like doing IQ tests, which has me thinking about which sequences I need to memorize to be faster. Here are the sequences for cubes, primes, squares, power of twos, Fibonacci and factorials.
Cubes
1, 8, 27, 64, 125, 216, 343, 512, 729, 1000
Primes
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23
Squares
1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100
Power of Two
1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512
Fibonacci Sequence
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144
Factorials
1! = 1
2! = 1 x 2 = 2
3! = 1 x 2 x 3 = 6
4! = 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 = 24
5! = 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 = 120
6! = 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 = 720
7! = 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 = 5040
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
― Anaïs Nin
Photo: San Francisco (2010)
Google Analytics is a free service from Google that generates detailed statistics about visitors to a website. It shows how many people visit your site, what keywords they used to find your site, how they explored it and more. With this information you can come up with ways to enhance the experiences of your visitors. If you have multiple sites, the data helps you determine which sites you should spend more time on.
Overview
Below is the Google Analytics Dashboard, which shows the number of visits, pageviews, pages/visit, bounce rate, average time on site and new visits. It also has a map showing the country/state/city of each visitor.
Additional information is available on the left menu bar in Google Analytics. For example, if you click “Traffic Sources” you will be given referral sources. On this page, you can also see the specific keywords visitors used to find your site. Very helpful!
Getting started
Go to www.google.com/analytics. If you already have a Google account, log in with your existing information. If not, click “Create an account now”.
Once you have signed in, you will see a page similar to the one below. Start adding your website(s) by clicking on “Add new profile” in the top right corner. (It’s below “Day|Week|Month|Year”.)
Make sure the radio button is on “Add a Profile for a new domain”. Type your website address in the field to the right of http://. Choose your country and time zone. Click “Finish”.
Google will generate code that you need to place in the html of your site. Copy the code and paste it right before the closing head tag in the html. Upload the revised html document to your server. In Google Analytics, click “Save and Finish”.
That’s it. After 15 to 20 minutes you will have full reporting capabilities.
More than 800 years ago, before trains, planes and Teslas, people migrated to a town approximately 60 miles southwest of Paris. They settled in a beautiful spot and started building what is now known as Chartres.
The most stunning aspect of this town is the cathedral, which stands proud in the middle of town. Cathedral of Chartres is one of the three chief examples of Gothic French architecture (along with Amiens Cathedral and Reims Cathedral) and is not only recognized for its architectural innovations but also for its numerous sculptures and beautiful stained glass.
Prior to the Cathedral of Chartres, a church stood in its place. On the same spot centuries before that was an oak grove where Druids held ceremonies. From the 6th century on, pilgrims came over to pray and bring numerous offerings. The cathedral holds something special that does not feel related to any denomination but is spiritual in it’s own way.
The first two photos are of the cathedral. The following five are of the crypt. And the last are of the picture-perfect town.
The blue color of the stained glass windows, known as Chartres Blue, has never been replicated again.
Gallo-Roman remains have been found beneath the Cathedral and fragments are visible in the crypt.
The Cathedral retains 152 of its original 186 stained glass windows.
Here is a beautiful little chapel in the crypts.
Now let’s go on a tour of the town.
The medieval streets and alleys are deliciously beautiful.
The expert craftsmanship is clearly marked by the solidity of the buildings and
charm of ancient days.
Chartres has many great restaurants and cafes. You can buy a good sandwich or doener for 3 Euros.
Only an hour by train from Gare Montparnasse, you can easily make a day trip to Chartres and the cathedral.
