The most vexing problem for project managers at work is project delays. There are many reasons for project delays, but the most common are changing requirements or risks.
1. How does PMP deal with risk issues?
PMP divides risks into three categories: known-known risks, known-unknown risks and unknown-unknown risks. For the first two risks, it is necessary to identify them in advance and take corresponding measures, while for unknown-unknown risks, certain resources need to be reserved to deal with them. In PMP, reserved resources for unknown-unknown risks are called management reserves and are not included in the project budget. After successfully identifying risks, qualitative and quantitative analysis needs to be performed and corresponding countermeasures formulated.
2. How to identify risks?
Commonly used methods include: referring to the knowledge base of experiences and lessons encountered in similar projects, organizing team members to brainstorm, asking experienced experts to conduct analysis, and using SWOT analysis or PERT analysis to identify general risks.
3. There are usually five types of risk response measures:
-Risk avoidance: avoid risks when encountering them. The most extreme way is to shut down the entire project;
- Risk transfer: transferring risk to others, such as purchasing insurance or outsourcing risky parts to a third party;
- Risk mitigation: taking measures to reduce the probability of a risk occurring or mitigating the impact after a risk occurs, such as strengthening testing or selecting more reliable suppliers;
- Risk acceptance: taking risks, leaving only resources to deal with risks, and taking no other measures;
- Risk reporting: Risks beyond the scope of the project manager's authority need to be reported to superiors, such as national policy releases.
After risk responses have been developed, details need to be recorded in a risk register and risks are regularly reviewed to eliminate expired or occurred risks and add newly identified risks. Through the three steps of identifying risks in advance, monitoring risks during the event, and summarizing afterwards, the probability and impact of risks can be effectively reduced.
1) Briefly introduce the history and role of PMP;
With the continuous accumulation of project management methods, skills and tools, standardized project management organizations have emerged. Among them, the most famous are the International Project Management Association (IPMA), founded in Switzerland in 1965, and the Project Management Institute (PMI), founded in the United States in 1969.
PMP (Project Management Professional) is a project management certification system organized and implemented by the American Project Management Institute (PMI), aiming to certify the qualifications of project management professionals. The American Project Management Institute has taken two major initiatives to promote the rapid dissemination and widespread application of PMP around the world.
It should be pointed out that each year’s PMP certification is based on the content of that year’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). Through these two measures, the American Project Management Institute has become the leader in global project management practices, and has quickly spread to many countries and regions and has been applied in many actual large and medium-sized projects. Therefore, PMP certification standards have become the first choice for selecting project managers. At present, the global coverage and influence of the American Project Management Association has far exceeded that of the International Project Management Association (IPMA).
The introduction of PMP in China is based on a certain basis. Since the reform and opening up, domestic large and small enterprises have successively participated in many construction projects at home and abroad. When working on projects in China, it is common to clink glasses, tap on the brain, and tap on the shoulder. However, in projects abroad, especially in Europe and the United States, customers pay more attention to whether the participants have a complete project management system and whether the project manager has passed the PMP certification to judge whether the candidate has the corresponding project management capabilities and knowledge reserves. For Chinese companies at that time, this was undoubtedly a huge challenge.
2) Analyze the competency model of product managers and explore the differences between product managers and project managers;
Through the understanding of PMP, it can be clearly seen that the project manager is the role that connects technology and the market. The project manager pays more attention to whether the project can achieve the expected goals, and is less concerned about the benefits after the completion of the project.
The origin of the product manager can be traced back to Procter & Gamble. Neil McElroy, the marketing manager at the time, found that marketing activities were too scattered and could not focus on centralized management, so he proposed the "BRANDMAN" system, thus formally establishing the role of product manager. With the development of IT information technology, early Internet product managers were usually concurrently held by demand analysts, UI designers, project managers or technical managers.
However, with the widespread application of mobile Internet and the shortening of APP launch cycles, Internet companies need an independent product department or role to be responsible for product design, management and operation, and to obtain market value and revenue through continuous iteration. Therefore, product manager has gradually become a professional position and plays an increasingly important role in the organizational structure of Internet companies. Product managers need to have the ability to think independently and be able to infer future development trends through industry phenomena, user behavior, operating habits, etc., and make certain judgments. In addition, they also need to have the ability to control the entire product life cycle and professional qualities, including data analysis capabilities, professional skills, tool usage, and professional ethics. Generally speaking, product managers are the role that connects the market and technology. They focus on the actual benefits and the ability to continue to generate value after the product is launched.
3. Product managers’ concerns about taking the PMP certificate exam
Some product managers believe that if they seriously prepare for the PMP exam, they will be trained by PMI to be the type of people who are suitable for mature processes and like screw-type employees, which makes them worried. But I think being trained by PMI is not terrible. After all, we have gone through various examinations such as the high school entrance examination and the college entrance examination, and our personality has not changed. More importantly, we should study and summarize with our brains in mind, so that we can dig out the essence of a knowledge field and make use of it.
As the product managers who have the most independent thinking among this group, obtaining the certificate will not make them lose their ability to think independently. In the United States, there are also examples of product managers preparing for the PMP exam. They spend more than half a year preparing and celebrate after passing. Obviously, these people are not fools. As long as domestic project management methodologies are not internationally recognized, we must learn from the most advanced international methodologies and combine them with actual conditions to ultimately form our own unique methodology. Although there are some routines in the PMP exam, it is more about testing one’s depth of understanding of project management concepts. Candidates from Tianchao have developed test-taking skills in more than ten years of test-taking education, which can also be partially used in the PMP. Therefore, if there is a need, you should get the certificate yourself.
The preparation materials are shared as follows:
