CompTIA Project+ Cert Guide Robin Abernathy 800 East 96th Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46240 USA CompTIA Project+ Cert Guide Editor-in-Chief Copyright © 2018 by Pearson Education, Inc. Mark Taub All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in Product Line Manager a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, Brett Bartow photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the Acquisitions Editor information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in Michelle Newcomb the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no respon- Development Editor sibility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages Robin Drake resulting from the use of the information contained herein. ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-5883-5 Managing Editor ISBN-10: 0-7897-5883-0 Sandra Schroeder Library of Congress Control Number: 2017944115 Senior Project Editor Printed in the United States of America Tonya Simpson First Printing: July 2017 Copy Editor Robin Drake Trademarks All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or ser- Indexer vice marks have been appropriately capitalized. Pearson IT Certifi cation Publishing Works, Inc. cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book Proofreader should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. Gill Editorial Services Technical Editor Warning and Disclaimer Ann Lang Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fi tness is implied. The information provided Publishing Coordinator is on an “as is” basis. 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Contents at a Glance Introduction xxi Part I: Project Basics CHAPTER 1 Project Properties and Phases 3 CHAPTER 2 Project Roles, Responsibilities, and Team Structures 29 CHAPTER 3 Project Cost Control 47 CHAPTER 4 Project Schedules 63 CHAPTER 5 Personnel and Physical Resource Management 85 CHAPTER 6 Agile Methodology 67 Part II: Project Constraints, Infl uences, and Risks CHAPTER 7 Project Constraints and Infl uences 125 CHAPTER 8 Risk Activities and Strategies 146 Part III: Communication and Change Management CHAPTER 9 Communication Methods and Infl uences 168 CHAPTER 10 Communication Triggers and Target Audiences 194 CHAPTER 11 Change Control 214 Part IV: Project Tools and Documentation CHAPTER 12 Project Management Tools 243 CHAPTER 13 Project Documentation 273 CHAPTER 14 Vendor Documentation 290 Part V: Getting Ready for the Exam CHAPTER 15 Final Preparation 307 APPENDIX A Answers to the “Do I Know This Already?” Quizzes and Review Questions 311 Glossary 331 Index 354 Elements Available On the Book’s Website APPENDIX B Memory Tables APPENDIX C Memory Tables Answer Key Glossary Table of Contents Introduction xxi Part I: Project Basics Chapter 1 Project Properties and Phases 3 “Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 3 Foundation Topics 7 Definition of a Project 7 Temporary 8 Start and Finish 8 Unique 8 Reason/Purpose 9 Project as Part of a Program 9 Project as Part of a Portfolio 9 Project Phases 10 Initiating Phase 11 Project Charter 11 Business Case 12 High-Level Scope Definition 12 High-Level Risks 12 Stakeholder Register 12 Planning Phase 12 Schedule 13 Scope Management Plan 13 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) 14 Scope Baseline and Scope Statement 14 Resources 14 Detailed Risks 14 Requirements and the Requirements Management Plan 14 Communication Plan 15 Stakeholder Management Plan 15 Table of Contents v Procurement Management Plan 15 Change Management Plan 15 Budget 15 Executing Phase 16 Monitoring and Controlling Phase 16 Issues Log 16 Performance Measuring and Reporting 17 Quality Assurance/Governance 17 Change Control 17 Budget 18 Closing Phase 18 Transition/Integration Plan 18 Project Sign-Off 18 Archiving Project Documents 19 Lessons Learned 19 Releasing Resources 19 Closing Contracts 19 Project Knowledge Areas 19 Project Integration 20 Scope Management 20 Time Management 20 Cost Management 21 Quality Management 21 Human Resource Management 21 Communication Management 21 Risk Management 22 Procurement Management 22 Stakeholder Management 22 Exam Preparation Tasks 23 Review All Key Topics 23 Define Key Terms 23 Review Questions 24 vi CompTIA Project+ Cert Guide Chapter 2 Project Roles, Responsibilities, and Team Structures 29 “Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 29 Foundation Topics 33 Project Roles and Responsibilities 33 Project Sponsor 33 Project Manager 33 Project Coordinator 34 Stakeholder 34 Scheduler 35 Project Team 35 Project Management Office (PMO) 36 Project Team Structures 36 Functional Team Structure 37 Matrix Team Structure 38 Projectized Team Structure 40 Exam Preparation Tasks 41 Review All Key Topics 41 Define Key Terms 41 Review Questions 42 Chapter 3 Project Cost Control 47 “Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 47 Foundation Topics 50 Cost Baseline 50 Total Project Cost 50 Expenditure Tracking and Reporting 50 Cost Control Calculations 51 Earned Value Management (EVM) 52 Forecasting 54 To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI) 56 Reserve Analysis 57 Change Requests 57 Exam Preparation Tasks 58 Review All Key Topics 58 Table of Contents vii Define Key Terms 58 Review Questions 59 Chapter 4 Project Schedules 63 “Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 63 Foundation Topics 67 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) 67 Scheduling Activities 70 Determine Tasks 70 Determine Milestones 71 Determine Task Durations and Start/Finish Dates 71 Set Predecessors and Dependencies 71 Sequence and Prioritize Tasks 72 Determine Critical Path 72 Allocate Resources 76 Set Baseline 77 Set Quality Gates 77 Set Governance Gates 78 Exam Preparation Tasks 78 Review All Key Topics 78 Define Key Terms 79 Review Questions 79 Chapter 5 Personnel and Physical Resource Management 85 “Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 85 Foundation Topics 89 Personnel Management 89 Team Building and Trust Building 89 Team Selection and Skill Sets 90 Remote Versus In-House 91 Personnel Removal/Replacement 92 Communication Issues 92 Conflict Resolution 94 Smoothing 94 Forcing 94 viii CompTIA Project+ Cert Guide Compromising 95 Confronting 95 Avoiding 96 Negotiating 97 Resource Management 98 Shared Versus Dedicated Resources 98 Resource Allocation 99 Resource Shortage Versus Overallocation 100 Low-Quality Resources 100 Benched Resources 101 Interproject Dependencies and Resource Contention 101 Exam Preparation Tasks 102 Review All Key Topics 102 Define Key Terms 103 Review Questions 103 Chapter 6 Agile Methodology 107 “Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 107 Foundation Topics 111 Adaptive Planning 111 Iterative and Incremental Processes 111 Requirements Gathering and User Stories 112 Scrum Development 113 Sprint Planning 114 Daily Scrum Meetings 114 Continuous Feedback 115 Burndown Charts 115 Scrum Retrospectives 119 Self-Organized and Self-Directed Teams 120 Exam Preparation Tasks 120 Review All Key Topics 120 Define Key Terms 121 Review Questions 121 Table of Contents ix Part II: Project Constraints, Infl uences, and Risks Chapter 7 Project Constraints and Influences 125 “Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 125 Foundation Topics 129 Common Constraints 129 Cost Constraint 130 Scope Constraint 131 Time and Scheduling Constraints 131 Deliverables Constraint 132 Quality Constraint 132 Environment Constraint 133 Resources Constraint 134 Requirements Constraint 135 Project Influences 136 Change Requests 136 Scope Creep 137 Constraint Reprioritization 138 Interaction Between Constraints 139 Stakeholder, Sponsor, and Management Influences 140 Influence by Other Projects 140 Exam Preparation Tasks 141 Review All Key Topics 141 Define Key Terms 142 Review Questions 142 Chapter 8 Risk Activities and Strategies 147 “Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 147 Foundation Topics 151 Risk Activities 151 Risk Planning 151 Risk Identification 152 Risk Quantification and Prioritization 153 Risk Response Planning 154 Risk Review 155 x CompTIA Project+ Cert Guide Risk Register 155 Risk Communication 159 Risk Strategies 160 Accept Risk 160 Mitigate Risk 161 Transfer Risk 161 Avoid Risk 161 Exploit Risk 162 Enhance Risk 162 Share Risk 162 Exam Preparation Tasks 162 Review All Key Topics 163 Define Key Terms 163 Review Questions 164 Part III: Communication and Change Management Chapter 9 Communication Methods and Influences 169 “Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 171 Foundation Topics 173 Communication Methods 173 Meetings 173 Kickoff Meetings 173 Virtual Versus In-Person Meetings 174 Scheduled Versus Impromptu Meetings 175 Closure Meetings 175 Email and Fax 176 Video and Voice Conferencing 176 Instant Messaging and Text Messaging 177 Face-to-Face Communication 178 Distribution of Printed Media 179 Social Media 179 Communication Influences 180 Language