PMP - draw all i/o in a go..

It takes more than 3 hour to be able to make a 3 min ITTO chart in exam and before that of course ..

Hope you know how to draw an every day chart for PMP study -
http://withinaccess.blogspot.in/2015/04/itto-3-minute.html

Once u r used to this chart , u wouldn't even need to write short names of 47 processes.. only their placeholders will be enough...

Now come to Rita Mulcahy's advice to start with o/p and then i/p which makes the o/p and finally the items (tools) needed to convert the i/p to the o/p..

as you can recall all 47 names now, do u think how easy would be to recall almost all the o/p for 47 processes?
why don't u make the chart of 47 processes on 3 A4 size sheets and start recollecting the o/p for all of them in whichever sequence you can? Hint - pick any column at a time..say I then C then P and then E and at last M...

initially u can refer to PMBOK index in the link I mentioned above...

Once u r good at writing o/p for all 47 processes.. your brain will automatically assign o/p to the short process name..and it will be effortless in just 3 attempts max..

After that u have to repeat same process for i/p but this time u ll recollect o/p name and try to write i/p that make that o/p.. this time u don't write o/p names at all...

again u ll use 3 sheets of A4 size..

at the end of the exercise, u ll come up with something like below images..-

don't bother to read them, just make ur own..

You can leave common i/p and o/p in the process as I did..
here's the list you can ignore -

• CR (with any prefix)
• WPI and WPD
• OPA
• EEF
• project document updates

etc.
there're some shortcuts for all of these..and without that shortcut it's difficult to recollect them in exam..
there are shortcuts for everything that looks hard in drawing i/o in above processes...so don't lose heart if 3 attempts don't seem enough for a few of them...

For shortcuts you can refer to Andy Crowe's site (it's paid but u can get 7 days free access on buying his book...7 days aren't enough for those many shortcuts and unlimited questions that resemble exam ones)

Btw did u notice most of the time, there was a link as o/p of one process was forming i/p of another...only some of the i/p were new...which were they?

Here's a list -

• Project SOW
• Business Case
• Seller Proposals
• Agreements

etc. as you can guess they are coming from outside world of the 47 processes..

PMP - A handy chart for everyday study

One of the confidence boosting exercise I did was to be able to draw ITTO in less than 3 minutes in exam hall. Here's how I did it but before that I would tell you why it was beneficial?

1. It would save my time and energy for other important aspects of PMP studies.

2. It would build my confidence and avoid confusion during studies and exam both.

So lets get started-

You won't be able to do it in exam unless you're used to it.

So start doing this every time you study for PMP i.e. if you study for PMP every day, draw it every day - as simple as that.

How?

This image is an example of my one day's study where I started my PMP day with six A4 papers and fill in the keywords in 47 placeholders.

Mostly I would use single A4 paper for one day's studies and later I started using single big chart that's attached to fill in all clubbed up details under one big sheet for reference.

Reading or copying this sheet is of no use as that's only one way to to do the right thing..

With the process I am mentioning here you'll devise your own way to do it better.

Do you still call all 47 processes by their full names?

If yes, you're wasting your time. Once I know the full name, I can give them a short name and slowly my brain would start joining the short names with the full names. I write short name to save my time and call full name in brain as I will see full names in real world questions. 

So the first hint to make ITTO in 3 minutes is to write short names of 10 KA's, 5 PG's and 47 processes.

If you dunno what short names to give all these stuff. Pls read this -
http://withinaccess.blogspot.in/2014/11/the-47-processes-1st-headache.html

After you have short names for 10 KA's + 5 PG's + 47 processes, you can start with how to draw the process chart -
http://withinaccess.blogspot.in/2014/11/process-chart.html

please read above links only once and keep doing the stuff with paper and pen.. next time refer to only ur notes...else u'll not gain much from the processes mentioned here.

After about 3 times of making the process chart, you must be able to draw something like below image every time u start studying for ur PMP -

Initially, there could be mistakes, so make sure that process counts are right in each column as - 2-24-8-11-2 respectively.

let's talk in shortcuts now -

[It's good to count number of processes in each KA as well but only if you remember PG=P's count then also it's enough.. e.g.-P has 3-4-5-6 processes in C1,S1,R and T respectively..otherwise just 1...whenever it has more than 1, E's have none..E is 3 for H...hence there is none in it's M...M is 2 for I and S1...(hope u know which 2-2 are I and C)]

making above chart isn't enough...read aloud each of the short forms as their full forms .. use short forms only to write...never to call or recall

there could be no better description than Kim's study guide for beginners and no complete reference than PMBOK itself on ITTO..so for quick reference I had created an index for jumping to any of the processes I wished to -

I used same chart to create the index also

This is how I used that small chart for every little thing I did on a single day..

Get used to the chart and the short names and u ll save urself a lot of time and freedom from all sorta confusions

ITTO - excel

If you're looking for ITTO in spreadsheet, here's the link -

http://pmzilla.com/i-created-itto-5th-ed-spreadsheet

Hope this helps you, I did not use it though.

You can use it for -

• memorizing ITTO
• creating your shortcuts and to be sure you're covering complete stuff
• answering PMP mock questions online during your preparations

Practice with PM's

I wish I knew it before I studied for PMP, nevertheless I'm sharing it here for you -

Know about - PMChallenge and PMwars?

Register on this site -
(or use FB/PMI credentials)
http://www.projectmanagement.com/

Although you can do many things there but from exam's perspective, you can answer questions on link -

http://www.projectmanagement.com/PMchallenge/

You can access above link without registering, but to keep track of your score and already answered correct questions, you must login with your own id.

To encourage yourself, you'll earn badges by answering some specific no. questions.

Tip - I use snipping tool to grab all wrong answers so that I can go through them later.

If you want to verify how you're doing you can get into PMwars and choose someone like you (novice at beginning and later a master). With PMwars you'll have to memorize answers so that you can score higher than your opponent. It's fun.

For PMwars you must login.

Team Building - Bruce Tuckman - 5 stages

In short -

Dr Bruce Tuckman published his Forming - Storming - Norming - Performing model in 1965. He added a fifth stage, Adjourning, in the 1970s. 

Forming -
Team is formed..
Team begins to address ...

Storming -
place for conflicts, arguments ..
Every-time a new member joins the cycle of team building phases starts from here..

Norming -
Team begins to perform..

Performing -
Self-motivated, continuous performing stage..

Adjourning -
Emotional c-off..

Here's a good link to refer to -

http://www.businessballs.com/tuckmanformingstormingnormingperforming.htm

P.S.- Read again only italics this time. They will help you answer questions quickly.

For details, pl refer to other stuff as this article is helpful only for those who are aware of the concept and just wish to memorize it to be correct while choosing correct option in multiple choice question.

(Pl add any important keywords if I left)