| Graeme −> PMI® −> PMP Brain Dump −> How to make a brain dump |
Practice this procedure until you can reliably start with a blank piece of paper, and reproduce a brain dump in about 15 minutes.
Upper half: classification of the 44 processes into nine knowledge areas and
five process groups...
1. Write ISTCQHCRP (the red letters, below) across the top of the page.
These are initials of the nine knowledge areas. Think IS, TCQ, Holy CRaP!
or make up your own.
2. Write 756334466 (the red numbers) below the letters. This is the number
of processes in each knowledge area.
3. Write "Init", "Planning", etc. along the left column. Don't box
yourself in with any lines yet. The paper is relatively blank at this
point.
4. Make boxes that can hold five planning-group processes in the Time and Risk
knowledge areas. Write the five processes in each of these boxes.
5. What sorts of things can you execute? Answer: People (H.R.) and
contracts (Procurement). So these are the two knowledge areas with two
executing-group processes. Box these, and write 'em in.
6. Now box the monitoring and controlling-group processes in the knowledge areas
with more than three processes that you haven't already boxed.
7. Now, fill in the remaining processes. You will no doubt remember them
in your own way. Two thirds of the planning processes, for example, are named
something planning, and the first five knowledge areas have mon & control
group procedures called something control. The anomalies are your
friends: QA and QC are perform QA and perform QC. Why?
No reason is known.
8. There are "S" words for three of the KA's: Time=schedule; H.R.=staffing;
Communications=stakeholder. The management plans (subordinate to
the PMP created in Integration) use these "s" words as do some of the proceses.
In addition to the nine something management plans (one for each KA).
Two additional subordinate plans exist, which you can also indicate on the brain
dump: Continuous Improvement Plan (in the Quality KA) and Contract M.P. (in the
Procurement KA).
Bottom half: lists and formulas. There's a pattern to them. The earned value calculations, for example, start with AC, EV, and PV. There are three "at completion" TLA's, and one thing "to complete". All the variances are EV minus something, all the indices are EV divided by something. And each one of these four formulas can be turned around to make a dual formula with the variables in reverse order. You'll see the patterns, and use them to your advantage when you write this brain dump over and over.
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The brain dump isn't a substitute for understanding what the processes are, and what they mean. However, there are patterns you can use in conjunction with the brain dump. As you write the acronyms, repeat the full name of the process in your mind. For example, the planning processes have a natural flow, with the integration and scope KA's first, ending with CWBS. (Say "Create Work Breakdown Structure" as you write that.) Then, the first of the planning processes in each of the remaining seven KAs can begin, but SDv must be the last planning process. (This is all according to a flowchart in the PMBOK® that depicts the overall sequence of planning processes.)
PMP test questions are mostly situation-oriented. The situation describes things that have been done, and then the question often asks what to do next. Knowing this order of planning tasks helps, and then it also helps to get a sense of what process group you're in. If there are very similar processes in the planning, executing, and mon & ctrl process groups, e.g. QP, pQA, and pQC, then you can use the following method to figure out which process group:
Planning: choosing what processes you will use in this project.
Executing: implementing the chosen processes; applying them to the project.
Monitoring and Controlling: using the implemented process in specific instances.