---

⭐ 1. The Basics

What PM manages: Scope (what), Time (when), Cost (how much), Quality (how well), Risk (what if). Change one → the others are affected.

---

⭐ 2. The 5 Process Groups

Process Groups = WHEN things happen. Knowledge Areas = WHAT you manage.

---

⭐ 3. Scope Management

6 steps in order: Plan → Collect Requirements → Define Scope → Create WBS → Validate Scope → Control Scope

---

⭐ 4. Schedule Management

Estimation Techniques

Technique	How	Speed	Accuracy
Analogous	Past similar project	Fast	Low
Parametric	Formula: rate × quantity	Fast	Medium
Bottom-Up	Estimate each task, add up	Slow	Highest
Three-Point / PERT	(O + 4M + P) ÷ 6	Medium	High

---

⭐ 5. Earned Value Management — All Formulas

---

⭐ 6. Risk Management

---

7. Quality Management

Process	Phase	Focus
Plan Quality	Planning	Define standards and how to meet them
Manage Quality	Executing	Audit PROCESSES — are we following the right steps?
Control Quality	Monitoring	Inspect DELIVERABLES — do they meet standards?

Quality Tool	Exam Trigger
Fishbone / Ishikawa	“Root cause” / “cause and effect”
Pareto Chart	“80/20” / “most frequent defect”
Control Chart	“Within limits” / “out of control”
Histogram	“Frequency distribution” / “defect frequency”
Scatter Diagram	“Relationship between two variables”

---

8. Communication & Stakeholder Management

Power / Interest	Strategy
High Power + High Interest	Manage Closely
High Power + Low Interest	Keep Satisfied
Low Power + High Interest	Keep Informed
Low Power + Low Interest	Monitor

---

9. Procurement — Contract Types

Contract Type	Risk Bearer	When to use
Fixed Price (FFP)	Seller bears risk	Well-defined scope
Time & Material (T&M)	Shared risk	Unclear scope, hourly work
Cost Plus (CPFF)	Buyer bears risk	Highly uncertain / R&D

---

10. Leadership & Team Management

Tuckman’s 5 Stages

Conflict Resolution — Ranked

Rank	Style	PMP Preference
1 ⭐	Collaborate / Problem-Solve	ALWAYS BEST — win-win solution
2	Compromise	Both give something up — time pressure
3	Smooth / Accommodate	Temporary fix only
4	Force / Direct	Crisis / urgent — last resort
5 ✗	Withdraw / Avoid	ALWAYS WORST — never do this

Motivation Theories

Theory	Key Idea	Exam Trigger
Maslow	Physiological→Safety→Social→Esteem→Self-Actualization	“basic needs” / “self-actualization”
Theory X	People dislike work → micromanage, punish	“closely monitored” / “strict control”
Theory Y	People self-motivated → give autonomy	“autonomy” / “empowered”
Herzberg	Hygiene factors prevent dissatisfaction. Motivators drive satisfaction.	“salary won’t motivate” = Hygiene

---

⭐ 11. Agile & Hybrid

The 4 Agile Values

Agile Role	Responsibility
Product Owner	Owns backlog, prioritises features, handles change requests
Scrum Master	Facilitates Scrum, removes impediments, coaches team
Development Team	Self-organising, cross-functional, does the actual work

Metric	Meaning
Velocity	Story points completed per sprint — predicts future pace
Cycle Time	Time to complete ONE task from start to finish
Burndown Chart	Remaining work over time — should trend to zero
Cumulative Flow	Work status (To Do / In Progress / Done) — spots bottlenecks

---

⭐ 12. Rapid Fire — Exam Trigger Table

Read the trigger on the left. Know the answer on the right before the exam. These cover the most frequently tested concepts.

If you see this in a question…	The answer is…
“Authorize project” / “give PM authority”	Project Charter (Initiating)
“Plan how project will be done”	Project Management Plan (Planning)
“What is in/out of scope”	Scope Statement
“Break work into manageable pieces”	WBS — Work Breakdown Structure
“Uncontrolled additions to work”	Scope Creep → use Control Scope
“Client formally accepts deliverables”	Validate Scope (Monitoring)
“Longest path in network diagram”	Critical Path
“Activities with zero float”	Critical Path activities
“Add resources to speed up”	Crashing
“Overlap sequential tasks” / “no extra cost”	Fast Tracking
“Avoid resource conflict / overallocation”	Resource Leveling
“Based on similar past project”	Analogous Estimating
“Formula: rate × units”	Parametric Estimating
“Estimate each task and add up”	Bottom-Up Estimating
“Optimistic, Most Likely, Pessimistic”	Three-Point / PERT
“CPI < 1”	Over budget
“SPI < 1”	Behind schedule
“EV/AC”	CPI
“EV/PV”	SPI
“BAC/CPI”	EAC (Estimate at Completion)
“Buy insurance” / “outsource risk”	Risk Transfer
“Eliminate the risk entirely”	Risk Avoidance
“Reduce probability or impact”	Risk Mitigation
“Low probability + low impact”	Accept the risk
“New risk created by the response”	Secondary Risk
“Risk remaining after response”	Residual Risk
“Root cause of defect”	Fishbone / Ishikawa Diagram
“80% of problems from 20% of causes”	Pareto Chart
“Process within control limits?”	Control Chart
“Fixed budget, well-defined scope”	Fixed Price contract
“Scope unclear, research / R&D”	Cost Plus contract
“Most risk for seller”	Fixed Price
“Most risk for buyer”	Cost Plus
“Conflict — best approach”	Collaborate / Problem-Solve
“Ignore conflict” / worst option	Withdraw / Avoid
“Team getting to know each other”	Forming (Tuckman)
“Team disagreements / conflict”	Storming (Tuckman)
“High productivity, self-managing”	Performing (Tuckman)
“Anonymous expert opinions”	Delphi Technique
“Voting to prioritise ideas”	Nominal Group Technique
“Grouping ideas into categories”	Affinity Diagram
“In Agile, change request arrives”	Product Owner → backlog → next sprint
“CCB approves changes”	Traditional / Predictive project
“Sprint, backlog, velocity”	Agile / Scrum
“Salary won’t motivate”	Herzberg Hygiene Factor
“Closely monitored, strict control”	Theory X (McGregor)
“Autonomy, self-directed”	Theory Y (McGregor)
“Formal acceptance at project end”	Closing Process Group
“Lessons learned”	Closing Process Group
“Communication channels for 10 people”	10×9÷2 = 45 channels
“High Power + High Interest stakeholder”	Manage Closely
“Resistant stakeholder”	Engage directly — never ignore

---