APM Project Management Training

In this podcast the Parallel team discuss the following assessment criteria:

1. define the term ‘scope management’.
2. differentiate between scope management within linear projects and scope management within iterative projects.
3. describe how product breakdown structures (PBS) and work breakdown structures (WBS) are used to illustrate the required scope of work.
4. outline how a project manager would use cost breakdown structures (CBS), organisational breakdown structures (OBS) and the responsibility assignment matrix (RAM).
5. define the terms ‘configuration management’ and ‘change control’ in the context of scope management.
6. explain the relationship between change control and configuration management
7. outline the stages in a typical change control process
8. outline the activities in a typical configuration management process (including planning, identification, control, status accounting and verification audit)

The APM Project Fundamentals Qualification (PFQ), formerly known as the APM Introductory Certificate, is a qualification developed by the Association for Project Management, the chartered body for the project profession. It is a practical course for new project managers or members of project teams who want a better understanding of the processes, tools and language of project management.

Read our Guide to Project Management Qualifications and find out more about our project management training courses at www.parallelprojecttraining.com

This internationally recognised qualification will enhance your career prospects as a project professional.

At the end of the APM PFQ course, you will:

• Be able to apply the fundamental principles of project management including:
• • Defining the business case
  • Establishing scope
  • Drawing up a plan for project delivery
  • Identifying and managing risk
  • Monitoring and tracking project progress
  • Controlling change
• Be equipped with the practical skills and knowledge to successfully deliver benefits to your organisation through well-managed projects
• Gain a recognised qualification to enhance your career prospects as a project professional
• Develop the behaviours and leadership skills needed to become a successful project manager
• Confidently sit the APM Foundation Project Fundamentals Qualification (PFQ) examination

17. Solutions Development - This podcast discusses the ability to determine the optimal solution to satisfy agreed requirements, and covers:

a) How to evaluate and prioritise requirements in order to deliver the optimal solution, and the different approaches for different life cycle models, e.g. the use of MVP and MMP in iterative life cycles.

In this APM Project Management Qualification (BoK7) podcast, Paul and John discuss risk and issue management. This podcasts aims to address the following APM PMQ assessment criteria;

• Explain each stage in a risk management process (such as identification, analysis response, and closure)
• Explain proactive and reactive responses to risk (such as avoid, reduce, transfer or accept and exploit, enhance, share and reject)
• Explain the benefits of risk management
• Explain the key aspects of issue management

This podcast is just part of the parallel learning system for the APM Project Management Qualification. This approach includes a wide range of learning resources including a printed study guide, on-line e-learning, a tutor lead study group and a wide range of project management courses

Below is a transcript of this podcast:

Introduction 

Welcome to a parallel project training APM project management qualification podcast based on the APM body of knowledge seventh edition. You should be using this in conjunction with our elearning podcasts, and potentially a tutor led course. For more information, please visit www.parallelprojecttraining.com

Paul 

Hello, welcome to another Parallel Project Training podcast with John Bolton. Hello, John. Hello and Paul Naybour. Oh, we're doing the PMQ and we're doing risk and issue management today. Deep joy. So we've got quite a big section here. Quite a lot of assessment criteria.

John 

This was the longest podcast in the box. So this lasts 47 minutes

Paul 

So explain the stage in the risk management process such as identify analyse, plan, response and closure, explain proactive responses to avoid reduced transfer and accept exploiting enhance, share and reject, explain the benefits of exposure and explain the key aspects of issue management and contingency. So as we start with this definition, a risk event is

John 

well, yeah, a risk event is an uncertain event or set of circumstances that should occur or they occur would have an effect on the achievement of one or more of the project's objectives. That's the prime guide definition. Okay. There is a slightly different glossary definition. Okay, what's the glossary? Say it doesn't talk about risk events as much it talks about just it says something more generic. The risk is the potential of an action or event to impact on the achievement of objectives,

Paul 

potential action or event. Yeah. Okay. So they're all events that might have an impact on achievement.

John 

Yeah, I mean, I think people talk about the word event as if it's meaningful, I think it's just just a noun,

Paul 

or an adjective, whatever it is, to the key thing that can be opposite. They can be opportunities or threats, right. So you're looking at both, which confuses some people sometimes because generically, we talk about risks being bad things, but we don't tend to write down on opportunities are very rarely academic,

John 

which is, but then, you know, interest rates could go up as well as down. I have a blog about that fuel prices forgot as well as down. They want to talk about that or not really. Okay. No, I mean, well, we need to mention it, because it could be part of, but it's not ostensibly part of the syllabus. Yeah. You know, they don't talk about risks. Positive risks in here are explicitly Yeah, although they do talk about the responses as being exploiting heartshare or reject, which in the pram guide on opportunity on so we talk about those as well.

Paul 

So risks can have causes background facts, it make them happen. So that's called change or political uncertainty, economic uncertainty, or technology or something. And that cause introduces an uncertain event, which has an impact on time, cost and quality usually, or achievement of the overall objectives for the period.

John 

So I mean, how is our problem with going down the cause? root, you know, so you can they might rain tomorrow? Because of global warming? That's a fact. Yeah. But I mean, it could cause a global warming is more likely Pratt was the rain. Warning. Yes, exactly. So what's the cause? So close to this, because I've got diesel,

Paul 

diesel, and go back and back and back back, but you just try to identify a manageable root cause? So Ben, well, it's

John 

a specificity of, isn't it? It's, it might rain, tomorrow's facts, but it might rain...

13.1 define quality management,

13.2 define quality planning, quality assurance, quality control and continual improvement,

13.3 describe the benefits of the quality management process

This podcast is just part of the Parallel Learning System for the APM qualifications (APM PFQ and APM PMQ) for project managers. This approach includes a wide range of learning resources including a printed study guide, on-line e-learning, a tutor lead study group and project management courses that will boost your career prospects and lead to internationally recognised accreditation.