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This series of six intensive, one-day sessions helps candidates prepare for the current version of the Project Management Institute's PMP® certification exam, an essential prerequisite for certification as a Project Management Professional. A guided self-study program, the seminar familiarizes the participants with the content and make-up of the exam, and with the level of competency needed to pass it.
The seminar is offered both on a public subscription basis and as an in-house seminar for the employees of a single organization. The features and benefits of the seminar are described below. Please contact me if you would like more information.
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Please contact Walter Wawruck
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January 8 - March 19 2010 |
January 16 - March 27 2010 |
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| Registration Form |
PDF(AdobeAcrobat) |
PDF (Adobe Acrobat) |
Instructions:[Contents]
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Delivered by an experienced practitioner, the seminar topics are presented in terms of the practical issues that arise in the management of real projects. The aim is to provide an understanding of good practice tools and techniques that will be of value to individual participants, their clients, and their employers.
Participants give the seminar a high rating on evaluation measures dealing with new ideas and concepts, usefulness in one's present work, and the potential to help in future applications. The training has been described as "beneficial and practical…I recommend it to anyone wanting to become a project manager" and "very valuable in providing practical and useful knowledge I can take back to the workplace".
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More than ever, organizations are depending on project management practices to deliver new products and services, systems, and facilities. Many are realizing that successful projects - quality results, on time, and on budget - require a unique set of project management competencies. Typically the required knowledge is learned "on the job", and the costs of such "training" can be very high: poor products, missed deadlines, unhappy clients, stressed-out project teams!
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PMP® certification is a third party affirmation of a project manager's understanding of project management fundamentals. Many organizations now require the designation as a condition for serving as a project manager or for career advancement.
Worldwide, there were 364,542 PMPs in August, 2009.
The certification preparation seminars complement in-house project management training and reinforce organizational initiatives to strengthen management capabilities. The training is applicable to any field of project endeavour. Since 1996, more than 1,330 practitioners from over 200 organizations in Western Canada have participated in the PMP® Certification Preparation Seminar. The attendees practice in fields which include information systems, telecommunications, heavy construction, health care, and new product development. Recent seminar presentations have been fully subscribed without any public advertising. Most of the attendees came from organizations that had enrolled staff members in previous sessions.
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The PMP® Certification Preparation Seminar features a highly successful method of instruction: a combination of lectures and sample examinations that help participants identify topics requiring reinforcement.
The seminar consists of twelve classroom-style lecture modules, covering the topics which make up the exam. Each module is a half-day lecture. The first is an introduction to the knowledge framework. The next ten modules each deal with one of the PMBOK® knowledge areas or with topics in the Professional Responsibility domain. The final module is a summary and a mock examination. The twelve modules are:
- Introduction and Framework
- Project Selection, Initiation, and Scope Management
- Project Organization, the Matrix, and Stakeholder Involvement
- The Roles, Competence, and Professional Duties of the Project Manager
- Cost Management
- Time Management
- Human Resources
- Communications and Cultural Differences
- Procurement Management
- Risk Management
- Quality Management
- Summary and Mock Examination
For each lecture there is an advance reading assignment, and for some lectures
there are homework assignments dealing with quantitative problems.
Some of the problems and problem solutions can be downloaded from the
Sample Problems
page.
Each of the subject-area lectures includes a trial of sample exam questions and a discussion of the rationale for the one correct choice. The mock examination at the conclusion is composed of sample questions not previously exposed to the participants. Again, there is a discussion of the rationale for the answer. Most important, the participants are able to assess their personal levels of preparedness by comparing their own scores to those of their classmates and to those of other classes - all anonymously reported of course.
The scheduling of the lectures at intervals offers a major advantage over a concentrated, continuous course. It encourages the participants to organize their own study programs on a structured time table. During the lectures, they can ask for clarification and explanation of study materials they have already examined. Through the sample exam questions they get immediate feedback on their levels of preparedness in each subject area.
The course material is maintained up-to-date and is compliant with the current version of PMI®'s Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, .
The six-day seminar provides 45 hours of classroom contact time. This is more than the minimum 35 hours of project management education required for PMP® certification.
Major organizations have endorsed the training by enrolling additional members of their managerial staff in successive seminar presentations. Previous seminar groups have achieved a high pass rate on the internationally administered PMP® exam.
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Effective July 1, 2009 PMI has begun rotating in new PMP exam questions from the Fourth Edition of the PMBOK guide, which was released in late 2008. The PMBOK Guide is only one reference in the full project management body of knowledge, therefore there will not be a sudden change in the examination. We know that, following the release of the Third Edition, the 2005 version of the PMP exam appeared to test the same knowledge content as before, and no change in instructional materials was required. PMI suggests that because the changes in the Fourth Edition of the Guide are focused on consistency, clarity, and readability, only a small percentage of examination items/questions require updates that address actual knowledge.
Seminar alumni have achieved consistently high pass rates on versions of the PMP exam administered from 1996 through September 24, 2005.
The 2005 version of the PMP exam was introduced effective September 30, 2005. In the subsequent four years, data from candidates who have written the 2005 exam once again indicated similarly high success rates. An exception was the experience of the Fall 2008 classes in both Vancouver and Regina.
Of 40 seminar alumni who challenged the computer based 2005 exam through May, 2006, 38, or 95%, passed on the first attempt. Similarly high success rates were reported by computer exam candidates through April 2008, and even higher in April 2009.
Up to April 2008, of the 94 candidates who had written the paper based test in Regina since the 1995 version of the exam was introduced, 78% had passed on the first attempt. The 29 candidates who wrote the paper based test in April 2009 had a virtually identical pass rate of 82%.
An analysis of exam performance by individual suggests that the lower pass rate for paper exam candidates can be attributed to demographic factors, rather than to the paper test format. In comparison to Vancouver candidates, there is a greater proportion of junior people, and people with limited project management experience, among the Regina candidates. Senior, experienced candidates in Regina have displayed the same high pass rate on the paper based test as on the computer based test.
The overall results for the Fall 2008 classes, as noted above, were disappointing. Of the 74 people who we know wrote the exam, only 48, or 65%, passed on the first attempt. This appears to have been an anomaly, since the performance of the Winter 2009 classes returned to the historical norm.
The results of an investigation of the reasons for the anomaly in Fall 2008 are available in a report Down load the PDF file . Based on reports from the candidates, it appears that the Fall 2008 versions of the exam contained a larger than usual number of questions about the processes described in the Guide to the PMBOK. A further examination of the demographic characteristics of the candidates indicated that among those who failed was a substantial proportion of people who had limited experience in project work, lower levels of education, or English as a second language.
The performance of the Winter 2009 classes, comparable to the historical norm, is also examined in detail in a report. Down load the PDF file .
Additional data on exam performance by seminar alumni will be posted here periodically as they become available.
[Contents]
This is college level training. Participants should be familiar with work breakdown structures, critical path scheduling, estimating and budgeting, quality control, and contract administration; as well as basic managerial accounting and economics, motivation theories, and fundamental statistics.
Self study materials will be suggested in the seminar for participants who want to refresh their knowledge or who wish to acquire a basic understanding of any of these prerequisite topics.
In addition to the seminar sessions, preparatory reading is suggested. Participants are encouraged to form study groups.
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Walter Wawruck, MBA, P.Eng.(Alberta), PMP®, is a consultant specializing in project management services. Since 1971, he has participated in the management of a wide variety of projects, ranging from computer systems development to Arctic pipelines, and has assisted clients in strengthening their organizational capabilities in project management through the adoption of best practices.
Walter Wawruck has provided training in project management since 1981, in Canada, the US, and South America. In addition to his public subscription seminars, he provides in-house seminars, workshops, and training services to individual clients.
Go to the Qualifications page for more on Mr. Wawruck's education and experience.
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PMP® Certification requires that an individual meets eligibility requirements in the areas of education, experience, and knowledge. A candidate must have three years of project work experience with a Bachelor's degree, or five years of project work experience without a degree, and must then pass the examination. There is an additional requirement for project management education starting in 2002.
Once certified, a PMP® must initiate a personal program of continuing professional development to maintain the designation.
For more on this topic see the PMI Certification page.
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Introduced in 1983, PMI®'s professional certification program is designed to enhance professionalism in project management and to provide project managers with a structured approach to developing their personal careers and their professional capabilities in project management.
A PMP® Certification application must be submitted directly to PMI® in order to write the exam. Candidates may also choose to first take the training , and to subsequently apply for certification and the exam.
Applicants have the option of submitting a paper application for the exam. However, an on-line application is available and is recommended. Following the acceptance of an application for the PMP® exam, the candidate is given the option of writing a computer based exam or a paper based exam. The candidate is then asked asked for payment and is given instructions for booking an exam date and location. Once an application has been accepted, the candidate must write the exam within one year. No extension is allowed.
Computer Based Exam
The computer based exam is available in most U.S. and Canadian cities through Prometric (formerly Sylvan Technology™), by appointment, after a candidate has received notification of eligibility from PMI®.
The computer-based examination is now available in Saskatoon, Calgary, Vancouver, and major centres throughout the continent. There are currently over 300 Prometric Testing Centers in North America. Obtain a listing of the sites from Prometric
There is only one Promertic Test centre to serve all of British Columbia. Located in Burnaby, this test centre at times has very few or no seats available for the computer based PMP exam.
To provide an alternative for PMP candidates, PMI has arranged for a sitting of the paper based PMP exam in Vancouver British Columbia on Monday April 26, 2010.
Download a set of instructions on how to apply for the April 26, 2010 paper based test in Vancouver.
Because there is no Prometric agent in Regina capable of providing the computer based exam, PMI offfers the paper version of the PMP exam in Regina Saskatchewan at periodic intervals.
Arrangements have been made through PMI for a sitting of the paper exam in Regina on April 16. 2010.
Download a set of instructions on how to apply for the April 16, 2010 paper based test in Regina.
Handbooks and Fees
Download a PDF version of the Certification Handbook for an explanation of the educational and experience prerequisites to certification. Paper exam candidates should also download the supplementary Paper Based Test Handbook.
PMP® certification and exam fees, which are not included in the seminar fee, must be paid directly to PMI®. For PMI® members, the fee for the computer based exam is $405 US; for the paper exam, $250 US. GST is added to the exam fee.
[Contents]
Each seminar consists of six, full-day sessions held at two week intervals. This format allows time to read from the resource materials in preparation for the lectures. Previous participants have found great value in meeting during evenings or noon hours between lectures, in volunteer led study groups, to review and discuss the topics covered.
To assist exam candidates in preparing their certification applications to the Institute, an evening workshop will be held prior to the start of each seminar. These workshops are open to all interested parties.
The next seminars for Vancouver and Regina are planned for the Janaury through March period in 2010. The seminar dates are listed below. The registration forms are available for download now.
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Regina, Saskatchewan:
Winter 2010 Seminar
, six Fridays, two week intervals, January 8 to March 19, 2010,
. Evening workshop on preparing a certification application:
January 7, 2010.
Registration forms are available for
download
now.
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Vancouver BC:
Winter 2010 Seminar
, six classes at two week intervals, January 16 to March 27,
2010 . Because of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, there will
be four Saturday classes, one Thursday class (February 11), and one Monday class
(March 1)
Evening workshop on preparing a certification
application, January 14, 2010.
Registration forms are available for
download
now.
-
Regina:
PMP® Certification Exam (Paper Version)
, Friday, April 16, 2010.
Download a
set of instructions
on how to apply for the paper based test in Regina.
The deadline for
submitting an on-line application for this exam is March 5, 2010.
Candidates should atttend the January 7, 2010 evening
workshop on preparing a certification application.
-
Vancouver:
PMP® Certification Exam (Paper Version)
, Monday, April 26, 2010.
The deadline for
submitting an on-line application for this exam is March 13, 2010.
Download a set of instructions
on how to apply for the paper based test in Vancouver.
Candidates should atttend the January 14, 2010 evening
workshop on preparing a certification application.
For the Winter 2010 series the seminar fees are:
- $2,185 (cdn) plus GST, in Regina
- $2,185 (cdn) plus GST, in Vancouver
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A personal library of five PMI® reference books (value $310 Cdn)
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A binder of lecture foils and additional resource materials
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One year PMI Membership [value $129 US)
The fee for the examination must be paid directly to the Institute, and is not included in the seminar fee.
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Established in 1969, the Project Management Institute has responded to society's growing need for skilled project managers. A not for profit society, the Institute is democratically governed by its membership made up of individual practitioners. Established to advance the state of project management professionalism in the world, PMI® has more than 305,000 members in more than 200 chapters, including 18 in Canada, as of August, 2009. Visit the PMI® website.
PMI® provides the profession with an overall framework for improving the capabilities of individuals and organizations in the successful management of projects. The framework includes:
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The Project Management Body of Knowledge
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Project Management Professional certification
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An infrastructure of local chapters and specific interest groups
to support professional development, knowledge building, and networking
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The Regina based South Saskatchewan Chapter of PMI® pursues an active program of knowledge building, networking among practitioners, and professional development in the local community. It currently has over 545 members, roughly 75% of whom hold the PMP designation. Throughout all but the summer months, the Chapter holds regular meetings featuring talks on current management issues, practices, and projects. The Chapter is committed to providing additional professional development opportunities for PMP®s in the form of service to the profession and continuing education. Visit the Chapter website.
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PMP® is a registered service mark of the Project Management Institute
PMBOK™ is a trademark of the Project Management Institute