CAPM®: Certified Associate in Project Management

Roundtable Introduction

• Individual introductions
• Exploration of participants’ expectations and objectives
• Introduction to the training framework
• Alignment with specific objectives and challenges
• Identification of participants’ expectations and perspectives

I. Fundamentals and Basic Concepts of Project Management

Demonstrate an understanding of project life cycles and processes.

• Differentiate between a project, a program, and a portfolio.
• Distinguish between a project and operations.
• Differentiate between predictive and adaptive approaches.
• Distinguish between issues, risks, assumptions, and constraints.
• Review and critique project scope.
• Apply the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct to scenarios.

Explain how a project can drive change.

Demonstrate an understanding of project management planning.

• Describe the purpose and importance of cost, quality, risk, schedule, etc.
• Differentiate between project management plan deliverables and product management plan deliverables.
• Distinguish between a milestone and task duration.
• Determine the number and type of resources in a project.
• Use a risk register in a given situation.
• Use a stakeholder register in a given situation.

Explain project closure and transition.

Demonstrate an understanding of project roles and responsibilities.

• Compare and contrast the roles and responsibilities of project managers and project sponsors.
• Compare and contrast the roles and responsibilities of the project team and the project sponsor.
• Explain the importance of the project manager’s role (e.g., initiator, negotiator, auditor, coach, active member, and facilitator).
• Explain the differences between leadership and management.

Explain emotional intelligence (EQ) and its impact on project management.

Determine how to monitor and execute planned strategies or frameworks (e.g., communication, risks, etc.).

• Provide examples of how to appropriately respond to a planned strategy or framework (e.g., communication, risk).
• Explain project launch and benefits planning.
• Demonstrate an understanding of common problem-solving tools and techniques.
• Assess the effectiveness of a meeting.

Explain the purpose of focus groups, stand-up meetings, brainstorming sessions, etc.

II. Predictive, Plan-Based Methodologies

Explain when it is appropriate to use a predictive, plan-based approach.

• Identify the relevance of a predictive, plan-based approach to organizational structures (e.g., virtual, co-located, matrix, hierarchical, etc.).
• Determine activities within each process.
• Provide examples of typical activities within each process.

Distinguish between the different components of a project.

Demonstrate an understanding of project management scheduling.

• Apply critical path methods.
• Calculate schedule variance.
• Explain Work Breakdown Structures (WBS).
• Explain work packages.
• Apply a quality management plan.

Apply an integration management plan.

Determine how to document project controls in predictive, plan-based projects.

• Identify artifacts used in predictive, plan-based projects.

Calculate cost and schedule variances.

III. Agile Frameworks and Methodologies

Explain when it is appropriate to use an adaptive approach.

• Compare the advantages and disadvantages of adaptive projects and predictive, plan-based projects.
• Identify the relevance of adaptive approaches to organizational structures (e.g., virtual, co-located, matrix, hierarchical, etc.).
• Identify organizational process assets and enterprise environmental factors that support adaptive approaches.

Determine how to plan project iterations.

• Distinguish logical units of iterations.
• Interpret the advantages and disadvantages of iterations.
• Translate a WBS into an adaptive iteration.
• Determine scope inputs.

Explain the importance of adaptive project tracking compared to predictive, plan-based tracking.

Determine how to document project controls in adaptive projects.

• Identify artifacts used in adaptive projects.

Explain the components of an adaptive plan.

• Differentiate between components of adaptive methodologies (e.g., Scrum, Extreme Programming (XP), Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe®), Kanban, etc.).
  Determine how to prepare and execute task management steps.
• Interpret success criteria for adaptive project management tasks.
• Prioritize tasks in adaptive project management.

IV. Business Case Analysis Frameworks

Demonstrate an understanding of business case analysis roles and responsibilities.

• Distinguish between stakeholder roles (e.g., process owner, process manager, product manager, product owner, etc.).
• Describe the importance of defining roles and responsibilities (Why identify stakeholders first?).
• Differentiate between internal and external roles.

Determine how to communicate with stakeholders.

• Recommend the most appropriate communication channel/tool (e.g., reporting, presentation, etc.).
• Demonstrate why communication across teams is important for a business analyst (features, requirements, etc.).

Determine how to gather requirements.

• Match tools to scenarios (e.g., user stories, use cases, etc.).
• Identify requirement-gathering approaches for a given situation (e.g., stakeholder interviews, surveys, workshops, lessons learned, etc.)..).

Explain a requirements traceability matrix/product backlog.

Demonstrate an understanding of product roadmaps.

• Explain the application of a product roadmap.
• Determine which components align with which releases.

Determine how project methodologies influence business case analysis processes.

• Define the role of a business analyst in adaptive and/or predictive plan-based approaches.

Validate requirements through product delivery.

• Define acceptance criteria (adapting requirements as needed).
• Determine whether a project/product is ready for delivery based on a requirements traceability matrix/product backlog.