The Master Project Manager

By Zulk Shamsuddin

The Master Project Manager ® (MPM®) is a world-class certification that demonstrates the attainment of a defined level of technical knowledge, professional practice in project management and ethical behaviour. It forms the basis of the assessment that applicants must pass to gain Master Project Manager ® status and inclusion in the Register of The American Academy of Project Management ® AAPM Chartered Professionals.
Project Governance and Leadership Management are the new topics included in this new edition.
This book is your primary source of reference to prepare for the Master Project Manager ® examination.
Stand tall above the crowd with the Master Project Manager ® certification.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Dec 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9781794823846

Book preview

Copyright © 2020 Zulk Shamsuddin, PhD / GAFM ACADEMY

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-7948-2384-6

INTRODUCTION

The Master Project Manager ® (MPM®) is a world-class certification that demonstrates the attainment of a defined level of technical knowledge, professional practice in project management and ethical behavior. It forms the basis of the assessment that applicants must pass to gain Master Project Manager ® status and inclusion in the Register of The American Academy of Project Management® AAPM Chartered Professionals. This book shall guide you to prepare for the Master Project Manager ® online examination hosted by GAFM Academy Digital Certification services.  Stand tall above the crowd with the Master Project Manager ® certification.

Benefits of becoming a Master Project Manager

Personal recognition from your peers in project management and other professions.

Enhanced CV to stand out in the job market.

A framework for the development of your career.

International recognition.

Assurance for clients of high standards and ethical practice.

Use of the post nominal MPM® or Master Project Manager®

Introduce yourself with this exclusive membership card during networking, business events, conference, anywhere. Membership has its privileges.

Benefits of Certification

Certification helps in learning new technologies, skills, and abilities for a specific promotion.

Earning a new certification or an advanced certification in a particular area of expertise can help in advancing your career.

Professional certification shows consumers and potential employers that you are committed to your profession and are well-trained. It gives them confidence in your abilities and knowledge.

Certification makes you more valuable to employers, so you can expect to earn more than someone without certification.

Certifications can give you the chance to learn needed skills and be a quick way to show employers you have those skills.

Get your name registered for everyone else to see particularly for future employers to verify the authenticity of your credential.

Application for Certification

https://gafm.com.my/application-for-certification/

A Master Project Manager is an experienced Project Manager who has earned the accredited gold-standard Master Project Manager® credential from The American Academy of Project Management ®. This credential is offered to the individual with several years of experience in project management. The credential is relevant for individual holding positions that include project engineer, project manager, IT, construction engineer, with mechanical, civil, electrical engineer background.

Master Project Manager Responsibilities

The Master Project Manager decide and develop the most appropriate economic models and engineering methods for projects. They work in a variety of fields such as information technology, engineering, telecommunication, construction, logistics, hospitality, and others. Master Project Managers are normally onsite during an engineering project to supervise all stages of work and provide solutions. They manage IT projects including software development, infrastructure, outsourcing services project, e-commerce and many others. Most Project Managers work full-time alongside a wide number of team mates, such as site managers, surveyors, site engineers, to ensure a project runs on schedule and that materials are sufficient. Successful Master Project Managers are comfortable working in fast-paced environments.

Although a Master Project Manager’s day-to-day duties and responsibilities are determined by where they work, there are many core tasks associated with the role. Based on our analysis of job listings, these include:

Create Project Execution Plans

Deciding on proper management techniques and milestone sequences for each project stage is the most important role of a Master Project Manager. They set targets for activities based on each phase of a project plan and ensure it meets the client’s specifications. Master Project Managers make estimations for timescales and costs using specialized design software packages.

Project Monitoring and Reporting

Master Project Managers monitor day-to-day work progress for a project and provide accurate weekly and monthly reports by swiftly communicating potential progress delays or project slippages. Tracking and analyzing field results is another key responsibility. Master Project Manager s continually make comparisons between planned progress and actual progress and report any differences to their lead project manager. They also study the impact of alternative approaches.

Perform Project Coordination

Master Project Managers analyze expenses and identify opportunities to save costs. They make sure complex projects are handled on time and budget by overseeing the project planning, inventory services, cost control, team leadership, and project management.

Manage Stakeholder and Team Communication

A Master Project Manager works closely with others involved in a project and directs the daily workload of subordinate team members. They attend crucial meetings and provide current status updates to vendors, supervisors, and other stakeholders.

Drive Process Improvement

Driving continuous improvement by working with leadership teams is a key duty for Master Project Managers. They identify gaps in key performance areas and plan activities to increase overall project efficiency.

MASTER PROJECT MANAGER SKILLS

Master Project Managers should be self-motivated, extremely organized, and have strong communication and project management aptitude. Employers typically seek candidates with a bachelor’s degree, project management certification, and the following skills:

Project Management skills – Master Project Manager need a strong understanding of project management body of knowledge and the processes

Strategic planning – the primary job of Master Project Manager is managing the project to get completed on time, within budget, scope, and meeting the quality requirements.

Risk management –Project Manager musthave the skills on the application of risk management processes to manage threats and risks in the project

Teamwork – Master Project Manager interact effectively with cross-functional team members and external stakeholders at various levels of responsibility

Mathematical skills – high levels of mathematical skills and analytical problem-solving are critical to the performance of this role

Communication skills – Master Project Manager need strong verbal and written skills to provide reports to clients and stakeholders as well as articulate complex project plans to team members

Computer skills – Master Project Manager use specialized computer software for project management purposes, and also to produce visual presentations, using bar charts and graphs to explain work schedules

HOW TO ACQUIRE THE MASTER PROJECT MANAGER® CERTIFICATION?

Master Project Manager generally need a bachelor’s degree, or some other equivalent qualification. Employers typically seek a minimum of three years of professional project management experience and some technical knowledge. Candidates with a Master Project Manager® license are especially attractive.

To acquire the Master Project Manager® certification, visit: https://gafm.com.my/digital-certification/master-project-manager-certification/

This chapter provides an overview of project management, its characteristics, the organization and the people behind a project, the project management life cycle and a summary of the five phases of initiation, planning, execution, control, and closing. We will also examine the project management competency areas that will be applied during the various stages of the life cycle processes. The information you will learn in this chapter not only will help you to succeed in passing the examination but also guide you in managing a project regardless of your project experience. This reference guide has been prepared from the perspective of professional industry experts in the field of project management.

A project involves a group of inter-related activities that are planned and then executed in a certain sequence to create a unique product or service within a specific timeframe, to achieve benefits.  Projects are often critical components of an organization’s business strategy. Projects vary in size and complexity.

For example, they may: 

Involve changes to existing systems, policies, legislation and/or procedures

Entail organizational change

Involve a single person or many people

Involve a single unit of one organization, or may span cross organizational boundaries

Involve engagement and management of external resources

Require less than 100 hours or take several years

Projects versus Operations

In some organizations, everything is a project. In other organizations, projects are rare exercises in change. There's a fine line between projects and operations, and often these entities overlap in function. Consider the following points shared by projects and operations:

Both involve employees

Both typically have limited resources: people, money, or both

Both are hopefully designed, executed, and managed by someone in charge

So, what is a project-and how do you know if you are managing one? 

A project as 'a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service.' 

Temporary means that the project has an end date.

Unique means that the project's end result is different than the results of other functions of the organization.

Often projects are confused with general business duties: marketing, sales, manufacturing, and so on. The tell-tale sign of a project is that is has an end date and that it's unique from other activities within the organization.

Some examples of projects include:

Designing a new product or service

Converting from one computer application to another

Building a new warehouse

Moving from one building to another

Organizing a political campaign

Designing and building a new airplane

The output of projects can result in operations. For example, imagine a company creating a new airplane. This new airplane will be a small personal plane that would allow people to fly to different destinations with the same freedom they use in driving their car. The project team will have to design an airplane from scratch that may be similar to a car. This project, to create a personal plane, is temporary, but not necessarily short term. It may take years to go from concept to completion but the project does have an end date. A project of this magnitude may require hundreds of prototypes before a working model are ready for the marketplace. In addition, there are countless regulations, safety issues, and quality control issues that must be pacified before completion.

Once the initial plane is designed, built, and approved, the end result of the project is business operations. As the company creates a new vehicle, it would follow through with their design by manufacturing, marketing, selling, supporting, and improving their product. The initial design of the airplane is the project-the business of manufacturing it, supporting sold units, and marketing the product constitutes the ongoing operations part of business.

Operations are the day-to-day work that goes on in the organization. A manufacturer manufactures things, scientists’ complete research and development, and businesses provide goods and services. Operations are the heart of organizations. Projects, on the other hand, are short-term endeavor that fall outside of the normal day-to-day operations an organization offers.

Once the project is completed, the project team moves along to other projects and activities. The people who are actually building the airplanes on the assembly line however have no end date in sight, and will continue to create airplanes as longs as there is a demand for the product.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

Project management is the supervision and control of the work required to complete the project vision. The project team carries out the work needed to complete the project, while the project manager schedules, monitors, and controls the various project tasks. Projects, being the temporary and unique things that they are, require the project manager to be actively involved with the project implementation. They are not self-propelled.

Project management is comprised of the following ten knowledge management areas:

Integration Management include includes unification, consolidation, communication, and the integrative actions to control project execution, to manage stakeholder expectations, and to meet project requirements.

Scope Management include the process of creating the project scope document that describe the scope of the project and the scope of the product. The key benefit of this process is that it provides guidance and direction on how scope will be managed throughout the project.

Time Management  deals with the ability to plan and finish the project in a timely manner. It involved defining project activities, estimating the resources required to perform the work, estimating the duration of activities, scheduling activities and ensuring adherence to the project schedule.

Cost Management include the processes that establish the policies, procedures, and documentation for planning, managing, expending, and controlling project costs. The key benefit of this process is that it provides guidance and direction on how the project costs will be managed throughout the project.

Quality Management is to ensure that the project outputs are delivered fit-for-purpose. If outputs are not fit-for-purpose there is a possibility that planned project benefits will not be realized, or realized to a much lesser extent. It can be achieved by developing quality criteria for the outputs themselves and by ensuring that all project management processes are conducted in a quality manner.

Human Resource Management involve planning for managing the people, finances, and physical and information resources required to perform the project activities is vital, no matter what the project size or complexity. For small projects, this planning may not be documented, but for large and/or more complex projects, detailed documentation will enable better management of the resources, as well

Reviews for The Master Project Manager

[Liyana Abdullah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Earning a new certification or an advanced certification in a particular area of expertise can help in advancing your career. Excellent content. Pleasure reading.