Showing posts with label Portfolio Management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Portfolio Management. Show all posts

Friday, March 07, 2025

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – PfMP Live Lessons Course and PfMP Online Exam Prep Course

 

This is in continuation of the following posts:

These are the frequently asked questions (FAQs) on ManagementYogi’s PfMP Online Exam Prep and PfMP Live Lessons courses. In this post, I’ve tried to answer as many questions as I can for both the above courses.

Quickly see the differences between PfMP Live Lessons and PfMP Online Exam Prep here: [Link]

If you have any other questions, please send a mail to managementyogi@gmail.com


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Question – 1: Is Project Management Professional (PMP®) mandatory to be a Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP®)?

Answer: This, perhaps, is one of the most frequent questions I receive. The short answer is NO.

It’s not mandatory to be a PMP (or PgMP®) to be a Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP). You can directly go for the PfMP certification. This is also noted in the PfMP handbook, albeit tacitly. I’ve seen professionals who went directly for PfMP and successfully cleared it.

Along with education (secondary diploma or bachelor’s degree) and business work experience of 8 years, you need to have 48 months (for bachelor’s degree) or 84 months (for secondary diploma) of portfolio management experience. 

Question – 2: What standards, books or guides etc. are followed in both the courses – PfMP Live Lessons and PfMP Online Exam Prep?

Answer: The main standard followed is the Standard for Portfolio Management from Project Management Institute (PMI®). Both the courses are compliant with this standard. In addition, there are a number of reference books, which are used while preparing the courses. 

The PfMP Live Lessons course also refers to the Risk Management Standard in Portfolios, Programs and Projects, the Standard for Program Management Standard and the PMBOK Guide, whenever needed. 

It’s pertinent to note that the PfMP exam will be based on the Exam Content Outline (ECO). Both the courses diligently follow the domains and tasks as outlined in the ECO.

Question – 3: What are the applicability and validity of these courses?

Answer: Considering applicability, both these courses for Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP) exam are based on the Standard for Portfolio Management. 

PfMP Online Exam Prep: The price of the course is $299 USD (Rs 25,549) for 6 months access or $449 (Rs 38,549) for 1-year access. The duration of the course is for 6 months or 1-year from the date of purchase. 

PfMP Live Lessons: The price of the course is $499 USD (Rs 42,449) for 6 months access or $749 (Rs 63,669) for 1-year access. The duration of the course is for 6 months or 1 year from the date of purchase.

Question – 4: What are the durations and number of videos for these courses?

Answer: Both these courses have the necessary and needed content to prepare well for the PfMP exam. 

PfMP Online Exam Prep: The course has a duration of 12 hours (approx.). It has 188 videos with the needed coverage. Considering all (lesson-end questions, full-length Q&A sets), the total learning will be over 30 hours.

PfMP Live Lessons: The course has a duration of 27 hours (approx.). It has 380 videos with exhaustive coverage. Considering all (lesson-end questions, full-length Q&A sets), the total learning will be over 60 hours.

Question – 5: What are full money back guarantees for these courses?

Answer: Both courses come with full money-back guarantees.

PfMP Online Exam Prep: This course comes with a full money back guarantee for 15 days. Entire course content with all questions will be available to you. You can evaluate the course for 15 days. If you don’t like the course, I’ll refund your full money.

To know more, watch this video: https://youtu.be/-EcaxtcWJEE

PfMP Live Lessons: This course comes with a full money-back guarantee linked to you passing the PfMP exam. You go through the course and give the exam. In case you couldn’t clear the exam, I’ll refund your full money. 

To know more, watch this video: https://youtu.be/Su2YGIJx5as

To know more comparisons between these courses, please refer:

Course Comparison: PfMP Online Exam Prep Vs. PfMP Live Lessons

Question – 6: Does the course PfMP Online Exam Prep provide any contact hours? Is there any requirement for contact hours for the PfMP exam?

Answer: NO. There is no need for any contact hours for your PfMP exam, unlike the PMP, RMP or ACP examinations. 

The PfMP Online Exam Prep is not a mandatory contact hours course. It’s a preparatory course for your PfMP exam.

Question – 7: Why should I opt for these courses instead of classroom training?

Answer: Because, these trainings are:

  • Convenient - you can learn at your own time with your own speed. You can watch the content as many times as you want.
  • Longer duration - 6 months of duration (not just 4 or 5-days of training)
  • Low cost - much lower than classroom training. 

Also, if you are going for a classroom training, but the training is useless because you understood little to nothing, then where is the value? I've seen many such cases where aspirants suffer. 

Question – 8: What is ManagementYogi’s Course Completion Certificate for these courses?

Answer: After you’ve completed the courses (either PfMP Live Lessons or PfMP Online Exam Prep), an end-course assessment will be conducted. Post the assessment, you’ll be eligible to get ManagementYogi’s Course Completion Certificates. You can use this certificate to claim multiple professional development units (PDUs).

A step-by-step document will be shared with you to get the PDUs and you can submit your PDU application to PMI.

Question – 9: Are there any plan of action(s) on how to complete these courses?

Answer: Yes, absolutely. Both courses come with a plan of action to complete. The plan will be shared with you when you purchase the course. Plans will be different for respective courses of PfMP Live Lessons and PfMP Online Exam Prep.

You will receive a plan of action which illustrates the course structure, hours per individual lessons, number of videos, and number of questions – both lesson end practice questions and full-length questions. Based on it, you have to follow a simple plan on completing the course and take your PfMP exam. 

Question – 10: How can you provide PfMP training when not an ATP or REP?

Answer: This is one of the biggest misconceptions that only Authorized Training Partners (ATPs) or Registered Education Providers (REPs) can give PfMP training. It is just not true. PMI clearly informs that there are multiple options to get the training. 

  • PMI Registered Education Providers (R.E.P.s)
  • PMI Authorized Training Partners (ATPs)
  • PMI chapters
  • Employer/company-sponsored programs
  • Training companies or consultants (e.g., training schools)
  • Distance-learning companies, including an end-of-course assessment
  • University/college academic and continuing education programs

Also, there are no requirements for the contact hours and hence the question of being an ATP or REP, in fact, does not arise.

Question – 11: What are Evaluation – 1 and Evaluation – 2 for the PfMP exam?

Answer: Simply put following are the details.

  • Evaluation – 1 is the Panel Review. It’s an initial evaluation with respect to your submitted application. A panel of portfolio managers will assess your application.
  • Evaluation – 2 is the Actual PfMP Exam. Here, you’ll have to take the exam to be PfMP certified. It’s after Evaluation – 1.

You’ll know more about it when you subscribe to either of the courses.

Question – 12: What are 48-84 notations used while filling the PfMP Exam application forms?

Answer: This is a figurative way of saying. It means 48 months of portfolio management experience, if you're a bachelor's degree holder. On the other hand, you need to have 84 months of portfolio management experience, if you're a high-school diploma holder.

Again, you’ll know more about it when you subscribe to either of the courses. 

Question – 13: Why should I go with Management Yogi, compared to others?

Answer: Indeed, there are many providers who provide PfMP training. 

However, usually they do not have any real-world portfolio management experiences. They work on an aggregator model and have no real contribution of their own with respect to the domain of portfolio and portfolio management. They are primarily focused on high profit. They sell at throwaway prices so that they will get more subscribers and make more money. You don’t get anything of real value.

There are also many providers, who sell the courses at thousands of dollars (at least a thousand dollars or closely in that range). But they don’t actually have the needed capability or expertise. 

I’m engaged in portfolio management, continuously writing on it, contribute towards it. The courses are continuously upgraded based on the feedback from successful PfMPs. I’ve also enabled many PfMPs by checking their application forms. 

So, you decide – whom to choose:  Aggregator model with no real portfolio management passion or from someone who is continuously engaged in portfolio management domain and have created many successful PfMPs?

The training can be provided by PfMPs, but beyond the training, they won't be able to commit as they do other work. I'm completely involved in your PfMP journey.

Simply speaking, decide whom would you choose – their high profit (and many times useless training) or your probable success?

You can also compare this course with courses provided by any other provider on these aspects:

  • Price
  • Quality
  • Content
  • Coverage

Question – 14: What happens when my application is selected for audit? What will be needed?

Answer: As per Project Management Institute (PMI®), in the event of an audit, the candidate would need to supply proof of the education in the form of a transcript, and/ or a certificate of completion.

PMI can also ask signatures from your supervisor/manager from the projects and/or programs recorded in your application.

The audit happens post the PfMP application submission. PMI audits take time. I’ve also seen it to be completed in a few days.

Question – 15: Will you help if my application is selected for audit?

Answer: Yes, absolutely. You’ll get the support.

Question – 16: Will there be any support if any questions arise during the learning of PfMP course(s)?

Answer: Yes, definitely. Please send an email to managementyogi@gmail.com and your questions will be answered within 3 working days or 72 hours.

This, in fact, is one of the biggest advantages you will have compared to other providers. As they are just course aggregators, they don’t have the domain knowledge. I’ll be involved with you throughout your PfMP journey.

Question – 17: What is your success rate for the PfMP exam, who have taken the courses or classes?

Answer: The success rate of people who have sincerely prepared with the PfMP course and/or content, is high.

The Online Courses have been launched for the first time. These are reflections of my teachings. It has also much more details, e.g.,

  • 100s of videos and exercises (one of its kind)
  • A number of full-length Q&A set on Portfolio Management
  • A number of lesson-end practice questions
  • Detailed end-course assessment

These are not possible with classroom sessions.

I believe these courses will give you better learning, practice for your exam and prepare you well for the PfMP exam. I also believe if you sincerely do this course, your chance of success in the exam is high.

Notes:

  • You can evaluate over 2o and/or 25 videos before paying any money, for PfMP Online Exam Prep and PfMP Live Lessons courses, respectively. 
  • Both these courses come with full money back guarantee, as noted earlier.

Question – 18: How many full-length practice question sets do these courses have?

Answer: The number of full-length question sets for both the PfMP courses are noted below.

PfMP Online Exam Prep: You will get two full-length questions with detailed answers. In total, you have over 400 practice questions, including lesson-end questions.

PfMP Live Lessons: You will get four full-length questions with detailed answers. In total, you have over 1,000 practice questions, including lesson-end questions and Smart Cards.

For more details, please refer:

Course Comparison: PfMP Exam Prep Online Vs. PfMP Live Lessons

If you have any other questions or clarifications, please send a mail to managementyogi@gmail.com. If this course has those features, I’ll inform you with all the details. If it does not, then also, you will be clearly informed. There won’t be any round-about answers, tricky lines or deceptive answers.


PfMP Live Lessons - Guaranteed Pass:

PfMP Online Exam Prep:

Book for PfMP Exam:


Wednesday, March 05, 2025

Course Comparison – PfMP Online Exam Prep Vs. PfMP Live Lessons


As announced earlier, two new course are now available for the Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP) exam – PfMP Online Exam Prep and PfMP Live Lessons. Next, a genuine and pertinent query is to know the differences. This post informs on it. It addresses these two questions:

  • Which course to go for: PfMP Online Exam Prep or PfMP Live Lessons? 
  • What are the differences between the two courses?

Do note that both these courses are unique and are ONLY such courses in the world. No one gives money-back guarantee (but everyone claims to give!), without a number of terms and conditions (T&Cs). Both these courses come with full money-back guarantee. There are no tricks or deceptive lines. These are simple, direct and upfront money-back guarantees. 

Fundamental Difference

At the fundamental level, these two PfMP courses vary with their goals and objectives and associated mottos. 

For PfMP Online Exam Prep, we have:

  1. One Goal: Get the PfMP hours of learning with complete satisfaction. 
  2. One Objective: Get the PfMP Online Exam Prep Certificate.
  3. One Motto: Don’t just get casually trained on PfMP exam. Understand fully, learn strongly and prepare well for your PfMP exam.

You learn more on it, watch this video: https://youtu.be/-EcaxtcWJEE 

For PfMP Live Lessons too, we have:

  1. One Goal: You clear the PfMP exam. 
  2. One Objective: Crack the PfMP exam in 6 months.
  3. One Motto: Learn deeply to clear the PfMP exam.

You learn more on it, watch this video: https://youtu.be/Su2YGIJx5as 

With this background, let's see the other main differences.

Other Main Differences

I've included goal and objectives as the first two. Other main differences follow in the below two tables. Actually, it’s one table, but I’ve segregated them into two in order to have better visibility and understanding.

The second part of this table is noted below.


*Note* Price for courses:

  • For PfMP Online Exam Prep: $299 USD/ Rs 25,549 (6 months access) [details]
  • For PfMP Live Lessons: $449 USD/ Rs 42,449 (6 months access) [details]

Time Vs. Money 

I keep on saying: Time is more important than money. Cost can be recovered, resources can be hired, scope can be added, risks can be mitigated, but you can’t recover the lost time. Once gone, it’s gone forever. It can never be recovered. It's not only true for portfolio-program-project management, but also in our own personal lives. Time is the most precious of them all.

A high-quality course with high quality questions takes enormous time to prepare. To prepare for these courses, I've learned and practiced for years. These courses have taken me months to prepare, research and build. As a reader or learner, this is the time (the time I spent working on the course and content) you save. The time saved for you will be in years.

Conclusion

I’ve enabled many PfMPs, who have used my book, I Want To Be A PfMP and/or articles

When you purchase the courses, I’m also involved with you throughout your PfMP journey. Most providers in the marketplace can’t do that, because they don’t have the subject matter understanding. In fact, many have not even used a single Portfolio Management software tool. They are merely course aggregators. They can bring PfMP certified coaches, but they can't be involved beyond the training as they do other work.

For these two new PfMP courses, I've informed the goals, objectives and mottos. I've also outlined other main differences. These, I believe, will help you to choose the course of your choice.

With either of these courses, I firmly believe that you:

  • Get the best value for your money.
  • Will have the content with the latest standards, references and practices.
  • Will understand the content clearly and deeply, which will boost your confidence

Above all, if you prepare sincerely, you have a fair chance to clear the PfMP exam and be a certified PMI-PfMP.


PfMP Live Lessons - Guaranteed Pass:

PfMP Online Exam Prep:

Book for PfMP Exam:



Sunday, March 02, 2025

PfMP Online Exam Prep – Full Money-Back Guarantee

  


I’m pleased to announce the availability of the PfMP Online Exam Prep video course:

PfMP ONLINE EXAM PREP – FULL MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE

The Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP®) certification is the highest-level certification from Project Management Institute (PMI®). It’s pursued by C-suite and top executives, (senior) managers, entrepreneurs, among others. 

Many portfolio management practitioners want to understand portfolio management in a professional way and want to have a formal education on it. There are aspiring portfolio management professionals, who want to prepare for the PfMP Exam, but at their own paces and in their own time. This course is for them.

Is there any contact hours requirement for the PfMP Exam?

Unlike Project Management Professional (PMP®) 35 contact hours, Risk Management Professional (RMP®) 30 contact hours or Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP®) 21 contact hours mandatory learning as informed by PMI, there is no contact-hours requirements to appear for the PfMP exam. However, this course can be considered to be an equivalent of that. 

This course has over 12 hours of video duration, two full-length Q&A sets (each set with 170 questions and detailed answers) as well as a large number of practice questions. In total, you’ll have over 30 hours of learning

Important Note: PMI checks PfMP applications thoroughly and rejections happen. This course provides support for the PfMP Application Form preparation. 

Top Features: PfMP Online Exam Prep Course 

  • Total Video Duration: 12+ hours 
  • Number of Videos: 180+ 
  • Number of Lessons: 11 (+1) 
  • Two full-length Q&A Sets: Each with 170 Q&As 
  • Total number questions with detailed answers: 400+
  • Number of practice questions, including lesson-end questions
  • End-course assessment and course completion certificate 
  • Usage of software tools such as Primavera Portfolio Management, MS Project.
  • Compliant with the Standard for Portfolio Management (SPfM) and PfMP Exam Content Outline 
  • Support throughout your PfMP exam preparation. Support for your application form fill-up.

Course Breakdown: PfMP Online Exam Prep Course 

  • Welcome (8 videos): 16m 45s [16 minutes 45 seconds]
  • Lesson 1 – About the PfMP Exam (10 videos): 26 m 27s
  • Lesson 2 – Introduction (15 videos): 46m 52s
  • Lesson 3 – Portfolio Management and Organization (14 videos): 41m 40s
  • Lesson 4 – Portfolio Management Process Groups (13 videos): 44m 31s
  • Lesson 5 – Portfolio Strategic Management (24 videos): 1h 14m 47s
  • Lesson 6 – Portfolio Governance Management (31 videos): 2h 15m 24s
  • Lesson 7 – Portfolio Performance Management (23 videos): 1h 50m 37s
  • Lesson 8 – Portfolio Communication Management (23 videos): 1h 42m 44s
  • Lesson 9 – Portfolio Risk Management (25 videos): 2h 06m 40s
  • Lesson 10 – Portfolio Management Maths and Graphs
  • Lesson 11 – Final Talk (2 videos): 05m 05s
  • Lesson 12 - Two Full-Length Question and Answer Sets (Each with 170 Q&As)

The details on it this course, with information on additional features, are available also available at:

https://www.managementyogi.com/p/pfmp-online-exam-prep.html

What is Full Money-Back Guarantee for the PfMP Online Exam Prep Course?

There are no little tricks, such as – “terms and conditions apply”, “** conditions apply”, as you would have seen in many places. What you see and read here is exactly what you will get. 

The premise is simple.

Go through the complete course for 15 days. 100% video content, practice questions, all Q&A Sets – yes, all of them – will be available to you. 

If you don’t like the course anytime during the 15 days, I’ll refund your full money. No questions asked at all.

The below video explains more on the full money-back guarantee.


Note: You can also evaluate the videos before paying any money. Twenty (20) videos will be available for your evaluation, even before your purchase. 

Applicability and Validity

  • Guides and Books: Based on the Standard for Portfolio Management, PfMP Exam Content Outline (ECO)
  • Software Used: MS Project, Primavera Risk Analysis, among others.
  • Valid Date for Guarantee: 15 days (two weeks) from the date of purchase
  • Course Duration: 6 months or 1 year from the date of purchase
  • Price: $299 USD / Rs 25,549 (for 6 months)
                  $449 USD / Rs 38,549 (for 1 year)
  • Payment Link: paypal.me/managementyogi
    (Login, Send your payment to paypal account of ndsatya@gmail.com,
    Enter the amount; Invoice will be generated after payment)
    OR, you can pay via Bank Transfer or Payment. For this, please send a mail to
    managementyogi@gmail.com to get account the details.
  • Available: From March, 2025
  • Primary Format: Video 
  • Course Extension: As per your need
    (Price calculation will be pro-rata)
  • Status: Available
    (accessible via laptop/desktop)

Detailed Course Breakdown

The detailed course breakdown for the PfMP Online Exam Prep Course is shown below. It details hours of learning, number of videos and various exercise details. You can scroll to see the full content. 


You can also view the complete course index in the below link.

Complete Course Index: PfMP Online Exam Prep - With Money-Back Guarantee

If you want to buy this course or have any questions, please send an email to managementyogi@gmail.com.


Try Before You Buy: 

[1] Complete (Sample) Video Playlist: PfMP Online Exam Prep Videos

[2] Choose to Play a Video: PfMP Online Exam Prep Sample Video List

Guaranteed PfMP Pass:

PfMP Exam Prep Book (since 2023):

 

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

PfMP Live Lessons – Guaranteed Pass or Your Money Back

 


I’m pleased to announce the availability of the PfMP Live Lessons video course for aspiring portfolio management professionals (PfMP®):

PfMP LIVE LESSONS – GUARANTEED PASS OR MONEY BACK 

It’s an in-depth video course for aspiring PfMPs and currently practicing portfolio management practitioners, who want to be PfMPs in a short time-window and crack the exam with certainty. This course has been requested by aspiring PfMPs in recent months. It has been prepared with inputs from many successfully certified PfMPs, worldwide.

This is the only such course in the world with full money-back guarantee, linked to your passing the PfMP exam. There are no terms and conditions, except you giving the exam.

PfMP is the highest-level certification offered by Project Management Institute (PMI®). You need not be a Project Management Professional (PMP®) or a Program Management Professional (PgMP®) to go for PfMP. Rather, you can directly go for the PfMP certification. 

PfMP Certification is pursued by C-suite executives, top executives (presidents, VPs, directors), senior managers, among others. I've also seen entrepreneurs pursuing it. These roles demand strategic management and driving the strategic direction of an organization. 

Portfolio and portfolio management drive the intent, direction and progress of an organization. It’s only with portfolios you can bridge the gap between strategy and implementation. Without portfolios, it’s just fire and then forget.

Now, though PfMP certification is a fast growing one, still many aspiring PfMPs struggle to get certified. The Standard for Portfolio Management (SPfM) is not exactly an easy to understand. In addition, the senior executives don’t have much time to go through complicated concepts and wait for months or years. The cost is also substantial for PfMP preparatory courses in the marketplace. Hence, this course, which comes with a 6-months timeline and at a much lower cost.

The PfMP Live Lessons course – also called Guaranteed PfMP Course – makes the concepts very easy to understand, gives numerous examples with figures and graphical interactions with a large number of flow diagrams. It aces with a large number of practice questions. 

This course also has over 26 hours of video duration, four full-length Q&A sets (each set with 170 questions and detailed answers) as well as a large number of practice questions. In total, you’ll have over 60 hours of learning

Important Note: PMI checks PfMP applications thoroughly and rejections happen. I’ve seen such cases (and have enabled approval for many after modifications). This course provides complete support for the PfMP Application Form preparation, fill-up and submission. 

Here are a few of the top benefits with Guaranteed PfMP course:

  • Comes with full money-back guarantee. No T&Cs except you giving the exam. You've literally nothing to lose.
  • Complete support for your application fill-up, till its approval.
  • A variety of practice questions so that you not only clear the PfMP exam, but also ace it. 

For top reasons to go for the PfMP Live Lessons course, refer:

Top Features: Guaranteed PfMP Course (PfMP Live Lessons)

  1. Total Video Duration: 26+ hours 
  2. Number of Videos: 380 
  3. Number of Lessons: 14 (+1) 
  4. Four full-length Q&A Sets: Each with 170 Q&As 
  5. Total number questions with detailed answers: 1,000+
  6. Number of Smart Card Questions: 80
  7. Process and ITTO Exercises (videos): 150+ 
  8. End-course assessment and course completion certificate 
  9. A large number of flow exercises (40+) across the lessons.
  10. A large number of tips and tricks - hundreds of them throughout the course.
  11. Usage of software tools such as MS Project, Primavera Portfolio Management, Primavera Risk Analysis, MS Excel etc., whenever needed. 
  12. Fully compliant with the Standard for Portfolio Management (SPfM), PfMP Exam Content Outline.
  13. Coverage of all advanced features in Portfolio Management: Portfolio Monte-Carlo analysis, PEF, PfEVM, Portfolio Bubble Charts, Portfolio Radar Charts, Portfolio Burndown/up charts etc.
  14. Content includes PMI recommended reference books for the PfMP exam. There are quite a few reference books.
  15. Complete support throughout your PfMP exam preparation, including application fill-up (till its approval).

Course Breakdown: Guaranteed PfMP Course (PfMP Live Lessons)

  • Welcome (10 videos): 23m 45s [23 minutes 44 seconds]
  • Lesson 1 – About the PfMP Exam (18 videos): 58m 36s
  • Lesson 2 – Introduction to Portfolio and Portfolio Management (29 videos): 1h 43m 34s
  • Lesson 3 – Portfolio Management and Organization (25 videos): 1h 29m 00s
  • Lesson 4 – Portfolio Management Process Groups (23 videos): 1h 42m 53s
  • Lesson 5 – Portfolio Strategic Management (44 videos): 2h 35m 12s
  • Lesson 6 – Portfolio Governance Management (59 videos): 4h 18m 41s
  • Lesson 7 – Portfolio Performance Management (48 videos): 3h 40m 49s
  • Lesson 8 – Portfolio Communication Management (47 videos): 3h 33m 02s
  • Lesson 9 – Portfolio Risk Management (51 videos): 4h 00m 30s
  • Lesson 10 – Portfolio Management Maths and Graphs (A number of Q&As)
  • Lesson 11 – Portfolio Management Flow Exercises (17 videos): 1h 37m 56s
  • Lesson 12 – How to be a PMI-PfMP (A set of simple steps to be PMI-PfMP)
  • Lesson 13 - Four Full-Length Question and Answer Sets (Each with 170 Q&As)
  • Lesson 14 – Final Talk (2 videos): 06m 27s

The details on it this course, with information on ALL benefits, ALL features etc, are available also available at:

https://www.managementyogi.com/p/pfmp-live-lessons.html

What is Full Money-Back Guarantee for the Guaranteed PfMP course?

There are no little tricks, such as – “terms and conditions apply”, “** conditions apply”, as you would have seen in many places. What you see and read here is exactly what you will get. 

The premise is simple.

You have six months and two attempts to clear the PfMP exam. Give the exam and clear the exam. Be a PfMP. You WIN. 

If you can’t, I’ll refund your full money. You still WIN because you’ve the entire content free of cost for 6 months. You’ll also get the course completion certificate from ManagementYogi. Both of these are WINs for you.

The below video explains more on the full money-back guarantee. 


Note: You can also evaluate the videos before paying any money. Thirty (30) videos will be available for your evaluation, even before your purchase.  

Applicability and Validity

  • Guides and Books: Based on the Standard for Portfolio Management, PfMP Exam Content Outline (ECO), a number of PfMP reference books
  • Software Used: Multiple software – MS Project, Primavera P6 PPM, Primavera Portfolio Management, MS Excel, Primavera Risk Analysis, among others.
  • Valid Date for Guarantee: 6 months or 1 year from the date of purchase
  • Number of attempts: Two 
  • Course Duration: 6 months or 1 year
  • Price: $499 USD / Rs 42,449 (for 6 months)
                  $749 USD / Rs 63,669 (for 1 year)
  • Payment Link: paypal.me/managementyogi
    (Login, Send your payment to paypal account of ndsatya@gmail.com,
    Enter the amount; Invoice will be generated after payment)
    OR, you can pay via Bank Transfer or Payment. For this, please send a mail to managementyogi@gmail.com  to get the details.
  • Available: From February, 2025
  • Primary Format: Video 
  • Course Extension: As per your need
    (Price calculation will be pro-rata)
  • Status: Available
    (accessible via laptop/desktop)

Detailed Course Breakdown

The detailed course breakdown for the Guaranteed PfMP Course is shown below. It details hours of learning, number of videos and various exercise details. You can scroll to see the full content. 




You can also view the complete course index in the below link.

Complete Course Index: PfMP Live Lessons Course - Guanteed Pass

If you want to buy this course or have any questions, please send an email to managementyogi@gmail.com.

Try Before You Buy: 

[1] Complete (Sample) Video Playlist: Guaranteed PfMP Pass Videos

[2] Choose to Play a Video: Guaranteed PfMP Pass Sample Video List

PfMP Exam Prep Book (since 2023):

 

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Portfolio Management: Building An Agile Portfolio Roadmap with MS Project


In my previous articles related to Portfolio Roadmap (Part 1, Part 2), I wrote the following:

“A portfolio roadmap is crucial because it shows the strategic intent of the organization in a visual (graphical) way. Irrespective of the approach used in portfolio management such as predictive (waterfall), adaptive (agile), hybrid or any other, the roadmap acts as an information radiator.”

As you may have noticed, Portfolio Roadmap is also used in adaptive approaches. In this article, we will learn how to have Agile components, using the Scrum framework, in a portfolio roadmap.  

At this stage, I’d strongly recommend that you read the previous two linked articles on the Portfolio Roadmap. Going forward, I’m going to modify that roadmap to include Sprints. Hence, it’s important that you read both.

Our Scenario

For one of the component projects, Project F, the approach used is Agile, specifically Scrum. For Project F, we have three releases and each release will have a number of Sprints. This is depicted below.  

As shown in the above figure, there are many components in our portfolio. The Component Project F consists of three iterations or Sprints. The Sprint length is 4 weeks. The Portfolio Management Office (PfMO) directive is to show all the releases and the Sprints in the portfolio roadmap. 

The Agile Portfolio Roadmap will be similar to the Traditional Roadmap, but differ in visualization. In our case, as noted earlier, we want to have the component project, releases and Sprints.  That said, we will take the following steps. 

Add Agile Custom Flag

To distinguish between the agile and non-agile, we will add another custom Boolean flag - isAgile. This will be in addition to the existing custom flags for component projects, programs and operations.  


Format for Agile Project (Project F)

Next, using the above Boolean flag (isAgile), we will format the Agile related components in the Agile Portfolio Roadmap. The formatting can be done by going to Format tab > Bar Styles group > Format command.  

As shown above, I’ve added an Agile Task above:

  • The appearance is with different color-coding.
  • The conditions applied for the task have the isAgile (flag) enabled.

Now, we are going to add this custom isAgile field and enable it for Project F to be executed in Agile mode.  

As you can see, after I enabled the isAgile custom flag for Project F, the color coding changed. The project has been renamed to Project F (Agile Mode) to make it distinguishable.  

Add Releases to the Component Project (Agile Mode)

In this step, we are going to add the releases to the component project, which is executed in Agile mode. After you add them, we will get the following view. 

As shown above:

  • Project F has three releases – Release 1, Release 2 and Release 3
  • Each release has a 2-month duration. 
  • Each release is highlighted in a separate color.
  • Dependencies among the releases are shown.

You might be wondering about the reason for the change of color of Project F to blue. This is because Project F has now become a Summary Task. Hence, the respective color coding has been applied. 

If you want to keep the same color coding, then you have put the formatting condition below the Summary Task and made some changes to the algorithm.

Add Scrum Custom Flag

To show Sprints under the releases, you can add another custom Boolean flag isScrum, This flag can be added similarly to what we have done for isAgile custom flag.  

Format for Sprints (Project F)

Like we formatted for the releases (Agile mode), similarly, we have to format for the Sprints. You to change the conditions while formatting and applying the Boolean flag isScrum, which we just created.

Next, create the respective Sprints under the releases, and you can see them in the Agile Portfolio Roadmap. This is shown below. 


As shown above:

  • Release 1 has three Sprints – Sprint 1, Sprint 2 and Sprint 3. Release 2 also has three Sprints – Sprint 4, Sprint 5 and Sprint 6.
  • All the Sprints have different formatting and color-coding.
  • Release 3 has no Sprint, and it retains the previous formatting and color coding.
  • With Sprints, Release 1 and Release 2 became Summary Tasks, and hence, they retain the respective formatting and color coding.

Video Demonstration – Portfolio Roadmap 

To have a better understanding, the below video demonstrates further what we have learned so far [Duration: 05m:16s]. 



Conclusion

Sprints are mini-projects with 1 to 4 weeks of duration. As the Sprint length is short, then it’s not necessary to display it in the roadmap. But then, it depends on the organization’s mandate.

Nevertheless, Agile approaches are part of Portfolio Management and if you are preparing for the Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP®) certification exam, then you need to know them, but not extensively.

The Standard for Portfolio Management explicitly notes other approaches as part of Portfolio Management:

“The portfolio management plan (PfMP) may describe or refer to different methodologies or approaches which the organization applies to manage different classes or types of portfolio components, specified in the portfolio roadmap.”

To elaborate further, the PfMP should have sections or reference sections, where different methodologies to be applied are noted. These can be predictive, adaptive (iterative and incremental) or agile, or a hybrid model.

I hope this article gives your needed hands-on information to build an Agile Portfolio Roadmap.


References

[1] NEW Book – I Want To Be A PfMP, the plain and simple way, by Satya Narayan Dash

[2] Article: Portfolio Management: Building and Managing A Practical Portfolio Roadmap – Part 1, by Satya Narayan Dash

[3] Article: Portfolio Management: Building and Managing A Practical Portfolio Roadmap – Part 2, by Satya Narayan Dash

[4] The Standard for Portfolio Management, by Project Management Institute (PMI)


Friday, April 05, 2024

Portfolio Management: Building and Managing A Practical Portfolio Roadmap with MS Project (Part – 2)


In the earlier part, we discussed the first set of steps needed to build a Portfolio Roadmap with a hands-on software tool, i.e., MS Project. There the following steps were informed:

  • Step – 1: Add the Portfolio Components 
  • Step – 2: Differentiate the Components 
  • Step – 3: Format the Bar Styles for Components

The components, as informed in the previous part, can be projects, programs, operations, business proposals, among others. In this part, we will take the final steps:

  • Step – 4: Apply the Bar Styles for Components
  • Step – 5: Track Progress with Portfolio Roadmap

You will also learn to show the dependencies between the components and the importance of a portfolio roadmap. This part will end with a hands-on video demonstration.

I'd strongly suggest that you read this linked article, before proceeding further. For this part, we will start with Step - 4.

This series: Part – 1

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Step – 4: Apply the Bar Styles for Components

Now that we have customized the bar styles, we have to apply them into our Gantt Chart view to have the visualization. To do so, I’ll remove the earlier columns of Duration, Start and Finish, but add two new columns of isProgram and isOps. Remember we just added these two custom fields (columns).

Next, for each program component, the isProgram flag will be enabled and for each operation component, the isOps flag will be enabled. This will result in the following figure.  

As shown:

  • For Program B, the isProgram flag is enabled, but isOps flag is disabled. It’s shown in green colored bars.
  • For Business Area 1 Operations, the isOps flag is enabled, but isProgram flag is disabled. It’s shown in orange colored bars.

To have the name of the portfolio components on the right side of the bar, do ensure that the “Name” field is populated in the bar styles as shown below. 

Isn’t it a much better representation than the earlier one? 

The flag settings with bar style formatting is also very useful when the new portfolio components are added. You have to just enable or disable the flags and the color will automatically change. 

Step – 5: Track Progress with Portfolio Roadmap

Now, a portfolio, if completely new, can be authorized or some of its components can be authorized by the portfolio governing body. Assuming we have a new portfolio and it’s authorized the portfolio is in progress.

As the portfolio components are executed by the resources (financial, equipment, and human), we will have progress reported on the components. Let’s say few of the components are complete and we have to display the progress. For this purpose, we simply have to use the ‘% Complete’ column and show 100% completion. 

When visualized with completed portfolio components, we will have the following view.


As shown:

  • We have three projects, Project A, Project B and Project C, which are complete.
  • We have one program, Program A, which is complete.
  • The completion is shown with a small horizontal line going inside the bar.

For a clear visualization of completion (a line going inside), I’ve increased the size of the bar by going to Format tab > Format group > Layout command and then changing the bar height to 18, instead of default 12.  

Dependencies in the Portfolio Roadmap

As we learned in the beginning, the portfolio roadmap also shows the dependencies among the components and/or across business areas. Dependencies can be easily shown by using the predecessor field of MS Project software.

For example, in the below figure, we have dependencies shown among multiple component projects and programs of the portfolio.  

Portfolio Component Grouping

The Standard for Portfolio Management, also informs that the completed portfolio components can be grouped and displayed on top of the roadmap. This also can be done with MS Project software. 

For this purpose, I’ll use the built-in Complete and Incomplete Tasks group, which can be seen by going to View tab > Data group and selecting this group from the Group drop down menu. In this grouping, we will change the ordering to Descending.


As shown above, only change the order to ‘descending’ and keep the rest of the formatting as it is. Now, when you apply the grouping, we will have the following view. 

Clearly, the components which are 100% complete are shown on top, whereas the ones not complete, or yet to be started are shown towards the bottom of the above view.

Importance of Roadmap *** NEW ***

The importance of portfolio can be understood by the below top points:

  1. Shows both internal dependencies among portfolio components and can also show external dependencies. In fact, in your portfolio review meeting (governance meetings), this will be one of the first artifacts to be shown. 
  2. Shows the milestones and hence important for portfolio value delivery. Milestones are significant events in the portfolio’s timeline. Any delay in a portfolio component’s closure and subsequent benefits realization can have ripple effects on portfolio management.  
  3. Helps in defining the portfolio components, i.e., used specifically in identification, categorization, scoring and ranking of portfolio components. 
  4. Clearly identifies the classes or types of portfolio components. This way, if some of the components are executed in Agile (Adaptive) mode, they can be represented. Hence, it truly helps in communication and risk management approaches as defined in the Portfolio Management Plan. 
  5. An excellent communication tool with others, including portfolio managers, component managers and top executives, including the C-suites in an organization. 

Video Demonstration – Portfolio Roadmap *** NEW ***

To concretize your understanding, I’ve created the following video [duration: 05m:44s] to demonstrate the portfolio roadmap that we just created. This content of this video is referenced from my new PfMP book. Plug-in your earphones for a better audio-visual experience. 


Conclusion

Now that we have clearly understood portfolio and portfolio roadmap, their components and elements, I’ll come back to our opening quote. But I’d slightly rephrase it and say:

Project creates and delivers. Program coordinates and guides. Portfolio decides and drives. 

A portfolio not only decides the components to be taken, but also drives them in order to achieve the organizational strategies and objectives. The portfolio roadmap, on the other hand, is a key deliverable and indispensable tool used in portfolio management. The roadmap shows the strategic mapping, “to-be” vision of the portfolio, priorities, dependencies as well as the high-level plan.

The portfolio roadmap, along with the portfolio strategic plan and portfolio charter, drive the development of the portfolio management plan – the consolidated plan that drives the execution of the portfolio and its components.

I hope this article helps you in preparing for the Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP®) certification exam and also enables to apply your learning on portfolio roadmap in the real-world portfolio management. 


This series: Part – 1

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This article was first published by MPUG.com on 12th September, 2023. The current one is an updated version.