PMP Exam Prep Course - PMI Memphispmimemphis.org/images/downloads/pmp_exam_prep_course_perfor… ·...

Project Management Institute • PMI Memphis TN Chapter • P.O. Box 383283 • Germantown, TN 38183-3283 • www.pmimemphis.org

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Submitted by Michael Fulton, SDRM, PMP

VP Education, PMI Memphis

Project Management Institute Memphis Tennessee Chapter PMI Memphis TN Chapter P.O. Box 383283 Germantown, TN 38183-3283 www.pmimemphis.org

Elected Officers, PMI Memphis Board of Directors

Chapter President:

Chandy Littlejohn, PMP [email protected]

Vice President, Communications:

Doug Price, PMP [email protected]

Vice President, Education:

Michael Fulton, SDRM, PMP [email protected]

Vice President, Finance:

Opal Marlow, PMP [email protected]

Vice President, Membership:

Valenta Nichols, PMP [email protected]

Vice President, Programs:

Andrea Booker [email protected]

Vice President, Public Relations:

Vaughan Dewar PMP,CSSBB [email protected]

Vice President, Special Events:

Phyllis Slaughter, PMP [email protected]

Disclaimer: The intent of this report is to disclose activities conducted by PMI

Memphis during the planning and executing of our PMP Exam Prep Course. Disclosure fulfills the interests of PMI Memphis Chapter members for transparency into operations conducted by elected officers who serve on the chapter’s Board of Directors. Financial reporting is regulated by state and federal authorities. The context of financial data contained within this report is restricted to PMI Chapter member usage and is not intended to serve as a source of financial information for reporting state or federal income. The VP of Finance will prepare any legal statements for reporting our financial position as required by law for not‐for‐profit organizations.

Consent for disclosing the contents of this document is given under the terms described under Exclusive use and Limited use: _____________________________________________________________ Michael G. Fulton, SDRM, PMP VP Education, PMI Memphis

Authority to release this report: _____________________________________________________________ Chandy Littlejohn President, PMI Memphis Exclusive Use:

Unrestricted use of the context either explicitly expressed or implied as PMP Exam Prep Course activities being contained within this report is granted for exclusive use by PMI Memphis. Limitations:

No part of this document may be copied or reproduced in any form

without explicit written permission from PMI Memphis’ VP of Education or President.

PMP Exam Prep Course - Class of April 2011


Page 1

Table of Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................................................... 3

Early Decisions .................................................................................................................. 4

Market Size Considerations........................................................................................... 4

Income and Pricing Structure ....................................................................................... 5

Cost Considerations ......................................................................................................... 6 Training Facility: ................................................................................................................................... 6 Presentation Equipment: ..................................................................................................................... 6 Student / Instructor Materials: ............................................................................................................. 6 Food Services: ...................................................................................................................................... 6 Promotion / Marketing / Advertising: .................................................................................................. 6 Registration / Transactional Costs: ...................................................................................................... 7 State & Federal Taxes: ......................................................................................................................... 7

Promotion & Advertising................................................................................................. 7 Cvent Advertising: ................................................................................................................................ 7 Chapter Website:.................................................................................................................................. 8 Personalized Email/Telephone Conversations: ................................................................................... 8 Chapter Meeting Announcements: ..................................................................................................... 8 Referrals / Word‐of‐Mouth:.................................................................................................................. 8

Financial Results............................................................................................................... 9 Gross Profit:.......................................................................................................................................... 9 Total Sales Revenue: .......................................................................................................................... 10 Total Cost of Sales:............................................................................................................................. 10 Summary: ........................................................................................................................................... 10

Our Engagement Team.................................................................................................. 11

Course Instructors .......................................................................................................... 12 Instructor Biographies........................................................................................................................ 13

Students ............................................................................................................................. 16

Auditors .............................................................................................................................. 16

Class Schedule ................................................................................................................ 17

Conclusion......................................................................................................................... 21



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Executive Summary Over the years, we have built and sustained a

business model around our PMP Exam Prep Course that

has enabled us to become a low‐cost source of education

for Memphis area project managers who aspire to earn

PMI's prestigious PMP certification. Our chapter directly

invests in our Memphis community by what we do.

Through our program, we deliver professional

knowledge and practical skills that provide meaningful

value to our local businesses as both tangible and

intangible benefits associated with decision outcomes.

Cost‐effective solutions like ours are highly valued by

corporate executives as they embrace their competitive

challenges in the world market and by their senior

management as they strive to improve their

organization's overall effectiveness. This is evident to us

despite the difficult economic downturn as local

business leaders continue to encourage their employees

to earn their PMP by providing them with the financial

assistance needed to undertake their learning.

During the month of April we executed our first

PMP Exam Prep Course for the year 2011. This was the

first of two planned classes being held at night and made

available to anyone including non‐chapter members.

The purpose for this report is to communicate a

summary of results achieved and the means by which we

successfully identified and delivered planned value. If we

strive to understand what matters and what works we

will gain insights into what’s possible and how we can

innovate to strengthen our program.

I am very proud of our instructors and my engagement team for their dependable actions as

dedicated volunteers who willingly contributed their discretionary time and talents. I am honored to

report the numbers of students that enrolled and the exceptional financial results achieved exceeded

our expectations.

Mike Fulton

VP Education



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Early Decisions

The VP of Education ensures the offering of a PMP Exam Prep Course that meets the needs

of our chapter members and our professional community. Nearly two years ago, our chapter’s

Board of Directors approved a promising education strategy that would leverage the confidence

behind a proven program developed by Andy Crowe, the founder of Velociteach. His books and

learning materials are ready resources that serve as turn‐key tools aligned with PMI’s globally

recognized standards contained in our PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge). Prior to

this transition, our PMP Exam Prep material was developed in‐house by our volunteer course

instructors. As the incoming VP of Education, Mike Fulton decided to stay on course by continuing

with the existing strategy. "I reached this decision after receiving positive feedback about the quality

our new direction through discussions with one of our corporate partners and by talking to other chapter

members.”

Our previous PMP Exam Prep class was held last October. The timeframe for our next course

had already been advertised through word‐of‐mouth by the outgoing VP of Education, Debbie

Miller. She was planning one class in April and another in October. Immediately following the

Chapter’s election, Debbie began providing for a smooth transition and friendly turn over which

made it possible to keep the existing schedule. Plus, Debbie had been tracking a small number of

candidate students that were inquiring about the next class. Despite the few there was still a lot of

uncertainty about the actual number of students who were ready to go. Planning for the next class

began on January 1st.

Early indicators suggested the demand would be somewhere around seven students. This

quickly changed after receiving several requests to step up the schedule and hold the class in

February or March. Yet, there was no marketing evidence to predict student turn out with any

measurable support. The planning stage for April’s course was just getting underway and there were

still many other decisions that had to be made. Mike Fulton chose to stay with the current schedule:

“I decided to stick with April after careful consideration. Our new Board of Directors had not met, our

budget was not set, and I needed funding approval that required more research."

Market Size Considerations

Approval for our 2011 education budget was to set to begin with our first Board of Director’s

meeting in January. Historically, the PMP Exam Prep program has become a primary source of

income for our chapter. Two PMP Exam Prep Classes needed funding approval and our first class in

April was just around the corner. The biggest challenge for predicting sales begins with estimating

demand ‐ how many students could we expect to sign up? Our chapter is not currently equipped with



Page 5

the ready resources needed to conduct a professional marketing study, and there was not enough

time for extensive research.

A ‘best guess’ was made based on expert

inputs and recent demand estimates. Mike Fulton

provided his forecast suggesting we should plan for a

student turn out between ten and twenty students.

This was higher than the original estimate of seven.

A normal distribution for uncertainty was

assumed with a 10% chance that ten or fewer

students would enroll and a 90% chance that the

student enrollment would be twenty or less. This is

shown by the Class Size Forecast on the right

A target of fifteen students was established

for calculating budget requirements. The baseline

was set believing there was a 50% probability that

fifteen or fewer students would sign up.

Income and Pricing Structure Our chapter’s Board of Directors approved our current student pricing early in 2010. PMI

chapter members pay $665 for our PMP Exam Prep Course and non‐chapter members pay $695. Discounted pricing was also approved to encourage early enrollment. Our cost structure from 2010 was fundamentally unchanged and our income margins were acceptable. The class held in April 2011 was offered at last year’s prices as follows: PMP Exam Prep Course pricing effective 2/28/10: PMI members ‐ 3 weeks before class $575 PMI members ‐ 2 weeks before class $595 PMI members ‐ 1 week before class $635 PMI members ‐ 1 day before class $665 non‐PMI members ‐ 3 weeks before class $605 non‐PMI members ‐ 2 weeks before class $625 non‐PMI members ‐ 1 week before class $665 non‐PMI members ‐ 1 day before class $695



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Cost Considerations Funding for the PMP Exam Prep Courses required making early commitments that fixed the

maximum class size to 20 students. Gross costs (before any taxes) included a training facility, presentation equipment, Windows computer and software, student materials, instructional materials, administrative supplies, market research, advertising, promotional flyers, registration, transactional costs, and food services. Human resources were assumed to come from volunteerism.

Training Facility: A FedEx training facility was available at no cost as long as FedEx did not need to use the space. The facility met all of our needs to facilitate a class size of 10 to 20 students, and it was typically used only during the day. Our class was scheduled at night which considerably reduced the risk that we would loose the space due to a conflict with a FedEx event. Presentation Equipment: Our minimum requirements included having a laptop or desktop Windows capable computer with CD player, remote presentation control/pointer, an overhead projector, projection screen, sound equipment, and a whiteboard. Optional equipment included having a flip chart stand. Our chapter recently purchased a laptop computer pre‐loaded with PowerPoint software which met our computer needs. The FedEx training facility provided for the remaining presentation equipment needs at no cost. We had an older remote control presenter that was found to be defective and missing the Bluetooth receiver. A new one was purchased to replace the old one.

Student / Instructor Materials: We chose to purchase Andy Crowe’s training materials at a fixed cost per student. For every four student kits we purchased we received one instructor kit for free. We had three tiers of student kits to choose from which required a decision. Tier

one provided a student text and workbook at $99 per student. Tier two was chosen at $129 per student which included the text, workbook, flash cards, and quick reference guide. Tier 3 at $189 per student exceeded our needs for this class. Food Services: A precedence to provide food services had already been set. Last year, our evening classes served a light dinner that averaged close to $7 per registered student. We assumed managing our food costs within the same budget by student was possible but we increased the projection to $10 per student so that we could ensure enough food would be made available for our class auditors, our instructors, and our volunteers. Promotion / Marketing / Advertising: Marketing research was not funded considering we had no way to measure the effectiveness of this spending. There was no additional cost to advertise the class on our website, and no additional cost to leverage our chapter's mailing list by using our Cvent services. Cvent's online tools and our internet service provider (ISP) are fixed costs approved by our Board of Directors which have become an integral part of the communications needed for operating our chapter. Announcements that advertised the PMP Exam Prep Class were made at our monthly chapter meetings.



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Registration / Transactional Costs: We typically use Cvent to advertise our chapter events and manage online registration. Their web‐based system provides us with eMarketing tools for creating event web pages, automated email, online registration, and for processing credit card transactions. There is no additional cost to use Cvent for managing advertising and online registration for the PMP Exam Prep Course. Transactional charges for processing credit card purchases incurred during registration are charged through to our bank services provider. Transactional charges were assumed to be insignificant when planning the PMP Exam Prep Course budget. Bank service charges are tracked by our VP of Finance and not included for reporting within this document.

State & Federal Taxes: PMI Memphis is organized as a not‐for‐profit entity under the state of Tennessee and is eligible for tax exemptions. Both state and federal income tax laws apply for non‐profit organizations, and we have certain filing requirements for each based on our chapter’s gross receipts from all of our income generating activities planned for 2011. Filing thresholds and taxes (if any) are determined by our VP of Finance and not included for reporting within this document.

Promotion & Advertising

Making the most effective use of advertising and promotional activities was critical to our sales, and with a high degree of certainty it is safe to say 100% of our sales were a direct result of basic communications in several forms. Understanding our effectiveness remains subjective and goes beyond just counting students. It requires a marketing analysis to give us the information needed to modify, improve, and adjust our advertising program based on our learning. Our chapter currently lacks the ready resources needed to accomplish such an expert analysis for this report. Instead, this discussion will focus on the modes of communication used to advertise April's PMP Exam Prep Course. Cvent Advertising: Our chapter currently uses Cvent as an eMarketing tool for managing event notifications. Cvent’s automated Email system was used to send announcements that described the PMP Exam Prep Course. A clone of the event from last October’s class was used for April’s invitations. Minor changes were made to adjust for the new location and class dates. The invitation targeted over 2700 people currently managed by our chapter’s Email list which is resident to Cvent. Nearly 1000 people ‘opted‐out’ in the past leaving about 1,750 people on the list. It was assumed the majority of the remaining invitees would receive our invitations knowing it was likely the contact information for some people was out‐of‐date. The first invitations were sent out on February 5th. Two timely reminder invitations were sent as the event approached the start date.



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Chapter Website: Doug Price, our VP of Communications volunteered to create a website advertisement which was posted on February 12th. The banner ad (shown on the left) was featured on our chapter’s home page and ran up until the class started on April 5th. The banner ad provided a link to Cvent web pages created to provide more information about the course and facilitate electronic registration. Personalized Email/Telephone Conversations: Numerous inquiries were generated through referrals and our advertising. Invitees were encouraged to contact Mike Fulton, VP of Education by telephone or Email to discuss any questions or concerns. Roughly eight of these communications directly contributed to student enrollments. Some inquiries came from ‘cold calls’ meaning the candidate customer was unaware of April’s upcoming class. This group was mostly comprised of non‐chapter members or other interested parties that were not exposed to our advertising.

Chapter Meeting Announcements: Class announcements were made during February’s and March’s monthly chapter meetings. Attendee’s were asked to inform their peers and co‐workers. Plus, it has become a common practice for us to ask first time attendees to stand up and introduce themselves. During March’s meeting, Mike Fulton spotted for these new attendees and then reached out by delivering his business cards to them at their tables. This action directly contributed to two student enrollments including David Kyle's. His picture is shown on the left. Referrals / Word‐of‐Mouth: No effort was focused on tracking website referrals or word‐of‐mouth advertising. Yet, it is likely several student registrations for April's class resulted from peer discussions at Sedgwick. This is evident to us considering eight Sedgwick employees are presently signed up on our 'waiting list' for the next class. This comes after having five Sedgwick employees as students in April.



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Financial Results

The discussion in the financial section should be read in conjunction with all other sections of this report. Operating results for the PMP Prep Course held in April 2011 exceeded the plan in Gross Profit derived from higher than expected Total Sales Revenue and Total Cost of Sales. It is important to understanding class enrollment and costs fluctuate from a class‐to‐class basis. Significance of practices underlying our financial results is a principal factor and critical information important for any material judgments or assumptions. PMP Prep Course - April 2011 Stated in Dollars Return on sales [L/J] 66.8%

Budget Current Period

Current Period as

% of Sales

% Change from

Budget

Sales Revenue

Student sales: PMI members - 3 weeks before class (6 budget / 6 actual) 3,450.00 3,450.00 31.4% 0.0%

Student sales: PMI members - 2 weeks before class (1 budget / 1 actual) 595.00 595.00 5.4% 0.0%

Student sales: PMI members - 1 week before class (1 budget / 0 actual) 635.001 0.00 0.0% -

Student sales: PMI members - 1 day before class (0 budget / 2 actual) 0.00 1,330.002 12.1% > 1000%

Student sales: non-PMI members - 3 weeks before class (6 budget / 6 actual) 3,630.00 3,630.00 33.0% 0.0%

Student sales: non-PMI members - 2 weeks before class (1 budget / 0 actual) 625.001 0.00 0.0% -

Student sales: non-PMI members - 1 week before class (0 budget / 3 actual) 0.00 1,995.002 18.1% > 1000%

Student sales: non-PMI members - 1 day before class (0 budget / 0 actual) 0.00 0.00 0.0% -

Total Sales Revenue [J] (15 students budgeted / 18 students actual) 8,935 11,000 100.0% 23.1% Cost of Sales

Student Materials (15 students budgeted / 18 students actual) 2,085.00 2,462.09 22.4% 18.1%

Food & Beverage 1,200.00 1,092.37 9.9% -9.0%

Class Supplies 250.00 102.00 0.9% -59.2%

Total Cost of Sales [K] 3,535.00 3,656.46 33.2% 3.4% Gross Profit [L=J-K] 5,400.00 7,343.54 66.8% 36.0%

Gross Profit: Our Gross Profit was projected to yield 5,400 dollars. An increase in total sales contributed to an actual gross profit of 7,344 dollars (rounded).

As a direct result of operations, we posted a plus 36% profit above plan and a 66.8% Return on Sales (1,9952 + 13302). A positive net variance of 2,065 dollars resulted which was a plus 23.1% change from budget.



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Total Sales Revenue: Our Sales Revenue was projected to achieve 8,935 dollars in income. Actual sales totaled 11,000 dollars which exceeded plan by 23.1%. The planned mix of discounts offered and enrollment by category (student sales by member status and time based discounts) contributed to a variance of minus 1260 dollars (6351 + 6251), and actual sales by category contributed to a variance of plus 3,325 dollars.

Total Cost of Sales: Overall, our Cost of Sales was 33% of our total sales receipts. Planned costs were projected to be 3,535 dollars, and actual costs totaled 3,656 dollars (rounded) which exceeded plan by 3.4%. The increase in cost was due to student materials which exceeded budget by 377 dollars. The budget was for fifteen and eighteen students had enrolled. Extra materials were purchased above plan to provide for three additional students. We had greater control over our food and beverage costs by

making small corrections from week to week. Despite the higher student enrollment total food service costs came in under budget by minus 9%. A budget for class supplies was provided for administration and operational costs including paper, pens, copies, printing, software, etc. A total contingency of 250 dollars was planned which included a likely replacement for the old remote presentation controller/pointer. Our purchases totaled 102 dollars. The planned budget exceeded our actual needs by 148 dollars. Summary: We always strive to make a profit on our PMP Exam Prep Courses as a benefit needed for funding our chapter's programs and as a means to fund operations. A net gain of $7344 was earned and applied to our chapter's bank account.



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Our Engagement Team The team behind organizing and executing our PMP Exam Prep course aimed at increasing the overall satisfaction of our students and instructors. Our Engagement Team comprised of three volunteers… starting from the left Debra Schrack, Mike Fulton, and Ching‐Chi Anita Hsu. PMI Memphis has a great ethic of volunteer service and member commitment that builds

momentum. Each volunteer worked with passion in a meaningful and coordinated way to make a measurable difference in our chapter’s priorities.

Mike Fulton, SDRM, PMP: Mike currently serves as our VP of

Education at PMI Memphis and oversees the PMP Exam Prep Course program along with other duties. For the April class, he planned & managed the budget, staffed our Engagement Team, performed all promotion & marketing activities, procured supplies, reserved the training facility, registered students, and provided student customer

services on and offsite. Mike is an aircraft engineering & management professional currently employed by FedEx Express as an avionics Project Engineer in Air Operations. He has a bachelor’s degree in engineering (BSET) from the University of Memphis, a master’s degree in engineering management (MEM) from Christian Brother’s University, certificate in Strategic Decision and Risk Management (SDRM) from Stanford University, and is a Project Management Professional (PMP) since 2005.

Debra Schrack: Debra has previously served as our VP of Finance at PMI Memphis and she

continues to generously volunteer her time when called upon. As administrator, Debra managed all communications for recruiting our course instructors for April's class. She coordinated all class scheduling, instructor evaluations, and ensured our volunteer instructors received proper direction and class materials. She performed with excellence and was instrumental in ensuring the VP of Education was well‐informed for making timely decisions. To enhance learning, Debra organized

and actively participated in a student study group. She gained valuable insights into our student's needs. This enabled us to make minor adjustments based on their feedback. Debra was previously employed by First Horizon as Project Manager in Enterprise services. She has a bachelor's degree in business administration (BBA) from the University of Memphis and aspires to earn her PMP this summer.

Ching‐chi Anita Hsu: Hsu is a newcomer to the Memphis area. She recently joined PMI and

immediately exhibited her passion to get involved with our chapter. Hsu volunteered to manage all food service activities for April's class including our food budget. Meticulously, she selected restaurants with catering and carry‐out services from well‐known franchises and local restaurant owners. Hsu ensured proper meals were available for our students on special diets. She personally

picked up meals, delivered them to our training facility, set up the food line, catered to students, and cleaned up. To save money, Hsu shopped for sales at local grocery stores on the weekends to buy beverages, water, chips, pickles, and cookies. As a direct result of Hsu's financial controls our total food & beverage costs came in under budget by 9%. Hsu is currently employed by International Paper as Supply Planner II. She has a bachelor's degree in supply chain management (BA) from Michigan State University, an ASQ Green Belt certificate, and is a current graduate student earning a master's degree in supply chain management from Michigan State University. Hsu plans to earn her PMP this summer.



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Course Instructors

In April 2011, our PMP Exam Prep Course was generously taught by this team of twelve volunteer instructors (shown below) who donated their discretionary time as PMI Memphis chapter members. Each and every instructor is a certified PMP. All have the breadth and depth of PMI’s knowledge in the best practices for project management, and they all had the qualifying backgrounds needed to bring their real world experiences to share.

“I am writing this message to share the heartfelt appreciation I have for our volunteer instructors…To our instructors, I know each and every one of you as has a very busy life yet you still found the time needed to give something special back to our chapter. The benefits are meaningful and unique to each of you as our instructors receive no financial compensation in return for your effort. I believe the professional and personal bonds you make with our students must be the rewards you seek as you have given back the greatest gift of knowledge to our community. Please accept my personal thank you and everyone else’s gratitude I give on behalf of our Board of Directors, our chapter members, and our students.”

Mike Fulton Vice‐President of Education

PMI Memphis

Our PMP Exam Prep Course Instructors for April 2011

Scott Bable Charlotte Bergmann John Fisher Debbie Flaherty Carroll Harrison Wendell Law

Debbie Miller Molly Schmidt Jan Speare Angela Townsend Donna Trojan Alvin Walker



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Instructor Biographies (Condensed)

Scott Bable, PMP Employer: FedEx TechConnect Title: Program Management Advisor Current Role: Oversees project, program, and portfolio management as a part of the PMO. Scott’s message about our PMP Exam Prep Course: “The course is an invaluable part of preparing for the PMP exam.”

Charlotte Bergmann, PMP Employer: EffectivePMP, LLC Title: President Current Role: Small business marketing consultant and Project Management

Charlotte’s message about our PMP Exam Prep Course: “I am so proud of the students who may work all day and still have the stamina to attend class at night because they realize how important it is to prepare for the PMI Exam. Their drive is contagious.”

John Fisher, PMP Employer: ThyssenKrupp Elevator Title: Manager Global Project Management Current Role: Improving Project Management processes, skills, and results. John’s message about our PMP Exam Prep Course: “It is well‐organized, effective, and reflects the in‐depth knowledge of its author, Andy Crowe, a renowned PM advocate.”

Debbie Benson Flaherty, PMP Employer: FedEx TechConnect Title: Executive Project Principal Current Role: Information management, Project management, Process engineering, Business administration. Debbie message about our PMP Exam Prep Course: “The PMI Memphis chapter offers an effective instructor led prep course that attracts high caliber students resulting in a high pass rate. I ALWAYS enjoy participating in this quality program.”



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Carroll Harrison, PMP Employer: Cook Systems, International Title: Director of Client Services Current Role: Working on a contract for FedEx. Carroll’s message about our PMP Exam Prep Course: “I thoroughly enjoy participating and assisting in any way I can. This is a very worthwhile course to prepare those who are working toward their PMP Certification.”

Wendell Law, PMP Employer: Avionics Specialist Title: Director of Technical Services / Director of Training Current Role: Direct, plan, and coordinate all technical operations for repair and overhaul of aircraft electronic equipment and calibration laboratory. Wendell’s message about our PMP Exam Prep Course: “The size of [April’s] class indicated a strong demand for the PMP certification.”

Debbie Miller, PMP Employer: NSA Title: IT Manager Current Role: Responsible for PMO, Project Management, Service Desk, Metrics, all departmental communications, Change Control, and anything else my boss wants me to do! Debbie’s message about our PMP Exam Prep Course: “I love to help other PM’s get certified!”

Molly Schmidt, PMP Employer: International Paper Title: Customer Value Manager Current Role: Coordinate with Sales and Supply Chain to optimize service offering, reduce cost and enhance profitability. Molly’s message about our PMP Exam Prep Course: “The curriculum is much improved from years ago and a great local resources for future PMP’s.”



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Jan Spear, PMP Employer: Hewlett Packard Title: Migration Coordinator Current Role: Project manager Jan’s message about our PMP Exam Prep Course: “It was the single most important piece of training that I had that helped me to get ready for the exam.”

Angel P. Townsend, PMP Employer: FedEx Express Title: Sr. Supply Chain Specialist Current Role: Provide direction and leadership on multiple projects to ensure all components are met. Angela’s message about our PMP Exam Prep Course: “The Prep Course prepares individuals on what to expect on the exam.”

Donna Trojan, PMP Employer: Prior contract work Title: Sr. Project Manager (Prior) Current Role: Previously managed product development project teams: New industrial equipment and automotive interior systems. Recently managed a monitoring/testing team on the SenseAware device, customer website and diagnostics system. Donna’s message about our PMP Exam Prep Course: “It provides a very thorough review of the critical content Project Managers should be knowledgeable about for being a successful PM and for passing the exam.”

Alvin Walker, PMP Employer: Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division Title: Project Engineer Current Role: Project management education, support and standardization as well as MS Project Server administrator in the Information Technology division. Alvin’s message about our PMP Exam Prep Course: “The course utilizes great material, presentation slides and exercises which give the students a good foundation for individual study although the class time allotment is a bit inadequate when you include discussion.”



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Students A total of eighteen students representing fourteen Memphis area companies enrolled and

completed the PMP Exam Prep Course during the month of April. Our Student Roster for April 2011

Name Title Company Andrea Acton Project Coordinator Mellon Consulting Group Scott Barnes Assist VP Sedgwick CMS Dvorah Bat‐Zion Office Manager / Graduate Student Global Power, Inc Phillip Beavers Project Manager Sedgwick CMS James Bracey Owner Bracey Construction Pamela Buder Project Manager Sedgwick CMS Lynn Clark Contractor / SAP Buckman International David Delgado Applications Development Analyst I International Paper Tim Hassell Field Sales Manager & Project Manager Thomas & Betts Corporation Scott Jones Director of IT Education Realty Trust David Kyle Consultant First Horizons Shahul Lareef Systems Analyst / Programmer Lead Sedgwick CMS Susan Laskoski Systems Analyst / Project Manager Oxford Consulting Carolina Melul Sr Data Security Research Analyst FedEx Services Jason Meserve Software Engineer Thyssen‐Krupp Deepa Nair, PMP1 Principle Technical Sourcing Specialist Medtronic Pamela Ross Project Manager Sedgwick CMS Joe Stewart Project Manager Mind Over Data LLC

Notes:

1. Four days after completing our course Deepa Nair earned her PMP on Monday, May 2.

Auditors Five auditors participated in one or more class sessions. Leanne Logan was a prior student

from last October who wanted to repeat the course. Tim Bradshaw was a prior student who repeated the course after being unable to finish last year’s course (April 2010) due to a family emergency. Our third auditor Darrell Uselton attended day 2. Our last two auditors, Debra Schrack and Ching‐Chi Anita Hsu served as volunteers on our Engagement Team.

Our Auditors for April 2011

Name Title Company Tim Bradshaw Contractor FedEx Services Ching‐chi Anita Hsu Supply Planner II International Paper Leanne Logan Marketing Spec Advisor FedEx Services Debra Schrack Project Manager First Tennessee (prior) Darrel Uselton Corporate Training Manager Barnhart‐Crane



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Class Schedule

Our PMP Exam Prep Course was taught every Tuesday and Thursday night during the month of April and provided up to four hours of instruction each night. We started with Velociteach's recommended time durations as provided in their instructor's guide to schedule the amount of time needed to teach this course. The entire course was broken down into seventeen modules and was planned by us to span a total of seven days. An eighth day was reserved as a contingency to cover class cancellations or time overruns. Class periods were scheduled for a fixed four hours each night starting at 5:30 and ending at 9:30. The planned time durations for teaching each module and the time needed to take breaks varied from class to class. We also built in extra time to manage any overtime requirements. Our instructors were given their day, start time, and duration thinking the time/schedule was sufficiently planned to teach the material. Yet, time was a critical constraint and we experienced many issues. Understanding each situation and the planning conditions that caused risk will be a focus for this and future discussions. Experience was one risk factor for both our instructors and our engagement team. We had a mix of veteran instructors who had previously taught from Andy Crowe's material and new instructors who were teaching this material for their first time. Plus, our engagement team was entirely made up of newcomers. Our previous VP of Education Debbie Miller provided some insights that helped lay out the course schedule but the primary source of planning information was based on Andy Crowe's guidance. This report will hopefully provide some insight needed to improve planning the schedule for our next course. Looking back, we needed to work more closely with our instructors for their input ahead of fixing the schedule. And, we should have standardized through collaboration how each instructor would conduct quizzes. Finally, we should have gathered more time data during the execution of each class. A log with start and stop times would have provided for more quantitative results to analyze. Instead, we present the planned schedule here along with a brief description of our observations and some perceptions. This report may seem biased considering the lack of any actual time data or other extensive fact based analysis.



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Day 1 – Tuesday April 5th, 2011 The class started on time with our first instructor Scott Bable who has taught this course for many years. He was able to execute and finish the class close to plan. Day 1 was the exception considering the actual times spent on each successive class periods varied. Alternatives for adjusting the schedule should include moving Day 2's Integration Module to Day 1. Module Session Duration Time Slot Instructor Module 1 Course Introduction 15 5:30 ‐ 5:45 pm Scott Bable

Module 1 Application 10 5:45 ‐ 5:55 pm Scott Bable

Baseline exam (25 questions) 25 5:55 ‐ 6:20 pm Scott Bable

Break 10 6:20 ‐ 6:30 pm

Module 2 Foundational Concepts 35 6:30 ‐ 7:05 pm Scott Bable

Module 3 Framework 25 7:05 ‐ 7:30 pm Scott Bable

Day 2 – Thursday April 7th, 2011 The class was started on time with Scott Bable taught who Module 4. On both Day 1 and Day 2, Scott coached the students on taking the quiz but did not spend much time covering the quiz in detail. He was followed by Angela Townsend who taught module 5. Angela spent more time on the quiz discussing each question one‐by‐one. As a result, Angela went beyond the scheduled quitting time. Class was completed by 8:50. Module Session Duration Time Slot Instructor Module 4 Integration 80 5:30 ‐ 6:50 pm Scott Bable

Break 10 6:50 ‐ 7:00 pm

Module 5 Scope 75 7:00 ‐ 8:15 pm Angela Townsend

Quiz 15 8:15 ‐ 8:30 pm

Day 3 – Tuesday April 12th, 2011 The class was started on time. Debbie Miller taught for the entire evening. She spent much needed time on the exercises and took advantage of the extra time built in. Class was over by 9:00 pm. Module Session Duration Time Slot Instructor Module 6 Time 75 5:30 ‐ 6:45 pm Debbie Miller

Break 10 6:45 ‐ 6:55 pm

Module 7 Network Diagramming 40 6:55 ‐ 7:35 pm Debbie Miller

Exercises 25 7:35 ‐ 8:00 pm



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Day 4 – Thursday April 14th, 2011 Alvin Walker started the class on time. It was quickly evident the Cost module needed more time allotted to effectively teach the material. The class ran behind schedule and other adaptations were needed. For one, Debbie Flaherty was originally scheduled to teach Module 10 but was unable. She gave us enough advance notice to activate our backup instructor Jan Speare who was able to fill‐in. To accommodate Jan's constraints and considering we were behind schedule, we skipped over the first quiz so that we could begin teaching Module 10. Alvin was able to stay later and volunteered to teach the EVM / Cost quiz after Module 10 was completed. Class was over by 9:40 pm. Module Session Duration Time Slot Instructor Module 8 Cost 40 5:30 ‐ 6:10 pm Alvin Walker

Module 9 EVM 25 6:10 ‐ 6:35 pm Alvin Walker

Exercises 30 6:35 ‐ 7:05 pm Alvin Walker

Break 10 7:05 ‐ 7:15 pm

Cost Quiz 30 7:15 ‐ 7:45 pm Alvin Walker

Module 10 Communications 30 7:45 ‐ 8:15 pm Jan Speare

Communications Quiz 15 8:15 ‐ 8:30 pm Jan Speare

Day 5 – Tuesday April 19th, 2011 The class started on time and ended by 10:00. The Quality module taught by Donna Trojan did go into overtime. The late evening finish was due to a late start on Risk Module 12 and the amount of extra material John Fisher covered based on his personal insights and professional experiences. Yet, feedback from the students was very positive overall considering the amount of overtime spent covering class materials. Our students directly contributed to the amount of overtime spent each night we taught. Module Session Duration Time Slot Instructor Module 11 Quality 55 5:30 ‐ 6:25 pm Donna Trojan

Quality Quiz 15 6:25 ‐ 6:40 pm

Break 10 6:40 ‐ 6:50 pm

Module 12 Risk 85 6:50 ‐ 8:15 pm John B Fisher



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Day 6 – Thursday April 14th, 2011 The class started on time and ended late. In summary, we may have scheduled too much material for this one night when spread across three different instructors. There were several complications in our time management that created a schedule conflict for our second instructor. Module 13 went over time and our meal service activities led to a late start for Wendell Law. He later provided feedback stating he had to compress the time he spent teaching Module 14 due to another appointment he had already planned that evening. Module Session Duration Time Slot Instructor Module 13 Human Resource 45 5:30 ‐ 6:15 pm Debbie Flaherty

HR Quiz 20 6:15 ‐ 6:35 pm Debbie Flaherty

Break 5 6:35 ‐ 6:40 pm

Module 14 Procurement 45 6:40 ‐ 7:25 pm Wendall Law

Procurement Quiz 20 7:25 ‐ 7:45 pm Wendall Law

Break 5 7:45 ‐ 7:50 pm

Module 15 Professional Responsibility 30 7:50 ‐ 8:20 pm Charlotte Bergmann

Prof Resp Quiz 15 8:20 ‐ 8:35 pm Charlotte Bergmann

Day 7 – Tuesday April 26th, 2011 The class started on time and ended about 9:05. The session covered 120 final exam questions including the time spent by students answering exam questions and the time spent by Molly providing the correct answers and brief discussions spent on select questions. Module Session Duration Time Slot Instructor Module 16 Exam tips 35 5:30 ‐ 6:05 pm Molly Schmidt

Module 17 Final Exam 120 6:05 ‐ 8:05 pm Molly Schmidt

Day 8 – Thursday April 28th, 2011 The eighth day was optional having been reserved as a contingency plan for any classes that needed to be rescheduled. On day 7, the students were polled to check interest in using this day for a study session. The class was held due to the overwhelming positive response. Module Session Duration Time Slot Instructor ‐ Exam tips 35 5:30 ‐ 6:05 pm Molly Schmidt

‐ Study Group 120 6:05 ‐ 8:05 pm Molly Schmidt



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Conclusion Over the years we have built a solid reputation while serving our Memphis business

community both through our actions and through our advocacy for project management excellence. We understand investments in project management training compete with investments in all other organizational initiatives. Our aim is to provide affordable project management training in community partnership by leveraging volunteer representatives from local business organizations. We proclaim our success is evident considering we have numerous devoted professionals giving a great deal of their time to make a meaningful difference. Since our chapter was founded in 1999, we have helped hundreds of professionals prepare for and earn their PMP credential. Our goal is to ensure our PMP Exam Prep program continues to deliver this value at low‐cost.

Eighteen students attended our PMP Exam Prep class in April. Each earned 24 hours of formal project management training to help them prepare for PMI's PMP exam. Their degree of learning is an essential determinant for successfully passing the exam and their timing for taking the exam will become a personal measurement in many ways. One student on the fast track earned her PMP just four days after our last class ended. One thing is very important to note, however, passing the exam and earning PMI's prestigious PMP credential takes a great deal of professional experience and dedicated effort that goes well beyond our class. Our support structure for this and other PMI Memphis learning programs is evolving. Please contact our VP of Education to learn how you can help.

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