Welcome! Thanks for visiting this site. Let me tell you a little about me, why I think I can help you study for your PMP® exam, and how this site came about.
I am an author, PMI authorized trainer and project management consultant with over 30 years of experience. I helped create the agile approach Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) in 1994 and have used agile practices, including Scrum and Extreme Programming (XP), for 25+ years. I served on the board of directors for the Agile Alliance and the Agile Project Leadership Network (APLN).
I co-founded the Project Management Institute (PMI) Agile Community of Practice and helped to create the PMI-ACP® certification. I wrote the best-selling PMI-ACP® Exam Prep book and have helped thousands of people attain the PMI-ACP® certification.
You might be thinking, “That’s all very well for agile, but what about real-project management?” Great question, my specialization has always been integrating agile with traditional project management. After working for IBM in the UK as a PRINCE2 qualified traditional project manager for many years, I earned my PMP® in 2002. Since then I have contributed to many PMI Standards including the 5th, 6th and 7th Editions of the PMBOK® Guide.
I co-wrote the agile content for the PMBOK® Guide 6th edition, was the Development Team Lead for the Agile Practice Guide and the Co-lead for the PMBOK® Guide 7th Edition. You can read more about my experience with traditional and agile project management at my personal blog here if you are interested.
Now PMI has integrated agile and hybrid approaches into the new PMP® exam, it is a perfect time for me to offer guidance for people studying for their credential. The new PMP® structure that draws from predictive, agile and hybrid approaches is right up my alley! I believe the future of project management will be the fusion of techniques based on the characteristics of the organization and the project being undertaken.
I am a visual learner and communicator. Seeing things laid out helps me understand them and improves my recall. During my career as a consultant, I found many people like to see problems visualized. It gives us a common model to point at, discuss and collaborate on.
I first thought that when I dumb things down, so even I could understand them, other people found it helpful too. I now know visual thinking is an emerging science and way of boosting comprehension and recall. This website is based on the research explained in books like:
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Chip Heath
Blah Blah Blah: What To Do When Words Don’t Work, Dan Roam
Visual Doing: A Practical Guide to Incorporate Visual Thinking into Your Daily Business and Communication, Willemien Brand
Project management can be a dry, sometimes dull topic. Having contributed to the last three editions of the PMBOK® Guide, I can sympathize with anyone who finds it an effective sleep aid. Unfortunately, our brains are wired to prioritize the storage of information that we flag as exciting or different. This is because novel information is more likely to be helpful when faced with a new situation. So reading the PMBOK® Guide might not be the best way to store concepts for later recall.
Things that are unexpected and emotional, such as pigs explaining work environments and mice teaching us about risk management, are easier to remember. (We might all need counseling later in life, but hey, at least we remembered this stuff for the PMP® exam, so that’s a bonus.)
Project management has been a great career for me, and I hope it will be for you. It provides an opportunity to help organizations turn ideas into tangible outcomes. We get to support teams as they coalesce from a collection of individuals to a cohesive unit. Then overcome challenges to build and deliver new products and services that have wide-reaching impacts.
None of this is dry, academic or boring, and neither should your study materials be. I hope you find this site fun, engaging and helpful. If you do, please tell your friends.
