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Earn *Category 3 PDUs  by reading many of the white papers listed below. (Look for titles with (# PDU) before them. ) Option1: ePDUs© DOWNLOAD a white paper FOR FREE (scroll down to view list of PDU white papers) , READ it , then ANSWER the questions online at our Test Center . You will recieve your score instantly.  Make Payment on-line or by phone. Option 2: PDUs by Mail  DOWNLOAD a white paper FOR FREE (scroll down to view list of PDU white papers) , READ it , then Fax or mail your answers to Project Solutions with your payment information (MasterCard or Visa preferred). If you score 70% or better, you'll receive notification within 48 hours (via e-mail) with the number of PDUs you've earned. *Category 3 PDUs can be used by PMPs for recertification and by those plannning to take the PMP Exam (1 PDU = 1 contact hour). Category 3 PDUs are not limited for purposes of CCR (Continuing Certification Requirements; see below) From the PMI web site: Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR): PMPs may earn all of the required 60 PDUs from a combination of categories or from a single category with the exception of Category 5 (Service to the Profession), Category2sdl (Self-directed Learning) and Category 2h (Practitioner of Project Management). Most of the white papers were written by the principals at Project Solutions and are registered with the Project Management Institute (PMI). As a PMI Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.), Project Solutions adheres to PMI's standards and is authorized to award Category 3 PDUs.Here's what one customer said about our PDU white papers: "I am really enjoying using your articles to earn PDU credits to maintain my PMI certification. The articles are well-written and provide excellent advice and guidance." -SS, September, 2007 You can also Earn PDUs by taking our Web-Based or Instructor-Led courses.

®     * New (1 PDU) How Much Do You Pay? The Business Consequences of Poor Project Performance  John M. Nevison, PMP  Poor project results can cripple a business. Using a fictional company with ten products in the pipeline, spreadsheets tell the story of inadequate senior management and poor project management combining to destroy the company's business plan. PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND Answer Questions at the end to EARN a total of 1 PDUs (for $9.95). < Download PDF > <Online Test> * New (1 PDU) Behind Schedule & Over Budget: 10 career-advancement techniques you should master  Mark Durrenberger, PMP  Want to succeed as a project manager in your organization? Mark's 10 simple steps will show you how. PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND Answer Questions at the end to EARN a total of 1 PDUs (for $9.95). < Download PDF > <Online Test> *New (1 PDU) The Minimalist's Schedule: One-Line Project Scheduling  Denise Mura  For the novice project manager, creating and maintaining a project schedule can be frightening and overwhelming. Yet enterprise project managers need detailed schedule updates on every project, whether managed by an old hand or a new hire. This article offers an easy-to-implement method to obtain scheduling details from all your reports, at the same time setting them on the path to eventual scheduling mastery. Includes illustrations using MSProject. PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND Answer Questions at the end to EARN a total of 1 PDUs (for $9.95). < Download PDF > <Online Test>  * New (1 PDU) You Can't Negotiate Cost  Mark Durrenberger, PMP  Do you understand the difference between price and cost? How about your boss? After reading this article, you will. And you will be able to generate better project estimates. PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND Answer Questions at the end to EARN a total of 1 PDUs (for $9.95). < Download PDF > <Online Test>   * New (1 PDU) Enterprise Project Management  Carl Belack, PMP  Many companies try (and fail) to strengthen their ability to perform project work by focusing on the skills of project managers, project team members, and the project review process. Project Solutions has collected data that suggest that, when companies tackle project work problems on a comprehensive, system-wide basis (called Enterprise Project Management or EPM), costs decline, revenues rise, and profits multiply.PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND Answer Questions at the end to EARN a total of 1 PDUs (for $9.95). < Download PDF > <Online Test>  * New (1 PDU) Managing a Project's Organizational Change Issue: A WBS and Activity Lists Can Help  Brenda K. Gillingham, PMP  Many of us have been conditioned to think that organizational change issues apply only to business process reengineering efforts. But organizational changes - those that cause employees to think or behave in a different way - lurk even in the most innocent projects. To insure project success, we must identify and deal with change issues at the beginning of a project, not in the middle. PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free)AND Answer Questions at the end to EARN a total of 1 PDUs (for $9.95). < Download PDF > <Online Test>   * New (1 PDU) Overtime Hours: The Rule of Fifty  John M. Nevison, PMP  The "Rule of Fifty" presents data to support the conclusion that, "on average, no matter how many hours of overtime you work, you will only achieve fifty hours of results in any week." PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND Answer Questions at the end to EARN a total of 1 PDUs (for $9.95). < Download PDF > <Online Test>   * New (1 PDU) Planning to Build a Team Mark Durrenberger, PMP . PM Network  Learn about a process a group can use to build a project plan and a team.PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND Answer Questions at the end to EARN a total of 1 PDUs (for $9.95). < Download PDF > <Online Test>   * New (1 PDU) (Acorn Brief) Project Valuation: How to Rank Your Project Portfolio  Mark R. Durrenberger, PMP A quick and easy model to use to help you decide which of your projects should have the highest priority.PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND Answer Questions at the end to EARN a total of 1 PDUs (for $9.95). < Download PDF > <Online Test>  * New (2 PDUs) The Power of the Project Journal  John F. Slack  The project journal is a simple and effective way to foster learning in organizations - yet it is seldom used. With a little planning at the start of a project and some light record keeping during, PMs and their teams can capture "lessons learned" before they are forgotten, and share them far and wide. John Slack offers some dos and don'ts to help you get the most from this powerful tool. PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND Answer Questions at the end to EARN a total of 2 PDUs (for $19.95). < Download PDF > <Online Test>  * New (4 PDUs) Up to Speed: The Cost of Learning on a White-Collar Project John M. Nevison, PMP . PMI Journal, Volume XXV  This article explores the effect that learning curves of adding new resources will have on project progress. PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND Answer Questions at the end to EARN a total of 4 PDUs (for $39.95). < Download PDF > <Online Test>  * New (2 PDUs) The Project Schedule and the Weekly Status Meeting: Making Them Work for You  Mark Durrenberger, PMP  Ever wonder how to make a project status meeting work for you? This article will show you how. You will find several tips you can use right away.PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND Answer Questions at the end to EARN a total of 2 PDUs (for $19.95). < Download PDF > <Online Test>  * New (2 PDUs) What Can We Learn About Learning On Projects John M. Nevison, PMP . PM Network  Sometimes our efforts to stay lean and flexible have unintended consequences. The unintended effects of "entry learning" can be significantly reduced if they are recognized and allowed for.PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND Answer Questions at the end to EARN a total of 2 PDUs (for $19.95). < Download PDF > <Online Test>    (1 PDU) Informal Projects and the Linked-Milestone Diagram  John M. Nevison, PMP A small, informal project doesn't need a lot of rigorous planning, but it does need some. Nevison's linked-milestone diagram can quickly show how a project's milestones are related and the due dates, early in the project. You can then coordinate the work of informal participants who might otherwise be inclined to let tasks slide until the last minute. PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND Answer Questions at the end to EARN a total of 1 PDUs (for $9.95). < Download PDF >   <Online Test>  (1 PDU) StSI and RbSI: Two Project Solutions Earned-Value Indexes Compared  John M. Nevison, PMP  A comparison of the merits two equivalent earned-value indexes for projects. Includes a worked example. PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND EARN 1 PDU (for $9.95). < Download PDF >   <Online Test> (6 PDUs) An Economic Look at the White Collar Project Portfolio  John M. Nevison, PMP  Use economics to help you: 1) focus on the long-term benefits of any project; 2) fully account for risk [to the project, the firm, and the markets]; 3) understand the effects of payments in different years; and 4) use the above information to build a portfolio of strong projects. PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND EARN 6 PDUs (for $59.95). < Download PDF >   <Online Test>  (4-6 PDUs) Earned Value Benchmarks for Re-baselining Your Project  John M. Nevison, PMP  When you re-plan a project, you must integrate many concerns: the lessons learned to date, changes in scope, evolving stakeholder needs and expectations, schedule demands, staffing conflicts, and even changes in the underlying technology. The discussion and exercises that follow will show you how to use five earned-value benchmarks to help you create a re-baselined plan that works. Note: this piece is intended as a sequel to Earned Value: Ideas and Exercises. If you have not read the earlier work, you may want to download it first and become familiar with the basics of earned-value analysis before continuing. Benchmarks begins with the simple example that appears in Ideas & Exercises. READ THE PAPER (for free) and EARN 4-6 PDUS (for $39.95 or $59.95). < Download PDF >    <Online Test> (1 PDU) Assumptions on Projects: Don't take them for granted, or, the problem of not knowing  Mark R. Durrenberger, PMP  If your team members are making unfounded and unexamined assumptions, your project can suffer as a result. This paper offers 3 simple steps you can take to prevent that from happening. PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) -- EARN 1 PDU (for $9.95). < Download PDF >   <Online Test>   (4-6 PDUs) Earned Value: Ideas & Exercises to calculate EV & other project metrics John M. Nevison, PMP  Earned value calculations provide project managers with a snapshot of a project's progress to date. This information enables a manager to predict the total cost and schedule for a project and to make any appropriate adjustments. Nevison's examples and exercises will show you how to predict your project's path so you can make any necessary changes before it's too late. PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free). Score 70% on the post-test and EARN 4 PDUs (for $39.95) or 6 PDUs (for $59.95). < Download PDF >   <Online Test> (2 PDUs) Thinking Inside the Box: A logical look at the PMBOK® Guide (Parts 1 & 2)   John M. Nevison, PMP  The PMBOK® Guide currently consists of 39 management processes within 5 process groups. As an exercise to further understand the Guide's information system, the author reviewed and entered each of the process information flows into a Dependency Structure Matrix (DSM). What does a detailed and fully organized PMBOK® information system look like? How could it be organized more efficiently? PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND EARN 2 PDUs (for $19.95). < Download PDF >   <Online Test> (2 PDUs) Thinking Inside the Box: A Logical Look at the PMBOK 3rd Edition Processes John M. Nevison, PMP . July, 2005 In his 2002 article, Nevison analyzed the old PMBOK's information system by reviewing and entering each of the process information flows into a DSM. In this article, he applies the same process to the recently released Third Edition. Does the new PMBOK successfully eliminate redundancies and clarify processes and dependencies? PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) and EARN 2 PDUs (for $19.95) < Download PDF >   <Online Test> (2 PDUs) From ROI to Eureka! The Project Solutions business case for better project managers John M. Nevison, PMP . Project Solutions white paper  Project management work is often considered part and parcel of routine middle management. Many senior executives don't see the need to invest in training their people in specific project skills. Does good project management make a measurable business difference? Project Solutions' research says yes. Using a variety of industry benchmarks and proprietary metrics, the author evaluates ten years of Project Solutions training results. His findings make a strong case for improving your bottom line by improving project management skills in your organization. PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) and EARN 2 PDUs (for $19.95). < Download PDF >   <Online Test> (2 PDUs) The Business Benefits of Better Projects: The Project Solutions Associates Simple Business Model of Project Performance (SBM)   John M. Nevison, PMP  The Project Solutions Simple Business Model of Project Performance (SBM) is an easy-to-use method that illustrates how better projects boost business performance. The model uses ten identical, one-year projects that will produce ten products, each with a five-year business life. Using standard industry assumptions about the costs of bringing a new product to market, the SBM ties present project costs to the future costs and benefits of the products. You'll see how different project practices affect sales, costs, and profits, and how your company can begin to improve its project practices. PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND EARN 2 PDUs (for $19.95). < Download PDF >   <Online Test> (1 PDU) The Remaining Work Index (RWI) and the Staffing-to-Schedule Index (StSI)  John M. Nevison, PMP  Your project is in trouble and you'd like to put more people on it. But you want the right people at the right time, without disrupting other projects. These two simple methods will show you how - and preserve the shape of your original staffing plan. (The article provides the answer to the puzzle below...) PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND EARN 1 PDU (for $9.95). < Download PDF >   <Online Test>   (2 PDUs) An Earned Value Tutorial  Mark Durrenberger, PMP  Earned Value (EV) is a method for managing projects based on the regular comparison of actual project costs to planned costs AND to completed work. Using a simple example, the author shows how to apply EV to all your projects, regardless of their size. Easily apply Earned Value to your projects with Microsoft Project 2002 and 2003. Check out Ranger by Project Solutions Co. LLC . PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND EARN 2 PDUs (for $19.95). < Download PDF >   <Online Test> (1 PDU) The Return on Your Project Management Training Dollar  Mark Durrenberger  How can you measure the effect of project management training on your company's bottom line? Mark Durrenberger analyzes the total return for a company based on a hypothetical 8-month project, measured in "days of effort saved" by a project manager who applies the skills learned in Project Solutions' most popular programs. PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND EARN 1 PDU (for $9.95). < Download PDF >   <Online Test> (4 PDUs) Embracing the Dragon's Tail: Range Estimation of Project Cost & Schedule (Parts 1 & 2) John M. Nevison, PMP A good estimate helps you build a robust plan and saves time, effort, and money. Part 1 will define range-based estimating for a "Five Sigma" plan. Part 2 introduces hands-on project-duration estimation techniques to answer the question, "When will the project be finished?" Learn practical rules of thumb and shortcuts to address the most common estimating problems. Be better equipped to deal with biased estimates, padded estimates, and negotiated work assignments. PRINT & READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE (for free) AND EARN 4 PDUs (for $39.95). < Download PDF >   <Online Test> (5 PDUs) Multi-project Management: Executing the Details of Project Portfolio (Parts 1 & 2) John M. Nevison, PMP  Manager Brown's January How does a busy manager coordinate the work of the department with the work of several projects going on within the department? Manager Brown is an illustrated example of how one manager solves the "multi-project" problem and boosts the productivity of everyone in the department. Most white-collar workers split their time between project work and functional work, or between several projects. What is the minimum set of requirements that allows them to complete their work? How do an individual worker's needs drive what the company must provide? What is the challenge to senior management in practical terms, and can the challenge be met? The detailed worked example shows how Excel spreadsheets and Microsoft Project project schedules combine to make the job easier. PRINT & READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE (for free) AND EARN a total of 5 PDUs for $49.95. < Download PDF >   <Online Test> (1 PDU) Bad Estimates Aren't Worth the Risk (A revision of True Estimates Reduce Project Risk) Mark R. Durrenberger, PMP . PM Network Learn a technique for estimating project cost or schedule duration that allows for (and incorporates) the varibility of professional work. PRINT & READ THE ARTICLE (for free) AND EARN 1 PDU (for $9.95). < Download PDF >   <Online Test> (1 PDU) How not to Run a Meeting  John M. Nevison, PMP  A meeting is a golden opportunity to waste a great many people's time. Here' s how to take full advantage of the situation. READ THE ARTICLE (for free) and EARN 1 PDU (for $9.95) < Download PDF >   <Online Test>