Key Steps To Obtaining And Maintaining Your Project Management Certification

There are a number of educational offerings, college degree programs and professional certifications that use the term "project management." However, the recognized leader in this particular field is the Project Management Institute (PMI), which offers a "family of credentials" supporting the project management profession, its certified practitioners and their continuing professional development.

Worldwide, there are some 300,000 holders of PMI's various credentials, working in every imaginable type of business and industry from communications and construction to health care and high-tech. Membership in PMI is not a prerequisite to holding one of its credentials, which include the following:

- Project Management Professional (PMP)
- Certified Associate of Project Management (CAPM)
- Program Management Professional (PgMP)
- PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)
- PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)

The PMP certification

The credential that PMI awards most often, and the one on which this discussion will center, is the PMP credential. The awarding of this credential reflects a high level of project management acumen, as well as strong organizational and leadership skills. Eligibility for the PMP credential requires that applicants meet certain criteria, consideration of which will aid in the assessment of education, experience and practical, professional knowledge as defined by PMI's Project Management Book Of Knowledge (PMBOK).

For a PMP certification, you must meet or exceed the following guidelines:
- You need a minimum of 35 hours of specialized project management courses.
- If you do hold a Bachelor's Degree (or global equivalent), you will also need a minimum of three years' as a professional project manager, within eight years of your application date, with 4,500 hours as a leader/director of project tasks.
- Absent the Bachelor's Degree or equivalent, you need a minimum of five years as a professional project manager, again within eight years of your application date, with 7,500 hours as a leader/director of project tasks.

You must pass a four-hour examination that is designed to assess your project management skills and relevant knowledge. After you establish your eligibility, PMI will e-mail you examination scheduling instructions and the "eligibility code" that you need to schedule an exam time. The credential exam itself consists of a number of multiple-choice questions to be completed in a predetermined amount of time, all of which are based on the PMBOK. However, since a new edition of the PMBOK was released at the end of 2008, the Third Edition should be used for exams taking place prior to June 30, 2009, while the new Fourth Edition will be used for all exams taking place after that date.

Ongoing training and education

Whereas a Bachelor's Degree is earned once and last a lifetime, the PMP certification, like all PMI certifications, is renewable on a "three-year cycle." Once you become a PMP credential holder, you must participate in PMI's "Continuing Certification Requirements" (CCR) program. Your certification/CCR cycle starts on the day that you pass your exam, and expires on that same date after three years.

The CCR program requires you to continue your training and education through approved professional development courses, seminars and activities, in which you will earn your "professional development units" (PDUs). For the most part, you will earn one single PDU for each hour (60 minutes) you spend in a structured, approved activity. The PMP credential requires you to obtain 60 PDUs during each three-year cycle.

Training providers

Upon introducing its CCR Program in 1999, PMI staff realized that PMP credential holders had to have flexible and accessible ways to earn their PDUs. PMI's own seminars, conferences and "Global Congresses" were to be augmented by a worldwide network of approved training providers adhering to PMI-determined criteria. The Registered Education Providers program was launched to do this.

The REP program includes a wide range of colleges, universities, government agencies, corporations and private commercial training firms. PMP certificate holders can find REP program members today in more than 70 countries. This is extremely important to a profession that is global in scope and moves at the pace of business, which seems constantly to be accelerating.

Staying ahead of the curve

With a requirement to stay current with project management philosophy, best practices, changing technologies and public/private initiatives, PMP certificate holders are well advised to follow a few simple, straightforward tips to maintain their credentials. Common sense is a big component, and you may already know what to do to, but here are a few reminders:

- Do not procrastinate. Develop a schedule and a strategy for getting those PDUs as your first three-year cycle begins. For subsequent cycles, you can even start before the anniversary date.
- Keep a single folder for all of your PDU paperwork, and make copies of each document to be safe. If one or more of your reporting forms is selected for a random audit, you will be glad you did this.
- Report all of your activities immediately upon completion. This will make it that much easier for you to complete your "Activity Reporting Form."
- Don't forget to transfer PDUs from one three-year cycle to the next. You are allowed to transfer as many as 20 PDUs that you earn during the last year of the current cycle.
- Be sure to have the "registered program numbers" for your REP classes, as they are required on your Activity Reporting Form.

Into the future

You get your Bachelor's Degree once, and keep it for life, but continuing education is a non-negotiable requirement for maintaining current PMP credentials. Of course, it is entirely to your advantage for you to participate in continuing educational activities, and of various kinds. It tells your peers, your employers, your employees and your clients that you are a dedicated project manager and leader who is committed to ongoing professional development.

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