Project Management Institute
The Project Management Institute (PMI) is a non-profit professional organization for the project management profession with a purpose of advancing project management. It is said to provide a range of services to the profession of Project Management, which include development of standards, research, education, publication, networking-opportunities in local chapters, hosting conferences and training seminars, and maintaining multiple credentials in project management. Project Management Institute also provides an all-inclusive certification program for project practitioners of all education and skill levels. The program consists of five credentials, where both the commitment to the profession and your expertise is demonstrated through certifying education, experience and competency, thereby ensuring that you and your projects excel.
The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers the following certifications:
- Project Management Professional (PMP)
- Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
- Program Management Professional (PgMP)
- PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)
- PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)
A brief about each of these certifications offered by Project Management Institute is given below:
1. Project Management Professional (PMP):
It is a diploma which is offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI), a globally respected organization. It is said to produce trained and experienced professionals as a result of cracking this mentally stimulating exam. It is generally considered as a true litmus test of professional and project managing calibre.
Eligibility criteria for a Project Management Professional Certification:
It requires the candidate to have a high school, college or bachelor’s degree with immense work experience. Two assorted groups of professionals undertake this exam online –
- Candidates who hold a college degree and have undertaken 4,500 hours of consecutive project management work for a period of 36 months, during the past 5 years
- Candidates without a college degree, with 60 months of consecutive project management work experience of total 7,500 hours in a period of eight years
- Candidates who have undergone project management training of a total of 35 hours in a period of 10 years
However, the projects handled by these candidates need to include 5 key management issues of initiating, organizing, executing, monitoring and closure of the projects handled. It is not necessary that all the five issues be part of the same project, it could be distributed equally across the accumulated work experience.
Benefits of attaining Project Management Professional Certification:
Since the basic requirement for PMP Certification is that the candidate needs to have the expertise and skill sets to create, manage and successfully execute a business project, it means that a PMP certified candidate is fully capable of leading a team, while considering the project budgets and utilize the available resources to the maximum possible extent. Following is a brief about the benefits associated with the PMP certification.
Monetary Benefits:
It is a guaranteed fact that PMP certified candidates get impressive and scrumptious pay packages, while also considering factors such as the size, nature, industry and scope of the company as well as the personal drive, determination, education, experience and skill sets of the individual. According to a survey conducted in the United States on candidates who have undertaken the project management professional certification, each project manager was found to earn approximately a minimum of $82,200.
Other benefits –
The scores of the PMP certification exam are valid for a period of three years, after which 60 PDUs are to be earned through learning and approved project management work experience so that the certification is maintained.
Some tips prior to PMP Certification enrolment:
Study Time
A candidate attending an exam of such magnitude in terms of professional leverage, monetary benefits and academic qualification, needs to spend exhaustive amount of time in study and preparation. It is a proven fact that a dedicated study of six months would be sufficient to clear the exam in the first attempt.
PMBOK Handbook – Project Management Body of Knowledge
Described as the PMP Bible, this book is said to be an encyclopaedia in PMP certification, as it contains research, reference material, theories, lessons and descriptions of the field of Project Management. Considered as the examinee’s lifeline, it is a general belief that most of the exam questions come from matter available in the PMBOK and it is therefore wise to be thorough in the material provided in this book.
A brief about the PMP Certification exam:
a multiple choice exam which tests the candidate’s knowledge in the field of project management
Some of the subjects that are covered include – corporate, social and personal responsibility, finance, communications, men, materials, methodology, risk, time frame, planning, delegation, decision making and execution of plans, control and many more aspects of project management work.
2. Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM):
It is an entry level certification for new project managers or team members. It has been developed with a purpose of demonstrating the value of individuals to project teams. It is said to help the individual improve contributions to projects, besides enabling them to demonstrate project management terminology and process. In case of students, it is designed to help give the individual an initial point from where they can start looking for employment.
This course offers the following benefits:
- A thorough understanding of PMI’s approach to project management is unravelled
- The structure of CAPM exam is understood
- The candidate is familiar with all sections of the PMBOK
- Various tricks, tips, techniques, and templates can be possessed by the candidates which thereby helps retain information for the exam
3. Program Management Professional (PgMP):
This is a credential offered by Project Management Institute (PMI), wherein an exciting global standard of best practices is defined for program management professionals. It also recognizes the experience and skills required to oversee multiple, related projects at a strategic, program management level within an organization.
The course equips the candidate with the knowledge and skills to effectively navigate the program management discipline, including the 47 processes and 12 knowledge areas of The Standard for Program Management 2nd Edition. It also enables alignment of the program management experience with PgMP terminology and definitions, besides identifying the required steps to complete the exam application and meet the required criteria.
Benefits offered by this course:
program management standards could be elevated to internationally accepted best practices
methods of aligning your projects and programs to the strategic goals and objectives of the organization can be learnt
superior business benefits can be achieved by efficient management of related projects as a program instead of a separate project management
common project challenges could be overcome by utilizing a program management structure
This course could be taken up by professionals who are interested to learn modern applied program management. It is said to include program and portfolio managers, department and functional managers, experienced project managers, senior executives, and PMP certified professionals.
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP):
This course is particularly useful for those professionals who use agile practices in their projects, or if their organization adopts Agile approaches to project management. By undertaking the PMI-ACP course, one can demonstrate their level of professionalism to employers in Agile practices of project management and also increase their professional versatility in both Waterfall and Agile techniques.
There exists quite a lot of demand for Agile practices in many industries and organizations, who chose to deliver projects more quickly, with reduced wasted labor and costs, the main reason being ill-defined requirements.
PMI Risk Management Professional(PMI-RMP):
This credential is offered with an aim to respond to increasing growth, complexity and diversity of project management. It claims to be a certification course which fills the need for the role of a specialist in project risk management. The unravels the candidate’s unique expertise and competency in assessing and identifying project risks, qualifying threats and capitalizing on opportunities, while mastering the basic skills in all areas of project management.
This course also addresses the need for project practitioners to distinguish their roles and contributions in the critical area of project risk management.
PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP):
The fact that scheduling management is a critical aspect of a project is reiterated in this course which is offered in response to the growing demand for roles of advanced expertise in critical areas of project management, wherein projects are getting bigger, more complex, and more universally diverse. The requirement for project practitioners to distinguish their roles and contributions in this critical area of scheduling projects is addressed through this certification program.
This course is especially meant for professionals who would aspire to demonstrate skill and competence in the specialized area of project scheduling. The role of a specialist in a project team can be filled by showcasing your specialized expertise in project scheduling to employers, while enhancing and improving the basic project management skills. The basic eligibility criteria for this course is a four-year degree (bachelor’s or the global equivalent), with at least 3,500 hours of project scheduling experience and 30 hours of project scheduling education. A secondary diploma (high school or the global equivalent) would also suffice with at least 5,000 hours of project scheduling experience and 40 hours of project scheduling education.