Are you a PMI® credential holder? Do you also hold a PMP certificate? Then this article will be useful for you!
All PMI® certifications except CAPM® certification (Certified Associate in Project Management), need holders to string along with the Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) Program. The aim of this program is to ensure that your skills and certified capabilities are up-to-the-minute. Generally speaking, it involves earning Professional Development Unit (PDUs) to maintain PMP certification.
The PMP certification cycle lasts for 3 years during which you need to earn 60 PDUs to renew the PMP® certification at the end of 3 years. On completion of a single cycle, a new 3-year cycle begins.
In case you fail to earn 60 PDUs at the end of the cycle, your credential will be suspended for one year. If the PDUs are not secured within the suspension year, the PMP certification will no longer be valid and will need to start from the beginning with a new application.
Maintaining a PMP® certification with CCR program
As soon as you pass the exam, your first CCR cycle begins and ends at the end of 3-years of passing the exam. So, you need to renew your PMP® certification before the end of the 3-year certification cycle.
This program is designed to help the Project Managers to grow in their profession. With the advancement in the business environs, PMI decided to provide the ideal skill set which can be referred to as a PMI Talent Triangle™. The PMI Talent Triangle consists of the 3 skills:
Technical Project management
Leadership
Strategic and Business management expertise
According to the Pulse of Profession report by PMI, champions (organizations that are successfully implementing a project) are prioritizing the development of technical skills (76% versus 19% of underperformers), leadership skills (76% versus 16% of underperformers), and strategic and business management skills (65% versus 14% of underperformers)—these are all critical areas illustrated in the PMI Talent Triangle®
1) Technical Project Management:
This type of skill-set consists of knowledge and behaviours related to the Project, Program, and Portfolio Management. It also contains the technical knowledge of the project activities. E.g. Let’s consider that you are working on a ‘pipeline construction’ project. As a Project Manager, you should have technical knowledge of the materials used in the construction and you should be aware of the various kinds of testing methods.
2) Leadership:
The second arm of the talent triangle is Leadership skills. This type of skill-set consists of Leadership specific knowledge and behaviours to achieve the organizational business goals. This skill-set is for the long-term success of the Project Managers. Examples include negotiation, communication, problem-solving, conflict resolution, motivation, coaching, etc.
3) Strategic and Business Management:
The third arm is about the knowledge and expertise to enhance the organization’s performance and delivers the best business outputs. The examples of Strategic and Business management expertise includes product and industry knowledge, business awareness, marketing, customer, and innovation strategy alignment, finance marketing and many more.
Earning PDUs for PMP® certification is a hassle-free and less expensive process and some PDUs can be earned free of cost. Here is a guide which will tell you how we can earn PDUs after the completion of PMP® certification. PDUs can be earned in two ways-
A. Education PDUs B. Giving back PDUs
1) Education PDUs:
Education PDUs can be earned in the following 3 ways-
Online or in-person courses and training offered by PMI’s Registered Education Provider (REPs)
Continuing Education (professional meetings and local events)
Self-driven learning
From Education PDUs, you can earn maximum 35 PDUs. Out of 35 PDUs, 8 PDUs consists of technical Project Management skills + 8 PDUs in Leadership skills + 8 PDUs in strategic business management skills. These 3 skills-sets are referred to as a ‘PMI Talent Triangle’ by PMI®.
2) Giving back PDUs:
Giving back PDUs includes the sharing of knowledge and applying skills to contribute to the profession. This includes-
Creating knowledge
Giving a presentation
Creating content
Working as a practitioner
Sharing knowledge
Volunteering
From giving back PDUs, you can earn maximum 25 PDUs from this category. Here are the ways of earning PDUs in this category.
Working as a Professional: a maximum of 8 PDUs can be earned from this category
Volunteering and Creating Knowledge: rest of the PDUs are earned under this category.
Also, the project managers can also claim PDUs for the activities like-
Taking courses from PMI registered education providers, universities, or your organization
Attending webinars and seminars
Attending the events offered by PMI chapters or other organizations
Reading, participating in self-directed learning activities
Creating presentations on new project management knowledge
Volunteer works
On the job hours
Working as a practitioners
The fastest way to get a block of PDUs in all the three categories is by attending a training course. This way not only helps in gaining the project management knowledge but also earning more PDUs. This way of earning PDUs is more effective in terms of gaining PDUs too early. Also, this enhances your skill-set and adds a paperweight to your resume along with the PDUs.
Here are some of the Project management related courses that can help learn more about project management and earn more skills.
1) PRINCE2® course:
You can earn 16 PDUs from this course.
PRINCE2® (PRojects In Controlled Environments) is a Project Management methodology that allows you to handle any complex project in a diverse environment. This method is practiced worldwide and the certifications are considered authentic if the training institute is an Accredited training organization (ATO) of PEOPLECERT and a certified partner of Axelos.
2) ITIL® course:
You can earn 25 PDUs from this course.
ITIL® training provides an understanding of the project related best practices and implementing these practices to streamline the processes for continuous improvement. It is highly recommended that you take this course from the institute which is an Accredited Training Organization (ATO) of PEOPLECERT and a Certified Partner of Axelos for ITIL® Trainings.
3) PMI-ACP® course:
You can earn 21 PDUs from this course.
The Project Management Institute- Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® is a widely accepted certification in the Agile community. This course shows the competency of an individual in carrying out a project in any circumstances using Agile practices. For this course, select the institute which is a Registered Education Provider (REP) of Project Management Institute (PMI®).
Being a PMI® member, if you are PMP®, PfMP®, PgMP®, PMI-PBA® certified then you need to earn at least 35 PDUs from Education Category, 25 PDUs from Given back to the profession category
8 PDUs from each category of Talent triangle. Also, you can grab maximum 8 PDUs from ‘Giving back to the Profession’ by ‘Working as a Practitioner’ and all 60 PDUs from education category.
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Future Demand for PMP® professionals-
According to the Project Management Institute®, the demand for project management professionals will explode by 2020. Below is the graphical representation of the new job vacancies worldwide for project management role.
Bringing it all together
Keep in mind that your PDUs can be examined and you could be asked to provide justification of your learning any time. So, it is better to earn your PDUs only from accredited organizations. There are various genuine ways to learn, create and claim PDUs to stand out in the market. I hope this information will help you in earning PDUs the way you want!
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Kevin D. Davis is a seasoned and results-driven Program/Project Management Professional with a Master's Certificate in Advanced Project Management. With expertise in leading multi-million dollar projects, strategic planning, and sales operations, Kevin excels in maximizing solutions and building business cases. He possesses a deep understanding of methodologies such as PMBOK, Lean Six Sigma, and TQM to achieve business/technology alignment. With over 100 instructional training sessions and extensive experience as a PMP Exam Prep Instructor at KnowledgeHut, Kevin has a proven track record in project management training and consulting. His expertise has helped in driving successful project outcomes and fostering organizational growth.
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