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Nancy Petersen, PMP

Presented at KC PMI Mid-America Chapter of PMI chapter meeting on 11/10/08

Advance Your Career with the RIGHT PMI Certification for YOU

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Key ObjectivesThis session will be a overview and comparison of

the five PMI certification programs.

When you leave tonight, you should know:• What are my choices and what do they mean?• How do I pick what is right for me?• How will this certification help me when I am

applying for a job?

4http://www.pmi.org/CareerDevelopment/Pages/AboutPMIsCredentials.aspx

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7,500 hours spent leading and directing project tasks

4,500 hours spent leading and directing project tasks

Who Should Apply?Those who lead and direct cross-

functional teams to deliver projects within the constraints of schedule,

budget, and scope.

What do PMP Candidates Do?Candidates are responsible for all

aspects of individual projects for the life of the project.

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Who Should Apply?Candidates for the CAPM credential contribute to projects as a subject matter expert and team member. They also serve as a project sponsor,

facilitator, liaison or coordinator.

What do CAPM Candidates Do?Candidates are responsible for individual

project tasks in his or her area of expertise (e.g., finance, marketing, legal, customer care, market research, fulfillment processing). The

responsibility does not need to be industry specific, but must be relevant across many

functional areas and industries.

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Who Should Apply?Project team members with

advanced expertise in project scheduling management.

Note fewer hours of experience required as compared to the PMP

What do PMI-SP Candidates Do?Candidates are responsible for creating and maintaining the

project schedule.

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Who Should Apply?Project team members with

advanced expertise in project risk management.

Note fewer hours of experience required as compared to the PMP

What do PMI-RMP Candidates Do?Candidates are responsible for

identifying project risks and preparing mitigation plans.

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Who Should Apply?Those who manage programs that contain complex

activities that span functions, organizations, geographic regions and cultures; build credibility,

establish rapport and maintain communication with stakeholders; possess advanced skills in finance, cross-cultural awareness, leadership,

influence, communication, negotiation and conflict resolution.

What do PgMP Candidates Do?Candidates ensure the ultimate success of the program; modify programs and make decisions that advance strategic and business objectives; define and initiate projects and assign project

managers; and oversee multiple projects.

6,000 hours project mgmt

10,500hoursPgm

mgmt6,000hours

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What is Best for YOU?

• What are your career goals? Which certifications support these goal?

• How does this certification help in the job market? Informal www.Monster.com study on 9/19/2008 with keyword search criteria of

PMI certifications below, Occupations selected—all 5 categories of project management, nation-wide search.– CAPM, 38 jobs found; job titles—Project Controller, Project Manager, Project

Specialist, Project Lead, Project Coordinator, Project Planner, SAP Project Lead, etc.; nothing in the KC area. (Note that CAPM also stands for Capital Asset Pricing Model.)

– PMI-SP, 439 hits but cannot separate PMI from PMI-SP.– PMI-RMP, 436 hits but cannot separate PMI from PMI-RMP.– PMP, 960 hits.– PgMP, only 9 hits; job titles—Program Manager, Project Director, Consultant,

Technical Project Management, Global PMO Manager, nothing in the KC area.– Project management, over 5,000 hits nationally; 31 hits for KC area (20 mile radius).– Program management; 2,356 hits nationally; 15 hits for KC area (20 mile radius).

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What is Best for YOU?• No college degree or still an undergraduate student?

– CAPM is highly possible IF the applicant can show 1,500 hours of project team member experience or 23 hours PM education.

– Other certifications may be a stretch if no PM experience.

• College graduate?– Any certification; dependent upon number of years/hours of experience and

education requirement.– Strategy—obtain CAPM and then obtain one of the remaining certifications as

experience and education increase.

• Cost?– CAPM fee is lowest ($225), next PMP ($405), next either the PMI-SP or PMI-RMP

($520), and most expensive is the PgMP at $1,500. (Note these prices apply to PMI members.

• Is there a required progression?– No, Actually the certifications are independent of each other with exception of the

CAPM which might be a predecessor to obtaining another PMI certification.

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FAQS• What qualifies as ‘project management education’?

– PMI registered education provider*– PMI Component Organizations*

• Courses offered by PMI R.E.P.s PMI Components (chapters, specific interest groups, colleges), or PMI, are pre-approved for contact hours in fulfillment of the educational eligibility requirement.

– Employer/company-sponsored programs– Training companies or consultants– Distance-learning companies, including an end-of-course assessment– University/college academic and continuing education programs– PMI Chapter meetings—IF at least one hour of the meeting is spent conducting a

learning activity, the hour(s) spent in that activity can be counted.

• What does NOT qualify as ‘project management education’?– PMI Chapter meetings—that do NOT contain at least one hour of a learning

activity.– Self-study (e.g., reading books)– You cannot document a degree program in its entirety although you may be able

to document applicable classes.

FAQs• Will my company pay for exam preparation classes and/or other project

management coursework that meets the definition of project management education as defined by PMI?

– STOP—there is no one answer!– Company tuition reimbursement benefits—These plans normally require that

the provider be an accredited college or university in pursuit of a degree. PMI and KC Mid-America chapter are NOT accredited and therefore will probably NOT qualify for the tuition reimbursement benefit. Check with your HR department to obtain the correct interpretation of your benefit.

– Training expense—Some companies provide budgeted funds for each employee to spend on training. Ask your management FIRST before assuming that you will be reimbursed.

– Pay your own way—remember this is all about managing YOUR career!

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FAQS• What do I study for each of the certification examinations? Reference

for each Certification– General note—PMI global would not release the pass/fail score for any of

the examinations.– CAPM—A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK

Guide)—Third Edition and other current project management sources.• The CAPM exam takes questions from all chapters.• 150 questions; includes 15 pre-test (unscored).

– PMI-SP—PMBOK and other current project scheduling sources.• Questions in area of Schedule Mission Statement, Schedule Creation, Schedule

Maintenance, Schedule Analysis, Schedule Communication/Reporting.• 170 questions; includes 20 pre-test (unscored); pass/fail to be determined.

– PMI-RMP— Project and Program Risk Management: A Guide to Managing Project Risks and Opportunities (PM Handbooks) and other current risk management sources.• Questions in area of Risk Communication, Risk Analysis, Risk Response Planning,

Risk Governance.• 170 questions; includes 20 pre-test (unscored); pass/fail to be determined.

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FAQS• What do I study for each of the certification examinations? Reference

for each Certification--continued– PMP—A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)

—Third Edition and other current project management sources.• The PMP exam takes questions from all chapters.• 200 questions; includes 25 pre-test (unscored).

– PgPM—The Standard for Project Management by Project Management Institute and other current program management sources.• Evaluation 1 – Application Review: The initial evaluation occurs through an

extensive application review during which a panel of program managers will perform a review of your professional project and program management experience. (Takes a minimum of 10 days for response to application.)

• Evaluation 2 – Multiple-Choice Examination: Multiple-choice examination in which you are called upon to demonstrate your ability to apply your knowledge to both situational and scenario-based questions.

• 170 questions; includes 20 pre-test (unscored).• Evaluation 3 – Multi-rater Assessment (MRA): Once you pass the examination, you

will be moved to the final evaluation. Similar to a 360-degree review process, a team of raters that you select will assess your abilities to perform tasks that are pertinent to program management.

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FAQS• How is classroom instruction counted towards the education

requirement for each certification?– One hour (60 minutes) of classroom instruction equals one contact hour. If

you have completed a university or college course on any project area [as specified for each certification] that met for three hours per week for 15 weeks, you would document 45 contact hours. If only a portion of a course dealt with the project area [as specified for each certification], only the hours spent on the project area [needed for your certification] can be applied toward the total.

• When was each credential launched; how many awarded certifiction?– CAPM launched in 2003; 5,708 credential holders.– PMP launched in 1984; 295,413 credential holders.– PMI-SP launched March 2008; 99 credential holders since September.– PMI-RMP launched June 2008; 21 candidates; first certifications to be

awarded in December.– PgPM launched Oct. 2007; 118 credential holders.

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Closing• Please refer to the Credential Handbook for each certification. These

handbooks can be found at http://www.pmi.org/CareerDevelopment/Pages/Obtaining-Credential.aspx

• Read the FAQs at http://www.pmi.org/CareerDevelopment/Pages/Certification-FAQ.aspx

• Ask a question at customercare@pmi.org

Thanks for your attention and participation.

Disclaimer: None of the material presented in this deck is necessarily representing the opinions or practices of Sprint.

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About the Speaker• Nancy Petersen, PMP, has been an active member of the KC Mid-America

Chapter of PMI since 2000 and has held several volunteer and Board positions for the chapter. She was the first VP of Volunteers in 2006 and initiated that program, VP of Administration in 2007, and currently the Director of Student Membership.

• Nancy earned her PMP in January 2005 after participating in and leading PMP study groups over a four year period. She understands that the decision to spend the time and invest money to prepare for and take the examination is a serious step and can only be justified by each individual based upon their own career goals.

• ‘By day’ Nancy is a Project/Program Manager SME at Sprint in the HR PMO, following six years as project and program manager for the IT organization. She has worked for other major companies in the Kansas City area as well as operating her own consulting business, Allegro.

• ‘By night’ Nancy enjoys several hobbies as well as her volunteer work for the chapter. Most recently she donated three small ‘mosaic’ items for auction by the Greater Kansas City Humane Society and collectively they raised $375!