WEBVTT NOTE Copyright (c) GoSkills Ltd, 2013 00:00:04.515 --> 00:00:06.340 Hi, this is Ray Sheen. 00:00:06.340 --> 00:00:08.900 Let's talk about Project Management Credentials, and 00:00:08.900 --> 00:00:12.492 in particular, the Project Management Professional credential. 00:00:12.492 --> 00:00:15.326 The Project Management Professional, 00:00:15.326 --> 00:00:18.916 or PMP, is a globally recognized certification. 00:00:18.916 --> 00:00:22.567 To obtain this certification, the individual must demonstrate both knowledge 00:00:22.567 --> 00:00:24.970 and experience in project management. 00:00:24.970 --> 00:00:29.040 It's not just an academic credential, it's also a practical one. 00:00:29.040 --> 00:00:32.550 The PMP is awarded by the Project Management Institute, which is a global 00:00:32.550 --> 00:00:36.250 association of professionals in the project management community. 00:00:36.250 --> 00:00:40.480 The Project Management Institute awards other credentials in addition to the PMP. 00:00:40.480 --> 00:00:43.190 One is the Certified Associate in Project Management, 00:00:43.190 --> 00:00:45.210 which is an entry level credential. 00:00:45.210 --> 00:00:48.730 It doesn't require as much experience and the exam is less rigorous. 00:00:48.730 --> 00:00:50.780 Then there are two advanced level credentials, 00:00:50.780 --> 00:00:53.480 the Program Management Professional, known as the PgMP, 00:00:53.480 --> 00:00:57.690 and the Portfolio Management Professional, known as the PfMP. 00:00:57.690 --> 00:01:02.290 The PgMP is appropriate for those individuals who are managing a family 00:01:02.290 --> 00:01:06.620 of projects that are integrated and delivering on a common goal. 00:01:06.620 --> 00:01:07.710 The PfMP is for 00:01:07.710 --> 00:01:11.730 the individual who has oversight over a large portfolio of programs, projects and 00:01:11.730 --> 00:01:15.960 initiatives that are implementing a strategic business objective. 00:01:15.960 --> 00:01:18.890 Finally, at this time, there are four special level project 00:01:18.890 --> 00:01:22.020 management credentials that are awarded by PMI. 00:01:22.020 --> 00:01:25.520 These are for individuals who are focused on special projects or 00:01:25.520 --> 00:01:27.360 activities within a project. 00:01:27.360 --> 00:01:31.310 They demonstrate that the individual is a subject matter expert in those areas. 00:01:31.310 --> 00:01:34.540 The four credentials are a scheduling professional, a risk management 00:01:34.540 --> 00:01:38.660 professional, a professional business analyst and agile practitioner. 00:01:39.860 --> 00:01:44.270 Let's talk about what is needed to be eligible to receive the PMP credential. 00:01:44.270 --> 00:01:46.860 Always check the Project Manager Professional handbook before 00:01:46.860 --> 00:01:48.230 starting to apply. 00:01:48.230 --> 00:01:52.580 PMI will periodically change the requirements on application process, but 00:01:52.580 --> 00:01:55.660 the latest requirements are found in this free handbook 00:01:55.660 --> 00:01:58.490 that can be downloaded from the PMI website. 00:01:58.490 --> 00:02:00.740 Well, let's look at each of the requirements. 00:02:00.740 --> 00:02:03.750 The requirements start with the experience and education. 00:02:03.750 --> 00:02:05.120 These two are combined. 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:07.840 The amount of experience required is based upon the highest 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:11.100 level of academic achievement the individual has attained. 00:02:11.100 --> 00:02:15.390 If your education stopped at a secondary school or high school degree, or 00:02:15.390 --> 00:02:18.650 an Associate Degree, you will need more experience than if you earned 00:02:18.650 --> 00:02:22.660 a Bachelor's Degree or its equivalent from a college or university. 00:02:22.660 --> 00:02:23.860 With a Secondary Degree or 00:02:23.860 --> 00:02:29.170 Associate's Degree, you need to have 5 years, that is 60 months of experience. 00:02:29.170 --> 00:02:31.640 This does not mean 60 consecutive months. 00:02:31.640 --> 00:02:35.020 There can be a break in the time that you were working on projects. 00:02:35.020 --> 00:02:37.880 But it is 60 non-overlapping months. 00:02:37.880 --> 00:02:39.550 Let me explain. 00:02:39.550 --> 00:02:43.550 Let's say you worked on five projects, each of them was one year long. 00:02:43.550 --> 00:02:46.600 If they were consecutive, you would have 60 months. 00:02:46.600 --> 00:02:48.736 But if they were running at the same time, 00:02:48.736 --> 00:02:53.700 you would only have 12 actual calendar months when you were doing project work. 00:02:53.700 --> 00:02:57.640 In addition to the months, you must also be able to document that you spent at 00:02:57.640 --> 00:03:03.720 least 7500 hours doing project management related activities during those 60 months. 00:03:03.720 --> 00:03:06.790 That means that the project management work was about three-fourths of your work 00:03:06.790 --> 00:03:08.364 during that time period. 00:03:08.364 --> 00:03:11.350 There is no requirement that you have the title Project Manager, 00:03:11.350 --> 00:03:13.790 just that you are doing that type of work. 00:03:13.790 --> 00:03:15.252 If you were a core team member, 00:03:15.252 --> 00:03:19.222 you were likely doing a number of project management activities within your team. 00:03:19.222 --> 00:03:22.540 You were probably involved in planning, executing and 00:03:22.540 --> 00:03:25.300 controlling the activities of the project. 00:03:25.300 --> 00:03:27.340 If you have a four year college degree, 00:03:27.340 --> 00:03:29.920 the amount of experience required is reduced. 00:03:29.920 --> 00:03:34.180 You only need 36 months or 4500 hours of experience. 00:03:34.180 --> 00:03:35.280 In addition to the experience, 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:39.230 you need to have 35 hours of direct project management education. 00:03:39.230 --> 00:03:42.060 These 35 hours could be from just one course or 00:03:42.060 --> 00:03:44.310 a combination of several programs. 00:03:44.310 --> 00:03:46.101 This could have been a university course, or 00:03:46.101 --> 00:03:49.050 it could be through a business seminar like this one. 00:03:49.050 --> 00:03:53.240 This course you are taking now will count towards your 35 hours. 00:03:53.240 --> 00:03:57.040 The next requirement is that you prepare and submit the PMP application. 00:03:57.040 --> 00:03:59.110 This is not a trivial exercise. 00:03:59.110 --> 00:04:00.859 You must document all those hours and 00:04:00.859 --> 00:04:03.348 months of experiences on the PMP application from. 00:04:03.348 --> 00:04:05.528 You can't just send in a resume. 00:04:05.528 --> 00:04:09.850 I’ll talk about the application in more details in another lesson. 00:04:09.850 --> 00:04:11.598 Next is to pay the appropriate fees. 00:04:11.598 --> 00:04:15.120 Your fees will vary depending upon your PMI membership. 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:17.970 Again check the handbook for the current fees. 00:04:17.970 --> 00:04:19.730 Finally, you must pass the exam. 00:04:19.730 --> 00:04:22.600 I'll talk about that in another lesson, also. 00:04:22.600 --> 00:04:26.240 Once you have obtained the PMP credential, you need to maintain it. 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:30.460 This is to ensure that you maintain your proficiency in project management. 00:04:30.460 --> 00:04:33.660 I recommend that you download the Continuing Certification Requirements 00:04:33.660 --> 00:04:37.035 handbook, which spells out everything you need to do to maintain your 00:04:37.035 --> 00:04:38.420 PMP credential. 00:04:38.420 --> 00:04:42.340 I'll highlight a few points, but this is something that periodically changes, so 00:04:42.340 --> 00:04:44.740 check the handbook for the current details. 00:04:44.740 --> 00:04:48.160 The certification cycle for PMP is every three years. 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:49.770 You don't need to retake the exam, 00:04:49.770 --> 00:04:53.550 as long as you are maintaining your proficiency in other ways. 00:04:53.550 --> 00:04:56.160 You need to earn 60 professional development units in 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:57.690 each three-year period. 00:04:57.690 --> 00:05:01.430 Now, Professional Development Unit, or PDU, is essentially an hour's 00:05:01.430 --> 00:05:06.130 worth of time involved in improving your skills or giving back to the profession. 00:05:06.130 --> 00:05:10.070 Since you have three years to earn the 60 PDUs, you should pace yourself and 00:05:10.070 --> 00:05:12.500 try to earn about 20 each year. 00:05:12.500 --> 00:05:15.822 PDUs are segregated into two different activity categories. 00:05:15.822 --> 00:05:19.290 There is formal education to improve skills and knowledge. 00:05:19.290 --> 00:05:22.940 And there is giving back activities that are practical application of project 00:05:22.940 --> 00:05:26.250 management to the profession or for other organizations. 00:05:26.250 --> 00:05:32.480 Of the 60 PDUs in a three year cycle, at least 35 hours have to be education PDUs. 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:35.781 Which means that, at most, you can only take credit for 00:05:35.781 --> 00:05:38.650 25 hours of giving back activities. 00:05:38.650 --> 00:05:43.300 And recently, PMI, further categorized the education PDUs into three types, 00:05:43.300 --> 00:05:47.610 leadership, project technical knowledge and strategic and business knowledge. 00:05:47.610 --> 00:05:51.660 PMI wants PMPs to earn PDUs in all three areas. 00:05:51.660 --> 00:05:55.090 So their requirement is that a minimum of eight PDUs 00:05:55.090 --> 00:05:57.760 must be earned at each of these three categories. 00:05:57.760 --> 00:06:00.520 That adds up to 24 PDUs. 00:06:00.520 --> 00:06:04.740 The remaining 11 educational PDUs can be in any of the three categories. 00:06:04.740 --> 00:06:07.840 The method for recording PDUs has been changing recently. 00:06:07.840 --> 00:06:11.540 So check the handbook to determine how to get credit for your activities. 00:06:13.449 --> 00:06:17.820 Well as you can see, the PMP is a rigorous professional credential. NOTE Copyright (c) GoSkills Ltd, 2013