Project Management Professional

Project Management Professional (PMP) is a credential offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI). As of 30 June 2009 ( 2009 -06-30 ) , there were 359,973 PMP certified individuals distributed globally.

The credential is obtained by documenting 3 or 5 years work experience in project management, completing 35 hours of project management related training, and scoring a certain percentage of questions on a written, multiple choice examination.

Exam syllabus

The PMP exam is based on the PMP Examination Specification ., which describes tasks out of six Performance Domains :

Initiating the Project (11%)
Planning the Project (23%)
Executing the Project (27%)
Monitoring and Controlling the Project (21%)
Closing the Project (9%)
Professional and Social Responsibility (9%)

The exam consists of 200 multiple choice questions written against this specification. The numbers in parentheses describe the percentage of questions for each domain.

Item references

Each exam item (a question with its possible answers) has at least two references to standard books or other sources of project management. Some of the questions reference the PMI A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge ( aka the PMBOK Guide).

The Project Management Framework embodies a project life cycle and five major project management Process Groups :

Initiating
Planning
Executing
Monitoring and Controlling
Closing

encompassing a total of 42 processes.

Mapped to these five process groups are nine project management Knowledge Areas :

Project Integration Management
Project Scope Management
Project Time Management
Project Cost Management
Project Quality Management
Project Human Resource Management
Project Communications Management
Project Risk Management
Project Procurement Management

Project management process groups.png

The processes of these knowledge areas are described by their inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs. They help PMP professionals in developing and practicing specialization in one or more of the areas. For example, a PMP may specialize in Plan Quality, Perform Quality Assurance, and Perform Quality Control - the three processes that make up the Knowledge Area of Project Quality Management.

Purpose

Government, commercial and other organizations employ PMP certified project managers in an attempt to improve the success rate of projects in all areas of knowledge, by applying a standardized and evolving set of project management principles as contained in PMI's PMBOK Guide.

Professionals obtain the credential to verify their proficiency in project management with an internationally accepted certificate. It has proven especially helpful for project managers trying to find jobs or self-employed project managers selling their services to customers.

Many contractors hire certified PMPs to make their bids and proposals more attractive to prospects. Sometimes, IFBs or RFPs require that project managers must be certified PMPs.

In December 2005, the PMP credential was tied for fourth place in CertCities.com’s 10 Hottest Certifications for 2006 , and in December 2008, it was number 7 of ZDNet’s 10 best IT certifications .

Examination process

The PMP exam is offered as a computer-based test through the global network of Prometric testing centers. There is also a paper-based option for locations with no Prometric testing centers nearby. The exam consists of 200 questions (" items "). 25 are pre-release items, which are not included in exam scoring. The score is calculated based on the other 175 items. Each item has a key (the correct answer) and three distractors (incorrect answer choices).

Candidates who take the computer-based test receive their results (passed or not passed) immediately upon completion. PMI also evaluates proficiency levels in each project management process group from high proficiency to low proficiency in a score report which the candidates receive after the examination. Candidates who take paper-based tests receive their test results and score reports typically within 4 weeks.

Item writing

Item writing is an ongoing process at PMI and new items (questions with 4 answering options each) are added to PMI's collection of exam items while others may be removed from it from time to time. Item writers use the PMP Examination Specification to identify item contents and references (project management texts or standards) to verify the correctness of the item. Individuals who are active in the field of PMP exam preparation (trainers, courseware developers, book authors, etc .) are not allowed to participate in item writing sessions.

Pre-requisites to become eligible

Candidate must verify a high school diploma or an Associates degree with 60 months (7,500 hours) of PM Experience, or a Bachelor's degree with 36 months (4,500 hours) of PM Experience. In both cases candidates must also have 35 contact hours of project management education. The application for the exam and verification of education and experience are done online at the PMI website.

Language aids

PMI offers official language aids for the exam in 12 languages:

English
Arabic
Chinese (simplified)
Chinese (traditional)
French
German
Hebrew
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Portuguese (Brazilian)
Russian
Spanish

Continuous Credential Requirements (CCR)

To maintain the PMP qualification, 60 Professional Development Units (PDUs) must be earned over a three-year cycle, from activities such as researching, authoring articles, or speaking on Project Management-related topics, or being engaged full time in project management.

Other PMI credentials

PMP (Project Management Professional) is one of five credentials offered by PMI:

CAPM Certified Associate in Project Management
PMP Project Management Professional
PMI-RMP PMI Risk Management Professional
PMI-SP PMI Scheduling Professional
PgMP Program Management Professional

References

^ PMI Today, August 2009 issue, page 17
^ Project Management Professional (PMP) Examination Specification . Project Management Institute. September 2005. ISBN 9781930699885.
^ ^a ^b "PMP Credential Handbook" (PDF). Project Management Institute . http://www.pmi.org/PDF/pdc_pmphandbook.pdf . Retrieved September 18, 2009 .
^ PMBOK Guide Fourth Edition
^ Nagel, Becky (December 14, 2005). "CertCities.com’s 10 Hottest Certifications for 2006". CertCities.com . http://certcities.com/editorial/features/story.asp?EditorialsID=95 . Retrieved September 18, 2009 .
^ Dignan, Larry (December 11, 2008). "The 10 best IT certifications" . http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=11189 . Retrieved September 18, 2009 .
^ "Maintain Your Credential". Project Management Institute . http://www.pmi.org/CareerDevelopment/Pages/MaintainYourCredential.aspx . Retrieved September 18, 2009 .

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Published:

29.03.10 / 10pm

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Project Management

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