PMI Certifications and Their Role in Project Management

 

Every trade has a trade association, which is an organization that represents the industry and provides training or networking opportunities. Project management is no exception.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) is a non-profit organization that serves project managers all around the world. If you have even a passing interest in the field, you've come into contact with PMI. After all, it has millions of members all across the world.

It provides project management training and PMI Certifications as an organization, and it reports on industry developments regularly. The Project Management Institute also establishes the industry standard for ethics. Given its enormous significance, it's critical to understand PMI and its history.

Quick PMI Information

The PMI footprint is massive. The group supports over 2.9 million industry professionals and has over 500,000 members in 208 locations worldwide, with 300 chapters and 10,000 volunteers.

It conducts research, trains students, creates industry standards, publishes a journal, arranges conferences, and provides an internationally recognized certification.

The Project Management Institute updates its A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge regularly, using input from industry volunteers and approval from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

PMI's History

But where did PMI begin? What are the roots that support this project management behemoth? It dates back to the 1960s when project management was first recognized as a specialty in the aerospace, construction, and defense industries. The PMI seed was sown in these businesses.

In 1969, Jim Snyder of Smith, Kline & French Laboratories and Gordon Davis of the Georgia Institute of Technology were eating dinner in Philadelphia when they realized there was a need for an organization that provided a venue for project managers to share knowledge and discuss their profession.

Later that year, the budding group held its first formal meeting at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Following that, the five PMI founders signed and filed articles of incorporation in Pennsylvania.

PMI's Objectives and Standards

Around the same time, PMI focused part of its energy to defining industry standards. This was accomplished through the formation of a Professional Liaison Committee, which collaborated with the Technology, Research Policy, and Education Committees. It also collaborated with the American National Standards Committee and the International Project Management Association from Europe. Those efforts had been formalized into project management processes and methodologies by 1980. PMI published the first Project Management Body of Knowledge in 1996. (PMBOK).

Under the guidance of then-President Virgil R. Carter, PMI increased its membership to 90,000 in 120 countries throughout the 1990s. Gregory Balestrero led PMI for a decade after Carter, beginning in 2002. PMI's current president is Mark Langley.

Certification

PMI created a certification program to recognize project management abilities and expertise. The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification was first offered in 1984 and has since become an industry standard. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) approved PMP in 2007, and as of July 2018, approximately 876,000 persons had this certification.

To apply for PMI certification, a person must have domain experience, educational degrees, or both. A candidate must have three years of project management experience, 4,500 hours of project leadership and directing experience, and 35 hours of project management coursework with a four-year degree to qualify.

If the candidate possesses a secondary degree, such as a high school diploma, associate degree, or similar, they must have five years of project management experience, 7,500 hours of project leadership and directing, and 35 hours of project management instruction.

The PMP certification exam consists of 200 multiple-choice questions based on the PMP guidebook. Candidates can review test content online and practice with example questions. PMI chapters and authorized Registered Education Providers also provide formal study courses (REPs). There are also self-study materials available from REPs and other respectable training companies. It is also critical to understand A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide).

Other Certifications Besides the PMP

PMP is only one of several certificates provided by PMI. There is a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification, which is an entry-level certification that requires less project experience than the PMP.

Program Management Professional (PgMP), Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP), PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP), PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP), and PMI Professional in Business Analysis qualifications are also available (PMI-PBA).

There is also an OPM3 Professional certification, which stands for Organizational Project Management Maturity Model and is a best-practice standard for analysing and building capabilities in executing strategy in projects through portfolio management, programme management, and project management.

Project Management Ethics

PMI recognises that a project manager is a decision-maker, and that decisions have an influence on people, resources, and surroundings. As a result, their decisions are frequently ethical rather than merely business-oriented. Decisions like this can create quandaries and even hazards, leaving a project manager perplexed as to the best course of action. This becomes increasingly difficult when project managers disagree with stakeholders.

With its Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and ethical decision-making framework, PMI seeks to wade into these ethical waters and provide some guidance. There are several publications, papers, and webinars available on the subject. As a resource for project managers, the organisation also provides an ethics complaint and review mechanism. Questions, complaints, or ideas can be sent to a PMI Ethics Member Advisory Group member.

PMI Conferences

PMI, like most trade groups, hosts a number of industry events. The PMI EMEA Congress 2019 will be held in Dublin, Ireland, in mid-May. There will be keynote lectures, worldwide perspectives on project management, and an opportunity to network with colleagues in the field over the course of three days.

Regional SeminarsWorld events are also held throughout the year to provide in-depth multi-day instruction on a certain topic. They provide hands-on teaching and customised attention in a small group environment with practical applications and real-life solutions from seasoned specialists

A Mega SeminarsWorld is similar to the one described above, but it includes a greater range of popular SeminarsWorld courses as well as morning keynote speakers and coordinated receptions.

The organisation also hosts the PMI Global Conference, which draws thousands of project managers from across the world. It is a three-day educational programme that covers all industry methods, methodologies, and technologies. There will be keynote lectures, tailored breakout sessions, and opportunities for networking.

The PMO Symposium is a forum for the exchange of best practises and fresh insights into project management techniques and procedures. It also offers networking events and workshops. The event is designed for executives and leaders who manage a portfolio of projects, programmes, and initiatives.

PMI Awards

The PMI awards professionals that exhibit talent, passion and know-how in their area. These prizes are PMI Fellows Award, which is the most prestigious award. PMI Fellows Award, which is the most highly regarded individual award presented by PMI that recognizes the contribution to the profession and organization.

The PMI Eric Jenett Project Management Excellence Award honors individuals who contribute significantly to project management by demonstrating leadership technical project management as well as business and strategic management skills.

This award is awarded to the PMI Young Professional Award is intended for project managers who are young who are making an important contribution to the advancement of managing projects within the organization. improving knowledge and understanding of project management and demonstrating exceptional PMI standards, practices , and ethics.

Awards are available given to projects, like PMI Project of the Year, PMI Project of the Year, PMI Project Excellence Award and the PMO of the Year Award.

PMI Resources

One of the guiding principles of PMI is the provision of sources to professionals working in project management. There are plenty, like the certification and training programs as well as their various events however, they are also a web-based portal.

PassYourCert.net is a knowledge portal offering project managers a place to create and explore articles and participate in a diverse community. There are online study sessions, also known as the PMchallenge to aid you in enhancing your project management skills and abilities. If you are able to answer the questions correctly the correct answer, it's displayed in your personal profile.

There are also tools that can help you in areas like Agile, lifecycle management of applications Budgeting and forecasting changes management and much more. There are sections that aid in the development of your career and standards for project management, academic project management, and help for novice practitioners.

There are webinars available on the website that are live as well as on demand. They also offer PDU qualified actions which can be reported to PMI members. PMI members could be reported directly to PMI to ensure that you are up-to-date with the status of certification.

This, along with templates and an extensive library of relevant articles for the industry create PMI online an excellent source and a further example of the way the organization helps an industry sector that's contributed an abundance of support to them.