Project management certification gains strength

InTech, Jun 2006 by Abraham, Scott R, Boetticher, Gary D

You might think earning more money would be the number one reason someone would participate in a certification program for project managers. But a survey by the Project Management Institute (PMI), a non-profit project management professional association, reveals most people who participated in their certification process wanted to increase their knowledge. PMI identifies project managers who have satisfied a standardized set of requirements and validates this knowledge with the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

Since project managers assume responsibility for more than $300 billion in software projects alone, a mechanism for identifying competent mangers is vital to organizations' economic viability. Common ways of assessing project managers include a review of academic records and professional background. Unfortunately, a global environment makes it difficult to effectively compare and contrast various backgrounds. One method of addressing this issue is through certification. Professional certifications can provide a common baseline for project managers.

One major criticism of certification programs is they only prove professionals are book smart but may not have the hands-on experience needed in today's business environment. However, it does offer employers a baseline for new hires. And since project managers must periodically re-certify, they are continually exposed to new ideas and projectmanagement knowledge.

Successful project management is a growing worldwide initiative-nearly 25% of the world's gross domestic product goes to software development. At the center of these vast resources are project managers who will manage and direct all project activities. In an ideal world, the perfect manager would always work on each project. In practice, an organization might hire an unqualified person.

Is PMP for you?

A standardized external assessment could help distinguish the cream of the crop in project managers. Since certification has international recognition and may play a role in any project manager's career, each project manager must decide whether or not to pursue certification. This involves assessing the risk (time investment) versus the reward (career advancement).

Before starting a program of your own, you should familiarize yourself with the pros and cons of PMP certification. How relevant is it? If a certification process is going to serve as an accepted benchmark within the project management community, you need continuous assessment of the process itself. Does it embrace current technical and managerial innovations? What are the risks and rewards associated with attaining and maintaining PMP certification? How difficult is it to attain certification?

In July 2004, international membership accounted for 33% of the total PMI membership. Considering the predicted international growth in project management services, we can expect corresponding growth to occur in international PMI membership in the near future.

Survey says

In order to help project managers evaluate this decision, we surveyed 750 project management professionals from 61 nations regarding their experiences and perceptions of PMP certification. Of those surveyed, 145 answered questions about the merits of attaining PMP certification. From those, 114 were PMP certified.

The majority of responses came from the U.S. (59%), followed by Canada (11%) and Australia (4%). Overall, the survey respondents were highly educated; over 50% had a graduate degree or higher. Nearly 90% had a 4-year degree or higher. More than 50% of respondents fell into the salary range of $75K to $100K per year.

Respondents had an opportunity to supply their job title, giving us 88 unique job titles, grouped into 6 different categories, based on similar functionality (project manager and software manager), similar domain (academia and research), and rank (executive). More than 75% considered themselves managers.

Knowledge number one

The number one response to what motivated respondents to seek certification was to further their knowledge (79 respondents), followed by to advance their career (76 respondents), and to increase prestige and/or respect (68 respondents). The motivation to increase earning power came in fourth. One respondent said, "I sensed that in the coming years, it might be a requirement to have the PMP certification at my workplace and other workplaces." Another respondent wanted PMP certification to "be a part of a legion of people who are building a new profession (project management) that can change the way the world does work."

When answering questions about the benefits associated with certification, respondents stayed close to their motivations. The top three responses were, furthering knowledge (87 respondents), increasing prestige and respect (75 respondents), and advancing career (53 respondents). The last question asked how certification impacted earning power. Over one-third of respondents said they experienced no improvement in earning power (58 respondents). No response came from 33 respondents, and 18 respondents said they experienced a 10%-20% increase. An overwhelming majority (88%) would definitely pursue certification again.