Jan

What is the role of Project Resource Management in projects?

iCert Global Project Management 0 2020-01-21 2219

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What is Project Resource Management?

What is a Resource?

The resources are assets required to carry out a certain task or project. Resources are assessed and allocated before the project begins. They are the main catalysts of project management. In simple language, anything that is required to deliver the project on time is a resource. Resources can be people, equipment, skillset, space, tools, finances and time.

What is Project Resource Management?

The efficient use of all the resources by planning, estimating and acquiring all the resources is Project Resource Management. According to Project Management Body of Knowledge, 6th Edition (the PMBOK Guide),

‘Project Resource Management includes the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of the project.’

Resources are a vital part of the project. Managing and optimizing resources is very important in order to complete the project effectively within available resources. This will determine how much revenue you bring from the invested resources.

Why Project Resource Management is important?

Project resource management is important because it gives an overview of everything and everyone involved in the project. The optimal utilization of all the resources available results in maximum efficiency and minimal waste.

In short, Resource management is all about working on “doing more with less”.

The resource managers are responsible for allocating the resources required to complete the project successfully within the allocated budget and time. Poor resource management is one of the main reasons for project failure.

What are the advantages of Project Resource Management?

There are many advantages of effective resource management:

1. Enhances productivity: Appropriate identification of capability and skill set of the resource enhances productivity.

2. Optimum utilization of resources: The main aim of resource management is to utilize all the resources available in an efficient manner. The best of all the resources can be witnessed in structured resource management.

3. Avoids unforeseen obstacles: Resource management enables you to know all the details of the resource availability, risk, quality requirement, budget and time. So, the obstacles can be avoided before it occurs.

4. Prevents stress and exhaustion: The team’s workload is effectively distributed according to the capabilities, skillset and required quality. The overallocation and dependency are managed well with structured resource management.

5. Control over budget: The optimal usage of the resource within the availability enables to monitor and control the budget.

6. Transparency throughout project life-cycle: The framework and the bandwidth of the resources allocated is transparent which enables to analyze and improve the team performance.

What are the processes involved in Project Resource Management?

There are 6 Project resource management processes in three phases of project management.

In the Planning phase:

Planning resource management

Planning Resource Management process is a process of identifying the required resources, equipment for the required for the project activities. Planning resources include preparing the user guide document to identify, acquire, manage and monitor the required resources for project activities. Human resources can be identified by networking.

Estimating activity resources

The process of estimating the type and amount of resources required for each project activities. The main objective of estimating resources is to plan the resource requirement for the overall project. The type and quantity of the resources are estimated in this process. This process is carried out in the planning stage of the project lifecycle. The various inputs, tools and techniques and outputs are involved in this process.

In the execution phase:

Acquiring resources

The process of acquiring the resources like team members, types of equipment and other resources required for the project delivery. The main objective of this process is to ensure there is no shortfall of resources required for the project.

Developing the team

The process in which the stakeholder or project manager improve the knowledge, skills and techniques of the team members as per the requirement of the project quality. This improves the competencies and enables the interaction between the team members enhancing the quality of the project.

Managing team

The process of tracking and recording the performances of the team and managing by giving feedback, resolving issues, managing conflicts and optimize the project performance according to the project requirement. The main objective of this process is to improve the overall performance of the team and enhance productivity.

In monitoring and controlling phase:

Controlling resources

The Control Resources process aims to fulfil all the resource requirement for the project activities. It ensures all the resources allocated are according to plan. The probability of change requests is high in resource management. Therefore, controlling the resources and monitoring according to the resource plan management is highly essential.

What are the techniques of Project Resource Management?

Some of the important techniques for effective Project Resource Management are:

Resource Allocation

Depending on their availability and skills, the resources are allocated to perform the project activities. Resource allocation is a process of assigning human resources along with equipment and materials required to complete the task within the assigned time. The project managers are responsible to identify the resource and assign the work. The allocation can be done in an effective way by following the tips given below:

Know the objective of the project thoroughly
Identify the resources according to their capabilities and skills
Know the dependencies of the resource
Track the schedule of the resource required.

Resource Scheduling

The estimation of the resource required to complete the project activities within the specified timeframe. There are two categories in resource scheduling.

Reusable resources
Consumable resources

Reusable resources can be human resources, software, space, machinery, tools.

Consumable resources can be money, time, materials.

There are three steps involved in resource scheduling:

Allocation-In this step project managers decide what type of resource is required to finish the task
Aggregation- Splitting of resources over the project life cycle.
Scheduling- Schedule the resources according to the availability. When resources are limited, then the requirements are addressed through resource smoothing or resource leveling.

Resource Leveling and Resource Smoothing

The resource leveling and resource smoothing take care of limited resources. It generally avoids over-allocation and under-allocation. According to The PMBOK® Guide, Resource levelling and resource smoothing can be defined as,

“Resource leveling is a technique in which start and finish dates are adjusted based on resource constraints with the goal of balancing the demand for resources against available supply.”

“Resource smoothing is a technique that adjusts the activities of a schedule model such that the requirement for resources on the project does not exceed certain predefined resource limits.”

Resource Forecasting

The process of predicting future resource requirements ahead of time is resource forecasting. Resource forecasting helps to determine the potential risks and possible constraints. Understanding the availability and demand can help project managers to predict the resource requirement throughout the project cycle.

What are the best practices for Project Resource Management?

The best practices of resource management to successfully complete the project are:

Identify the resources which might fall short during the project lifecycle.
Prioritize the work considering all the aspects when dealing with shared resources.
Different ways of work can be adapted to meet the demand and supply.
Understanding that resource management runs throughout the project-lifecycle.
Create resource-breakdown structure.
Keep track of reporting time.
Limit multi-tasking
Record time spent on non-project work.
Don’t over-allocate the work.
Keep the resources motivated for better productivity.

What are the tools and softwares used for Resource Management?

The list of latest tools and software used for efficient resource management are:

Float
Resource Guru
Hub Planner
Saviom
Mavenlink
elapseit
Forecast
Productive
10,000ft Plans
eResource Scheduler

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17

Jan

Benefits of Using a Gantt Chart in Project Management!!

iCert Global Project Management 0 2020-01-17 2041

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What are the Benefits of using the Gantt Chart in Project Management?

It’s never easy managing a project. In fact, it is very challenging and the project manager is the important driver for the project’s success. Project Manager will require all the resources possible and that includes tools and techniques in achieving the positive outcome for the project. There are a lot many tools employed by the project manager and this blog will deal with one of the significant and specialty tools called Gantt Chart.

What is the Gantt Chart in Project Management?

Wikipedia describes the Gantt Chart as a “ type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule and shows the dependency relationships between activities and current schedule status.”

Gantt Chart, in simpler terms, is a Data visualization tool that depicts in a graphical format by mapping the tasks and activities of a project against time. All the activities performed in a project are outlined in the chart in an organized order displaying critical information.

The information presented on the Gantt Chart specifies the tasks of the project, the resources assigned to the task, duration of the task, and also the activities that might overlap. Gantt Chart helps the Project Manager to plan, schedule, track, and manage all the tasks effectively.

What is the History of Gantt Chart

Joseph Priestly in his “Charts of Biography” introduced the idea of bar charts in 1765. William Playfair in 1786 pioneered the Gantt Chart in his Commercial and Political Atlas. Karol Adamiecki, a Polish engineer built something close to Gantt Chart in his construction project in the year 1896. Then came an American Engineer named Henry Gantt introduced his version somewhere between 1910 to 1925 that rose to prominence and became popular in the form of mass adoption in a very short span of time. Gantt Charts were used in wartime during 1917-18 for the tracking of arms and ammunitions. Wallace Clark’s book named “The Gantt Chart – A Working Tool of Management“ released in the year 1923 mentioned Gantt Chart, which by then became an official term. With the passage of time, the adoption of the Gantt Chart kept growing in a wide range of domains and fields.

What is Gantt Chart Elements?

What is Gantt Chart Elements

A typical Gantt chart is made up of several elements. The various elements in a Gantt Chart are detailed below:

Tasklist: depicted on the extreme left of the Gantt chart, the task list that runs down vertically describes the project work. The tasks can be grouped together and it is possible to create sub-groups.

Timeline: depicted as the horizontal bar that runs on top of the Gantt Chart. In order to keep track, the time is displayed in terms of months, weeks, days, and years

Dateline: depicted as a vertical line on the Gantt chart. that highlights the current date

Bars: depicted on the right side of the Gantt Chart. as horizontal markers, the bars display the tasks, duration, progress, tasks’ start dates and end dates for project completion.

Milestones: depicted as yellow diamonds, Milestones show up between the Bars denote an important achievement in a project especially dates, goals, events and deliverables.

Dependencies: depicted as the light gray lines linking tasks, Dependencies specify the relationships between tasks and the execution of tasks in a specific order.

Progress: depicted as a percentage of completion in the form of shading in the bar indicating the progress made in the project work.

The resource assigned: depicted the resource (team member) or the team assigned to complete the task.

Benefits of Gantt Chart in Project Management

1. Get to know your projects

Gantt charts acts as a great visualization and prioritization tool as it provides the total overview of the project and presents critical information like resources deployed in the project, the tasks and its orders, the duration, the start and end dates, the dependencies, and progress made in the project at any given point in time. Hence, it’s a great tool for project managers to equip themselves with the information to plan, coordinate and manage the project.

2. Enhance communication and team organization

Communication is critical to the success of a project. A study observed in the public domain revealed that 86% of employees cited the communication gap and issues are the worst reasons for the failure of the project. With regard to ti communication Gantt Chart as very effective as it provides clarity in communication. Project managers use the Gantt Chart to find out ‘who is working on what tasks’, secure information and provide inputs in getting the tasks completed. The communication with the team members is enhanced as the same tool can be used for both communication and tracking, resulting in a better relationship as a team.

3. Eliminate resource overload

There could instances when resources could be tasked with more than the permissible bandwidth. It does happen in a project wherein resources could be overloaded or stretched out. Effective use of resources is facilitated by Gantt Chart that aligns with the project timeline. Resources can be delegated tasks without saddling with too much work, which helps the project manager in proper and effective utilization of resources.

4. Assess the progress of projects

Gantt chart helps in scheduling and also tracks the project’s tasks. This assists the project manager in keeping under check the progress made in the project and also enables in shifting strategy to introduce necessary changes in case of slippage of schedule or if the project is lagging behind in timeline. Gantt Chart can be used by the project members to update the percentage of work completed, which is useful to the project manager in making the whole team stay on one page and also ensure the project is making progress rightly as planned.

5. Monitor task dependencies and overlapping activities

The dependencies can at times slow down or even derail as some tasks are dependent to start only upon the closure of another task. Dependencies make project development difficult and complex to manage. Gantt Chart presents the dependencies of the tasks and helps in scheduling in such a manner that the overlapping can be totally eliminated. This ensures that there is no adverse impact execution of the tasks and the overall progress of the project.

6. Experience more clarity

It's easy to get lost in the maze of numbers or stuck in the project details to lose sight of where the project is heading. Gantt Chart provides clarity by enabling to see instantly the progress made in the tasks and also of the team members involved in the project. It builds a better understanding of how the project is shaping out and brings more clarity about the project’s outcome.

7. Practice better time management

Time is an integral and critical component of project management. The biggest benefit of using a Gantt Chart is scheduling. The Gantt Chart plays a significant role by helping the team members recognize the severity of their tasks and realize the impact in case of delay. Gantt Chart presents the big picture of the overall progress to plan better on the allocation of time on every task and get it done within the scheduled timeline.

8. Create a sense of accountability

Gantt charts highlight the milestones achieved, big wins scored, deadlines met and the deliverables, slippage in schedule, failures which allow the project manager and team members to keep a track of the progress made. It creates a sense of accountability is created in the workplace with the help of the Gantt Chart, thus enabling the project manager and team members to work out solutions in closing the gaps and work towards exceeding the expectations of the stakeholders.

Improve Project Success With These Project Management Skills

iCert Global Project Management 0 2020-01-16 1171

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Improve Project Success With These Project Management Skills

Project’s success highly depends on project managers and their skill sets to manage the project effectively. In today’s competitive talent pool, you need to acquire all the project management skills to become a successful project manager.

There is a thin line between a qualified project manager and a certified project manager. Qualified professionals possess all the skills required but certification validates their skills, education, experience, and expertise. Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification helps in improving the skills required to manage all types of projects. It opens the doors to go ahead in the career. The project management skills to be improved for project success are:

Leadership
Communication skills
Time management
Negotiation skills
Decision-making skills
Risk management

1. Leadership

A good leader has the ability to bring the best out of the team with soft skills. The motivated team always gives the best result. A project manager with great leadership qualities lead the team, manage a team, motivate the team and get the work done in an effective manner. The team should be led in both strategic and operation’s perspective.

Project managers can possess effective leadership quality by the following ways that can improve the success rate of the project:

Social- Influence: The performance of the team can be influenced by conformity, socialization, obedience and peer pressure. The productivity of the team can be improved by improvement in work culture. The opinions, emotions, and behavior team members are affected by the project managers.
Clarity: Clear vision towards goal. Without a clear vision of the consequences, the team cannot be led by the project manager effectively.
Inspire team members: Project managers should make things happen. The inspiring team is making team members work willingly.
Motivate team: The motivated team always gives the best result. The team can be motivated by appreciation, opportunities, and rewards.
Guidance: Project managers guide the team by providing all the required information clearly.
Setting Measurable goals: The common goals are to be set by project managers. The timeframe required to reach the objective is set to accomplish the common goals.

2. Communication skills

The impact of communication is very high in project success. Communication is one of the most essential skills required to improve the success rate of the project. The effect of the project manager’s communication has an impact not only on the project but also on clients and stakeholders. Communicating clearly is one of the primary responsibilities of project managers. The changes are to be communicated to all the team members. The following skills include the best practice of communication skills:

The following modes of communication can help in improving the success rate of the project:

Group meetings
Email
One-on-one meetings
Status reports
Updates
Telephonic call

Great communication skills include:

Active listening
Clarity in discussion
Confidence
Responsiveness
Respect
Reach on agreements
Result oriented
Addressing important issues
Resolving issues

Poor communication can mislead the project and result in project failure or delay.

3. Time management

Time management is the most important aspect of project management. Planning helps in setting goals and provide a definite path to reach the project objective. A strategic mindset is important for effective planning. Planning includes defining the project activities of each team member to achieve the project objective in constrained time without any obstacle.

It is completely project manager’s responsibility to deliver the project on time.

Keeping track on the project status and individual project activities helps in proper time management

The standardized time tracking tools and schedule templates are used to keep the transparency of the project.

4. Negotiation skills

Bringing a group of people to settle the differences in order to accomplish the common goal with the agreed resource, budget and time. A good project manager is always a good negotiator. Negotiation always comes with a settlement. In any disagreement, people bring out the best possible outcome. The project manager achieves a desirable outcome of the discussion if PM is a good negotiator. There are two types of negotiation

competitive negotiation
collaborative negotiation

The negotiation skills a project manager should possess to improve the rate of project success are:

An ability to set goals and limits in order to reduce conflict management
Excellent listening skills
Effective verbal communication skills
knowledge of when and how to close the negotiation.
Reducing misunderstandings is a key part of effective negotiation
Rapport Building.
Problem Solving.
Decision Making.
Assertiveness.
Dealing with Difficult Situations.

5. Decision-making skill

Decision making skill is the most important skill a project manager should possess. Some decisions on a daily basis are not much important but there are some critical decisions that lead the project to be successful. The character of the decision should be:

Rational
Unbiased decisions

The decision can be taken in the following steps:

Identify the problem – Recognize the problem in the project process and gather all the information required to take the rational and unbiased decision.
Summarize all the information
Figure out all the possible solutions– find all the possible solutions and ideal way to resolve preferably in a group. Consider all the points and do not ignore anything
Produce objective criteria – generate the measurement criteria to check the feasibility of the solutions.
Decide what is best – Make a decision based on what is best for the successful completion of the project within a constrained time.
Implement the solution – implement the solution decided
Track the results – Track the outcome of the implemented solution.

6. Risk Management

The project manager identifies the risk at an early stage to avoid the impact of risk on project progress later. To predict the uncertainties, the streamlined risk management process is carried out. Risk identification and analysis are done throughout the project lifecycle to reduce the impact on the resource, processes, technology, and schedule.

In risk management,

Identifying the source of risk - The potential risks are listed out based on the previous projects.

Risks identified are categorized in:

Technical
External
Organizational

Risk Analysis is done by performing two processes:

The qualitative Risk Analysis process

In order to set the risk priorities, the analysis is done on the probability of the risk, the impact of the risk on the project and other risk parameters affecting the project deliverables. The main objective of performing qualitative analysis is to predict and reduce the uncertainty of the risks.

The quantitative Risk Analysis process

Performing quantitative risk analysis is the process of numerically analyzing the effect parameters of identified risks on overall project activities. This process helps in further prioritization of risks, reducing the uncertainty.

Risk Responses are planned against the identified risk:

The process of developing action plans against the identified risks to reduce the overall impact on the project. Planning the risk responses involves selecting strategies and agreeing on the actions developed.

Implement Risk Responses process

The process of implementing risk responses involves executing all the actions planned against identified risks to reduce the uncertainty of the project.

Monitor Risks process

The process involves monitoring the implemented action plans against risk identified. This process involves tracking risk responses, analyzing new risks and reducing the risk factor throughout the project.

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15

Jan

Roles & Responsibilities of a PRINCE2-Certified Expert

iCert Global Project Management 0 2020-01-15 1705

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What are the Roles and Responsibilities of a PRINCE2 Certified Professional?

What is Prince2 Certification?

PRINCE2 stands for PRojects IN Controlled Environments. PRINCE2 is regarded as a common standard that enables both public and private sector projects to be executed with a common understanding of the processes.

PRINCE2 is one of the leading and popular project management professional certification course that is highly recognized and widely used. PRINCE2 is applicable to any project regardless of the scale, type, geography, organization or culture.

The delivery of products is focused on PRINCE2 more than carrying out activities. There must be a business vase and plan in PRINCE which have to be reviewed periodically.

PRINCE2 is a non-proprietary process-based methodology that is in the public domain and hence not therefore, users are not attached to any single organization for training, consultancy and support.

The structure of PRINCE2 includes:

PRINCE2 PRINCIPLES

7 Principles of PRINCE2

Continued business justification.
Learn from experience.
Defined roles and responsibilities.
Manage by stages.
Manage by exception.
Focus on products.
Tailor to suit the environment

7 Themes of PRINCE2

Business case.
Organization.
Quality.
Plans.
Risk.
Change.
Progress.

7 Processes of PRINCE2

Starting up a project.
Directing a project.
Initiating a project.
Controlling a stage.
Managing product delivery.
Managing a stage boundary.
Closing a project.

Roles of PRINCE2 Certified Professional

The jobs are not defined in PRINCE2, instead, the roles are defined detailed with responsibilities and it is not necessary that an individual is assigned to a role. There can be more than a person playing that role.

The important criteria are choosing the right person for the roles that come with its responsibilities and the person with the required skill set, knowledge, experience, expertise, leadership, competency, credibility and authority is the best fit.

There is an exclusive term in PRINCE2that comprises of the project manager, the project board and other roles that are optional. It is called Project Management Team.

For a project to be successful in PRINCE2, there must be three categories of stakeholders with a set of roles and responsibilities.

The project board roles and responsibilities are made up of three primary interests.

The Business interest – the value for the money is provided by the Business Case,

the User interest –project’s outputs are used to realize the benefits, or the user interest used to operate, maintain or support the project outputs.

The Supplier interest – the resources and skills are supplied to produce a project’s products.

The PRINCE2 project organization roles and responsibilities include 4 levels, which are,

1. Corporate or program management,

They are responsible for the Project Mandate, project-level tolerance definition, and identifying the executive. They are not apart of the project management team and are outside of it.

2. The Project Board

They are accountable for the success of the project by providing guidance and overall direction. The Project Board is also accountable for the project’s success or failure of the project, by supplying the required resources, approving the project funding and facilitating effective decision-making. The Project Board must possess the right level of authority, credibility, and ability to delegate. The Project Board Executive has the veto power on any decision making and is primarily responsible for the Business Case.

3. The Project Manager

The day-to-day management of the project is the responsibility of the Project Manager. The project board will lay down the constraints within which the Project Manager must manage within the project.

4. Team members

They are responsible for project delivery on time, within cost and desired quality.

Roles & Responsibilities of PRINCE2 Certified Professional

The Senior User roles and responsibilities

Who will use the project’s products will be represented by the Senior User. This also includes how the products will be to achieve an objective. The Senior User stipulates the benefits and held accountable by corporate or program management.

The Senior Supplier roles and responsibilities

The design, development, facilitate, procurement and implementation of the project’s products are represented by the Senior Supplier. The technical integrity of the project is the main responsibility of the Senior Supplier.

The Project Board

It is responsible for Project Assurance which comprises of assurance, business, user and supplier. Project Assurance can be performed by each project board member who may choose to delegate it. Project Assurance is not dependent on the Project Manager, rather it is independent. Project Assurance offers guidance and counsel to the Project Manager in managing the project. In the case of change requests, the Project Board should decide during the initiation stage if there is time to take up the changes or set up Change Authority who will own up the responsibility on their behalf. The Project Board should ideally comprise of six to eight members for effective decision making. If the number of persons shoots up, then it slows down the decision making process.

The Project Manager roles and responsibilities

is responsible for the project management, the delegation of responsibility to the team members and specialists for the creation of products. The project manager will assign work packages to the team which will be handled through a team manager.

The Team Manager roles and responsibilities

The Team Manager will assign the Work Packages to the team members and present the Project Manager with regular updates and Checkpoint Reports. It is the Team Manager who will manage the team members on a day-to-day basis.

Project Support

It is an optional role whose main roles and responsibilities are to provide administrative services to the project. Whenever required, it provides direction and guidance about the use of project management tools. It also provides configuration management. In the absence of Project Support, then the Project manager will have to manage by themselves.

Demand for PRINCE2 Certified Professionals

The PRINCE2 certification is an important asset to accelerate your career growth in project management.

A 2016 AXELOS survey interviewed project management professionals and other roles, like IT systems and operations and reported their findings as "regardless of function, candidates do find that PRINCE2 is valuable to their career".

According to Payscale.com, the average annual salaries for certified PRINCE2 professionals in the United States are shown below which was last updated on Nov 11, 2019

Average annual salary of PRINCE2 certified professionals

Do visit our Corporate Training to know more about core offerings for enterprises in empowering their workforce.

iCert Global conducts Project Management, Quality Management, Business Analysis, Agile, Scrum, and DevOps Certification courses across various locations in the United States.

Visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/ for more information about our professional certification training courses or Call Now! on +1-713-287-1213 / +1-713-287-1214 or e-mail us at info {at} icertglobal {dot} com.

Project Management Training by iCert Global:

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The company conducts both Instructor-led Classroom training workshops and Instructor-led Live Online Training sessions for learners from across the United States and around the world.

Please Contact Us for more information about our professional certification training courses to accelerate your career in the new year. Wish you all the best for your learning initiatives in the new year.

Which certifications are you aiming to achieve in the New Year? Let us know your thoughts in the 'Comments' section below. Thank you.

14

Jan

Agile PM: Iterative, flexible methods for faster delivery

iCert Global Agile and Scrum 0 2020-01-14 2333

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What is Agile Project Management?

Agile is an iterative and incremental method to develop software step by step taking frequent reassessment whenever required, instead of delivering the whole product after completion.

Agile Methodology is rapidly adopted by all types of organizations especially which cope with the turbulent customer-driven marketplace which resulted in rapid fame of Agile. The organization which adopted Agile Methodology observed a decrease in critical defects and an increase in productivity. It is considered highly successful and efficient.

In Agile Project Management, project activities are divided into phases termed as “Sprints”. Usually, a week span is allotted to each sprint. After completion, sprints are reviewed and evaluated by the managers. The feedbacks are taken from the stakeholders within a week. The project activities are completed within constrained time according to the feedback from the stakeholders.

Agile management relies heavily on teamwork, customer collaboration, time-boxing tasks and allows greater flexibility.

According to the 13th State of Agile Survey Report (2019),

71% of respondents adopted agile because it reduces project cost
74% of respondents adopted agile as it accelerates the software delivery
51% of respondents claim that adopting agile increases productivity
43% of respondents stated adopting agile enhances the product quality

Success of Agile Projects- State of Agile 12th edition

According to the report by EY: Digital Transformation for 2020 and beyond, Global Telecommunications Study, improved organizational agility is at the heart of successful digital transformation.

The book, Agile Project Management (APM) by Jim High smith, was one of the first attempts to broaden Agile techniques into a cohesive whole.

PMI, the world’s leading project management institute for Project Management Professional (PMP), has introduced Agile in their PMBOK – 6th edition. Incidentally, PMBOK-version 6 is the reference material for their flagship Project Management Certification (PMP) course. PMP is globally acclaimed and universally recognized, and benchmark certification in project management

What are the different methodologies of Agile?

The different Agile methodologies include:

Agile Scrum Methodology
Lean Software Development
Kanban
Extreme Programming (XP)
Crystal
Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)
Feature Driven Development (FDD)

Agile Scrum Methodology

Scrum methodology is an implementation of agile practices based on an iterative and incremental method. According to the 12th Annual State of Agile Report, The Scrum Methodology is most widely used amongst software development teams as it divides complicated tasks to user stories.

Agile Methodologies

The roles of product owner, scrum master and developer roles can be seen in this system.

Lean Methodology

Lean is an iterative methodology where the products are delivered through effective value stream mapping. The lean methodology was originally developed by Mary and Tom Poppendieck. Lean is an evolving methodology without any rigid rules and guidelines.

The main principle of Lean Methodology is to eliminate waste, fast delivery, team empowerment, continuous learning. Lean methodology eliminate waste by asking the customer to select only valuable features required. It relies on rapid and reliable feedback for faster productivity.

Kanban

Kanban is an agile methodology which relies on visual-based workflow. Kanban was developed on the production line of the Toyota factories in the 1940s. 83% of the teams using Lean methodology uses Kanban framework for continual delivery. Kanban promotes effective teamwork through continuous collaboration.

Kanban is based on 3 basic principles:

Visualize what you’ll do today (workflow automation)
Limit the amount of work in progress (WIP)
Enhance flow

Extreme Programming (XP)

Extreme programming (XP) is a disciplined approach with higher customer involvement, faster feedback, work on prioritization, continuous planning, continuous testing and closer teamwork to deliver high-quality software. XP is mainly based on four simple values:

Simplicity
Communication
Feedback
Courage

The customer and development work very closely in this method to define and set the priorities. The development team works on an iteration-by-iteration to deliver a high-quality product.

Crystal

The Crystal methodology is of the most lightweight and adaptable approaches based on team size, project priority and system criticality. The crystal methodology is comprised of a set of crystal families mainly for smaller teams. Crystal promotes early and frequent delivery of working software with high user involvement and the removal of distractions. Crystal methodology doesn’t rely on fixing tools and techniques. The core elements are people and processes.

Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM)

Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) is a common industry framework for rapid software delivery. Earlier it was called as Rapid Application Development (RAD). DSDM provides a comprehensive foundation for planning, managing, executing, and scaling Agile process and iterative software development projects. DSDM is based on eight key principles:

Focus on the business value and need
On-time delivery
Collaborate
Never compromise quality
Build incrementally from firm foundations
Iterative approach
Communicate continuously and clearly
Demonstrate control

Feature Driven Development (FDD)

Feature Driven Development (FDD) is a model-driven method with shorter iterations. It was built around software engineering best practices. The FDD is based on domain object modelling, developing by feature, and code ownership. It consists of simple activities:

Development of an overall model
Building a feature list
Planning by feature
Designing by feature
Building by feature

Combination of Agile Methodologies

The combination of other Agile Methodologies such as ScrumBan, Scrum/XP etc. are also used in different organizations as per the requirement of the company.

The proper scaling framework is required to implement the Agile Methodology. Scalable Agile Framework (SAFe) is the most used agile scaling framework which enables to implement Agile Methodology such as SCRUM at the bigger enterprise level.

Methodologies such as SCRUM, Kanban or combination of both (Scrumban) and frameworks such as Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Scrum of Scrums were developed to meet the long-term planning benefits and help organizations in scaling lean and agile practice.

What are the12 principles of Agile?

The 12 principles of Agile Methodology are:

Customer satisfaction through early and continuous quality delivery
Welcome changes according to customer’s needs and requirement
Business and development go hand in hand
A collaborative approach to work
Build projects around motivated individuals
Promotes sustainable development
Face to face clear conversation
A measure of progress is working software
Continuous attention to excellence
Simplicity
Self-organizing teams
Reflect for Effectiveness

Why adopt Agile project management?

Provides Clarity: Work is divided into phases termed as “Sprints”. Usually, a week span is allotted to each sprint. After completion, sprints are reviewed and evaluated by the managers. This way of approach provides more clarity and it also provides predictable cost and schedule.
Enhance quality: The feedbacks are taken from the stakeholders within a week, Stakeholder engagement increases the scope of improvement and to rectify errors (if any) in the early-stages. Regular feedback from customers enhance the quality of the product.
Encourages teamwork: It is a collaborative process which encourages constant learning and knowledge sharing. It brings out a positivity towards work culture as it encourages a team-based approach to development.
Faster Return on Investment (ROI) as Agile Methodology focus on fast product releases which justifies the business value.
Simple Prioritization: Setting out priorities made easier with Agile Methodology.
Reduces risk as adopting Agile Methodology eliminates the chance of absolute project failure.

What are the benefits of doing Agile Certifications?

Any Certification plays a key role in the career path as it holds solid proof of subject matter and continuous learning. The 10 benefits of doing Agile Certification is :

1. Agile certification is globally recognized and in-demand worldwide.

2. Recognizes your expertise in using agile practices in your projects, while demonstrating their increased professional versatility through agile tools and techniques.

3. Carries a higher level of professional credibility as it requires a combination of agile training, experience working on agile projects, and an examination on agile principles, practices, tools, and techniques.

4. Supports individuals in meeting the needs of organizations that rely on agile project practitioners to apply a diversity of methods to their project management.

5. Demonstrates your level of professionalism in agile practices of project management to employers and potential employers.

6. Increases your professional versatility in both agile project management tools and techniques.

7. Accelerates the scope of your career as an Agile Certified Professional with career advancement, professional growth, and increase in salary and earning potential.

8. Enables you to stand out from the crowd as an Agile Certified Professional. Professionals with formal scrum training and an Agile certification have higher salaries than those without an agile certification, according to the Scrum Master Trends Report 2019.

9. Expands your market reach as an agile certified professional and provides you with an opportunity to network with a vibrant community of agile professionals, related organizations, and experts worldwide.

10. Invest in your future. Invest in an Agile Certification to recession-proof your career. Agile professionals would retain their value even during a recession due to their strong and highly transferable core competencies.

Adopting Agile is not about being Agile or doing Agile, It requires a change in the mindset as well to adopt change in work culture resulting in clear product vision and roadmap.

Do visit our Corporate Training to know more about core offerings for enterprises in empowering their workforce.

iCert Global offers Agile based Certification:

Download our Free PMI-ACP Brochure for more information.

For more information on how iCert Global can help you to accelerate your career with Agile certification, please e-mail info {at} icertglobal {dot} org or call now on +1-713-287-1213/ 1214 / 1053 / 1355. Visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/

14

Jan

What exactly is involved in project stakeholder management?

iCert Global Project Management 0 2020-01-14 4985

What is Project Stakeholder Management?

Stakeholders are those who have a stake in the project and its outcome. The person or people who have invested in the project and affected by the project’s outcome are referred to as Stakeholders. It is absolutely necessary to communicate and constantly keep in touch with the stakeholders – which is ideally the best practice for good stakeholder management. When projects fail to deliver its outcome, the main cause is cited is the lack of communication between key stakeholders.

What is Project Stakeholder Management?

The success of any project depends on its fulfilment of the expectations of the stakeholders, which means the project has delivered on its promise. The management of stakeholders and influencing their expectations is the main responsibility of the project manager. It is the stakeholders who decide on the acceptance of the project delivery underscoring the importance of project stakeholder management.

Project stakeholder management involves identifying the people or groups, that can impact the project, analyzing stakeholder expectations for effectively engaging stakeholders through business strategies for project decisions and execution. It also focuses on constant and continuous communications with stakeholders for regular updates and conflict resolution and enhances stakeholder engagement.

The processes defined in Project Stakeholder Management are defined below:

Identify Stakeholders. The objective of this process is a stakeholder register.
Plan Stakeholder Management. The objective of this process stakeholder management plan.
Manage Stakeholder Engagement. The objective of this process issue log, change requests.
Control Stakeholder Engagement. The objective of this process work performance information, change requests

What is the difficulty in Project Stakeholder Management?

It can be conflicting views and objectives. One of the stakeholders who has a major stake might want a new feature or functionality which can be negated by another stakeholder wielding appreciable influence. And this is the reason to classify the stakeholders in order of importance and priority. And the role of the project manager is critical in balancing out the expectations to resolve differences and steer through the conflicts.

How do you classify the stakeholders?

The stakeholders can be classified using Stakeholder Analysis.

Even before the stakeholder management begins, it is important to identify the stakeholders. Stakeholder analysis is used to classify stakeholders by identifying their r needs and requirements. Everything boils down to need, which includes information need that’s crucial for stakeholder management.

The stakeholders and their relationships to the project manager are listed below.

Top Management

Top management is represented by the company’s CEO or CFO or Presiden, vice-presidents, directors, division managers, the corporate operating committee, and others. These are the people that direct the strategy and responsible for the development of the organization.

The Project Team

The project team can be made up of dedicated or even shared resources, and at times borrowed resources on a part-time basis are deployed. The project manager, need to provide leadership, direction, and support to team members in accomplishing their tasks.

Peers

The people at the same level in the organization as the project manager are called peers. Peers may or may not be as part of the project team and don’t have any responsibilities or accountability towards the outcome of the project.

Resource Managers

The resources that can be borrowed are not in the control of project managers as they can be controlled by other managers. So the relationship with those managers ought to be good for a smooth transition of resources moving in and out based on mutual understanding.

Internal Customers

Internal customers are the persons who are customers for projects within the organization. Inter customers meet internal demands and have the power to accept or reject the work. The project manager must get their buy-in early of the work about deliverables and update the customers about issues and address them as well.

External customer

External Customers are customers of a business or project that can be marketed and impact the quality of service and its value.

Government

Dealings with government departments which can include all or some levels of government from municipal, provincial, federal, to international.

Contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers

When companies don’t have the in-house expertise or lack of resources, the work is farmed out to contractors or subcontractors or suppliers.

How to analyze stakeholders?

All the potential stakeholders should be listed and analyzed by placing them into categories. The classification of the stakeholders is important as the interest of every stakeholder will vary and some stakeholders will prove to be more than the others. This stakeholder analysis will decide about the frequency of communication with the select group of stakeholders and the information to be communicated.

The stakeholders can be broken down into four categories:

· High power, highly interested people (Manage Closely): These stakeholders are the key players and should be engaged by making all efforts in satisfying them with regular updates.

· High power, less interested people (Keep Satisfied): These stakeholders must be kept satisfied not so much and again not less to the point of boring with communication inflow.

· Low power, highly interested people (Keep Informed): These stakeholders must be adequately informed and consulted with regard to their area of expertise to ensure no major problems arise.

· Low power, less interested people (Monitor): These stakeholders must be monitored by informing about general information again, and should not be burdened with excessive communication.

Culture of Stakeholders

It is possible that project stakeholders may not share a common culture, in which case, the project management must adapt its work processes to cope with cultural differences. The cultural difference that can affect a project is of three major aspects: Communications, Negotiations and Decision making.

Communication is the most critical aspect of differences in culture as Project managers may come across barriers with regard to languages and context. When the same language is not shared between stakeholders, it slows down communication and project execution as information exchange ought to be accurate and fast. Usually, the “need-to-know” information that is critical to the project is shared. When project stakeholders represent a different culture, the cultural influence can cause confusion in communication, negotiation and decision making.

Managing Stakeholders

Projects often have more than one stakeholder. more the number of stakeholders, the greater are the challenges as it adds on to the stress and complexity levels of the project. The emotional investment of the stakeholder and their influence on the project execution can impact the outcome. how does it make it so complex? Project stakeholders more often than not tend to agree or disagree which adds on to the complexity, and larger the stake then more is their say and influence of the project. So it is very vital for the project manager to manage the stakeholders by amicably solving the situation or the conflicts arising out of agreement or disagreement. This is one of the foremost reasons as to why the project manager’s role is very challenging.

How to Identify Project Stakeholders?

The process of stakeholder identification begins even before the project starts. The identification process starts no sooner the charter is approved by the sponsor.

Stakeholder identification is not a one-time exercise but a continuous process as new ones get introduced in the course of the project and old ones may pull out citing lack of interest. So this shuffle in terms of power and interest brings about the changes about the old and new stakeholders and hence it is important to identify and keep a tab about them.

Some of the techniques and documents that help in stakeholder identification are listed below:

Project Charter
Contract Documents
Procurement Documents
OPA and EEF
Interview the Experts
Brainstorming Sessions

Project Charter

A project charter contains the names of the project manager, sponsor, client, and key stakeholders.

Contract Documents

The contract agreement records the names of suppliers, and contacts representing the customer who have a stake in the project.

Enterprise Environmental Factors And Organizational Process Assets

The enterprise environmental factors and organizational process assets are sources to identify many stakeholders. Also, the stakeholder register and lessons learned documents from past projects will also disclose the stakeholders involved in the project.

Interviews with Experts

There is no need to interview all the stakeholders. The most influential ones are interviewed to gain insight and information to understand their expectation as a stakeholder.

Try to ask open-ended questions during the interview and consider keeping one team member with you to record important information.

Brainstorming Sessions

Brainstorming with team members and experts is one of the best strategies in extracting information from the stakeholders. This exercise will help in identifying the stakeholders who wield considerable influence in the project execution and objectives.

Top 50 Project Management Terms and Concepts to Learn!!

iCert Global Project Management 0 2020-01-13 1753

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Project management has its own glossary and first-timers, especially those new to project management may find it difficult to blend in without becoming familiar with the project management terms that are often used during their course of work. Every business has its own jargon and project management is no different. In fact, some terms are so common that they can be used in other fields and some terms are very unique.

So, here are 50 select project management terms that will be helpful to communicate and ensure the team members are on the same page.

A. General Project Management Terms:

1. Status Report

2. Scope

3. Project Plan

4. Requirements

5. Critical Path Method (CPM)

6. Project Manager

7. Project Stakeholder

8. Project Baseline

9. Deliverable

10. Project Portfolio Management

11. Agile Project Management

12. Waterfall Model

13. Project Budget

14. Project Timeline

15. Gantt Chart

16. Milestone

17. Dependencies

18. Start-to-start

19. Finish-to-start

20. Start-to-finish

21. Finish-to-finish

22. Work in Progress (WIP)

23. Work in Progress Limit

24. Bottleneck

25. Scrum

26. Sprint

B. Meeting Project Management Terms

27. Kickoff Meeting

28. Meeting Agenda

29. Meeting Minutes

30. Stand-up Meeting

31. Follow Up

C. Resourcing Project Management Terms

32. Resource Allocation

33. Resource Breakdown Structure

34. Resource Leveling

35. Resource Availability

36. Resource Calendar

D. Project Risk Management Terms

37. Risk

38. Risk Management

39. Risk Mitigation

40. Risk Monitoring and Control

41. Risk Owner

E. Issue Management and Bug Tracking Terms

42. Issue

43. Issue Management

44. Issue Tracking

45. Issue Log

F. QA Project Management Terms

46. Quality

47. Quality Planning

48. Quality Assurance

49. Quality Control

50. Quality Management Plan

General Project Management Terms

Status Report

Project status reporting is a formal report on the project progress mapped against the project plan. The purpose of the project plan is to communicate with the stakeholders about the project work, budget, resources, issues, and process.

Scope

A project’s scope defines what work must be done as agreed by the client and vendor. It is something that’s mutually agreed upon as a sphere of work. Scope makes it clear about what work needs to be done to deliver a project. It is a best practice to document well-defined scope and signed-off by the stakeholders so that only the mutually agreed work will be delivered.

Project Plan

A project plan is one of the most significant documents that cover the project scope and objective. A project plan is more than dates and numbers. And it need not be complicated. The project plan captures the project’s tasks, milestones, resources, deadlines, and deliverables. The project plan is used by project managers to be in constant communication with the team and stakeholders.

Requirements

The requirement is a specification of a need. Requirements describe the condition or capabilities of a system. They are the tasks that must be completed to ensure the success of the project. The requirements must be carefully recorded in a document for the benefit of the team and all stakeholders involved.

Critical Path Method (CPM)

The critical path is the longest sequence of tasks that must be completed on time in order for the project to complete as per the deadline. Critical Path Method determines the shortest time possible to complete the project. The most critical activities of the project are identified on the critical path. Each task/activity on the critical path cannot be started until its predecessor task or activity is complete. If there is a delay in one of the tasks under the critical path, there will be a delay in the deliverables.

Project Manager

The Project Manager is the person responsible for the end-to-end delivery of a project right from initiation to delivery and implementation. The project manager handles every aspect of the project that includes planning, managing scope, resources, cost, time, infrastructure and all other project-related needs.

Project Stakeholder

Project stakeholder is any party with an interest – be it direct or indirect, in the successful completion of the project. A stakeholder can be anyone from the project team, executives, sponsors, customers, or the end-users. Stakeholder refers to anyone who is affected by a project. They usually affect or are affected by the project decisions being taken over the course of the project lifecycle.

Project Baseline - The project’s baseline is defined as the original scope, cost and schedule and used to measure the deviation from the original plan.

Deliverable - It is the final or finished project or product that meets the expectations of the stakeholder in accordance to the contractual stipulations.

Project Portfolio Management

Project portfolio management (PPM) is the collective management of portfolios and their components. PPM is a series of projects or the collectively managed set of programs and projects. in order to achieve the organizational goals.

Agile Project Management

Agile Project Management is a software development based on an iterative and incremental approach to delivering projects. It draws from agile concepts that focus on teamwork, collaboration, and stakeholder involvement.

Waterfall Model

The waterfall model is a software development life cycle that works on a pattern like a waterfall as the development phases are sequential. The development takes place from one phase to another in a downward fashion. There is no overlapping. Since it is sequential development, it will be difficult to revisit the phases again.

Project Budget

Project Budget is the money or funds allocated for a project. It’s a comprehensive list of financial resources formally approved required to complete a project.

Project Timeline

A project timeline captures all the activities that need to be done over the duration of the project. It creates the framework of the project events according to their occurrence.

Gantt Chart

A Gantt chart is used to track projects and represented as a horizontal bar chart used in project management. The projects are tracked from start to finish. Gannt Chart is a visualizing tool to track the project schedule and finding out what needs to be done at a particular time period during the project lifecycle.

Milestone

A milestone is a measure of the project’s progress. It indicates a major achievement in the project lifecycle. Milestones help with scheduling and monitoring and indicated symbolically as diamonds.

Dependencies

In a project, there are no tasks or activities that can exist or engage in isolation. In some way or the other, each task becomes an input or output to other tasks. So, there is a reliance on the input or output between activities required to complete the project. This relationship between the tasks is called Dependency. A dependency is a directional relationship between two activities in such a manner that the start or end of one is dependent on the start or end of the other. Dependencies not only specify the relationship between project activities but also assign the order in which they will be executed.

There are 4 kinds of dependencies:

Start-to-start – Predecessor task must start before the Successor can start
Finish-to-start – Predecessor must finish before Successor can start
Start-to-finish – Predecessor must start before Successor can finish
Finish-to-finish – Predecessor must finish before Successor can finish

Work in Progress (WIP)

Work in Progress (WIP) specifies the team’s capacity for the workflow. The tasks engaged by the team at any given point of time during the project are called WIP.

Work in Progress Limit

WIP limit restricts the maximum amount of work that can exist in different stages of a workflow. Limiting work in progress allows teams to identify bottlenecks faster and focus on single work items better.

Bottleneck

A bottleneck hinders the workflow and happens when the workload exceeds the capacity of the system.

Scrum

Scrum is one of the leading and most popular framework used to implement agile. It uses an iterative method for delivery and focuses on prioritizing requirements in achieving the project goals over a short time period called sprints.

Sprint

It is a fixed unit of time required to complete a specific task and its duration is specified by the Scrum Master. The daily standup is conducted during a sprint to assess the progress made towards the sprint goals.

Meeting Project Management Terms

Kickoff Meeting

A kickoff meeting is generally the first meeting that occurs between the project team and their client. The first meeting that takes place between the project team and customer or sponsor is called as the kick-off meeting.

Once the details of the project are finalized, and even before the work has begun, this kick-off meeting happens to review the expectations of the project so that all the stakeholders are on the same page.

Meeting Agenda

It can be a topic or list of topics to be taken up for discussion in a meeting with a description of the topic and its possible outcome.

Meeting Minutes

Meeting minutes is a document all the matters discussed during a meeting. These minutes of the meeting are circulated to all the attendees of the meeting and are a referral source for a call to action and follow-up action for the items discussed.

Stand-up Meeting

A stand-up meeting, used in the agile environment is also called as daily scrum which is short in duration and conducted as the first activity of the day. The purpose of the stand-up meeting is to get an update about the work progress made by every team member.

Follow Up

A follow-up meeting is directed towards collecting feedback from the participants involved to plan further course of action. Dedicated follow-up meetings are conducted to collect and assess the outcome of the meeting.

Resourcing Project Management Terms

Resource Allocation

Resource allocation involves The assigning and scheduling of resources for a project. The main objective of resource allocation is to maximize the available resources to achieve the project’s intended goals and objectives.

Resource Breakdown Structure

Resource breakdown structure is a complete and hierarchical list of resources required to complete a project which is classified by type and function.

Resource Leveling

Resource leveling ensures that the resource is not overburdened with tasks. It has an impact on the critical path. Resource leveling is a technique to adjust the project schedule in order to keep the resource below the set limit.

Resource Availability

Resource availability presents the availability of a particular resource at a given point in time during the project.

Resource Calendar

It indicates all the working and non-working days of the resources assigned or allocated to a project.

Project Risk Management Terms

Risk

A risk is an uncertain event or condition that has an impact on the project’s objectives. A project risk is something that has not happened but could adversely affect the project outcome if left unattended. A project manager must be able to identify and assess the risks to the project. For instance, all the assumptions made at the start of the project are considered risks. The project manager must manage the risks using risk assessment to anticipate and address the risk to minimize the impact on the project. If risks are unidentified and unaddressed, it can derail the project or throw it off course.

Risk Management

Risk management deals with the identification and assessment of risks to reduce the likelihood of occurrence of the negative risk and its impact. Effective Risk Management ensures negative risks do not affect the project goals.

Risk Mitigation

A strategy devised to decrease the frequency or probability of the occurrence of negative risks and focuses on a risk mitigation strategy to protect from the negative risks’ threat to the project’s objectives.

Risk Monitoring and Control

Risk monitoring and control process identifies risks using a risk management plan and tracks the performance of the risk responses implemented

Risk Owner

Risk Owner is primarily responsible for managing the risk and also mitigate the risk by implementing suitable strategies. The risk owner is also required to be involved in performing qualitative and quantitative risk analysis.

Issue Management and Bug Tracking Terms

Issue

A project issue is a problem that has been encountered which has negative consequences for a project. Issues are like risks but the difference lies in the fact that issues have already happened, while risks are threats that have not taken place. Poor issue management can have a serious impact that can impair or result in project failure. An issue register or issue log is used to track issues.

Issue Management

Issue Management is the process of effectively detecting, resolving and tracking of the issues related to the project. The main purpose of issue management is resolving the issues before they get blown into catastrophes.

Issue Tracking

Issue tracking is the identification of error or bug that affects the performance of the project or product. The best practice is to use an Issue Tracker to keep track and closely monitor the issues.

Issue Log

Issue Log is a compilation of all the Project issues and the persons accountable to resolve. The Issue log includes the issue status, resolution plan and deadlines for the resolution or fixes.

QA Project Management Terms

Quality – The quality of a project is a measure of the excellence of a product or project ‘s deliverables. Simply stated, Quality is must meet the expectations of the customer or stakeholder. Project Quality management, quality control, and project quality assurance are the three processes critical to Quality.

Quality Planning

The expected quality standards are identified in Quality planning and mechanisms created to ensure the standards are satisfied. Quality planning prescribes corrective action in case of deviation from the set quality standards.

Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance is a set of practices created to monitor processes in the project to ensure the quality requirements are satisfied. Quality Assurances necessitates regular quality audits and conducted throughout the project.

Quality Control

Quality control is the application of the best practices in the evaluation of the project or product that meets the desired quality level. This process is performed after the creation of the project in order to detect any changes required for quality assurance.

Quality Management Plan

A quality management plan is a detailed plan consisting of stakeholders’ quality expectations, quality assurance, and quality control policies to successfully execute a project. This plan is usually a part of the project management plan.

This project management concept compilation is not complete and highlights the most popular and commonly used. We will connect in another blog with another expansive list that will prove beneficial to you in building your project management terms vocabulary.

Project Scope Management And Its Benefits

iCert Global Project Management 0 2020-01-10 39074

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PROJECT SCOPE MANAGEMENT AND ITS BENEFITS

What is Project Scope?

In project management, scope sets the boundaries to the project within which it can extend. The scope details the deliverables to the as a result of the project initiative.

The project scope determines the work and activities. The project manager must understand the scope clearly and correctly to determine what falls within the boundaries. Those activities that fall inside the boundary become “in scope” and those outside are stricken down as “not in scope”. Only the ‘in-scope” activities are planned for development.

The project scope is the first phase of project planning. The project scope forms the project objectives, the deliverables that include features and functions, limitations, assumptions, and project dependencies. Upon acceptance of the project, the scope management forms the first step in planning.

Why Project Scope is So Important

The question often asked is “Why Project Scope is important?”

Every project has to be delivered on time, within scope, within budget and yet lot many projects fail on these aspects – and the reason: the project scope was not captured correctly

A successful project manager will understand exactly whats to be achieved as a project objective also called scope. For a project manager to stay on track the entire time, regardless of size or complexity, it is important to read the scope right. And that means defining the scope which makes it simple to stay on schedule.

Expectations management is the most difficult and complex task for a project manager as it involves Managing clients' and stakeholders’ hopes and beliefs. A definitive and distinct scope brings everyone on the same page and helps to avoid often cited problems like

changing requirements,
or mid-project changes
budget overspend
slippage in schedule
the final outcome contested by client

Without Project scope, the project manager will be left clueless about the time, cost and schedule and resources. The scope influences and forms the basis for every decision made by the project manager.

Project Scope Management

Even before the project begins, Project scope management is initiated. Scope Management is the collection of processes that captures the work to be undertaken in the project and also records the work that is not required. How to manage scope? Through a use case which clearly in writing defines the scope of the project. The business case is closely monitored throughout the project lifecycle.

Project scope states the whole work to be done to deliver the product or services with the agreed features and functions. The scope covers everything that goes into a project.

The Project Scope Management Plan

The Scope Management Plan specifies the scope’s definition, development, and verification. It also defines the responsibilities in managing the project’s scope and guides in scope control. The project scope management plan is one of the most critical and crucial aspects of a project’s success. It identifies the right work needs to be done. According to PMBOK, Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, there are five processes for effective scope management: Collect Requirements, Define Scope. Create Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Verify Scope and Control Scope.

Collect Requirements – in this process the requirements that meet the objectives of the project are defined and documented. The documentation will include status updates and final deliverables. Project charter and stakeholder register are the foundation of this process. This process will help in understanding and managing to present the stakeholders’ expectations.

The documentation of this process will serve as an input to the next process, which is Define Scope.

Define Scope – this step is the most important as it creates the scope statement and helps in understanding the expected deliverables. In this process, the ‘in scope’ and ‘out of scope’ are clearly defined. The project scope statement will guide the team members throughout the project. The define scope process is decisive to the project’s success as it includes the deliverables, assumptions, and constraints within which the project must be engaged, and executed and delivered. Define Scope works as a referral guide to the project and forms the statement that becomes the basis for all project activity.
Create WBS – in this process, the deliverables are broken down into smaller individual tasks based on the project scope statement and requirement gathering documents. The deliverables are streamlined and the hierarchical structure makes it simpler to schedule, monitor and control. It also makes it easy to standardize and automate workflows.
Verify Scope – In this process, the scope is formally accepted for all the deliverables documented by all the stakeholders involved, mainly the customer or sponsor.
Control Scope – In this process, the scope of the project or product is monitored and controlled and any changes in the scope baseline are managed. Changes become inevitable despite capturing everything in the scope but the changes must be controlled to avoid scope creep.

Components of a Scope Management Plan

The Scope management ascertains that the scope of the project is defined accurately. This helps the project manager to assign resources to the tasks factoring the costs involved in completing the project. So it all starts with the scope, especially what is in-scope and out-of-scope. There are three processes involved in scope management. They are planning, controlling and closing.

Planning: This step captures and defines the work to be undertaken.
Controlling: the scope creep, change tracking, approval or disapproval of changes and documentation takes place in this step.
Closing: All the project deliverables are audited in this step and the outcome of the project is assessed against the original plan.

The project scope statement is fundamental to the scope management plan. One more critical document associated with scope management is defining the scope in a statement. To delineate the project, a document is drawn after understanding all the processes.

Scope Statement

What is a Project Scope Statement?

The project regardless of size or duration or cost will include a Project Scope Statement. Project Scope Statement is created even before the project work commences. Project Managers use Project Scope Statement to map and confirm the expected results, constraints, limitations, assumptions, exclusions, justification based on which project work will be undertaken. All the stakeholders must agree upon the project scope statement.

What does a Project Scope Statement Include?

The scope statement creates an outline of the project objectives, goals, relationships, deadlines and other specific elements that minimize the risk due to disruptions or changes. The scope statement contains the following.

Business Case– this document presents the requirement of the project and the possible benefits that can be delivered.

Project Description– presents an overview of the final deliverables.

Success Criteria- The pre-agreed criteria with the stakeholders in determining the project’s success. These are specific conditions that have to be met before any deliverables are accepted by stakeholders.

Deliverables: The expected results that the project will produce upon completion are called as deliverables.

Project Exclusions: the part of the work excluded and will not be done as part of the project. Its called scoping out and is important to include so as to clarify and confirm the assumptions and uncertainties.

Limitations– Anything that can limit the project’s progress. It can be resources or technology or infrastructure related issues

Assumptions– Any assumptions made during the course of the project that may impact the final outcome of the project.

Define the Scope of a Project

To ensure the success of the project, a well-defined scope is an absolute must. Without a well-documented and defined scope in place, no matter how hardworking are your resources are efficient the project plan, the project just can't succeed in achieving its intended goals.

A clear vision of the project’ requirement – not at a higher level – but right down to gritty nitty details at a granular level capturing all the specific project goals, deliverables, features, functions, tasks, deadlines, and ultimately costs constitutes a good scope document and helps in defining the project scope.

So how do you define a project scope?

The following steps help to define the scope of a project:

1. Identify the project needs

It is important to understand the identify the project needs to understand the scope better. Identifying the needs provides the best beginning. It enables us to set groundwork, goals, and objectives. It will help in preparing the groundwork for the tasks to be created and the tasks to follow and execution of the tasks.

2. Confirm the objectives and goals of the Project

The objectives and goals of the Project must follow a SMART guideline. By SMART, the objectives and goals of the project ought to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and met within a time frame.

3. Project Scope description

The scope must clearly describe the features and functionalities as part of the project work. The clarity will have its bearing on the project’s success.

4. Expectations and acceptance

The project scope should be fine-tuned to favor an outcome that meets the expectations of the customer or stakeholders and result in the acceptance of deliverables by end-users.

The projects that meet the customer’s approval and earn their recognition and satisfaction are considered to be successful.

5. Identify constraints

Any project will face constraints, which are as inevitable as changes. There are possibilities or limitations, roadblocks that impede the progress and come in the way of achieving the desired results. But when these constraints are identified, then they can be tackled and the roadblocks cleared making way for smooth passage. It helps in minimizing the problems which otherwise would derail or delay the project.

6. Identify necessary changes

There is nothing more expensive than rework. The time, money and material invested would rise exponentially in case of rework and hence its best to avoid reworking the scope of your project. It will burn all available bandwidth. but there are instances when changes become necessary in which case, settle for the minimal change by making all the stakeholders involved to understand the consequence, especially delay and the additional cost.

How to Identify Scope Risks

A successful project manager must manage scope risks.

What is Scope Risk?

According to PMBOK® Guide—6th Edition, Risk is defined as "an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on one or more project objectives". Scope risks then are the uncertain events or conditions related to the project scope.

How do these scope risks arise? The out-of-scope are clearly identified and placed outside the boundaries of project work and yet they somehow sneak their way inside bloating the project scope. That’s what is called scope creep and these are requirements that weren’t factored as part of the agreed scope. It is a scope risk.

But how to identify the Scope Risk?

There are a few methods that can help to Identify Scope Risks.

Interviews

Prepare a set of questions specifically related to scope, and schedule an interview select stakeholders to clarify and confirm the deliverables, assumptions, exclusions, and constraints. It is advisable to document the results and secure a sign-off.

Brainstorming

Pick out the most significant risk that can impair the project deliverables and make a list of questions and use the same for a brainstorming session. With several minds applying their mind to matter, the outcome can be significant in identifying the scope risks.

Checklists

A project ought to have a check-list. Inspect if there are any scope-related risks. If not, create one. There must be a post-review conducted after every project to record the risks. It must be understood that all the risks cannot be captured in a checklist.

Assumption Analysis

Any Assumptions made in the project are sources of risk. These assumptions must be studied for the associated risks and documented.

Cause and Effect Diagrams

Cause and Effect diagrams are very effective in identifying the cause of risks. Once the cause is identified and addressed, the risk gets reduced.

Nominal Group Technique (NGT)

Nominal Group Technique is a kind of brainstorming where the Inputs are collected and prioritized. And the output of NGT is a prioritized list. The risk can be identified from the result of a prioritized list of risks.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is one of the most powerful tools for identifying scope risk. A WBS with project team whereby they walk through the lowest elements —or work packages as they are called commonly referred. The participants are asked to identify risks.

What are the benefits of Project Scope Management?

Good project scope management will

Help to understand what is in-scope of the project
Help to understand the deliverables of the project
help to make informed decision making during the project
helps to identify risks and plans steps to mitigate
helps in setting the right expectations to the stakeholders
helps in planning on time money, manpower, material
eases the scope related stress on project manager
prioritizes tasks to keep the project on track and reduces unplanned work to save on time and expenses
Enable effective communications between stakeholders by bringing everyone on the same page
support successful project delivery

The most critical aspect to the success of a project is the project scope, and the project manager has to stay on top not to lose track or focus on the scope.

What are the 49 Project Management Processes?

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What are the 49 Project Management Processes?

Project management is a practice of handling project successfully from start to end within budget and time using various strategies, methodologies and processes. Organizations follow a set of guidelines and best practices to achieve the project goal. Project Management is an integral factor which decides the success or failure of a project.

Project management rules are mainly governed by PMI’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide).

Certified Project Management Professionals (PMP®️) use the best practice of project management as the certification validates the knowledge, skills, and techniques of project management aligned with PMBOK® Guide.

According to PMBOK, project management includes,

Componenets of project management according to PMBOK

5 Phases or Process Groups of Project Management

#1 – Project Initiation

#2 – Project Planning

#3 – Project Execution

#4 – Project Monitoring and Control

#5 – Project Closure

10 Knowledge Areas of Project Management

#1 – Project Integration Management

#2 – Project Scope Management

#3 – Project Schedule Management

#4 – Project Cost Management

#5 – Project Quality Management

#6 – Project Resource Management

#7 – Project Communications Management

#8 – Project Risk Management

#9 – Project Procurement Management

#10 – Project Stakeholder Management

49 processes in project management are distributed across 10 knowledge areas and 5 process groups of project management. The below table clearly demonstrates the mapping of the process groups, knowledge areas and processes.

PMBOK Guide 6th edition process group and knowledge area mapping

49 Processes in Project Management

Integration Management Processes:

The coordination between the resources, stakeholders, and other project elements which ensures to execute the project end to end successfully is Project Integration Management. It is very important because project success highly depends on integration management in terms of schedule, cost, quality, scope, risks, etc.

#1 – Develop Project Charter process :

The develop project charter process is a document which is prepared in the initiation phase to formally authorize the existence of the project. In this process, the document is prepared and given to the authoritative project manager to use the resources required for the project.

The project charter is a key element which describes the whole project in brief. The project charter generally includes the objective of the project, stakeholders, requirements, high-level assumption and constraints etc.

#2 – Develop Project Management Plan process:

The process of combining all the project plans and sub-plans into a single integrated plan. It is one of the most crucial processes of project management. Project success is dependent on the project management plan. The authoritative head to plan project management is the project manager.

This document is approved and signed by authorized stakeholders.

#3 – Direct and Manage Project Work process

In this process, the project work activities are directed and managed while executing. This refers to the term “leading and controlling” the assigned project activities. The key outputs of this process are final deliverables and change requests for the project work.

#4 – Manage Project Knowledge process

The main objective of this process is to improve the project process using the existing knowledge and creating new knowledge. The knowledge created is used for further processes and future projects. The continuing knowledge gain and utilizing the existing knowledge is the main objective of the project.

#5 – Monitor and Control Project Work process

Monitoring and controlling project work refers to the continuous tracking, reviewing and reporting the project progress status to achieve the required target of the project work activities.

The performances of each assigned resource are monitored and controlled. The document is prepared regarding the issue and the improvement possible.

#6 – Perform Integrated Change Control process

The perform integrated change control process includes reviewing all the change requests and managing them effectively from all the working department. The document is prepared for approval of any change requests.

The change requests are approved when there is not much impact on scope, time and cost of the project. The change requests can be project deliverables, project plan or project assets.

#7 – Close Project or Phase process

This process refers to closing the project activities by finalizing all the deliverables of project activities and the documents related to closing the project or phase is prepared by the project manager. In this process, the resources are released to work for other projects.

Scope Management Processes:

Project scope management is to define what is included in the project and what is not included in the project. The scope of the project is the work that is involved and the factors to execute the project successfully. There are 6 project scope management processes in planning and controlling process group.

#8 – Plan Scope Management process

It is the process of creating the document in which information about how the scope is defined and managed throughout the project process. The scope management plan provides the direction of how to deal with the end to end requirements of the project. The scope management plan acts as a guide to the project flow.

#9 – Collect Requirements process

The process of collecting all the requirements from all the resources or stakeholders to meet the project objective is called Collect Requirement Process. The documentation of all the requirement helps in tracing the matrix of the organizational assets required for the project. The collected requirement is to be managed and fulfilled to meet the objective of the project.

#10 – Define Scope process

The complete description of the scope of the project is documented in this process. The main objective of the project is to document what is included in the project and what is not included in the project.

The clear description of the project is available from this process.

#11 – Create WBS process

Creating WBS refers to the Work Breakdown Structure in which all the project activities are divided into smaller activities. This helps in assigning tasks or activities to the resources. This framework also helps in understanding the project objectives and the defined scope. The inputs, tools and techniques, and the outputs are clearly defined in this process.

#12 – Validate Scope process

In this process, the final deliverables are validated and accepted by the project manager. It is a formal acceptance of the completed project whether it met the scope or not is validated in this process. Before submitting the final deliverables to the customer, if the project manager validates the scope, then the chances of the customer accepting the projects are also high.

#13 – Control Scope process

The control scope process ensures whether all the project activities are according to the planned scope. This process monitors the status of the project and manages the changes according to the scope baseline. It ensures there is no slippery in the project scope during project activities.

Schedule Management Processes:

Project schedule management involves the listing of the tasks, deliverables, duration, stakeholder assigned, start and end date of the tasks within the project. Time management completely depends on the proper schedule management.

#14 – Plan Schedule Management process

Schedule Management Plan ensures the project activities are completed on time. The document is created with project activities based on WBS and time is allocated to complete the project work activity. It is the process of determining the procedures, policies, planning, executing, managing, and controlling the scheduled activity.

#15 – Define Activities process

The list of all the project activities to be conducted during the project execution is documented in this process. The exact actions to be taken to achieve the project objective is the main output of this process. In this process, the input, tools and techniques and output is clearly defined.

#16 – Sequence Activities process

The process of identifying the priorities of the project activities and documenting the same. The sequence of all the project activities are documented in this process. It is one of the most important processes of project management to keep the project flow smooth.

#17 – Estimate Activity Durations process

Estimating the activity durations refers to document the time allotted to each project activity. This process helps to set the whole project timeline according to the sequence of project activities.

#18 – Develop Schedule process

The process of combining all the components of schedule management to project timeline is scheduling process. The document is created by analyzing the sequence of project activities and the estimated duration.

#19 – Control Schedule process

The process of monitoring and managing the time taken to complete the project activity during execution. The document is created to update the status of the project. The main objective of this process is to ensure that the project activities are executed within the allotted time to maintain the project management plan.

Cost Management Processes:

Cost is the most critical factor in any organization. The process of estimating, allocating and controlling the cost of the whole project comes in project cost management. The budget is fixed according to the project activities. The costs are estimated during the planning phase and controlled if it exceeds during execution.

#20 – Plan Cost Management process

The process of cost management plan includes the policies, procedures and guidelines to plan, manage, and control the project costs. It also includes documenting the costs throughout the project. The cost management plan is done according to the project activities, schedule, resource and requirements.

#21 – Estimate Costs process

This process includes estimating all the monetary resources included in the project activities to achieve the target on scheduled time. The costs are estimated based on the resource requirements. The main objective of this process is to determine the overall cost required to complete the process.

#22 – Determine Budget process

The process of combining the cost of all the project activities to establish the formal cost baseline of the overall project. This process helps in projects cost flow, risk management. Cost baseline helps in monitoring and controlling the cost of individual activities.

#23 - Control Costs process

The process of monitoring and controlling the cost of individual project activities during execution is called a control cost process. The costs are controlled and brought to the cost baseline if exceeds. The document of cost update is maintained throughout the project.

Quality Management Processes:

The process of achieving assured quality with respect to scope, time and cost is project quality management. With proper quality management, an organization can achieve customer satisfaction and enhance further productivity. The process of quality management is in three phases of project management: Planning, execution, and monitoring and controlling.

#24 – Plan Quality Management process

Plan Quality Management process is the process of identifying the quality requirements and quality standards relevant to the project output. The document of a set of quality standards is prepared for each project activities. The methodology used, the resource assigned, the cost and the time allocated are the major factors affecting quality.

#25 – Manage Quality process

Manage Quality process is the process of managing all the project activities according to the quality management plan while executing. The main objective of managing quality process is to integrate all the quality policies in the project activities to maintain the quality plan management.

#26 – Control Quality process

Control Quality process is the process of monitoring and controlling the executed project activities according to quality management. The main objective of this process is to ensure the project output is correct, complete and meet the expectations of the customer and the quality plan. This process also includes the documentation of results obtained during the control quality process.

Resource Management Processes:

The project resource management involves managing human resource, material, equipment, knowledge and time. Recourse plays a very important role during the execution of the project. There are 6 Project resource management processes in three phases of project management.

#27 – Plan Resource Management process

Plan Resource Management process is a process of identifying the required resources, equipment for the required for the project activities. Planning resources include preparing the user guide document to identify, acquire, manage and monitor the required resources for project activities.

#28 – Estimate Activity Resources process

The process of estimating the type and amount of resources required for each project activities. The main objective of estimating resources is to plan the resource requirement for the overall project.

#29 – Acquire Resources process

The process of acquiring the resources like team members, types of equipment and other resources required for the project delivery. The main objective of this process is to ensure there is no shortfall of resources required for the project.

#30 – Develop Team process

The process in which the stakeholder or project manager improve the knowledge, skills and techniques of the team members as per the requirement of the project quality. This improves the competencies and enables the interaction between the team members enhancing the quality of the project.

#31 – Manage Team process

The process of tracking and recording the performances of the team and managing by giving feedback, resolving issues, managing conflicts and optimize the project performance according to the project requirement. The main objective of this process is to improve the overall performance of the team and enhance productivity.

#32 – Control Resources process

The Control Resources process aims to fulfil all the resource requirement for the project activities. It ensures all the resources allocated are according to plan. The probability of change requests is high in resource management. Therefore, controlling the resources and monitoring according to the resource plan management is highly essential.

Communications Management Processes:

The project communications management ensures that the right message is sent, received and understood by the right people. Communication is one of the most critical factors affecting the success of the project. According to PMI , most of the project failed due to communication. The three processes are involved in project communication management in planning, executing and monitoring phase.

#33 – Plan Communications Management process

The process of conducting proper communication according to the stakeholder’s need and requirement. The process includes a proper approach and plan of communication with organizational assets. The communication can be through any formal and recorded medium.

#34 – Manage Communications process

Managing communication process ensures that the message is created, collected, recorded and distributed by authorized stakeholders and understood by the receiving end according to the communications management plan.

#35 – Monitor Communications process

Monitoring communications process is a process of monitoring and controlling the communications throughout the project life cycle ensuring that the communication meets the stakeholder’s information requirement.

Risk Management Processes:

Project risk management involves identifying the risks, analyze the risk and control the risk. The risk management is done to reduce the impact of risk on project pace. The risk identified can be uncertain and have a huge impact on the resource, processes, technology, and schedule. The 7 processes of risk management lies in planning, executing and monitoring phase.

#36 – Plan Risk Management process

Planning risk management involves preparing the document on identifying risk, prioritizing and managing according to the risk assessment matrix and how to conduct risk assessments activities within the project.

#37 – Identify Risks process

The process of identifying, determining and documenting all the possible risks that may affect the project is Identify Risk process. The main objective of this process is to anticipate the risk before execution. Documentation of all the risk will help in further project activities.

#38 – Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis process

In order to set the risk priorities, the analysis is done on the probability of the risk, the impact of the risk on the project and other risk parameters affecting the project deliverables. The main objective of performing qualitative analysis is to predict and reduce the uncertainty of the risks.

#39 – Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis process

Performing quantitative risk analysis is the process of numerically analyzing the effect parameters of identified risks on overall project activities. This process helps in further prioritization of risks, reducing the uncertainty.

#40 – Plan Risk Responses process

The process of developing action plans against the identified risks to reduce the overall impact on the project. Planning the risk responses involves selecting strategies and agreeing on the actions developed.

#41 – Implement Risk Responses process

The process of implementing risk responses involves executing all the actions planned against identified risks to reduce the uncertainty of the project.

#42 – Monitor Risks process

The process involves monitoring the implemented action plans against risk identified. This process involves tracking of risk responses, analyzing new risks and reducing the risk factor throughout the project.

Procurement Management:

The project procurement management involves obtaining goods, services and supplies. Procurement includes all the materials required to complete the project. 3 procurement management processes are involved in planning, executing and monitoring phase of project management.

#43 – Plan Procurement Management process

The process of documenting the material required, specifying the approach, identifying potential dealers, identifying good service required for the project within the allocated budget and assured quality.

#44 – Conduct Procurements process

The process of selecting the seller, obtaining seller responses and finalizing the procurement requirement with the seller through agreements. The main objective of this process is to ensure procurements are done according to the requirement for deliverables of the project.

#45 – Control Procurements process

The control procurement process involves managing all the procurement relationship and monitoring contract performance. This process also involves deciding the changes related to procurement wherever necessary.

Stakeholder Management

The project stakeholder management is the process of identifying suitable stakeholder for the project and meet the expectation of the selected stakeholder. The success or failure of the project depends on the key stakeholders.

Four project stakeholder processes are involved in initiating, planning, executing, and monitoring and controlling the phase of project management.

#46 – Identify Stakeholders process

The process of identifying stakeholders is done in the initiation phase of the project. Based on performance, experience and skills, the key stakeholders are identified to manage the assigned part of the project.

#47 – Plan Stakeholder Engagement process

The process of determining how to approach different stakeholders for different project activities. The roles and responsibilities of the key stakeholder are planned. The amount of engagement in each part of the project work is assigned to stakeholders.

#48 – Manage Stakeholder Engagement process

The process involving interaction with stakeholders and working with stakeholders to meet their expectations, resolving the issues by stakeholder engagement process. This process has a potential impact on the project.

#49 – Monitor Stakeholder Engagement process

Monitoring the stakeholder engagement process ensures effective interaction and engagement between the project stakeholders. Engagement strategies and plans are executed if necessary.

How To Claim PMP Professional Development Units (PDUs)?

iCert Global Project Management 0 2020-01-08 7373

What are PDUs?

Professional Development Units (PDUs) are part of the Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) program from PMI and are earned in order to maintain the certification.

PMI’s Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) program supports the ongoing educational and professional development of our certification holders so they are always prepared to meet the demands of today’s complex business environment

Project Management Institute (PMI®) defines PDUs as:

“PDUs are the measuring unit used to quantify approved learning and professional service activities.”

Professional Development Units (PDUs) are one-hour blocks of time that you spend learning, teaching others or volunteering

All the certifications accredited by PMI requires you to earn PDUs except for CAPM certification.

Project Management Professional (PMP®️) certification needs 60 PDUs within 3 years to maintain the credentials.

PDUs can be earned in two different categories.

Education PDUs:

Education PDUs can be earned by attending professional seminars, classes, webinars or self-directed learning.

Giving Back PDUs:

Giving Back PDUs can be earned by volunteering, mentoring, working with professional groups.

What are the requirements to earn PDUs?

To maintain the PMP Credentials, you need to earn 60 PDUs in the 3-year cycle. The 60 PDUs are then broken down into two categories:

35 Minimum Education PDUs aligned with PMI talent triangle

PMI Talent Triangle

25 Maximum Giving Back PDUs (Optional)

60 PDUs are required to renew the PMP certification. The 60 PDUs can be achieved by meeting the following requirements of PDU.

Educational PDUs and Giving Away PDUs

You must earn a minimum of 8 PDUs in each skill of PMI Talent Triangle- Technical, Leadership, Strategic and Business Management.

The purpose of earning PDUs aligned with PMI Talent Triangle is to make the certified professional more skilled and attain equal balance on all the updated skills- technical, leadership and strategic and business management skills.

It is not mandatory to earn PDUs by giving back through volunteering or mentoring. You can earn all the 60 PDUs through education aligned with a PMI Talent Triangle

You have to earn a minimum of 35 PDUs in education and you can earn a maximum of 25 PDUs in Giving Back.

In giving away PDUs, you can earn a maximum of 8 PDUs by applying skills and contributing to the profession.

You can earn 17PDUs by sharing knowledge, conducting seminars, volunteering with PMI.

What are the ways to earn educational PDUs?

In the ever-changing field of project management, it is very important to keep your knowledge up-to-date. In order to maintain PMP credential, you need to earn 60 PDUs out of which you must earn a minimum of 35 educational PDUs. The following are the ways to earn educational PDUs:

1. Course: Take a course relevant to the subject by education providers, training companies or PMI R.E.Ps.

Same as contact hour, one hour of instruction equals to 1 PDU

2. Meetings: Attend educational sessions organized by the company. You can also attend PMI chapters to earn PDUs. Typically limited to 1-2 PDUs

3. Online: Self-paced e-learning, watching videos or webinars can earn PDUs. Any content relevant to PMI Talent Triangles skill area topic can be valid to earn PDUs

4. Read: Reading articles, blogs or whitepapers relevant to the subject can also be considered as PDUs

5. Informal learning: You can earn PDUs by engaging in structured professional discussions with others or any interactive sessions relevant to PMI Talent Triangle. For example, while you’re being mentored or participating in a “lunch and learn” session with your organization.

What are the ways to earn Giving Back PDUs?

Sharing knowledge or giving back to the profession is a great way to expand your skills and knowledge. PMI is providing this opportunity to all the PMP holders. The following are the ways to earn educational PDUs:

1. Work as a Practitioner: You can earn PDUs by applying knowledge and skills in a practical setting relevant to the certification.

This activity has a maximum number of PDUs that can be claimed per cycle: 8 PDUs for PMP Certified professional.

2. Create Content: You can earn PDUs by creating content such as articles, blogs, webinars, videos or any content relevant to the subject.

3. Give a Presentation: If you give a presentation in PMI chapter or your organization, you can claim PDUs.

4. Share Knowledge: The time spent in teaching, mentoring can be claimed for PDUs.

5. Volunteer: Become a volunteer in PMI and other organization who relies on volunteers and earn PDUs

Note: All the ways of earning PDUs need supporting document to present if you get selected for the audit process.

How to renew the certification through CCRS?

The time you start earning your PDUs, record your PDUs in the Continuing Certification Requirements System (CCRS). CCRS helps you to track your progress against CCR requirements. The fractions of PDU can also be reported in CCRS. The process of the CCR system is as follows:

CCR Process

After PMI confirms that you have met the PDU requirements, PMI will notify you to submit the renewal payment.

The renewal fees are as follows:

PMI renewal fees for PMP certification

*Note: PMI’s membership renewal fee is different and separate than the certification renewal fee.

After processing the completed application and the renewal payment, PMI will send you an updated certificate with the new active certification/CCR cycle dates.

If you do not satisfy the CCR program requirements within your current cycle dates, you will be placed in suspended status. The suspension period lasts one year (12 months).

Is there any audit process for renewal of PMP certification?

Yes, there is an audit process. It is important to keep all the documentation related to PDUs for at least 18 months after the CCR cycle has ended.

The documents required for each way of earning PDU is given in the CCR Handbook.

Note: If you earn more than the required PDUs in your CCR cycle, you may apply a portion of the PDUs to your next cycle. Only PDUs earned in the final year (12 months) of your certification cycle can be applied to a future cycle.

Pass the PMP® Exam on Your First Try: Follow These 4 Steps!

iCert Global Project Management 0 2020-01-07 2134

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Four Steps To Follow To Clear The PMP Exam In Your First Attempt

Project Management Professional (PMP®️) Certification is the most valuable certification in the field of project management due to its relevance, demand and trend in the market. It is accredited by the Project Management Institute (PMI®️). According to PMI, PMP is considered as the gold standard of project management certifications and applies to project management in general. Therefore PMP commands the same reverence in any industry.

The four steps you need to follow to clear the PMP exam are:

1. Know everything about eligibility criteria

2. Record your Project Management experience

3. Prepare for PMP exam and manage your time

4. Plan effectively during an exam

1. Know everything about eligibility criteria

According to PMI’s PMP Handbook, the following table shows the eligibility criteria to attempt the PMP exam.

PMP Eligibility Criteria

PROJECT MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE

4500 or 7500 hours in leading and directing projects can be defined as an experience in any role which falls under project management processes.

Initiating
Planning
Executing
Monitoring and Controlling
Closing

A leading or directing role can be,

Supervisor
Team leader
Assistant project manager
Project Manager
Project coordinators
Any role participating in project management processes

You need references related to all the projects and validation by your reporting manager to experience and description to qualify the audit process.

If you fail the audit process, there is a one-year suspension period to apply for that certification again.

It is not necessary to have” Project Manager” designation in all the projects you worked on.

4500 or 7500 hours of experience can include all the experience you worked in project management processes. For every project, you do not need to have experience in all five process groups.

In PMI’s PMP handbook, it is mentioned that the experience does not necessarily have to be paid work, but it does need to be in a professional setting.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT EDUCATION

35 contact hours of project management education is a formal education that addresses the learning objective of project management in terms of hours. It can be attained by any mode of training such as classroom training, online training or e-learning.

You need to document your 35 hours of ‘contact hours’ prior to filling the PMP application.

35 hours of project management education is mandatory for both a four-year degree holder and a high school graduate.

35 hours of project management education helps you to understand the fundamentals of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) on which the PMP exam is based.

You can attain 35 contact hours of project management by taking up professional courses, workshops and training sessions offered by,

PMI registered education providers (R.E.P.s)
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 Chapters

What does not count as contact hours?

PMI Chapter meeting with no learning activity.
Self-study
Management degree or post-graduation in management which cannot be mapped in project management knowledge

You need documents related to project management education to qualify the audit process.

If you fail the audit process, there is a one-year suspension period to apply for that certification again.

2. Record your Project management experience

Project management experience is required to be filled in hours. The qualifying hours are based on five domains of project management- Initiating, planning, executing, controlling and monitoring, and closing.

The qualifying hours of project management experience is to be filled for each project with respect to domains. PMI rejects the application if you do not explain your project management experience and project individually. It is time consuming and critical process. PMI provides 90 days to fill the application form.

It is advised to work on qualifying hours in a spreadsheet or in table format to record your project management experiences clearly.

You can use the following calculation to record your experience in hours:

Project hours = Average number of working days in a month x Average number of productive hours a day x Number of months worked on that project

There are only 8 hours in a day.
Five days and therefore 40 hours in a workweek
Deducting the vacations that are around 2 weeks in a calendar year leaves us with 50 workweeks.
50 workweeks translate to 2000 hours in a year.
PMI recognizes only the first 40 hours each week.
Non-overlapping hours cannot be accounted for.
Therefore, the total experience required works out to 4500 hours or 3 years.

The process of filling project management experiences in a PMP application form requires 5 sets of information.

Project information
- Industry you worked
- Project title
- Start and end date of the project
- Role or Designation
- Start and end date of the project

Project	Industry	Start Date	End Date	Designation	Contact Information	Domains	Hours
						Initiating
						Planning
						Executing
						Monitoring and controlling
						Closing

Details of the organizations (if multiple) you work/worked.
Reference contact in each organization
Hours of project management experience per each domain
Summary of Project management experience

Fill the PMP application form step by step as given in our blog post: The Step By Step Procedure To Fill The Application Form

3. Prepare for PMP exam and manage your time

Preparation is the most critical factor in becoming a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Depending on the prerequisites and preparedness it is possible to get a PMP certification in 8 to 12 weeks after applying to PMI.

The PMP exam covers the basic principles of the 5 Project Management Process Groups. Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. It is based on the content in PMI’s PMBOK (Product Management Body of Knowledge) Guide. Please note that PMBOK is one of the reference materials for the PMP certification exam. You need to spend time on other study materials to better prepare yourself. For your information, the reference for the current PMP exam is the sixth edition of the PMBOK, published in 2017.

The PMP exam covers the following five domains. The focus on the domains is not equally spread and going by the details presented below, the emphasis on some domains is higher than others in the exam.

PMP Exam Format

The difficulty of the PMP exam lies in your ability to become acquainted with the concepts and course of study. While the domains cover the fundamentals of project management, there are 10 knowledge areas considered the core of project management. For a detailed breakdown of the domain, please check the PMP exam content outline.

4.Plan effectively during an exam

The exam format for the PMP exam is quite challenging to clear. The PMP exam is multiple choice and consists of 200 questions. Not all the 200 questions are counted. Only 175 out of the 200 are graded. The balance 25 are “pretest questions” which will not be counted for scoring.

The 25 questions are spread across the 200 questions and you will not know which is the “pretest question”.
You might spend too much on a “pretest question” for which there is no score.
If the pretest question happens to be difficult, it might adversely impact the morale and confidence in your overall performance.

So, it is advisable not to waste time on only one question if you are not sure. Go ahead and solve all the answers which you surely know.

The time limit for the PMP exam is 4 hours. 1.2 minutes per question. There is no negative marking. Plan accordingly.

There are no scheduled breaks during the exam, although you are allowed to take a break if needed.

Remember all the points taught in PMP Bootcamp and apply accordingly.

What are the Benefits of Project Cost Management?

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What are the Benefits of Project Cost Management?

The benefits of Project Cost Management are:

1. Accountability

2. Lowers Expenses leads to lower project costs

3. Enhanced Efficiency

4. Financial Planning

5. Savings

6. Stress Relief

7. Operational Efficiency

8. Procurement Value

9. Systematize Technology

10. Prioritization

Project Cost Management

According to PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition Project cost management is defined as Project cost management includes the processes involved in planning, estimating, budgeting, financing, funding, managing, and controlling costs so the project can be completed within the approved budget.

Cost management is the process of estimating, apportioning, and controlling the costs in a project. A project manager should possess a strong sense of anticipation – even in cost estimation. Any change translates to cost and obviously out of scope. It is a matter of discretion to entertain the change at no cost or ‘at cost’ and a project manager is expected to have a sixth sense to see it coming. Usually what appears as cosmetics with little impact on scope and cost are the ones that derail the project slipping on schedule, resulting in cost overrun and scope creep. So, Predicting and preempting costs to factor during estimation and budgeting will prove critical to the project making a profit or bleed red.

Project cost management is used to forecast costs and manage them effectively. Projects can be challenging and if unchecked and uncontrolled, go over the budget. A good Project Cost Management can keep the project under check and well within budget.

For all the project costs, it is the Project cost management that determines the baseline. Effective and efficient cost management makes sure the project runs on track within budget and as per planned scope. Without Cost Management, the project can bleed, costs can go above project profit and result in a loss.

The project manager must have a strong grip on the cost, hence cost control is one of the most crucial aspects of project management. Time, scope and resource management are as important in achieving the goal, but cost management will have the ultimate bearing on a project’s outcome. The project manager’s prowess lies in organizing tasks with an eye on the cost to stay within the estimates.

Cost Management

Cost Management helps the project manager in foreseeing expenses and prepare to act accordingly by putting in place precautionary measures. To reduce the overall costs of a project, Cost Management is assigned the highest priority. Cost Management starts right from the initial planning phase and goes all the way to project completion and handover.

A project manager must exercise strict control over the cost to manage the project budget. The project manager at all times should be conscious about the costs incurred and the funds allocated to maintain and manage the project’s cost-expense within budget. There can be no lapse as it will lead to stretching the project estimate and consequently the project goes over the budget. To effectively control the cost, the project manager must recognize the needs for which funds have to be allocated. This is required for estimation and also study the allocated versus actual cost. The balance in the allocated and actuals costs will determine the cost overrun. These are the aspects a project manager must always focus on: the estimated cost, approved cost, the budget sanctioned, allocated versus actual cost.

What is Project cost?

It is during the project planning phase, cost estimation is done and the estimation needs approval from the stakeholders - the client or customer or upper management. It is only after the approval, the project execution begins.

The project manager records all the expenses incurred as the project moves in phases and keeps track of all the expenditures to monitor and control so that the project is maintained within the estimate. All the expenses are documented to study for any deviations during the project. The study becomes useful references while estimating costs and preparing cost management plans for other or future projects.

The project cost is the sum of the costs incurred to procure the necessary resources and services required to execute the project successfully to completion.

There is no project without a budget. Time, Scope and cost are the critical components of project management, and directly proportionate. Impact on anyone will affect the other two. If the project cannot be completed within the project cost, it’s a failure. There are tolerance levels set but if the costs climb higher and exceed the estimation, the project is set for failure. Therefore, it is imperative to get the cost estimation correct. To work out the accurate estimation, it is essential to understand the different types of project costs. By strategically reducing the cost spending in acquiring the required resources will result in significant benefits.

What are the Types of Project Costs?

There are 5 types of project costs incurred in any project. They are

Fixed Cost - any Cost which is fixed throughout the project and does not fluctuate.
Variable Cost – any cost which changes in proportion to a product or has a high tendency to variate
Direct Costs - Costs that are directly linked to the budget of the project.
Indirect Costs - costs that are not particularly connected to the project but shared across multiple projects.
Sunk Cost - Sunk Costs are costs which are already spent, but have failed to generate any business value for the project.

Total Project Cost:

The Total Project Cost (TPC) is calculated by putting together the fixed cost and variable cost and Other Project Costs (OPC). It is important to get the total project cost accurate or close to the accurate figure with minimal tolerance as it would severely impact the project scope and schedule resulting in cost overrun.

The Benefits Of Project Cost Management

Some of the benefits of cost control management are compiled below.

1. Accountability

Cost management leads to the accountability of the people engaged in a project. The people or team are assigned tasks with a definite deadline and any delay in completion would become an additional cost. Slippage in the schedule is actually cost accrued which is not healthy for the project’s profit. Thus accounting for billable hours leads to impacts productivity. The person or team member completing on time accounts for the billable hours scheduled.

2. Lowers Expenses leads to lower project costs

Effective cost management lowers the overall expenses. By defining proper procedures, the company can save on spending, thus lowering the expenses and use the saved funds for procuring other resources or services. This, in turn, contributes to the overall growth of the company.

3. Enhanced Efficiency

Cost management helps to identify the tasks that are running as scheduled within the budget and those tasks that are exceeding the allocated budget. The project manager can take a call about the contingency plans to control keep the cost breach.

4. Financial Planning

One of the main objectives of cost management is organized spending through a disciplined approach in financial planning and accounting. The project manager can create a better budget once the requirement on the various resource is known, so as to invest in the right resources at the right hour. The plan also sets up boundaries as upper limits on spending.

5. Savings

A dollar saved is a dollar earned. By savings, the funds that sometimes get spent on the unresourceful tasks can be identified and redirected to other activities purposeful. This can be achieved by carefully defining the cost control procedures to close the plug on leaking money, which positively reflects on the fiscal goals.

6. Stress Relief

When managed well, cost and time management reduces stress. Effective cost control enhances the discipline in spending that lessens the worries about the expenses that may have to be met. It provides a buffer and eases the pressure on payments.

7. Operational Efficiency

Cost Management helps in enhancing Operational Efficiency by tracking the activities that have breakdowns and consumes funds far more than allocated. It provides visibility to the project manager to focus on those activities in line with the budget and act upon those that exceed the estimated amount.

8. Procurement Value

Cost management helps in the review of goods and services offered by vendors and empowers the project manager the width to bargain and arrive at a figure that’s an advantage to the company. It is about getting the value for the money invested.

9. Systematize Technology

Every project or business process involves technology and companies need to invest, like automation or tools, sometimes the choice of technology can be questionable as companies overspend or invest in technology that’s not necessary. Cost management imposes budget constraints which makes the project manager more conscious about making the right choice: either step-up technology or just simplify.

10. Prioritization

If there are multiple projects that mostly engage in time and cost management, not all the projects can be engaged as proposed. So, which project to fund first? Cost management helps in prioritizing the projects that deserve the funds.

Comparing PMP vs PRINCE2 Certifications: Which is Better?

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Comparison of PMP® and PRINCE2® Certifications

PMP and PRINCE2 both are project management certification globally recognized and highly valued.

According to the statistics report by WRIKE,

“80 percent of high-performing projects are led by a certified project manager”.

PMP- Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification is an industry-recognized credential offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI®). The PMP certification validates the experience, knowledge, expertise, capability, competency and required skills to lead and manage projects. PMP certification is the most recognized and sought after project management certification.

PRINCE2 is an acronym for PRojects IN Controlled Environments and the "2" refers to its relaunch in October 1996. It is the non-proprietary process-based project management methodology and owned by AXELOS. PRINCE2 is mainly focused to establish,

Control at the commencement.
Progression of the project.
Termination of projects.

In the UK, PRINCE2® (Projects in Controlled Environments) is considered the de facto standard for IT project management. PRINCE2 doesn’t define the project as a temporary endeavor, rather as a project management method it delivers based on a business case.

PRINCE2 is a certification program owned by AXELOS and this method is sustained by a scheme that offers four levels of certification:

PRINCE2 Foundation
PRINCE2 Practitioner
PRINCE2 Agile Foundation
PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner.

Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria for PMP examination:

PMP Eligibility Criteria

PRINCE2:

There is no formal prerequisite to take up PRINCE2 Foundation Certification and PRINCE2 Agile Foundation Certification. PRINCE2 Foundation certificate can be a prerequisite to the PRINCE2 Practitioner course.

Methodology Used:

PMP:

PMP methodology is based on A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) 6th Edition published by PMI. It includes 5 processes of project management:

Initiating
Panning
Executing
Monitoring and controlling
Closing

PRINCE2:

The PRINCE2 method comprises four integrated elements of principles, themes, processes, and the project environment.

PRINCE2 Principles, themes and processes

7 Processes of PRINCE2

Starting up a project.
Directing a project.
Initiating a project.
Controlling a stage.
Managing product delivery.
Managing a stage boundary.
Closing a project.

Target Audience:

PMP:

The target audience for PMP Certification:

Project Manager
Project Coordinators,
Supervisor for PMO
Team Manager
Team Leader

PRINCE2:

The target audience for PRINCE2 Certification:

Project Managers
Team Leaders
Business Analyst

Exam Format:

PMP exam:

PMP exam format

There is no passing score for the PMP exam. Evaluation is based on the difficulty level of the exam.

PRINCE2 exam:

PRINCE2 Foundation exam:

Questions: 60 Multiple Choice Questions

Duration: 60 minutes

Qualifying points: 33 out of 60 (55%)

PRINCE2 Practitioner exam:

Questions: 68 Multiple Choice Questions

Duration: 150 minutes

Qualifying points: 38 out of 68 (55%)

Benefits:

Benefits of PMP:

Expand the scope of your career and increase your salary
Showcase your proficiency in Project Management with a global certification
A PMP Credential Expands Your Market Reach and Scope
Explore More Job Opportunities
Get opportunities for spearheading challenging projects
PMPs adopt enhanced Project Management skills and demonstrate superior project performance
A PMP credential is a means to recession-proof your career

Benefits of PRINCE2 :

PRINCE2 is a globally recognized certification that validates your knowledge of techniques of project management.
PRINCE2 provides step by step guidance to manage the project and delivers confidence for internal and external stakeholders.
It broadly focuses on techniques related to project management.
Enables you to execute any kind of project with great ease.
Highlights on both project and process.
PRINCE2 helps you to strategize your plans more skillfully.
It enables you to solve the problems associated with the project more effectively.
Enhance your project management skills.
PRINCE2 enables you to control resources and risks effectively.

Demand for PMP and PRINCE2

PMP:

The earning potential increases with experience and progress of knowledge. According to Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey, 10th Edition, certified PMP professionals earn a 23% higher salary on average across 37 countries surveyed.

According to PMI, Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap 2017–2027)

By 2027, employers will need 87.7 million individuals working in project management-oriented roles.

Demand for Project Management jobs in 2020

The average annual salary of PMP Certified professionals is,

PMP Salary

PRINCE2:

PRINCE2 certification proves to be an asset as it accelerates your career in the field of project management.

A 2016 AXELOS survey questioned individuals in project management and other roles, such as IT, senior management and operations. They reported that "regardless of function, candidates do find that PRINCE2 is valuable to their career".

According to Payscale.com,

The average annual salaries for certified PRINCE2 professionals in the United States are shown below.

Currency: USD, Updated: Mon Nov 11 2019

PRINCE2 average annual salary

5 Key Phases of Project Management Life Cycle Explained

iCert Global Project Management 0 2020-01-04 1786

What are the 5 Phases of Project Management?

Project management is a practice of implementing processes and methods by applying skills, tools, knowledge and techniques to achieve specific project goals and meet specific success criteria within a constrained time according to project needs and goals.

The set of guidelines and best practices are followed to achieve the success rate of the project and ensure the project flow is smooth.

PMI’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) was introduced by Project Management Institute in 1996. The current edition of the PMBOK® Guide is - 6th edition.

Description: PMI-PMBOK-6th edition

It is the single most important publication by the PMI for Project Management Professional Certification aspirants to study and prepare for the PMP® Exam.

What is Project?

The Project Management Institute defines a “project” as

“a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.”

Project is a set of operations or tasks with a definite start and end to reach the targeted goal. Projects can be simple or complex depending upon the time frame and the outcome expected.

Project is carried out by a set of people called “team” with individual tasks assigned and expected to be completed within a constrained time.

Who are Project Managers?

Projects are managed by the project manager or more depending on the complexity of the project.

Role of the project manager is very important. Time-bound and cost-bound projects require a project manager to plan, track, monitor, evaluate and work out the roadmap for successful closure and handover.

Project Managers are the bridge between top management and project delivery team as they make sure the scope of the project is clear, monitors and reports regularly on the progress of the project that is in line with the defined cost, schedule, and quality.

The roles and responsibilities of the project manager are:

5 Phases of Project Management

It is very important to prepare a definite structure of the project to be executed. The process of initiation of the project to close the project with handover is called project lifecycle.

According to PMBOK- 6th edition, there are 5 phases of project management:

Initiation
Planning
Execution
Monitoring and Controlling
Closing

The 5 phases of project management from start to finish which cover the following components:

What work must be done
What output must be generated and reviewed
Who will be responsible
How to control and approve each phase

Initiation

The first phase of the project life cycle is initiation. In this phase, the project’s value is measured whether the project is to be taken further or not. The project’s feasibility and value are measured using evaluation tools.

Feasibility Study: The study evaluates the value of the project which includes the project goals, time frame and overall cost of the project to be executed.
Business Case document: The document which provides the detailed estimated benefit of the project and the need for the project.

The stakeholders are identified in this phase of project management. The important stakeholders of the company will decide if the project is to be taken or not. The project charter is prepared. The project charter generally includes the objective of the project, stakeholders, risks identified.

Planning

Once the project is approved, the planning is done. The project management plan is developed based on defined project scope, schedule, cost, resources, quality and respective stakeholders.

Planning will help to minimize the risk during the execution phase.

The cost and resources are planned effectively to achieve the business goals of the organization.

This phase will develop a roadmap which will be used until the end of the project.

The roles and responsibilities are defined and the following documents are created in the planning stage:

Scope Statement
Work Breakdown Schedule (WBS
Milestones
Gantt Chart
Communication Plan
Risk Management Plan

The goals are set based on two methods. S.M.A.R.T. and C.L.E.A.R.

S- Specific

M- Measurable

A- Attainable

R- Realistic

T- Timeframe

C- Collaborative

L- Limited

E- Emotional

A- Appreciable

R- Refinable

Execution

Based on project activities and project management plan, the deliverables are developed and completed within a constrained time.

The projects are divided into individual tasks and accomplished. The following tasks take place during this phase:

Develop team
Assign resources
Execute project management plans
Procurement management
Directing and managing project execution by the project manager
Set up tracking systems
Task assignments are executed
Status meetings
Update project schedule
Modify project plans as needed

Monitoring and Controlling

During the execution phase, the tasks are monitored if the assigned task meet the project management plan. This phase ensures the project areas such as scope, schedule, cost, quality and resource are in control. The project managers track the work using key performance indicators (KPIs). The KPIs to determine the project performance are:

Project Objectives
Quality Deliverables
Effort and Cost Tracking
Project Performance

To keep the project on track, project managers usually adjust schedules and resources.

Closing

The finished project is handed over to the customer in this phase. The whole process is documented and resources are released to work on other projects. The meetings are held to prepare the final project report. The handing over documents are prepared and project managers close the project.

RECOMMENDED POST:

What is PMP?

Key Features of PMP® Certification Training

Top 10 Reasons to Get PMP® Certified

How To Qualify PM Experience In PMP Application Form

The Step By Step Procedure To Fill The Application Form

Do visit our Corporate Training to know more about core offerings for enterprises in empowering their workforce.

Download Free PMP® Exam Practice Test with 200 PMP® Questions.

Full-length PMP sample test with 200 PMP exam prep questions.

You may also be interested in Sample PMP® Exam Prep Questions before you download the Free PMP® Practice Test.

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What are the 10 Knowledge Areas of Project Management?

iCert Global Project Management 0 2020-01-03 31236

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What are the 10 Knowledge Areas of Project Management?

The 10 Knowledge Areas of Project Management are:

#1 Project Integration Management

#2 Project Scope Management

#3 Project Schedule Management

#4 Project Cost Management

#5 Project Quality Management

#6 Project Resource Management

#7 Project Communications Management

#8 Project Risk Management

#9 Project Procurement Management

#10 Project Stakeholders Management

Project management is an application of skills, tools, knowledge and techniques to achieve specific project goals and meet specific success criteria within a constrained time.

Project Management is an integral factor which decides the success or failure of a project.

In mid of 20th century, project management began to emerge as a distinct profession and large no. of organizations started to follow a set of rules, standard terminologies and guidelines in the field of project management.

Project management rules are mainly governed by PMI’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide).

According to PMBOK, project management includes,

5 Phases of Project Management Life Cycle include:

Initiating
Planning
Executing
Monitoring and Controlling
Closing

The 10 knowledge areas are:

1. Project Integration Management

2. Project Scope Management

3. Project Schedule Management

4. Project Cost Management

5. Project Quality Management

6. Project Resource Management

7. Project Communications Management

8. Project Risk Management

9. Project Procurement Management

10. Project Stakeholders Management

Project management includes 49 processes mapped in 5 phases and 10 knowledge areas:

1. Project Integration Management

The coordination between the resources, stakeholders, and other project elements which ensures to execute the project end to end successfully is Project Integration Management. It is very important because project success highly depends on integration management in terms of schedule, cost, quality, scope, risks, etc.

This knowledge area has a set of processes in each phase of project management. The processes involved in all phases of project management are:

Develop the project charter
Develop the project management plan
Direct and manage project work
Manage project knowledge
Monitor and control project work
Perform integrated change control
Close the project (or project phase)

In the initiation stage, the project charter is developed. The project charter is a key element which describes the whole project in brief. The project charter generally includes the objective of the project, stakeholders, risks identified etc. After initiating the project, the project management plan is developed and executed by directing and managing project work and knowledge.

After executing the project, the project work is monitored and controlled with the integrated change required and close the project successfully.

2. Project Scope Management

Project scope management is to define what is included in the project and what is not included in the project. The scope of the project is the work that is involved and the factors to execute the project successfully. There are 6 project scope management processes in planning and controlling process group.

In the Planning process group:

Planning scope management: Based on the project charter, the plan is created to define the scope.
Collecting requirements: Based on the scope management plan and stakeholder’s consultancy, the requirement is collected.
Defining scope: based on plan scope management, project charter and requirement, the scope is defined.
Creating WBS: Creating a work breakdown structure to simplify the whole project into individual tasks.
Validating scope: the outcome of individual tasks are reviewed and inspected.

In the monitoring and controlling process group:

Controlling scope: after the execution of a project or task, the scope of work is monitored and controlled. The performance reports are prepared to check if the scope meets the requirements.

3. Project Schedule Management

Project schedule management involves the listing of the tasks, deliverables, duration, stakeholder assigned, start and end date of the tasks within the project.

Time management completely depends on the proper schedule management.

It involves 7 schedule management processes in the planning process group and controlling process group.

In the planning process group:

Planning schedule management: Creating a schedule plan and determining who is responsible for the specified task.
Defining project activities: Project activities are defined according to plan schedule management. List of activities are created similar o work breakdown structure.
Sequencing activities: Based on project activities, a sequence of all the activities are created according to priority.
Estimating resources and duration: Based on schedule plan and activities, human resources and durations are assigned.
Developing the project schedule: Based on all the above processes, the project schedule is developed

In the monitoring and controlling process group:

Controlling schedule: after the execution of a project or task, the duration is checked and controlled if it exceeds the allotted time.

4. Project Cost Management

Cost is the most critical factor in any organization. The process of estimating, allocating and controlling the cost of the whole project comes in project cost management. The budget is fixed according to the project activities. The costs are estimated during the planning phase and controlled if it exceeds during execution.

The 4 processes are involved in Project Cost Management:

Planning cost management: Cost is planned based on the project activities, sequence of activities and duration allocated for each task.
Estimating Costs: Based on the cost management plan, the cost is estimated for each task.
Determining Budget: Based on estimated cost, the budget is prepared considering schedule management on a project basis.

In the monitoring and controlling process group:

Controlling costs: During the execution phase of the project, the cost is monitored and if it exceeds or the risk identified that the cost might increase beyond the limit. it is controlled as the cost is the most critical factor in project management.

The cost flow is recorded and the overall report is prepared till the closing of the project.

5. Project Quality Management

The process of achieving assured quality with respect to scope, time and cost is project quality management. With proper quality management, an organization can achieve customer satisfaction and enhance further productivity. The process of quality management is in three phases of project management: Planning, execution, and monitoring and controlling.

In the planning phase:

Planning Quality Management: Planning quality plays a vital role in the success of the projects. The methodology used, the resource assigned, the cost allowed and the time allocated are the major factors affecting quality. Quality planning is done considering all the factors.

In the execution phase:

Managing quality: During the execution stage, quality assurance is given maximum importance and considered in all aspects

In monitoring and controlling phase:

Controlling quality: quality is controlled by reassessment after execution if the customer or client is not satisfied.

6. Project Resource Management

The project resource management involves managing human resource, material, equipment, knowledge and time. Recourse plays a very important role during the execution of the project. There are 6 Project resource management processes in three phases of project management.

In the Planning phase:

Planning resource management: Based on the project scope, planning of resources are done with cost input, quality and schedule management.
Estimating activity resources: According to the availability of the resources and the project activities, the resource activity is estimated.

In the execution phase:

Acquiring resources: Based on the deployment of skills to achieve specific goals, resources are acquired.
Developing the team: The team is developed based on their knowledge, skill and ability to achieve the specified goal. Experience and hierarchy is considered while developing the team for the project.
Managing team: The team, is managed according to plan management and the team developed. This ensures the specified goal is achieved on time.

In monitoring and controlling phase:

Controlling resources: After the execution stage, the resources are controlled if the deliverables are not delivered on time.

7. Project Communications Management

The project communications management ensures that the right message is sent, received and understood by the right people. Communication is one of the most critical factors affecting the success of the project. According to PMI, most of the project failed due to communication. The three processes are involved in project communication management in planning, executing and monitoring phase.

Planning communications management: The audience, objective, message and medium of communications are planned according to project activities and resources assigned.
Managing communications: Once the communication plan is approved, the communications are managed by analysis of data received, distribution of data, storage of the reports and disposal of old messages.
Monitoring communications: The communications are monitored by confirming the messages, confirming the messages are received by the correct stakeholders, confirming messages were understood.

Excellent communication skills is required to handle conflict management.

8. Project Risk Management

Project risk management involves identifying the risks, analyze the risk and control the risk. The risk management is done to reduce the impact of risk on project pace. The risk identified can be uncertain and have a huge impact on the resource, processes, technology, and schedule. The 7 processes of risk management lies in planning, executing and monitoring phase.

In the planning phase:

Plan risk management: Based on a risk assessment matrix, the document is prepared including foreseen risks, estimated impacts of risk on the project
Perform qualitative risk: Based on their probability of occurring and impact of risk, the risks are prioritized for further analysis.
Perform quantitative risk: The effect of identified risk is numerically analyzed on all the project objectives.
Plan risk responses: The actions are planned to reduce the risk by addressing the risk according to priority, cost, and time.

In the execution stage:

Implement risk responses: Based on risk responses plan, the actions are taken to mitigate the risk.

In the monitoring stage:

Monitoring risks: Risks are monitored according to the impact of risk responses.

9. Project procurement management

The project procurement management involves obtaining goods, services and supplies. Procurement includes all the materials required to complete the project. 3 procurement management processes are involved in planning, executing and monitoring phase of project management.

In the planning phase:

Planning Procurement Management: the process of documenting the material required, specifying the approach, identifying potential dealers, identifying good service required for the project within the allocated budget and assured quality.

In the execution phase:

Conducting procurements: Based on plan procurement management, procurements are done according to the requirement for deliverables of the project.

In monitoring and controlling phase:

Controlling procurements: The procurements are checked for quality control and also checked if the procurement met all the requirement.

10. Project stakeholder management

The project stakeholder management is the process of identifying suitable stakeholder for the project and meet the expectation of the selected stakeholder. The success or failure of the project depends on the key stakeholders.

Four project stakeholder processes are involved in initiating, planning, executing, and monitoring and controlling the phase of project management.

In the Initiating phase:

Identifying key stakeholders: Based on performance, experience and skills, the key stakeholders are identified to manage the assigned part of the project.

In the planning phase:

Planning stakeholder engagement: the roles and responsibilities of the key stakeholder are planned. The amount of engagement in each part of the work is assigned to stakeholders.

In the execution phase:

Manage stakeholder engagement: the stakeholder engagement is managed and if any issue comes up, it is resolved through communication.

In the monitoring phase:

Monitor stakeholder management: The process of monitoring stakeholder’s engagement, strategies and activities. This ensures the deliverables are accepted by the customers.

What are the Project Manager Roles and Responsibilities?

iCert Global Project Management 0 2020-01-03 1616

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What are the Project Manager Roles and Responsibilities?

Project Manager – How was the role created?

It was during the creation of Microsoft Excel, the role ‘Project Manager” was created

During the late eighties, Microsoft was attempting to create something to the equivalent to that of the Lots spreadsheet, which was popular at that point in time. The project turned out to be chaotic as too many departments gt involved without any proper coordination. It proved to be an innovative and ideal solution as the team engaged seamlessly and the final product was launched as Excel.

The ingenious role created was the project manager.

The basic principles in project management have continued to be the same: manage scope, schedule costs resources, activities, and tasks.

The role of a project manager has evolved. There are different approaches to project management and project managers should be skilled and familiar with the project management system.

The project manager is responsible for leading and managing project teams leading to the successful delivery of the project. But before that, is a project manager really required?

Is the Project Manager really needed?

Time-bound and cost-bound projects require a project manager to plan, track, monitor, evaluate and work out the roadmap for successful closure and handover.

Does your project need a project manager? 89% of high performing organizations with large and demanding projects require a reliable project manager proficient in project management. The business has necessitated the need for Project Leader with strong leadership skills to consistently maintain efficiency and productivity.

From a small setup where a handful of projects are handled by one project manager to MNCs who hire domain specialists and verticals heads as project managers, it has become evident that Project manager is indispensable to project management and becomes an integral part of the business. The biggest challenge is to find a project manager with the right vision, skills, and knowledge to plan, coordinate, and deliver projects on schedule and within budget.

Let's take a look at key project manager roles and responsibilities.

Responsibilities of a Project Manager.

A Project which has a definite start and end with specific goals to achieve needs the direction and leadership of a Project Manager. Project Managers are the bridge between top management and project delivery team as they make sure the scope of the project is clear, monitors and reports regularly on the progress of the project that is in line with the defined cost, schedule, and quality. Therefore, Project Managers are accountable for all the tasks that are within the project right from inception till the completion.

They are expected to perform the following key tasks

Project Initiation

Project managers assess the proposed scope with a defined timeline, Budget and expected quality by engaging all relevant stakeholders to ensure that the expected outcome of the project is clear with the given timeline and cost. Project Manager performs the below activities to ensure the same

Evaluate project/business requirements
Identify the required assets and resources
Determine dependencies / Make assumptions if any
Assess the Risks / Issues if any
Estimate Costs & Efforts

Preparation of Project Plan

A project plan is a strategic document that specifies goals, team, timing, and deliverables. It also establishes the scope and defines the objectives as in time, cost, quality, benefits realization which has to be monitored and assessed during regular intervals for a successful project outcome.

Define the Scope, Goals, and Deliverables
Project Key Stakeholder’s expectations and any cost/time-bound implications
Definition of Project Organization
Cost and Time Estimations
Define the Tasks with required Resource Plan
Definition of intermediate milestones (With respect to Deliverables, Cost, Schedule & Quality)
Communication Plan
Success Criteria against each milestoneCommunication of Project Plan

Once the project plan is formulated, the next step is to communicate the same to all relevant stakeholders and Project Team. This is to clearly set the right expectations for everyone involved in the project.

Kick-off the project with all stakeholders to bring all in the same the expectations
Follow the communication plan from hereon for reporting

The workspace creation

The project teams can be managed locally on-site, or it can be a virtual setup connecting the teams spread globally, It requires the team to enabled with the right tools and channels for communication in order to get the work done.

Prepare or procure necessary resources, systems, and tools
Provide access to and ensure the availability of relevant tools and resources

Creation of the team to complete the project

People are the heart of a project. Treat people right and your project is halfway done.

Clarify tasks and roles
Promote collaboration/relationship-building
Recognize the achievements and appreciate (Set the standards for recognition)
Monitor/Review the Risks, Issues, Assumptions, and Dependencies regularly

Execution of the project plan

When the team is on the same page, clear about all the parameters, the project team can begin the task of execution

Monitor the Project Plan
Resolve any blockers, Dependencies
Review the Plan regularly and assess Scope, Cost, Schedule

Evaluation of the project’s progress

Project managers can utilize tools Using tools such as Microsoft Project to gain a high-level drilled-down view of every task of the project. Monitoring is helpful to mitigate risks, enhance gains, and make everyone involved stay focused.

Conflicts resolution
Address the open issues and risks
Recognize achievement and reward
Keep all stakeholders updated with regular reports

Close the project

Successful Closure ends on a congratulatory note. The celebrations aside, the takeaways must be recorded as lessons learned from the projects, especially handling of scope, identification of risk, allocation of resources, stretching of budget, slippage in the schedule, missed milestones, cost overrun – there could be instances in some phases during the course of development

Thank the team for their contribution and highlight teamwork
Congratulate the team for a job well done
Spend time on the lessons that can be learned especially the loopholes.

Recommend action items to be worked on so as to avert recurrence of mistakes in future projects and also create awareness of any shortcomings suffered during the course of project development.

What makes a good Project Manager?

A matrix of technical, business, and leadership skills is critical to the making of a good project manager, and in which soft skills are a key aspect of leadership. Good business acumen with an entrepreneurial mindset to draw the big picture is one trait that makes a project manager outstanding. It is the influence wielded by the project manager to inspire the team to go far and beyond the call of duty that makes the project manager as a huge asset. That’s how project managers earn the trust of the team, and the progress of development wins the confidence of the stakeholders not throughout the project and futuristic engagements as well. The managerial skills, soft skills, technical skills, seamless transition of knowledge and information, effective combination to all stakeholders involved at a regular and required time are the combination of the most competent project manager. Project managers need the technical knowledge to assign tasks and managerial skills to get the tasks done and soft skills to keep the team motivated at all times.

It is imperative for a project manager to deliver everything signed off as in-scope, on time, within budget with the quality at benchmarked standards.

A good project manager aims to exceed the stakeholder’s expectations and strives to tie the project to its business goals.

Good project managers use communication as a cornerstone by keeping the stakeholders updated about the project’s progress right from kick-off to closure. Communicating the actual status – even in case of missed milestone or some slippage in schedule with proactive plans to bring the project on track is the hallmark of effective communication expected in a good project manager.

some of the qualities that make for a good project manager are an eye for detail, a sense of anticipation, an appetite for risk coupled with risk management capabilities, the ability to draw the big picture, excellent communication skills, resourcefulness, ability to think on their feet, attitude to achieve, critical thinking and the talent to lead the team from front.

The Project Management Institute attributed self-assessment and re-evaluation can make a huge difference in the reshaping of a successful project manager successful.

Top 10 Reasons to Earn Your PMI-ACP Agile Certification

iCert Global Agile and Scrum 0 2019-12-31 2335

Top 10 Reasons to get a PMI-ACP (Agile Certified Professional) Certification

#1 Global Recognition

#2 Enhances Agile Skills

#3 Increases Professional Credibility

#4 Higher Job Opportunities

#5 Higher Pay

#6 Career Advancement

#7 Professional Versatility

#8 Expands Market Reach

#9 Get More Lucrative Assignments

#10 Recession-Proof Career

Project Management Institute's Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP®) is an industry-recognized certification, accredited by the Project Management Institute (PMI®).

Agile is an iterative method to develop software step by step taking frequent reassessment whenever required, instead of delivering the whole product after completion.

PMI-ACP course is mostly sought by Project Manager or aspirants following Agile practices and trains about the concepts, principles, methodology, tools and techniques employed in managing projects.

PMI-ACP® certification proves your net worth as an Agile practitioner and empowers you with the knowledge and confidence in a framework that's gaining traction and adoption by leading corporate.

PMI-ACP validates your knowledge and experience on agile principles and hands-on agile techniques.

This certification has been designed to:

Demonstrate to employers the practitioner’s level of professionalism in agile practices of project management.
Increase the practitioner’s professional versatility in both project management tools and techniques.

According to the 13th State of Agile Survey Report (2019),

71% of respondents adopted agile because it reduces project cost
74% of respondents adopted agile as it accelerates the software delivery
51% of respondents claim that adopting agile increases productivity
43% of respondents stated adopting agile enhances the product quality

Prerequisite:

PMI-ACP Eligibility Criteria

For more information on eligibility criteria, you can go through PMI-ACP Handbook

PMI-ACP is based on different frameworks and agile approaches such as:

Scrum
Kanban
Lean-Agile Practices
Extreme programming (XP)
Test-driven development (TDD)

PMI-ACP Certification fee

PMI-ACP Certification fees

Target Audience

Project Managers
Agile Project Managers
Agile Developers
Product owners
Business Analysts
Scrum Masters
Scrum Team Members
Program managers
Project team members
Professionals aspiring to shift from waterfall methodology to agile methodology

10 reasons to get PMI-ACP certified:

1. Global recognition: PMI-ACP is globally recognized and in-demand certification by PMI.

2. Enhances agile skills: Gain expertise in using agile practices in your projects and get hands-on agile experiences.

3. Increases professional credibility: Carries a higher level of professional credibility as it requires a combination of agile training, and work experience in agile projects and knowledge.

4. Higher Job Opportunities: As the adoption of agile methodology is increasing day by day, job opportunities are also increasing.

5. Career advancement: PMI-ACP certification allows you to advance your career in organizations practising agile. Certified PMI-ACP professionals can become agile trainers and agile coaches.

6. Higher pay: Certified PMI-ACP professionals get a 28% higher salary than non-certified professionals. According to Indeed.com, the average annual salary for certified PMI-ACP professionals for different roles are given below:

PMI-ACP Average annual salary for different roles in United States

7. Professional Versatility: As a certified professional you might get a chance to lead the team, work in different projects and enhance your project management skills with agile tools and techniques.

8. Expands market reach: Certification in PMI-ACP expands your market reach as an agile certified professional and provides you with an opportunity to network with a vibrant community of agile professionals, related organizations, and experts worldwide.

9. Get more lucrative assignments: Certified professionals are more likely to get challenging projects and opportunities to handle valued projects.

10. Recession-proof career: Invest in your future with PMI-ACP certification. Agile professionals would retain their value even during a recession due to their strong and highly transferable core competencies.

Career opportunities

PMP Scrum master
Technical business analyst
Agile trainer
Project Manager
Digital Channel planner
Deputy Project Manager
Director - planning and Project management
Business Analyst
Agile Project Manager

Do visit our Corporate Training to know more about core offerings for enterprises in empowering their workforce.

iCert Global offers Agile based Certification:

Download our Free PMI-ACP Brochure for more information.

For more information on how iCert Global can help you to accelerate your career with Agile certification, please email info {at} icertglobal {dot} org or call now on +1-713-287-1213/ 1214 / 1053 / 1355. Visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/

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PMP Exam: Pattern, Question Types & Pass Rate Explained!

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-30 3465

PMP Exam Pattern and PMP Exam Pass Rate

Project Management Professional (PMP®️) is one of the most valuable certifications project managers hold as it is industry-recognized and highly valued across the globe. PMP certification is accredited by the Project Management Institute (PMI®️).

According to the Project Management Institute (PMI®️), at least one-third of project managers have a PMP certification.

PMP exam pattern

PMP Exam format

Total Questions: 200

Pretest question: 25 (Not added to PMP score)

Type of questions: Multiple-choice questions

Duration: 4 hours (No scheduled breaks mentioned)

Note: We do not know which 25 questions are pretest questions so all the questions are to be attempted with equal importance. Pretest questions are generally experimental in nature and given to check the validity for further examinations.

Does the Pretest Question affect exam performance?

The answer is YES PMP® candidates are affected by the pretest questions in the following way:

The 25 questions are spread across the 200 questions and you will not know which is the “pretest question”.
You might spend too much on a “pretest question” for which there is no score.
If the pretest question happens to be difficult, it might adversely impact the morale and confidence in your overall performance.

Download Free PMP® Exam Practice Test with 200 PMP® Questions.

Full-length PMP sample test with 200 PMP exam prep questions.

Preparation is fundamental to PASS. PMP exam is one of the most difficult exams to clear in one attempt. If you solve the sample PMP questions and score over 80%, there are chances of you clearing the PMP exam in the first attempt.

PMP examination is aligned to PMI’s PMBOK (Product Management Body of Knowledge) Guide- 6th Edition. PMP exam is based on five processes of project management and the questions are divided into the following percentages:

PMP Exam format

These percentages are used to determine the number of questions related to each domain and task that should appear on the multiple-choice format examination.

The detailed task for each domain is given in PMI’s Project Management Professional (PMP) ® Examination Content Outline.

The different types of questions that appear in the PMP certification exam are listed below:

Formula based questions
Situational based questions
Definition based questions
Knowledge-based questions
Interpretational based questions
Specific technique based questions
PMBOK Guide knowledge-based questions
ITTO (Inputs, Tools, Techniques & Outputs) based questions
Professional and Social Responsibility based questions.
Combination questions

To know more about different types of question, go through our blog PMP Exam Guidance With PMP Exam Format

PMP exam pass rate

PMP pass rate is the percentage of candidates qualifying the PMP exam in the first attempt. PMI does not disclose any information on the PMP exam pass rate.

According to the survey conducted for Project Management Trainers And Experts In Linkedin,

“40% of project management experts responded that the passing rate for the PMP exam is less than 50%”.

In the Project Management Institute’s PMP Handbook PMI clearly states that the passing score for all PMI exams is determined by the static model -Sound Psychometric Analysis.

In Sound Psychometric Analysis, there is no fixed marks or percentage to clear the exam. It is based on the difficulty level of the exam. If a candidate gets easy questions then the passing percentage will be higher compared to the question paper with difficult questions.

PMI uses subject matter experts from around the world to determine a point at which each candidate should pass the examination(s) and the examination point of difficulty.

Each scored questions on the exam is worth one point and your final score is calculated by totalling the points you have earned on the exam. There is no negative marking for the wrong answers.

No two candidates can get the same questions. Hence, it is clear that by using Sound Psychometric Model, PMI determines the difficulty level of question papers is similar for all the candidates.

Hence the passing score for every candidate is different.

There is no official statement about the passing score of PMP.

The PMP exam report does not declare any score. PMI mentions – ‘Pass or Fail’

The report also provides information about performance in each domain in terms of,

Above target- Exceeds the minimum requirements
Target- Your performance meets the minimum requirements
Below target- Your performance fails to meet the minimum requirements
Needs improvement- Your performance is far below target and recommends additional preparation.

PMI’s Sample Result Report showcases the performance information in terms of the above target, target, below target, and needs improvement.

PMP result report sample

Result report also shares a performance report in each domain:

PMP exam result report sample

The performance information in the result report is mentioned to convey the candidate about the strong and weak portion of the project domains. It does not conclude the pass or fail rate. PMP exam is judged based on overall performance in all the domains.

CAPM Certification Guide 2025 – Eligibility, Salary, Scope

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-27 3569

An Introduction To CAPM Certification

What is CAPM?

Certified Associate In Project Management (CAPM®️) is an entry-level certification in the field of Project Management accredited by the prestigious Project Management Institute (PMI®️) in 2003. If you are a junior level Project Manager and want to set the stage for a remarkable career, then CAPM is the right credential to pursue.

In this rapidly growing profession, CAPM can act as a stepping stone in the field of project management.

CAPM validates the knowledge of the globally recognized language of project management. CAPM is aligned with A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide).

The PMBOK® Guide is developed by active practitioners and subject matter experts, then reviewed by the project management community before it is released. PMI ensures that it is updated as per the current state of the profession.

CAPM certification eligiblity or Requirements for CAPM:

CAPM Eligibility Criteria

To qualify the eligibility criteria you can either choose to record 1500 hours of project management experience or 23 contact hours of project management education.

If you choose to record 1500 hours of project management experience, then all the projects have to be individually recorded as per the five processes of project management. Then a brief description of the project is to be written in the application.

If you choose to record 23 contact hours of project management education, then you must record the formal education hours which includes the formal education on project management.

The course must include:

Quality
Scope,
Time
Cost
Human resources
Communications
Risk
Procurement
Integration management.

You can take formal training on Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®️) from training institutes to fulfil the eligibility criteria of 23 contact hours of project management.

As mentioned in Certified Associate in Project Management Handbook, all applications are subject to an audit, although only a percentage of applications are selected for audit. The educational qualification, project management experience and education are verified if your application is selected in the audit process. You need to send all the related documents to PMI for the completion of the audit process.

What are the exam pattern and exam format for CAPM certification?

Total Questions: 150

Pretest question: 15 (Not added to CAPM score)

Type of questions: Multiple-choice questions

Duration: 3 hours (No scheduled breaks mentioned)

Note: We do not know which 15 questions are pre-test questions so all the questions are to be attempted with equal importance. Pretest questions are generally experimental in nature and given to check the validity for further examinations. Top CAPM Exam Prep Tips

The exam is based on A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) with the following format:

Knowledge Areas Covered	Percentage of Questions
Introduction to Project Management	6%
Project Environment	6%
Role of the Project Manager	7%
Project Integration Management	9%
Project Scope Management	9%
Project Schedule Management	9%
Project Cost Management	8%
Project Quality Management	7%
Project Resource Management	8%
Project Communication Management	10%
Project Risk Management	8%
Project Procurement Management	4%
Project Stakeholder Management	9%
TOTAL	100%

Candidates are more likely to pass this exam if they have studied PMBOK® Guide well. The fundamental knowledge, terminology and processes of project management aligned with PMBOK guide will help you to clear the exam.

CAPM certification cost:

CAPM Certification fee

CAPM is an entry-level certification. If you are a student and an aspiring CAPM certified professional, you can take up Student Bundle to get PMI Student Membership and CAPM exam fee into a single application.

It costs US$257: $32 for the cost of student membership and $225 for the member price of the CAPM exam.

How to apply for CAPM certification?

You can refer to Certified Associate in Project Management Handbook from PMI to fill the application. The overview of the application process can be understood by the following image:

CAPM Application process

Who can apply for CAPM Certification?

Entry-level professionals in project management.
Professionals who do not have any project management experience.
Junior Project Managers
Project team members
Project members involved in one or more projects

Demand and Scope of CAPM certification

There is a huge demand for Project Managers in all sectors.

Did you know, according to PMI’s Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap Report (2017-2027),

By 2027, employers will need 87.7 million individuals working in project management-oriented role.

Demand for project managers from 2017-2027 in different countries

(Source: Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap 2017–2027)

To meet this demand and skill gap, many professionals are taking up industry-recognized Project Management certifications to enhance their skills and stand out from the crowd.

According to Payscale.com, the average annual salary of certified CAPM certified professionals are:

Average Annual Salary for CAPM certified professional

What are the advantages of CAPM Certification?

1. Global Recognition: Credentials from PMI is considered as industry- standard in-demand certification which validates the knowledge on project management.

2. Stepping stone for PMP Exam Preparation: The familiarity with PMBOK and the experience you gain after implementing the skills acquired from CAPM Certification will act as a strong footing for PMP examination preparation.

3. Professional Credibility: Thorough Understanding of the fundamental concepts through CAPM makes an individual highly proficient and boosts professional credibility.

4. Enhance Project Management Skills: CAPM Certification not only enhances your knowledge of Project Management, but it also helps to attain leadership quality and team management quality.

5. Career Advancement: CAPM accelerates the scope of your career as a Certified Associate Project Management professional with career advancement, professional growth, increase in salary and earning potential.

6.Higher Recruiter Visibility: Getting globally recognized professional certification captures the recruiter’s attention for a potential hiring requirement. The certification at the early stage of your career will make a path for better job opportunities.

7. Higher Pay: The certified associate in project management earns more than non-certified project management professionals.

8. Get more lucrative assignments: Certified professionals are more likely to get challenging Projects and opportunity to handle valued projects.

9. Professional Versatility: As a certified professional you might get a chance to lead the team, work in different projects and enhance your project management skill.

10. Recession-Proof your career: CAPM certification helps you stand out as an accomplished professional as compared to other non-certified peers in your field. During an economic crisis or in a period of slow growth or recession, non-certified project managers are more likely to come in the line of fire than their certified peers.

What will be career growth for CAPM Certified professionals?

1. If you are planning to crack the PMP Certification exam in the first attempt, then having CAPM Credentials will prove to be an asset and help you for PMP exam preparation.

2. The job profiles that CAPM certified professionals can apply for are:

Consultants
Business Analyst
Relational Administrator
Operational Support associate
PMO
Senior Project Manager in IT
Marketing Coordinator for Communications

For how many years CAPM certification is valid?

The CAPM certification is valid for 5 years from the date of clearing CAPM exam. For renewal of CAPM, you have to pursue CAPM certification again as a new candidate and go through the same application process. Your renewal period starts 12 months before your credential expiration date.

CAPM vs PMP:

Both CAPM and PMP are top project management certifications from PMI, but they serve different levels of experience.

CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management)

Who it’s for: Beginners or those new to project management.
Experience required: 23 hours of project management education/experience (no formal project management experience is needed to apply for the exam)
Focus: Basics of project management.
Cost: $225 (PMI members), $300 (non-members).
Validity: 5 years.

PMP (Project Management Professional)

Who it’s for: Experienced project managers.
Experience required: 3-5 years of project management experience, plus 35 hours of education.
Focus: Advanced project management skills.
Cost: $405 (PMI members), $555 (non-members)
Validity: 3 years (requires 60 PDUs for renewal)

Which one to choose?

CAPM is perfect if you’re new to project management. PMP is for those with experience looking to advance their career. Want to know how CAPM differs from PMP?

What Is The Fees To Apply For The PMP Examination?

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-26 4324

What Is The Fees To Apply For The PMP Examination?

Project Management Professional (PMP®) is one of the most lucrative certification endorsed by the Project Management Institute (PMI®). Organizations across the globe are looking for project management practitioners who are not only skilled and experienced but also hold relevant certifications. There are ocean-like opportunities for certified PMP professionals in project-intensive industries such as manufacturing, Information Services, Business Services, Finance and Insurance, etc.

Cost is one of the crucial aspects of PMP. But it is worth getting PMP Certified.

The project management profession is expected to grow by US$6.61 trillion.

In the countries like Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, project management roles are expected to grow by 13.4 million through 2020.

There are many aspects on which the cost of PMP certification depends.

PMI Membership
PMP Examination Fee
35 hours of PMP Training
Study Materials and Exam Simulators
Re-scheduling fee
Re-examination fee

The fees to apply for PMP certification depends on the status of PMI membership.

PMI Membership

PMI is worlds leading project management organization. The PMI serves more than 2.9 million professionals including over 500,000 members in 208 countries and territories around the world, with 300 chapters and 10,000 volunteers serving local members in over 80 countries.

There are three types of PMI membership:

Individual Membership
Student Membership
Retiree membership
Group membership

Though it is not mandatory to take PMI membership for PMP certification but it is recommended to take PMI membership for a discount on exam fee, opportunity to join local PMI chapter, free access to PMBOK guide etc.

Annual membership fee: $129

One time application fee for PMP: $10

Connect with over 1 million global project management peers and experts through live events, learning seminars and online community. Build a network of peers that you can rely on for guidance, support and idea-sharing. Converse with peers locally, in other countries, in and outside your industry that shares the same core passion for project management.

You can also access to PMI Publications, global standards, tools and templates, member-only webinars, virtual events etc.

The PMP examination fee:

Membership Status

Exam fee

Annual Membership Fee

Application fee

Total Cost

PMI members

$405

$129

$10

$544

PMI non-members

$555

-

$555

Though total PMP application is not much affected by PMI membership.

The PDF version of the latest PMBOK® Guide is part of the PMP exam fee. So, if you are a PMI member, the pdf version of the book comes as free.

This book can be purchased as a printed copy (hard copy) from PMI at the rate of $49.50 for members and $99 for non-members.

It is also available in Amazon in different versions like a hardbound book or pdf or kindle. It is important to note that the PMBOK book is very much required but it serves as one of the reference materials.

As mentioned in PMP-Handbook,

The cost of PMP certification according to exam administration type and PMI membership is as follows:

PMP Certification fee

What is the cost of 35 hours of PMP Training?

Every PMP aspirants need to take 35 hours of PMP training to meet the eligibility criteria. The cost of 35 hours of PMP training varies from country to country and mode of training.

iCert Global conducts 4-days PMP®️training program based on the Project Management Institute’s “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge” (PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition). Professionals will train you about the project lifecycle, process groups, knowledge areas and equip you with the functional knowledge and business insights to lead and manage projects effectively.

The cost iCert Global offers for PMP training across different countries are mentioned in the below table:

(Note: Cost may vary according to time)

Countries	Currency	Cost for E-Learning	Cost for Instructor-Led-Live Virtual Training	Cost for Instructor-Led-Live Classroom Training
US	USD	99	999	1499
Canada	CAD	99	999	1599
UK	GBP	99	599	1199
Aust	AUD	99	1499	1699
India	INR	3999	12999	14999
Singapore	SGD	99	999	1899
UAE	AED	499	1599	2499
Saudi	SAR	499	1599	2499
Europe	USD	99	999	1699

What is the cost of PMP Study Material and Exam Simulators?

As stated before PMBOK® guide is only the principal source. It is not the only source, so try to get study materials that you can access with regard to project management. Try to read as many as possible – the depth matters. With tons of information in the internet, you can make the most of the opportunity to your personal growth and benefit. The other study materials might cost you around $35-$65.

Exam simulators are practice test papers to check the extent of your preparation. You will get to know the stronger and weaker areas to concentrate on. The cost of exam simulators will range from $140 to $300

How much does the re-scheduling of PMP exam costs?

You can re-schedule your PMP exam two days before the scheduled date by paying the cancellation fee applied according to 30 days policy and 2 days policy.

If you reschedule or cancel your exam before 30 days of the exam appointment you will be charged $70

If you fail to reschedule or cancel your exam appointment before 2 calendar days you will forfeit the exam entire fee.

The following example gives you a clear picture of 30 days and 2 days policy:

PMP Exam Re-scheduling fee

What is the cost of Re-Examination of PMP if you could not clear PMP exam in first attempt?

You can take up re-examination for the remaining attempts by paying the following fee:

PMP Re-examination fee

Nine Steps to Become PMP®️ Certified Professional

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Nine Steps to Become PMP®️ Certified Professional

PMP is one of the most prestigious certifications project managers hold. Project management professional (PMP®️) certification is a globally-recognized certification accredited by the Project Management Institute (PMI®️). Companies and organizations across the globe are looking for skilled project managers to contribute to the success of their business.

Here are the 9 steps to get PMP certification.

Step 1: Go through the PMP Handbook

Step 2: Meet the Eligibility Criteria

Step 3: Take PMP training to earn contact hours

Step 4: Know about the membership

Step 5: Signup with PMI and Fill the application

Step 6: Study PMBOK-6th edition guide

Step 7: Prepare notes and collect study- materials

Step 8: Take PMP exam simulators

Step 9: Take the exam

1. Go through the PMP handbook

PMP handbook is published by the Project Management Institute (PMI). PMP handbook from PMI has an overview of the PMP certification program. One can understand the certification process easily with the help of PMP handbook. The PMP credential handbook by PMI is available online for free. The PMP handbook contains details about:

The PMP eligibility requirements
Guide to complete the online application
PMP examination details
PMP certification fees
PMI audit process
PMP exam policies and procedure
PMP credential policies and procedure

PMP Handbook

2. Meet the Eligibility Criteria

You have to fulfil the pre-requisites to clear PMP examination.

PMP eligibility criteria

To become eligible for PMP certification, you need to satisfy the education, project experience, and project management education criteria.

Secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree or the global equivalent)
7,500 hours leading and directing projects
35 hours of project management education

OR

Four-year degree
4,500 hours leading and directing projects
35 hours of project management education

3. Take PMP training to earn contact hours

35 hours of project management training education is required to fulfil the eligibility criteria to take up a prestigious certification exam in project management. The PMP Candidates should make sure that training consists of the following project management knowledge areas:

Project Quality
Project Scope
Project Schedule
Project Budget
Project Communications
Project Risk
Project Procurement
Project Integration Management.

The candidates should make sure that the following mode of education does not count as contact hours

PMI Chapter meeting with no learning activity.
Self-study
Management degree or post-graduation in management which cannot be mapped in project management knowledge areas mentioned above.

To get the 35PDUs, you can enrol in PMP® workshops for 2 to 6 days are conducted by R.E.Ps and training companies around the world. You will learn, engage, participate and gain knowledge in these 4 days of intensive training programs conducted by professionals who are experts in their domains. These sessions are very interactive with instructors and fellow participants that instils confidence and gets you ready to take up the challenge in the form of PMP® certification exam.

4. Know about the membership

The PMI serves more than 2.9 million professionals including over 500,000 members in 208 countries and territories around the world, with 300 chapters and 10,000 volunteers serving local members in over 80 countries.

Though it is not mandatory to take PMI membership for PMP certification it is recommended for a discount on exam fee, opportunity to join local PMI chapter, free access to PMBOK guide etc.

If you are a member of PMI, PMI arranges frequent meetings, global conferences for members across the globe and speak a common language of project management.

You can also access to online communities, templates, member-only webinars, virtual events etc. It will help you to build your network.

5. Sign up with PMI and fill the application

Go to http://www.pmi.org/ and click on “Login / Register” at the top-right corner and create an account.
Wait for the follow-up mail from PMI, confirm your registration and login to your account.
Fill the application according to the procedure given in PMP handbook

Refer our blogs for detail procedure

6. Study PMBOK-6th Edition Guide

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) is PMI's flagship publication and is a fundamental resource for effective project management in any industry.

PMBOK-6th edition

The PMBOK® Guide is your principal book. So study and master it. It is the key source but not the only source. You can consider PMBOK® Guide as a primary reference.

This guide has answers to most of the questions posed in the final exams and hence be thorough. Expert opinion has it that close to 75% of PMP® exam questions are from PMBOK® Guide.

According to PMI, PMP exam is based on 5 main domains:

PMP Exam format

7. Prepare notes and collect study materials

As stated before PMBOK® guide is only the principal source. It is not the only source, so try to get study materials that you can access with regard to project management. Try to read as many as possible – the depth matters. With tons of information in the internet, you can make the most of the opportunity to your personal growth and benefit.

You need to earn PMP-stipulated 35 contacts hours or PDUs (Professional Development Unit) which cant be earned by self-study.

8. Take PMP Exam Simulators

Exam simulators are practice test papers to check the extent of your preparation. You will get to know the stronger and weaker areas to concentrate on.

The are many free resources to check your preparation level.

Download Free PMP® Exam Practice Test with 200 PMP® Questions.

Full-length PMP sample test with 200 PMP exam prep questions.

The advice given by experts is that sample papers scores should be always 90% and above. If you can get that kind of score in your practice test consistently, you will clear in the first attempt.

9. Take the exam

Now, that all is done, its time to wrap up and appear for the exam on the scheduled date and time for your PMP® certification exam.

Total Questions: 200

Pretest question: 25 (Not added to PMP score)

Type of questions: Multiple-choice questions

Duration: 4 hours (No scheduled breaks mentioned)

Note: We do not know which 25 questions are pre-test questions so all the questions are to be attempted with equal importance. Pretest questions are generally experimental in nature and given to check the validity for further examinations.

Don’t skip the short tutorial on how to use the computer and the software at the beginning of the exam to avoid a blunder.

Why do we need to get PMP certification?

PMP certification holds good value in the field of project management.

According to the statistics report by WRIKE,

“80 percent of high-performing projects are led by a certified project manager”.

There are ocean-like opportunities in the field of project management for PMP certified professional.

According to PMI’s Talent Gap: Project management through 2020,

Demand and Scope for PMP Certification

The earning potential increases with experience and progress of knowledge. According to Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey, 10th Edition, certified PMP professionals earn 23% higher salary on average across 37 countries surveyed.

The countries with higher increase in the median salary of certified professionals are:

Country	Earning advantage
South Africa	58%
Ecuador	53%
Colombia	48%
Chile	43%
Mexico	43%

In the United States, the median salary of Certified PMP professionals among survey respondents was 25% higher than the median salary of those without the PMP certification ($115,000 versus $92,000).

How much does it cost for PMP certification?

PMI® Membership fee	$139
PMI® Membership renewal fee	$129 per year
PMP® Certification Exam fee - PMI® Membership	$405
PMP® Certification Exam fee for non-members	$555
PMP Renewal Fee for members	$60
PMP Renewal Fee for members	$150
Reexamination fee for PMI® members	$275
Reexamination fee for non-members	$375

Fixed cost

PMI Membership Fee
PMBOK® Guide
PMP Certification Fee
Rescheduling Fee
PMP renewal fee

Variable cost.

Training Course
Reference/Study materials

Check our blog for cost in detail- What Is The Cost Of Pmp Certification?

What is the salary for Certified PMP professionals?

According to Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey, 10th Edition from PMI.

Salary Based On Employment

The salary structure for PMP varies from country to country. The countries where project management professionals report the highest median salaries

Surprisingly, its not the United States (US$112,000), that tops the chart for the highest median salary project management professionals. It is Switzerland (US$130,996). Egypt is the country with the lowest median salary(US$10,159).

Salary based on certification status

PMP certification has to be renewed to maintain the “active” status. One of the factors to influence the salary is the certification status. The tenure of the PMP certification has its added advantage. South Africa tops the list for median salary at 58%for PMP certified professionals as compared to those without PMP credential.

Salary Based On Position

The position with added roles and responsibilities plays a significant role in deciding the salary. The PMP professionals draw more as salary with respect to their designation. Higher the position, the higher the pay. It can be inferred from the survey that Nigeria, offers the highest in terms of the median salary for a Project Manager III (US$30,305 ), Project Manager 11 (US$20,735 ) and Project Manager I (US$13,079).

Salary Based On Project Size

Project Managers managing larger projects and big teams are paid more. However, the variance of salary with regard to team size changes from country to country.

Who qualifies for PMP®? Find the target audience & criteria

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-20 5725

Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification is the benchmark for professional certification offered by the Project Management Institute. The professionals who successfully pass the PMP exam enter the elite club of PMP certification holders. There are just 1 million PMP certified professionals globally. PMP certification features in the ‘Top 10 Highest Paying Certifications.”

The PMP® certification demonstrates professionals’ knowledge and experience in project management including the five processes and ten knowledge areas of project management, and PMP® certification is renowned and recognized worldwide and applicable to all the verticals in the industry.

The average salary of a PMP certified professional in the United States is $80,000 – $110,000 according to PMI’s Project Management Salary Survey 10th edition. You can also visit our blog to know more about the average salary of a PMP (Project Management Professional) certified project manager worldwide.

The benefits of a PMP certification in terms of career advancement, global recognition, prominence, job opportunities, compensation are just great – but are you PMP certified?

If the answer is NO, then find out if you are eligible.

Eligibility criteria for PMP® certification:

PMP Eligibility Criteria

To become eligible for PMP certification, you need to satisfy the education, project experience, and project management education criteria.

Secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree or the global equivalent)
7,500 hours leading and directing projects
35 hours of project management education

OR

Four-year degree
4,500 hours leading and directing projects
35 hours of project management education

Note: “Can I take the PMP® exam without experience?” – is that your question? Why don’t you visit our article to find out more about it?

Almost everyone understands the education qualification aspect. But what is meant by project management experience and project management education?

Project Management Experience

Project management as a profession is all about delivery based on the agreed scope of work, execution, and communication with respective stakeholders to ensure a successful outcome. Communication is the cornerstone for a project manager to delegate, coordinate, manage and mitigate (risks) in each and every phase all the way to closure and handover of the project. This is the fundamental why Project Management experience matters so much and carries weightage.

In case you have a secondary degree, all the 7500 hours need not be in actual project management. The experience in a project environment is also counted. You don’t have to be a project manager at all times. A leading or directing role like that of a Project Lead, or Assitant Supervisor or team member will do. The title doesn’t count as much as the experience. Bottom line: You must have 3.5 years of experience in leading and managing projects.

Likewise, you hold an under-graduation credential, then 2 years of experience in leading and managing projects is absolutely mandatory.

The roles can be:

Supervisor
Team leader
Assistant project manager
Project Manager
Project coordinators
Any role participating in project management processes

Project Management Education

The PMP certification exam is aligned with the PMI’s reference guide PMBOK- 6th edition This reference book is the core material about the principles and practices of project management covering 10 knowledge areas and 49 processes that a project manager must be proficient. The questions of the PMP exam is based on the 5 domains with differing percentage as detailed in the table.

Experience for “Leading and directing” projects will fall under five processes of project management: Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring and Controlling and Closing.

PMP exam will test your knowledge areas are in five different project domains with differing percentages as detailed in the table. In order to pass, you must be strong in the subject matter to score well and clear the exam in your first attempt.

PMP Exam Format

You need 35 contact hours of PMP Training to satisfy the project management education requirement as prescribed by PMI.

You can earn these 35 hours through our PMP certification program which is conducted in 3 different modes of training :

Instructor- LED Classroom Training
Instructor- LED Live Online Training (Live or Virtual Training)
Self-paced Online Training or E-Learning

If you want to know “How do you Get 35 Contact Hours Of Project Management Education In PMP?”, please visit our blog to learn more about “What counts as contact hours for PMP”.

Target Audience

PMP exam is best suited for professionals with at least three (3) years of project management experience. They include:

Program managers,
Project managers, and
Project leaders
PMO leaders,
Project Executives
Project Engineers
Associate Project Managers
Team Managers
Team Leads/
Aspirants in the field of project management.

The target audiences must possess at least 2 years experience at least two (2) years of experience managing projects, including experience performing ALL of the following activities:

Project scope definition
Stakeholder management
Development of project plan and schedule
Project communications coordination
Managing Project Team
Cost Estimation
Monitoring of resources and project progress based on milestones
Risk assessment and mitigation
Evaluation of project performance
Quality management

Note: The PMP Exam will change on July 1, 2020

The Project Management Institute (PMI®) has decided to the Course Outline based on its survey and expert opinion from its Subject Matter Experts panel. The PMP exam will change on July 1, 2020.

The present PMP course outline is based on 5 main domains, and the new course outline of PMP exam effect from July 2020 will focus on 3 new domains:

People – Skills and knowledge (42%)
Process- Technical aspects of handling projects (50%)
Business Environment- Strategical aspects between the project and the organization (8%)

PMP New Course Outline JULY 01 2020

The new detailed framework of the content outline is based on predictive (approximately 50%), agile/hybrid (approximately 50%) approaches.

It will be a wise move to get your PMP certified as soon as possible before the PMP® Exam Changes on 1st July 2020.

Average Salary of PMP Certified Project Manager Worldwide

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What Is The Average Salary Of A PMP (Project Management Professional) Certified Project Manager Worldwide?

Companies are setting major hiring goals and for a project manager, the most decorated and distinguished PMP certification is a key differentiator. PMP certified professionals set themselves apart with their experience, expertise and exclusive skill-set in leading and managing complex projects. Project Management roles call for in-demand project management skills to demonstrate your capabilities and competencies – and that’s where PMP will prove to be the clincher.

The increasing demand for skilled project management professionals and the excellent salary levels make PMP highly desirable for both project managers and potential job seekers.

PMP-1 million

(source: www.pmi.org)

The demand for PMP professionals cannot be met by the existing supply as there are just 1 million PMP holders against the need for 2.2 million per year as per the PMI-commissioned talent gap analysis.

Some statistics about Project Management opportunities:

By 2020, there will be more than 15.7 million roles created for project managers.
The project management profession is further estimated to grow by $6.61 trillion.
PMP certification directly translates to a rise in salaries. PMPs draw 23% more than non-certified peers.
What is the mean household income in the United States? The mean household income in the United States, according to the US Census Bureau 2014 Annual Social and Economic Supplement, was $72,641
What Is The Average Salary Of A PMP Certified Professional In The United States? According to, PMI’s Project Management Salary Survey 10th edition, it is $110,000. Look at the difference a certification can add value monetarily.
The growth in project management roles is forecast by 13.4 million through 2020. The expanding job markets, the project management roles will increase in 10 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom as reported in Talent Gap: Project Management through 2020)

Industry growth world wide

Source: PMI’s INDUSTRY GROWTH FORECAST

The Average Salary Of A PMP Certified Project Management Worldwide

The source for the data represented in this blog is the Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey, 10th Edition from PMI.

Salary Based On Employment

The salary structure for PMP varies from country to country. The countries where project management professionals report the highest median salaries

Surprisingly, its not the United States (US$112,000), that tops the chart for the highest median salary project management professionals. It is Switzerland (US$130,996). Egypt is the country with the lowest median salary(US$10,159).

Salary based on Number of Years of Experience in Project Management

Salary based on certification status

PMP certification has to be renewed to maintain the “active” status. One of the factors to influence the salary is the certification status. The tenure of the PMP certification has its added advantage. South Africa tops the list for median salary at 58%for PMP certified professionals as compared to those without PMP credential.

Salary Based On Position

The position with added roles and responsibilities plays a significant role in deciding the salary. The PMP professionals draw more as salary with respect to their designation. Higher the position, the higher the pay. It can be inferred from the survey that Nigeria, offers the highest in terms of the median salary for a Project Manager III (US$30,305 ), Project Manager 11 (US$20,735 ) and Project Manager I (US$13,079).

Salary Based On Project Size

Project Managers managing larger projects and big teams are paid more. However, the variance of salary with regard to team size changes from country to country.

Footnotes:

For a more detailed and comprehensive study of the PMP salary worldwide, you may please visit https://bit.ly/pmpsalaries

Are you interested in learning more about the top IT certifications that working professionals are aiming to target in 2020? Read our blog on 'Top 10 High Paying Certifications to Target in 2020.’

Is a PMP (Project Management Professional) exam worth it?

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Is It Worth Getting PMP Certification?

Yes, it is definitely worth getting PMP certification. It is worth the hard work, effort, time and money.

First let us know,

What is PMP all about?

Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification is a globally recognized certification accredited by the Project Management Institute (PMI®)- globally recognized organization in the field of project management.

PMP credential is an industry-recognized standard certification for project managers worldwide. Project managers having PMP credentials can witness their career growth as soon as they get certified. It validates their experience, knowledge, capability, and required skills to lead and manage complex projects.

Professionals who meet the following criteria can apply for prestigious PMP certification and take their career to a higher level:

Secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree or the global equivalent)
5 years or 7,500 hours leading and directing projects
35 hours of project management education OR CAPM certification

OR

Four-year degree
3 years or 4,500 hours leading and directing projects
35 hours of project management education OR CAPM certification

PMP certification is aligned to the reference guide PMBOK- 6th edition released by PMI. It is the fundamental resource for the PMP credential aspirants. PMBOK-6th edition is developed by subject matter experts and reviewed by PMI’s Project management community. PMBOK guide is available in English and 11 other languages (Arabic, Chinese [simplified], French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese Brazilian, Russian and Spanish).

PMP examination is based on five domains mentioned in PMBOK-6 edition

PMP exam format

Let us know why getting PMP certification is worthy.

Adds value to your career

PMP credential definitely adds value to your career as it validates your competency and knowledge in the field of project management. It provides an opportunity to handle complex projects in the organization. PMP certification helps you to gain trust from the employers

The credentials from PMI prove that your knowledge is up to date as PMI course content is based on the current industry situation. It includes:

Trends and emerging practices
Tailoring considerations
A greater emphasis on Strategic and Business Knowledge
A new section on the role of the project manager

You can apply your project management skills according to the newest project management trends.

According to the statistics report by WRIKE,

“80 percent of high-performing projects are led by a certified project manager”.

Job opportunities worldwide

There are ocean-like opportunities in the field of project management for PMP certified professional.

According to PMI’s Talent Gap: Project management through 2020,

PMP job opportunity

Project-intensive industries: The industries with a high level of project-oriented work. These industries are:

Information services
Manufacturing
Business services
Finance and insurance
Oil and Gas
Construction
Utilities

The project management profession is expected to grow by US$6.61 trillion.

In the countries like Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, project management roles are expected to grow by 13.4 million through 2020.

Build network globally

Credentials from PMI is not just certification. It also gives opportunities to meet active practitioners and subject matter experts under one roof.

The PMI serves more than 2.9 million professionals including over 500,000 members in 208 countries and territories around the world, with 300 chapters and 10,000 volunteers serving local members in over 80 countries.

Though it is not mandatory to take PMI membership for PMP certification but it is recommended to take PMI membership for a discount on exam fee, opportunity to join local PMI chapter, free access to PMBOK guide etc.

If you are a member of PMI, PMI arranges frequent meetings, global conferences for members across the globe and speak common language of project management.

You can also access to online communities, templates, member-only webinars, virtual events etc. It will help you to build your network.

Higher earning potential

The earning potential increases with experience and progress of knowledge. According to Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey, 10th Edition, certified PMP professionals earn 23% higher salary on average across 37 countries surveyed.

The countries with higher increase in the median salary of certified professionals are:

Country	Earning advantage
South Africa	58%
Ecuador	53%
Colombia	48%
Chile	43%
Mexico	43%

In the United States the median salary of Certified PMP professionals among survey respondents was 25% higher than the median salary of those without the PMP certification ($115,000 versus $92,000).

Continuous learning

Even after you get PMP certified once you get PMP certified you need to maintain your certification by earning Professional Development Units (PDUs) as a part of the Continuing Certification Requirement (CCR) Program.

1 PDU= 1 hour of learning activity

This allows you to gain knowledge on a continuous basis. You can earn PDU’s by attending webinars, joining the discussion thread, volunteering for local PMI chapter or by completing relevant educational courses by training organizations.

The Global Project Management community helps you to stay updated with recent methodologies and techniques.

Validates dedication towards a career

Getting PMP certification is not an easy task. Once you get PMP certified you will experience confidence to handle any kind of projects and increases the project success rate. It requires a lot of effort and commitment towards the goal.

The employee with continuous learning and dedicated to professional growth is an asset to the company.

The employers know the importance of trainings on project management.

According to PMI’s Pulse Of The Profession,

Three in five organizations provide training on project management tools and techniques.

Percentage of organization adopting PMP training

Conclusion

By knowing all the perks of getting PMP certified we can conclude that “yes” it is indeed worth all the efforts, money and time.

What steps should I follow to reapply for the PMP exam?

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-18 5266

How should I Re-apply for PMP examination?

Project Management Certification (PMP®) is the most sought and lucrative certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI®) and considered as one of the difficult exams in the field of project management. This is the reason for PMP being valuable credential.

The PMP exam is based on A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)- 6th Edition. It includes all the processes, knowledge areas and terminology. PMBOK is one of the study reference guides to clear PMP exam but working experience in the field of project management will surely help you to clear the exam in the first attempt.

How difficult it is to clear the PMP exam?

Yes, it is very difficult to clear the exam in the first attempt. A Lot of effort and time is required to get PMP credentials. The preparation time should be well planned in order to cover all the topics of the PMBOK guide. It requires at least 2 to 3 months of preparation depending on aspirant’s capability and efforts invested. Knowing the difficulty level, we can say that it is not easy to clear the PMP exam in the first attempt. Second chances are expected to be quite fruitful if you consider the following factors while preparing:

The factors you need to consider for re-examination:

The content outline – PMBOK is one of the reference books. You should not depend only on the PMBOK guide to clear the exam. You need to get proper guidance, study material and exam simulator to know the strength and weaknesses in each domain area and prepare accordingly.

Discipline and dedicated study plan - Proper preparation is required to attempt any examination. Develop a work plan by working on your weaker domains. Attend webinars and workshops for better preparation.

PMP Exam format

3. Think according to PMP- Sometimes we tend to answer the question according to our work experience. To clear the PMP examination, be conversant to PMBOK guide.

What is the pass rate for the PMP exam?

It is difficult to predict the pass rate for the PMP exam as the Project management Institute does not disclose the overall passing percentage. PMI says there are one million active PMP certified since 1983.

PMP -One million

According to the survey conducted for Project Management Trainers And Experts In Linkedin,

“40% of project management experts responded that the passing rate for the PMP exam is less than 50%”.

How many attempts are allowed by PMI to clear PMP exam?

As mentioned in PMI’s PMP handbook, PMI allows 3 attempts in one-year exam eligibility. Once the PMI approves your application, your one-year exam eligibility period begins.

Schedule your exam according to preparation and time gap left in the exam eligibility period.

What to do if you couldn't clear the PMP exam in the first attempt?

If you couldn't clear the PMP exam in the first attempt, you can schedule your exam for further attempts by following the simple steps:

Log in to pmi.org
Pay the re-examination fee
You will receive an email with new eligibility ID
Use that eligibility ID to schedule your exam

What is the cost of PMP re-examination?

You can take up re-examination for the remaining attempts by paying the following fee:

PMP Re-examination fees

What if you couldn't clear PMP exam in all the three attempts?

If you couldn’t clear PMP exam in all the three attempts, you must wait for one year to re-apply for PMP examination. The waiting period starts from the day you took your last examination. There are many other certifications offered by PMI. Candidate can apply for other certification in the same exam eligibility period by paying the initial certification fees. The certifications candidate can apply are:

CAPM -
PMI-RMP
PMI-PBA
PMI-ACP
PfMP
PgMP
PMI-SP

How to re-apply for PMP examination after completing the waiting period?

If you want to re-apply for PMP certification, you have to start again from the beginning. Fill the new application form with the required project management experience and project management education. Pay the fee according to your membership with PMI.

PMI will confirm the approval of the application and provide one-year exam eligibility period with 3 attempts.

How to re-schedule the PMP exam?

You can re-schedule your PMP exam two days before the scheduled date by paying the cancellation fee applied according to 30 days policy and 2 days policy.

If you reschedule or cancel your exam before 30 days of the exam appointment you will be charged $70

If you fail to reschedule or cancel your exam appointment before 2 calendar days you will forfeit the exam entire fee.

The following example gives you a clear picture of 30 days and 2 days policy:

PMP Re-scheduling

PMP Certification Fee: $405 (members) / $555 (non-members)!

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-17 3895

What is the cost of PMP Certification?

PMI® Membership fee	$139
PMI® Membership renewal fee	$129 per year
PMP® Certification Exam fee - PMI® Membership	$405
PMP® Certification Exam fee for non-members	$555
PMP Renewal Fee for members	$60
PMP Renewal Fee for members	$150
Reexamination fee for PMI® members	$275
Reexamination fee for non-members	$375

The Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification is highly respected, and widely recognized and hailed as the gold standard in project management.

To become PMP certified, the eligibility criteria set by PMI have to be met. So next comes the cost of the PMP examination. Many presume the PMP exam fee as the cost of a PMP certification exam. The are other costs that need to considered to work out the total cost of certification. And the cost varies depending upon the region and PMI chapters. There is something called hidden cost or cost that we don’t factor – which is the time spent.

Cost of PMP Certification- iCert Global

The costs of PMP certification can be broken down into

Fixed cost

PMI Membership Fee
PMBOK® Guide
PMP Certification Fee
Rescheduling Fee
PMP renewal fee

Variable cost.

Training Course
Reference/Study materials

1. PMI Membership Fee

There is no mandate to become a PMI member to take the PMP exam. However, the benefits that come with PMI membership are just too good to miss – you can get a free copy of the latest version PMBOK and the PMP exam fees will become appreciably less as you can save close to $100.

The table below shows the PMI Membership Fee

.

PMI Membership Fees	Prices in USD
One-time Application Fee	$10
PMI Membership Fee	$129

Note: the membership for students is $32.

The membership with the local PMI chapter is strongly recommended as you will gain access to professional development opportunities. The fees towards Chapter membership varies between $12-$60.

2. PMBOK® Guide – Cost: $49.50 to $99 [Pdf version free for PMI members].

The PDF version of the latest PMBOK® Guide is part of the PMP exam fee. So, if you are a PMI member, the pdf version of the book comes as free.

This book can be purchased as a printed copy (hard copy) from PMI at the rate of $49.50 for members and $99for non-members.

It is also available in Amazon in different versions like a hardbound book or pdf or kindle. It is important to note that the PMBOK book is very much required but it serves as one of the reference materials.

3. PMP Certification Fee – Cost: $ 405 for members, $ 555 for non-members

This cost component is perceived by many as the COST. It is the heaviest in cost compared to other components, but this isn’t the only one. This is one of many. Let us be clear about the expenses to be incurred.

The PMP certification fees are clearly detailed in the PMP Handbook. The table below presents the information with regard to the Exam Type and corresponding fee structure.

Exam Administration Type	PMI Member Status	US Dollars	Euros
Center-based testing (CBT) Paper-based testing (PBT)	member	$405	€340
Center-based testing (CBT) Paper-based testing (PBT)	nonmember	$555	€465
Reexamination CBT/PBT	member	$275	€230
Reexamination CBT/PBT	nonmember	$375	€315
CCR certification renewal	member	$60	USD only
CCR certification renewal	nonmember	$150	USD only

The PMI membership is valid for only one year. Can you observe the fee difference between member and non-member? The discount is significant, and you also get a pdf version of PMBOK for free.

4. PMP Certification Training Course – Cost: depends on country/service provider/mode of training

PMI prescribes the 35 PDU (Professional Development Units) as one of the major prerequisites to qualify for the PMP exam. So, a formal training course that will provide you the 35 PDUs with proof of attending training is an absolute must. PMI insists on the certification of completion from your training provider. The exam is difficult and demanding, and this training course is good as a refresher course to help you come to speed.

4.1 Why is the PMP Certification Training Course a variable cost?

There are three modes of training for PMP training.

Instructor- LED Classroom Training
Instructor- LED Live Online Training (Liver Virtual Training)
Self-paced Online Training or E-Learning

Instructor- LED Classroom Training

It is a brick and mortar set up - the physical classroom. The main advantage of this method is the face-to-face engagement that registers higher participation and interaction between the instructor and participants, which makes the training very productive. It is usually conducted in a 4-day format covering the complete curriculum. The cost depends on the country and training provider.

PMP Certification classroom varies in course fee based on country as presented below:

America, Canada, Australia: $1500
South America (Brazil, Chile): $600
China, India: $500
European Countries: $1200
Arabian Countries: $2000

So, there is no fixed price and it impacts the PMP certification cost.

Instructor- LED Live Online Training (Liver Virtual Training)

Live Online Training is virtual. This method is convenient for those who find it difficult to commute to attend classroom training and prefer to connect in the virtual mode. Live Online Training is conducted online using specialized and specific software like such as Citrix GoToMeeting, Cisco WebEx, etc.

The cost starts at $229 and goes upwards.

Self-paced Online Training or E-Learning

E-learning is anywhere anytime learning. This self-study enables the participant to learn at their convenience and calls for the basic requirement of a work station (Desktop, laptop or hand-held devices) and internet connectivity.

Cost: This method is by far the most cost-effective starting from $129 onwards. There are some training providers who offer for lesser price.

So, choosing the mode of training directly impacts the total cost of PMP certification.

5. Reference/Study materials

As stated before, studying PMBOK alone won't suffice. There are more materials and literature and practice tests and mock exams. You have to devote dedicated time become to ace your PMP exam.

The Reference/Study materials include other PMP study guides ($35-$65 ), by authors of repute, ebooks, Exam simulators($140 to $300), Question Banks, Brain Dumps, Practice exams, and mock tests.

Cost: It depends upon the time you spend and the money you wish to invest in buying the reference materials.

6. Rescheduling Fee – Cost: $70

Uncertainty is a way of life. There are always exceptions. Sometimes, things don’t run as planned. In the event of you missing the scheduled PMP exam for whatever reason, you can always reschedule the exam but PMI charges a fee.

Cost: PMI will charge $70 to reschedule the exam provided it is within 30 days.

Now that you are PMP certified, does it mean no more spending? There is still one component left: cost charged for Renewal of your PMP certification.

7. Renewal of your PMP certification – Cost: $60 for a PMI member, $150 for a non-member.

The PMP certification is not valid for life. It has to be renewed every 3 years and there is a cost factor involved.

You don’t have to be a PMI member to renew your PMP certificate but the cost to renew is lesser for a PMI member.

PMI has made it easier to earn these PDUs at a lower cost. You will have to spend 1 hour of time to earn 1 PDU.

The Cost for renewal for a PMI member is $60 and $150 for a non-member.

All the costs that have to be borne towards PMP certification been covered. Given the variables, it is difficult to arrive at a specific number as the total cost. You can do the math to work out the average cost towards PMP certification.

What is the PMP® Pass Rate?

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What is the PMP® Pass Rate?

There is no official statement about the pass rate and passing score of PMP.

The PMP exam report does not declare any score. PMI mentions – ‘Pass or Fail’.

What is PMP?

PMP certification is globally recognized and important certifications for the success of the Project Management career path. PMP is one of the toughest exams to clear.

According to the Project Management Institute (PMI®), PMP is a gold standard of Project Management Certification. It validates your competence to perform in the role of a project manager, leading and directing projects and teams.

The eligibility criteria to apply for PMP certification:

Eligibility Criteria for PMP

What is the PMP pass rate?

PMP pass rate is the number of candidates qualifying the PMP exam in the first attempt. PMI does not disclose any information on the PMP exam pass rate.

According to the survey conducted for Project Management Trainers And Experts In Linkedin,

“40% of project management experts responded that the passing rate for the PMP exam is less than 50%”.

PMI does not mention passing score now but when PMBOK Guide 3rd edition was released in 2004, PMI has stated the passing percentage would be 81%. The PMP Handbook of the year 2005 clearly mentioned a 61% passing score.

Also, in 2006 frequently asked questions section PMI had mentioned 106 marks out of 175 which approximately comes to 61%. But now PMI does not disclose any passing score or passing rate.

What is the passing score for PMP?

In the Project Management Institute’s PMP Handbook PMI clearly states that the passing score for all PMI exams is determined by the static model -Sound Psychometric Analysis.

PMI uses subject matter experts from around the world to determine how many questions you must answer correctly to pass the exam but it is not disclosed.

Each scored question on the exam is worth one point and your final score is calculated by totalling the points you have earned on the exam. There is no negative marking for the wrong answer.

No two candidates can get the same questions. Hence, it is clear that by using Sound Psychometric Model, PMI determines the difficulty level of question papers is similar for all the candidates.

Hence the passing score for every candidate is different.

There is no official statement about the passing score of PMP.

What is the structure of the PMP exam?

Total Questions: 200

Pretest question: 25 (Not added to PMP score)

Type of questions: Multiple-choice questions

Duration: 4 hours (No scheduled breaks mentioned)

Note: We do not know which 25 questions are pre-test questions so all the questions are to be attempted with equal importance. Pretest questions are generally experimental in nature and given to check the validity for further examinations.

Download Free PMP® Exam Practice Test with 200 PMP® Questions.
Full-length PMP sample test with 200 PMP exam prep questions.

If you solve the sample PMP questions and score over 80%, there are chances of you clearing the PMP exam in the first attempt.

The examination format for PMP is based on A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)- 6th Edition. It includes all project domains, knowledge areas and processes. PMI has divided the percentage of questions in all the domain as follows:

PMP Exam Format

What does the PMP result report include?

The PMP exam report does not declare any score. PMI mentions – ‘Pass or Fail’

The report also provides information about performance in each domain in terms of,

Above target- Exceeds the minimum requirements
Target- Your performance meets the minimum requirements
Below target- Your performance fails to meet the minimum requirements
Needs improvement- Your performance is far below target and recommends additional preparation.

PMI’s Sample Result Report showcases the performance information in terms of the above target, target, below target, and needs improvement.

Sample exam result report from PMI

Result report also shares a performance report in each domain:

Sample result report for each domains

Is it necessary to get Target and Above target in all the domains to clear the PMP exam?

The performance information in the result report is mentioned to convey the candidate about the strong and weak portion of the project domains. It does not conclude the pass or fail rate. PMP exam is judged based on overall performance in all the domains.

PMP Certification vs. MBA: Which Career Path Is Superior?

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Is the PMP Certification Better Than MBA?

It is difficult to pick and place one over the other. PMP and MBA have their own standing in the market and perceived as a status symbol. MBA is a Master's Degree in Business Administration. PMP is an expert certification in project management. MBA involves all the aspects of business and strategy from an organization and PMP is a focused study on the ten knowledge areas of project management and prepares the professionals for successful execution and implementation of projects. Both bring value to the table with added benefits - an MBA degree will give you more and advanced knowledge, PMP training certification will help you build core competency and develop expertise in project management!

An MBA with a PMP certification certainly increases your worth.

Masters in Project Management (MBA)

The MBA is a master's program that is broad-based as it involves an in-depth study of a catalog of courses with regard to Business which hones your skills and knowledge. The MBA program is offered by a number of universities and colleges, and hence the demand from MBA holders depends upon the recognition of and reputation factors. Then again, MBA is costly and time-consuming. The Business Management facets covered as part of the curriculum include:

Marketing
Finance
Accounting
Organizational Behavior (HR)
Entrepreneurship
Strategy
Economics
Operations
Statistics.
Ethics

PMP Certification

PMP certification in project management is offered by the PMI (Project Management Institute). PMP is rated as one of the top certifications in the industry and considered as the crown jewel in project management.

The Project Management Institute prescribes best practices in project management to effectively lead and manage projects by focusing on 49 processes and 10 knowledge areas as listed below:

Integration
Scope
Schedule
Cost
Quality
Resources
Communication
Risk
Procurement
Stakeholders

PMP and MBA – how do they differ?

Eligibility

PMP:

There are no particular graduation required to become eligible. Any degree will do. The prerequisites focus more on the project management experience the professional need to achieve in order to qualify for the PMP exam. So any graduate degree with 3 years or 4500 hours of experience in leading and managing projects will meet the requirement set by PMI to take the PMP exam.

Four-year degree
3 years or 4,500 hours leading and directing projects
35 hours of project management education OR CAPM certification

MBA

Admission for MBA programs for well recognized and reputed colleges like Ivy-league calls for excellent performance in the GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test ) exam or Common Admission Test (CAT). GMAT and CAT are very tough and highly competitive, and only top scorers are considered who will have to clear further rounds of discussion and interviews. This criterion is not compulsory to do an MBA program and not at all a prerequisite. The major prerequisite to an MBA program is any under-graduation.

Validity or expiry

The PMP certification is valid only for 3 years and has to be renewed once in 3 years. There is no need to take every 3 years the PMP exam again. To maintain the “active” status of the PMP certification, please study the “how to renew PMP certification.” The “active “status can be verified from the PMI registry.

There is no expiry for an MBA degree. Once you successfully earn your MBA degree, It is valid for a lifetime

Responsibility

A business manager with an MBA is responsible for managing all the aspects of a business. A PMP certified project manager is responsible for the successful execution of the project from start to finish. Their focus is on project management and their business goals or triple bottom line is confined to the projects or projects engaged.

Why is PMP better than an MBA?

PMP- one million certified professionals

For starters, there are too many colleges and universities offering both degree and diploma in MBA. So the supply exceeds the demand and brings down the demand. Unless you graduate from world-renowned colleges/universities, head hunters aren’t that inclined to shortlist your profile based on an MBA degree.
PMP is niche. Elite. Exclusive. There are only 1 million certified PMP professionals. The need for qualified PMP professionals is around 2.1 million per year as per the PMI-commissioned talent gap analysis. So the demand for PMP is huge.
PMP professionals possess technical and managerial skills. MBAs study end-to-end on the business side only. MBAadmittedly is broad in business skills and knowledge, while PMP is a structured and specialized study of project management. Every organization runs on projects and needs managers both on business and technology and that’s where PMP will have an edge.
PMP is inexpensive and less in duration as compared to an MBA which takes time and more spending as part of the cost of education.

The returns on investment are better in PMP than MBA

Average annual salaries of Certified PMP and MBA

Surely, in the short term, PMP is higher in ROI. MBA will need more time to recover investment and longer to see the returns on investment.

The Average Salary for People with Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degrees in the united states is $100,000. The Average Salary for Professionals with PMP certification in the united states is $105,000. So it's almost the same.

But the cost and time invested in earning an MBA degree are much higher as compared to PMP. Fulfilling the prerequisites, you can become a PMP certified professional within 6 months by spending something over $2,000. And what is the salary drawn by an average PMP professional? $105,000. So an investment of $2,000 empowers you to earn $105,000.

The MBA program is time and effort-intensive and. It takes 2 years with a tuition fee of $97000 [ MBA from Harvard costs $97000 ] and the average salary for an MBA professional is $100,000.

PMP: In 6 months, spending $2,000 to earn $105,000

MBA: In 2 years or 24 months, spending $97000 to earn $100,000

Do the math, and you will find out the yield is higher in PMP. In the long run, MBA can fetch the returns but PMP has a great head start.

Is PMP certification is a valuable addition to MBA?

It depends. One cannot even attempt to answer or hazard a guess.

The portfolio chosen by the MBA professional as a career choice matters. Some MBAs are into Finance, Marketing, Branding, where a PMP doesn’t complement.

For some organizations, projects are the main source of income. In such a set-up, MBA with a PMP certification is a killer combination as the organization’s day-to-day operations as well as the project execution with technical prowess is greatly complimented.

It’s a known fact that PMP professionals earn 23% more than non-certified. PMP has become a must-have credential as witnessed by our times.

Project-based organizations always prefer to have PMP certified managers for their functional knowledge and managerial abilities. PMP is also known Hence it can help MBA holders with a PMP in finding job opportunities, increased pay, career acceleration and job retention during a recession.

In conclusion, an MBA with a PMP would be more rounded as the common denominator in both MBA and PMP is business. PMP is also considered a good certification in business. So an MBA with PMP strikes a good balance between managing projects and business.

PMP vs. Lean Six Sigma: Focus, methodology, and benefits.

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Comparison Of PMP® Certification And Lean Six Sigma Certification

PMP- Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification is an industry-recognized credential offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI®). It is a certification that prescribes the best practices for project management designed to improve the success rate of the project.

Lean Six Sigma certification is a quality management certification offered by the International Association of Six Sigma Certifications (IASSC™) designed to reduce variations and eliminate waste which ensures the quality of the process.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

PMP:

PMP Eligibility Criteria

Lean Six Sigma:

There is no such prerequisite to take any of the Lean Six Sigma Certification exams accredited by IASSC™. LSS has a hierarchy of certifications to progress in career path:

METHODOLOGIES USED

Both the methodologies of PMP and LSS are based on knowledge bodies targeting the progress and success of the project.

PMP methodology is based on A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) 6th Edition published by PMI. It includes 5 processes of project management:

Initiating
Panning
Executing
Monitoring and controlling
Closing

LSS methodology is based on a problem-solving framework with a cycle called DMAIC which is a data-driven quality strategy for improving the quality of the process. DMAIC is an acronym of:

Define
Measure
Analyze
Improve
Control

TARGET AUDIENCE

There are many professionals who hold dual certification. Anyone can do both the certifications to add value to their career path. PMP certification helps project managers lead and direct the project and improve the success rate of the project while LSS certification makes them improve the quality of the process. Some organizations prefer both the certification holders to ensure the quality and success of the project.

The target audience for PMP Certification:

Project Manager
Project Coordinators,
Supervisor for PMO
Team Manager
Team Leader

The target audience for Lean Six Sigma Certification:

Quality Managers
Quality System Managers
Quality Engineers
Quality Supervisors
Quality Analysts
Quality Auditors
Team Leaders
Software Professionals
Project Managers
Improvement Managers
Operational line managers

AVERAGE ANNUAL INCOME

PMP and LSS both are globally recognized certifications which increases the earning potential.

The average annual salary of certified PMP:

Average annual Salary of Certified PMP professionals

Lean six sigma certified professionals earn according to the hierarchy of the certifications.

The average annual salary for certified Lean Six Sigma professionals:

Average annual salary of certified Lean Six Sigma Professionals

EXAM FORMAT

PMP exam:

PMP Exam format

Lean Six Sigma Certifications:

Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt

60 multiple-choice questions

Duration: 2 hours

Qualifying points: 230 points out of 300 points

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt

100 questions

Duration: 3 hours

Qualifying points: 385 points out of 500 points

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

150 questions

Duration: 4 hours

Qualifying points: 580 points out of 750 points

FEE STRUCTURE

PMP:

PMP exam fee structure

Lean Six Sigma Certification:

The cost for the IASSC Certified Yellow Belt Exam is $195 USD.

The cost for the IASSC Certified Green Belt Exam is $295 USD.

The cost for the IASSC Certified Black Belt Exam is $395 USD.

MAINTENANCE OF CREDENTIALS

PMP:

PMP credentials credited by PMI has to be renewed every three years to maintain the credentials.

PDU’s Required: 60

LSS:

Lean six sigma certifications have no expiry date.

Benefits Of Doing Both The Certifications:

Improves overall performance
Globally recognized and in-demand certifications
Expand career opportunities
Ability to apply both the methodologies which adds value to the organization
Higher pay
Increase market reach and scope

A Scrum Master supports, but isn't a Project Manager!!!!

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Is a Scrum Master a Project Manager?

Possibly. It is inconclusive. Both scrum master and project manager contribute to a project. There is a misconception that project manager in an agile environment is called scrum master. No, it is not so.

It is to be noted that project managers do not always become scrum masters, or you don’t become a scrum master being a project manager. The project manager and Scrum Master roles might have some overlapping but they are distinct and different. The responsibilities of a project manager are not the same as scrum master nor does the skills match.

Who is a Scrum Master?

The Scrum Master is a facilitator who ensures the scrum principles are adhered without any allowance in agile projects. The scrum master promotes and supports Scrum. The Scrum Master conduct as servant-leader for Team. Scrum Masters helps everyone in the team to understand Scrum theory, practices, rules, and values. Scrum master coaches and motivates. Scrum master never enforces.

Who is a Project Manager?

A project manager is responsible for leading a project right from its inception to delivery. A project manager plans and organizes and manages the resources, scope, schedule time and stakeholders necessary to complete a project. The project manager is responsible for the success of the project within cost and on time.

Project Manager and Scrum Master - In a nutshell

A Project Manager aims to bring the project to a successful conclusion, while a Scrum Master empowers the Scrum Team.
The Scrum Master always places the needs of the team first. This with the firm belief that you get the best out of people when you empower them.
A project manager is responsible to develop based on agreed requirements and deliver a project within budget and on time. The scrum master ensures the maximum value of the product is achieved by getting the needs to get the best out of the team.

Responsibilities of Project Manager and Scrum Master

Project Manager:

Develop project scopes and objectives
Ensure resource availability and allocation
Develop a detailed project plan
Prepare a Budget
Measure project performance
Manage the relationship with stakeholders
Time Estimating
Cost Estimating
Documentation

Scrum Master:

Forecast the number of deliverables possible in a single iteration
Estimate and plan
Coach the team in agile practices
Serve the team rather than direct the team.
Remove blockers/impediments
Monitor the progress of a sprint
Promote continuous communication
Facilitate sprint planning and meetings
Monitor and helps improve team dynamics
Motivate the team

Some Statistics

To substantiate the statement that Scrum Master could have been Project Managers, let us look into some of the insights from the survey report of “2019 Scrum Master Trends,” which lists the titles previously held by a scrum master.

Project manager: 31 percent.
Software developer or engineer: 25 percent.
Business analyst: 10 percent.
Quality assurance: 8 percent.

In a survey of made with 2,100 scrum masters by Scrum.org and Age of Product

14% stated that their agile practice was part of their organization’s project management office (PMO)
31% acknowledged having held the title of project manager before becoming a scrum master.

Scrum Master & Project Manager: Are they similar?

It is by now evident that scrum master and project manager are different and distinct but there are overlapping in their roles. By now, you would have realized that both the roles are quite different, yet important. Let’s understand the similarities between these two roles:

Both are focused on the team’s efficiency and performance.
Scrum Master facilitates and coaches the team. Project Manager involves troubleshooting measures to resolve team issues and conflicts.
In both the roles, the decision making authority rest elsewhere. In the case of a Project Manager, the stakeholder decides. In the case of scrum master, it will be the product owner.
Both Scrum Master and Project Manager stress the importance of quality and stickler to adherence to quality standards.
With the right skill set and experience, Both command respect and demand in the industry.

What are the differences between Scrum Master & Project Manager?

Let’s understand the differences between the two roles:

1. Industry-specific. Scrum Master can engage in IT and IT-related industry whereas Project Manager is too broad and can engage in any industry.

2. A Scrum Master's core contribution lies in scope, quality, and resource management knowledge areas. A Project Manager involves in all the ten knowledge areas of project management.

3. A Project Manager handles significantly large teams and sometimes, multiple teams or multiple projects. Scrum Master works in a team that is relatively smaller in size.

4. Scrum Master conducts daily scrum meetings. While the Project Manager schedules meetings based on need, calendar and communication plan

5. A Scrum Master follows scrum framework and scrum rules strictly without deviations. Project Manager has the choice to customize their approach and tailor it according to the requirement. The project demand determines the selection of approaches.

6. The team members’ work schedule and responsibilities are assigned by the Project Manager, while the Scrum Master coaches and motivates the team

7. Scrum Master focuses on maximizing the product value while the Project Manager is more concerned about the plan, scope, and schedule of the project.

8. PMP or Prince2 certifications are the essential and most recognized certification for Project Manager, while Scrum Master requires a certification from scrum alliance.

Closure

The answer for about Scrum Manager as a Project Manager is divided in opinion as some experts differ with a resounding “No”, while some concur with ” possibly”, but none with a concrete “yes”. Hence there is a gray area as a result of the overlapping of duties in both the roles, but the similarity ends there. The project manager role is more about leadership, while the scrum master is about coaching and motivation. Also, both the roles are so different in their roles and responsibilities. Scrum Master works in an agile environment. The project manager predominantly follows the traditional waterfall, but with the latest PMP certification from PMI, the upgraded version of the reference material PMBOK 6th guide, the Project Manager can follow the agile approach. So the playing area is getting levelled. With the Project Manager playing an active role in an agile approach, it will be interesting to see how the future will unfold.

iCert Global conducts Project Management, Quality Management, Business Analysis, Agile, Scrum, and DevOps Certification courses across various locations in the United States.
Visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/ for more information about our professional certification training courses or Call Now! on +1-713-287-1213 / +1-713-287-1214 or e-mail us at info {at} icertglobal {dot} com.
Do visit our Corporate Training to know more about core offerings for enterprises in empowering their workforce.
Project Management Training by iCert Global:
- PMP Certification Training
- CAPM Certification Training

For more information about our PMP (Project Management Professional) exam prep certification training courses, visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/

Download Free PMP® Exam Practice Test with 200 PMP® Questions.
Full-length PMP sample test with 200 PMP exam prep questions.

Download our Free PMP Brochure for more information.

Scrum Training by
- CSM (Certified ScrumMaster) Certification Training CoursesThe company conducts both Instructor-led Classroom training workshops and Instructor-led Live Online Training sessions for learners from across the United States and around the world.
Please Contact Us for more information about our professional certification training courses to accelerate your career in the new year. Wish you all the best for your learning initiatives in the new year.
Which certifications are you aiming to achieve in the New Year? Let us know your thoughts in the 'Comments' section below. Thank you.iCert Global:

13

Dec

How to Earn 35 Contact Hours for PMP Education

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How To Get 35 Contact Hours Of Project Management Education In PMP?

What is PMP?

Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification is a benchmark for project management. The PMP certification validates the experience, knowledge, expertise, capability, competency and required skills to lead and manage projects.

Eligibility Criteria

PMP Eligibility Criteria

As stated in the Project Management Institute’s PMP Handbook, you must attain 35 hours of formal education to fulfill the eligibility criteria.

What is 35 contact hours of project management education?

35 contact hours of project management education is a formal education that addresses the learning objective of project management in terms of hours. It can be attained by any mode of training such as classroom training, online training or e-learning.

You need to document your 35 hours of ‘contact hours’ prior to filling the PMP application.

35 hours of project management education is mandatory for both a four-year degree holder and a high school graduate.

Project management education of 35 hours never expires.

What counts as contact hours for PMP?

Contact hours are a formal education on project management strictly measured in hours.

As mentioned in the PMP Handbook,

One hour of classroom instruction equals one contact hour. If you have completed a university or college course on project management such as MBA that met for three hours per week for 15 weeks, you would record 45 contact hours. If only a portion of a course dealt with project management, only the hours spent on project management can be applied toward the total.

The PMP Candidates must classify the course content in following project management knowledge areas:

Project Quality
Project Scope
Project Schedule
Project Budget
Project Communications
Project Risk
Project Procurement
Project Integration Management.

What doesn't count as contact hours?

PMI Chapter meeting with no learning activity.
Self-study
Management degree or post-graduation in management which cannot be mapped in project management knowledge areas mentioned above.

Why are 35 hours of project management education required?

35 hours of project management education is required to fulfill the eligibility criteria to take up a prestigious certification exam of project management accredited by the globally recognized Project Management Institute(PMI®).

35 hours of project management education helps you to understand the fundamentals of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) on which the PMP exam is based.

How to get 35 contact hours of Project Management Education for PMP?

You can attain 35 contact hours of project management by taking up professional courses, workshops and training sessions offered by,

PMI registered education providers (R.E.P.s)

The PMP training courses offered by R.E.P.s in any mode of training can be qualified as project management education.

Employer/ company-sponsored programs

The programs offered by the company to enhance the management skills of the employees aligned with PMBOK knowledge areas can qualify the project management education.

Training companies or consultants

The education institutes providing training in project management which can be mapped to knowledge areas and project management processes according to PMBOK-6th edition can qualify project management education.

Distance-learning companies, including an end-of-course assessment

Instructor-LED online training or self-paced e-learning which covers the knowledge areas of project management and which can be documented or mapped in terms of project management knowledge areas can be qualified as project management education.

University/college academic and continuing education programs

Project management education which falls under the project management knowledge area and can be documented can be qualified. Note that the contact hours are strictly based on the project management education which can satisfy the project management knowledge areas and not the overall degree program.

PMI Chapters

PMI or PMI component organizations conduct regular chapter meetings. The learning activity hours which can be documented are qualified as project management education.

What if you don’t have a document related to project management education?

You need documents related to project management education to qualify the audit process.

If you fail the audit process, there is a one-year suspension period to apply for that certification again.

Top Professional Certification Search Trends in the U.S.

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Comparison of Popular Professional Certifications Search Trends in the Year 2019 in the United States.

Google Trends data from 1st January 2019 until date (12th December 2019) for the following professional certification search terms across the United States.

1. Google Search Trends (1st January 2019 to 12th December 2019)
Popular Professional Certification Training Courses in the United States.

2. PMP Certification - Top (related) Search Queries in the United States
Top search queries related to the search term pmp certification.

3. Six Sigma Certification - Top (related) Search Queries in the United States
Top search queries related to the search term six sigma certification.

4. Scrum Certification - Top (related) Search Queries in the United States
Top search queries related to the term scrum certification.

5. Agile Certification - Top (related) Search Queries in the United States
Top search queries related to the term agile certification.

6. DevOps Certification - Top (related) Search Queries in the United States
Top search queries related to the term devops certification.

iCert Global conducts Project Management, Quality Management, Business Analysis, Agile, Scrum, and DevOps Certification courses across various locations in the United States.

Visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/ for more information about our professional certification training courses or Call Now! on +1-713-287-1213 / +1-713-287-1214 or e-mail us at info {at} icertglobal {dot} com.

Project Management Training by iCert Global:
- PMP Certification Training
- CAPM Certification Training

Quality Management Training by iCert Global:
- Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt (LSSYB) Certification Training Courses
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB) Certification Training Courses
- Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB) Certification Training Courses

Scrum Training by iCert Global:
- CSM (Certified ScrumMaster) Certification Training Courses

Agile Training by iCert Global:
- PMI-ACP (Agile Certified Professional) Certification Training Courses

DevOps Training by iCert Global:
- DevOps Certification Training Courses

Business Analysis Training by iCert Global:
- ECBA (Entry Certificate in Business Analysis) Certification Training Courses
- CCBA (Certificate of Capability in Business Analysis) Certification Training Courses
- CBAP (Certified Business Analysis Professional) Certification Training Courses

The company conducts both Instructor-led Classroom training workshops and Instructor-led Live Online Training sessions for learners from across United States and around the world.

Please Contact Us for more information about our professional certification training courses to accelerate your career in the new year. Wish you all the best for your learning initiatives in the new year.

Which certifications are you aiming to achieve in the New Year? Let us know your thoughts in the 'Comments' section below. Thank you.

12

Dec

Can I take the PMP® exam without experience?

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-12 25863

Can I take the PMP® exam without experience?

No. You cannot take the PMP exam without the required project management experience and education.

Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification is one of the prestigious and globally recognized certifications offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI®). According to PMI,s PMP handbook the prerequisites for PMP clearly states that you must have a minimum of 3 years of experience in leading and directing projects.

Eligibility criteria for applying PMP® certification:

Secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree or the global equivalent)
7,500 hours leading and directing projects
35 hours of project management education OR CAPM certification

OR

Four-year degree
4,500 hours leading and directing projects
35 hours of project management education OR CAPM certification

What are 4500 or 7500 hours of leading and directing projects?

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) defines a project as “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service.”

“Leading and directing” projects is any experience that falls under five processes of project management. The work in all the five project management processes includes:

Initiating

Initiating any project or sharing your ideas, creating the objective of the project or part of project management.

Planning

Converting the idea into proper work structure, creating Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), creating blueprints, resource planning, building, communication strategy.

Executing

Executing the project scope within a constrained timeframe, solving problems, quality management, cost management, and risk management.

Monitoring and Controlling

Tracking the project, reporting the project update and changes required, performance analysis, fixing problems, resource management, stakeholder management, cost management etc.

Closing
Handing over, reviewing, documentation, finalizing and managing the final project report, etc.
It is not necessary to have” Project Manager” designation in all the projects you worked on.
4500 or 7500 hours of experience can include all the experience you worked in project management processes. For every project, you do not need to have experience in all five process groups.
In PMI’s PMP handbook, it is mentioned that the experience does not necessarily have to be paid work, but it does need to be in a professional setting.

What designation can be considered as a Project Management experience?

4500 or 7500 hours in leading and directing projects can be defined as an experience in any role which falls under project management processes.

A leading or directing role can be,

Supervisor
Team leader
Assistant project manager
Project Manager
Project coordinators
Any role participating in project management processes

You need reference related to all the projects and validation by your reporting manager to experience and description to qualify the audit process.

If you fail the audit process, there is a one-year suspension period to apply for that certification again.

How to get Project Management Experience?

Step up the ladder along with your company to get project management experience. Take up a small project to lead and get experience in any of the five project management processes as mentioned above, PMI does not necessarily look for “Project manager” job title.
To qualify PM experience, you have to keep a record of your work which includes initiating, planning, executing, managing and controlling, and closing such. Document your work with the information:

Industry you worked
Start and end date of the project
Reporting manager
Experience summary

Consider the past work experience which holds good for the definition of the project “a temporary endeavor was undertaken to create a unique product or service.” Keep a track of your work which comes with a specific deliverable and deadline.

As mentioned above, the project management experience need not be paid work. You can take up volunteering projects to get PM experience in any of the five processes of project management.
Create opportunities to lead the project by taking up other project management courses. Certified Associate Project Management Certification (CAPM) is one of the best project management certifications to start with. CAPM certification will help you to understand the fundamentals of the PMBOK Guide.

Will the new PMP exam from July 1, 2020 focus more on Agile?

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-11 2147

Will the New PMP Exam from JANUARY 2, 2021 be more Agile Focused?

Yes. The new PMP Exam in 2021 will be more Agile focused

The PMP exam in 2021 will feature half of the questions about agile and hybrid approaches.
50% of the questions will be on the Agile and Hybrid Project Life Cycle.

PMI conducts a survey once in 4 years to understand and identify the evolving changes and merging trends that impact project management and influence the roles and responsibilities of a project manager. There was one such survey conducted in 2019. Reflecting on the findings of the survey, PMI decided to update its PMP Exam Course Outline. The PMP exam will follow the new PMP Course Outline (PCO).

We hear the ‘PMP Exam is changing’.

Yes. It is changing.

The new PMP exam format will be followed from JANUARY 2, 2021.

The current PMP exam course outline contains 5 main domains: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing.

The new PMP course outline (PCO) effective from JANUARY 2, 2021 will focus on 3 new domains based: Predictive, Agile And Hybrid approaches.

PMP exam course outline

How does the new PMP Exam in 2021 connect with PMI Talent Triangle?

PMI published the new PMP Exam Content Outline published in June 2019.

The PMI Talent Triangle™ is a combination of technical, leadership, and strategic and business management expertise as defined by PMI.

PMI Talent Triangle

The PMI Talent Triangle prescribes the primary skills essential for a Project Manager. The competencies based on the talent triangle are elaborated in the table below.

Competencies based on PMI Talent Triangle

The new PMP exam in 2021 will require candidates to build capability and competency in three domains:

People (42%)
Process (50%)
Business Environment (8%)

How does the PMI Talent Triangle connect with the new PMP Exam Course Outline?

Look at how the Domains in the PMP 2021 Exam are mapped to the three primarily skills:

Leadership is mapped to the People domain.
Technical Project Management is mapped to Process domain.
Strategic & Business Management is mapped to Business Environment domains

You can confirm the information by visiting the PMP Exam Content Outline

Will 2021 PMP Exam be more Agile focused?

Yes. Agile becomes a MUST

The new PMP content outline

The PMP Exam Content Outline 2019 that will come into effect from 2 January, 2021 will be based on 3 domains.
Questions of PMP Exam will be categorized into three domains namely, People, Process and Business Environment.
The PMP exam in 2021 will feature half of the questions about agile and hybrid approaches.
Since the focus on Agile and hybrid approaches is higher, the number of questions will increase about it will increase.
50% of the questions will be on the Predictive Project Life Cycle. 50% of the questions will be on the Agile and Hybrid Project Life Cycle. This distribution will be spread across all three domains.
The distribution of questions based on domains is broken down into 42% – people, 50% – process, and 8% business environment.

Should I take the PMP exam before the new 2021 update?

Yes. You better take up the exam before the changes come into effect on 1st July 2020. You still have time as it takes around 8 to 12 weeks to prepare. You have time left. Make the most of it. You know what to expect from the present PMP exam as there innumerable resources online and offline. But you have no idea what lies ahead for the new PMP 2020 exam. Given the uncertainty, it will be a wise call to get PMP certified when the window is still open. After March 31, 2020, it will be too late.

How Long Does It Take To Get A PMP® Certification?

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-11 28494

How Long Does It Take To Get A PMP® Certification?

Preparation is the most critical factor in becoming a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Depending on the prerequisites and preparedness it is possible to get a PMP certification in 8 to 12 weeks after applying to PMI.

Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification is a benchmark for project management. The PMP certification validates the experience, knowledge, expertise, capability, competency and required skills to lead and manage projects. PMP certification is the most recognized and sought after project management certification. The PMP certification is compelling in its benefits and considered to be lucrative as it increases the earning potential. PMI’s PMBOK (Product Management Body of Knowledge) Guide is one of the reference books for PMP certification.

PMP Pre-requisites:

You need 4500 or 7500 hours of project management experience to fulfil the eligibility.

You can use the following calculation to record your experience in hours:

Project hours = Average number of working days in a month x Average number of productive hours a day x Number of months worked on that project

There are only 8 hours in a day.
Five days and therefore 40 hours in a workweek
Deducting the vacations thats around 2 weeks in a calendar year leaves us with 50 workweeks.
50 workweeks translate to 2000 hours in a year.
PMI recognizes only the first 40 hours each week.
Non-overlapping hours cannot be accounted for.
Therefore, the total experience required works out to 4500 hours or 3 years.

After meeting the eligibility criteria, You need to apply for PMP application by registering with PMI.

(Source: PMI’s PMP Handbook)

PMP Application and PMI's Notifications

PMI provides 90 days to fill the application form from the time you start filling the application. The step by step procedure to fill PMP application is in reference to PMI’s PMP Handbook. You need to incorporate project management experience in PMP application form which can be time-consuming.
During those 90 days, PMI will send you reminders to submit the application form in case it is incomplete.
Once you submit the application online, PMI takes 5 calendar days to confirm the receipt and completeness of the PMP application form. You can also submit the application by post.
If your application is selected for the audit process, you have 90 days to send audit materials.

During an audit, you will be asked to submit supporting documentation such as:

Copies of your diploma/global equivalent
Signatures from your supervisor(s) or manager(s) from the project(s) recorded in the experience verification section of the application
Copies of certificates and/or letters from the training institute(s) for each course recorded on the application to meet the required contact hours of project management education
Once you send the audit materials to PMI via postal mail or express courier service, PMI takes 5 to 7 business days to complete the audit process after receiving all the supporting documents at once.

Note: If you fail the audit process, there is a one-year suspension period to apply for that certification again.

If you pass the audit process, PMI will send you a notification mail to submit the payment.
Once you submit the payment, PMI will notify you with confirmation of application approval.

You have one-year time period from the date of application approval to take up the exam. You have three attempts to pass the examination.

If you fail the PMP examination in the first attempt, you can apply for re-examination by submitting the following payment:

If you fail the PMP exam in all 3 attempts, you must wait one year from the date of the last examination you took to reapply for the certification.

Preparation is the most critical factor in becoming a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Depending on the prerequisites and preparedness it is possible to get a PMP certification in 8 to 12 weeks after applying to PMI.

Please read this blog from an information perspective and do not be discouraged at all. PMP might be tough but with dedicated effort and disciplined approach, you can pass in the first attempt.

For more information about PMP® Certification Training courses worldwide, please visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com

or
Call Now! on +1-713-287-1213 / 1214 / 1053 / 1355 or e-mail us at info {at} icertglobal {dot} com.

10

Dec

PMP Exam Guide: Format, Tips, and Strategies for Success

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-10 2041

PMP Exam Guidance With PMP Exam Format

PMP Exam based Questions

FORMULA based questions
SITUATIONAL based questions
DEFINITION based questions
KNOWLEDGE based questions
INTERPRETATIONAL based questions
SPECIFIC TECHNIQUE based questions
PMBOK GUIDE KNOWLEDGE based questions
ITTO (Inputs, Tools, Techniques & Outputs) based questions
Professional and Social Responsibility based questions.
Combination questions

Preparation is fundamental to PASS.

Agreed PMP is tough. The reading required is rigorous and effort tremendous. But nothing comes easy and if you wish to crack the coveted PMP exam, then preparation and practice are decisive to pass.

First, let us learn about the Pre-Requisite Qualifications for PMP certification.

It’s important to keep in mind that you must fulfill the eligibility criteria to take the PMP exam. The pre-requisites for the PMP exam are detailed below:

Education and Experience

PMP Eligibility Criteria

If you meet the above requirements, then you are qualified to appear for the PMP exam.

FEES

The examination fee is $405 for registered members and $555 for non-registered members.

PDUs

The 35 hours of Professional Development Units (PDUs) is MANDATORY to meet the requirements prescribed by PMI to sit for the PMP exam. You can gain the 35 PDUs by attending workshop sessions, coursework, and training through a globally registered PMI Education Provider. Please note that one PDU is equal to one hour of training.

PMP Examination Structure

Become familiar with the structure of the PMP exam before you begin your preparation. The PMP exam conducted by PMI will be difficult and demanding. So, get a good head start

It is essential to understand the basic structure of a PMP exam before starting to prepare for, or before sitting the exam. Being familiar with the structure will put you at an advantage.

PMP has the following phases with a breakdown of questions in percentage:


I. Initiating	13%
II. Planning	24%
III. Executing	31%
IV. Monitoring and Controlling	25%
V. Closing	7%
Total	100%

Each phase is significant. The PMP exam will test your knowledge in each phase. All the phases are related from the start of the project to the end. The first four phases are high in percentage because they are the most complex phases of the project.

PMP Exam Questions

The PMP exam consists of 200 items, out of which 25 are pre-test questions.
The pretest questions have no score.
Only 175 will get the score.
You will not know which question is a pre-test question. You need to answer all the 200 questions.
The duration of the exam will be 4 hours. And there are no breaks.

PMP Passing Score

PMP is no longer publishing the passing score.
The outcome of the exam is indicated by pass or fail. The performance rating of the domains and the overall exam are also published.
PMI uses “sound psychometric analysis” to calculate the passing figure.
For each question, a point is awarded, and the subject matter experts selected by PMI will decide the number of right answers to pass the PMP exam.

PMP Exam Preparation

You can confidently sit for the exam and move forward with confidence: check out these four ways wth which project management professionals commonly tackle the exam prep process.

1. Picture the final line

Write down a mission and vision statement clearly spelling the importance of achieving the PMP credential. State the reasons why PMP is important to accelerate your career and increasing your earning potential. Read it, again and again, to stay motivated.

Prepare a study plan that fills the weeks and months ahead of the exam day.
Make the schedule after careful consideration balancing the work and family obligation.
Stay on track by sharing the goal with friends, colleagues, other PMP aspirants and PMP professionals known to you that will help in ascertaining your course path.

2. Walk the PMP path

You have to become familiar with the PMP exam pattern of 200 questions.
Read and review the course outline and pay attention to the knowledge areas covered.
Try to get an idea about the different formats of 200 questions by visiting some sample papers.

3. Chart out the course of action

Execute your plan and start your study based on the schedule prepared.
Find out the prep resources collected by you – it can be the PMBOK-6th edition, study materials provided by the training institutes where you earned the 35 PDUs and other relevant and required books and literature.
Attempt as many practice tests and mock exams. These exams are available online and offline as well. Check with your training institute who might offer a question bank or simulator to help you practice. Preparation is the key.
Get guidance from PMI chapter members and recommendations from PMP professionals.

4. Become a part of the community

Get connected with the PMP community wherein you can benefit from the experience and wisdom of Project professionals who advise and keep you motivated.
Join the discussions of professional groups, like PMI’s LinkedIn group that centres around PMP certifications. You can get to know the challenges and seek professional help in overcoming the odds.
Become active in other PMP communities. Post a question, provide answers that you might know and engage in that thread. It's good to stay connected.

PMP Exam Question Format and Types

The PMP exam is composed of 200 multiple-choice questions.

The different types of questions that appear in the PMP certification exam are listed below

FORMULA based questions
SITUATIONAL based questions
DEFINITION based questions
KNOWLEDGE based questions
INTERPRETATIONAL based questions
SPECIFIC TECHNIQUE based questions
PMBOK GUIDE KNOWLEDGE based questions
ITTO (Inputs, Tools, Techniques & Outputs) based questions
Professional and Social Responsibility based questions.
Combination questions

1. FORMULA based questions

In order to pass the PMP exam, it is critical you will have to be well-versed with the definitions, concepts, all the formuals, processes and knowledge areas.
There are 49 PMP exam formulas which you should know like the back of the palm. It can range from averages to probability to forward pass or backward pass.
You need these formulas to answer all the mathematical or formula-based questions.
Get to know the formulas and their application. You must be good at knowing which formula to be used for what situation.
Questions posed in this set of questions include concepts like critical path method, PERT, EVM (Eearned Value Management) and so on.

2. Situational PMP Exam Questions

Most of the questions posed are situational in nature. It can be as high as 60%. The questions are long with too many words packed.
These questions test your competence to apply your knowledge in real-lifetime scenarios and situations.
You will be tested in identifying what's important and discard the ones that don’t matter. Its easier said than done as you need an eye for details to spot the right from wrong.
The choices presented for this set of questions are “what is the Best Choice” or what is the only answer” or “except”. Mind you, situational questions can be tricky. Expect choices as NOT or EXCEPT or ONLY or ALWAYS which can alter the meaning of the question.

3. DEFINITION based questions for PMP

These questions cover the definitions of the PMP certification exam, like definitions of project, risk, scope, etc.
This set of questions can be easily answered if you are clear and conversant with the concepts and definitions detailed in the PMBOK and project management.

4. Knowledge-Based PMP Exam Questions

You will have to analyze the data provided to arrive at the right answer. Your proficiency to understand a concept will be tested, and the ability to chart the right course of action.
The questions asked might be about identifying the right process attached to the knowledge areas or the correct Inputs, Tools & Techniques or Outputs that are mapped to the process.

5. INTERPRETATIONAL based questions for PMP

Interpretational questions test your ability to decode a situation or condition based on your understanding of the description of the problem.
You will be presented with some data to analyze and interpret the right answer.
You will have to infer the situation based on the information provided, and answer correctly. The questions analyze your awareness.

6. SPECIFIC TECHNIQUE based questions for PMP

You will be presented with the details about a specific situation and asked to answer question-based on the situation. Say something like a network diagram or a flow chart.
Sometimes, you will be asked to provide information that’s essential to the situation.
The response you provide should directly relate to a component in the situation.

7. PMBOK GUIDE KNOWLEDGE based questions for PMP

The questions in this type will probe your knowledge and understanding of the 10 knowledge areas and 49 processes.
You will be tested about the ability to the application of the Processes and Knowledge Areas. Specifically, your proficiency in the concepts, processes as to how they are related, where do they occur and what do they consist.

8. ITTO based questions for PMP

According to the PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition, there are 49 processes and each process features and input, tools & techniques and Outputs.
You need to know about each input, Tools, Techniques & Output for every process, meaning, which ITTO belongs to what process and how can it be applied.
Typically, the questions presented in this type will be the selection of the right correct Input, Tool & Technique, or Output for the given process.

9. Professional Social Responsibility based questions for PMP

There are ethics and professional conduct prescribed by PMI, as part of becoming certified.
The questions will be in line with professional and social conduct.
These questions will check your knowledge about adherence to standards and ethics in doing what is right and honourable as sted by PMI

10. COMBINATION based questions for PMP

The questions posed will be a combination of any of the above-mentioned types.
You need to be proficient in all the formats or types of questions to answer correctly.
Proficiency comes from practice. when the frequency of taking up practice tests and mock exams increases, you become more familiar with the formulas, situations, definitions interpretations, ITTO, and concepts.
This not only prepares but boosts your confidence in cracking the PMP exam. Of course, in the first attempt.

For more information on PMP Exam, visit: https://www.pmi.org/

For more information about PMP® Certification Training courses worldwide, please visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com or
Call Now! on +1-713-287-1213 / 1214 / 1053 / 1355 or e-mail us at info {at} icertglobal {dot} com.

10

Dec

Boost career, validate Agile skills, higher salary potential

iCert Global Agile and Scrum 0 2019-12-10 3452

Benefits Of Getting A PMI-ACP Agile Certified Practitioner Certification

#1 Global Recognition
#2 Enhances Agile Skills
#3 Increases Professional Credibility
#4 Higher Job Opportunities
#5 Higher Pay
#6 Career Advancement
#7 Professional Versatility
#8 Expands Market Reach
#9 Get More Lucrative Assignments
#10 Recession-Proof Career:

Project Management Institute (PMI®) – Agile Certified Practitioner Certification (ACP) is a globally recognized and in-demand certification in the field of agile project management accredited by PMI. Agile is an iterative method to develop software step by step taking frequent reassessment whenever required, instead of delivering the whole product after completion. PMI-ACP validates your knowledge and experience on agile principles and hands-on agile techniques. PMI-ACP is based on different frameworks and agile approaches such as:

Scrum
Kanban
Lean-Agile Practices
Extreme programming (XP)
Test-driven development (TDD.)

Prerequisites for PMI-ACP:

PMI-ACP Eligibility Criteria

For more information on eligibility criteria refer PMI-ACP Handbook

Certification fee:

PMI Membership	Fee
Member	$435
Non-Member	$495

Target Audience:

Project Managers
Scrum Masters
Scrum P
product owners
Program managers
Project team members
Professionals aspiring to shift from waterfall methodology to agile methodology

Demand and Scope for Agile certified practitioners:

According to the 13th State of Agile Survey Report (2019),

71% of respondents adopted agile because it reduces project cost
74% of respondents adopted agile as it accelerates the software delivery
51% of respondents claim that adopting agile increases productivity
43% of respondents stated adopting agile enhances the product quality

Benefits of getting PMI-ACP certified:

Global recognition: PMI-ACP is globally recognized and in-demand certification by PMI.
Enhances agile skills: Gain expertise in using agile practices in your projects and get hands-on agile experiences.
Increases professional credibility: Carries a higher level of professional credibility as it requires a combination of agile training, and work experience in agile projects and knowledge.
Higher Job Opportunities: As the adoption of agile methodology is increasing day by day, job opportunities are also increasing.
Higher pay: Certified PMI-ACP professionals get a 28% higher salary than non-certified professionals. According to pa y s cale.com, the average annual salary for certified PMI-ACP professionals is $108k/year.
Career advancement: PMI-ACP certification allows you to advance your career in organizations practicing agile. Certified PMI-ACP professionals can become agile trainers and agile coaches.
Professional Versatility: As a certified professional you might get a chance to lead the team, work in different projects and enhance your project management skills with agile tools and techniques.
Expands market reach: Certification in PMI-ACP expands your market reach as an agile certified professional and provides you with an opportunity to network with a vibrant community of agile professionals, related organizations, and experts worldwide.
Get more lucrative assignments: Certified professionals are more likely to get challenging projects and opportunities to handle valued projects.
Recession-proof career: Invest in your future with PMI-AC certification. Agile professionals would retain their value even during a recession due to their strong and highly transferable core competencies.

Career opportunities after PMI-ACP certification:

PMP Scrum master
Technical business analyst
Agile trainer
Project Manager
Digital Channel planner
Deputy Project Manager
Director - planning and Project management
Business Analyst
Agile Project Manager

Do visit our Corporate Training to know more about core offerings for enterprises in empowering their workforce.

iCert Global offers Agile based Certification:

Download our Free PMI-ACP Brochure for more information.

For more information on how iCert Global can help you to accelerate your career with Agile certification, please e-mail info {at} icertglobal {dot} org or call now on +1-713-287-1213/ 1214 / 1053 / 1355. Visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/

09

Dec

Average salary of PMP-certified professionals in the US?

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-09 2361

What Is The Average Salary Of A PMP Certified Professional In The United States?

The average salary of a PMP Certified Professional is $80,000 – $110,000

Some of the factors that influence PMP salary

Number of years of experience in project management
Roles and responsibilities
Position /designation
Certification status

PMP Salary Based on Experience

Project Manager with less than 3 years experience: $75,000
Project Manager with 5-10 years: $100,000
Top experienced Project Manager with 10 years: $130,000

PMP Salaries Based on Job Position

Director of Project Management: $130,000 – $150,000
Portfolio Manager: $130,000
Program Manager: $120,000
Project manager: $100,000 – $110,000

What do you think a PMP certified professional draws as salary in United Sates?

PMI’s Project Management Salary Survey 10th edition, states that the salary can anywhere between $80,000 – $110,000 in the United States depending upon the number of years in experience, job position, location, and certification status. There are other factors that will influence your pay and perks like your employer and employment.

Look at the infographic to draw insights about the salary and various factors that influence and impact the figure that you carry home.

Factors that influence PMP salary

Experience, Roles & Responsibilities, Position and Certification status:

The salary will always vary as the composition of the team is never uniform. Even with Project Managers who have the same experience, the pay can be different and that’s where you factor the PMP Certification.

According to PMI, a PMP certified project manager draws 23% more than non-certified peers. That’s the earning power of PMP certification, considered a gold standard in project management that makes the Project Management Professional (PMP) ® certification holders stand out. It’s a great differentiator and decider too.

The roles and responsibilities assigned as part of your job description have a significant bearing on the salary. And so does experience - the more in experience draws more.

The PMP certification is valid for 3 years. Many professionals after the euphoria of passing the PMP exam and joining the elite professionals tend to overlook and some even forget to maintain their PMP credentials. To maintain your PMP credentials, you will have to recertify by earning 60 PDUs every three years. There is no need to write the exam for renewal. This is to ensure you are in touch with your profession and stay abreast of the prevailing best practices and changes across the world. By renewal, your status of PMP will reflect as “‘PMP with good standing.” And this ‘active’ status of PMP does impact your compensation, especially the 5-10 years or Top experienced Project Manager with more than 10 years.

Factors that affect PMP Salaries

PMP – Supply vs. Demand

How many active PMPs are there in the world? The official number as released by PMI is 1 million.

PMP-1 Million strong

(source: www.pmi.org)

What is the market demand for PMP professionals? About 2.2 million per year as per the PMI-commissioned talent gap analysis. The job opportunities project a positive outlook for PMP certified professionals.

At the same time, the report highlights a critical deficit in Project talent as the need for skilled professionals has increased phenomenally in numbers, but the availability of the resources is abysmally low. 1 million is hardly a number when the need is more than twice the figure. It's no wonder PMP is at a premium and hence the pay difference between the certified and non-certified stands at a substantial 23%.

PMP – Return on Investment (ROI)

How much does it cost you to get PMP certified?

The cost involved in getting the PMP certificate:

PMI membership – non-negotiable, costs $139
PMP exam fee: for a member, it costs $405. Non-member, the cost will be $555
The cost of PMP certification training to gain 35 PDUs
The cost of buying study materials.

Now add them up. It is going to be a little over $1000.

Check the statistic: PMP holder median pay is $111,000 as against $91,000 for a non-certified professional in the United States.

So over a $1000 investment, you could potentially earn $111,000 per year, and the returns will be recurring.

One of the factors influencing your salary will be the employer or the company as observed in the infographic. It is so because there are companies that do reimburse the employers for the exam and membership fees - which make the ROI, go higher.

Hence, as a project manager, your salary will increase when you are PMP certified and helps you to contribute to your profession with remuneration inline experience and position.

For more information about professional certification, please visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com or call now on +1-713-287-1213 / 1214 or e-mail us at info {at} icertglobal {dot} com.

Do visit our Corporate Training to know more about core offerings for enterprises in empowering their workforce.

For more information about our PMP (Project Management Professional) exam prep certification training courses, visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/

Download Free PMP® Exam Practice Test with 200 PMP® Questions.
Full-length PMP sample test with 200 PMP exam prep questions.

Download our Free PMP Brochure for more information.

09

Dec

How To Qualify PM Experience For The PMP Application Form?

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-09 6841

How To Qualify PM Experience For The PMP Application Form?

The Project Management Institute (PMI®) accredits the world’s most sought-after professional certification, Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification. The eligibility criteria for PMP certification as mentioned by PMI is,

Secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree or the global equivalent)
7,500 hours of leading and directing projects
35 hours of project management education OR CAPM certification

OR

Four-year degree
4,500 hours of leading and directing projects
35 hours of project management education OR CAPM certification

The eligibility criteria you fulfill must be neatly recorded in the PMP Application form. It is suggested to refer the PMI Handbook to know the step by step procedure to fill the application form. Recording your project management experiences of 4,500 or 7,500 hours is one of the critical tasks in filling the PMP application form. Project management experience is required to be filled in hours. The qualifying hours are based on five domains of project management- Initiating, planning, executing, controlling and monitoring, and closing.

The qualifying hours of project management experience is to be filled for each project with respect to domains. PMI rejects the application if you do not explain your project management experience and project individually. It is time consuming and critical process. PMI provides 90 days to fill the application form.

It is advised to work on qualifying hours in a spreadsheet or in table format to record your project management experiences clearly. The process of filling project management experiences in a PMP application form requires 5 sets of information.

Project information
Details of the organizations (if multiple) you work/worked.
Reference contact in each organization
Hours of project management experience per each domain
Summary of Project management experience

1. Project Information

The following information is required about the project you worked on.

Industry you worked
Project title
Start and end date of the project
Role or Designation
Start and end date of the project

Project management experience in PMP application form

2. Details of the organizations (if multiple) you work/worked.

The following information is required about the details of the organizations you worked or currently working:

Postal address
Locations
Contact details
Email id

3. Reference contact in each organization

The reference contact to be given from all the organizations you worked or currently working while filling the application form to validate your project management experiences. PMI randomly selects applications for the audit process.

During the audit process, the signature of the reference contact has to be taken. Choose your reference contacts carefully.

4. Hours of project management experience per each domain

The project hours to be calculated specifically in each domain. The total of 4500 or 7500 project hours or more is to be recorded in the application. It is not necessary to have experience in all the processes in the project. But in overall projects, there have to be project hours in all the processes.

You can use the following calculation,

Project hours = Average no. of working days in a month x Average no. of productive hours a day x No. of months worked on that project

The number of working days in 4500 hours:

Suppose you work for 8 hours a day and for 5 working days, it is 40 hours a week.

There are 52 weeks in a year,

Considering approximately 2 weeks of holiday in a year, it is (40*50) = 2000 hours in a year and 250 working days.

Approximately, 4500 hours= 750 working days or 2.5 years

Note: It is not necessary to have continuous project management experience of 4500 or 7500 hours

Each project hours are recorded in all the five processes accordingly.

Refer the table:

Project	Industry	Start Date	End Date	Designation	Contact Information	Domains	Hours
						Initiating
						Planning
						Executing
						Monitoring and controlling
						Closing

Fill in the details of the number of hours worked in the following reference image of PMP Application Form.

Domain Areas for PMP Application form

5. Summary of project management experience

In this section, you require a brief summary of all the projects handled. The summary should include,

The objective of the project
Brief description of the project
Roles and responsibilities of the applicant in that project in terms of 5 processes.
Tools and techniques used
Output of the project

Note: You can use abbreviations to describe the project since you have limited 500 characters. The following abbreviations can be used:

IN= Initiating
PL= Planning
EX= Executing
MC= Monitoring and Controlling
CL= Closing

Once you submit the application, PMI takes 5 to 7 days to approve or reject the application.

For more information about PMP® Certification Training courses worldwide, please visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com or
Call Now! on +1-713-287-1213 / 1214 / 1053 / 1355 or e-mail us at info {at} icertglobal {dot} com.

06

Dec

How to Get PMP Certified Before July 2020 Exam Changes.

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-06 1833

How to get PMP Certified Before the PMP Exam Changes on 1st July 2020

The Project Management Institute (PMI®) conducts a survey every 3-5 years in order to keep the project management certification updated. The changes are made according to the impact of emerging technologies, roles and responsibilities of project managers in different sectors.

In today’s evolving project management profession, the changes in the PMP exam will ensure up-to-date practices, knowledge and skills required for a successful project.

The current PMP exam course outline contains 5 main domains which are initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. The new course outline of PMP exam from July 2020 will focus on 3 new domains based on predictive, agile and hybrid approaches.

People – Skills and knowledge (42%)
Process- Technical aspects of handling projects (50%)
Business Environment- Strategical aspects between the project and the organization (8%)

Exam Content changes july 2020

Concepts like servant leadership, conflict resolution and retrospectives were previously the domain of the PMI-ACP® exam, but will now be featured more frequently on the PMP exam as well.

The new detailed framework of the content outline is based on predictive (approximately 50%), agile/hybrid e (approximately 50%) approaches.

Exam content outline

The updated domains are aligned to real life practices.

Exam new content outline PMP Domains aligned to real life practices

For more information about professional certification, please visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com or call now on +1-713-287-1213 / 1214 or e-mail us at info {at} icertglobal {dot} com.

Do visit our Corporate Training to know more about core offerings for enterprises in empowering their workforce.

For more information about our PMP (Project Management Professional) exam prep certification training courses, visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/

Download Free PMP® Exam Practice Test with 200 PMP® Questions.
Full-length PMP sample test with 200 PMP exam prep questions.

Download our Free PMP Brochure for more information.

06

Dec

What Responsibilities Does a PMP® Certification Holder Have?

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-06 1942

What work does a PMP® Certification Holder Do?

PMP certification is one of the prestigious in-demand certifications for all project managers across the globe. It validates their project management skills, abilities, expertise and experience they hold.

Organizations across the globe are looking for project management practitioners who are not only skilled and experienced but also hold relevant certifications.

Certified Project Management Professionals play a vital role in the progress of the project and organization. The advanced skills, tools and techniques help in executing projects in an effective way. Project managers ensure that the project is completed successfully within a specific time.

PMP certification is globally recognized and allows you to carry out the project in the common language of project management.

Target Audience:

Project Manager
Project Coordinators,
Supervisor for PMO
Team Manager
Team Leader

The roles and responsibilities of certified project management professionals are:

Active participation in the planning of the project
Resource planning
Keep the team motivated
Organize the project structure
Discuss and Execute ideas
Time and cost management
Analyze risk
Manage the records

1. Active participation in project planning:

Project managers play a catalyst role in project planning. It ensures the sense of responsibility they have in the project and project development. Proper planning results in many completed task within time and budget.

2. Resource Planning

Resource planning is one of the important tasks of project managers. Identifying team member’s capabilities, skills and talent to assign the specific task is an efficient way for the success of the project.

3. Keep the team motivated

Project managers keep their team spirit high and motivated. They make their team to reach their full potential and work towards a common goal.

4. Organize the project structure

Project manager organize the project structure which means project manager has line management responsibility for the project team members. In this way, teams have strong sense of identity which showcases the leadership quality of the project manager.

5. Discuss and execute ideas

Project managers conduct regular meetings with a team to discuss ideas, challenges and solution. At the end of the meeting project manager along with team members, comes to conclusion and take the project ahead to execute.

6. Time and cost management

Project managers deliver projects within constrained time and sanctioned budget. The most important skill project manager possess is Time Management and Cost management.

7. Analyze risk

Project managers identify the risk at an early stage and come up with an alternate solution. They ensure the minimum impact of the challenges on the project.

8. Manage the records

Project managers have updated information about the project and record of all the changes made in each stage.

For more information about professional certification, please visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com or call now on +1-713-287-1213 / 1214 or e-mail us at info {at} icertglobal {dot} com.

Do visit our Corporate Training to know more about core offerings for enterprises in empowering their workforce.

For more information about our PMP (Project Management Professional) exam prep certification training courses, visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/

Download Free PMP® Exam Practice Test with 200 PMP® Questions.
Full-length PMP sample test with 200 PMP exam prep questions.

Download our Free PMP Brochure for more information.

05

Dec

Top 5 Project Management Certs for 2020: PMP, CAPM, PRINCE2

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-05 4991

Top 5 Project Management Certifications To Get In 2020

#1 Project Management Professional -PMP®

#2 Certified Associate Project Manager - CAPM®

#3 PRINCE2® (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) - Foundation

#4 PRINCE2® (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) - Practitioner

#5 PRINCE2® (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) - Agile

Modern business evolutions have led to rapid changes in the approaches and execution of projects. Therefore, trends and timeliness prove to be critical factors for the success of project management and this includes project management techniques as well.

The conventional methodology is making way for agile to play a big role in how projects are led and managed. There is no taking away traditional project management methodology but tweaking with agile makes it a popular and powerful move.

2019 witnessed the surge in agile methodologies but practices like PMP and PRINCE2 continued to hold ground. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), it is estimated that there will be a demand for 87.7 million project managers by 2027, There will be an acute crunch for project managers given the talent gap, which is grim. The opportunities ahead are plenty with the survey report stating nearly 2.2 million roles will have to be filled each year. Where are the resources to bridge the gap? One of the reasons cited for the talent gap is the retirement of project managers opening up the “requirement for skilled project managers”. You can be one among the many to close the gap.

Let's look at the top 5 project management certifications for 2020 that will help you to become the “project professional” that hiring managers are scouting as top talent.

1. Project Management Professional (PMP)®

Project Management Professional (PMP) is one of the most recognized and sought-after certifications with a global following and universal demand. Considered to be the benchmark in project management, PMP (Project Management Professional) is a ‘must’ for Project Managers to prove their professional worth to present employer and prospective clients.

Target Audience for PMP

Project Manager
Project Coordinators,
Supervisor for PMO
Team Manager
Team Leader

Salary

The PMI’s Earning Power Salary Survey- 10 edition stated PMP-certified professionals earn 23% more than those without a PMP certification.
PMP certification from an organization perspective team managers to beneficial. The PMP-certified managers are competent to complete projects on time, and budget thus meeting organizational goals.
PMP equips and empowers professionals to lead and manage complex and high performing projects.
PMP is one of the highest paying certifications with a payscale up to $113,766/year.

2. CAPM®

Certified Associate Project Manager (CAPM) certification offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI) is a great career move for those professionals who lack the required experience and prerequisite but aspire to become PMP certified.

CAPM certification prepares the practitioners who are starting a career or less experienced project managers, to lead and manage complex projects and demonstrate a commitment to the profession.

PMI’s PMBOK (Product Management Body of Knowledge) Guide is the main reference material for CAPM certification preparation. CAPM certified professional can apply the knowledge and skills gained on-the-job to enhance project management proficiency and competency.

The target audience for CAPM

New project managers
Team members
Project associates and executives
Professional aspiring to start a career in project management.

Salary

According to ZipRecruiter,

The average annual salary of CAPM Certified professionals is $91,250/year

3. PRINCE2® Foundation

PRINCE2 stands for PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2). Developed by Axelos, it is a process-based approach for project management that is widely used in the United Kingdom and European countries and gaining popularity across the globe. PRINCE2 benefits organizations through controllable use of resources, and manage risks effectively. PRINCE2 has its project management methodology. PRINCE2 is one of the best qualifications to build a career in Project Management.

PRINCE2 Foundation is the basic level of certification.
The PRINCE2 method is introduced in the PRINCE2 Foundation Level. The PRINCE2 Foundation certification establishes your credentials in the knowledge and understanding of the PRINCE2 method.
The PRINCE2 Foundation qualification will impart knowledge about the PRINCE2 principles, themes, and processes, and terminology and when qualified you will be able to act as an informed member of a project management team using the PRINCE2 methodology within a project environment supporting PRINCE2.
The PRINCE2 Foundation certification endorses your credibility to engage as an informed team member to work on projects in an environment supporting PRINCE2.
PRINCE2 Foundation is the prerequisite for PRINCE2 Practitioner examination.

Eligibility

Basic understanding about Project Management is preferred but as such, there is no formal prerequisite for the PRINCE2 Foundation qualification.

Target Audience

PRINCE2 Foundation certification is recommended for current and aspiring project managers. It is applicable for:

Team Managers
Project Board members
Project Support
Operation Managers
Professionals who manage projects.

PRINCE2® Foundation Exam

The exam will be conducted in a multiple-choice questions format
There will be 60 questions per paper
The pass mark is 55%. You need to score 33 marks required (out of 60 available)
The exam will be for one hour's (60 minutes)
It will be a Closed book session.

4. PRINCE2® Practitioner:

The Practitioner certification validates your knowledge and understanding of PRINCE2 concepts and principles. The Practitioner certification assesses your capability in applying and tailoring the PRINCE2 project management method in different project environments and scenarios.
The PRINCE2 Practitioner qualification will enable you to apply PRINCE2 to the leading and managing projects within an environment supporting PRINCE2.
According to “PayScale”, the highest average annual salary for a PRINCE2 Practitioner professional can go up to ~USD 100,000

Eligibility

To take the PRINCE2 Practitioner examination you must provide proof of having passed one of the following:

PRINCE2 Foundation (or higher)
Project Management Professional (PMP)*
Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)*
IPMA Level A® (Certified Projects Director)
IPMA Level B® (Certified Senior Project Manager)
IPMA Level C® (Certified Project Manager)
IPMA Level D® (Certified Project Management Associate).

Target Audience

This certification is best suitable for project managers, professionals involved with managing projects and aspiring project managers. It is also applicable for:

Team Managers
Project Board members
Project Support
Operation Managers

PRINCE2® Practitioner exam

The PRINCE2 Practitioner exam is as follows:

The exam duration will be for Two-and-a-half hours – 2.5 hours (150 minutes)
It is an objective-based exam
It will be a 68 multiple-choice questionnaire
The Pass mark is 55%. 38 correct answers or more out of 68 are required.
It will be an open book exam. The official copy of Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2® 2017 Edition will be allowed.

Salary

According to payscale, the salary of a PRINCE2® Practitioner ranges from $97,000 per year.

5. PRINCE2® Agile

PRINCE2 agile is a unification of PRINCE2 and agile.

PRINCE2 focuses on the governance aspect of project management but the delivery aspect is not covered in-depth. PRINCE2 Agile certification will help you understand and expedite the delivery of PRINCE2 projects using agile methods.

PRINCE2 Agile is about using the recognized framework of PRINCE2 and rendering it scalable and more flexible. Being agile, the projects can shift in speed or change direction during development, still retaining the best practices and manage to maximize the returns on investment (ROI).

PRINCE2 Agile certification will teach the core concepts about different agile delivery techniques like Scrum, Kanban, Lean Start-up and PRINCE2.

The PRINCE2 Agile qualification will empower you to demonstrate your ability in applying and tailoring key agile concepts to PRINCE2 projects.

According to the AXELOS PPM Benchmark report, 2019, 84% PRINCE2 agile certified professionals 84% increased their job efficiency, while 79% credited the certification to have made them more satisfied in the workplace and over half say it’s directly increased their salary.

Target Audience

PRINCE2 Agile is best suited for,

Professionals responsible for delivering in an agile environment
Project Managers
Project Support staff

5.1 PRINCE2® Agile Foundation Certification

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for taking the PRINCE2 Agile Foundation certification.

Exam Format

The exam will be Objective testing format
It will be a multiple-choice paper
The duration will be an hour
The pass mark is 55%
It will be a Closed book exam.

5.2 PRINCE2® Agile Practitioner Certification

Target Audience

Project Manager
Program staff
Project Support staff
Professionals who work within a project environment.
Professionals integrating project management with product delivery.
Professionals are responsible for projects using agile delivery approaches.

Eligibility

You can take the PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner certificate if you hold any of the following certifications:

PRINCE2® Foundation (or higher)
PRINCE2 Agile® Foundation
Project Management Professional® (PMP)*
Certified Associate in Project Management® (CAPM)*
IPMA Levels A, B, C and D® (Certified Projects Director).

*'PMP' and 'CAPM' are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI).

Examination Format

It will be an Objective testing format
There will be 50 questions each worth one mark
You need to score 30 marks or more required to pass out of 50 questions
The pass mark is 60% pass
The duration of the exam will be Two-and-a-half hours’ (150 minutes)
It will be an Open book exam. Only the official printed hard copy of the PRINCE2 Agile® Guidance is allowed.

Salary

The salary of agile project managers is around $90,000/year in the United States.

For more information about professional certification, please visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com or call now on +1-713-287-1213 / 1214 or e-mail us at info {at} icertglobal {dot} com.

Do visit our Corporate Training to know more about core offerings for enterprises in empowering their workforce.

For more information about our PMP (Project Management Professional) exam prep certification training courses, visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/

Download Free PMP® Exam Practice Test with 200 PMP® Questions.
Full-length PMP sample test with 200 PMP exam prep questions.

Download our Free PMP Brochure for more information.

05

Dec

Different Modes of PMP Training: Classroom, Live, E-Learning

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-05 1865

Different Modes of PMP Training - Classroom, Online Live and E-Learning

The technology is updating at a fast pace. There is a huge increase in technology-based training with unlimited learning opportunities. There are different modes of training according to convenience.

Instructor- LED Classroom Training
Instructor- LED Live Online Training (Liver Virtual Training)
Self-paced Online Training or E-Learning

According to ILX Research report (Digital Learning in Business),

63% of respondents expressed that conducting training improves business capability.
51% of HR decision-makers stated, training increases employee morale, satisfaction and longevity.

Training benefits

Image Source: ILX Research report (Digital Learning in Business)

1. Instructor- LED Classroom Training

Classroom training is one of the most effective ways of learning. Face to face interaction with the expert trainer will let you enhance your skill, clear doubts and discuss your ideas with fellow attendees.

Classroom training has its own perks. The advantages of attending class training for PMP Certification are:

Classroom training allows interaction with fellow attendees and trainers.
Face to face discussions and debates clears more doubts.
Provides individual attention from the trainer.
Scope of learning from peers.
Systematic schedule.
Practice under supervision.
Feedbacks can be given in real-time

iCert Global conducts both In-house and open house Corporate Training Programs. Our PMP expert trainer provides top-notch Instructor-LED Classroom Training for your employees in office premises or at an external location.

2. Self-paced Online Training or E-Learning

Self-paced training is based on the learner’s convenience. Irrespective of time, a learner can access to Learning Management System and go through the content.

Self-Paced Online Training or E-learning is an ideal mode of learning for professionals with un-defined schedule and organizations with a larger set of employees.
It allows anytime, anywhere secure access to the Learning Management System where certain learning duration is set.
It includes quizzes at the end of each session for self-analysis.
No time pressure.

iCert Global enables you to benchmark your skillset in Project Management in your own way from our E-learning programs. Flexibility and freedom offered to choose the preferred module anywhere and anytime.

3. Instructor- LED Online Training

An ideal mode of training for the company spread across diverse locations. The training is conducted through training software such as Citrix GoToMeeting, Cisco WebEx etc.

The main advantage of Instructor- LED Online Training:

Cost-efficient.
Customized Learning.
Access to subject experts from distance.
Common training for everyone irrespective of distance.

iCert Global conducts Instructor-led Online Class designed exclusively for the "professionals on the move" who are unable to enroll for regular classes given their constraints.

For more information about PMP Certification Training courses worldwide, please visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com or call now on +1-713-287-1213 / 1214 or e-mail us at info {at} icertglobal {dot} com.

For more information about our PMP (Project Management Professional) exam prep certification training courses, visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/

Download Free PMP® Exam Practice Test with 200 PMP® Questions.
Full-length PMP sample test with 200 PMP exam prep questions.

Download our Free PMP Brochure for more information.

04

Dec

Key Features of the PMP® Handbook for Exam Preparation.

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-04 1467

Features Of PMP® Handbook

PMP handbook from PMI has an overview of the PMP certification program. One can understand the certification process easily with the help of PMP handbook. The PMP credential handbook by PMI is available online for free. The PMP handbook contains details about:

The PMP eligibility requirements
Guide to complete the online application
PMP examination details
PMP certification fees
PMI audit process
PMP exam policies and procedure
PMP credential policies and procedure

1. The PMP eligibility requirements

This portion of the PMP handbook explains the eligibility criteria to take up the exam, details of project management education of 35 hours and required project management experience.

2. Guide to complete the online application

The step by step procedure to fill the application is explained in detail which also covers experience & educational particulars.

3. PMP examination details

The examination format, allocated examination time and exam schedule are presented in detail.

4. PMP certification fees

The exam fees are determined according to the PMI membership status, and exam administration type. PMI members get discounts on certification fees.

If PMI membership is obtained after you submit payment for the certification, PMI will not refund the amount.

5. PMI audit process

PMI randomly selects the candidate’s profile and demands for the supporting documents for all the education and experiences you mentioned in the application. The details of the audit process are given in the handbook.

6. PMP exam policies and procedure

This section of the PMP handbook contains the examination details, exam blueprint, exam administration, examination language aids, rescheduling and other details.

7. PMP credential policies and procedure

The certification complaint process, certification appeals procedure, and use of PMP certification is elaborated in PMP handbook.

Note: In order to keep your certification valid, you need to collect 60 PDUs every year.

For more information about PMP Certification Training courses worldwide, please visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com or call now on +1-713-287-1213 / 1214 or e-mail us at info {at} icertglobal {dot} com.

For more information about our PMP (Project Management Professional) exam prep certification training courses, visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/

Download Free PMP® Exam Practice Test with 200 PMP® Questions.
Full-length PMP sample test with 200 PMP exam prep questions.

You may also be interested in Sample PMP Exam Prep Questions before you download the Free PMP Practice Test.

04

Dec

Requirements for PMP Certification: Key Steps to Follow.

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-04 1895

What are the requirements for PMP certification?

The first step towards your PMP certification should begin by studying the Project Management Professional® Credential Handbook in detail. It is strongly recommended that you visit the PMI.org to read relevant information presented on the site about PMP Certification.

The Process of PMP Exam Application:

Become a member by registering with PMI.org
- Become a member by registering with PMI.org
  - The membership brings its own benefits. To become a member, you need to pay It costs $139 to become a member.
  - For PMI members, the examination cost is $405.00. The privileges for a member include access of PMBOK® Guide (e-book).
  - For a non-member, the examination cost is $555.
You need to fulfill PMP’s criteria of 35 hours PDUs (professional development units) as part of the PMP exam requirement.
You will have to submit the PMP exam application online. For a detailed step-by-step approach for filling a PMP application please visit our blog.
You need to schedule your exam with Prometric sites near to you.
Take the PMP Exam
- It’s a 200 question exam with a 4-hour duration.
- The outcome of the exam will be disclosed immediately after the submission of the answer sheet. It will be a pass or fail. There will be no score or percentages of the right response.
- You can take the PMP exam thrice in a year.

PMP Exam Eligibility Requirements

Notes:

Must submit the application to PMI to take the exam.
The application can be submitted online or via mail.
PMI provides an authorization letter to make an appointment to take the exam.
The application may be audited prior to approval.
Exam offered on a computer at designated testing sites.
Must take the exam within a year of receiving an authorization letter.
Additional information provided in the PMP® handbook on www.pmi.org

To know more about PMP eligibility requirements, filling-up the PMP Exam application online, we strongly recommend you spend some time in our article “Process For Filling PMP® Exam Application Form | Step By Step Guide.”

For more information about PMP Certification Training courses worldwide, please visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com or call now on +1-713-287-1213 / 1214 or e-mail us at info {at} icertglobal {dot} com.

For more information about our PMP (Project Management Professional) exam prep certification training courses, visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/

Download Free PMP® Exam Practice Test with 200 PMP® Questions.
Full-length PMP sample test with 200 PMP exam prep questions.

03

Dec

PMP: Global project management certification recognized.

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-03 3030

What is PMP®?

Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification is a benchmark for project management. The PMP certification validates the experience, knowledge, expertise, capability, competency and required skills to lead and manage projects. PMP certification is the most recognized and sought after project management certification. A PMP certification is compelling in its benefits and considered to be lucrative as it increases the earning potential. PMI’s PMBOK (Product Management Body of Knowledge) Guide is one of the reference books for PMP certification.

The gap between skilled project management workers and the availability of project management professionals is widening. There is a shortage in terms of skilled professionals to fill the roles. Hence the demand for certified PMP professionals is growing.

The survey made by PMI.org reveals that the PMP certified professionals draw 23% more in salary as compared to their non-certified peers [source: PMI’s biennial report, Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey, 10th edition]. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), at least one-third of project managers have a PMP certification.

PMP number

Prerequisites for PMP Certification:

PMP eligibility criteria

How to fill the PMP application?

The step by step procedure to fill the PMP application form is given in our blog post: The process of filling the PMP application form.

What is going to change in PMP examination from July 2020?

The main change to be considered from July 2020 is the course outline. The number of domains will be reduced to three from five. The main domains will be aligned with real-life practices. Know more...

Benefits of getting PMP certified:

PMP Certification is highly beneficial to all the project managers irrespective of the field they are in. To know more about the benefits of getting PMP certified, go through our video

or our blog post Top 10 reasons to get PMP certified.

Demand for Certified PMP professionals

According to the PMI-commissioned talent gap analysis by Anderson Economic Group (AEG), by 2027, employers will need nearly 88 million individuals in project management-oriented roles.

Through 2027, the project management-oriented labour force in seven project-oriented sectors is expected to grow by 33 percent or nearly 22 million new jobs.

The Talent shortages in the profession can potentially create risks of nearly US$208 billion in GDP over the 2017-2027 period. The opportunities for project management practitioners are tremendous given the widening talent gap and the project talent required to close the gap. These project managers are expected to take up challenging and complex projects to translate the organization's vision into tangible goals.

Salary of Certified PMP Professional:

PMP certification made into the 10 Highest-Paying IT Certifications for Tech Pros.

According to ziprecruiter.com, Project Management Professional's salary can go as high as $172,000.

PMP - Average Annual Salary in the United States

PMP average annual salary

For more information about PMP Certification Training courses worldwide, please visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com or call now on +1-713-287-1213 / 1214 or e-mail us at info {at} icertglobal {dot} com.

For more information about our PMP (Project Management Professional) exam prep certification training courses, visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/

Download Free PMP® Exam Practice Test with 200 PMP® Questions.
Full-length PMP sample test with 200 PMP exam prep questions.

03

Dec

PMP Certification & Role of a Certified Project Manager.

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-03 1662

What Is PMP Certification And What Does a PMP Certified Professional Do?

Project Management Professional (PMP®) is a globally recognized certification created and administered by the Project Management Institute (PMI®).

PMI established in 1996, is a leading non-profit organization based in the U.S and has nearly 3 million members from all around the world. They are provided with continuing education, a strong network and a common project management standard. With PMI membership, you get

The PMP certification is aligned with the reference handbook ‘The Project Management Body of Knowledge’-6th edition.

How to get PMP certified?

The prerequisites for the PMP exam is:

How to get PMP certified

Meet the eligibility requirements and fill the application form.

In order to keep the credentials level high, PMI conducts audit process randomly to validate the prerequisites such as project management experience and project management education. The PMP examination contains 200 questions in which 25 questions are pre-test questions. The PMP certification exam is one of the toughest exams.

According to the 10th edition of PMI salary survey, PMP Certified professionals earn 23% more as compared to Non-PMP Certified project managers.

What do Project Management Professionals do?

The projects are run all over the world. With this globally recognized certification, you can understand and manage the complex project with a common language of project management.

The key responsibilities of the project manager strongly include:

Active participation in the planning of the project
Resource planning
Keep the team motivated
Organize the project structure
Discuss and Execute ideas
Time and cost management
Analyze risk
Monitor the progress
Manage the records

In which field project managers work?

Project managers play a vital role in the progress of the project. There is a huge demand for project managers in all the industries.

According to PMI’s Project management Job Growth and Talent Gap (2017-2027),

By 2027, employers will need 87.7 million individuals working in project management-oriented roles.

Attrition, particularly as seasoned practitioners reach retirement age, is creating many project-related job openings. Leading sectors with job openings due to attrition are shown in the image below:

field project managers work

(Source: Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap 2017–2027)

According to ziprecruiter.com, Project Management Professional's salary can go as high as $172,000.

PMP: Average Annual Salary in the United States

Description: PMP Average Annual Salary in the United States

For more information about PMP Certification Training courses worldwide, please visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com or call now on +1-713-287-1213 / 1214 or e-mail us at info {at} icertglobal {dot} com.

For more information about our PMP (Project Management Professional) exam prep certification training courses, visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/

Download Free PMP® Exam Practice Test with 200 PMP® Questions.
Full-length PMP sample test with 200 PMP exam prep questions.

03

Dec

Black Friday Deals Extended Upto 6 pm CST on December 03

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-03 825

Based on popular demand Black Friday Sale has been Extended up to 6 pm CST (Central Standard Time) on December 03.

Save up to 73% on PMP, CAPM, Lean Six Sigma, CBAP, PMI-ACP and DevOps certification training classroom and live online courses. Buy Now!

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02

Dec

How difficult is it to pass the PMP certification exam?

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-02 2293

How Difficult Is PMP Certification?

What makes PMP certification so valuable? It is decided by the relevance, demand, and trends in the market. What makes PMP so popular? Because PMP is considered as the gold standard of project management certifications and applies to project management in general. Therefore PMP commands the same reverence in any industry.

Did you know?

PMP made into the 10 Highest-Paying IT Certifications for Tech Pros.
PMP can help you land a salary increase of up to 20 percent.
The midpoint salary of $115,500 based on their 2019 technology salary guide.
According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), at least one-third of project managers have a PMP certification.
According to the 10 Most Difficult IT Certifications, PMP was placed at number 2

As much as being the most sought out and lucrative certification, PMP is one of the more difficult project management exams. It is certainly not a cakewalk and calls for an intensive effort in preparation to clear the exam in your first attempt.

Is PMP that difficult? Let's help you to understand more about it and find out means and ways to face the challenge.

First, the basics.

The PMP exam covers the basic principles of the 5 Project Management Process Groups. Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. It is based on the content in PMI’s PMBOK (Product Management Body of Knowledge) Guide. Please note that PMBOK is one of the reference materials for the PMP certification exam. You need to spend time on other study materials to better prepare yourself. For your information, the reference for the current PMP exam is the sixth edition of the PMBOK, published in 2017.

The PMP exam covers the following five domains. The focus on the domains is not equally spread and going by the details presented below, the emphasis on some domains is higher than others in the exam.

Initiating — 13%
Planning — 24%
Executing — 31%
Monitoring and Controlling — 25%
Closing — 7%

Challenging Course Outline

The difficulty of the PMP exam lies in your ability to become acquainted with the concepts and course of study. While the domains cover the fundamentals of project management, there are 10 knowledge areas considered the core of project management. For a detailed breakdown of the domain, please check the PMP exam content outline.

Complicated Exam Structure - Pretest Question

Next comes the exam. The PMP exam is multiple choice and consists of 200 questions. Not all the 200 questions are counted. Only 175 out of the 200 are graded. The balance 25 are “pretest questions” which will not be counted for scoring. The pretest questions are another challenge.

Does the Pretest Question affect exam performance? Yes, it does affect the following way:

The answer is YES PMP® candidates are affected by the pretest questions in the following way:

The 25 questions are spread across the 200 questions and you will not know which is the “pretest question”.
You might spend too much on a “pretest question” for which there is no score.
If the pretest question happens to be difficult, it might adversely impact the morale and confidence in your overall performance.

So, that’s a known risk.

Next is the time limit. You will have only 4 hours to answer all the 200 questions.

The PMP exam evaluation

Unlike in the past, PMP does not reveal the score. The exam outcome is presented with a pass or fail grade along with the performance rating of the domains and overall exam.

Do you know how the questions are graded? PMI uses “sound psychometric analysis” to calculate the passing figure. For each question, a point is awarded, and the subject matter experts selected by PMI will decide the number of right answers to pass the PMP exam. The difficulty with regard to the lack of the ‘pass mark’, candidates do not know how much to score in the practice tests to feel confident about cracking the PMP exam. The understanding from the SMEs across the globe is that 80% in the preparatory exams have consistently been good enough to appear for the final exam.

How to clear the PMP exam in your first attempt?

By now, you would have gained some insights about the difficulty with regard to PMP exam. Don't feel discouraged as this article aims to highlight the pain points and possible difficulties while dealing with preparation for the PMP exam.

You can pass the PMP exam on your first try. It needs dedication and devoted study. Enroll in a PMP preparatory course that will help to refresh all the major topics, and attempt as many practice tests and mock exams, till you gain the confidence. Study and practice (preparatory tests) are the keys to success in your PMP exam, and certainly, you will pass in your first attempt.

For more information about PMP Certification Training courses worldwide, please visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com or call now on +1-713-287-1213 / 1214 or e-mail us at info {at} icertglobal {dot} com.

For more information about our PMP (Project Management Professional) exam prep certification training courses, visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/

Download Free PMP® Exam Practice Test with 200 PMP® Questions.
Full-length PMP sample test with 200 PMP exam prep questions.

02

Dec

CAPM® or PMP® - Which Certification Is Right For You?

iCert Global Project Management 0 2019-12-02 2897

CAPM® or PMP® - Which Certification Is Right For You?

Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®) and Project Management Professional (PMP®) both are Project management credentials accredited by the Project Management Institute (PMI®). Both the certifications are aligned with the official handbook A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) 6th Edition published by PMI.

Prerequisites -CAPM and PMP

Eligibility requirements in CAPM are comparatively low as it is an entry-level certification than professional-level PMP certification.

Prerequisites for CAPM:

CAPM Eligibility criteria

Prerequisites for PMP:

PMP Eligibility criteria

Certified project management professionals are highly in demand in all the industries.

According to PMI, Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap 2017–2027)

By 2027, employers will need 87.7 million individuals working in project management-oriented roles.

(CAPM®) - It is an entry-level certification in the field of project management. If you are a junior level Project Manager and want to set the stage for a remarkable career, then CAPM is the right credential to pursue.

(PMP®) - PMP is an industry-standard globally recognized professional-level certification for project managers which validates their project management knowledge, experience, and skills to potential employers and clients.

There is a lot of difference in both the certifications in terms of prerequisites, cost, level of difficulty, and demand according to the person’s intended career goal.

The below table shows the brief comparison of CAPM® and PMP® :

comparison between CAPM and PMP

CAPM exam fee is comparatively lower than the PMP exam. Discounts are available for both the exams for PMI membership.Cost of Examination:

Cost of CAPM certification:

CAPM Certification fee

Cost of PMP certification:

PMP certification fee

Exam question pattern

PMP examination contains 200 multiple choice questions (MCQ) in which 25 are pre-test questions. CAPM exam contains 150 MCQs in which 15 are pre-test questions.

Difficulty level

The difficulty level of CAPM is comparatively lesser as it is an entry-level certification. Candidates are more likely to pass this exam if they have studied PMBOK® Guide well. The fundamental knowledge, terminology and processes of project management aligned with PMBOK guide will help you to clear the exam.

The difficulty level of the PMP exam is quite higher compared to the CAPM. Along with the knowledge of the PMBOK guide, candidates have to apply skills of project management acquired in their working experience. The question asked in the PMP exam is based on the situation.

Industry-Wide benefits

CAPM is an entry-level certificate which acts as an excellent stepping stone to grow in the field of project management. CAPM certification is more accessible, more affordable, and requires less time to possess the certification but PMP holds global recognition, industry-standard and is highly valued in all the industries.

Organizations prefer PMP certified professionals as the credentials validate the ability to handle complex projects in a more efficient way.

Certified professionals earn more than non-certified professionals.

According to ZipRecruiter,

The average annual salary of CAPM Certified professionals is,

CAPM Salary

According to ZipRecruiter,

The average annual salary of PMP Certified professionals is,

PMP Project manager salary

Take the first step towards exploring an opportunity to be a global project management professional. Prepare for the CAPM® certification exam and PMP® and fast track your career as a project management professional. Join Now! Please fill in the enquiry form or call now on +1(713)-287-1355 or e-mail info {at} icertglobal {dot} com for our training consultant to understand your training requirements and guide you with an optimum way to achieve your learning objectives.

For more information about our Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®) Training Course, and Project Management Professional (PMP®) Training Course, please visit us at https://www.icertglobal.com/

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