PMP Certification: Specifications and Guidance

PMP Certification is used as a screening tool by companies that have to fill their Project Management positions. PMP certified person applies Project Management methodologies in a standardized way. You get to know the best project management practices worldwide and your project management methodologies are not limited to hard work and organizational skills. And that is why employers are willing to pay more money for a PMP-certified professional.

This certification is provided by Project Management Institute (PMI), USA (see more details on PMI certification from PMI website www.pmi.org).

PMI was established in 1969 and is headquartered at Pennsylvania, USA. The various activities of the institute are certification, maintaining professional standards, research, publication, and education & training.

PMI offers two certifications, Project Management Professional (PMP®) and Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM™). The PMI Certification Department is the first professional certification program of its kind in the world to receive the ISO 9001 Certification, a globally recognized mark of a quality management system.

And now perhaps I need not overemphasize the desire of organizations to have PMPs with them. Microsoft has chosen the Project Management Institute's (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP®) Certification Program as the certification of choice for Microsoft Services. "We were in need of an internationally recognized project management certification that would support the professional development of our Services personnel," said Joe Austin, Chief Operating Officer, Microsoft Services. "PMI's credentials parallel our own ongoing commitment to quality aimed at customer, partner and employee satisfaction." (Read the details at http://www.pmi.org/prod/groups/public/documents/info/ap_news-microsoft.asp)

Worldwide there are over 100,000 PMPs who provide project management services in 120 countries. To obtain PMP Certification, an individual must satisfy education and experience requirements, agree to adhere to a Professional Code of Conduct, and pass the PMP Certification Examination. The PMP Certification Program supports the global community of project management practitioners and is designed to objectively assess and measure professional knowledge.

To pass the PMP examination, out of the 175 questions, candidates must correctly answer a minimum of 106 questions. Which means the minimum percentage score to be obtained should be 60.6%. The details about the Exam Objectives are provided below.

Exam Objectives
  Initiating the Project
  Planning the Project
  Executing the Project
  Monitoring and Controlling the Project
  Closing the Project
  Professional and Social Responsibility

The revised PMP Certification processes, with all the important changes, are listed as follows:

1. The PMP application can be submitted by using an improved online application system developed by PMI.
2. While filling in details in the PMP online application, the applicants will be required to provide their contact information for each project undertaken by them. During the PMP application evaluation review period, in case the application is chosen  for audit, PMI will contact manager(s) whose names are indicated on the application, to validate the documented experience.
3. All applications thus submitted will go through an enhanced review process. The applicants, who are chosen for audit, will be notified through an e-mail from PMI. In addition, automated follow-up reminder notifications will be issued to the applicants using e-mails, throughout the audit process.
4. All applicants will be allotted one year’s time to take the examination. This one-year eligibility period begins when a candidate's application is approved.
5. PMI would contact the applicant once the PMP application is approved. Thereafter, the applicants need to contact the nearest prometric center in their city and book a desired date for their PMP test.
6. PMI would provide the score reports to the candidates appearing for the PMP test. The report would contain pass or fail status and percentage of questions answered correctly for each Domain and Knowledge Area.
7. The candidates can take up to three attempts within their one year of eligibility period to pass the PMP examination. In case the candidate does not succeed even in the third attempt, there is a waiting period of one year before they are permitted to take the next PMP examination.

Examination Content - Percentage Of Questions
Initiating the Project - 11%
Knowledge is tested on the basis of following aspects:

1. Conducting project selection methods
2. Defining the scope
3. Documenting project risks, assumptions, and constraints
4. Identifying and performing stakeholder analysis
5. Developing the project charter
6. Obtaining project charter approval

Planning the Project - 23 %
Knowledge is tested on the basis of following aspects:

1. Defining and recording requirements, constraints, and assumptions
2. Identifying the project team and defining the roles and responsibilities
3. Creating the WBS
4. Developing the change management plan
5. Identifying risks and defining risk strategies
6. Obtaining plan approval
7. Conducting the kick-off meeting

Executing the Project - 27 %
Knowledge is tested on the basis of following aspects:

1. Executing the tasks defined in the project plan
2. Ensuring common understanding and set expectations
3. Implementing the procurement of project resources
4. Managing resource allocation
5. Implementing the quality management plan
6. Implementing the approved changes
7. Implementing the approved actions and workarounds
8. Improving the team performance

Monitoring and Controlling the Project – 21 %
Knowledge is tested on the basis of following aspects:

1. Measuring project performance
2. Verifying and managing changes to the project
3. Ensuring project deliverables conform to quality standards
4. Monitoring all possible risks

Closing the Project – 9 %
Knowledge is tested on the basis of following aspects:

1. Obtaining final acceptance for the project
2. Obtaining financial, legal, and administrative closure
3. Releasing project resources
4. Identifying, documenting, and communicating “lessons learned”
5. Creating and distributing the final project report
6. Archiving and retaining project records
7. Measuring customer satisfaction

Professional and Social Responsibility - 9 %
Knowledge is tested on the basis of following aspects:

1. Ensuring individual integrity
2. Contributing to the project management knowledge base
3. Enhancing personal professional competence
4. Promoting interaction among stakeholders

• A Bachelor’s or “global equivalent university degree”
• At least 4,500 hours of project management experience (this must be supported by lengthy forms verifying the number of hours.)
• Three years of project management experience within the past 6 years
• Thirty-five credit hours of project management education covering subjects like project quality, scope, time, human resources, communications, risk, procurement, and integration management
• Applicants who don’t have a degree must have:
• At least 7,500 hours of project management experience
• Five years of project management experience within the past eight years
• Thirty-five credit hours of project management education covering the same subjects as an applicant with a college degree

• A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)–Third Edition
• PMP Role Delineation Study
• PMP Certification Handbook
• Code of Professional Conduct

• Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling (7th edition) by Harold Kerzner
• PMP Exam Practice Test and Study Guide (4th edition) by J. LeRoy Ward
• PMP Exam Prep (4th edition) by Rita Mulcahy