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Project ManagementInstitute’s CertificationProgramHerman Walter, PMP

VP Administration & Finance

Project Management Institute –Assembly of Chapter Presidents

Presentation Goals♦ Discuss the three current certification

programs available through the ProjectManagement Institute (PMI®) .

♦ Discuss the eligibility requirements for eachexam.

♦ Discuss recertification requirements for theProject Management Professional (PMP®).

♦ Review study tips for the PMP® exam.

♦ Answer any questions.

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Certified Associate in ProjectManagement (CAPM™) Exam

♦ Targeted for PM practitioners who are insupporting roles.– Assists in evaluation of project control plans.

– Suggests performance indicators and limits.

– Assists in refining project requirements,assumptions, and constraints.

– Supports administrative and financialclosure.

Eligibility Requirements

♦Category 1: Bachelor’s Degree orEquivalent– Minimum of 1,500 hours of project

management experience within three-yearperiod prior to the application.

• Must indicated at least 24 unique (non-overlapping) months of experience.

• Must identify hours per process area.

– Minimum of 23 “contact” hours of projectmanagement education.

• Contact hours will be defined later.

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Eligibility Requirements (Cont’d)

♦ Category 2: High School Diploma orEquivalent– Minimum of 2,500 hours of project

management experience within three-yearperiod prior to the application.

• Must indicated at least 24 unique (non-overlapping) months of experience.

• Must identify hours per process area.

– Minimum of 23 “contact” hours of projectmanagement education.

• Contact hours will be defined later.

Contact Hours

♦ Instruction hours in a learningenvironment that must have beenaccrued prior to the submission of theapplication, but there is no time limit.

♦ Instruction hours must include contenton one to all nine knowledge areas perthe PMBOK® Guide.– Quality, Scope, Time, Cost, Risk,

Procurement, Human Resources,Communications, and Integration.

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Sources of Contact Hours

♦ University/collegeacademic andcontinuing educationprograms.

♦ Courses or programsoffered by trainingcompanies orconsultants.

♦ Courses or programsoffered by PMI®

components.

♦ Courses or programsoffered by PMI®

Registered EducationProviders (REP).

♦ Courses or programsoffered by employer/company-sponsoredprograms.

♦ Courses or programsoffered by distance-learning companies

CAPM™ Exam Structure♦ Multiple-choice format.

– 150 questions.– Three hours allotted time.– Recall level assessment: define terms.

• Covers the five domains plus ProfessionalResponsibility.

♦ Computer-based exam.– Given at secure Prometric Testing Center

(PTC) sites.– Paper exams will be administered outside of

North America when there is no PTC siteavailable.

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CAPM™ Exam Fees♦ First Time Sitting for Exam:

– Eligibility letter is valid for 6 months.

– $225 US fee for PMI members.– $300 US fee for nonmembers.

♦ Retaking the Exam– Must submit re-examination form within

one year of original test date.• Reduced fee needs to be paid to retake the exam.

– Individual has six months to re-take theexam upon issuance of the eligibility letter.

Maintaining CAPM™ Credential♦ Initial designation is valid for a

maximum of five years.– Final year is the fifth full calendar year after

the year in which the exam was passed.– No requirements for continued education.– Within five years, individual must apply

again for CAPM™ exam and pass it tomaintain his/her credential.

♦ An individual can take the PMP®

certification exam anytime during thefive-year period upon meeting eligibilitycriteria.

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PMP® Certification Exam

♦ Targeted for project managementpractitioners.

♦ Is constructed to measure theindividual’s application of knowledge,skills, tools, and techniques that areutilized in the practice of projectmanagement.

Eligibility Requirements

♦Category 1: Bachelor’s Degree orEquivalent– Minimum of 4,500 hours of project

management experience within six-yearperiod prior to the application.

• Must indicated at least 36 unique (non-overlapping) months of experience.

• Must identify hours per process area.

– Minimum of 35 “contact” hours of projectmanagement education.

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Eligibility Requirements (Cont’d)

♦ Category 2: High School Diploma orEquivalent– Minimum of 7,500 hours of project

management experience within eight-yearperiod prior to the application.

• Must indicate at least 60 unique (non-overlapping) months of experience.

• Must identify hours per process area.

– Minimum of 35 “contact” hours of projectmanagement education.

PMP® Exam Structure♦ Multiple-choice format.

– 200 questions.– Four hours allotted time.– Many questions are scenario-based.

• Covers the five domains plus ProfessionalResponsibility.

♦ Computer-based exam.– Given at secure Prometric Testing Center

(PTC) sites.– Paper exams will be administered outside of

North America when there is no PTC siteavailable.

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PMP® Exam Fees♦ First Time Sitting for Exam:

– Eligibility letter is valid for 6 months.

– $405 US fee for PMI members.– $555 US fee for nonmembers.

♦ Retaking the Exam– Must submit re-examination form within

one year of original test date.• Reduced fee needs to be paid to retake the exam.

– Individual has six months to re-take theexam upon issuance of the eligibility letter.

Maintaining PMP® Credential

♦ Certification is valid for three years.– Final year is the third full calendar year

after the year in which the exam was passed.

♦ PMP® must obtain 60 ProfessionalDevelopment Units (PDUs) during thethree years to maintain his/hercredential.– Details on the Continuing Certification

Requirements (CCR) Program will beprovided later in this presentation.

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Certificate of AddedQualification (CAQ) Exam♦ Targeted for project management

practitioners in specific industries.– Applicant must be PMP® certified.

– Needs to demonstrate industry-specificknowledge.

♦ Credential identifies individual as beingknowledgeable in both projectmanagement and the specific industries.

Available CAQ Exams

♦ Automotive– Scheduled yearly since 1999.

♦ Information Technology – Systems– First exam will be offered in July 2002.

♦ Project Management Office– First exam will be offered in July 2002

♦ Future Exams– Capital Projects, Pharmaceutical,

Information Technology - Systems

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Eligibility Requirements

♦ Must be a certified PMP®.

♦ Must have 1,500 hour of industry-specificexperience .– Must be over a minimum of a two-year

period within the previous four years priorto filling out the application.

CAQ Exam Structure

♦ Multiple-choice format.– 75 questions.

– 2 hours allotted time.

♦ Paper and pencil based exam.– No computer based testing available.

– PMI HQ establishes test sites.

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CAQ Exam Fees

♦ First Time Sitting for Exam:– Eligibility letter contains scheduling

information.

– $100 US fee.

♦ Retaking the Exam– Must submit re-examination form within

one year of original test date.

– Individual must take the next examadministered.

Maintaining CAQ Credential

♦ CAQ certification is valid for three years.– Final year is the third full calendar year

after the year in which the exam was passed.

♦ 10 of the 60 PDUs required for PMP®recertification must be related to thespecific industry that the credential wasgranted for.– Future editions of the CAQ handbooks will

have additional information regarding thisprocess, especially for individuals that havemore than one CAQ credential.

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Continuing CertificationRequirements (CCR) Program♦ The purpose of the CCR program is to:

– Sustain the PMP® as a global certificationcredential

– Enhance the ongoing professionaldevelopment of PMPs

– Encourage and recognized individualizedlearning opportunities

– Offer a standardized and objective methodfor attaining and recording professionaldevelopment activities

Professional Development Unit

♦ One PDU = one hour spent in a planned,structured learning experience oractivity.– Activities must be related to project

management topics.

– Activities must be consistent with theknowledge areas and processes as outlined inthe 2000 edition of the PMBOK® Guide.

♦ PDUs can be claimed in 0.25 increments.

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PDU Categories♦ Category 1: Formal Academic Education

– No limit on amount that can be claimed.

♦ Category 2: Professional Activities– Covers writing articles, making

presentations, or developing a program.– PMP® can claim 5 PDUs per year for

providing professional project managementservices to employers or other groups.

– Can claim a maximum of 15 PDUs overthree-year period for “self-directed learning”activities.

PDU Categories (Continued)

♦Category 3: PMI REP Programs♦ Category 4: Programs from Other

Providers– PMP® must maintain registration form,

certificate or letter of attendance, and abrochure or course materials.

♦ Category 5: Service to Professional orCommunity Organizations– Can claim a maximum of 20 PDUs during

three-year period.

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PDU Reporting

♦ Fax or mail completed ActivitiesReporting Form to the PMI/CCRRecords Department at:

PMI/CCR

College of Continuing Education

1700 Asp Avenue

Norman, OK 73072-6400 USA

♦ Email completed forms to pmirecords@pmi.org.

♦ Fill out form and submit online. Form can befound athttp://www.pmi.org/certification/ccr/forms.htm.

PMP® Exam Preparation Tips

♦ Know the 2000 edition of the PMBOK®

Guide and its definitions.– Retype the PMBOK® Guide and paraphrase

it in your own words.

– PMI® administers the exam, not othersources – including your employer.Therefore, go with the answer that reflectsthe PMI® point of view.

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PMP® Exam Tips (Continued)

♦ Use multiple references to prepare forthe exam.

♦ Take as many practice exams as you can.– Be careful: you’ll start to remember answers

without knowing why they are correct.

♦ Participate in a study group and/or aformal PMP® preparation class.

♦ Review incorrect answers andunderstand why your answer was wrongand why correct answer is correct.

Recommended References

♦ PMP Exam Prep and PM FASTrack CD-ROMby Rita Mulcahy, PMP.– Available through the PMI Bookstore

(http://www/pmibookstore.org) orhttp://www.rmcproject.com.

– PM FASTrack simulates actual computer-based test.

♦ Project Manager’s Desk Reference by A.J.Thomas, PMP and Dick Billows, GCA.– Available through the Hampton Group’s website:

http://www.4pm.com.

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PMP® References (Continued)

♦ Available through the PMI Bookstore(http://www.pmibookstore.org) and ESI’swebsite (http://www.esi-intl.com):– Project Management Terms – A Working

Glossary by J. LeRoy Ward, PMP.

– PMP Exam Practice Test and Study Guide byJ. LeRoy Ward, PMP.

– PMP Challenge! By J. LeRoy Ward, PMPand Ginger Levin, D.P.A.

PMP® References (Continued)

♦ Available through the PMI Bookstoreand International Institute for Learning’swebsite (http://www.iil.com):– Project Management – A Systems Approach to

Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling byHarold Kernzer, Ph.D.

• Mixed reaction from people on this book. Someswear by it, others swear at it!

– Project Management IQ CD-ROM.• Simulates actual computer-based test.