Certification Outputs Versus Outcomes

Mike Griffiths is an experienced project manager, author and consultant who works for PMI as a subject matter expert. Before joining PMI, Mike consulted and managed innovation and technology projects throughout Europe, North and South America for 30+ years. He was co-lead for the PMBOK Guide—Seventh Edition, lead for the Agile Practice Guide, and contributor to the PMI-ACP and PMP exam content outlines. Outside of PMI, Mike maintains the websites www.LeadingAnswers.com about leading teams and www.PMillustrated.com, which teaches project management for visual learners.

  Career Development  

You have probably heard the saying “Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” While a little harsh, it illustrates that it is not the output of planning (the plan) that is most valuable, but instead the outcome of undertaking the planning.

The process of understanding the steps involved, discussing alternatives with stakeholders and determining an approach is extremely worthwhile and uncovers critical information. The output of the process, the plan, is likely today’s best guess of an approach—but since circumstances change daily, will be flawed tomorrow, questionable in two weeks and worthless in three months.

I believe there is a similar relationship with certification and certificates. The process of learning a topic to the point of being comfortable and capable of successfully passing an examination on the subject has more value than the output of receiving a certificate. Often, people focus only on achieving the end goal, that certificate, and then attach too much value to possessing one. It is easy to see why;: People want the credential for career progression or believe it will help boost their salary.

There is a strong correlation between credentials and salaries, but is that the cause? The PMI Annual Salary Survey, now in its ninth edition, reports “those with a PMP certification garner a higher salary (20% higher on …

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