What is a Good Project Manager Anyway?
From the Strategic Project Management Blog
by Ty Kiisel
We talk a lot about the skills a good project leader needs. Is certification one of them?
I was reading a post written by Derek Huether of The Critical Path blog titled, Failing the Exam. He cites an example of a known problem with the PMP certification which he and I talked about a couple of weeks ago. First the example, then my comments:
"I was approached a while back by someone looking for assistance in prepping for his PMP," writes Huether. "He is not a project manager (never was; never will be) and does not want to be. But, his company told him to get the certification."
Having never managed a project made the application problematic for this person. He obviously didn't want to be audited by the PMI, but he needed to fabricate a body of experience so he could take the test and obtain the certification. After attending some training, he sat for the test and fortunately failed it. I say fortunately because the guy has no business having the certification in the first place.
Speaking with Derek, I think we both agree that certification, although a potentially valuable measure of whether or not a person is prepared to manage projects, is being misused by companies, hiring managers, and even some project managers. Why do I say that?
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Certification is basically an indication that a project manager understands the fundamentals of managing projects according to the certification body (the PMI in Derek's example), it is not an indication of expertise. Organizations and hiring managers who use certification as go-no-go indication of a project managers fitness are misusing the certification. It is a reasonable criteria when considering a potential project manager for hire or advancement, but there are other criteria (like experience) which should probably be weighted as more important.
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Project managers who misrepresent their expertise to achieve certification are misusing same. Apparently fear of a random audit is not enough as Derek's example demonstrates. I realize that a mandatory audit of every application might be difficult, but could be necessary. For example, Derek and I talked about recent college graduates who couldn't possibly have the requisite experience, yet have their PMP. How does that work?
Don't misunderstand, I am not trying to bash certification in general or any certification body in particular. I'm suggesting that organizations, hiring managers, project managers, and the industry at large should take a look at the process with fresh eyes to determine how we can repair what is obviously broken. Maybe there should be some kind of apprenticeship associated with certification for example. However, as long as certification is misinterpreted as an indication of expertise rather than fundamental knowledge, the system isn't working.
"When I asked him if he thought the exam was hard he gave me a very good answer," continued Huether. "He admitted he didn't even understand half of the terminology or formulas, let alone when and why he would use them."
In my opinion, that is an excellent example of a weakness in the current system. Now, what do we do as an industry to fix it?
Posted on: November 22, 2010 03:41 PM |
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Comments (4)
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If you take an exam that doesn't mean that are ready to do the job. That only means that you managed to reproduce the information you read. Both in PM and developement there is a certain experience on real projects needed in order to do the job properly - and even then, there is no certainty that you will not fail.
Before considering a certification I strongly suggest some apprenticeship.
Is much easier to map teorethical information after some hands-on experience.
Ian Whittingham
Managing Director| Calixo Consulting
Golden Cross, East Sussex, United Kingdom
For better or worse, the PMP accreditation has become a widely accepted differentiator of project management attainment. I use the word “attainment” because -- as much of the debate and argument over the merits of the PMP demonstrates -- it is not clear to what extent a PMP holder is competent or expert in project management. Only through direct observation of behaviour and examination of the results of that behaviour can you begin to measure the competency and expertise of a project manager as a manager of projects.
What is clear, as your example shows, is that the PMP is now widely perceived to have value both to companies and to individuals. The vast majority of PMPs become accredited for the very best of reasons: to become better project managers and to demonstrate an on-going commitment to the profession. Just as the holders of fake diplomas in other disciplines are eventually exposed by their dissembling incompetency, there will always be a small minority who abuse the PMP but they won’t last very long as project managers in the real world.
Organisations must not put employees under duress to go for PMP certification, what they should be doing is to encourage the individual to attain further knowledge through coaching and training to fulfill their aspirations. Unfortunately what has happened with many large organisations within industry everything is a project and must follow a structured process, this not always the case, so when is a project a project that must be driven by Governance, frameworks, processes and Project Manager! it depends on their thinking and how the view projects.
I don't believe for a minute that the certification should come first before experience, the ones that really want to get into Project Management need to work for either a Project office and or Programme Office for at least 2 years before they should consider the PMP certification, by then they will be ready and they will pass the exam.
 | Violetw |
I know people who've worked at the PMI and they say it is a horrible place to work. As for getting a pmp, just take a 3-4 day boot camp THEN take the test. That's how I did it and how i got my six sigma black belt too, and how I got my Certified ScrumMaster. You don't need a certification to prove your worth, but it will give you the current buzz words. Come on folks! Have you EVER worked at a company that has great processes in place ... and followed them? I have only once worked for a company that had good business requirements, excellent test artifacts, etc. etc. GEICO!!!! ONE release a year, 7-8 manual test case designers (SMEs) and FORTY automation engineers... 40, yup. PERFECT regression suites, full functional and nonfunctional coverage... but I digress.
The problem with the PMP is it must be renewed, like Microsoft certifications, which I stopped getting 10 years ago because of their expense and obsolescence. Who needs that expense? I also stopped investing in ASQ certifications for the same reason. Just get the CTFL ... it never expires.
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