Program Manager, PPM&PMO Specialist.| Coppel, Mexico.Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico
Colleagues, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the current PMP certification exam. I understand that approximately 40% of the exam focuses on "soft skills" like leadership, communication, and collaboration.
Do you think this is an appropriate balance, or should the exam place more emphasis on the other domains, such as process groups and the business environment?
Is this focus on soft skills accurately reflecting the realities of project management today? Or are we potentially overlooking other essential skills, like AI?
I'm interested in hearing different perspectives on this. What are your thoughts?
Thanks in advance for sharing your insights! Francisco
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Sep 03, 2025 12:42 PM
Replying to Francisco Herrera
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Luis Branco in your emphasis on integration, It's not about "hard" versus "soft" skills, but about fluently navigating across processes, people skills, and business alignment. Structure, empathy, and purpose are all essential for project success.
Incorporating emerging areas like AI literacy and sustainability would make the exam even more relevant for the future.
Francisco
Thank you, Francisco Herrera — I truly appreciate your thoughtful response.
You're absolutely right: structure, empathy, and purpose aren’t separate forces — they are interdependent levers of impact.
I also believe our profession is at an inflection point.
AI literacy, sustainability, and systems thinking are no longer optional — they’re becoming foundational.
Perhaps the next evolution of certification isn’t just about expanding content, but about cultivating cognitive agility — the ability to learn, unlearn, and reframe in complexity.
Grateful for this exchange — and for what we might co-create next as a profession.
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1 reply by Francisco Herrera
Sep 05, 2025 12:02 PM
Francisco Herrera
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Luis Branco I agree completely – AI literacy, sustainability, and systems thinking are becoming essential. It's likely that future certifications will need to assess cognitive agility, as you mentioned, and perhaps even include skills like prompt engineering and the effective use of AI tools directly.
It's exciting to think about what we might co-create next as a profession!
Francisco
Program Manager, PPM&PMO Specialist.| Coppel, Mexico.Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico
Sep 03, 2025 1:51 PM
Replying to Luis Branco
...
Thank you, Francisco Herrera — I truly appreciate your thoughtful response.
You're absolutely right: structure, empathy, and purpose aren’t separate forces — they are interdependent levers of impact.
I also believe our profession is at an inflection point.
AI literacy, sustainability, and systems thinking are no longer optional — they’re becoming foundational.
Perhaps the next evolution of certification isn’t just about expanding content, but about cultivating cognitive agility — the ability to learn, unlearn, and reframe in complexity.
Grateful for this exchange — and for what we might co-create next as a profession.
Luis Branco I agree completely – AI literacy, sustainability, and systems thinking are becoming essential. It's likely that future certifications will need to assess cognitive agility, as you mentioned, and perhaps even include skills like prompt engineering and the effective use of AI tools directly.
It's exciting to think about what we might co-create next as a profession!
Francisco
Program Manager, PPM&PMO Specialist.| Coppel, Mexico.Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico
Aug 29, 2025 7:21 AM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
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Francisco -
I'd agree with the others that the percentage should be increased, not decreased. As AI starts to take over more and more of the technical aspects of project management, our value add continues to be on the ability to work well with other human beings.
Kiron
Kiron Bondale cery interesting point, and I see that several participants agree. It’s true that as AI takes more technical tasks, our human skills become even more important. Let’s see what the updated exam will show! Francisco Saving Changes...
No matter how articulated, well thought and developed processes are, or how much we know the business environment, People's domain remains the driving force in implementing the whole package. It is the soul of the PM, AI is complementary and regardeless of its advancement, the Human Factor should remain the most determinant factor. Saving Changes...
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