John RiceSustainment Engineer| Lockheed MartinHarmony, Fl, United States
Last week I read a post on Linkedin from a very experienced PM and one of the founders of the PMP. He clearly stated he dislikes what he calls a Paper PMP, meaning someone who has little experience, studied for the exam, met the criteria and passed the exam. His approached was PMI de-valued the credential, and these so-called PMP are diluting project management. Some PMP-holders who have no business running a project. They’ve passed the PMI’s test (which isn’t difficult for an experienced PM), and handed in application forms that were so light on detail they should have been flagged by the most perfunctory of glances.
I’m interested in what you think about the PMP. Does it continue to have value? Is the PMI doing a good enough job ensuring credential holders deserve the PMP? Is the industry watered down with too many PMP holders who can’t run a project? Or is the PMP an excellent credential that should give hiring managers confidence in their new hire?
Is, does experience trump credential? I say of course. Remember one of the criteria for PMP is 4,500 to 7,500 hours or 2½ to 4 years of directing projects. Agreed, it is not massive years of experience, but PMI believes the experience level is appropriate for the credential. Experience equates resolved mistakes and challenges, and nothing can replace it. However, no employer is willing to invest in errors and error, too costly. The age old dilemma comes in again, how can someone obtain experience, if no one is prepared to spend the effort to the person?
Would you hire a Paper PMP? Someone who has the credential but not the experience. The PMP credential does signify knowledge and core competencies. I venture to say, someone who dismisses an applicant for lack of experience is not willing to invest. Saving Changes...
Michael RubishMr| Advanced Acoustic ConceptsPerryopolis, Pa, United States
I do believe that the paper PMP is becoming more prevalent with these week long boot camps. There is an issue with any accreditation that does not fully vet their candidates.
With that said, I think that you need both credentials. I often in interviews ask how they obtained their certification. I don't fault boot camp certification or weight them lower than a traditional book/experience certified candidate.
PMI needs to more indepth audits and possibly even increase requirements.
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1 reply by John Rice
Mar 26, 2017 12:43 AM
John Rice
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Michael,
How does an inexperienced PMP, meaning meeting minimum requirements, gain the trust of their employers?
John: It depends; is your organization will to provide training to a new PM or is a seasoned,credentialed PM with years of experience required?
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1 reply by John Rice
Mar 26, 2017 12:48 AM
John Rice
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Naomi,
In your organization, how do you analyze the amount of experience needed for your projects? We all want the best experienced to minimize the risk of re-work and increased time/cost. With that said, are you willing to hire a paper PMP for the sake of human investment?
Saving Changes...
John RiceSustainment Engineer| Lockheed MartinHarmony, Fl, United States
Mar 23, 2017 4:38 PM
Replying to Michael Rubish
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I do believe that the paper PMP is becoming more prevalent with these week long boot camps. There is an issue with any accreditation that does not fully vet their candidates.
With that said, I think that you need both credentials. I often in interviews ask how they obtained their certification. I don't fault boot camp certification or weight them lower than a traditional book/experience certified candidate.
PMI needs to more indepth audits and possibly even increase requirements.
Michael,
How does an inexperienced PMP, meaning meeting minimum requirements, gain the trust of their employers? Saving Changes...
John RiceSustainment Engineer| Lockheed MartinHarmony, Fl, United States
Mar 23, 2017 8:35 PM
Replying to Naomi Caietti
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John: It depends; is your organization will to provide training to a new PM or is a seasoned,credentialed PM with years of experience required?
Naomi,
In your organization, how do you analyze the amount of experience needed for your projects? We all want the best experienced to minimize the risk of re-work and increased time/cost. With that said, are you willing to hire a paper PMP for the sake of human investment? Saving Changes...
Ajay BhargoveAuthor| Project Procurement - A real world guide to Procurement SkillsOakville, Ontario, Canada
Mar 22, 2017 12:32 AM
Replying to Deepesh Rammoorthy
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First of All , A Project Manager who works in the field may not use a lot of the concepts or delve into the depths that PMBOK guide does.
Most Project Managers may not be in control of Budgets or Procurement and the money may be managed by either a Finance/Procurement Person or someone very higher up in the pecking order and the PM might just be brought in to perform delivery.
It is therefore valuable that PMP equips Project Managers with an insight into procurement and finance.
The PMBOK also does not go into great depths regarding Emotional Intelligence and Soft Skills which are the main assets of a Project Manager when it comes to communication and Stakeholder management. These skills are acquired in the field through years of experience.
And therefore it makes sense that Project Managers after few years of experience pick up the concepts and are able to apply them in their daily work.
How does one judge a Paper PM in a 45 minute interview? asking them about the projects they have managed and judging if they have used PM-isms taught in the PMP.
Experience doesn't trump credentials but is supplemented well by the credential in my opinion
Also , I think going through the PMP exam preparation has helped me better do my job and apply the PMisms.
And I don't think the questions are that straight forward in PMP and you really have to apply the concepts rather than pass the exam by reading the books
I don't agree with the said article. PMP is credential like any other qualification like Medical Science, Engineering, where we earn degree after studying lot of subjects, which we might not use completely as further specialization like Heart Surgeon is qualified specialist where as we have Pediatrician and Gynecologist. All are doctors but have different area in practical life. As PMBOK says it is only framework and Project Managers must use the Framework and define the methodology. Saving Changes...
Nils LiliedahlProject Manager PMP, Embedded Software, now student in .net Core C# development| Liliedahl.seÅsa, Sweden
A PMP is more skilled in using the database of best practices in PMI and project management .com. We have the force of 500,000 project managers at our fingertips to get any best practice in five minutes. That is the strength that a new paper PMP has. And the new Agile part of PMP as well.
Getting a PMP certification is not easy, you need to think three times as fast, write by instinct, and train all the time to keep your certification alive. So if you as a senior Project Manager want to do a hard certification, try the new Agile Paper-PMP certification and you will be surprised at the level of skills the new generations of PMP has. They are good, fast, and skilled with the best practice of PMBOK1 to the New Agile PMBOOK6+. Saving Changes...
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