Senior project manager recruitment and industry accreditation certification requirements

Project Management Accreditation

Project Management

A project is a temporary group endeavor, with an agreed beginning and duration time frame, organized to produce a unique product, service or result. (PMI 2011) A distinguishing characteristic of a project is that it is progressively detailed as the project is better understood by the people working on it. Another characteristic of a project is that it is not a routine operation, although a project may be assembled for the purpose of establishing the procedures that ultimately become routines. Owing to the temporary nature of projects, managers, team members and specialists are assembled for a stated period of time; they often have never worked together before as most of the team members are drawn from regular operating units. Examples of projects are software development, the construction of a building or bridge, a disaster relief effort, or a drive to expand a sales territory in a new geographical market. (PMI 2011) Malcolm Wheatley has determined that projects in the United States account for expenditures of $2.3 trillion annually, which equates to one-fourth of GDP. He estimates that, globally, the number approaches $10 trillion. Special management techniques are required to deliver the desired results, on time and on budget. (ProjectSmart 2011)

Project Management, then, is the application of knowledge, skills and techniques to execute projects effectively and efficiently. It is a strategic competency for organizations, enabling them to tie project results to business goals -- and thus, better compete in their markets. (PMI 2011)

Deriving from the growing importance of project management to enterprises, large and small, a demand for a way to determine the competency of project managers has arisen. Four groups have been established to issue certificates of accreditation, most of which are accepted on a world-wide basis: Project Management Institute, International Project Management Commission, PRINCE, and Agile SCRUM.

Project Management Institute

The Project Management Institute (PMI) is the premier certifying body worldwide. It has 500,000 members from 184 countries. (PMI 2011) PMI publishes its principles and guidelines for managing projects in its Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide.) The recurring elements of the PMBOK relate to managing under the "triple constraint" of scope, time and cost. These three elements have been expanded to include quality, customer satisfaction and risk. (PMI 2011)

According to PMI, the Project Management Process consists of five process groups: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing. The professional Project Manager (PM) must have the authority and take the responsibility to complete all the process groups to produce the required result. (PMI 2011)

Before starting a project, the PM needs to know the nature of the business opportunity, the overall goals, the likely stakeholders, assumptions, risks, conflicts, existing contracts, and any external conditions that would affect the outcome. The Project Charter and Preliminary Scope Statement are re-iterated until the PM and sponsors agree on the work to be done and the sponsors agree to fund the project. Once agreed, the Planning for the project can begin. (PMI 2011)

In the Planning process group, the PM leads the preparation of separate management plans for scope, time, cost, quality, staffing, communications, risk, and procurement. Each management plan is tailored to the specific needs of the project and is consolidated into the Project Management Plan. The PMP must be as complete as possible before the Execution process group starts. The most critical element of the PMP is the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) which subdivides the project into manageable pieces called "work packages," which are further subdivided into schedule "activities." Activities cannot be logically subdivided further, can be realistically and confidently estimated, have meaningful conclusions and deliverables, and can be completed without interruption. (PMI 2011)

In the Executing and Monitoring & Controlling process groups, the PM leads the team in the execution of the Project Management Plan as approved, seeks out defects, measures the project progress against the Performance Measurement Baselines, determines variances and recommends changes and corrective actions, implements approved changes, holds progress meetings with stakeholders, and manages the procurement process. (PMI 2011)

In the Closing process group, the PM develops closing procedures, completes contract closure, confirms that all work has been done to requirements, gains formal acceptance of the product, prepares final performance reports, updates lessons learned data base, hands off completed project to on-going management, and releases all resources acquired for the project. (PMI 2011)

The primary certification from the PMI is the Project Management Professional (PMP) designation. An applicant for the PMP must have either: A four-year degree (bachelor's or the global equivalent) and at least three years of project management experience, with 4,500 hours leading and directing projects and 35 hours of project management education. Or, a secondary diploma (high school or the global equivalent) with at least five years of project management experience, with 7,500 hours leading and directing projects and 35 hours of project management education. The PMP examination is a 200-question, multiple-choice test. PMP credential holders must earn 60 Professional Development Units per three-year cycle to maintain their accreditation. (PMI 2011)

International Project Management Commission

The American Academy of Project Management (AAPM) is the worldwide training provider for the International Project Management Commission (IPMC.) The AAPM currently recognizes over 12,000 Master Project Managers (MPM) in over 101 countries. They are projecting another 10,000 members over the next two years in Asia, India, Middle East and Africa. Applicants for the MPM must have at least one year of project management experience and a college degree. No training is required before taking the online open-book exam. Sixty-five per cent of the applicants pass the test on the first try. (IPMC Global, 2011)

PRINCE2

As advertised, the PRINCE2 certification can be a complement to the PMOC Guide for the PMP. PRINCE is an acronym standing for Projects IN Controlled Environment. PRINCE2 is the defacto standard for project management in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries outside North America. PRINCE2 is a process-driven project management methodology, which contrasts with the reactive/adaptive methods such as SCRUM (see below.) Primarily oriented toward software development, PRINCE2 recognizes 40 separate activities organized into seven processes: starting up, initiating, directing, controlling, managing stage boundaries, managing product delivery, and closing. The PRINCE2 Practitioner exam is a three-hour, nine question paper based on a case study. (PRINCE2 2011)