How Do I Become Certified in Project Management? (A Conversation Between Colleagues and Friends)

Michael is a PMP with several years of varied (and successful) experience managing I.T. projects. 

John, a colleague of Michael’s, started managing I.T. projects after being promoted from a technical lead position. 

John’s experience with project management has been good, but he feels generally unprepared for his new role and is defensive about recurring problems with his current project.

John meets Michael in the company cafeteria and asks if he can join him for lunch

Starting in Project Management and Continuing in Project Management

 John started managing I.T. projects after being promoted from a technical lead position. 

After a recent conversation with Michael, a PMP-certified project manager, John has been contemplating his options for becoming certified as well.

Chris, a student intern from the nearby university, has been helping John with his current project. 

They have a few minutes to talk before the workday becomes busy.

 

CAPM After Work

John and Chris meet at the coffee bar down the block from work. 

A few days ago, after discussing the merits of the CAPM certification, both John and Chris decided to continue their conversation over scones and coffee.

Both of them have their laptops and are ready to delve into the world of project management certification.

 

John:	Hi Chris.  Are you ready to check this CAPM certification process out?
Chris:	Yeah.  Where do we start?

PMP – Should I, and if I do, how?

Michael (Mike) is between assignments at his company, a large energy company headquartered a few hours from Washington DC. 

Mike’s prior experience as a lead software developer helped earn him the promotion to Technical Project Manager on a 3-year effort to implement a new company billing system.

This massive project had two other managers – Debbie, the functional (or business) project manager; and Doug, the manager with overall project responsibility. 

Both Debbie and Doug have already been assigned to new projects, and although Mike had expressed interest in several potential projects, he is still earning his pay with routine tasks and the occasional read of a business journal article.

Walking into the company auditorium for the quarterly employee meeting, Mike sees Debbie and Doug and decides to sit with them.

 

Getting Ready for the PMP Exam

After talking with several colleagues, Mike has decided to prepare for, and take, the PMP examination. 

It became clear that, although he was an experienced project manager, opportunities within his company were being missed because he did not have the PMP credential. 

Doug, Mike’s friend and mentor, has promised to help him with getting started.

PMP Recertification

Michael (his friends call him Mike) has been a PMP for 24 months. 

After passing the PMP examination with a respectable 84% score, his project management career has been on the upswing ever since. 

Each of the several projects he has managed as a PMP have been successfully completed. 

Mike has also been accumulating PDUs towards his PMP recertification, having earned 20 in his first year as a PMP, and 16 PDUs in his second year.

Mike knows that he needs to complete at least 60 PDUs in order to recertify. 

With over half of the requirement satisfied, he also knows that his third year as a PMP will be busy. 

Doug, Mike’s program manager on several projects, spots Mike in the parking lot at the end of an especially long day.