Everyone creates their own bingo card with their most irritating corporate-speak terms.  You know, those corporate terms that get so overused that they devolve into meaninglessness.  Throughout the course of a meeting or maybe the course of a week, players put tokens on the squares when they hear each term.  The first one to get a bingo shouts “BS” (or probably the more robust version of it).

Synergy is on my Corporate BS Bingo card – especially when someone talks about leveraging it.  Leveraging synergy sounds like such a fabulous idea.  What the heck does it mean?

What’s on your bingo card?  Organic growth?  Paradigm shift?  Transparency?

Some words will never end up on a Corporate BS Bingo card.  Take certification, for example.  There’s no overusing that one.  It was good yesterday, it’s good today, and it will continue to be good tomorrow as we all seek ways to reinvent ourselves to remain competitive in today’s highly global economy.  

What does your next project management professional development step look like?  If you see PMP® being added to your business card in the future, there’s no better time than now to pursue that certification.  With the PMP® exam undergoing significant changes effective August 31, 2011, taking the exam sooner rather than later is well advised.   

Some details are available now pertaining to the exam changes, and more will be forthcoming in the coming months from the Project Management Institute (PMI).  In the meantime, we know that two key things will change:

First, Professional and Social Responsibility, currently tested as a separate section in the exam, will be integrated into the exam as a whole.  One the one hand, that sounds like a huge change.  On the other hand, it’s virtually impossible to test concepts around ethics and professional behavior without other project management context.  I could be wrong, but I’m inclined to think that this won’t fundamentally change the exam experience from a test-taker’s perspective. 

Of greater interest is the second key change which, according to PMI, will include new or substantial changes and affect approximately 30% of the exam content.  I’ll be spending time trying to better understand exactly what that means and will be publishing what I find in the coming weeks. 

What I do know is that “The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t,” and right now there is as much known about the current exam as will be known, and the new exam will be terra incognita for awhile even after its release. 

In short, if you’re considering a redesign of your email signature to include PMP after your name, get busy!  Develop a plan, commit time every day to doing something to prepare, take a class, and take practice exams.  Lots of them! 

An internet search will yield a cornucopia of online practice tests.  They vary in quality, style, and organization.  Some require you to answer all of the questions before getting the correct answers, for example, while others allow you to get answers for each question as you go.  Make sure any test you use is pertinent to the 4^th Edition of the PMBOK® Guide. 

And remember that as with anything, you often get what you pay for, so shop around.

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Ready to earn your PMP Certification?

1) Visit the certification page on the PMI website for requirements and application instructions.

2) Check our our PMP Resources webpage.

3) Take our PMP Certification Preparation Course or subscribe to our PMP Online Study Exam.

No Better Time Than Now to Pursue That PMP Certification was posted at ProjectBrief Blog. | http://www.watermarklearning.com/blog

One opportunity that recently presented itself for consideration as to the value of certification was a class I taught in which half of the students were PMP certified. I have PMPs in my classes all the time, but I typically don’t have classes in which many or most of them are PMPs. I wondered how, or even if, this would impact the tempo or discussions in this class. 

I’d say there was a flavor to the class that I think was at least, in part, attributable to the fact that so many of the students had a shared understanding about some concepts that impact project management practice. It was fun to be able to take a little more in depth look at some ideas because of a shared understanding of the basics. 

I don’t want to take away from the fact that all of the students in the class were quite capable and that their corporate culture was especially supportive of an open and critical approach to learning.  There were, however, definite instances in which we were able to ask questions that wouldn’t have been asked otherwise because so many of the students had confirmed, shared knowledge about the discipline.

I also think about a student I have had for a number of classes who got his PMP recently.  His presence in class and his role as a team lead in class has changed demonstrably since his certification.  It’s as though certification has given him a confidence to really work with concepts and dig a little deeper than he might otherwise when he was less certain about his skills and knowledge. 

No one’s skills are really changed as a result of certification, of course. Just like having MD after your name doesn’t make you a good doctor, having PMP after your name doesn’t make you a good project manager.  But that’s not to say that certification is insignificant.  If I can see the impact as an instructor in the classroom, surely that means something on the corporate project floor.

As we approach 400,000 PMPs, I hope that the value of certification isn’t diluted.  It doesn’t make us good but it does affirm what we know and it gives us a starting point for more substantive discussions.

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Thinking about earning your PMP Certification?

1) Check out the certification page on the PMI website for requirements and application instructions.

2) Read our PMP Frequently Asked Questions page.

3) Take our PMP Certification Preparation Course or our PMP Certification Preparation Bootcamp.

What is the value of the PMP? was posted at ProjectBrief Blog. | http://www.watermarklearning.com/blog

1)       Professional Advancement. Certification will lead to increased stature in your organization. Not everyone will be able to attain it. Organizations value individuals with industry certifications, so you will enhance your career and increase your ability to earn promotions and a higher salary. Employers like to hire and promote people with a desire to “stay current” and a certification is a solid way to demonstrate that attribute. One colleague put it this way: “Personally, I sought the PMP as a confirmation of my own project management knowledge and skills. I wanted to verify that I did have a well-rounded understanding of all project management principles and standards.”

2)      Recognition by Employers. For the PMP, many organizations now require this certification to get hired as a PM. I’m not aware of the percentage of employer who require or strongly prefer a PMP, but I’m sure it is high. (Does anybody know roughly the percentage of employers who require a PMP?) For the CBAP, organizations are increasingly saying “CBAP preferred” and will require it in the future, too. Having a PMP and/or CBAP makes it clear to prospective employers what your chosen career path is and that you are committed to it. Last, people are telling me that having both a PMP and CBAP increases their job prospects because employers often expect the same person to act as both a PM and a BA.

3)      Learn more about your profession. This was not one of my initial aims in getting my PMP and CBAP certifications, but it was a valuable outcome in both cases. There were many aspects of project management and business analysis that my experience and training had not encountered. Studying for my PMP and CBAP forced me to learn about some new areas. I feel more confident now as a project manager and business analyst because of it. It’s a great way to focus your learning on the generally accepted knowledge and techniques in the PM and BA professions. The PMBOK® and BABOK® are both excellent sources of knowledge.

4)      Networking with Peers. Joining a study group or taking an exam preparation class is a common way to begin your preparation for certification. The chance to meet and interact with peers seeking the same objective is an invaluable networking opportunity. Group activities can help motivate and energize your effort and add insights to your learning process. As one student of mine said: “It [certification] takes a great deal of concentrated effort, so it really helps to combine a social aspect at times (study group) so you can share the pain as well as insights into how you study.”

5)      Personal Satisfaction. The application process for certification itself is an accomplishment. You will need to gather your professional experience and project contacts, summarize your hours and accomplishments, and reflect on your career. Then, the preparation for the exam is like a small project. There are bodies of knowledge to absorb, terms, tasks and techniques to familiarize yourself with, and exam questions to study and practice.  The exam is the “capstone” or “deliverable” of this whole endeavor. I know the relief I felt when I hit the “Done” button on my PMP exam and it said I passed! A past student of mine wrote: “I got an email today that said: ’We are happy to inform you that you passed the CBAP exam!’  Glad it is over and very glad I passed.  I will be happy to attend the next IIBA meeting in Indianapolis and raise my hand when they ask if anyone has passed the CBAP. “

Certification is a lot of work, but it is also a rare experience and one you can savor. Enjoy the journey because it is special. True, there is a cost to getting either your PMP or CBAP, but consider it an investment in your future. And, once you get it, those three or four letters after your name look mighty good! These are the five main goals I could think of for becoming certified.  Can you think of additional ones? If you have additional reasons, please weigh in!

Five Reasons to Get Your Certification was posted at ProjectBrief Blog. | http://www.watermarklearning.com/blog