Learn about PMP project management certifications and notable changes

Tram Ho

One of the questions that IT Project Managers (PM) often ask: “Is the PMP project management certificate really valid? How does PMP help PM’s career development? ” The following article will give you the answer. It also provides essential information about the PMP study and exam, and other useful information around the January 2021 competition changes.

1. What is PMP certificate?

PMP, short for Project Management Professional, is the most prestigious project management certificate globally issued by the US-based Project Management Institute (PMI) . The PMP is on the list of valuable certificates because these certifiers have demonstrated skills, experience, and understanding of project management processes. There have been nearly one million PMP certificates issued worldwide until early May 2020.

2. Why is PMP certification so valued?

  • In order to take the PMP exam, you need to meet the tough PMI requirements (see test conditions section below).
  • To have enough exam knowledge, in addition to the requirements set forth by PMI, you must learn and master PMBOK® Guide (Project Management Body of Knowledge). This is the project management standard set by PMI. According to normal statistics, it takes 300 – 400 hours to learn.
  • Once you have achieved the PMP, you must maintain your certificate with activities such as project management, attending courses … with a total of 60 PDUs (Professional Development Units) for each 3-year cycle.
  • The PMP certificate is globally recognized and PMP holders can manage projects in all areas, not just IT.

3. Conditions for the PMP exam

If graduated from University:

  • Have at least 3 years (equivalent to 36 months) of practical project management experience.
  • Project management hours: 4,500 hours.
  • Have attended at least 35 hours of project management lessons accepted by PMI-accepted project partners or training providers. Or you have a CAPM® certificate, which is a certificate for less experienced project managers also issued by PMI.

If you recently graduated from high school or college:

  • At least 5 years of experience (60 months) in project management
  • Project management hours: 7,500 hours
  • Attended 35 hours of project management lessons, or obtained a CAPM® certificate

4. Cost of PMP exam

  • If you are a member of PMI (PMI Member): US $ 405.00
  • If you are not a member (Non-member): US $ 555.00

The annual PMI member registration fee is US $ 129.00

5. PMP exam materials

All questions in the PMP exam are based on the PMBOK® Guide. So this is the main material for studying PMP exam. If you are a PMI annual premium member you can purchase this brochure for US $ 49.50. Otherwise you have to buy it at US $ 99.00. The latest PMBOK® panel session is in the sixth edition (sixth edition). Buying e-books on Amazon can be cheaper. However, when purchasing directly from PMI, you will have the attached documents of the Agile Practice Guide.

In addition to the PMBOK® Guide, the following documents are available for use:

  • PMP exam Prep, 9th Edition by Rita Mulcahy. The structure of this document is quite easy to read. Except for chapters 1, 2, 3 which provide information about the PMP exam and the usage of books, project management framework and processes, from Chapter 4 onwards are similar to PMBOK knowledge areas. You can use both PMBOK and PMP Exam Prep in parallel. Some people just use Rita’s materials. Experience is that if you read both, you should read PMP Exam Prep first and then refer to PMBOK, it will be easier to understand than vice versa.
  • Head First PMP, 4th Edition by Jennifer Greene co-author Andrew Stellman. This book is easy to understand but is best to read with PMBOK as the information is not as complete as Rita’s PMP exam Prep.

6. PMP exam structure before and after January 2021

The PMP exam takes place within 4 hours (240 minutes) for 200 questions. According to the latest announcement, the PMP Examination Content Outline (PMP) exam structure will change from Jan 2, 2021. The previous plan was to apply a new structure from July 2020. However, due to the influence of Covid translation, The plan has changed.

If you take the PMP exam from now until the end of December 2020, the exam questions will be as follows:

  • 13% of questions related to project initialization (Initiating)
  • 24% of questions will focus on planning (Planning)
  • 31% of questions are execution-related.
  • 25% of the Questions are Management Questions (Monitoring and Controlling)
  • The remaining 7% is the end of the project (Closing)

From January 2021, the exam question structure will be different:

  • 42% of questions related to People (People)
  • 50% of questions about Process
  • The remaining 8% is Business Environment.

This modification will likely make the PMP exam more difficult and there will be questions about Agile. PMBOK® Guide sixth edition is still in effect. You can see a list of official PMI-approved documents for the PMP exams from January 2021.

If you are planning to take the PMP exam, you should try to take the test before January 2021, perhaps it will be easier to find reference information and learn from experience. Not officially confirmed but it is possible that the PMBOK seventh edition will be released in Q4 2020 and as such, the amount of information and knowledge will change.

7. How do I have 35 contact hours to register for the exam?

To get 35 hours of formal project management lessons (35 contact hour) you can study in the following forms:

  • Learning PMP online: training centers like overseas IIL, Invensis Learning… all have online courses on PMP and you can easily register to learn from Vietnam. It costs about US $ 800 per key. In Vietnam you can also find online PMP courses at Atoha or some other centers.
  • Learning PMP offline: currently there are quite a few training units teaching PMP such as Atoha, KPS training, PMA, FMIT Institute .. Price is less than 15,000,000 VND for a course depending on the center.

8. Experience in learning, preparing and taking PMP exam

Some effective PMP preparation and study experiences for those planning to take this certification exam:

  • It is advisable to plan at least 3 months before the exam.
  • If you are eligible to register (years of experience, hours of project work, 35 contact hours …), register for the exam at the address with PMI as soon as possible.
  • If you do not have enough 35 contact hours, you need to register as soon as possible to have the time and foundation to be able to read and understand PMBOK® more easily.
  • Spend about 1.5 to 2 hours a day learning PMBOK®. If you decide to take Rita’s PMP exam Prep as well then read this document first and refer to PMBOK® as noted above.
  • Should read the document at least 2 times. You should bookmark the reviews to be more effective the next time you read.
  • Only about 5-10% of candidates are selected to check (audit) the information provided when registering. However, in order not to lose time, you need to prepare information such as reference information, course details .. so that it can be provided to PMI upon request.
  • It is a good idea to try the PMP Exam simulator to see the form of the exam and test your knowledge. Note these are not DUMP questions. The real exam questions are different from the mock test questions. However the simulator helps you a lot in testing your knowledge, practicing under pressure. Some reliable simulator sources (and of course you must buy): Udemy, Pmmasterprep, RMC Learning Solution, Master of Project Academy …

If you plan to take the exam before January 2021:

  • Plan the exam about 2 months in advance before the exam changes, ie take the exam by October 31, 2020 to avoid streaking.
  • In the event that you do not pass the exam, you will still have enough time to re-apply before the exam is changed. The PMI does not specify the number of days to wait to re-register.

If you plan to take the exam after January 2, 2020:

  • Continue to use PMBOK session table 6 until further notice.
  • You need to read more documentation about the Agile: The Agile Practice Guide. If you buy PMBOK on PMI, you will have this document as well.

9. Where is the PMP exam?

Since July 2019, PMP exams in Vietnam have been transferred from Prometric to Pearson VUE. In Vietnam, Pearson VUE has 18 testing centers (Test Center). However, by May 2020, only 2 centers are eligible for PMI to be able to hold the PMP exam:

  • VIET Professional Co Ltd: 149 / 1D Ung Van Khiem, Ward 25, Binh Thanh District, City. HCM City. Tel: (+84) 2835 124 257
  • IPMAC Information Technology Joint Stock Company: 6th Floor, Kim Anh Building, Lane 78, Duy Tan Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi. Tel: (+84) 2437 710 679

Note that due to the small number of centers allowed to host PMP in Vietnam, it may be difficult to register as desired. So you need to plan your exams as soon as possible.

10. What is ITTO in PMP?

One of the questions that PMP preparers often ask: “What is ITTO and does it need to be memorized?” ITTO stands for:

  • I: Inputs, ie input
  • TT: Tools & Techniques, ie tools and techniques to process input materials
  • O: Outputs, results achieved.

An example of the Develop Project Charter ITTO process:

ITTO PMBOK used in PMP certificate exam

The experience of those who have passed the PMP exam is to understand before thinking about it. And when you get the hang of it, it also means you can remember it more easily. Of course, if you can memorize it, that’s okay.

11. Maintaining PMP certificate

Taking the exam and getting a PMP certificate doesn’t mean you don’t have to do anything anymore and the degree will be valid forever. Every three years you must achieve 60 PDUs (Professional Development Units) to maintain this certification through the Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) Program. Each PDU corresponds to 1 hour in activities of learning, teaching, volunteering, working … related to project management. Details can be found on PMI.

Note that you will also need to pay a fee of US $ 150.00 for a non-PMI member and US $ 60.00 for a PMI member when renewing the certificate every three years after 60 PDUs have been completed.

12. Should I join membership PMP?

The answer is should. With a cost of US $ 129.00 (additional US $ 10.00 for the first registration) you will get quite a lot of benefits as a member of PMI:

  • Get a discount on your exam costs (US $ 405.00 instead of US $ 555).
  • Access and download free PMI standards and publications
  • Free or discounted for downloading research materials published by PMI.
  • Buy discount books on PMI marketplace.
  • Access to PMI Career Center with lots of useful information for project managers.
  • Get free 2 magazines PM Network and PMI Today.
  • Join local PMI associations (local PMI chapter). In Vietnam you can also participate in PMI Vietnam Chapter.
  • There are opportunities to connect to learn and share experiences with other PMPs.
  • Get a free PDU for PMP certificate maintenance by joining PMI’s free webinars.

13. Does PMP certification guarantee salary increases?

Having a PMP does not mean you will get a raise. However your chances of getting involved in managing large, complex projects, or your chance to find challenging positions are more. And once you’ve proven your competency and have PMP, you have more chances to get better wages. The PMP is not a certificate of salary increase for you.

The encouraging news for those with PMP certificates is that according to recent PMI survey results, those with PMP have a higher income level than non-PMP holders. There is no information on PMP wages in Vietnam. You can see the table below:

Salary increases with PMP certification

14. Number of people with PMP certificate in Vietnam

The first PMP holders in Vietnam were in 2003. However, it was 2 foreigners taking PMP exam in Vietnam. In 2004, Vietnam did not have any additional PMPs recorded. In 2005, there were only two people, including 1 Vietnamese. Since 2007 the number of people with PMP in Vietnam has gradually increased and has been increasing over the past 5 years. Up to this point in Vietnam more than 1000 people have obtained PMP certificates. 15. Is the PMP the only project management certification?

The PMP is not the only project management certification but one of the most prestigious. In addition to PMP can mention other certificates:

  • CAPM – Certified Associate Project Management: Certificate also issued by PMI. The requirement for the CAPM exam is lower than the PMP.
  • ComTIA Project +: This certificate is comparable to CAPM, for those who do not have much experience.
  • PRINCE2 Foudation & PRINCE2 Practitioner: Issued by AXELOS, UK and does not require proof of experience like PMP.
  • Associate in Project Management (APM): is for those who are just starting out with project management.
  • Certified Project Director (CPD): for experienced PMs. CPD is valid for 5 years and you can either retake or attend courses to earn the required number of continuing education units (CEUs) (similar to PMI’s PDU). Both APM and CDP certificates are issued by the Global Association for Quality Management (GAQM) ®.
  • Certifications Agile Project Management: Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Professional Scrum Master (PSM)

Epilogue

Obtaining PMP certification is a proud endeavor. You will earn a certain amount of respect, opportunities for advancement and a better salary. If you don’t have a PMP yet and are seriously pursuing your project management path, getting a PMP certification is a complete right decision. However this certificate is not a guarantee that the PMP holder is an excellent project manager and can outperform other project managers. It takes effort and project-specific exposure to validate your PMP.

Original post is posted on ITguru Blog: https://itguru.vn/blog/tim-hieu-ve-chung-chi-quan-ly-du-an-pmp/

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