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Have you ever accomplished a task without giving it any thought?

Any work big or small requires some amount of planning and consideration; investing your time and money as per the size of a task, and allocating a custodian to ensure its completion. Every task, right from the stage of ideation to planning to implementation for completion, is a part of your project. Small or big, every project needs its own set of resources and certain monitoring to ensure adherence to the expected result. Now, at an organizational level, these projects involve a huge amount of investment, in terms of time, money, manpower, and other resources. When such a high level of cost is involved, careful planning and execution are required to ensure the result one desires. Project management is a necessary tool to make it happen. 

We will discuss in detail about Project Management as a career and the necessary certifications from PMI to upgrade your skills and become a successful Project manager. If you have been working on projects in any capacity and dream of becoming the person who calls the shots; or you have been managing projects but haven’t received the recognition and compensation that you deserve; this is an article tailor-made just for you. Just like your strategies that are tailormade to suit the requirement of any project.

Let us understand the term project management course and its significance in depth.

Enroll in our PMP Certification today and develop a strong foundation in the principles of project management.

What is Project Management?

“Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve goals and meet success criteria at a specified time”.

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals within the given constraints. The primary constraints are scope, time, quality, and budget. These are described in the project details created initially.

The secondary challenge is to optimize the allocation of available resources and ensure that the pre-defined objectives are met.

What is a Project?

The Project management institute defines a project as “A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.” In other words, it’s a temporary initiative that is agreed, planned, and executed to achieve a specific goal.

However, Projects are complex initiatives. It needs to benefit the business and work in conjunction with the business strategy.

The key attributes of project management are:

Time

Goal

Cost

Time refers to a project being a temporary initiative. It is distinct from normal business operations in that it has a predetermined start and end date. In the routine day to day activities established in organizations, there is no end date. Whereas, a project completion must strictly have an end date.

Goal refers to the specific goal you wish to achieve in a project. It can be called the output of a project. This output could be a product, like constructing a new office building. A service, like outsourcing a call center. Or a result such as improve an existing business process or implementing a new strategy.

The output together with the work done is the scope.

Output + work = scope

The scope of each project is unique.

Project outputs can be similar, like building the exact same house but in a different geographical location. The fact that the land and location is different, is enough to change the project scope. The architects and engineers would need to adapt their construction accordingly. This changes the way the project will be done.

If the work and the output are tantamount, it will not be considered a project.  The scope will not be unique, hence amounting to a regular business process.

Cost refers to the resources specifically allocated to accomplish the goal in mind.

These three attributes form the project management triple constraint.

Time, scope, and cost are dependent on each other. After determining them at the start, if one changes, it would trigger a change in one or both of the others.

Significance of Project management

Managing projects is not a job that can be undertaken by just anybody. It’s an expertise that is not just developed by one’s experience, but also enhanced by rigorous learning and extensive practice in real life. A project manager is required to have a thorough knowledge as well as the aptitude to respond and adapt in real life. Hence, the process of attaining a Project management certification through PMI is slightly challenging to ensure that only the ones who are serious and capable of accomplishing the task get certified.

To understand the significance of project management, we must first understand the need to undertake a project at all.

What creates the need for a project?

The key triggers that compel a business into executing a project are:

Market need – the company wants to develop a product to address the clients’ need or to keep up with the competition. If you are too late to introduce a product or service, you risk losing customers.

Business need – during a financial crisis, a business might need to execute projects to reduce costs, optimize processes, or increase revenues by expanding the customer base just to stay in business.

Technological advancement – technology may advance to the point where business can be automated or products need to change. For example, anything you use your smartphone for nowadays, from paying your bills to booking a cab, this technological upgrade surely involved a big project.

Customer request – if a key customer requires a tailored service or product. For example, if a huge order is received to make your products compatible with particular software, you will most likely approve the project. 

Legal requirement – When the regulations and laws change, the business would need to comply. For example, in social media, the laws and regulations are constantly updated as technology advances. Like the General date privacy regulation (GDPR).

Social needs – anything from digging tunnels to extending hospitals to building a significant structure. Anything that a government or organization can or must do to satisfy a social need. 

Ecological considerations – companies are often required to improve their industrial processes to reduce emissions. Many countries have vowed to only allow electric cars on the road by a certain year. This is a massive project for car manufacturers. In 5-star hotels, it has recently become compulsory to have their own waste management plant and infrastructure for composting. Most hotels have now switched to solar panels for energy conservation.

It is the responsibility of top management to select a project that brings the most value to an organization or prioritize as per a critical need.  Once a strategic goal is defined or a need arises, a project is an instrument to achieve that goal.

Once a project is approved, it is then up to one person to ensure that it’s successful. This person is called the Project Manager.    

A Project Manager is responsible for ensuring the completion of a project within a specified time, budget, and resources while maintaining quality. However, before the commencement of any project, a deep analysis of its scope and viability needs to be undertaken. This helps one avoid wastage of time, money, resources, and of course one’s credibility.

Responsibility of a Project Manager

The project manager is the CEO of the project. They are accountable for the success of a project. Therefore, it’s essential that they review the project and its triple constraints to make sure that they are realistic.

It’s the Project Manager’s duty to –

Assess a project and deem the constraints practical or otherwise.

If otherwise, they must discuss and demonstrate why to whoever proposed the project.

They must negotiate additional time and resources if required.

A project manager needs to adjust and optimize the resources to the best of their capability.

It’s the job of a project manager to utilize time and resources optimally to achieve the goal and this is not an easy task by any means. This is why this task is given to someone not just with enough experience and understanding of the product, but also a thorough knowledge of project management.

What is PMI?

The Project Management Institute (PMI) is a global non-profit professional organization for project management.

Its services include the development of standards, research, education, publication, networking-opportunities in local chapters, hosting conferences and training seminars, and providing accreditation in project management.

The standards PMI develop and publish fall into three main categories:

• Foundational Standards
• Practice Standards and Frameworks
• PMI Standards Extensions

The PMI was launched in 1984, with PMP as its first credential.  In 2007 it earned the ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024 accreditation from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). As of May 2020, over 1 million people held the PMP credential.

PMI later introduced many credentials and certifications. To obtain a PMI credential, candidates must document that they have met the required education and experience criteria. Then they need to pass an examination which consists of multiple-choice questions. In order to maintain most PMI credentials, all holders must earn Professional Development Units (PDUs), which can be earned in a variety of ways. These include taking classes, attending PMI global congresses, contributing to professional research, or writing and publishing papers on the subject. Most credentials are required to be renewed every three years.

The PMI serves more than 2.9 million professionals including over 600,000 members in 214 countries and territories around the world, with 300 chapters and 10,000 volunteers serving local members in over 80 countries.

PMI certifications are valued and demanded across the globe by employers hiring Project Managers, especially for big projects.

PMI certification gives you credibility and recognition as a skilled Project manager.

Since PMI certifications need to be renewed every three years, it is mandatory for a Project Management Professional to consistently be on top of industry standards and knowledge to maintain their PMP status.

PMI Certifications

There are several PMI certifications that may be of interest to you. We are going to explore the top 6 certifications that we think you should consider. You need to review them and select the most appropriate certification for you based on your current credentials and goals.

Factors to consider while choosing a PMI certification:

• Your current profile. Whether you are a project manager looking to expand your skills or working at an associate level and hoping to move into a project management role.
• Your Educational qualifications. The criteria differ for certifications and you can select the one that suits you.  
• Cost of certification
• Time constraint
• Amount of learning needed
• The difficulty level of the exam
• Barriers to entry

6 awesome PMI certifications for you to boost your career

1. PMP

2. CAPM

3. PMI-PBA

4. PgMP

5. PMI-SP

6. PMI Project Management Ready

1. PMP – Project Management Professional 

According to PMI, “any experienced Project manager responsible for all aspects of project delivery, leading, and directing cross-functional teams, is a good candidate for PMP certification”.

The PMP certification is the gold standard of project management certification. It is the most respected and recognized certification in Project Management. A PMP certification boosts your career and gives you a competitive edge since is internationally recognized and demanded by organizations worldwide. The PMP certification validates your competence to perform in the role of a project manager, leading and directing projects and teams.

Just like how CPA certifies the expertise of accountants, the PMP certification acknowledges your ability to manage projects.

Even if you are not into managing projects, the PMP certification will help you become more efficient and improve your overall performance in any role you play in a project. 

It adds value to your career, current work, and professional portfolio. Holders of PMP certification usually earn 25% more salary than general project managers.

Getting a PMP certification allows you entry into an exclusive, closely-knit network of project management professionals across the globe. Several forums and online communities invite PMPs to expertise and insights, which helps everyone in the community to be updated in industry trends and developments.

To get a PMP certification, you will be tested on the management of the three project constraints:

• Time
• Cost
• Scope

In short, you are required to have mastered the contents of the PMI’s Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK) and then expected to ace the implementation.

The PMP program provides comprehensive knowledge of adequately handling an entire project. The process involves

• Planning
• Scheduling
• Controlling
• Monitoring

The PMP certification is the most comprehensive and hence most challenging certification offered in Project Management. Even the prerequisite experience to apply is high as compared to other certifications. The training and the exams require a certain competency level. But once you have cleared that, the outcome is worth every effort. You will be highly valued by organizations as a certified Project Management Professional.

The PMP exam is appropriate for established professionals with more significant project management experience and is more challenging.  The PMP exam covers the PMBOK guide as well as questions designed to test your capability in real-world project management scenarios. To pass the PMP exam, it’s recommended by PMI to enroll in a formal PMP training course.

2. CAPM – Certified Associate in Project Management

The CAPM is a specialized credential offered through the PMI that enhances your credibility as a Project manager. It testifies your understanding of the fundamental knowledge, terminology, and processes of effective project management.

Like PMP, CAPM also increases your chances at better opportunities as it increases your skills to lead larger projects and thus advance your career.

The Pre-requisites of CAPM are

• A secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree, or the global equivalent)
• 1,500 hours of project experience

OR

• 23 hours of project management education completed by the time of the exam

As CAPM certification doesn’t require you to have project management experience in particular, nor does it require a four-year degree, it is ideal for recent graduates or those who have worked in a different role in a project but want to boost their career by adding the CAPM certification to their resume.

While it’s ideal for those at the beginning of their career, you must have 23 hours of project management education before taking the exam. Project management education can be completed online and many universities offer this education as a part of their degree program.

Since CAPM is meant for entry-level project managers, the CAPM exam is considered less rigorous than the PMP exam.

3. PMI-PBA – Professional in Business Analysis

The PMI-PBA highlights your expertise in business analysis. It spotlights your ability to work effectively with stakeholders to define their business requirements, shape the output of projects, and drive successful business outcomes.

4. PgMP – Program Management Professional

Designed for those who manage multiple, complex projects to achieve strategic and organizational results.

5. PMI-SP – PMI Scheduling Professional

The PMI-SP certification recognizes demonstrated knowledge and advanced experience in the specialized area of developing and maintaining project schedules.

6. PMI Project Management Ready

The PMI Project Management Ready is our newest certification and introduces high school and post-secondary students to the concepts and skillsets of project management. It can benefit you if you are just beginning your career and know that you want to be a Project manager.

Industries that require Project Managers

There’s never been a better time to be a project manager.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) released a report last year that revealed the project management labor force is expected to grow 33 percent across 11 countries by 2027.

The “Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap 2017-2027” report contained extensive survey data performed by the Anderson Economic Group (AEG) and highlight ample opportunities in project management jobs and career growth in the next 10 years.

In fact, by 2027, employers will need nearly 88 million individuals in project management roles.

So where are these positions opening up?

According to the PMI, here’s where project management job growth is projected to increase over the next 10 years:

• Management and Professional Services
• Manufacturing
• Finance and Insurance
• Information Services and Publishing
• Construction
• Utilities
• Oil and Gas

By considering one of these sectors, you can use your project management skills and experience to take advantage of a huge industry need. 

Most IT operations give preference to project managers. Hence, PMPs are most sought after by IT organizations. The digital world and the constant advancement of technology is a promising avenue for aspiring project managers to look into.

Why opt for a PMP Certification?

You can find Project Management Professionals leading projects across the globe and, irrespective of the geography or domain, the PMP is truly global. As a PMP, you can work in virtually any industry, with any methodology, and in any location. 

The PMP certifies that you speak and understand the global language of project management. It also connects you to a wide community of professionals, organizations, and experts worldwide. When you become a PMP, you become a project hero.

The PMP can also provide a significant advantage when it comes to salary and earning potential. As per a survey on PMI’s Earning Power, those with a PMP certification garner a higher salary than those without a PMP certification.

Employers benefit as well. When more than one-third of their project managers are PMP-certified, organizations complete more of their projects on time, on budget, and meeting original goals.

If you are still reading, I know you are serious about this. So, let’s get down to details and learn how you can get started on your PMP training and earn a PMP certification.

Who can apply?

You can apply for the PMP training course if you are an experienced Project manager meeting the following criteria:

• You perform your duties under general supervision and are responsible for all aspects of the project, for the entire duration of the project.
• You lead and direct cross-functional teams to deliver projects within the constraints of schedule, budget, and resources.
• You demonstrate sufficient knowledge and experience to appropriately apply a methodology to projects that have reasonably well-defined project requirements and deliverables.

Pre-requisites in educational qualification:

• Secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree, or the global equivalent)
• 7,500 hours leading and directing projects
• 35 hours of project management education or
  CAPM certification

OR

• Four-year degree
• 4,500 hours leading and directing projects
• 35 hours of project management education or
  CAPM certification

How to gain and maintain PMP certification

• The PMP application will require you to organize your work experience.
• The certification exam has 200 multiple-choice questions, and you have four hours to complete it.
• To maintain your PMP, you must earn 60 professional development units (PDUs) every three years.

PMP Certification with Henry Harvin

If you wish to know how getting PMP certification with Henry Harvin looks like, we have consolidated all that you need to know, to make an informed decision.

The PMP training at Henry Harvin includes:

Extensive learning with Live sessions and Online Resources

36 hours of core sessions that are instructor-led

50 hours of E-learning

24 hours of instructor-led brush-up sessions

These sessions are spread over 12 months

You also get unlimited access to all the sessions scheduled for the next 6 months from the date of enrolment without paying extra charges

Attend multiple sessions with multiple trainers

Get PMP training from Internationally acclaimed certified PMP trainers with 10+ years of industry experience.

The trainers possess topic expertise and carry an enormous teaching experience of training over 900 individuals globally.

There’s an option to attend multiple sessions with multiple trainers.

Leverage industry case studies & Real-World examples

Enjoy virtual Project Management experience with abundant content on the LMS.

Live Projects

Experience industry projects during the training to develop experiential learning. 

Get Lifetime membership with the Henry Harvin Management Academy

Some of the perks you enjoy with a lifetime membership of Henry Harvin Management Academy are:

• Guaranteed Internship with Henry Harvin or a partner firm
• Weekly Job support
• Recorded videos
• Monthly brush up sessions
• Interview skills
• Career services

Alumni status

Earn the prestigious Henry Harvin Alumni status and become part of the 3,00,000+ strong global alumni network

1500+ practice questions on the go

Get access to 1500+ practice questions across 91 quizzes & 7 exams

100% money-back guarantee

If you don’t like the course, you can claim 100% refund of your fee after the first session.

PMP certification is a testimony to your project management skills. It opens doors to several lucrative career opportunities as the PMP credentials make you more visible to be considered for big projects. Getting PMP training from a reputed and trustworthy institute increases your chances of success manifold.

Get PMP certified online now to accelerate your career during the time of coronavirus pandemic. If the world did not stop, why should you?

Recommended Reads:

• Top 9 Project Management Courses in Kolkata
• PMP certification exam cost
• TOP 20 PMP Exam Questions and Answers
• Is PMP Certification Worth It in India?
• 10 Best PMP CERTIFICATIONS IN SINGAPORE

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