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Being a PMP® trainer for the last 5 years, and interacting over 2000 PMP® aspirants, something I find most satisfactory is when I see a positive change in the mindset of the students – between the time they come to the workshop and leave the workshop after spending 4 days. The change in their understanding about how useful is to understand PMBOK® in real life project management. I asked them about what do they expect from the workshop and why PMP®?

The answer of the first question, this is how the priority expressed by most

1. I want to pass PMP® exam
2. I know that for passing PMP® exam, I have to understand PMBOK®, and hence I would like to know it in detail
3. How PMBOK® can help me in my day-to-day project management or will it at all?

Most of them feel that a positive outcome from point #3 could be a real gain out of the workshop, but also most apprehensive about it. And as a faculty I focus how can to bring #3 up in the list which for a trainer would be the most important achievement. CELTEM’s focus is always to bring practitioner’s approach in training and a focused review session on complete PMBOK® [PMBOK tour – implementing it in your project] on the last day, we are able to achieve this. The joy and confidence I see in their face truly much more an achievement than any certification, both for me and the participants. The team finds a true meaning of learning. Certification follows as a natural sequence after that and is definitely important because industry always need formal credibility.

Regarding the second question of why PMP®, there are some obvious answers, but here are some specific points that I think are very relevant here -

Standardization – When i put this scenario in the PMP® workshop “let us assume that in project status review meeting with his stakeholders, the project manager comments we have successfully completed the scope verification process of the project. What is he referring to? Obviously i don’t get a single viewpoint and that where everybody starts realizing the need for standardization in project management processes and terminologies and this in my opinion is PMI’s biggest contribution to the global PM community.

Centralizing PM Processes– We all are  familiar with PMO (Project Management Office / Program Management Office ), but if we try to trace back the how this group became the most critical group in the organization contributing project success, one of the pushing factors is to help those project managers to implement formal PM processes across organization. PMs are already overloaded within their day-to-day  problems in the project, hence organization realizes the need for such a group at an organization level to help PMs to standardise and centralize PM processes.

Providing confidence to customer – In many cases client in their RFPs asks information about what % of PM pool are PMP® certified. This gives a confidence to them in recognizing the solution provider as a process oriented organization and not chaotic.

Developing global PM community – It’s a great networking opportunity once one become PMP® and became a formal member of the PMP® community.

The above article is the author’s individual opinion on the subject – and while any individual is free to disagree with it, the author is not liable to justify her views.