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  Worked on projects, but not sure if you are eligible for PMP ® ?

  • June 11, 2019
  • Posted By : admin
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  • "PMP certification" "PMP criteria" "PMP eligibility"

  Worked on projects, but not sure if you are eligible for PMP^®?

  Time and again, we keep getting calls and emails requesting us to assess a candidate’s eligibility for PMP^® even when they have worked for over five years.  While the PMI has clearly outlined the eligibility, it is worth reflecting with a few scenarios.

  You know that PMP^® requires 4500 hours / 36 months of project management experience assuming you have 16 years of formal education.  In the Indian context one’s academic education could be –

  • Class 10
  • Class 12
  • Graduation (four years for BE, three years for BSc, B Com, etc.)
  • Post-Graduation

  There could also be situations where someone has done their Diploma after Class 10.

  To simplify the PMP^® eligibility, all you need to do is literally count the number of years of your schooling/college life including distance learning – as long as it is from a recognized university.  One could end up with various permutations and combinations such as –

  • Class 10 + Class 12 + 4 years of BE
  • Class 10 + Class 12 + 3 years of BSc/BCA, etc + 2 years of MSc/MCA, etc.

  As long as the number of years of formal education is 16 or more, the first eligibility criteria for PMP^® is met.

  For those who have taken up Diploma after their Class 10, assess if you have done further education that together adds up to 16 years.

  What if my formal education is less than 16 years?

  Simple.

  You now need 60 months / 7500 hours of project management experience to qualify for PMP^®.

  Now, let us review project management experience.

  As indicated above, depending on your formal education the number of months / hours of project management experience is indicated below.

  Years of formal education	Project management experience needed
  16 years or more	4500 hours / 36 months
  Less than 16 years	7500 hours / 60 months

  Do the above criteria mean that if I have an overall work experience of 3 years or 5 years (based on the number of years of formal education), I become eligible for PMP?

  Not really!

  PMP^® is about project management.  Hence, it is not your overall work experience, but experience on projects that is the deciding factor!

  Does my project management experience have to be of a project manager?

  Well, the PMP Handbook issued by PMI mentions that the project management experience is more about the role rather than the title and uses the words ‘directing and leading’.  It does not use the words ‘Project Manager.’

  But there is an important criterion – you should have experience across all the process groups namely;

  • Initiation
  • Planning
  • Execution
  • Monitoring & Control
  • Closure

  Should I have worked on all the process groups in all my projects?

  PMI expects that you have a good working knowledge of the entire life cycle of a project and hence the five process groups.

  Typically, a project professional starts his career mostly executing the work.  Based on her/his skills and competence, moves to execution, controlling, and a bit of planning on their next project(s).  Subsequently, s/he contributes to the entire cycle of projects.  The table below captures this progression.

  Project	Initiating	Planning	Execution	Monitor & Control	Closure	Total
  1			900	250		1,150
  2		500	750	250		1,500
  3		500		200	50	750
  4	100	500		400	100	1,100
  Total	100	1,500	1,650	1,100	150	4,500

  Hopefully, the picture is clearer now.

  But there is a last piece of the puzzle.

  How do I know what is covered in each of the above process groups?

  While the PMBOK Guide^® delves into a great level of detail on the process groups, I have offered it briefly.

  Initiation involves –

  • Providing inputs to the project business case
  • Supporting the creation of the project charter
  • Identifying the initial project stakeholders

  Planning involves

  • Collecting requirements and defining scope
  • Finalizing the schedule, resources, quality and costs
  • Identifying risks, and communication requirements

  Execution involves

  • Ensuring that the work gets done as planned and meets criteria such as quality, schedule, cost, customer satisfaction, and finally value.

  Monitoring & Control involves

  • Verifying that the work done meets the original plans
  • Measures are taken to put the project on track

  Closure involves

  • Handing over the project outcomes to the customer/stakeholders
  • Gaining a formal acceptance
  • Documenting and assessing lessons learned

  Hope the PMI’s criteria of project management experience makes sense as well as being clear.

  Are you ready to crack the PMP^®?

  SRISHA is ever-ready to help professionals – do reach out to us in case you need any further clarity.

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  About Author :

  Srikanth PV comes with two decades of global corporate and consulting background across industries with diverse roles including Strategy, Leadership, and Management. Currently, he focuses on driving and creating customer value by building and enhancing organizational portfolio, program, and project management maturity by his impactful consulting and coaching engagements. He is also a former member of the Board of Directors of PMI Bangalore Chapter.

  View his detailed profile on LinkedIn at  https://in.linkedin.com/in/srikanthpvpmp

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