PMP® PDU Requirements: A glance at the Change

Passing Project Management certification exam is just not passing any other exam. With its stricter and more stringent certification standards than past, the recent changes in PMBOK® is sure to make PMP® a tough nut to crack for the professionals. The bar is being raised substantially and it’s a great piece of news for the ones who truly value the core of profession. Reason behind the Change: As per the results revealed by 2013 PMI® Pulse of the Profession In-depth Study: Talent management report, the companies are finding it difficult to trace the right talent for managing projects. The organizations are looking out for Project Managers who possess leadership skills along with the coupled with business intelligence skills in order to meet the long term strategic objectives of the organization. PMI® Talent Triangle Talent Triangle represents the areas of expertise which the organizations are finding in the ideal Project Managers which are Technical Project Management skills, Leadership skills, and Strategic and Business Management Skills. Gaining knowledge in all these three skill areas helps the Project Managers to align their skills with the professional development activities and help them to remain focused on the needs of the profession. Changes in PDU Requirements: While the total PDU requirements for a 3 year re-certification cycle still remains same at 60, there are a plenty of changes in the sub categories of PDUs. First: Previously there were no limitations on the skill areas. In the new version, PMP® PDUs in the category A, B and C which includes PDU requirements on education and training will now have a minimum of 35 PDU. These PDUs are further subjected to the three skill areas which have been emphasized in the new version. Strategic and Business Management: Knowledge and expertise of the functions in the industry which aims at enhancing the performance and delivers the better outcomes. It can entail activities like Business Case Development, Sales and marketing. Min: 8 PDUs Leadership: Knowledge specific to the leadership-roles that helps in building up the necessary capacities in the person to tackle the organization goals in an efficient manner. It can entail activities like Team mentoring, Coaching, Negotiation, Brainstorming etc. Min: 8 PDUs Technical Project Management: Knowledge and skills related to various domains in order to sustain and operate a project and portfolio. It can entail activities like Agile Project Management, IT service Management Framework etc. Min: 8 PDUs Second: Previously a candidate could earn 45 PDUs from “Giving back to the profession” under category D,E and F which has been reduced to 25 now. Under category F, PDUs gained by working as a Project Manager has been reduced to 8 from 15.A maximum of 25 PDUs can be earned for either category D or E. Impact on PMP® Certification Holders

• Now you can earn comparatively less PMP® PDUs (max 8) being a Project Manager.
• Education and Training becomes the major source of PMP® PDUs (at-least 35).
• Probably the candidates now have to spend more on Training and Courses.

Impact on Current PMP®s

• Existing PMP®s will now need to claim educational PDU in category A, B and C on the basis of “PMI® Talent Triangle” system which is scheduled to begin from 11^th Jan 2016.

The cost for the certification is unaltered and is still the previous one. Get in league with the changed requirements with PMP® training with REP like Multisoft Virtual Academy which will provide you more insights about the required alterations PMP®s need to make in their PDUs. Stay tuned for the upcoming Project Management courses to ease your certification journey! Test your skills

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