Many project managers set out to gain project management certification – it’s a way to show employers that you are competent and capable of managing projects large and small.
But did you know that once you’ve become a PMP®, you have to continue to demonstrate your competence? If you want to keep using the post-nominal letters ‘PMP’ after your name, you have to keep your credential current.
This article is for PMP credential holders who have already passed their exam. You don’t need to get PDUs if you haven’t yet become a PMP. If you are still on your journey to becoming a PMP, click over to our complete guide to getting PMP certification in 10 easy steps.
You can keep your certificate current by earning 60 Professional Development Units (which you will hear referred to as PDUs) over a three-year period. PDU is the term used by the Project Management Institute (PMI)® to reflect your continuous professional development. You may have heard the term Continuing Education Unit (CEU) in other industries, but PDU is the term used by PMI®.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about PMI PDUs including how to earn them, how to document them and how to use them at the time you need to renew your PMP certification.
Note: While this article talks about PMP PDUs, many of the other PMI credentials require you to earn PDUs as well. The tips in this article about getting and recording PDUs and renewing your credential also apply to the other certifications. As you read through, adapt the requirements according to the certification you hold.
The list below shows how many PDUs you need to earn every three years, depending on the PMI credentials.
The handbook sets out the policies and procedures for actively maintaining your certification. Part of your acceptance of being a PMP is complying with the requirements in the handbook.
You should read the handbook all the way through so that you fully understand what PMI is asking of you for renewal.
The Handbook explains that the renewal cycle is three years. In other words, you have to make sure you’ve done enough during the three years after you passed your PMP exam to warrant PMI granting the PMP certification to you for another three years. You can maintain your PMP certificate for as long as you need to by providing evidence every three years that you have kept up your professional development.
If you do this, you can renew your certification and call yourself a PMP for another three years. If you choose not to comply with the Handbook’s requirements, you will lose your PMP certification status.
The next three steps are based on information that you can learn from the handbook, but as they are crucial to making renewal a smooth process, we’ve chosen to split them out as separate steps.
Step 2: Understand the PMI Talent Triangle™
The PMI Talent Triangle™ is a way of talking about how you need to have a rounded skill set as a project manager. For example, could you be brilliant at managing projects if you had excellent technical skills for building schedules and managing risk, but your people skills were poor? No, of course not. Technical skills on their own are not sufficient; you need good people skills, as well to lead and manage your team and influence stakeholders.
Exceptional project managers have more than just technical domain skills – although these are important. You also need to be able to demonstrate leadership skills. And you need a good understanding of your business and business strategy in general.
These three elements: technical skills, leadership, and strategic and business management, make up the three sides of the Talent Triangle™.
Understanding the Talent Triangle is crucial because you have to demonstrate that your professional development and PDUs fit into the Talent Triangle areas. The objective is for you to demonstrate that you have the skills to remain relevant in today’s business environment. Imagine if you gained your PMP certification at age 30. You could potentially hold it for another 30 years or more and work on projects during that time!
Now think back to what the world of work was like 30 years ago – if you can remember that far back! How we work now, the technology we use, the things stakeholders feel are important… these are all very different to how office life was three decades ago. That’s why it is vital to keep your skills current and yourself relevant to the modern world of work.
Here are the kinds of activities that fit into each area.
Technical Project Management
Knowledge, skills, and behaviors related to specific domains of Project, Program and Portfolio Management. For example, risk management, scheduling, and applying project management processes would be technical skills. These could be gained by doing PMP PDU courses, or other project management training offered by your employer or online.
Leadership
Knowledge, skills and behaviors specific to leadership-oriented activities. You need to be able to demonstrate cross-cutting activities that help your organization achieve its business goals. For example, setting a vision, acting ethically, and decision making are examples of skills you could attribute to the leadership domain.
Strategic and Business Management
Knowledge of and expertise in an industry or organization. Specifically, that knowledge and expertise should help improve performance and the delivery of business outcomes. Examples would be skills like business acumen, developing a deeper understanding of your industry through site visits or improving your general business management skills through a course.