PMI Professionalism Programs
Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification
Certification, including a Code of Ethics, involves the testing of individuals
to published minimum standards. The results of a recent survey based on a sample
of PMI members indicates that 96% of respondents are in favor of a PMI Certification
program.
The program as currently structured is basic and fundamental in nature. It
is based on extensive research concerning what other professional organizations
have done, what is best for project management professionalism as expressed by
PMI members, and the objectives of developing an expandable, quality program
which will possess credibility in the eyes of the many publics with whom PMI
interacts.
The basic purposes of the certification program are to enhance professionalism
in project management and to provide project management personnel with a structured
method to aid in their personal professional development. It is a program which
PMI offers to both members and non-members alike. The program is designed for
individuals working in a project environment, and who wish to enhance their knowledge,
skills and visibility as project management professionals. You do not have to
be a PMI member to apply for certification and it is not anticipated that all
members of PMI will apply.
Project Management Code of Ethics
To be recognized by the Institute as a certified Professional Project Manager,
the individual must subscribe and adhere to a project management code of ethics.
It serves as a guide for the project manager's conduct on moral issues and judgments
as they relate to the profession. As I hope I have already demonstrated, project
managers have the potential to affect the quality of life of all people in our
society. Therefore, it is vital that they conduct their work in an ethical manner
and earn the confidence and respect not only of their team members, colleagues,
employers and clients, but also the public-at-large.
A Master of Project Management Degree
Normally, education in PMI terms is by means of seminars, symposia, workshops,
and through the PMI's professional journal. However, some five years ago, as
PMI's professionalism efforts were coming together, a unique body of knowledge
was being developed, accepted, and formalized in the publications of the Institute,
and support for developing a project management profession was high, it became
feasible to entertain the idea of a Project Management Master's Degree Program.
In 1982, a PMI project was conducted to study all U.S. nationally accredited
schools of engineering and business to determine what project management materials
were being taught in quality U.S. institutions of higher learning. The findings
were most interesting, although not entirely surprising. They were:وووو
- No nationally accredited project management degree program was being offered
by any responding school
- Few schools responded that they offered specialized courses in project management
- No nationally accredited school of engineering or business reported requiring
a project management course as part of a degree program
- Engineering schools that did have one or more project management courses
taught them to cover technical, quantitatively oriented networking materials
- Business schools that did have one or more project management courses based
them in the area of organization theory, presenting mainly the unique issues
involved in managing project and matrix organizations
- Thus there appeared to be no comprehensive, high quality project management
program available in the U.S. at that time
After a considerable amount of discussion and legwork, a project management
degree program was approved for implementation at the University of North Carolina,
and classes commenced in August 1986. The PMI Board of Advisors continue to visit
WCU at their own expense, to advise and approve of the curriculum as it is developed
and to act as Visiting Executives in the new degree program.
Accreditation
As a result of the publicity generated by PMI's efforts to establish the WCU
degree program, other schools have indicated an interest in developing degree
programs of their own. While some have chosen to "go it alone" and
develop their programs independently, others have contacted PMI for assistance.
As a consequence, PMI has established a standing PMI Accreditation Committee
to deal with the issues of evaluating degree programs and recognizing those that
meet defined standards of quality.
The PMBoK provides the necessary evaluation standards for the curriculum. While
true accreditation requires the evaluation of many other variables such as faculty
qualifications and their facilities, these are beyond the capability of PMI.
However, other agencies exist in the United States which are well versed in this
area. Therefore for our purposes, Accreditation is a process whereby a PMI committee,
upon request, reviews a learning institution's project management program for
quality and content and confers recognition if found acceptable.
PMI's accreditation program is in its infancy. The first meeting with a requesting
University, a Canadian University, was held earlier this year with a view to
establishing standards and procedures for reviewing their project management
program. This is a new endeavor for PMI and we are approaching it with a great
deal of caution. It does, however, reinforce the PMI commitment to develop project
management as a profession.
For those of you who would like to know more, as I mentioned earlier, an excellent
paper was delivered to the 1987 National Conference of the Project Management
Forum, in Adelaide, South Australia, last March. I am sure that it, together
with other valuable information is available through our office in Drexel Hill
in Pennsylvania.
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Body of Knowledge Structure
