Importance of PMP

PMP certification is a simpler way to get your career to a strong start for beginners. And, for experienced project managers, PMP certification will take you to the next step in your career.

If you are holding the PMP certification, it implies that you possess the expertise to manage the projects globally.

Attaining PMP Certification is a valuable asset to your career. Because it will help an individual to initiate, plan, execute, monitor, control, and close a project successfully across the varied industrial segments. Also, it will build your credibility in the industry. Besides, it can bag for higher billing rates from clients in projects. Further, it will open doors to new clients and offers international recognition.

Hence, investment in PMP certification is the right decision as it represents a high level of professionalism, shows your commitment to the project management profession, allowing for higher salaries as well raising your resumes above non-certified professionals, making you confident in handling projects and high market value.

Moreover, you will get the chance to collaborate and network with other project management professionals around the world. Furthermore, it connects you to a community of professionals, organizations, and experts worldwide. Therefore, it increases the chances of professional success and development.

PMP certification familiarizes professionals with the concepts and techniques of effective project management.

PMP Certification is the most crucial industry-recognized certification for project managers. Globally recognized and demanded, the PMP demonstrates that you have the experience, education, and competency to lead and direct the project.

Why you should renew PMP certification?

PMP certification is not an easy certification to crack. You need to put a lot of effort into studying, using the knowledge and experience required in managing projects in order to pass the PMP exam. Hence, it is hard to earn this certification.

Once you have achieved PMP certification then the next step which is very important is to do your PMP renewal. Else you will lose your credential. These days, it is required by many organizations when looking for a project management position. In many industries, it is a must to have certification for project managers. Hence, PMP renewal is very important while changing your job or looking for a position in project management.

Once you are a PMP certified professional then you need to earn 60 PDUs in a 3-year cycle in order to renew PMP Certification. If you don’t do your PMP renewal by end of 3^rd year then it will go in the suspended state till 1 year after the CCR cycle. Hence, you will no longer be able to avail of its benefits further.

The process to PMP renewal

• First of all, earn 60 PDUs within the 3-year cycle to meet the Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) for your certification.
• Secondly, enter your PDUs in CCRS i.e. online CCR System. Here you need to enter the following details like Provider Name, Activity Name, Activity Dates and no of PDUs claimed according to 3 components of Talent Triangle.
• Thirdly, click the ‘Submit’ button. And you will get the information on the number of PDUs accepted or rejected.
• Next is to fill the online renewal application by entering contact information along with payment details
• Then, agree to the Code of Ethics by PMI.
• And, pay the PMP renewal fee. Here, you will get the information on how to make the payment.

If you are a PMI member, then you get the privilege to pay the discounted PMP renewal fee of 60 USD.

If you are not a member then you need to pay 150 USD to renew PMP certification.

• Then you will receive the confirmation from PMI. And further you will get a certificate specifying a new CCR cycle. You can see your status as “Active and PMP in good standing” next to your PMP profile.
• Finally, once you have renewed PMP certification then you have time to start planning for the next 3-year PMP renewal cycle.

Points to remember are:

1. In a 3-year PMP renewal cycle, if you have earned 60 PDUs by 1st year or 2^nd year then there is no need to wait for 3 years to complete. At that time, you can make the payment of fees and do your PMP renewal.

You do not need to bother about the PMP renewal date as PMI always renews the PMP certification date from the date of expiry of PMP certification rather than the date of payment of the PMP renewal fee.

2. There is a possibility that you do not earn the specified amount of PDUs within the 3-year cycle of PMP renewal. Hence, you couldn’t complete the PMP renewal within the completion of the CCR cycle. As a result, your status will be “Suspended” up to 1 year after the CCR cycle. Further, it will no longer be valid.

PMI Talent Triangle: PMP Renewal

In today’s competitive world, it is not enough to have ways of working skills only. These days, companies are looking for added skills in power skills and business acumen to support long-range strategic objectives that contribute to the bottom line.

Please note that PMI recently changed the PDU category names in the Education category. From now on the PDUs in the Technical Project Management category are replaced with “Ways of Working”; PDUs in the Strategic and Business Management category are replaced with “Business Acumen”; PDUs in the Leadership category are replaced with “Power Skills”.

As a PMP certified, you need to earn a minimum number of PDUs in each of the skill areas of PMI Talent Triangle i.e. Ways of Working, Business Acumen, and Power Skills.

Here, the Project Management Institute’s CCR process defines that you need to earn at least 35 PDUS under Education Category. Hence, PMP PDUs earned under the education category are mapped with three dimensions of the Talent Triangle. You can choose them as per your interests and professional needs.

PMI Talent Triangle is a combination of Ways of Working, Business Acumen, and Power Skills. Hence, in order to stay competitive and relevant, you must develop all these skills.

Power Skills

It represents competency in guiding and motivating. It applies to all the certifications. For instance:  Brainstorming, Coaching and mentoring, Conflict Management, Listening, Negotiation, Problem-solving, and Team Building

Ways of Working

This category represents domain expertise or certification specifics skills

Business Acumen

It represents business-oriented skills. It applies to all the certifications. For instance: Benefits Management and realization, Customer relationship and satisfaction, Industry knowledge and standards, Competitive analysis, Legal and Regulatory Compliance, Strategic Planning, Analysis, and Alignment.

In reality, PMI is referring to the skills that are important for a project manager to be successful in project management.

For instance:

• If learning activities for PDUS belong to PMP content outline tasks, then you need to map them in the “Ways of Working” category.

• And, if learning activities for the PDUS belong to process, tools and techniques in aligning the project with strategic goals then you to map them in the “Business Acumen” category

• If learning activities for the PDUS belong to Team Development which will help in achieving the project goal then you need to map them in the “Power Skills” category.

Just make a note that you can earn 1 PDU for each hour you spend in learning related to PDUS earning.

PMP Renewal Step #1 – Earn PDUs

The PDUs stand for Professional Development Units. Generally, people mislead PDUs with contact hours.

Let’s suppose that you are an individual who is planning to appear for the PMP certification exam. Then you need to attend 35 hours of training from a recognized training institute. Once you complete the project management training, they give you the certificate of 35 hours of training as 35 Contact hours. This is one of the PMP prerequisites to apply for the PMP exam.

Now once you have become PMP certified then you need to earn 60 PDUs in the 3-year cycle to do your PMP renewal.

Hence, in order to renew your PMP, you must earn PDUs. There are certain PMP PDU requirements asked by PMI. You must earn PDUs based on these requirements.

PMP PDU Requirements

PMI describes PDU Requirements for PMP to earn 60 PDUs in a 3-year cycle.

That means if you have Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, you are required to earn 60 PDUs in a 3-year cycle.

These 60 PDUS can be broken down into 2 categories:

1. Education PDUs: Here, a minimum of 35 PDUS needs to be registered in this category.

Education PDUs is a required category. It is further categorized into 3 skills:

• Ways of Working, Business Acumen, and Power Skills
• You need a minimum of 8 PDUs for each skill.

2. Giving Back PDUs: This refers to sharing knowledge and applying your skills actively. It is important to contribute to the profession. Besides, it enhances your own professional skills.

Here, a maximum of 25 PDUS need to be registered in this category

Giving Back PDU is an optional category. It is further categorized into 2 categories:

• Working as a Professional: Here you can register maximum 8 PDUs
• Volunteering & creating knowledge: Here you can register a maximum of 17 PDUs.

Earn PMP PDUs

There are several ways to earn PDUS. However, the most convenient and affordable method is earning PDUs online. Especially, attending a 60 PMP PDU online course bundle will be a very easy way to earn PMP PDU hours.

Besides, other several easy and popular ways to earn PDUS in 2 categories (Education and Giving Back) are mentioned below:

Sources for earning PDUS for Education Category are:

1. Courses or Training: This way is considered as one of the traditional methods of attending any training related to project management from a recognized training institute. Ways to earn PDUS are:

• Registered education providers (REPs) conduct different programs or trainings on a regular basis to earn PDUS.
• Classroom Trainings or Instructor-led courses are organized from the PMI seminars world.
• PMI local chapter conducts 2-3 days of Seminars, PMI Updates, and Conferences. They are on a chargeable basis.

2. Reading Books: Another way to earn PDUs in this category is to read books. Here, if you have a passion for reading, then you can make a reading list in the area of Ways of Working, Business Acumen, and Power Skills. In fact, you can earn a large number of PDUS in the ‘Read’ Category. This is the favorite category for book lovers who love to enhance the skills by reading books.

3. Organization Meetings: Another easy way is to attend meetings, activities, and local events related to the profession. Further, it gives you the opportunity to network and earn PDUS. Here, you can earn 1-2 PDUs in sessions in reference to the talent triangle component.

4. Informal Learning: Last but not the least; you must engage yourself in structured professional discussions with a team or different projects. For instance: Mentoring sessions, Brainstorming sessions, or lunch and learn sessions.

Sources for earning PDUS for Giving Back Category are:

1. Working as a practitioner: This is the most common way in this category to earn PDUs. If you are working in the project management domain as a working professional who is actively working on a project. Then you are contributing to this profession by applying your knowledge and skills. Hence, you can earn a maximum of 8 PDUs.

2. Creating Content: Another way in this category to earn PDUs is to write project management articles or create project management content. But this will be more effective if you have a passion for writing and have an interest in writing blogs and articles.

3. Giving Presentation: Another easy way for trainers or speakers to earn PDUs in this category is to give a presentation on project management topics or best practices or emerging trends. Hence, if you are a good speaker or you have the ability to present some topics at seminars or conferences then this is a good way to earn PDUS.

4. Sharing Knowledge: This has always been the most effective way to earn PDUS by attending knowledge sharing sessions with your team or peers.

5. Volunteering: These days, lots of conferences and workshops need volunteers. In fact, PMI chapters give many opportunities from time to time. If you like contributing to social good as a volunteer then you can participate in these conferences and can earn PDUs.

6. Watching videos: Another interesting way to earn PDUs is to watch videos online or different forms of digital media for self-learning.

7. Listening to Podcasts: Likewise, you can listen to podcasts where each PDU represents 60 minutes of learning. Hence for podcasts that are under an hour, just listen to a couple on the same topic and consolidate them.

8. Attending Webinars: For PMI members, the easiest way to earn PDUs is to attend the webinar. And PMI conducts webinars on a regular basis. Besides many training organizations conduct free webinars where you can earn 1-2 PDUS

PMP Renewal Step #2 – Submit PDUs

Once you have earned PDUS, now you need to renew PMP certification by submitting PDUs to PMI from your PMI profile. PMI might ask for proof of enrolment in your PDU activities.

• Login to www.pmi.org and select ‘Certifications’ -> ‘Report PDUs on CCRS’

• On www.ccrs.pmi.org, Click ‘PDUs’ -> ‘Report PDUs’

• Now you can report PDUs under 2 sections i.e. Education and Giving Back
• To report under section ‘Education’ i.e. ‘Course or Training’, ‘Organization Meetings’, ‘Online or Digital Media’, ‘Read’ or ‘Informal Learning’
• Click on ‘Course or Training’

• Enter details of training or workshop you have attended for preparation of PMP exam such as Provider name, Course, Description, Date Started, Date Completed, URL (optional), Contact person (Optional), Contact Phone (Optional), Contact Email (Optional)

• Enter the PDUs Earned in the ‘PDUs Claimed’ section under 3 categories i.e. Ways of Working, Business Acumen, and Power Skills

• Select the checkbox ‘I agree this claim is accurate’
• Click the ‘Submit’ button
• Now you can see claim submission results with Number of PDUs and Status as ‘Submitted’

• Suppose you find out that you have incorrectly entered PDUs’ details. It could be a wrong number of PDUs entered or incorrect category or typo error
• Click ‘PDUs’ -> Claim History
• Click Activity you have just entered
• Then, click ‘Delete’ button

• Select a reason i.e. ‘Claim Entered in Error’, ‘Claim entered in under the wrong category’, ‘Duplicate Claim’ or ‘other’
• Click ‘Delete’ button
• All the information pertaining to this activity will get deleted
• If you want to edit the information in the activity you have filled, click ‘Retract and Edit’ button

• A Message box will appear.
• Click ‘Yes’ to continue and ‘Cancel’ to exit the message box
• Another option is to claim PDUs under Giving Back Category i.e. Work as a Practitioner or Create content or Give a Presentation or Share Knowledge or Volunteer option

• Select ‘Create Content’
• Enter details of Organization, Title, Description, Date Started, Date Completed, PDUs Claimed
• Click the ‘Submit’ button

And PDUs of this activity will be submitted in the ‘Giving Back’ category.

You can view all PDUs entered under ‘Claim History’.

Likewise, you can fill the remaining PDUs under any of the categories until you fulfill 60 PDUs to renew PMP.

PMP Renewal Step #3 – Pay PMP Renewal Fee & Renew PMP

After completing the PDU submission, you will see a link to PMP renewal in your PMI profile.

You should follow the link to pay the PMP renewal fee and upon payment, your PMP certification will be in good standing for the next three years.

You should earn 60 PMP PDUs every three years to keep your PMP in good standing.

• Make a note that you can start earning PDUs as soon as you become PMP certified. You don’t need to wait until the end of the 3-year cycle.

Generally, a question arises that can we transfer the earned PDUs to the next cycle?

The answer is yes, you can transfer earned PDUs to the next cycle. Suppose in the 3-year cycle, you have earned more than 60 PDUs but only those PDUs which you have earned in last year i.e. 3^rd year of the cycle can be transferred to the next cycle.

Conclusion: PMP Renewal

PMP renewal is critical for a professional since it is a hard-to-earn certificate which is asked by many employers. While you have it, do your best to earn PDUs and renew PMP certification.

Online PMP PDU course enrolment is the fastest and cheapest way to earn PMP PDUs. PDUs earned need to register in 3 categories i.e. Ways of Working, Business Acumen, and Power Skills.

You need to earn 60 PDUs in the 3-year cycle to renew PMP and keep your PMP status in good standing. That means you do not need to wait till end of 3^rd year to renew PMP. And, you can renew PMP as soon as you earn the required PDUs.

If you do not earn required PDUs within the CCR cycle of 3 years then your PMP status will go in the suspended state till 1 year after the CCR cycle and further it will not be valid.

PMP Renewal fee is 60 USD if you are a PMI member. If you are not a member of PMI, then the PMP Renewal fee is 150 USD. Hence, being a PMI member saves money in PMP renewal.

The post PMP Renewal – 3 Main Steps to Renew PMP appeared first on Project Hipo.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) follows a very strict methodology for assessing its credentials holders’ eligibility to hold those credentials. It starts by putting forward a set of requirements for the certification acquisition, at the same time they bound the certifications to a limited time period.  So they require the certificate holders to obtain PDUs for the PMP renewal of their credentials. Hence the certificate holder has to work towards obtaining these PDUs which varies from one certificate to another. Otherwise, the certificate holder has to re-certify and retake the certification exam.

PMP Certification Requirements

Let’s give you a more clear view. Let’s assume that you are applying to the PMP exam, then you have to have three main PMP eligibility requirements. The first requirement is education. A PMP applicant is required to have a minimum secondary degree which includes high- school diploma or associate’s degree or a global equivalent.

At the same time, the PMP applicant must have sufficient working experience in the projects. To satisfy this condition a PMP applicant with a high school degree has to have a minimum of 7,500 hours in leading and directing projects. Alternatively, a four-year degree holder only needs to satisfy a minimum of 4,500 hours in leading and directing projects.

Finally, the PMP exam seeker has to attend 35 contact hours of project management education which covers all outlines of the PMP exam. But don’t forget that, a CAPM certification holder is exempted from the last condition. When the PMP applicants pass the exam successfully and obtain their PMP certification, they would need to maintain this certificate through obtaining PMP PDU as they have to renew this credential every 3 years. This PMP PDU collection is bound to the time limit of three years where the PMP holder must collect 60 PDUs.

What is PMP PDU?

So here comes a number of questions that would normally come to your mind when you read the introduction. What exactly is a PMP PDU? What is the difference between PMP PDU and Contact Hours?

So what is PMP PDU?

To explain the PDUs we can put it this way, PDU is an abbreviation of Professional Development Units. Professional Development is a measure that PMI uses to quantify professional services and activities to maintain PMI Credentials as well as the approved learning activities.

PMI considers the worth of one-hour of instructional PMP training related to project management equates to 1 PDU. This also applies to program management, Agile project management or even project scheduling. You can report a PMP PDU or Professional Development Unit partially. This means you can report 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 increments of a PDU. We will give more details about PMP PDU and its breakdown in relation to the talent triangle later in the article.

What is PMP contact hours?

Now let’s go through the PMP contact hours. PMP PDU can be education-related as well as professional work-related. While this case applies to PMP PDU, it does not apply to contact hours. Since PMP contact hours are basically project management training hours that must satisfy certain criteria so PMP contact hours must cover the PMP exam outline. At the same time, unlike PMP PDU, PMP contact hours have to be focused on project management knowledge. Also, PMP contact hours don’t count professional context or delivering training, but only receiving PMP training.

The major differences between PMP PDU and PMP contact hours

Last but not least is the difference of purpose between PMP PDU and PMP contact hours. Mainly, contact hours are one of PMP eligibility requirements, as you need them to satisfy the PMP exam requirements. On the other hand, PMP PDU is a requirement for renewing PMP certification after passing the exam successfully. Also, there is a very significant distinctive difference between PMP PDU and PMP contact hours. This difference is that to obtain PMP contact hours you need to go through formal outlined PMP training. On the other hand, you can obtain a PMP PDU through self-study without a specific formal outline.

What are the PMP PDU Requirements?

• First, to enhance the certification holders’ continuous learning as well as their development.
• Second, to provide clear direction for development areas ensuring the relevancy of certified practitioners.
• The third purpose is recognizing and encouraging learning opportunities.
• Another purpose is to provide a mechanism for recording activities related to professional development.
• And finally, sustaining the value of PMI certifications and their relative global recognition.

PMP PDU and Talent Triangle

1. Ways of Working,
2. Business Acumen
3. Power Skills

CCR requirements are different for each PMI certification

PDU requirements for PMP, PgMP, PMI-PBA, and PfMP

PMP PDU requirement for certification holders is to collect 60 PDUs through a maximum of 25 Giving Back PDUs and a minimum of 35 Education PDUs. The 35 Education PDUs also has another limitation of reporting at least 8 Ways of Working project management PDUs as well as limitation of reporting at least 8 Business Acumen PDUs and also a limitation of reporting at least 8 Power Skills PDUs. At the same time, reporting a maximum of 8 PDUs for working as a professional / practitioner of the giving back PDU category.

The same concept applies to PgMP PDU requirements for certification holders to collect 60 PDUs through a maximum of 25 Giving Back PDUs and a minimum of 35 Education PDUs. With the same distribution of education PDUs across talent triangle minimum of 8 Power Skills PDUs, 8 Ways of Working PM PDUs, and 8 Business management PDUs. As well as the limit of reporting a maximum of 8 PDUs for working as a professional / practitioner of the giving back PDU category. This also applies to PfMP and PMI-PBA certifications holders.

PDU requirements for PMI-ACP, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP

While the renewal cycle stays the same, these certifications have different requirements for maintenance PDUs. PMI only requires 30 PDUs to maintain PMI-ACP, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP certifications instead of 60 PDUs. The PDUs distribution is the same for all of these certifications across both education and giving back to profession categories. Accordingly, PMI requires certification holders to report a maximum of 12 Giving Back PDUs and a minimum of 18 Education PDUs. The distribution of education PDUs between talent triangle skills is a minimum of 4 Power Skills PDUs as well as a minimum of 4 Ways of Working PM PDUs and a minimum of 4 Business Acumen PDUs. While setting a limit of a maximum of 4 PDUs for reporting working as a professional / practitioner of the giving back PDU category.

How can I earn PMP PDU to Renew PMP certification?

Since the Continuing Certification Requirements Program’s main objective is to ensure the continuous development of the certification holder. So PMI Certification renewal offers a learning opportunity for certification holders to obtain the latest skills that help them advance in their professional life. At the same time, they benefit from networking with other fellow professionals, as well as share knowledge and perform voluntary activities.

As we discussed before, there are two categories of professional development units that a certification holder can obtain for renewal requirements. These two types are Education and Giving Back to the Profession. Each one of those two categories includes a vast number of options while the certification holder is bound to satisfy some requirements that we detailed earlier. The certification holder can report the remaining PMP PDU through any of the other available options.

Ways to Collect Education PMP PDU

As we mentioned earlier there are numerous ways to obtain and report PMP PDU. Across all categories, one hour of learning equals 1 PMP PDU.

Course or Training

The first way you can earn PMP PDU is through training courses. Yes, normal training courses will be counted, as long as these courses are related to the earlier mentioned topics. These courses include formal Instructor-led training courses whether it is held in class or held in person or online.

Do you attend PMI’s face-to-face and instructor-led courses or seminars? If the answer is yes, then congratulations! You can report every hour you spent as one PMP PDU. On the other hand, if you don’t, then don’t worry, now you know an easy way of earning PMP PDUs.

Another option you can take is attending On-Demand e-learning courses. Self-paced learning is growing so fast due to its convenience. You can use such an option to earn your PMP PDU without the need to bound yourself with a trip to a training class. There are also Academic Education Programs accredited by PMI Global Accreditation Center as well as PMI Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) training courses. Finally, PMI accepts any other third party training provider that offers relevant training courses. Does it get more simple than this? Any training you attend from any provider counts, as long it covers related topics.

But that is not all, the following options are even easier and more simple.

Organization Meetings

If you attend a meeting, event or even an activity related to the project management profession, you can earn PMP PDU. Even though it is limited to 1 to 2 PDUs, you can still use it as one of your ways to collect PMP PDU. Also, this option is not limited to PMI specific events or activities, but they are easier to report. To earn PMP PDU from this option, you can easily view the PMI events calendar or check with the nearest PMI chapter.

Reading

So if you thought the previous option was the easiest way to earn PMP PDU, let me tell you that you are wrong. PMI also accepts self-directed learning including reading books, material or even relevant articles. Also, PMI accepts Podcasts and other material that offers similar content as PMP PDU.

Informal Learning

Finally, if you were mentored, guided, instructed, or even went into the discussion over a project management related topic you can also report this as PMP PDU. This includes your typical professional discussions with your work colleagues over-improving your PMO practices.

Ways to earn Giving Back to the Profession PMP PDU

Moving forward to the next category, Giving Back to the Profession. A unique opportunity to expand the knowledge as well as the skills and at the same time growing personally as well as professionally. Giving Back to the Profession offers a roadmap for certification holders to grow steadily in line with the dynamics of today’s business environment. Despite the fact that PMI does not require it for renewal, still, it is an excellent way for expanding your skill horizons.

Usually, you would think it is all about working as a professional or a practitioner and this is where you are wrong. Although working as a professional is one of the major ways of earning Giving Back to the Profession PMP PDU it is not the only one. The following list illustrates the possible options to earn your PMP PDU through the Giving Back category.

Work as a professional / practitioner

The obvious one of them all, working as a professional / practitioner. By applying the knowledge and set of skills in a project management role within a practical setting, you can earn up to 8 PMP PDU per cycle. Also, these PMP PDU has to be reported once per the three years cycle, and you can not transfer extras to the next cycle.

Create Content

Do you develop content knowledge resources for the use of other practitioners to share your knowledge and expertise? If the answer is yes, then you can earn one PMP PDU per the number of hours you spent creating this content. This includes writing articles or books or even blogs, creating webinars or presentations. This also applies to develop content for PMI associated websites.

Give a Presentation

Now that’s a clear one. If you give a formal presentation to share knowledge related to PMP certification to others you can also claim one PMP PDU for each hour you spent.

Share Knowledge

It is similar to the education category’s informal learning. If you were at the other end of the mentoring table, i.e. you are the mentor you also get to claim PMP PDU. This means that you can report 1 PMP PDU per each mentoring hour. This does not only include mentoring, but it also includes teaching or instructing others as well as applying subject matter knowledge to an activity that others will benefit from through your perspective of experience.

Volunteer

Now we come to the final option for you to earn PMP PDU. This can be achieved by providing your volunteer services to an organization that is not your employer or a client. You can do this as a part of the PMI community of volunteers who support the Institute and the profession in a variant ranges of roles. For volunteering to count it has to be within the related domains and services of nonprofit organizations. Accordingly, a one-hour volunteering service is equal to 1 PMP PDU.

Important PMP PDU notes

Since we described all available options to earn different types of PMP PDU, we are going to highlight some important policies and notes related to PDUs. These policies will act as a guideline to you while reporting your PDUs in order to avoid ending up reporting wrong PDUs.

PDUs are subjected to audits

Similar to PMP exam eligibility requirements, PMI subjects PMP PDU to PMI audits. This means that you might be selected for an audit upon renewal. If PMI selects your PMP PDUs for PDU audit you need to know before reporting any PMP PDU that you might be asked for its evidence. The PDU evidence varies from one PDU to another according to the type and nature of the reported PDU. So be careful not to report fake PMP PDU or submitting a PDU that you can not prove.

Only report PDUs relevant to the period after being certified

If you had a number of activities you completed before you earn your PMI PMP certification, do not report them as PMP PDUs. PMI only considers activities as PDUs in which you are involved after you are PMP certified. All activities before that are not eligible as PDUs.

You only claim activity participation once

It may seem obvious, but we have seen worse. It is a big NO for trying to claim PDUs more than once for the same activity or course participation. Be careful PMI may take this with serious actions.

Some PDUs may carry over to the next three years cycle

If you earn more PDU than the required number for the three years cycle, you can carry over a portion of them to the next cycle. This comes with a restriction that you can only carry over PMP PDU earned in the last 12 months of the certification cycle. The number of PDUs you can carry over varies from one certificate to another. For PMP certification, you can carry over up to 20 PDUs. The same applies to PgMP, PfMP, and PMI- PBA. On the other hand, PMI -ACP, PMI -RMP, and PMI -SP can only carry over 10 PDUs.

Working as a practitioner does not carry over

The carryover rule does not apply to “working as a professional or practitioner” category anymore. This means that regardless of the timing of earning working as a professional or practitioner PMP PDUs, you can not report them in the future cycle even if they occur in the last 12 months of the current cycle. This restriction only applies to this type of activity. Meanwhile, the other giving back to profession activities treated with the same way education activities. They can carry over if they occur in the last 12 months of the current cycle to the next cycle. This means that you can report them in the future cycle normally. Be aware of this exception so you don’t fall a victim of such a rare rule if PMI selects your PDUs for audit!

Same PDUs can Maintain Multiple PMI Certifications

This is one of the great bonuses PMI offers its certification holders. If you hold more than one certification you can use the same PDU to maintain all your held certifications. This applies in different ways between different PDU categories. As a result, Education PDUs which fall under the Power Skills type can be applied to all certifications at the same time. For example, if you attend a 2 hours webinar about Power Skills, and you use it for PMP and PMI -ACP certifications. In that case, you can report 2 PMP PDU and at the same time apply the same 2 hours to PMI -ACP PDUs. The same concept applies to Business Acumen PDUs. The logic behind this merit is that Business Acumen as well as Power Skills concepts are wide educational topics and not bound to one specific certification.

On the other hand, the same concept can not be applied to Ways of Working. The reason behind this is that Ways of Working knowledge is specific to the certification knowledge domain. Thus only PMP and may be PgMP can fully benefit from all Ways of Working PDUs. While other certificates will only benefit from the relevant Ways of Working PDUs.

Alternatively, Giving Back to the Profession PDUs can apply to all certifications since practical experience and its associated activities are more broadly applicable to all certifications.

Certification Status

If you don’t track your certification status regularly, you might hit unexpected status unknown to you. Thus, we listed here the different certification statuses to give you a proper overview. Your certification status defined through the CCR program and the fulfillment of its requirements. Certification statuses include

• Active Status, which refers to your fulfillment of all CCR certification requirements.
• Suspended Status refers to your state of not satisfying CCR certification requirements within the running cycle. This status lasts 12 months after the cycle ends. This status can become active, in case you fulfill the CCR requirements.
• At the end of the suspension period if you still didn’t satisfy the CCR requirements your certification status changes to Expired Status and you will have to apply for a new exam in order to regain your certification.
• As for Retired Status, it only applies to a certification holder with good CCR standing but voluntarily asked to retire your certification due to your retirement. Only those who have been certification holders with good standing at least for 10 consecutive years.

Free PMP PDU Options

Now that we paved the way with a descriptive and detailed way and provided you with a clear understanding of how the whole PMP PDU thing work. Now we will help identify opportunities for earning free PMP PDU without needing to pay for it. The internet is full of project management related content which you can benefit from easily and use it as a way to earn PMP PDUs. Still, there are some concerns over some of these contents due to their lack of credibility. Because even if they might provide you with a way to earn real PMP PDU, they might harm your knowledge and understanding of project management critical concepts. So you need to select carefully and watch out for amateur content developers and bloggers. Now let’s go through the available sources for an easy PMP PDU.

PMI webinars, events, activities

The first option we are going to discuss is to participate in webinars, events, activities sponsored by PMI. PMI has an updated calendar that contains tons of upcoming webinars, events, and activities. You can join these activities for free without paying anything. Also, these webinars, events, and activities are credible and trustworthy. In addition to the mentioned, PMI reports most of these webinars, events, and activities automatically without your intervention. This means they are not subjected to any audit from any kind. Accordingly, you do not need to keep track of the webinars, events, and activities you attended. Despite the benefits offered by this option, you need to consider the PMP PDU categories’ limitations and requirements.

Volunteering with PMI

Another PMI option is to participate in the PMI volunteering community. PMI has a rigid volunteering system where you can subscribe and select your preferred volunteering activities. Then PMI matches your preferences with volunteering opportunities directly and notifies you. PMI may not report this type of activity automatically, so you need to keep track of your work. In other words, you have to keep evidence of your work through letters or certificates. This option has similar benefits to the prior one but you must be aware of the limitations over PMP PDU categories.

Reading and Self-studying PMI material

Although PMI offers content restricted only to its paid membership, it still offers another variety of free content. This free content includes articles, recorded webinars and other material in different media formats. Accordingly, you can read the articles and watch other media and earn your free PMP PDUs. Still, you need to be mindful of the PMP PDU categories’ limitation requirements.

Contributing to Project management.com Content

This is a good option but by far it is NO easy gig. PMI supervises the content of the projectmanagement.com website and they have strict requirements for any added content. Although they accept a contribution from any professional, they still review it carefully and reject many of the contents. So you can use this option if you can.

Project management.com reading and self-study material

Like PMI offered content but with much wider varieties and richness, projectmanagement.com offers a huge amount of free content includes articles, recorded webinars and other material in different media formats. Thus, you can read the articles and watch other media and earn your free PMP PDUs. Still, you need to be mindful of the PMP PDU categories’ limitation requirements.

Project management.com webinars, events, activities

Similar to PMI, projectmanagement.com offers a wide range of activities for you to participate in. They include webinars, events, activities sponsored by PMI and other sponsors. Also, projectmanagement.com updates its calendar with a huge amount of webinars, events, and activities. Similar to PMI, you can also join for free. Also, these webinars, events, and activities share the same level of credibility and trustworthy of PMI. Some of its activities and events reported automatically to your PMP PDU account directly without your intervention. This comes with the same benefit of not worrying about audit evidence. Just like it shares PMI privileges, it also shares its PMP PDU categories limitation requirements.

Youtube, bloggers, and V-loggers

In terms of availability, free content, and the number of contributors nothing beats this option. On the other side of the story, this option is full of harm if you are not careful. Most of the content provided through such channels is not accurate. At the same time, none of them are verified by a credible party. Accordingly, if you decide to go for this option, you must be extremely selective and cautious. There is no content auditor, there are no reviewers so you are only left to your personal judgment. At the same time, it is extremely hard to verify the content end to end considering the fact that you will deal with new information. This should be the least favored option between all the offered ones.

Credible blogs

Not all blogs belong to amateurs. There are some blogs that are associated with credible institutions or training providers. These institutions and training providers offer articles written by professionals, practitioners, instructors, and professors. This type of content gains its credibility from the credibility of the institutions or training provider itself. Thus the more credible the institutions or training provider, the more credible its associated blog. The issue with this PMP PDU earning option is that it has the limitation of not being well structure way to earn PDUs.

Free project management courses

Many of the training providers offer an introductory level of their courses online for free. Imagine a three hours online course offered by a reputable training provider for free. When you attend such a course you earn 3 PDUs with no paid fees. No, that’s not a daydream, as I mentioned above many training providers offer the introductory level of their courses online for free. They do this as a complement for their students. At the same time, as a gift for new joiners who are not sure yet if they want to follow the PMP track. A big benefit of such an option is the breakdown that is usually offered by the training providers for the PMP PDU category. Also, some of them are PMI Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) which eases the way you report your earned PMP PDU.

Delivering project management training or developing project management material

If you are a trainer this should be an easy gig. Just do what you do, deliver project management training or develop the training material. This option, of course, only applies to those who work as trainers or training content developers. However, even if you are not a trainer but you have a group of audiences that you can deliver project management training to, then it’s possible for you to develop material and deliver the training to these audiences. This way you can use the time you spent to develop the material and the time you spent to deliver the training as earned PMP PDU. Although this way is extremely good it is not available for everyone.

What should I do after earning 60 PMP PDUs to Renew PMP Certification?

Once you complete earning your 60 PMP PDU, the first step you need to do is to report them to PMI. You do the reporting of your PMP PDU through entering your PDUs into the PMI online Continuing Certification Requirements – CCR – system.

Once you reported all of your PMP PDU, you need to pay the PMP certification renewal fees. The fees vary between PMI membership subscribers and nonmembers. Accordingly, PMI membership subscribers pay $60 to renew their PMP certification while non-PMI membership subscribers are required to pay $150 to renew their PMP certification. We highly recommend that once you renew your PMP certification, you should have a break from earning PMP PDU for the new three years cycle.

You can pay your renewal fees and complete your PMP renewal process at any point in your cycle just after you complete your PMP PDU requirements. At the same time, you have to process your renewal payment within 90 days after your cycle end date. The reason behind this advice is to give you a room to celebrate your achievement and have proper rest for a while. Later on, you can start a new journey with your new plan for the next three years cycle.

PMI Audit Process

As a holder of a PMI certification, you agreed on your compliance with PMI terms of use and conditions. These terms and conditions include your adherence to the terms of the PMI audit process. The PMI audit process terms state that all holders of PMI certification are subject to the PMI audit process. In the case of being selected for the PMI audit, PMI will only allow you to renew your PMP certification after you complete the audit. This means you must pass the PMI audit successfully and meet all of the PMI audit terms.

The PMI PMP PDU audit process involves randomly selecting a percentage of certification holders for the PMI’s audit process. The selected certification holders for an audit will have to submit supporting material to verify any reported PDUs. Accordingly, it is crucial for you to keep all of your PMP PDU documentation claims at least 18 months after the end of the CCR three year cycle.

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