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Certifications Don’t Make Project Managers
August 22, 2010 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: Certification, Project Management Musings
Certifications Don’t Make Project Managers
By Richard Morreale
The Project Management Institute (PMI) and the Association of Project Management Group (APMG) are two of the biggest reasons that projects fail. They have sold the myth to the corporate world and to their certification customers that successful completion of their certification tests and the addition of Project Management Professional (PMP) after their name or adding PRINCE2 Certified on their Resume or Curriculum Vitae makes them a Project Manager. Companies believe the myth. They believe that when they hire a certified Project Manager, they are getting someone who is truly a successful Project Management Professional not just a newly graduated student. So when they hire project managers, just about the first requirement they put in their job specification is that the person needs to be a PMP or PRINCE2 professional. The truth is that Project Management certification does not make the student a Project Manager. I’m not in any way saying that becoming certified is a bad thing. In fact, I believe it is a very good way for potential project managers to learn the basics of Project Management. What certification does is teach the person the mechanics of Project Management tools and techniques. And, although it teaches them how to use them from a mechanical standpoint, it really doesn’t teach them how to use them in the overall context of their project, when to use them, how to modify them due to circumstances or, in fact, when not to use them at all. And it doesn’t recognize or teach them what is really about 80% of the Project Management success equation which I’ll cover later in this article.
PMI started certifying Project Managers in 1969 and PRINCE was established by the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) in the UK in 1979. This was just about the time that independent surveys showed that approximately 70% of all IT Projects failed when measured against the criteria of cost, schedule and expectations. Since then, PMI and the APMG say that they have worked with and certified over 550,000 people as either Project Management Professionals or PRINCE2 certified Project Managers. PMI have over 270 chapters in over 70 countries. the APMG are in over 20 countries. PMI have sold over 2 million copies of PMBOK – the Guide during that period of time. The APMG has sold approximately 1 million copies of their PRINCE Manuals. PMI and APMG are making wheelbarrows of money off of the certification myth. In addition, a huge network of companies, organizations, associations are also involved. A very large industry has been built up over the years based on certification. With all of this training, certification, book sales going on, surveys now show that approximately 70% of all IT Projects fail. What! If, as claimed, becoming a PMP or a PRINCE2 certified person makes one a Project Manager and over a half a million people have been certified as Project Managers why are projects still failing at the 70% rate? In addition, millions of dollars have been spent over the last 30 to 35 years on the project manager, on training, on certification, on Project Management Processes and Procedures and on other project management tools and techniques and still approximately 70% of all IT projects are failing. That tells me that successful Project Management must depend on something other than competence in those project Management tools, techniques, processes, procedures and certification.
In my experience from working on and successfully managing some of the most visible projects over the last 40 years, including the Apollo Program, the Trident Submarine, The Cruise Missile, computerization of the British Income Tax System, other major programs for some of the largest companies in the world along with the rescue of a $600M program for the UK Government, what I’ve found is that good project management processes and procedures must not only be in place for projects to be successful but the Project Manager must truly understand how and when to use them and modify them, if required. Without a doubt, Project Managers must understand and be experienced in the hard skills of Planning, Organizing, Monitoring and Controlling their projects. PMI and PRINCE2 certification is certainly a very good way to learn these hard skills. However, I believe that these hard skills are only about 20% of the success equation.
The much bigger part of the equation, the 80%, are the soft skills, the attitudes and behaviors, that the Project Manager should have and practice. These soft skills include, but are not necessarily limited to, enthusiasm, energy, commitment to success, commitment to excellence; good communication skills – knowing what to say, when to say it, how to say it and when to shut-up; good interpersonal skills, approachability, self-motivation, the ability to motivate the project team, good team building skills, a go-for-it attitude, a no-problem attitude, a go-the-extra-mile attitude and a good sense of humor. None of these soft skills are really part of the PMBOK and aren’t really required for PMP or PRINCE2 certification. I’m a true believer in the song title, “It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it.”
By all means, I think potential project managers should work to get certified because certification will teach them the hard skills foundations. But they shouldn’t believe nor should the PMI or the APMG continue advertising that certification makes a person a Project Manager. The real way and the only way to being a true Project Manager and to lower the project failure rate is to ensure that our Project Managers are not only proficient in the hard skills of Planning, Organizing, Monitoring, and Controlling their projects but that they, also, have and continue to practice the soft skills. You’ll start to see the changes when companies advertising for project managers start off the requirements list with the soft skills requirements and finish up with the hard skills. After all, a person can be taught the hard skills a lot easier than the soft skills attitudes and behaviors.
Richard Morreale is a project manager, professional speaker, author and consultant specializing in Project Management, Leadership, Achievement and Customer Service.
You can book Richard for your next meeting or conference at richard@richardmorreale.com or 336 499 6677.
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15 people have left comments
Richard, I feel your pain on this. I’ve worked as a project manager in some capacity for over 15 years and have had my PMP for several years now. I see lots of newly certified PMPs applying for project management positions. Yet when I look at their resumes, I don’t see actual project management experience. Though I am not discounting the application process, I do believe there would be more qualified (certified) professionals if there was a practical side of the exam(s). Perhaps the proof of experience, as part of the exam, would result in fewer failed IT projects lead by “certified” project managers. The ecosystems created by the certifications are all about issuing credentials, not about certifying professionals are proficient and skilled in project management.
There is a difference between intelligence and wisdom. 550,000 people were intelligent enough to pass a certification exam. How many of those are wise enough to manage a successful project?
Best Regards,
Derek Huether, PMP
http://thecriticalpath.info
http://pmprepflashcards.com
I think there are a few issues…
1) PMI needs to do a better job auditing the applications for the experience hours.
2) Recruiters and such need to do a better job and understanding how to interview and screen out someone that has been on a project vs. someone that has led one.
3) Business leaders need to stop reducing PMs to tracking tasks and making status charts. They need to understand Project Management better and allow the PMs to leverage the full skillset and techniques of the discipline. Giv them right level of authority, provide the support across the org they need, etc.
4) PMs need to execute.
Richard,
I think it is faulty reasoning to blame PMI and the PMP for project failure. Can you show me where PMI promotes the PMP as being a project manager capable of delivering on any project? From my experience, a PMP is like a recent college grade, a medical resident, or a 16-year old who just got their license. They have some situational awareness from having participated in projects, have been educated in the fundamentals and share a common language. But they are not prepared to be CEO of a business, an emergency room surgeon, or a cross country truck driver.
The PMP indicates that someone has a basic level of experience on projects, not project managers. It indicates they cared enough about project management to make a career decision to focus on learning the fundamentals and a common language. It most certainly doesn’t indicate that they are prepared to run a major project unsupervised.
The objective is for us to communicate to hiring managers and business executives to hire for experience. The PMP is an excellent baseline for an entry level project manager. PMI provides a nice community for gaining additional knowledge and networking. A more likely common cause of project failure is that organization’s continue to be silo based organizations, with management focused on maintaining the status quo, where change is hard. The problem does not rest with the base level project manager certification.
Hi Dennis,
I think the problem is that PMI is becoming a just-for-profit organization that wouldn’t care less if the person has really the necessary project management experience or not. They rarely (I mean very rarely) audit PMP applications, and they say they do it at random, when they should be checking for red flags in the application (applicant managing projects immediately after graduating, etc…).
The problem is not restricted to PMI though, the problem is that a lot of companies now give a lot of weight to this certification, and quite a few are requiring a PMP certification in order to quality for a job, rather than thoroughly examining the project management skills of the individual.
Quite a few experienced project managers fail at the PMP, and quite a few non-experience pass the exam.
I think PMI need to rethink their strategy in order to maintain their worthiness and the value of the PMP certification.
Note: My opinion does not represent Richard’s opinion.
To speak to the last comment, I actually contacted PMI to ask them about the audits. I wrote a piece titled Judging PMI Unfairly. All PMI would say is “The number of audits have remained consistent over the last few years”. I don’t know if it makes me feel any better but at least the certifications are not be outpacing the audits. But, PMI said the “number” of audits and nothing about the quality or depth of the audits.
I agree with Dennis in his comparison of the PMP to a recent college graduate or medical resident. There is a difference between the skill of passing an exam and the wisdom of managing a project or inspiring people.
When so many interviews start with a keyword search instead of the question about delivering value, I think it’s going to be an uphill battle to convince people that the PMP is a baseline.
If the audit process was more thorough or if PMI was not a “for-profit” organization, perhaps I wouldn’t be leaving this comment. But, that is the reality.
This is a great article. Something that my client and I were talking about just the other day.
A lot of the interview conversation needs to start around the specifics of past projects and success. Details are crucial!
PM Hut,
I have spent significant time over the last five years with PMI leadership and with the volunteers that develop the standards. My experience, without exception, is that PMI is interested in advancing the abilities of Project Manager’s and the value of the PMP that their constituents have earned. This issue, the perception that a PMP is ready to run a major project without supervision, is one that PMI does not endorse.
Can you show me where PMI promotes the PMP as being a project manager capable of delivering on any project?What evidence do you have that PMI doesn’t “care less if the person has really the necessary project management experience or not.” I agree with the premise that hiring managers don’t have a clear understanding of the value of the PMP. I disagree that this dilutes the value of the PMP or that PMI is intentionally acting in a way that leads to failed projects.
Dennis
Dennis Stevens
Hi Dennis,
I personally believe that project management skills are gained by experience, and not by theory, though they may be ironed and enhanced with theory (e.g. PMP).
I think PMI started doing a great job, but then lost focus. The PMBOK and the PMP tests draw a rosy picture of the project manager’s life, and an ideal project management environment. Of course, this rosy picture does not apply to real life. Project managers have to change their mindset to that of PMI’s in order to pass their exam.
When I said that the PMI doesn’t care less about the skills, I meant that PMI is acting like a business, trying to increase paying members as much as they can. Which is fine, but there is no real background check done on these people, even PMI admits that the audit is random, while again, anyone in our profession knows that there are several signs that may represent a red flag and should be investigated. I didn’t say that PMI is intentionally causing project failure (whether directly or indirectly), and I didn’t say that PMI claims that a PMP is capable of managing an project (but again, PMP means Project Manager “Professional”, and this is why hiring managers think that a PMP = Better Project Manager).
Now about advancing project management, PMI knows that the PMBOK describes a pure and rigid waterfall methodology, where all the proper requirements are gathered upfront, which is almost never the case in software projects. Did PMI (as the current leader in the project management world) address this very important problem? Not to my knowledge.
One word.
Amen.
PMI is very interested in figuring out how to update the PMBOK to make it more relevant to the emerging nature of Project Management. They are in the process of staffing teams to do the next release of the Project Management, Program Management, Portfolio Management, and Organizational Project Management Maturity Model Bodies of Knowledge. The are actively exploring Agile methods and have a new Agile Virtual Community where I am involved in the core team. They have had some workshops where they have brought in people from non-traditional project management backgrounds to explore how to meet the needs of their constituents.
Additionally, PMBOK does not describe a pure and rigid waterfall methodology. While some organizational PMO’s use PMBOK to justify waterfall approaches - this is an inaccurate understanding of the PBMOK. Check out http://www.dennisstevens.com/2010/08/22/synergy-between-pmbok-and-agile/ for a discussion of this.
The PMBOK Agile divide is actively being discussed in detail at http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/pmiagile/. You should join in there and participate in the discussion.
Firstly I agree that certifications do not provide or prove that the person who has obtained the cetificate is a great PM - or for that sake a PM..
My point of view is that for some organisations ensuring that the PM is certified is tha same reason for taking on one of the large management consulting companies - it gives management some degree of comfort.
However having gone through pmi, prince2 and scm I must admit that from a commercial aspect as a PM to get qualified for projects this is a basic requirement (at least in Denmark), but at the interviews it is the last thing mentioned - if mentioned at all.
I think that having bodies of knowledge is great and provides som usefulness, but hey - we aer speaking 2010, and it is not until recently that both PMI and APMG have considered the benefits of agile - is that because they can see there are more and more organisations who are looking at the agile principles or are they realiasing a new business opportunity??
Kasper
Interesting post. I’ve been a project manager for over 7 years but never bothered to get my PMP. I’ve worked a project manager in both the construction and IT industries and I do have an MBA as well. I’ve been to a few PMP meetings and to be honest it really seems like “the basics”. I think it’s good for filler but that’s about it.
One of the things that is really turning me off of the PMP is the recertification requirements. Were it a lifetime designation, I’d probably do it, but I don’t want to be caught in always needing to keep current on it. I don’t plan on being a PM forever!
Too many certifications in too many professions are simply money making enterprises for the associations that provide those certifications. Doesn’t mean you might not learn something in the process, but the profit motive of the association terribly cheapens and devalues the certification.
Managing projects for some thirty years has taught me that the single largest responsibility of a PM is “expectation management,” and you don’t learn that in a certification process. Sure, budget and schedule adherance are givens, but if you’re not managing everyone’s expectations correctly throughout, your project WILL fail.
Feel free to send money - that little tidbit might be worth more than all of PMBOK.
Hi Dennis,
I have checked the article and this caught my attention:
From the PMBOK “Because of the potential for change, the project management plan is iterative and goes through progressive elaboration through the project’s life cycle. Progressive elaboration involves continuously improving and detailing a plan as more-detailed and specific information and more accurate estimates become available. Progressive elaboration allows a project management team to manage to a greater level of detail as the project evolves.”
This is great news that PMI now thinks this way, but it’s easier said than done? Where is the process? They’re just stating something that any project manager with even a mild experience knows.
PMI have the resources and the experience to lead the change and create a new process, and not to adopt non-perfect solutions like Agile.
Excellent, Richard!!! More and more people are willing to stand up and tell the Emperor that he is standing there naked!!!
Like you (and a growing number of other professional practitioners) I believe PMI is no longer a legitimate professional organization, but a for profit business, conveniently posing as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit.
Back in January, 2009, I put together a quick preliminary research comparing the major global credentials against the US Professional Engineer (PE) license http://www.pmforum.org/library/papers/2010/PDFs/feb/FP-Giammalvo-PMCertsCompared.pdf and it quantifies what many of us have long believed- both PMI and APM are selling a lie. Both of them are marketing what best can be described as entry level credentials and allowing or encouraging people to believe that these establish oneself as a professional practitioner.
The worst part is, I am not sure who is more at fault- PMI and APM/APMG for allowing/encouraging people to really believe that taking a multiple choice exam is sufficient to establish a person as being a professional anything; us practitioners who bought into this absurdity; or those companies who have spent hundreds of millions of dollars training people to pass the PMP exam hoping it will help them deliver projects faster, better or cheaper.
In short, IMPO, PMI and to a lesser degree, APM and APMG have become nothing more than the AMWAY or Mary Kay Cosmetics of the project management world. A sophisticated pyramid scheme…… Selling the promise of a dream to people eager for what they see to be a shortcut to being a true professional practitioner…
Keep up the good work, Richard and colleagues…. You are not alone in recognizing the emperor is naked…
BR,
Dr. PDG, Jakarta, Indonesia
http://www.build-project-management-competency.com