India has seen a large spurt in the number of Project Management Professional (PMP)
certification holders. This is of significant pride to Project Management Institute (PMI), the
certification body, which claims that the value of the
project management certification for IT managers has risen sharply. PMI claims that this is due
to the success of tasks undertaken by PMP project management certification holders. For one, PMP
holders are crucial to data centers where the principles of project management are used to launch,
manage and execute projects. Now, how valid is this claim? Let's take a quick examination.
PMI is of the opinion that a data center manager is not only recognized for his skills and
knowledge obtained during the vigorous credentialing process, but also for confirmed dedication to
the profession, as well as his professional development. According to PMI, the
project management certification equips data center professionals to become aware of the
importance of nine knowledge areas and the 42 processes required for project execution.
The demands of a data center job calls for coping with constant changes in priority of projects,
user department demands, technology changes and challenges
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during the project execution, along with
funding and resource constraints. As an example of such challenges, Binu Chacko, the director of
enterprise infrastructure and systems management at Fidelity Investments (and himself a certified
project management professional), outlines data migration as a key challenge facing the data center
team. The migration has to be smooth enough to ensure that users and applications don't come to a
halt. It requires various aspects such as meticulous planning, identifying potential risks,
developing risk mitigating plans, and engaging with all stakeholders.Now, we could argue that there are MBA courses that speak of the same concepts and tools as that of the project management certification. In addition, several successful project managers have not necessarily gone through the project management certification's coursework, and yet handle projects efficiently. To this argument, Palani M, the senior manager for corporate quality at MMSH Holdings Inc, argues that a PMP credential offers assurance that the respective candidate has necessary qualifications and experience (before as well as after certification) to apply the appropriate concepts and tools for project management. Additionally, managers in the data center possess technical expertise, which if supplemented with the project management certification will drive performance levels. These aspects and qualities cannot be provided by the typical MBA curriculum.
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Let's now take a look at the attributes required to become
a PMP certification holder. Before completing the application process and passing the multiple
choice examination, one needs to satisfy either of the following criteria. The first set of
criteria calls for a secondary diploma (high school diploma or global equivalent), five years of
project management experience (with at least 7,500 hours spent leading and directing project
tasks), and 35 hours of project management education. The other option necessitates that applicants
possess a four year degree (bachelors degree or global equivalent), three years of project
management experience (with 4,500 hours spent leading and directing project tasks), and 35 hours of
project management education. PMI further requires that the
project management certification holder keeps his skills and experience up-to-date through the
process of PMP re-certification every three years.
Now, although Chacko rates PMP certification as "good enough" for a data center manager, he
recommends that PMI's Risk Management Professional (RMP) is more suitable for the same job.
However, the merit in acquiringthe
project management certification lies in the fact that PMP certified managers can use the same
terminology, and understand tools used during the project lifecycle.
Nevertheless, acquiring a PMP credential does not necessarily mean the creation of an efficient
project manager. Chacko calls it the gap between "knowing" and "doing". Although the project
management certification is essential for any enterprise distributed project, it is the execution,
which counts.
From a recruiter's point of view, is the project management certification given preference over
other qualifications, when it comes to data center job roles? According to Chacko, the PMP
certification is essential, but not good enough. This is mainly so since candidates need process
knowledge along with the
project management certification, when it comes to the data center.
After hearing out both sides of the argument, we can evaluate PMP certification as a generic
project management credential. But the conflict between ideas of what makes a good project manager
for the data center cannot be solved through the project management certification process alone. It
needs to be judged on the field as well.