Demystify the New PMBOK Guide and the PMI Certifications

The PMP certification is still valuable and worth your time in 2023.

Analyst Perspective

The PMP (Project Management Professional) certification is still worth your time.

I often get asked, “Is the PMP worth it?” I then proceed with a question of my own: “If it gets you an interview or a foot in the door or bolsters your salary, would it be worth it?” Typically, the answer is a resounding “YES!”

CIO magazine ranked the PMP as the top project management certification in North America because it demonstrates that you have the specific skills employers seek, dedication to excellence, and the capacity to perform at the highest levels.

Given its popularity and the demand in the marketplace, I strongly believe it is still worth your time and investment. The PMP is a globally recognized certification that has dominated for decades. It is hard to overlook the fact that the Project Management Institute (PMI) has more than 1.2 million PMP certification holders worldwide and is still considered the gold standard for project management.

Yes, it’s worth it. It gets you interviews, a foot in the door, and bolsters your salary. Oh, and it makes you a more complete project manager.

Long Dam, PMP, PMI-ACP, PgMP, PfMP

Executive Summary

Info-Tech Insight

The PMP certification is still valuable and worthy of your time in 2023.

Info-Tech offers various levels of support to best suit your needs

Diagnostics and consistent frameworks are used throughout all four options.

The PMP dominated the market for decades and got over 1 million people certified

Info-Tech Insight

The PMI’s flagship PMP certification numbers have not significantly increased from 2021 to 2022. However, PMP substantially outpaces all competitors with over 1.2 million certified PMPs.

Source: projectmanagement.com

The PMP penetrated over 200 countries

PMP is the global project management gold standard.

• CIO magazine ranked the PMP as the top project management certification because it demonstrates you have the specific skills employers seek, dedication to excellence, and the capacity to perform at the highest levels.
• It delivers real value in the form of professional credibility, deep knowledge, and increased earning potential. Those benefits have staying power.
• The PMP now includes predictive, Agile, and hybrid approaches.
• The PMP demonstrates expertise across the wide array of planning and work management styles.

Source: PMI, “PMP Certification.” PMI, “Why You Should Get the PMP.”

The PMP was valuable in the past specifically because it was the standard

79% of project managers surveyed have the PMP certification out of 30,000 respondents in 40 countries.

The PMP became table stakes for jobs in project management and PMO’s.

Source: PMI’s Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey—Twelfth Edition (2021)

The PMP put itself on a collision course with Agile

• The Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) was introduced in 2012 which initially clashed with the PMP for project management supremacy from the PMI.
• Then the Disciplined Agile (DA) was introduced in 2019, which further compounded the issue and caused even more confusion with both the PMP and the PMI-ACP certification.
• Instead of complementing the PMP, these certifications began to inadvertently compete with it head-to-head.

There is a new PMBOK Guide Seventh Edition in town

The PMI made its most significant changes between 2017 and 2021.

Timeline adapted from Wikipedia, “Project Management Body of Knowledge.”

Roughly every 3-5 years, the PMI has released a new PMBOK version. It’s unclear if there will be an eighth edition.

The market got confused by PMBOK Guide – Seventh Edition

• Die-hard traditional project managers have a hard time grasping why the PMI messed around with the PMBOK Guide. There is sentiment that the PMBOK Guide V7 got diluted.
• Naysayers do not think that the PMBOK Guide V7 hit the mark and found it to be a concession to Agilists.
• The PMBOK Guide V7 was significantly trimmed down by almost two-thirds to 274 pages whereas the PMBOK V6 ballooned to 756 pages!
• Some Agile practitioners found this to be a refreshing, bold move from the PMI. Most, however, ignored or resisted it.

PMBOK Guide – Seventh edition released in 2021

• The PMBOK Guide – Seventh Edition was released in late 2021. It was the most radical change since 1987. For the first time, the PMI went from a process-based standard to a principles-based standard, and the guide went from knowledge areas to project performance domains. This may have diluted the traditional predictive project management practices. However, it was offset by incorporating more iterative, Agile, and hybrid approaches.
• The market is confused and is clearly shifting toward Agile and away from the rigor that is typically associated with the PMI.
• The PMI transitioned most of the process-based standards & ITTO to their new digital PMIStandards+ online platform, which can be found here (access for PMI members only).
• The PMBOK Guide is not the sole basis of the certification exam; however, it can be used as one of several reference resources. Using the exam content outline (ECO) is the way forward, which can be found here.

The Agile certification seems to be the focus for the PMI in the coming years

• The PMI started to get into the Agile game with the introduction of Agile certifications, which is where all the confusion started. Although the PMI-ACP & the DASM have seen a steady uptake recently, it appears to be at the expense of the PMP certification.
• The PMI acquired the Discipline Agile (DA) in late 2019, which expanded their offerings and capabilities for project managers and teams to choose their “way of working.”
• This was an important milestone for the PMI to address the new way of working for Agile practitioners with this offering to provide more options and to better support enterprise agility.

Source: projectmanagement.com as of July 2022

The PMI has lost more certified PMPs than they have gained so far in 2022

PMP – Project Management Professional

It is a concerning trend that their bread and butter, the PMP flagship certification, has largely stalled in 2022. We are unsure if this was attributed to them being displaced by competitors such as the Agile Alliance, their own Agile offerings, or the market’s lackluster reaction to PMBOK Guide – Seventh Edition.

Source: projectmanagement.com as of July 2022

The PMI’s total memberships have stalled since September 2021

The PMI’s membership appears to have a direct correlation to the PMP numbers. As the PMP number stalls, so do the PMI’s memberships.

Source: projectmanagement.com as of July 2022

The PMP and the PMBOK Guide are more focused on project management

• It became evident that other certifications were more tightly aligned to program and portfolio management for the PMOs. The PMI provides the following:
  • Program Management Professional (PgMP)
  • Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP)
• Axelos also has certifications for program management and portfolio management, such as:
  • Managing Successful Programmes (MSP)
  • Management of Portfolios (MoP)
  • Portfolio, Programme, and Project Offices (P3O)

The market didn’t know what to do with the PgMP or the PfMP

These were relatively unknown certifications for Program and Portfolio Management.

• The PMI’s story was that you would start as a project manager with the PMP certification and then the natural progression would be toward either Program Management (PgMP) or Portfolio Management (PfMP).
• The uptake for the PgMP and the PfMP certification has been insignificant and underwhelming. The appetite and the demand for PMO-aligned certifications has been lackluster since their inception.

Source: projectmanagement.com as of July 2022

There are other non-PMI certifications to consider

Depending on your experience level

Other non-PMI project management certifications

PRINCE2 and CSM appear to be the more popular ones in the market.

In April 2022, CIO.com outlined other popular project management certifications outside of the PMI.

Source: CIO.com

Project managers have an image problem among senior leaders

There is a perception that PMs are just box-checkers and note-takers.

• Project managers are seen as tactical troubleshooters rather than strategic partners. This suggests a widespread lack of understanding of the value and impact of project management at the C-suite level.
• Very few C-suite executives associate project managers with "realizing visions," being "essential," or being "changemakers."
• Strong strategic alignment between the PMO and the C-suite helps to reinforce the value of project management capabilities in achieving wider strategic aims.

Source: PMI, Narrowing The Talent Gap, 2021

Hiring practices have yet to change in response to the PMI’s moves

The PMP is still the standard, even for organizations transitioning to Agile and PMO/portfolio jobs.

• Savvy business leaders are still unsure about how Agile will impact them in the long term.
• According to the Narrowing the Talent Gap report, PMI and PwC’s latest global research indicates that talent strategies haven’t changed much. There’s a widespread lack of focus on developing and retaining existing project managers, and a lack of variety and innovation in attracting and recruiting new talent. The core problem is that there isn’t a business case for investment in talent.

Noteworthy Agile certifications to consider

Source: PMI, “Agile Certifications,” and ScrumAlliance, “Become a Certified ScrumMaster.”

Info-Tech Insight

There is a lot of chatter about which Agile certification is better, and the jury is still out with no consensus. There are pros and cons to both certifications. We believe the PMI-ACP will give you more mileage and flexibility because of its breath of coverage in the Agile practice compared to the CSM.

The talent shortage is a considerable risk to organizations

• According to the PMI’s 2021 Talent Gap report1, the talent gap is likely to impact every region. By 2030, at least 13 million project managers are expected to have retired, creating additional challenges for recruitment. To close the gap, 25 million new project professionals are needed by 2030.
• Young project managers will change the profession. Millennials and Generation Z are bringing fresh perspectives to projects. Learning to work alongside these younger generations isn't optional, as they increasingly dominate the labor force and extend their influence.
• Millennials have already arrived: According to Pew Research2, this group surpassed Gen X in 2016 and is now the largest generation in the US labor force.

1. PMI, Talent Gap, 2021.
2. PM Network, 2019.

Money talks – the PMP is still your best payoff

It is a financially rewarding profession!

The median salary for PMP holders in the US is 25% higher than those without PMP certification.

On a global level, the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification has been shown to bolster salary levels. Holders of the PMP certification report higher median salaries than those without a PMP certification – 16% higher on average across the 40 countries surveyed.

Source: PMI, Earning Power, 2021

Determine which skills and capabilities are needed in the coming years

• A scan of 2022 PM and PMO postings still shows continued dominance of the PMP certification requirement.
• People and relationships have become more important than predicting budgets and timelines.
• The PMI and PwC Global Survey on Transformation and Project Management 2021 identified the top five skills/capabilities for project managers (in order of priority):
  1. Relationship building
  2. Collaborative leadership
  3. Strategic thinking
  4. Creative problem solving
  5. Commercial awareness

Source: PMI, Narrowing The Talent Gap, 2021.

Prepare for product delivery by focusing on top digital-age skills

According to the PMI Megatrends 2022 report, they have identified six areas as the top digital-age skills for product delivery:

1. Innovative mindset
2. Legal and regulatory compliance knowledge
3. Security and privacy knowledge
4. Data science skills
5. Ability to make data-driven decisions
6. Collaborative leadership skills

Many organizations aren’t considering candidates who don’t have project-related qualifications. Indeed, many more are increasing the requirements for their qualifications than those who are reducing it.

Source: PMI, Narrowing The Talent Gap, 2021

Prioritize training and development at the C-suite level

Currently, there is an imbalance with more emphasis of training on tools, processes, techniques, and methodologies rather than business acumen skills, collaboration, and management skills. With the explosion of remote work, training needs to be revamped and, in some cases, redesigned altogether to accommodate remote employees.

Lack of strategic prioritization is evident in how training and development is being done, with organizations largely not embracing a diversity of learning preferences and opportunities.

Source: PMI, Narrowing The Talent Gap, 2021

PM is evolving into a more strategic role

• Ensure program and portfolio management roles are supported by the most appropriate certifications.
• For project managers that have evolved beyond the iron triangle of managing projects, there is applicability to the PgMP and the PfMP for program managers, portfolio managers, and those in charge of PMOs.
• Although these certifications have not been widely adopted due to lack of awareness and engagement at the decision-maker level, they still hold merit and prestige within the project management community.

Project managers are evolving. No longer creatures of scope, schedule, and budget alone, they are now – enabled by new technology – focusing on influencing outcomes, building relationships, and achieving the strategic goals of their organizations.

Source: PMI, Narrowing the Talent Gap, 2021

Overhaul your recruitment practices to align with skills/capabilities

Talent managers will need to retool their toolbox to fill the capability gap and to look beyond where the role is geographically based by embracing flexible staffing models.

They will need to evolve their talent strategies in line with changing business priorities.

Organizations should be actively working to increase the diversity of candidates and upskilling young people in underrepresented communities as a priority.

Most organizations are still relying on traditional approaches to recruit talent. Although we are prioritizing power skills and business acumen, we are still searching in the same, shrinking pool of talent.

Source: PMI, Narrowing the Talent Gap, 2021.

Bibliography

“Agile Certifications for Every Step in Your Career.” PMI. Web.

“Become a Certified ScrumMaster and Help Your Team Thrive.” ScrumAlliance. Web.

“Become a Project Manager.” PMI. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.

Bucero, A. “The Next Evolution: Young Project Managers Will Change the Profession: Here's What Organizations Need to Know.” PM Network, 2019, 33(6), 26–27.

“Certification Framework.” PMI. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.

“Certifications.” PMI. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.

DePrisco, Mike. Global Megatrends 2022. “Foreword.” PMI, 2022. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.

Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey. 12th ed. PMI, 2021. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.

“Global Research From PMI and PwC Reveals Attributes and Strategies of the World’s Leading Project Management Offices.” PMI, 1 Mar. 2022. Press Release. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.

Narrowing the Talent Gap. PMI, 2021. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.

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“Project Management Body of Knowledge.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Aug. 2022.

“Project Portfolio Management Pulse Survey 2021.” PwC. Accessed 30 Aug. 2022.

Talent Gap: Ten-Year Employment Trends, Costs, and Global Implications. PMI. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.

“The Critical Path.” ProjectManagement.com. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.

“True Business Agility Starts Here.” PMI. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.

White, Sarah K. and Sharon Florentine. “Top 15 Project Management Certifications.” CIO.com, 22 Apr. 2022. Web.

“Why You Should Get the PMP.” PMI. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.