SearchIf you’re like most people I have talked to that have a certification through the Project Management Institute (PMI), you don’t log your Professional Development Units (PDUs) after every applicable user group meeting, training session, or e-learning you complete. Rather, you “collect” proof of attendance sheets, and notes scribbled on post-its until you finally get around to logging into your account on pmi.org. Over the past week or so, I have been catching up on entering PDUs for 2016.
This was my first foray into submitting PDUs since PMI updated Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) at the end of 2015, and I have to say, I welcome these changes. Kudos to PMI for revamping this component of their certification offerings. At the core of the PDU requirement for certifications attained through PMI is a focus on continuous improvement. I view recent changes to the maintenance of PMI certification as a logical next step and a significant improvement on the last iteration of the program. While I think this is a shift in the right direction, there are some things to keep in mind if you had input PDUs under the previous Continuing Certification Requirements:
- The categories that you receive PDUs for have expanded. If you work as a project manager, there are likely activities you complete as part of your job that meet Continuing Certification Requirements. Remember to claim PDUs for activities you may not immediately associate with maintaining that PMP or PMI-ACP certification. Personally, I claim PDUs for writing blogs, coaching meetings with team members, prepping and conducting internal brown bags, prepping and conducting external presentations, attending project management related user group meetings, and reading work related books/articles.
- There are set requirements for claiming PDUs by category for “Education.” This is especially important for those who regularly attend external training. In my case, I found that although I had already claimed 60 PDUs for this cycle, I had not met the minimum requirement for Technical, Leadership, and Strategic/Business education. Be aware of these minimum requirements, and ensure that when you are entering education, you are appropriately dividing those between category to get the most out of each entry.
- The Continuing Certification Requirements System (CCRS) has been updated as well. This new system boasts easy to follow guides for tracking PDUs, centrally located online resources and colorful graphs detailing CCR progress. I have found the online resource especially useful for our PMO at eimagine as there are links to free on demand e-learning courses and e-books for PMI members.
Have you submitted PDUs through the updated CCRS? I would love to hear about your experience!
