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Pros of PMP |
Rebuttal |
Studying and taking the 35 hours training fills in the gaps in knowledge of even very experienced Project Managers.
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PMP study is memorization, not knowledge, wisdom, or skill. |
PMP demonstrates a minimum level of proficiency in traditional Project Management to employers and the project's customers.
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Employers and customers want more than minimums. |
PMP demonstrates that the PM can work under stress.
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The stress of a closed-book test is very different than work stress. The real world is not closed book. |
| PMP is an excellent credential for job hunting, at least to get past the gatekeepers such as external and internal recruiters. |
Most jobs are filled through networking, not what's on the resume. Many recruiters do not understand PMP. |
| Some organizations require PMP for project managers. |
In that case, the employer would provide the time and money for certification. Most job ads that mention PMP say recommended, not required. |
| PMP is much less expensive and time-consuming than obtaining an advanced degree. |
PMP is also less well-recognized and provides less knowledge, skill, and networking than an advanced degree. |
| Working toward PMP establishes a career-long network of other aspiring PMPs around the world. |
The only strong networking in PMP would be a local face-to-face study group or attending an international conference. PMP networking with competitors on a chat group would not be particularly useful in career development. |
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Cons of PMP |
Rebuttal |
PMP is out of date compared to Agile methods such as Scrum.
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The Guide to the PMBoK does not mandate any particular method and the knowledge about having core disciplined areas of study is useful in Agile methods such as Scrum. With Scrum, there's more debate as to whether yit is a real certification, because all it requires is to attend a two day workshop and everyone passes. Scrum is not the panacea as some of the Agile evangelists think. PMBOK is not outdated and not incompatible with methodologies such as Scrum. |
| PMP documents are overkill for the vast majority of projects. |
The Guide to the PMBoK does not prescribe a set of documentation, the document overkill is typically driven be an organization trying to fit every concept in the book into their methods rather than tailoring the concepts down to what they need |
| PMPs are seen as arrogant by some employers and team members. |
PMI discourages the use of the PMP logo in e-mail signatures. |
| PMPs are seen as book-smart rather than street-smart (i.e. they ack common sense and practical knowledge and skill.) |
There are book-smart PMPs, Agile coaches, Six Sigma Black Belts. PMP is not specific to a business or technology domain; a person capable in a domain does not lose street smarts after obtaining a PMP. |
| Guide to PMBOK is a very poor textbook because it lacks examples and questions/problems. |
This is actually a Pro: the book is uncluttered and contains all the information needed to pass the exam. |
| PMBOK uses many abbreviations and acronymns that are not in common use. It also replaces very common terms with others, e.g. replacing Gantt chart with bar chart and never mentioning PERT. |
As an international standard, there are fewer choices when coming to common terms.
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| The test is very stressful for many people and does not take into account disabilities. Other certifications (e.g. Scrum) are training based, not test-based. |
Maybe someone can look into this - is there a method of testing for those with disabilities? (Note from PM PM SIG; yes, many colleges provide accommodation for mobility, visual, hearing, and learning disabilities as do employers. PMI could do the same. disabled PM can be very effective on the job.) |
| The costs are prohibitive for unemployed people. This includes the cost of the Guide ($25 to $50) and the costs to be tested (>$500), retested and to maintain certification. Taking a $1200 class plus test is out of the question. |
One local PMI chapter has an overview course for under $500 (US) and offers scholarships if needed to cover the fees. Using that course, the chapter supports organizing study groups that have proven effective for many candidates - a typical model is a PMBoK chapter a week with the only costs being travel to the corner cafe, library, or available office space and the participant's share of the refreshments for a 2-ish hour session.. |
| Many organizations are providing training and publishing sample questions that are not consistent with PMBOK. People aspiring to PMP status can be misled and lose money. |
No debunking this unfortunate reality, but it is not unique to the PMP. It is best to use multiple sample questions from multiple sources. If the questions can't be verified with content from the Guide to the PMBoK, they may be misleading. |
