As you may have heard by now, the Project Management Institute (PMI) has changed their PDU requirements as of December 1, 2015. Let’s dig in and see what it means to us!
The change may or may not affect you greatly, so let’s take a look at the changes and understand the impacts to the PMP certification renewal process.
1. You Must Earn 24 PDUs/Hours in the “Talent Triangle”
The PMI has created an entity they are referring to as the “Talent Triangle.” The Triangle is comprised of the following three areas, or legs:
- Technical Project Management
- Leadership
- Strategic and Business Management
At a high level, you must earn 24 of your 60 PDU requirement over three years.
For those 24 hours, you will need to earn 8 PDUs/hours each for each of the three categories in the Talent Triangle.
2. Reduced PDUs/Hours in Other Areas
At the same time, the number of PDUs that you may earn in other areas is now reduced, including PDUs that you can earn for work experience, volunteer service, and self-directed hours.
Bummer, huh?
3. Why Did PMI Make the Change?
The Project Management Organization (PMI) performs a Role Delineation Study (RDS) every few years to analyze changes in the profession and the demands of employers.
The most recent RDS showed that there has been some gap in these skill areas listed in the Talent Triangle. Employers are also demanding more of these skills.
The PMI has deemed these skill areas important enough to require ongoing increased focus and training in these areas.
4. Leadership is the Most Important Skill
In the “PMI’s Pulse of the Profession In-Depth Report: Navigating Complexity,” PMI discussed the Leadership skill, one of the three legs of the Talent Triangle.
In that study, PMI asserted that “75% of organizations rank leadership skills as the most important for successful navigation of complexity in projects.”
Leadership has many aspects. PMI lists the following as the most relevant aspects of leadership:
- Brainstorming
- Coaching and mentoring
- Conflict management
- Emotional intelligence
- Influencing
- Interpersonal skills
- Listening
- Negotiation
- Problem solving
- Team building
These aspects of leadership, defined by the PMI, are topic areas that will fulfill the PDU requirements for the Leadership leg of the PMI Talent Triangle.
What Do You Think?
Do you agree or disagree with what PMI’s changes to promote more focused training in the Talent Triangle? I invite you to please share your perspective on what skills managers will need to be successful in the future.
Thanks for tuning in! Cheers.
Attributions via 12-09-2015 – PMI PDU requirements have changed as of Dec 1
