OPM3^® FAQs

About Organizational Project Management

1. What is organizational project management (OPM) maturity?
2. Why is measuring OPM maturity important for my organization?
3. What is OPM3?
4. Why OPM3?
5. How can I learn more about the updates to PMI’s OPM3^® - Second Edition?

OPM3 and my Organization

1. How will OPM3 benefit my organization?
2. How will OPM3 help my organization achieve or impact its strategic direction?
3. How can OPM3 be applied in my organization?
4. How does OPM3 impact strategic planning?
5. How does OPM3 link project success to organizational strategy?
6. How does OPM3 scale to organizations of differing sizes?
7. Where can I get OPM training?

OPM3 Certification

1. What is OPM3 Certification?
2. What is a PMI Certified OPM3 Professional?
3. Where can I find out information about how to become a PMI Certified OPM3 Professional?
4. I want to become a PMI Certified OPM3 Professional. What are the requirements?
5. How can I apply for OPM3 Certification?
6. How long is the OPM3 Certification process?
7. What are the fees associated with certification?

About Organizational Project Management

1. What is organizational project management (OPM) maturity?

   Organizational project management maturity is the ability to efficiently deliver projects while driving your organization’s strategy.

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2. Why is measuring OPM maturity important for my organization?

   Research shows project failure rates have actually increased since 2002. Even more disconcerting, failure rates increase with the size of the project. A staggering 39% of projects with budgets over US $10 million failed.*

   Organizations continue to grow in scope and goals—taking on ever more complicated projects—but they have not necessarily made the same advancement in their project management practices. Many continue to focus on single projects to the detriment of the portfolio as a whole.

   Assessing your organization’s current practices against industry accepted best practices will help you outline areas for organizational improvement.

   *The Standish Group, “CHAOS 2007 REX: A Standish Group Research Exchange.” 2007.

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3. What is OPM3?

   OPM3 is PMI’s Organizational Project Management Maturity Model. OPM3-Second Edition is a global standard developed to provide a way for organizations to better understand their project management capabilities and to measure their maturity, or stage of process development, against best practices. OPM3 focuses on an organization’s project management knowledge, assessment and improvement:

   • Knowledge - Learn about hundreds of project management Best Practices
   • Assessment - Evaluate your current project management capabilities and identify areas in need of improvement.
   • Improvement -your completed assessment to map out the steps needed to achieve your improvement goals.

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4. Why OPM3?

   OPM3 uses your organization’s strategy to lead it towards the right projects for success. Through a comprehensive collection of best practices, OPM3 helps your organization know when to "stay the course" and when to change direction. You will now have the tool you need to keep business moving forward.

   • Bridge the Strategy Gap - Use project management principles and practices to bridge the gap between strategy and individual projects

   • Understand Best Practices - Receive comprehensive knowledge regarding Best Practices within organizational project management.
   • Identify Maturity - Better understand your organization’s current project management capabilities.
   • Plan Improvement Activities - Use your completed OPM3 assessment to help formulate a improvement plan.

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5. How can I learn more about the updates to PMI’s OPM3^® - Second Edition?

   There is a 10 minute video on PMI.org that goes through a detailed presentation (which can be downloaded) about the updated standard.

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OPM3 and my Organization

1. How will OPM3 benefit my organization?

   OPM3 provides:

   A way to advance an organization’s strategic goals by applying project management principles and practices. It bridges the gap between an organization’s strategy and its individual projects.

   • A comprehensive body of knowledge regarding best practices in organizational project management.
   • An understanding of which organizational project management best practices and capabilities an organization has and hasn’t achieved.
   • Guidance on improvement priorities and planning.

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2. How will OPM3 help my organization achieve or impact its strategic direction?

   OPM3 provides a way for organizations to advance their strategic goals by using project, program and portfolio management principles and practices. It is designed to help organizations align diverse aspects of their operations with their overall business strategy.

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3. How can OPM3 be applied in my organization?

   Developed under the stewardship of PMI and built on the experiences of some of the profession's most prolific leaders, OPM3 is intentionally comprehensive. It can be applied to all organizations regardless of their size and current maturity level.

   • Cuts across organizational size and type boundaries
   • Can be applied throughout the world
   • Can be used effectively in virtually any industry

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4. How does OPM3 impact strategic planning?

   OPM3 helps organizations identify capability deficiencies that could lead to a lack of necessary policies and process standards to support the organization’s strategies. It will help those organizations that want to pursue improvements by offering an improvement plan and a path forward.

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5. How does OPM3 link project success to organizational strategy?

   It is a critical challenge for organizations to remain focused on their strategic objectives while adapting to external forces often beyond their control. Projects help organizations efficiently address strategic challenges in today’s rapidly shifting world. Because organizations are goal-directed and constantly undertaking changes to accomplish their strategy, they can use projects to help them advance the many dimensions of a strategic initiative.

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6. How does OPM3 scale to organizations of differing sizes?

   OPM3 was intentionally designed to be comprehensive. OPM3 is scalable for small and large, for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Organizations can focus on the best practices that are most relevant to their needs.

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7. Where can I get OPM training?

   Two courses are available through PMI SeminarsWorld^®:

   1. Where Do Good Projects Come From? PMI’s introduction to OPM - a two-day course that reveals how good projects link project, program and portfolio management to strategy and processes that allow your organization to achieve better performance, better results and a sustainable competitive advantage. Registration for this course is available through SeminarsWorld. Click here for a detailed course description and listing of courses near you. AND
   2. OPM3^® Professional Certification Course - a four-day course that will provide the training and practical experience needed to pass the OPM3 certification exam. Because this course is part of the OPM3 certification process, registration is handled through PMI’s OPM3 Product Management group. Click here for a list of course dates near you.

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OPM3 Certification

1. What is OPM3 Certification?

   The PMI – OPM3 Certification program recognizes that an individual has met PMI’s extensive eligibility requirements in project management, assessing and consulting, and OPM3 practical knowledge, as well as successfully completed the required PMI training course on the use of specifically designed OPM3 software.

   Once certified, an OPM3 Professional is able to utilize PMI’s OPM3 improvement tools to optimize project management execution at any organization.

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2. What is a PMI Certified OPM3 Professional?

   PMI Certified OPM3 Professional is the highest recognition of OPM3 expertise in the field. PMI Certified OPM3 Professional is uniquely able to provide an organization with an objective assessment of their current project management capabilities. Then utilizing their knowledge, the OPM3 Professional is able to assist the organization in developing a strategic plan for improving areas of deficiency.

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3. Where can I find out information about how to become a PMI Certified OPM3 Professional?

   For any questions about how to get certified, the certification process or requirements, please refer to the OPM3® Certification Handbook available for download at PMI.org’s Business Solutions section, Organizational Project Management, under Certification and Training.

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4. I want to become a PMI Certified OPM3 Professional. What are the requirements?

   Details are available in the OPM3^® Certification Handbook, but at a high level, a candidate must fill out the application and demonstrate the following:

   1. Minimum Education and Project Management Experience

      You must be able to demonstrate one of the following to meet the minimum education and project management experience requirements:

      • A PMP^® credential in good standing
      • PgMP^® credential in good standing
      • Bachelor’s degree or global equivalent and three years of project management experience
      • High school diploma or global equivalent and five years of project management experience
   2. Minimum Consulting Experience

      You must also be able to demonstrate one of the following to meet the minimum consulting experience requirements:

      • SEI-SCAMPI A Lead Appraiser certification
      • Minimum of 500 hours (six months) of assessing, auditing, or consulting experience within the last three years with at least:
        • 50 hours in Assessing
        • 50 hours in Auditing
        • 50 hours in Consulting
   3. Minimum OPM3 Knowledge and/or Experience

      Finally, you must be able to demonstrate one of the following to meet the minimum knowledge or experience requirements in OPM3:

      • Conducted one OPM3 self-assessment
      • Completed the OPM3 Professional Certification Course

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5. How can I apply for OPM3 Certification?

   Online application is available on PMI.org’s Business Solutions section, Organizational Maturity, under Certification and Training. Currently the application is available as a PDF that can be submitted online or can be printed and faxed in to (610) 355-1699.

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6. How long is the OPM3 Certification process?

   The certification process can take anywhere from 10 days to one (1) year:
   

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7. What are the fees associated with certification?

   The fees (US Dollars) for certification are broken down and paid for separately:

   Certification Stage	Member	Non-member
   Application	$450 (US)	$450 (US)
   Entrance CBT Exam	$500 (US)	$500 (US)
   Training Course with Final CBT Exam	$3,500 (US)	$3,975 (US)
   Annual software license renewal fee Year 2	$2,500 (US)	$2,500 (US)
   Certification and first-year license	$2,500 (US)	$2,500 (US)
   Annual software license renewal fee Year 3	$2,500 (US)	$2,500 (US)
   Total 3-year investment	$11,950 (US)	$12,425 (US)

   *You can re-take the Entrance and Final exams, should you not pass on the first attempt, at the cost of US$425.

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