Are you planning out your professional development activities for the year ahead? PMI members receive discounts on:
- PMI global congresses and regional events
- SeminarsWorld® events
- eSeminarsWorldSM courses
- Publications in PMI’s Marketplace
- PMI® Publication Quizzes
- Credential fees and credential maintenance fees
Let PMI help you build your project management skill set and advance your career. Need to renew your PMI membership? Click here.
The Changing Roles of PMOs
In a recent PMP Passport reader survey, respondents asked for more coverage on the project management office (PMO).
PMI’s membership newsletter, the Community Post, ran a series on PMOs starting with the article titled The Changing Role of the PMO which discusses how PMOs are becoming a more strategic partner with the organization.
PMI Chapters Help You Develop Soft Skills
You have mastered the Work Breakdown Structure, making a communication plan and handling change requests, but you still feel shy about speaking to large crowds or addressing project sponsors and stakeholders in mass. Luckily, there are ways to develop this soft skill.
One unique way for personal development is the world’s first Toast Master Club, sponsored by a PMI chapter. The PMI Washington, DC Chapter holds Toast Master meetings three times a month to help the club’s 47 members improve their acumen in speaking and organization and interpersonal skills.
“[The club] strives to develop and enhance every member’s skills in a very personal way … it fosters a positive and encouraging environment to help each of us improve no matter what speaking level we are at,” says Laura A. Mraz, PMP, an officer of the Toast Master Club for the past two years.
Check out the chapter’s Toast Master Club online for ideas of how to start your own, or visit your local PMI chapter’s website to see what kind of professional development they have for you.
Explore the Likely Future of Project Management and Share Your Vision
Use the time capsule on The Future of Project Management Facebook fan page to make your own prediction about the future of the profession.
Launched in conjunction with the new book, Project Management Circa 2025, the fan page includes ongoing author-initiated discussions about specific topics covered in the book.
The page also includes video interviews with book editors David I. Cleland, PhD, PMI Fellow, and Bopaya Bidanda, PhD, PMI Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Langley, as well as several of the authors.
While you’re on Facebook, be sure to check out the fan page for PMI.
You can also follow PMI on Twitter:
And YouTube:
PMBOK® Guide on AmazonKindle
Now you can take your essential reference material with you. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)—Fourth Edition was recently made available on the Amazon® KindleTM.
Kindle is a portable reading device that is wireless and uses a display technology called electronic paper, designed to produce sharp and natural page views with no glare, even in sunlight. Users can download a book in about one minute anywhere and make notations and bookmark pages among other things.
The PMBOK® Guide—Fourth Edition reflects the collaboration and knowledge of working project managers providing the fundamentals of project management as they apply to a wide range of projects. This global standard gives project managers essential tools to practice project management and deliver organizational results.
The PMBOK® Guide—Fourth Edition is ranked in the top 100 bestsellers in books on Amazon.com, where the Kindle edition is currently available.
How has your PMP credential helped you advance in your career?
We may publish your input in a future issue of PMP Passport.
E-mail the PMP Passport Editor with your response.
This is a correction of how this testimonial originally appeared in the last issue of PMP Passport.
How to Gain Support to Renew or to Obtain Your Next Credential
Are you interested in renewing or earning another PMI credential but your organization does not support professional development endeavors like this?
The June issue of PMP Passport asked readers if they ever had to convince their supervisor (or organization) to support their pursuit of a PMI credential. The following is one respondent’s advice.
“You must convince yourself first that you will not have deceived your boss when you try to convince him/her [to pay for your credential] because you will be doing a good thing.
“You can convince [your boss] that he will actually be investing in the company by investing on the improvement of the staff’s skills.
“When I read a PMP exam preparation book … I was surprised that what I had known as correct for years was actually wrong. You can use this. You can tell your boss that there are many applications in project management, which are known as correct that are actually wrong [in practice]. Those commonly known but wrong practices cause the people and their projects fail …”
Tutku Ozer, PMP, planning manager of developments at HAJ Project Managers in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Fortunately Mr. Ozer's boss encouraged the team to obtain the PMP credential.
The online Certification and Credential FAQs address topics like:
- PDU reporting,
- Credential exams,
- Credential suspension,
- Application audit, and
- PMI’s new standards.
If you have questions that are specific to your individual certification, you can direct them to PMI’s Customer Care.
Are there project management topics, trends or tips you would like to see covered in PMP Passport? Send us your ideas.
