The PMI Talent Triangle
The world of project management has grown tremendously. The Project Management Institute (PMI) recognizes that technical skills that were once conceived as core to project and program management alone are insufficient in today’s complex and competitive global market place. Companies are expecting project managers to have baseline technical PM skills, and competencies in leadership and business acumen that will support the company’s longer-range strategic objectives and directly contribute to the bottom line.
To facilitate growing these critical competencies in project and program managers, PMI has developed the PMI Talent Triangle. The new Triangle requires that continuing professional development units (PDUs) be earned in three areas: Technical Project Management, Strategic and Business Management, and Leadership.
This FAQ focuses on some of the basic questions that prospective and existing PMI’s credential holders may have about the process of earning PDUs.
According to PMI, these three areas are defined as follows:
| Talent Area | Explanation |
| Technical Project Management | Knowledge, skills and behaviors related to specific domains of Project, Program and Portfolio Management |
| Leadership | Knowledge, skills and behaviors specific to leadership-oriented skills that help an organization achieve its business goals |
| Business and Strategic Management | Knowledge of and expertise in the industry or organization that enhances performance and better delivers business outcomes |
The total number of PDUs to be earned for maintaining the certifications has not changed. However, PMI recommends two ways to earn these PDUs. These are earned both through Education and through “Giving Back”. Please note the emphasis on AND.
The education requirements focus on the three areas of the Talent Triangle. Given below are a few specifics on the breakdown for certification holders to meet the education requirements and visually represented in Figure 1.
Figure 1: PDUs to be Earned under Education Category
- For those already having PMI credentials like PMP, PgMP, PfMP, and PMI-PBA, the number of PDUs required is still 60 with a maximum of 35 PDUs to be earned through education. Out of the 35 PDUs, a minimum of eight (8) PDUs must be earned in each of the three categories of technical project management, strategic and business management, and leadership making up 24 PDUs. The remaining 11 PDUs can be made up from any of the categories PMI Talent Triangle.
- For those that have PMI-ACP, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP, the number of PDUs required is still 30 with a maximum of 18 PDUs to be earned through education. Out of the 18 PDUs, four (4) PDUs must be earned in each of the three categories of technical project management, strategic and business management, and leadership making up 12 PDUs. The remaining 6 PDUs can be made up from any of the PMI Talent Triangle.
“Giving Back” focuses on three types of activities. These activities include volunteering, creating a body of knowledge, and working as a professional.
- For the 60-PDU category, the cap on “Giving Back” is 25 PDU per cycle – “working as a professional” is capped at 8 PDUs.
- For the 30-PDU category, the cap on “Giving Back” is 12 PDU per cycle – “working as professional” is capped at 4 PDUs.
FAQ Compilation
To avoid repeating the details that already published, the following is a collection of links to guide your understanding.
http://www.pmi.org/certification/ccr-updates.aspx
- Know the Details
- Video Recording on the new Continuing Certification Requirement (CCR) – Runs 10:35 minutes
- FAQ for Certifications
References
- Pulse of Profession(R) In Depth Report: Talent Management
- Aligning talent management with organizational strategy mitigates risk, creates competitive advantage
Compiled by Sriram Rajagopalan and reviewed by Kathleen Langone, Speakers Committee for PMI Mass Bay Chapter