Project Management Certifications

Project Management Certifications

Skilled and professional Project Managers are playing a key role in any successful IT project. Project Managers are responsible for taking care of almost every aspect that is related to managing a project. Followings are some key job responsibilities for almost every project manager, regardless of the type and the size of the project:

  • Upgrading the hardware and software as per the requirement of the project
  • Taking care of the rollout of the application
  • Install and configure the required security patches
  • Ensure effective communication during the development phase among the stakeholders of the project
  • Motivate the development team
  • Ensure the quality control of the final deliverables

The demand for certified project managers is going high as they have the required skill and experience to plan, budget, schedule, implement and deliver the development report on the project. It is an excellent opportunity for IT professionals to explore more job opportunities and earn more by being certified project management professionals. A significant number of institutes and organizations are now offering certified courses on project management. A little brief about some such courses are discussed below:

Associate in Project Management

This certification is offered by the Global Association for Quality Management (GAQM). This is one of the globally recognized, well-reputed, widely accepted and vendor-neutral certifications that can help any project management professional to accelerate his or her career growth. In this course, you will learn how to focus on delivering the precise direction, properly allocating the resources, ensuring effective communication, adapting the changes while required, minimizing the risk factors, and assuring the quality of the final deliverables. This ‘Associate in Project Management course is primarily designed for entry-level project managers and therefore, no specific prerequisite is there for you to get enrolled in this course. This certification course is a good fit for those who would like to make a fresh entrance to their career as project management professionals.

BVOP Certified Project Manager

Business Value-Oriented Principles (BVOP) is offering certification courses on Project management, as well. BVOP is comparably new in the industry that is based on agile-framework and also earned reputation, acceptance, and popularity over both the UK and world. This course is not designed for entry-level project managers, rather it could be a great opportunity for senior project managers who already have some working experience working in several project management roles and would like to know more details about different services and modules of project management. In this course, you will get a great opportunity to explore the processes using which you can enhance both communication and product management skills. You will also be able to deal with the details about the product, project, and program management module of project management. No prior experience in project management is required for you to get enrolled in this course. Hence, it is expected that you have the experience of working as a project manager of any organization for at least three or more years.

Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)

This certification course is offered by Project Management Institute (PMI), which is a globally accepted and well-reputed certification for project management professionals. The target audience of this certification course is generic and therefore, no particular prerequisite is there for you to get enrolled in this course. It would be better if you at least have a high school diploma and/or associate degree including the experience of working as a project manager for at least 1500 hours or more.

Certified Project Director

Global Association for Quality Management (GAQM) is offering this high-level certification on project management. This is not an entry-level course and this course is designed primarily for the experienced project managers who are in charge of multiple and complicated programs and projects. Here, you will learn the process of evaluating and resolving the risk factors to ensure the successful delivery of the project. According to the GAQM’s CBK (Common Body of Knowledge), you must be familiar with the methodologies and the principles of project management and to pass the exam and earn the certification.

Certified Project Management Practitioner (CPMP)

After the 11th of September 2011, the EC-Council was formed to address the information security issue and deal with cyberterrorism at a large scale. The Certified Project Management Practitioner (CPMP) course is designed and offered by EC-Council. This is not an entry-level course either and is primarily designed for project managers who would like to enhance their skills through hands-on experience. Here, you will learn about the different tools and techniques required to manage and wrap up large and complicated projects. The subject matter of this course focuses mostly on the technical, leadership, and managerial skills, required for the successful completion of any project. Officially, no prerequisite is mentioned for you to get enrolled in this course. Hence, you have the option to attend a preparation course before getting enrolled in the core course to get a comprehensive overview of the subject matter of this course.

Certified Project Manager (CPM)

A globally recognized and well-reputed international body named International Association for Project Management (IAPM) for certification and professional association is offering this Certified Project Manager (CPM) course. The certification courses offered by IAPM are categorized into four levels, which again are divided into two disciplines. These two disciplines are:

Agile Project Management. Certified project management courses offered under this category are:

  1. Certified Junior Agile Project Manager
  2. Certified Agile Project Manager
  3. Senior Agile Project Manager, and
  4. Certified International Project Manager

Traditional Project Management. The courses under this discipline are:

  1. Certified junior project Manager
  2. Certified Project Manager
  3. Certified Senior Project Manager, and
  4. Certified International Project Manager

IAPM’s certified project management courses are ideal for candidates who already have the fundamental knowledge of project management including the basics of implementing, planning, and organizing various modules of a project.

No specific prerequisite is there to get enrolled in this course. Still, you may join a workshop, offered by IAPM where you can self-assess your level of knowledge and experience in project management.

Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)

This certification validates your ability to implement and follow the Agile methodologies while managing a project. You better not get confused by the name of this certification as there is a completely different certification available, exactly with the same name and also offered by Scrum Alliance. In this project, you will learn about the process of adopting both the Agile methodologies and Scrum in the case of project management. This certification course promotes learning events and provides required resources for professional development. Like many such other certification courses, there is no prerequisite for this course, as well. Though it is recommended that you are familiar with the Scrum and Agile methodologies and you may join a two-day training course on CSM, as well.

CompTIA Project+

CompTIA offers an entry-level certification course on project management, known as ‘CompTIA Project+’. This certification is well-reputed and globally accepted by private organizations, government agencies, and even by Academic and/or Research institutes. No specific prerequisite is there for this course. It is ideal if you have the experience of working with small to mid-sized projects.

Master Project Management (MPM)

This Master Project Management (MPM) course is offered by the American Academy for Project Management (AAPM). In this course, the AAPM focuses primarily on enhancing the capacity of the project managers who are responsible for managing both technical and business projects. This is not an entry-level course and therefore, you must have the experience of working as a project manager for at least three or more years. You might have the chance to avail of the requirement waiver if you already have a master’s degree and/or similar training experience.

PRINCE2 Foundation / PRINCE2 Practitioner

PRINCE2 (Proces in Controlled Environment) is one of the most well-reputed and accepted certifications for project management professionals over the United Kingdom, the United States, and across the world, as well. The primary focus of PRINCE2 certifications is on managing, delivering, and directing the processes that are required for preparing the pre-project phase, initiating the project, optimizing the development phase, and ensuring the quality of the deliverables.

For project management certification, PRINCE2 offers 2 fundamental qualifications and those are:

  • PRINCE2 Foundation, and
  • PRINCE2 Practitioner

PRINCE2 Foundation certification course could be considered as a good fit for you if you are looking forward to an entry-level certification that covers the fundamental aspects of project management. On the other hand, you may choose to go for PRINCE2 Practitioner certification if you would like to earn an advanced level of project management certification. This is a good option for those who already have earned a PRINCE2 Foundation certificate. There is no prerequisite for the PRINCE2 Foundation course. For PRINCE2 practitioner, you are required to have at least one or more of the following course:

  • PRINCE2 Foundation
  • IPMA (International Project Management Association) certification
  • Project Management Professional Certification
  • CAPM certification

Professional in Project Management (PPM)

This is a mid-level recognition for project management professionals and the Professional in Project Management (PPM) certification course is offered by Global Association for Quality Management (GAQM). This certification course covers a wide range of knowledge areas of project management that covers the proper allocation of resources, ability to incorporate any change in the process, ensuring clear instruction during the development phase, optimizing the quality of the communication among the stakeholders, mitigating the risk factors and assuring a quality deliverable. This is not an entry-level course and designed for project managers who already have some working experience on different projects, in terms of size and type. Two primary focuses of this Professional in Project Management (PPM) are:

  • Minimizing the risk factors and managing any crisis
  • Making you more familiar with day-to-day processes of project management

Project Management in IT Security (PMITS)

The EC-Council offers the course named Project Management in IT Security (PMITS). In this course, you will find and figure out the complexities of working on an IT Security Project. This certification will help you to enhance your existing skills in managing any project. Here, you will also learn about the process to meet any exceptional requirement of the project. The subject matter of this course will help you to implement and manage the IT Security of the organization, as well.

This is not an entry-level course, hence, you need to meet some requirements before getting enrolled in this course:

  • You must have the experience of working in Information Security for at least two hours or more.
  • You must also have a strong educational background (bachelor’s degree or higher).
  • It is ideal if you can attend a training program offered by EC Council to get prepared before the exam.

Project Management Professional (PMP)

Project Management Professional (PMP)) is another certified course on project management that covers almost everything you need to prove your skills and knowledge on project management considering three constraints, which are:

  • Scopes of the development process
  • Required time to complete the project and meet the deadline
  • The expense of the project

This is not an entry-level certification on project management and there are some requirements to get enrolled in this course, which are mentioned below:

  • You must have a four-year secondary degree
  • You must also have the experience of working as a project manager for at least 4,500 hours or more.
  • You must complete at least 35 hours of project management or a high school diploma instead
  • It is ideal if you have the experience of working as a project manager with at least 7,500 hours of leading and directing projects, but not mandatory

Job opportunities for Project Management Certified Professionals:

Project management certified professionals have a wide range of options to select their preferred job. Followings are a list of some such most demanding jobs for Project Management Professionals:

  • Project Manager
  • IT Support Project Manager
  • Senior Project Manager
  • Project Manager – Information System
  • IT Project Manager (Level – II)
  • Consulting Project Manager
  • Assistant Project Manager
  • Technology Support Project Manager
  • Remote Software Project Manager
  • Technical Project Manager
  • Cloud Implementations Project Manager
  • BI (Business Intelligence) Project Manager