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If you are a certified project manager, and - in particular - if you hold a certification from The Project Management Institute (PMI)® then you know that your certification has to be renewed every three years. The process is quite simple:
After you are certified you have to earn a specified number of professional development units (PDUs)
If you are a Project Management Professional (PMP)® the number is 60, and for a PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® it's 30
You'll have to report your PDUs with PMI® and at the end of the three years you pay the renewal fee, which starts the next 3-year cycle for you to earn the next set of PDUs
But... where do you find those PDUs? And how do you find free PDUs?
Well... you have come to the right place because over the last decade, I have published 458 episodes here on The PM Podcast, and most of them qualify for free PMI PDUs.
So here is the recording of a recent live stream where I presented how to earn PDUs from this very podcast. As always, with lots of questions from the audience.
Click above to play either the audio-only episode or video episode in a new window.
If you have a Project Management Institute (PMI)® certification like the Project Management Professional (PMP)®, PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®, or even the Certified Associate in Project management (CAPM)® then your certification is only good for three years. During these three years you have to earn 60 Professional Development Units (PDUs) through training or other approved activities. And once you have those 60 PDUs, then you can renew the certification for another three years. And this cycle of earning PDUs and renewing continues for as long as you want to keep your PMP status.
There are many ways in which you can earn PDUs. Taking a training, reading a book or giving a presentation are just three options you have. So you could simply jump head in first and sign up for whatever training comes across your path. But having a plan and a process for doing this is a much better idea.
And that's what this episode is all about. I'm going to give you a 10-step process that you can follow in order to earn your PDUs with purpose and make your life easier. It's a recording of a live streaming event that I gave a few days ago. It was a very lively event with quite a few questions coming in.
For Project Management Professional (PMP)® renewal from Project Management Institute (PMI)®:
This episode is part of our PDU Spotlight series in which we help you learn more about PDU credits for your certification renewal. The discussion is based on the article "How to Earn PMP® PDUs for The PMI Talent Triangle™" that was published on The PDU Podcast.
Today, we are shining a spotlight on Professional Development Units (PDUs).
More precisely, we are going to review the PMI Talent Triangle™ and how this triangle affects the way that you need to earn your PDUs. And if you are a project manager who holds a certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI)® then you know about PDUs, because you need them for your certification renewal every three years.
And just to be absolutely clear: you need PDUs only after you have passed your exam. If you are still studying for your certification, then you need what PMI® calls Contact Hours.
So our focus right now is on the PDUs that you need after you pass your exam. Also, I know that most of you are certified Project Management Professionals (PMP)® so I’ve chosen my examples to be primarily about PMP PDUs. You need 60 PDUs for PMP renewal for each recertification cycle once you have passed your exam. Most project managers earn a mixture of free PMP PDUs and PDUs they pay for to ensure they meet the requirements and use quality sources for their professional development.
For Project Management Professional (PMP)® renewal from Project Management Institute (PMI)®:
This episode is part of our PDU Spotlight series in which we help you learn more about PDU credits for your certification renewal. The discussion is based on the article "Need 60 PDUs for PMP® Renewal? Read the CCR Handbook First!" that was published on The PDU Podcast.
Today, we are shining a spotlight on Professional Development Units (PDUs).
More precisely, I’m going to give you a relatively short overview of the CCR Handbook, which defines all the policies around PDUs. And if you are a project manager who holds a certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI)® then you know about PDUs, because you need them for your certification renewal every three years.
And just to be absolutely clear: you need PDUs only after you have passed your exam. If you are still studying for your certification, then you need what PMI® calls Contact Hours.
So our focus right now is on the PDUs that you need after you pass your exam, and, because so many of you are Project Management Professional (PMP)® certificate holders, our examples will be primarily about PMP PDUs.
If you already have your PMP certification, then your goal is to earn 60 PDUs during each three-year period. Different certifications have different requirements, and the CCR Handbook explains exactly what you need for every credential.
I often hear from project managers that they are looking for free PMP PDU opportunities. Most project managers use a mix of free and paid PDUs to meet the CCR program requirements, and you'll find plenty of ways to earn both in the CCR Handbook.
John Kleine, Global Manager, Product Strategy & Delivery
The Project Management Institute (PMI)® has made a number of changes to the Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) program in the past 18 months. (Good news: there is still plenty of provision for you to undertake free PMP PDU learning opportunities.) These requirements define the policies and guidelines that certified project managers must follow in order to earn PDUs and renew their certification.
In this interview we speak with John Kleine (LinkedIn Profile) who is the Global Manager, Product Strategy & Delivery, at Project Management Institute. One of John's responsibilities is overseeing the CCR program and any changes made to it.
We begin by discussing the recertification requirements for a Project Management Professional (PMP)® certificate holder and walk you through many of the updated rules. Of course, the interview is also full with good ideas and suggestions on how to earn PDUs. For example, what would you expect are the most frequently used, and the most under-used PDUs earning activities?
As you may already know, in order to succeed at recertification, PMP credential holders need to spend time earning 60 PDUs for PMP renewal. Different certificates have different requirements, but as I know many of you do hold the PMP certificate, our interview highlights that.
The best Project Management Professional (PMP)® exam prep is PMP Training on your mobile device:
Dani Ritter and Cornelius Fichtner
This interview with Dani Ritter was recorded at the 2016 PMI® Global Congress in San Diego, California. Dani is the Manager, Community Engagement at Project Management Institute and her primary focus is the PM community of www.projectmanagement.com.
In the interview we discuss:
Why projectmanagement.com is at the congress
Its mission and relationship to PMI
How much it costs being a member (spoiler alert: it's free!)
The available resources, some of which are free PM templates, white papers, or webinars
How the community can help you if you have a PM related question
The online games (PM Wars and PM Challenge) that it offers
How members can get the most out of the site
How anyone can earn free PDUs by reading articles and attending virtual events
PDU Tip
This interview is 14 minutes 46 seconds long. This means that you can "legally" not claim any PDUs at all, because the minimum is 15 minutes for 0.25 PDUs. However... if you first listen to the interview and then also visit the site and spend at least 14 seconds reviewing all the great templates that they offer, then you can go ahead and claim 0.25 PMP PDUs in the technical category!
Are you using The PM Podcast to earn your PDUs? Then please make sure that you are using the correct PDU tracking logfile:
Download The PM Podcast PDU Logfile (XLSX) and track each episode you listen to. The better you document your learning activities the more you can give evidence to PMI that you have indeed subscribed and listened to The PM Podcast during an audit.
If your PDU records are audited, you will need to provide your logfile to show what you have learned, so it's important to keep your personal records up-to-date in case you are ever asked to produce them. As a Project Management Professional (PMP)® credential holder, for example, you will have to evidence you really have earned 60 PDUs for PMP renewal.
You can use the logfile to record any free PMP PDU learning you have undertaken from our podcasts, as well as any paid programs or podcasts you used as part of your professional development. As it's an Excel spreadsheet, you can edit and amend the file to suit your needs, keeping in mind that it is your primary evidence log for podcast learning.
And for all the details about this, please visit our PDU tutorial and learn How to Earn 60 Free PDUs.
Earning 60 PDUs from The Project Management podcast is extremely simple and takes just four steps:
Install an app on your phone and subscribe to The PM Podcast
Listen to any free or premium episode on a project management topic of your choice
Track and document your learning in our PDU logfile
Claim your PDUs
Please watch the video to get all the details about the process and then visit The PDU FAQ Page to read up on all the details.
And you should definitely download and use The PDU Logfile because tracking each episode you listen to and documenting what you have learned is extremely important, so that you can give evidence to PMI during a PDU claims audit that you have indeed earned these PDUs.
Do you have a PMI® certification like PMP®, PgMP®, PfMP®, PMI-ACP®, PMI-RMP®, PMI-SP® or PMI-PBA®?
If yes, then this interview is extremely important to you because the rules on earning PDUs are changing on December 1st, 2015.
In a nutshell: PMI is introducing the Talent Triangle, which has Technical Project Management, Leadership, as well as Strategic and Business Management on its three sides. Going forward you must earn 60 PDUs every three years including PDUs in each of these three areas.
This interview with Victor Carter-Bey (Director Certifications, PMI) was recorded at the 2015 Global Congress in Orlando Florida. We review the Talent Triangle, the details of what exactly changes with the PDUs including the PMP PDU categories, the timeline of implementation and how to report them going forward.
PM PrepCast, Agile PrepCast, PM Exam Simulator, PDU Podcast, PM Podcast are marks of OSP International LLC.
PMI, PMBOK, PMP, PgMP, PfMP, CAPM, PMI-SP, PMI-RMP, PMI-ACP, and PMI-PBA are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
