Project Management Institute

File:PMI-logo.jpg

PMI logo.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) is a global member association and advocacy organization for the project management profession.

Certification

PMI offers five professional certifications:

Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM^®)
PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)^SM
PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)^SM
Program Management Professional (PgMP^®)
Project Management Professional (PMP^®)

Nearly 260,000 people hold the PMP certification. In 2007, it earned the ISO/IEC 17024 accreditation from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Credential holders do not have to be members of PMI.

To maintain most PMI credentials, holders must earn Professional Development Units (PDUs) which can be earned a variety of ways such as taking classes, attending PMI global congresses, contributing to professional research or writing and publishing papers on the subject.

Standards

PMI has been recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a accredited standards developer.

Currently, they have more than 10 standards including The Standard for Program Management, The Standard for Portfolio Management, the Practice Standard for Earned Value Management and the Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3^®). The standards are targeted at projects, programs, people, organizations and the profession.

According to PMI, standards are developed with the help of volunteers in a three step process including an exposure draft process that allows the public to view the standard draft and include change suggestions.

Overview & Membership

PMI was founded by a group of five volunteers in 1969. Currently, the organization has 260,000 members in more than 171 countries. As of January 2008, 70 percent of the membership lived in North America.

To serve its members and the profession, PMI has created industry standards, such as A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), which has been recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). PMI also issues several professional certifications, produces industry and research publications, offers involvement in local chapters and holds four conferences, called “global congresses” around the world each year.

PMI also has representative offices in Washington, D.C., and Beijing, China, as well as Regional Service Centres in Singapore, Brussels, Belgium and New Delhi, India.

Not For Profit Status

The PMI is self-described as a "not-for-profit" organization. It has been widely questioned if the PMI was established and is currently maintained for the betterment of the Project Management discipline or for profit. PMI attaches fees to various activities related to acquiring and maintaining the PMP certification (e.g. membership fees, certification fees, materials revenue, class fees, etc.) however there does not seem to be any corresponding monetary outlays related to same. As hinted at above, even the instructors for various classes are volunteers who are paid in the form of PDU's. This free labor allow the PMI to enjoy significant and continuing streams of income with minimal expenses.

Operational Goals

It has been argued that if the PMI does exist for the betterment of the Project Management discipline, it would make its materials (namely, the Project Management Body of Knowledge -- or PMBOK) available free of charge. Instead, it is copyrighted and fees are charged to obtain it (whether directly or indirectly through joining as a paying member of the PMI).

To generate even more demand for the certification, the PMI is pushing an initiative to the professional sector: all project managers should be PMP certified. As firms adopt this 'ideal', they are pushing current and prospective employees to get the accreditation.

See also

• Master of Project Management

External links

• PMI official website