(PMP®), $109,405, It is the most recognized project management certification available. There are more than 630,000 PMPs worldwide!

Project Management Professional (PMP®) vs. Certified ScrumMaster 

Below is information that I hope you find useful. If not for yourself, maybe you know someone that can?! 

Considering this group has an 'IT' slant, incorporate that concept into a career that may be just what you could really benefit from. Be it IT, Finance, Construction, or any one of the a thousand choices, PM is a great option to look into! Not only a career path, but a way of conducting business in general, be it professional or personal. In actuality, if you are prior service, the methodology is hardwired into your being. An assumption, yes, however..... 

For myself, upon ETS, I went straight into advanced ROTC, did that whole bit, and as I went through the course, I knew for certain, Advanced ROTC was nothing like the real world. Further, the main issue my fellow cadets had to over come was 'project management' skills that were lacking! No, I did not see this in that context at the time, I just figured their light bulb would come on one day. Another thing I'd like to say, is that although the last 25 years of my business world revolved around IT technical training, from basic to advance; EC-Council, Cisco, and amusingly Project Management. I say amusingly because although I identified with the the training, to include the individuals that I coordinated training for, their success short and long term pivoted around the PMP training. Only recently though, did I really grasp this. 

In relation to the many occupational roles out there, the Project Management principles and methodology I have seen applied so many times over the years, is what this is about. Being involved in training as long as I have been, there may be a couple of you thinking that I'm just 'slow'. You know, I agree. Sometimes his happens. If any of you are still reading this, have contemplated PM training, certification, maybe a change, well, I suggest you do yourself a favor and simply read the rest of this....it's just information. 


First, from a recent National and reliable survey: 

1.) Project Management Professional (PMP®), $109,405 The fourth highest paying and the first that is not security related, the PMP certification was created and is administered by the Project Management Institute (PMI®). It is the most recognized project management certification available. There are more than 630,000 PMPs worldwide The PMP certification exam tests five areas relating to the life cycle of a project: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. PMP certification is for running any kind of project, and it is not specialized into sub types, such as manufacturing, construction, or IT. To become certified, individuals must have 35 hours of PM-related training along with 7,500 hours of project management experience (if they have less than a bachelor's degree) or 4,500 hours of project management experience with a bachelor's or higher. PMP certification is another that requires years of planning and effort. 

2.) Certified ScrumMaster, $101,729 Another project management-related certification to make the list this year, Certified ScrumMaster was originally focused on software application development. Today it is often applied to many areas outside development. Scrum is a rugby term; it's a means for restarting a game after a minor rules violation or after the ball is no longer in play (for example, when it goes out of bounds). In project management, Scrum is a process designed to act in a similar manner for projects in which a customer often changes his or her mind during the development process, common in many course-ware, programming, manufacturing, and similar projects. In traditional project management, the request to change something impacts the entire project and must be renegotiated, a time-consuming and potentially expensive way to get the changes incorporated. There is also a single project manager. With Scrum, however, there is not a single project manager. Instead, the team works together to reach the stated goal. The team should be co-located so members may interact frequently, and it should include representatives from all necessary disciplines (for example, in software design, developers, product owners, experts in various areas required by the application, etc.). 

Where PMP tries to identify everything up front and plan for a way to get the project completed, Scrum takes the approach that the requirements will change during the project life cycle and that unexpected issues will arise. Rather than holding up the process, Scrum takes the approach that the problem the application is trying to solve will never be completely defined and understood, so team members must do the best they can with the time and budget available and by quickly adapting to change.      
                                                                                                                                                                                   So where does the ScrumMaster fit in? Also known as a servant-leader, the Scrum Master has two main duties: to protect the team from outside influences that would impede the project (the servant) and to chair the meetings and encourage the team to continually improve (the leader). The Certified ScrumMaster designation was created and is managed by the Scrum Alliance and requires the candidate to attend a class taught by a Certified Scrum Trainer and to pass the associated exam. There are more than 262,000 Certified ScrumMasters. -----------------


Somewhat informative. If you'll read on, I assure you I am not wasting your time. The information below, has to do with PM training, certifications, and a fellow Veteran by the name of Eric Wright. That's Dr. Eric Wright by the way....If you're not prior service, please don't let this affect your thinking...having dealt with a lot of instructors over the years, many of which a little to confident for their own good, and then a lot that were and are excellent instructors. I think the nature of delivery and being able to connect, convey thoughts that are abstract and definitely intangible, yet you grasp the concept as if it were the mouse your hand is probably resting on. I wonder!! I think you'll find him to be someone you would enjoy being taught the principles of PM by and that your retention will be better than you think. This coupled with him and team simplifying the entire process with PMI, and options, etc....  

Thanks! 

V/r, 

Robert Wilson 
President, Military Network 
mil-net@outlook.com 


The Project Management Institute (PMI) promulgates A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and the associated globally popular credential, the Project Management Professional, or PMP.  The first step in obtaining this credential is using the language of project management to translate the Veteran's Military experience onto the PMP application form.  This seems like a daunting step for many Veterans, but Vets2PM can help! PMI advocates that project managers iteratively lead and direct project activities in the ive process groups of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing the project.  The PMP Examination Content Outline (PMPECO) document depicts these project activities clustered in their respective process groups.  As such, we can use this document to complete our PMP application.  It decodes the application for us! 

Click here to view the PMPECO, and read below to see how we'll use it. 

Application Step 1. We only need to make one (or two if you must) indicative statements per process group when we write-up our projects.  This allows us to stay under the 500 character limit when we submit the application on the PMI.org Web Site.  Five sentences or so keeps us concise and economical with our character count.  It also keeps it targeted; we clearly convey what the project was and how we delivered it 2. We want to personalize the statements to us so it's not a cut-and-paste drill.  For example, if we're discussing initiating the project, we can say "collected user requirements and expectations in discussions with the project's X # of key stakeholders".  It's written in your voice and discusses characteristics/facts about your project, and could capture Tasks 2, 3, or 5 from the PMPECO page 5.  See that? 3. Once we've written up the first one, we simply pick different process group statements the second time through.  

So, in initiating our first project above, we talked about user requirements.  Let's talk about Task 6..."I obtained signatures for project approval from the project's sponsor and performing organization to authorize project performance".  This allows us to demonstrate breadth and depth of experience, as we're covering many project activities across our 'project portfolio' of experience we're presenting, and these statements are in language very familiar to PMI, it's from their document!  4. Calculate the aggregate hours you spent leading and directing these activities to quantify your project and calculate how many days, weeks, months, or years each project took.  This is important because we have to present 4,500 hours leading and directing project activities over 36 months within the last 8 years if we have a 4-year degree or above, or 7,500 hours leading and directing project activities over 60 months within the last 8 years if we don't.   As we complete each project write-up, we just subtract the # of hours and months from the respective benchmark.  For example, if we determine the project we've been writing about totals 6 calendar months and 700 hours, and we have a Bachelor's degree, we only need to document enough projects to cover 30 months (36-6) and 3,800 hours. 

5. Capture your project write-ups in either a text document or a spreadsheet.  This is completely dependent on your comfort with computer applications.  The process we recommend is to use a Word document to capture your projects.  Writing them in this manner first allows for easy data entry when completing the PMP online application form. 

Let Vets2PM Help! 

If you'd like a professional review of your first project write-up, complete the form below and hit submit. We'll make any recommended edits and email you back the 'before' and 'after' product.  You can incorporate the lessons you learn into your other write-ups using this 'prototype'.  You basically lather, rinse, and repeat.  

Talk to you soon! 

Project Write-Up Template (Adapted from PMI.org’s online application form) Please email the information as the hyperlink isn't coming through. Will be in touch ASAP! (eric@vets2pm.com)


Name 

First 
Last 
Email 
Project Name 
Initiating Hours 
Planning Hours 
Executing Hours 

Monitoring 
& Controlling Hours 

Closing Hours 

Project Narrative


Eric A. Wright, MPM, PhD, PMP Veteran, USN and CAARNG Co-Founder & CEO, Vets2PM Phone: 1-888-551-4251 ext. 3 Email: eric@vets2pm.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pmdoctor

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