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All You Need To Know About PDUs Under PMI Talent Triangle™

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Last updated on
22nd May, 2019
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18th Mar, 2019
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All You Need To Know About PDUs Under PMI Talent Triangle™

Earning a PMP® certification is a big step in your professional growth. But that’s not the end of your PMP® certification journey. You need to renew your credentials every three years in order to continue being PMP® certified by meeting the PDU requirements under PMI’s Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR).  

The increasingly competitive and complex global market demands more than technical skills from you. Companies seek added skills in business intelligence and leadership to meet long-term strategic objectives. The PMI Talent Triangle™ involves the ideal skill set and is a combination of technical, leadership, and strategic and business management expertise. You must develop these employer-demanded skills to stay relevant and competitive in the current market scenario.

This blog will discuss how you can maintain the required PDUs under the CCR program by acquiring all the competencies mentioned under the PMI Talent Triangle™.

PMI Talent Triangle™ and PDUs

PMI continuously tries to keep its project management certifications relevant to the industry and organisation needs. And in order to do so, it takes inputs from industry veterans to keep updating the content and pattern of exams. The Project Management Institute (PMI) developed and announced its Talent Triangle™ in the year 2015. PMI clearly declared the areas of competence that a current-day project manager needs to consider.

The combination of skills valued by employers as highlighted by the PMI Talent Triangle™ are technical, leadership, and strategic and business management. This framework plays a pivotal role in your ongoing professional development.

The competencies can be defined as follows:

1. Technical: This competency comprises of knowledge, skills, and behaviours related to the specific domains of program, project, and portfolio management. It involves the technical aspects of performing your job or role.

2. Leadership: This competency comprises of the knowledge, behaviours, and skills involved in the ability to motivate, guide, and direct others to achieve a goal.

3. Strategic and Business Management: This competency comprises of the knowledge and expertise within the organisation which helps you to align your team in a way that enhances performance and ensures better delivery of business outcomes.

You must renew your PMP® certification after a period of every 3 years. Project Management Institute (PMI) simplifies this process by awarding Professional Development Units (PDUs) which you need to claim by continuing education and giving back to the profession.

The Professional Development Units (PDUs) are one-hour blocks of time which you need to claim by learning, teaching others or volunteering. You can maintain your certification status with PMI by accumulating these PDUs over a period of 3 years.

You can claim the PDUs for renewing your credentials in two ways, namely, education and giving back to the profession. The PDUs under these categories are as follows:

CategoryPDUs
Education35
Giving back to the profession25

The activities and courses included under the three components of the PMI Talent Triangle™ are as follows:

TechnicalLeadershipBusiness & Strategic Management
Life Cycle ManagementCoaching & MentoringCustomer relationship & satisfaction
Time, Scope, Risk ManagementProblem SolvingBenefits Realisation
EstimationTeam BuildingLegal & Regulatory compliance
Agile PracticesEmotional IntelligenceStrategic planning & analysis
GovernanceConflict ManagementOperational Functions
Data gathering and modelingBrainstormingBusiness acumen
Earned value managementInfluencingCompetitive analysis
Performance ManagementListeningMarket awareness

Interpersonal skillsBusiness models and structures

There are numerous options available under education and giving back to the profession which allows you to earn the required PDUs to meet the CCR program confirmed by PMI:

CCR Claim CategoryActivity Details
EducationAttend Course or Training (Physical Classroom/online)
EducationOrganisation Meetings (Max 2 PDUs)
EducationOnline or Digital Media
EducationOnline or Digital Media Self-Read - Reading Project Management
EducationInformal learning
Giving BackWork as a Practitioner - Working in your certified role (Max 8 PDUs)
Giving BackCreate content - Creating new knowledge resources
Giving BackGiving presentations
Giving BackShare Knowledge - Mentoring, Teaching, Allying Knowledge
Giving BackVolunteer - At PMI or other not for profit organisation

The educational activities are aligned with the areas under the PMI Talent Triangle™ by spending at least 8 hours of effort or claim 8 PDUs for each one of Technical, leadership, and strategic areas. Do you need more clarification on the PDUs distributed across all the three areas?

The following chart will give you more clarity:

Activities in Giving BackPDUs to maintain your PMP® certification
Create Content - Creating new knowledge resources, giving presentation, and share knowledge25 (Maximum)
Volunteer - At PMI or other not for profit organisation25 (Maximum)
Work as a Practitioner - Working in your certified role8 (Maximum)
Total PDUs for giving back25

Ways to earn PDUs through Education

You can earn PDUs under the CCR program by choosing from numerous opportunities and ways provided by PMI. They are:

1. Course or training: You can earn PDUs by participating in educational training courses, which is a traditional and effective way to continue your learning. Earn 1 PDU by attending 1 hour of course or training and you need to report each course separately.

2. Organisation meetings: PMI chapters and other third parties host professional meetings throughout the year on a local basis. These meetings include educational components and provide you with the opportunity to learn and network. PDUs which you can earn by participating in the organisational meetings are typically limited to 1 to 2.

3. Online or digital media: There are numerous online educational webinars, videos, and other types of digital content which are available online and on demand. Technology allows you to customise your learning and educational opportunities according to your schedule and needs. Every hour of learning is equivalent to 1 PDU.

4. Read: You can stay informed and support your ongoing professional development by reading books, articles, whitepapers, or blogs. Reading is a valuable component of learning and you can find countless reading materials related to PMP® certification. You earn 1 PDU with every hour of learning.

5. Informal learning: Engage yourself in professional discussions with other PMP® professionals and earn PDUs while getting mentored or participating in a “lunch and learn” session with your organisation. 1 hour of learning is equivalent to 1 PDU.

Ways to earn PDUs by giving back to the profession

In order to meet the required PDUs under the CCR program, you need to choose from one of the following ways or opportunities offered by PMI under the category of giving back to the profession:

1. Work as a Practitioner: You can apply your knowledge and skills in a practical setting and use these competencies actively in order to contribute towards sustaining and growing the profession. You can earn a maximum of 8 PDUs which can be claimed per cycle.

2. Create Content: You can create new content by authoring books, blogs or articles, or creating webinars or presentations to share your knowledge and insight with others and contribute to ongoing learning. You can earn 1 PDU by spending 1 hour creating the content.

3. Give a Presentation: There are numerous occasions which would allow you to give a formal presentation to others, and share knowledge that relates to your PMP® certification. You can earn 1 PDU every hour which you spend giving presentation.

4. Share Knowledge: Were you aware that you can gain 1 PDU with every hour which you spend sharing knowledge? You grow the profession and enhance the practices that are essential to your certified role by sharing your skills with others. You will benefit others with your experience and perspective by choosing to mentor, teaching, or applying your subject matter knowledge towards an activity. With every hour that you spend sharing knowledge, you can earn 1 PDU.

5. Volunteer: You can serve as a volunteer on a PMI committee or team and support the institute and the profession in a wide range of roles. You can also volunteer your domain-related services to other non-profit organisations. With each hour of volunteer service, you can earn 1 PDU.

Report your PDUs using CCRS

The most efficient way to record your PDUs is by using the Continuing Certification Requirement System (CCRS). It is your responsibility to record your PDU activities as they occur. In order to maintain your active certification status, you must record PDUs and complete the renewal process before your CCR cycle ends. Your certification will be suspended if you do not earn and record the required PDUs within your CCR cycle.

CCR Process

Do you want to know, how the CCR process works? There are a few key steps that encompass the process of participation in the CCR program. They are:

Step 1Earn a PMI certification
Your CCR cycle begins on the day you pass your PMP® exam and lasts for 3 years.
Step 2Participate in professional development activities
You need to take part in professional development activities in order to earn PDUs.
Step 3Record and report PDUs
You need to submit your PDU claims for your certification through the CCR system (CCRS).
Step 4Fulfill CCR requirements
You need to earn enough PDUs in order to meet the CCR requirements for your certification.
Step 5Complete CCR application and pay renewal fee
You’ll receive information from PMI for renewal and provide payment
Step 6CCR Renewal Complete
You need to follow guidelines in order to continue maintaining your certification.

To wrap it up

As a PMP® certified professional, you must understand that PMI wants to ensure that PMP® exam is an accurate reflection of the knowledge, tasks, and skills that project management professionals actually need to perform on a daily basis. Further, 20 to 25% of the 200 questions are driven from the new outline changes that come into the picture through the PMI Talent Triangle™. It focuses on aligning the exam questions with the latest project management practices in the market.

The Continuing Certification Requirement (CCR) program allows you to maintain your PMP® certification by earning a specific number of PDUs fixed by PMI. You need to fulfill the requirements by undergoing activities and courses under the two categories, namely, education and giving back to the profession. Moreover, you need to align your 35 PDU requirements with the three skill areas under the PMI Talent Triangle™, namely, technical, leadership, and business and strategic management.     

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