How do I prove project hours for PMP?

How do I prove project hours for PMP?

Learning Mudra, Category - PMP

PMP Certification is not just about learning theoretical and practical concepts of project management, it is about getting first-hand experience in the project management processes, i.e., initiating, planning, execution, monitoring & controlling and closing phases of a project. PMI, Project Management Institute, has described a special eligibility criteria for the PMP Certification so that only those who have the potential for gaining more knowledge about project management can qualify to take PMP exam. You are required to have the base of knowledge important from the perspective of adding value to it.

The eligibility criteria is classified into 2 areas: first is project management education and the second is project management experience. You should at least fulfil the minimum requirement of both the categories before applying for PMP Certification. The education category does not only include your academic experience but there is a separate requirement that the candidate must have undergone at least 35 hours of PMP training which ensures that the candidate has basic knowledge about project management terminologies, processes, hands on experience, etc. relevant for the PMP exam.

Now let’s talk about PMP project management work experience. As you know that you are supposed to have a minimum of 4500 hours or 7500 hours (depending on your educational achievement) of work experience of leading projects. PMI has made it clear that leading project experience does not mean that you are required be a project manager. If you have worked on a project and you have contributed in all project management phases, in any industry, then you are eligible to apply for PMP Certification. Most important thing is that you must know how to prove your project hours.

Calculate number of hours for each project

Your calculation of number of hours for each project should be based on the 5 domains of project management. If the calculation is done correctly then you can also avoid the risk of random audit. For example, you have worked on 3 projects for different duration of time and you are required to prove your work experience around these 3 projects only. So in the project description for each project mention the number of hours spent on each domain, whichever is applicable, separately. But try to cover all the domains collectively in your overall work experience.

For more information on how you can prove project hours for PMP; get in touch with us at +91-987-123-7360 or email us at info@learningmudra.com

Uncover your hidden project hours

You might have worked for hundreds or thousands hours on various projects but the main challenge is to identify all of them. You may overlook a part of your experience hours because of the difference in terminologies. It might be possible that you have spent some time in working for an activity that is related to project management but that is out of scope of your role, due to confusion you exclude it while entering your work experience. Thus, proper information gathering and identification of type of work and work hours spent on each activity is important.
Use the following questions to identify the additional project experience for your PMP application:

• Review your annual performance review: Is there any mentions about special projects,events or programs that you had planned or contributed to?
• Review your current year goals: It is possible that some part of your recently completed work activities that you have completed over the past few months is suitable to claim asproject experience hours requirement.
• Volunteer activities. Check if you have recently organized a fundraising program or event. Or have helped in setting up a website for your favourite non-profit? These activities may be just what you need to complete your experience hours for your PMP application.
• Go through your “extra responsibilities apart from the regular work responsibilities” Few professionals work on above and beyond their regular responsibilities. For them project work is “something extra” that they work for. Scan your email archives to see for which all projects you have contributed for over the past 12-18 months.
• Ask your colleagues to help you brainstorm. When you’re busy with loads of work, you might sometimes miss out on some of your accomplishments. You may not completely remember allof yours value contributions to the organization. Seeking the input and advice of your colleagues or supervisor is a good way to identify your additional project experience hours.

What to do if you lack few project hours?

There is a possibility that after complete calculation you find out that you still need few hours to fulfil the PMP Certification criteria. Don’t get disheartened. You may take your time to reach the target of your required work experience. When you calculate the number of working hours in a year you will realise that on an average an employee works for 2000 hours per year. So now when you know that from how much number of working hours you are behind you can calculate time required and then plan accordingly to apply for PMP Certification.

To brief up, you must consider the 5 domain areas of project management while calculating your number of working hours and also find out any hidden contribution that you have done related to project management. You can do this by answering the questions mentioned above and complete your project hours requirement. If you lack a certain number of project hours then take your time to complete them and then go ahead with the PMP Application process.