The Program Management Professional Certification (PgMP) credential from the Project Management Institute (PMI) approaches the community of professionals who handle multiple projects so that the organization realizes enhanced benefits.
Program Management operates in high uncertainty and highly uncertain environments, and hence, the program managers require specialized skills to succeed in their programs. They must direct and manage complex activities that may span functions, organizations, cultures, and geographies.
What Are the Prerequisites to Attempt the PgMP Exam?
A PgMP applicant must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- You should have a minimum of four years' experience in Project Management and a bachelor's degree from a high school degree.
- You must also have four years of program management experience if you have a bachelor's degree or seven years of program management experience if you have a high school degree.
- You require to clear the PgMP exam, a multiple-choice exam conducted at a Prometric center. The exam tests the expertise and experience in the field of Program Management.
- Also, it would be best if you cleared a multi-rater assessment. A panel will assess your competency to perform tasks related to Program Management.
- You require to sign the PMIs Professional Code of Ethics.
Powerful Tips for PgMP Program Management Success
Here I will cover some of the tips and tactics that can help prepare for the PgMP certification exam by the Project Management Institute or the PMI.
- Study the Standard of Program Management handbook thoroughly. The Standard of Program Management is the foundation after the certification examination. Therefore, you must read and understand it thoroughly to familiarize yourself with the theories and terminology that will be part of the examination questions.
- As you study PMI's standard for program management, assure that you thoroughly examine the tables and figures included in the handbook. The tables and figures had provided an excellent summary of some key concepts and can be entirely instrumental in helping you learn those concepts.
- It would be best if you also brush up your understanding of PMBoK principles and concepts. They are included in the PMP standards and guides available from the PMI website. Specific ideas, especially those related to earned value calculation, have been identified in the PgMP examination, even though those concepts are not covered in the program management handbook's standard. So, it is a good idea to get an overview of those concepts quickly.
- It would be best to find the time to read the project and program management-related articles on the PMI website. Many PMP and PgMP certified practitioners contribute useful articles on the PMI website. Those articles can help you strengthen the concepts covered in the standard of program management handbook and program management questions available at ProcessExam.com.
- Please get to know all the artifacts, phases, activities, etc. and their definitions and purposes. You may have seen that each of the PgMP performance domains and support processes includes several activities, artifacts, and phases. You must understand all of them clearly and their role in progressing a program toward useful business outcomes.
- You should also ensure that you know the distinctions between various documents, artifacts, and phases. Based on the information included in individual records, some of the documents may appear similar. It is, therefore, essential to understanding the unique purpose of each of the papers and phases. Although some of the documents may be prepared in several stages, they may be developed iteratively or updated regularly throughout the program's steps.
- It would be best to relate the concepts you learn in the Standard of Program Management with your real work experience that you may have obtained to date in projects and programs. This will help you mainly examine as many test questions are based on actual real-life use cases.
- You should also join your local PMI chapter and attend PMP and PgMP related meetings. This will allow you to meet other project management professionals from whom you can learn about their experiences and knowledge.
- It would be best to look to form groups of PMs at workplaces to learn with other Program Managers at work. Such collaboration and learning sessions can help all program managers increase the organization's project and program management maturity.
- Finally, time and cost allowing, you should attend Project and Program Management related conferences and events. These events are accompanied by project and program managers from all industries, and learning from their experiences can be very useful.
I hope these tips were useful. It would be great if you also seemed to register for an online practice exam at ProcessExam.com, where you will also have the opportunity to interact.