Is PgMP Certification Overrated?

The Program Management Professional (PgMP) credential from Project Management Institute (PMI) is the next step after Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification. It addresses the community of professionals who are responsible for the coordinated management of multiple projects that are in alignment with organizational objectives.

PgMP or Program Management is a newer concept - it was disputed by many project management bodies such as PMI, Axelos, etc. on the correct definition of Program Management as recent as 2010. As a PgMP certificate holder, you will be able to promote better integration and coordination of multiple projects for the general benefit of the program.

Enhance Your Program Management PgMP Skills

The Program Management Professional certification targets professionals are managing and administer projects. The exam validates the knowledge and skills of a candidate to lead and direct project teams and deliver results within the limitations of schedule, budget, and resources. The PgMP shows your proven competency in overseeing multiple related projects and their resources to achieve strategic business goals.

A program manager is a strategic project-management professional whose job is to help organize and coordinate the different projects, products, and other strategic initiatives across an organization.

Program Management talks about the benefits of realization and value so that the outputs from various projects can be recognized and aligned to the organization's strategic objectives. Program Management is very much strategic, unlike, say, Project Management which is more tactical and technical.

Programs are Learning-Based methods where you experiment, repeat and improve your outcomes to realize benefits and value in alignment with the organization's strategic objectives. At the same time, Project Management is a performance-based method concentrated on performing a specific purpose and delivering outputs as planned.

Programs have components like projects and Operations. Therefore, the program manager manages projects and acts as a sponsor for the projects. The program manager gives the necessary direction to the projects and enables the proper outcomes for the organization. Program Management requires a more mature business savvy professional to manage programs and accumulate the benefits for the organizations.

PgMP helps to mold the professional to achieve the required skill sets and the tools and techniques to manage the programs. Programs are a relatively newer concept in the organization, and it helps to leverage the standard best practices to implement programs.

Now the Question Arises Is PgMP Overrated?

Generally, Project Management Professionals (PMP) certification is a globally renowned accreditation, and the number of PMP Certified aspirants is increasing exponentially. Whereas the PgMP can still be considered at the initial growth stage where more people are either not entirely clean behind the idea of PgMP or are unable to understand its requirement.

PgMP's purpose is to provide a broader mindset for all professionals and help them to work by opting for various pathways at a time, as well as aid them in gaining competency over Project managers.

The program manager is more concentrating on whether they can realize the benefits the program will deliver to the organization okay. Hence, they are more business-savvy and understand what value this program will achieve, improving the organization's strategy. A Program Manager thus can be considered a very farsighted professional reached to a Project Manager.

The Program Manager is typical of higher in the hierarchy as he does not have authority like a project manager to achieve the objective, and that is the challenge he needs to play with his soft skills, interact and engage with different people to get his things done.

A Program Manager is more of a delegate and influences people to work towards the outcome of creating value for the program. Hence, a project leader is more technical than a program manager who is more business savvy and understands the business in much bigger depth than a Project Manager.

A Project Manager is said to be more reliable when delivering at all costs. In contrast, a program manager is more flexible about how differences can be accommodated to achieve the best value for the organization's and the business's strategies.

Concluding Words

With the Advent of the speed of the Project industry, various tasks, teams, agencies, etc., must be handled from across the geography. This has increased the demand for PgMP aspirants as they always perform, holding in mind the big picture.

PgMP cannot ever be deemed underrated. It clearly states that the PMI PgMP Certification holds a hierarchically better output when multiple teams or projects are considered.