The PMP Edge: Quickfire with Uttam Shetty
In a globalized world, a project manager’s job is cut out. Uttam Shetty, PMP, and IT Professional, weighs in with his views on the art of managing projects in the new world, the complexities of global projects and the edge a PMP certification gives you for your next global assignment..
How difficult is project management in a rapidly changing world?
A PM's job is challenging because most of times projects are around driving changes to the status quo. Hence there is always a lot of resistance from people within & outside the organization. For instance a functional manager would not be interested in the delivery of a project in comparison to achieving excellence in his department. These challenges are manageable by building good relations with people within the organization and also follow the processes as suggested by PMI. Even though PMI processes does help you in managing your work very well an overuse of the same would turn out to be very bureaucratic. Hence a Project managers should know the right balance of when to use / talk process and when to use the people network. A PM who can identify the difference between the two can easily negotiate any challenges faced by a PM in delivering projects.
Why should anyone do a PMP? How much of what you learn can you practically use?
PMP certified is a global credential and is definitely rated very high when compared other PM certifications. This helps one to differentiate yourself in the marketplace. This also helps the employer when pitching for client contracts if he has PMP certified in his pool of resources. I think every bit of what I have learnt as a PM has helped me in marketing myself as a package
In a globalized world, how much does PMP help when managing multinational projects?
Most companies are moving towards agile and want to be very responsive to clients demands and traditional/ waterfall method is considered to be a roadblock. On the contrary an agile methodology promotes changes and does not look at scope creep negatively as long it is delivering value for the client.
PMP is generally very good as a practice to manage multinational projects, but with the fast moving trend towards agile and most companies adopting agile methodologies PM practice is no longer just about traditional process driven techniques.
Do clients show preference for choosing PMP certified project managers?
Yes, clients always prefer PMP certified resources.
Does PMP give you a career ROI? How did the certification help you?
I guess this would depend on when in your career you choose to do a PMP certification. In my case it was the right time and it gave me an instant shift and placed me better amongst my contemporaries. The certification gave me more insights into what I was already doing, and helped me to place myself better in the market.
On a scale of 1-5, how difficult is the certification?
If you had to guide someone appearing for the certification, what would you tell him/ her?
It would vary person to person as I have seen resources with no actual PM experience trying to attempt PMP. If a resource has had actual PM practice then it would require a training from one of the institutes and a good reading of PMBOK with some exam practice. Most importantly to retain attention span for 4 hrs on a trot. For a resource with a little or no experience driving projects would need to go through a book oriented towards PMP exam prep which gives a detailed explanation of PM process in very simple plain language with no jargons used. Then once they develop an understanding of process PMBOK becomes sensible and no longer looks like a dry and boring book.
Uttam Shetty, PMP, Project Manager in IBM India Pvt. Ltd., with 10+ years of rich IT experience, that includes over 7 years in Technology Migration and Technology consulting for delivery of Infrastructure projects and over 3 years’ experience in Technical support. Managed and delivered several projects with virtual teams globally, across various technologies and industries. Currently also studying at IIM, Bangalore.