The Agile PMP

A question came up today concerning how the Project Management Institute’s PMBOK or a PMP certification is relevant to the agile world.  This has been written about and talked about before, but often with the goal of contrasting the two, or demonstrating the value of agile techniques over the tools and techniques PMI provides us.  I’d like to offer my perspective on how PMI — specifically the PMBOK and a PMP — can help:

A Standard Lexicon

One of the great values of the Project Management Body of Knowledge is that is provides a standard lexicon for people who work on projects.  I know exactly what a charter is, or what the difference between a project schedule and a project plan is.  I haven’t yet seen anything in the agile world which provides such a rich source of standardize terms which allow people to communicate with the same basic understanding of what those terms mean.

Many of these terms are perfectly applicable to the agile world: projects still need sponsors, charters, risk management, and so on.

A Bigger Tool Set

One of the advantages I found in completing my PMP is that it exposed me to some parts of project management in which I’d had very little previous access.  For example, while I’d had plenty of experience creating schedules, I’d actually done very little risk management.  While having a PMP doesn’t inherently make one a better project manager, I think I did become a better project manager by getting exposure to different tools and techniques that I may not have come across otherwise.

Another great example is the information the PMBOK provides around cost benefit analysis, team management, et cetera.  These aren’t PMI-only ideas, but they are critical in project management, and they are topics of study on your route to getting your PMP.

A Demonstration of Experience

This is probably a more controversial perspective, so I’ll start by saying that having a PMP doesn’t make anyone a great, or even a competent, project manager.  There are very few, if any, certifications, designations, et cetera, which guarantee competency (I can’t think of any — I’ve met plenty of ignorant Ph.D.s in my life, and a few really bad MDs).  But there are qualifications in place, as well as a fairly difficult test, which at least provide an indication that a person has the experience and education to be a decent project manager.

A Path to Organizational Adoption of Project Management

One of the big weaknesses I see in agile methodologies (well, Scrum anyway) compared to the PMBOK is that it is very focused on software development.  I think this is changing, but it isn’t anywhere close to where PMI is.  The PMBOK provides a guideline for the roles executive, functional managers, project managers, and team members can play in a project.  It provides a path to integrate project management within different organizational structures.  And it speaks to us in business terms that we can understand.

If an organization is already quite mature in its PM methodologies, this may not be much of an advantage.  But for more formal organizations where there has been little to no exposure, I think the PMBOK can help — even for a move to agile.  Which brings me nicely to my last point … .

The PMBOK Doesn’t Preclude Agile

The PMBOK doesn’t tell you how to manage a project.  It’s not a prescription.  It provides standard terminologies, it provides various processes, tools, and techniques, but it does not say ‘manage a project in this way’.  A lot of what it provides makes a good deal of sense (start every project with a kick-off meeting, develop a project budget, et cetera).  Much of what it offers does cater to more traditional waterfall methods, but not all of it … maybe even not most of it.  There’s a good deal of information and many ideas that can easily be applied to agile methodologies.

I have both my CSM and my PMP.  My CSM I got in a two day course with no test to make sure I paid attention (although a test is coming).  My CSM, as well as a consderable amount of self-learning, has given me a new perspective on project management which I never would have got relying only on my PMP/PMI tools.  But from a big picture, I still consider my PMP to be a greater asset.  I’m fairly sure that’s not because of the dozens of hours I put into studying for that hellish three-hour test.  I think.