Overview: PMI’s CCR Program Changes

Thank you so much to everyone for attending our webinar on PMI’s CCR Program Changes. If you missed it or would like to review, check out the recording.

This blog is intended to answer questions that came up in the webinar, as well as provide any needed clarification to comments or questions. The presentation includes new information since the webinar. Specifically, see slides 31, 32, and 35. I hope these are helpful to you!

In addition to reviewing the Q and A below, I have a few recommendations for PMI-certified individuals who are impacted by the CCR updates:

• Follow Watermark’s Certification Brief for updates to anything new we learn about the CCR changes. The information below is as accurate and complete as I have been able to get as of the time of this blog posting. However, be aware that PMI has indicated that “more details will be released as the date gets closer.” I will be tracking things as closely as possible and posting additional information between now and December 1 in our Certification Brief.
• Print your PDU transcript before December 1. It might be helpful as a reference after going to the new system. Plus, PMI has always recommended keeping a transcript handy with supporting documentation for 18 months after the end of a CCR cycle, in the event that you get audited.
• Check out the CCRS preview video (new on PMI’s website since the webinar). This will enable you to see exactly what the new interface will look like and give you a little better sense for what will happen December 1.

So, onto the questions, some of which may have been answered during the webinar.

Q: How is PMI addressing the PDUs that are already earned prior to the new CCR requirement?

A: PDUs earned prior to December 1, 2015, will be handled as follows:

• PDUs earned in the current system under Category A.
  PDUs will be auto-applied to the Talent Triangle as designated by the R.E.P. R.E.P. activities registered with PMI are required to have the Triangle allocations defined effective with the new system December 1. If the education provider doesn’t specify Talent Triangle alignment for an activity by December 1, the PDUs will be categorized as General Education and they will not be able to be aligned to the Talent Triangle.
  Note that all of Watermark’s courses will be aligned appropriately prior to December 1.

• PDUs earned in the current system under Categories B and C.
  Your new transcript will show those activities with PDUs counting as General Education (i.e., not aligned to the Talent Triangle topics). You will then be able to go in after December 1 and retract the claim, align, and then resubmit with appropriate Talent Triangle allocations.

• PDUs earned in the current system under Categories D, E, and F.
  Giving Back PDUs will be applied to the same category in the new system. The new, lower maximum for this category may apply depending on certification date expiration.

Q: What about carry over? I have 22 PDUs I’ve earned under the old rules, but I haven’t reported them under the new rules!

A: If you have PDUs that you have earned but not yet reported, you can report them now or after December 1. Prior to December 1 you will report them per usual. Then on December 1, those PDUs will be allocated as described above. (Personally, I have updated my transcript now even though I may have to retract and resubmit some of my Cat B and C activities after December 1 in order to align them to the Talent Triangle.)

If you are unable to get them reported prior to December 1, you will still be able to enter them after December 1. Education PDUs earned through an R.E.P. will be allocated per the R.E.P.’s designation when you report them. For those Education PDUs not earned through an R.E.P., you will designate the appropriate Triangle allocation at the time you report them using the updated CCR system. Giving Back PDUs will be reported in the Giving Back category.

Q: I need to play by the new rules (my Project Management Professional (PMP)® expires 9/13/2018). I just took the Bulletproof Business Cases class in September. Will I be able to count this class against the Strategic & Bus Mgmt leg of the triangle?

A: Yes, however, because it was a PMI-MN activity, Watermark does not have any control over how that activity will be handled post-December 1. So I would recommend entering it as a Category B activity, and then you can go back in after December 1 and allocate the PDUs to Strategic & Business Management. Or, if you wait until December 1 you will be able to allocate it to the Talent Triangle at the time you enter it.

Q: How do you categorize this training?

A: The reason it is hard to categorize this webinar is that it is not a professional development activity, which is why it does not count as a PDU. I am aware that an announcement went out indicating that it did, and I apologize for that. I inquired with PMI before correcting things on our end in the hopes that I was wrong, but their response only confirmed my understanding: “While the webinar may be of assistance to inform a credential holder of the upcoming changes to the Continuing Certification Requirements Program, this activity would not apply as PDU credit since it does not address project management content.”

So, in short, PDUs have to contribute to professional development; not everything qualifies as such even when offered by a PMI Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.).

Q: If I take the Watermark classes, it would not provide enough Technical Project Management PDUs for the PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)®. If i take other courses outside of Watermark, would the PDUs overlap if the classes were based on the same categories?

A: I think I understand what you’re asking, but now that I read it again I’m not sure. I will say this: If you take multiple classes from different R.E.P.s on the same topic, you can certainly claim the PDUs from the multiple sources even if the topics are the same. So if you take three different classes from three different companies on Planning and Managing Requirements, and each class is worth 8 PDUs in the Technical Skills category, you would earn 24 PDUs total.

Of course, you still have to meet your overall education minimum (45 for the PMI-PBA® certification exam), as well as the minimums in each Triangle category (8 for the PMI-PBA exam).

By the way, Watermark has more than enough classes to help you meet your 45-PDU minimum in Education for your PMI-PBA exam. Feel free to reach out to me or info@watermarklearning.com if you’d like more info, or check out our website at www.watermarklearning.com

Q: So if I take the Watermark class, then I take a class outside Watermark with the same information, both will apply?

A: Yes. People have and will continue to take lots of classes on one topic. What’s changing is that you can no longer claim 60 PDUs in one topic area. In fact, that’s what the CCR updates are trying to address. People need to expand their learning and develop more holistically as professionals. It’s not enough to learn about one topic, or even technical skills in general.

Again, you can earn PDUs from multiple sources on the same topic, but you’ll have to pay attention to the minimums per leg of the Triangle.

Q: If my certification expires after 12/1/17 but I have enough PDUs and recertify prior to 12/01/15, do new minimums apply?

A: If you have enough PDUs, you can get recertified now without having to play by the new rules even if your cert expires after 12/1/17. That is, you can submit your PDUs under the current min/max rules and get recertified now, assuming you have enough PDUs (60 or 30 depending on cert). Of course, you will recertify in your next cycle under the new rules. So I would suggest that if you are in a position to complete your recertification now, go ahead and do that.

I learned this after the webinar and took time to confirm it multiple times because it seems contrary to other information that I have seen. So even though it seems inconsistent with the guidelines as to how and when the rules apply, if you can, go ahead and recertify now.

Q: If you have exceeded the max amount for one cycle can they rollover to the next cycle?

A: There will be no change to the rules around rolling over PDUs from one cycle to the next. Currently, you can roll over up to 20 PDUs (for a 60-PDU cert) or up to 10 PDUs (for a 30-PDU cert) earned in the third year of the recertification cycle into the next recertification cycle. This is not changing.

Q: Are there definitions available for each of the categories in the Talent Triangle? I was looking more for definitions than examples.

A: The definitions as provided by PMI:

• Technical Project Management: Knowledge, skills, and behaviors related to specific domains of Project, Program, and Portfolio Management.
• Leadership: Knowledge, skills, and behaviors specific to leadership-oriented skills that help an organization achieve its business goals.
• Strategic and Business Management: Knowledge of and expertise in the industry or organization that enhances performance and better delivers business outcomes. 

Q: If there are more examples of what falls in each category, that list would be very useful.  

A:  In addition to the examples in the webinar, see below for other educational titles and how they might apply. Note that the image below you can click to expand and is available on the PMI website.

Importantly, bear in mind that PMI can’t dictate how R.E.P.s categorize their courses because only the course developers and instructional designers know the intention of the course materials. So it’s conceivable that a course offered by two different companies with similar or even identical names could apply to the Talent Triangle in dissimilar ways due to the differences in the course content.

When contacting Watermark about classes, we will be able to tell you how each of our courses apply to each leg of the Talent Triangle.

Q: Will the PMI website also change to show the distribution of PDUs within the “Talent Triangle”?

A: Yes, the website will reflect the distribution of PDUs per the Triangle. See the CCRS video mentioned above.

Q: You mentioned that there will be training to support the “Talent Triangle”.  Will PMI or approved vendors describe how the PDU can be applied (Example: I took a course that was worth 8 PDUs. Will it tell me that 3 applied to technical, 3 to leadership, and 2 to strategy?)

A: Absolutely. Watermark (and all R.E.P.s) are required to have their activities aligned by December 1. Furthermore, we should expect to see more and more PDU-earning activities described as to how they apply to the Triangle

If, after December 1, you attend an event that is eligible for PDUs, and the provider (say a non-R.E.P.) hasn’t indicated how it applies to the Talent Triangle, you will be responsible for indicating how it applies when you report it.

Q: I am already certified until 2020 (PDUs have been accepted by PMI). I don’t know if I have to go back and resubmit my PDUs according to the new format.

A: As described above, you will not need to resubmit.

For more information, you can contact Watermark Learning at info@watermarklearning.com or fill out our Contact Us form.

As a quick reference, Watermark has put together an overview of the Talent Triangle and where some of our popular courses line up for earning PDUs. Download a PDF copy here.