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About this lesson

The CAPM® is a credential for those entering the project management field or participating on project teams. It demonstrates knowledge of the foundations of project management.

Exercise files

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CAPM® Credential
58.7 KB CAPM® Credential - Solution
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Quick reference

CAPM® Credential

The Project Management Institute (PMI) awards several project management credentials.  The Certified Associate in Management Professional (CAPM)® is the entry level credential.

When to use

Project management credentials are used to ensure that individuals have the background and skills needed to be able to perform project management functions.  Many companies include a project management credential as one of the qualifications for a project management position.  If you are seeking career advancement in the field of project management, you should strive to obtain a credential such as CAPM®.

Instructions

There are many different levels of project management credentials and several organizations who serve as credentialing bodies.  However, the CAPM® can only be awarded by the Project Management Institute.  This lesson briefly discusses the credentials that are awarded and managed by the Project Management Institute

  • Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® - this is the entry level project management credential.  It is appropriate for individuals who aspire to manage projects or are a member of a project Core Team. Requirements for obtaining this credential include:
    • Complete a secondary degree or equivalent (high school)
    • Complete 23 contact hours of project management training
    • Complete the CAPM® application
    • Pay the examination fee – this fee varies based upon whether you are a PMI member and other criteria.  It changes periodically, so check to determine the current amount
    • Pass the CAPM® examination
  • Project Management Professional (PMP)® – this is the most widely held credential.  It requires both experience and project management training before an individual can sit for the exam.  The exam also contain more questions than CAPM® and the questions are based more on application rather than basic knowledge.  It is often identified as the credential required for obtaining a project management position.  Requirements for obtaining this credential are found in PMI®'s Project Management Professional (PMP)® Handbook.  
  • Program Management Professional (PgMP)® – this is an advanced level of project management for those who are managing a program which normally consists of several linked or inter-related projects.  Requirements for obtaining and maintaining this credential are found in PMI®’s Program Management Professional (PgMP)® Handbook.
  • Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP)® – this is an advanced level of project management for those who are managing a portfolio of projects which normally consists of many programs and projects that are aligned to achieve a business objective.  Requirements for obtaining and maintaining this credential are found in PMI®’s Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP)® Handbook.
  • PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)® – this is a specialist level of project management certification.  The emphasis is on project scheduling.  Requirements for obtaining and maintaining this credential are found in the PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)® Handbook.   
  • PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)® – this is a specialist level of project management certification.  The emphasis is on project risk management.  Requirements for obtaining and maintaining this credential are found in the PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)® Handbook.   
  • PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® – this is a specialist level of project management certification.  The emphasis is on Agile practices such as SCRUM.  Requirements for obtaining and maintaining this credential are found in the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Handbook.   

The cycle for the CAPM® certification is every five years.  If the individual has not obtained another certification by that time, they can re-take the CAPM® exam and recertify for another five year period.  This recertification exam can be taken after the end of the fourth year in a CAPM® cycle so as to ensure the certification is always valid.

Hints & tips

  • Review the PMII CAPM® Handbook. PMI periodically updates aspects of the program and the handbook will have the most recent information.
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  • 00:04 Hi, this is Ray Sheen.
  • 00:05 Let's talk about project management credentials and
  • 00:09 in particular the Certified Associate in Project Management credential.
  • 00:14 The Certified Associate in Project Management or CAPM,
  • 00:17 is a globally recognized certification.
  • 00:19 To obtain this certification,
  • 00:20 the individual must demonstrate knowledge in project management.
  • 00:24 The CAPM is awarded by the Project Management Institute, which is a global
  • 00:28 association of professionals in the project management community.
  • 00:32 The Project Management Institute awards other credentials in addition to the CAPM.
  • 00:36 One is the Project Management Professional,
  • 00:38 which is the most widely recognized project management credential.
  • 00:42 It demonstrates the individual has both knowledge and
  • 00:44 experience in the field of project management.
  • 00:46 Then there are other two advanced level credentials,
  • 00:50 the Program Management Professional, which is known as the PgMP, and
  • 00:54 the Portfolio Management Professional, the PfMP.
  • 00:57 The PgMP is appropriate for those individuals who are managing a family of
  • 01:02 projects that are integrated in delivering on a common goal.
  • 01:05 The PfMP is for the individual who has oversight over large portfolio programs,
  • 01:10 projects, and
  • 01:11 initiatives that are implementing a strategic business objective.
  • 01:15 And finally, at this time there are for specialized level project management project
  • 01:20 credentials that are rewarded by the PMI.
  • 01:22 These are four individuals who are focused on special projects types or
  • 01:26 activities within the project.
  • 01:28 They demonstrate that the individual is a subject matter expert in these areas.
  • 01:33 The four credentials are a schedule professional, a risk manager professional,
  • 01:37 a professional business analyst, and an Agile practitioner.
  • 01:41 Let's talk about what is needed to be eligible to receive the CAPM credential.
  • 01:45 Always check the Certified Associate in Project Management Handbook before
  • 01:49 starting to apply.
  • 01:50 PMI will periodically change the requirements or application process,
  • 01:54 but the latest requirements are found in the free handbook that can be downloaded
  • 01:59 from the PMI website.
  • 02:00 There's more on that in the exercise for this lesson.
  • 02:03 The requirements start with education.
  • 02:05 There's a minimum education requirement for general schooling and
  • 02:08 then a requirement for project management education courses.
  • 02:11 The minimum education is a secondary school or high school degree.
  • 02:14 In addition, the individual must have gone through at least 23 contact hours of
  • 02:19 project management education.
  • 02:21 The project management education is measured in contact hours, which means
  • 02:25 classroom time, that is specifically focused on project management.
  • 02:30 This can be either face-to-face time or virtual classroom time.
  • 02:34 So the hours required to complete this GoSkills course,
  • 02:37 can be counted toward this requirement.
  • 02:39 The next requirement is to prepare and submit the CAPM application.
  • 02:43 This is not a trivial exercise, you must document the education on the CAPM
  • 02:47 application forms, you can't just send a resume.
  • 02:50 I'll talk about that application in more detail in another lesson.
  • 02:54 Next is to pay the appropriate fees.
  • 02:56 Your fees will vary depending upon your PMI membership status.
  • 03:00 Again, check the handbook for the current fee structure.
  • 03:04 Finally, you must pass the exam, and I'll talk about that in another lesson also.
  • 03:09 Once you have obtained the CAPM credential,
  • 03:12 you need to either upgrade to a higher level of professional credential or
  • 03:16 periodically re-certify to maintain this one.
  • 03:18 The certification cycle for CAPM is every five years.
  • 03:22 At the end of the five years if you haven't upgraded your credential,
  • 03:26 you'll need to recertify for CAPM.
  • 03:28 If you are recertifying, I suggest that you start the process shortly after
  • 03:32 completing your fourth year so that you have time to complete the recertification
  • 03:36 and I'm sure your credential does not expire.
  • 03:39 To recertify, you must retake the exam, do this during your final year.
  • 03:44 Fortunately, the recertification application is a little bit easier,
  • 03:48 you don't need to again document the 23 contact hours of training.
  • 03:52 And of course, you will need to pay the fee and
  • 03:55 pass the test to obtain their credential.
  • 03:58 As you can see obtaining a CAPM credential is not a trivial exercise.

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PMI, PMP, CAPM and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

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