Project Success

Last week I wrote about the value of the PMP® Certification. During the week I received an email asking me if there was a survey which showed this value. Obviously one source of information which was not a survey but a series of case studies, was the Value of PM study performed by the University of Athabasca. The web site home for this research project is Value of PM. This early study focused on the overall value and did not focus on the value of PMP certification. The results are more powerful and relevant though since they were achieved through detailed studies and not just surveys.

Back in 2005 I asked myself the same question: how can we show the members of our PMI components the value of the PMP®. I developed a short survey which was mailed to our members, prospective members, and the CEO's of their employers. The response was phenomenal -- while most surveys fail to achieve high response rates, this survey had a 24% overall response rate with 35% of our membership responding.

Among the conclusions of the survey:
- Firms experiencing successful projects use project management work products more often
- Firms experiencing successful projects employ more PMPs.

Visit Project Success Survey to see the results presentation for this survey. I'd welcome any feedback from readers! Please leave a comment or drop me a line at sdcapmp@aol.com.