Should a Project Manager have a Credential?

There is something weird (and unique) about the profession of project management and its view of credentials.

Often on LinkedIn you will see an opinion or post expressing doubt about the usefulness of credentials and qualifications, and quite loudly proclaiming that experience is the only thing that matters.

What’s weird is that I’ve never seen the same attitude from accountants, engineers, dentists, lawyers, plumbers, or builders. Those
professions take it for granted that experience is best, but should be built on credentials and qualifications.

When I’m looking to recruit or appoint a project manager I always look at their experience AND their credentials/qualifications. Their credentials tell me a lot about their breadth of knowledge and can sometimes indicate levels of competence (and also their commitment to professional development).

The answer is, and always has been, that a project manager needs both experience AND credentials just like any other profession or trade. You wouldn’t use (or trust) an accountant or engineer that said their experience was all that mattered and they didn’t need credentials. Heck, you wouldn’t employ a plumber who said the same.

And for all those project managers out there without credentials and qualifications wondering if I’m dismissing your years of experience, I’m not because experience rules. But, generally speaking, you would be better project manager with some credentials and qualifications.

Now in terms of what credentials are best, well that depends on the type and complexity of your projects, the industry you are in, and obviously the credential itself – they aren’t all created equal. For me, anything that comes from a reputable professional organisation (PMI, IPMA, or APM) means the credential has been through a rigourous process in development, and also aligns with internal and external standards (eg ISO17024). Any tertiary level qualification (e.g Bachelors, Masters, or PhD in project management) from a reputable university is also a good one as I know there was academic teaching and assessment. When it comes to the commercial methodology credentials (eg Prince2, Scrum) they’re great as an indicator someone can attend a 3-5 training course and has at a minimum knowledge of a particular approach (I would have to learn more about their experience to know how well they can apply it).

So, you should always value experience without a doubt. But you need to place equal value on credentials and qualifications (and become familiar with what each one represents).

And yes, it is long overdue that the profession of project management actually becomes a regulated profession with definitions of who can call themselves a project manager. If we are entrusting complex initiatives into the hands of people and hoping for successful delivery then it’s about time we defined the expectations in terms of experience and credentials that we have of those people.