CAPM Certification

In the spirit of agile methodology, I constantly iterate over the "features" or aspects of my life and career path. To this end, I have had to ask myself some hard questions over the last few months.

In the spirit of agile methodology, I constantly iterate over the "features" or aspects of my life and career path. While diving back into web development and designing/building my personal blog site and portfolio, I discovered a renewed passion for coding, especially in HTML, CSS and JavaScript using React, GatsbyJS and the JAMstack. I also realized that I had years of management and leadership experience, which could eventually be utilized in a dual project management and developer role.

While at Galvanize in Colorado, and during my internship at Red Pepper Software in Utah, I was exposed to scrum and agile methodology. These skills struck a chord with me and I watched my Project Managers in awe, as they seamlessly traversed the world of client and developer relationships.

As I began applying and interviewing for developer and project management roles, I determined that I needed some more formal training in this area so I sought out the Project Management Institute (PMI).

As I began applying and interviewing for developer and project management roles, I determined that I needed some more formal training in this area so I sought out the Project Management Institute (PMI), which is the global authority on all things project management and producer of PMBOK, aka the Project Management Body of Knowledge. PMI also produces the Certified Associate Project Manager (CAPM) and Professional Project Manager (PMP) certification paths, among many other online course offerings.

I decided to become a member of PMI and invest in the CAPM online course and certification exam. I am here to say that the online course and exam process was a pleasure and a delight. It was a great experience and I'll be coming back for more.

I'm also highly interested in the scrum and agile certifications as well as eventually becoming a PMP, which is a Professional Project Manager. I am sincerely hoping that a future employer will help me with these goals.

I completed the required online prep work for CAPM and passed the examination on my first try with "above target" results. In order to maintain CAPM I will have to complete several Professional Development Units (PDUs). I'm also highly interested in the scrum and agile certifications as well as eventually becoming a PMP, which is a Professional Project Manager. I am sincerely hoping that a future employer will help me with these goals.

While there is definitely a lot of industry jargon to learn, I pressed through it knowing that this information and skills will definitely come in handy in the future. I have enough years experience across multiple industries to know that there is always the way things should be done and the way things are done IRL (in real life). Nonetheless, I will strive to implement the best practices learned and as needed, whenever and however possible.

As a member of PMI, one gets access to the the PMBOK, 6th Edition, which also comes along with an lengthy and thorough appendix regarding agile, iterative, adaptive and hybrid project environments.

As a member of PMI, one gets access to the the PMBOK, 6th Edition, which also comes along with an lengthy and thorough appendix regarding agile, iterative, adaptive and hybrid project environments. Passing the certification exam did not necessarily require a deep dive into this text, but I fully plan to thoroughly read it and immerse myself in the outlined methods and information. It is apparent to me, however, that agile and adaptive environments are not always the best choice for a project. I will not necessarily apply these techniques if during the discovery phase we decide that a "waterfall" continuum is actually the best choice for a project. I have had to come to this conclusion in my own personal life.

The best analogy for this is trying to "do it all." While I prefer to iterate over every "feature" of my life all the time, this can lead to exhaustion, blockers and essentially accomplishing nothing. While not wanting to live my life through a series of "if then" statements, sometimes there need to be periods of focused sprints to get things done.

I am thankful to PMI for the great experience and I highly recommend it to anyone who, like me, is beginning their career in project management. I look forward to the future on this exciting journey!