PDU Reporting Expert

By Trish Kelley

October 2016

I attended a PMI Portland event and entered the claim number given and it doesn’t seem to be recognized. What do I do?

Try entering the name of the event or title of the presentation of the workshop. For example: the recent PMI Portland workshop “Certified Scaled Agilest Framework” did not appear with the code I had which was 2016061703 but when I entered “Scaled Agile” I was given a number of choices to select from including the 2016061703.

The original number I was given for the event I attended did not give me the PDUs I expected.

Contact the director responsible for the event and the PDU Reporting Expert. For example, the recent PMI Portland workshop “Certified Scaled Agilest Framework” original PDU code did not award technical PDUs for the PMI-ACP. Some of us that had ACP certification contacted the director of workshops and he redid the PDU request process and the second PDU reporting code he published did allocate all the PDUs correctly. This did, however, create some challenges for the people who claimed the PDUs using the original code without the ACP technical PDUs.

I claimed the PDUs using the code that was given for the workshop and I didn’t receive the technical PDUs for my alternate certification.

This may continue to happen occasionally. Please be aware that the director of workshops can only see PDUs allocated for a certification he has. If you experience the technical PDUs not appearing as expected contact the director of workshops and the PDU reporting expert. Please be sure to let us know which certification doesn’t seem correct. When we realize we have left out a certification, in the examples above it is the ACP. The only way to “fix” the PDU allocation is to create a new request for PDUs and get it approved. Then everyone has to use the new PDU code. If you have already claimed the PDUs for that workshop using the original code and you want to redo your claim you can delete the original claim by going into CCRS and selecting claim history on the left navigation panel.

Select the claim you want to review/reverse/delete by clicking on the link (highlighted above)At the very bottom of the page returned you will see “Retract and Edit” and “Delete” buttons.

I believe if you filed with the incorrect number, in this case 2016061701-which did not allow ACP you should delete the claim and re-file with the correct number.

Carefully select the corrected code number and verify that it shows the 4 technical PDUs for ACP as well as PMP then file the claim.

April 2016

I’ve entered the number I was given for a workshop and it isn’t recognized by PMI in CCRS - how come?

The odds are that the number you were given is not correct. Not to despair! Contact the person who gave you the number and we will do our best to research the issue and get it fixed right away. For all of you who took the March workshop and are encountering this issue, we are diligently working with PMI Global and hope to have a resolution soon. We will contact you again as soon as the issues are resolved. We are all learning how to work with the new system and we are experiencing some challenges.

I’m not a PMP, but I’ve taken a workshop and I’m not able to get any PDUs for it – how come?

You are not ever going to be able to enter PDUs in the CCRS system unless you are a current PMI certificate holder. In this case, a gentleman attended a Six Sigma workshop and was unable to claim the PDUs for his ACP because when the workshop was set up it was identified as being for PMP, PgMP, PfMP certificate holders. This is an unfortunate outcome of this increased level of specialization requested. Not only does the workshop director have to obtain the leg or legs of the Talent Triangle the course falls in but they also have to determine which certification the coursework applies to as well. We are verifying at this time if it would apply to Agile and working to get it classified appropriately if it does. If you have a specialized certification such as PMI-RMP, PMI-SP, PMI-ACP and PMI-PBA you must be careful to insure that the PDUs being offered apply to your certification. It is not safe any longer to assume that all workshops or webinars or anything else apply to all certifications.

On the website it indicates the workshop applies to PMP, PMI-ACP, RMP and SP and it is 8 PDUs. Why didn’t all 8 PDUs apply to my RMP, SP and PMI-ACP?

If the workshop PDUs were all Leadership or Business and strategy all the PDUs would apply to all certifications. In Technical workshops however, the apportioning of the PDUs is based on the amount of time spent speaking about the subject that applies to the certification. For example in our 8 hour workshop 4 hours were technical. 1 hour was spent on scheduling, 1 hour on risk management and 1 hour on specific agile techniques. In this case of the 4 technical hours all 4 would apply to the PMP and 1 hour each to ACP, RMP and SP based on the time spent on the subject.

Why won’t CCRS allow me to change the PDU allocation for the workshop I took?

Typically you can only adjust the PDU allocation designated by the provider (i.e the chapter) if you are applying fewer PDUs than the provider indicated. For example, if someone only attended a single day of a 2 day course, they should be able to bring the PDUs down to reflect that. They can’t increase the PDU amount or shift the way they are allocated within the talent triangle.

How do PDUs get allocated between Certifications and within the Talent Triangle?

When the REP (including our chapter) sets up the PDUs with PMI they fill out a form that shows the allocation of the hours between the certifications and within the Talent Triangle. We have struggled a bit with getting a good understanding of this.

What’s the good news?

The PMI Portland Professional Development portfolio is working to resolve the challenges we’ve been experiencing. We are modifying our artifacts that we use to contract with our speakers to obtain the certificates and the talent triangle legs the workshop or presentation belong to so that when we do our outreach to the chapter we can include this information allowing our members to make informed choices knowing what the outcomes will be where PDU reporting is concerned. We are currently putting on the individual workshop page at the bottom of the page (scroll down to the very bottom) the certifications the workshop applies to and the Talent Triangle leg it applies to.

February 2016

Dos and Don’ts for claiming PDUs

Dos

Do claim PDUs shortly after you complete the activity
Do classify your PDUs to the best of your ability
Do split PDUs over multiple categories when appropriate
Do realize that you must have at least 8 PDUs in each category
Do review and take responsibility for your PDUs – delete invalid PDUs
Do know what categories of PDUs you need to complete
Do review the CCR handbook
Do realize that some PDU activities are restricted

Don’ts

Don’t create individual claims for two activities in the same day
Don’t complete only one or two categories of education
Don’t overcomplicate your PDU claims
Don’t hesitate to send questions to the chapter registrar.

Claiming PDUs immediately after the activity helps you to insure you are getting the appropriate PDUs that you need in order to have the correct number in each category. Remember a PDU can be split between multiple categories. We all do our best to understand what category each PDU belongs in:

Technical Project management is the “how to” for project management
Leadership is presentation skills, personal skills
Strategy and Business is enhancing performance and better delivering on business outcomes

For example: the January chapter dinner meeting keynote was about Agile PMOs so I would classify it as .5 technical and .5 strategic. The educational presentation was about Influencing so I would classify it as leadership.

One of the bonuses we get from the CCRS dashboard is a display of earned vs required PDUs in each category. Pay attention to this and make sure you consider it in your decisions on PDU activities. If you have 60 PDUs in leadership, 16 of them will not count. You will need to insure you have at least 8 PDUs in Technical Project Management and 8 in Strategic and Business.

The true expert for all PDUs is available to us via the CCRS pages on the PMI.org website. Make good use of the guides and handbooks and the FAQs.

As always, PDUs from giving back to the profession are restricted. You may put in 100 volunteer hours, you can only claim 25 of them.

Many people have mistakenly attempted to enter two claims for the chapter meeting 1 for the educational presentation and 1 for the keynote. They have discovered that the second claim is rejected and not allowed. The simple solution is to remember to enter both at the same time. If you should find you have done this the easy thing to do is delete the rejected claim and edit the other claim to reflect both PDUs.

I did have someone tell me they got PDUs assigned and approved that they never completed. In that case it is appropriate to delete the PDUs.

One issue that I have seen: I attended the Agile Roundtable on a Wednesday at noon and I attended the PMI Portland Toastmasters club meeting that Wednesday evening. My second PDU registration for the same day was rejected. I chose to claim the agile roundtable and let the toastmasters club meeting go.

I am sending feedback on this to the PMI Global group. I’ll let you know what I hear back.

Please don’t hesitate to email your questions to me. If I’m unable to answer them I’ll contact someone at PMI Global for an answer.

January 2016

Claiming PDUs just got easier!

Effective December 1, 2015 PMI Global made some significant and welcome changes to the Continuing Certificate Requirements System (CCRS). It’s now much easier to:

See the status of your credentials.
File for PDUs without knowing the provider’s component number.
See where you are in your PDU accumulation and where you need to be based on the new talent triangle.

View the Dashboard

Log into PMI.org and go to your dashboard.
As shown below you can easily see how many PDUs are required to complete your renewal. This is displayed by certification, and if you have multiple certifications you can easily see where you stand.
On the top right you can see how long you have until your renewal date.
On the bottom left you can see the breakdown by Education and Giving Back of applied PDUs.
- The education PDUs are broken down by talent triangle categories.
- The minimum for Education PDUs is listed and color coded to make it visible at a glance where you need to obtain more PDUs.
- In the giving back category the maximum is also listed and the amounts you have claimed are shown.
- On the bottom right of the page, the PDU status is shown again and the status of your claims is also shown.

5. You can use the left navigation pane to easily navigate to report PDUs, verify your claim history, search activities, earn PDUs and access handbooks and guides.

Report PDUs

The Report PDUs tab contains a breakdown of the various types of ways to claim PDUs.

Click Report PDUs in the left navigation pane.
Click the method that you used to attain the PDUs.
For example, if you attended a PMI Portland Toastmasters club meeting on a Wednesday night at 6:30 pm in Tigard at the Everest Institute, click Organizational Meetings, and enter PMI Portland in the Organization/Host field.
Enter Toastmasters club meeting in the Title field.
Enter the start and end date of the meeting you you attended.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and enter 1 PDU under Leadership.
Click I agree this claim is accurate then submit. You will be sent to a page confirming that you have submitted the claim and you will receive an email confirming the claim is submitted.

Claims Previous to 12/1/2015

Any claims that you had previous to the change on December 1, 2015 have been categorized for you when PMI could determine where they should go. I had to retract my PDUs for roundtables and resubmit them a few days later.

Send me your questions and I’ll answer them via email and in the monthly article.

December 2015

One of the benefits I thought I might provide this month is an example of how to categorize your PDUs according to the new guidelines. To that end, I’ve done some re-reading of the presentations provided at the Annual Conference and categorized them and listed my reasoning.

Keynote

“The Science of Being Happy and Productive at Work” – Leadership

I chose leadership as the PMI Talent triangle leg for this presentation due to the emphasis on Influencing and emotional intelligence.

Breakouts

Strategy and Leadership

“It’s a Jungle Out There! Trailblazing Successful, Innovative, Strategic Projects” - Leadership

I chose leadership as the PMI Talent triangle leg for this presentation due to the emphasis on team building and emotional intelligence.

“Prioritizing and Managing a Research Portfolio in a Risk Averse Culture: A Case Study of the Bonneville Power Admin “ - Strategic and Business Management

I chose Strategic and Business management as the PMI Talent triangle leg for this presentation due to the emphasis on the strategy discussed in the case study for BPA.

“Program and Change Excellence” - Strategic and Business Management

I chose Strategic and Business management as the PMI Talent triangle leg for this presentation due to the emphasis on the strategy used in managing change along with the project.

“High Potentials: Your Company's Best Asset and Biggest Risk”- Strategic and Business Management

I chose Strategic and Business management as the PMI Talent triangle leg for this presentation due to the emphasis on the strategy used in developing and retaining high performance talent.

People Skills

“Simple Secrets: 13 Skills/Principles to Have Success in Life & Career” - Leadership

I chose leadership as the PMI Talent triangle leg for this presentation due to the emphasis on the becoming a more successful leader.

“Avoid a Project Management Blind Spot: An Update on Employee Stress and Burnout" - Leadership

I chose leadership as the PMI Talent triangle leg for this presentation due to the emphasis on the becoming a more successful leader and team building.

“Empathy for Engineers“ - Leadership

I chose leadership as the PMI Talent triangle leg for this presentation due to the emphasis empathy and emotional intelligence.

“The Culturally Intelligent Change Leader: What Science Reveals About Leading in a Multicultural World” - Leadership

I chose leadership as the PMI Talent triangle leg for this presentation due to the emphasis on becoming a more successful leader and becoming culturally as well as emotionally intelligent.

Tools and Techniques

“Leveraging Tools & Technology to Speed your ROI” - Technical Project Management

I chose Technical Project Management as the PMI Talent triangle leg for this presentation due to the emphasis on leveraging tools and technology.

“Achieving Operational Excellence using Lean “– Technical Project Management/PMP and ACP

I chose Technical Project Management as the PMI Talent triangle leg for this presentation due to the emphasis on Lean concepts and the “how to” information provided. This presentation qualifies for PMP, PgMP, PfMP and ACP.

“Flexible Project Management: Extending Agile Techniques Beyond Software Projects” - Technical project Management/PMP and ACP

I chose Technical Project Management as the PMI Talent triangle leg for this presentation due to the emphasis on agile frameworks and “how to” information provided. This presentation qualifies for PMP, PgMP, PfMP and ACP.

As I understand it, in the future when REPs are requesting PDUs they will be asked to identify which leg of the PMI Talent triangle their workshop or presentation belongs to so we’ll have the answer when we go to the new CCRS site to log PDUs.

I highly recommend watching the latest presentation from PMI global about the new CCRS system. They have examples of how it will look and function. I think it’s a great improvement, much more user friendly and there is a mobile version. Here’s a link to the video presentation. www.brainshark.com/pmiorg/CCRSPreview

Ask the PDU expert

I don’t have any certifications at this time. Do I need to register PDUs? Can I register PDUs?

The quick answer is no. The reason it’s a “no” is - PDUs are a part of the Continuing Certification Requirements program. If you have no certifications there is nothing to maintain. Only PMI certified Project Managers have the need or ability to register for PDUs.

Do we have to get both Education and Giving back PDUs?

The short answer is no.

You must have Educational PDUs: 8 in each Triangle “leg” and an additional 11 to a minimum number of 35. You are able to get all 60 PDUs as educational PDUs if you desire.

In the Giving Back category you can get a maximum of 25 PDUs total with 8 PDUs available for working in the profession.

November 2015

PMI Changes PDU Reporting

It’s true! PMI is changing the rules around PDU reporting beginning December 1, 2015.

The good news

Renewal cycles remain the same and you are required to accumulate 60 PDUs per cycle. There are 2 categories of PDUs, Education and Giving Back/Working in the Profession. You will continue to earn PDUs the way that you always have. You will just need to categorize them according to the new triangle, Technical Project Management, Leadership and Strategic and Business Management.

The differences

Education:

With the new rules a minimum of 35 education PDUs can be gained within the Triangle of Technical Project Management, Leadership and Strategic and Business Management. You need a minimum of 8 PDUs per category and the remaining 11 can be in any category.

Giving Back/Working in the Profession:

The amount of PDUs allowed in working the Profession is limited to 8 per cycle. The maximum PDUs allowed for giving back/working in the profession is 25.

Next month’s article will address how it works for multiple certifications.

Ask the PDU expert

How many PDU hours can Chapter Mentors earn in return for their service?

In our Chapter Mentoring Program, mentors are asked to:

Commit to a minimum of six months’ mentor partnership
Attend an orientation meeting
Meet at least twice two hours on their own personal time

Mentors can claim PDUs at 1 PDU/hour as a volunteer up to the limit of 25 specified in the Giving back category.

Patricia Kelley, PMP, ACP

PDU Reporting Expert (Role no longer exists)

Also visit the PDU Reporting webpage.