TOPIC: Can I use the PMI-ACP PDU's to maintain my PMP?

Question: by Atul M. Bhusari
I am PMI PMP certified and would like to know if I get PMI ACP certified, are there PMI ACP PDU's that I can use to maintain my existing PMI PMP certification?

Answer: If you are certified both as a PMP and also as a PMI-ACP then you are required to earn the following PDUs for your certifications:

- PMI-ACP: 30 PDUs in the specialized are of agile project management
- PMP: 60 PDUs from any project management area

Since the 60 PDUs for your PMP can come from "any" project management area, this means that the 30 Agile PDUs you earn for your PMI-ACP are automatically valid and applied to your PMP recertification. So the trick is to earn your Agile PDUs first:

- Earn 30 Agile PDUs and these will be applied to your PMI-ACP and your PMP recertification
- Now you only need to earn another 30 "general" PDUs so that you reach the total of 60 PDUs for your PMP certification.

It is the same if you were the holder of a PMP as well as PMI-RMP or PMI-SP certification. First earn the PDUs needed for your RMP or SP and then earn whatever else you need for the PMP.

The good news is also that PMI's online CCRS system does it all for you automatically. As soon as you input the PDUs that you have earned online, then the CCRS will correctly apply your input to all of your certifications and you will be able to see how many PDUs you still need to earn for your certifications.

So remember: Always first earn those PDUs that you need to earn for your PMI-ACP, PMI-RMP or PMI-SP. Once you are done with those, then move on to earning the remaining PDUs for your PMP or PgMP.

Question: by Atul M. Bhusari
Thanks Cornelius My question is , however, is this.

1) I am PMI PMP certified and intending to do PMI ACP.

2) If I do 21 PDU training required to appear for PMI ACP exam, are these counted towards maintaining my existing PMI PMP certification i.e. are these 21 ACP PDU's counted towards required 60 PDUs mandated for maintaining my existing PMI PMP?

Answer: The answer is simple... Yes.

If you are taking at PMI-ACP exam preparation course then you will earn 21 Contact Hours. These will also count toward your PMP recertification.

Can I use the PDU's earned from PM podcasts to appear for PMI ACP exam?

Rajeev,

Unfortunately you cannot. The PM Podcast ( www.project-management-podcast.com ) is not intended or approved as for PMI-ACP exam prep. Please use The Agile PrepCast www.agileprepcast.com instead.

Hi Cornelius. Is your answer above still the same? I know it's been almost 4 years, and things have changed a little over that time.

thanks,
alan

Still the same answer:

The PM Podcast ( www.project-management-podcast.com ) is not intended or approved for PMI-ACP exam prep. Please use The Agile PrepCast www.agileprepcast.com instead.

How should I split the 21 hours gained (since we need to provide in various categories) when submitting my PDU's

Seshadri,

If you are already certified, then PMI's online system will automatically divide the hours up based on our analysis of the hours. You can see the correct split either by going to the CCRS website at ccrs.pmi.org/search/courses?sf=Courses&kwd=agileprepcast and you can also see it on your certificate.

If you are NOT yet certified, then you do not have to worry about this at all. PMI just wants you to have 21 "agile training hours" in total, no matter what area they were in.

Hi Cornelius,

I need to another 35 PDU to maintain my PMP by January 17th. I registered for the PMI-ACP but plan to do that later after the PMP renewal. I know that is not ideal, but that is just planning my time.
Question: do I get any PDU's for simply having registered (and paid) for the PMI-ACP? Thanks! John

John

I'm not 100% certain that I understand your question fully. This is what I think you are saying:
- You are PMP certified and your recertification is coming up on January 17th.
- You already registered 25 PDUs for your renewal. So you still need to earn 35 PDUs by Jan 17th to renew.
- You have also gone ahead and signed up to take your PMI-ACP Exam.
- You are wondering if "the act of signing up for the exam" will give you any PDUs that you can apply toward your PMP renewal.

If that understanding is correct, then the answer is no. You can only earn PDUs by doing qualifying activities. Like reading, attending a class, teaching and so on.

In other words: If you need to earn 35 PDUs between now and Jan 17th then you are going to have to spend 35 hours doing qualifying activities. There is no other way.