Professional certifications like NPDP (New Product Development Professional), PMP® (Project Management Professional), and PEM (Professional Engineering Manager), demonstrate experience, knowledge, and specific skills. The most rigorous certifications require continued learning to validate knowledge of best practices and emerging industry trends. Many accrediting bodies require a number of professional development hours (PDH) each period and may require particular categories of learning.
PDH Requirements
NPDP
New Product Development Professionals (NPDP) demonstrate mastery of skills in the field of innovation. As of first quarter 2016, the NPDP exam covers six key topic areas: strategy, portfolio management, NPD (new product development) processes, market research, teams and organizational structure, and innovation tools and metrics. You can learn more about the initial NPDP certification at www.globalnpsolutions.com/workshops/.
PDMA (Product Development and Management Association), the certifying body for NPDP, requires 60 PDH every three (3) years. For many of us, as busy product development professionals, this is challenging. Conferences are expensive and take us away from important day-to-day work. Email and meetings continue even when we are away from the office.
Simple-PDH offers an easy way to maintain your NPDP certification through online courses. Online PDH courses include appropriate documentation such as course reading notes, white papers, and tip sheets. Course materials are available with video and audio to make learning easy. Each course comes with a practice test and a final exam. Upon achieving a passing score on the final exam (typically 70%), you can download your completion certificate, clearly indicating the number of earned PDHs.
PMP
Project Management Professionals (PMP) demonstrate mastery of knowledge, skills, and practices in the field of project management. Currently, the fifth edition of the PMBOK® Guide (Project Management Body of Knowledge) covers five process groups and ten knowledge areas. Core knowledge areas include:
- Scope,
- Time,
- Cost, and
- Quality.
Supporting knowledge areas include:
- Human Resources management,
- Communication,
- Risk management,
- Procurement, and
- Stakeholder management.
In addition, the knowledge area of project integration management pulls together project management plans and activities from all of the core and supporting functional areas. Learn more about initial PMI certification at http://www.globalnpsolutions.com/workshops/pmp-certification-training/.
As the certifying body for PMPs, the PMI (Project Management Institute) requires 60 continued professional development hours (PDH) every three (3) years. Of these, at least eight (8) hours must be dedicated to each of the Talent Triangle™ arenas:
- Business and Strategic Management,
- Technical Project Management, and
- Leadership.
At Simple-PDH, courses are clearly identified by the Talent Triangle for easy tracking of your continued education. Course completion certificates also plainly state the number of hours in each subject matter area. (Note that some course will have overlapping content and earned PDHs can count toward multiple categories on the Talent Triangle.)
PEM
Professional Engineering Managers (PEM) demonstrate experience and knowledge covering an Introduction to Engineering Management and ten (10) additional domains. Core domain knowledge includes:
- Leadership and Organizational Management,
- Strategic Planning,
- Financial Resource Management, and
- Project Management.
Supporting domains include:
- Operations and Supply Chain Management;
- Marketing and Sales Management for Engineering Organizations;
- Management of Technology, Research, and Development;
- Systems Engineering, and
- Legal Issues in Engineering Management.
Underpinning all of the subject matter domains is the Professional Codes of Conduct and Ethics domain.
PEMS are required by ASEM (American Society of Engineering Managers) to maintain 45 PDHs over each three (3) year period. Simple-PDH offers course materials online to further your knowledge of engineering management and to help you become a better leader in your organization.
Upon completion of any course on the PEM PDH program, you can download and print your certificate, providing documentation for the PEM tracking form. Most courses are designed for a 1-hour continuing education credit (CEU); however many courses offer two or more PDHs.
Maintaining Your Credentials
It’s not easy to study for and pass a professional certification exam. Maintaining the pride in your accomplishment in your industrial field of study is demonstrated through continuing education. At Simple-PDH, we make it easy and affordable for you to earn your PDHs. Study course materials. Learn the newest best practices in management. Earn your professional development hours (PDH) and continuing education units (CEU). It’s all online, at your own pace. It’s simple.
For more information, please contact us at [email protected] or by phone at 281-280-8717.
Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.
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