Certification of Project Managers
Interview with Director PMO/Wärtsilä
We interviewed Sami Myllyviita, Director of Project Management Office, in Wärtsilä Finland Oy Power Plants on March 7th, 2011 concerning PMO’s role in supporting the certification of Project Managers.
How PMO supports the certification of Project Managers
Project Management Office has an important role in supporting the certification of Project Managers. The PMO department at Wärtsilä Power Plants was founded in 2007 expressly for the purpose of creating career paths and certification for Project Managers. PMO’s main function is to create and sustain training and certification for Project Managers.
When the PMO department at Wärtsilä Power Plants was founded, a model of PMO’s main functions was developed. Sami Myllyviita explains how everything begins with processes. Processes have to do with Wärtsilä Project Management Methodology and the PMBOK which is the frame of reference. It includes the continuous improvement of work processes. Myllyviita stresses the need of having processes in place in order to be able to certificate. The second element in the model is people. People is concerned with the career path and the training and professional certification programs for Project Managers. The certification programs are also used as a way for finding competent people within the organisation. The third element, Tools involve Wärtsilä Project Management Information Systems. This function is needed for developing and maintaining systems that support the processes, so that they can be used. Together, processes, competent people, and tools that support the way of working lead to quality.
Why PMO Supports the Certification of Project Managers
Myllyviita sees project management as one important way of putting the organisation’s strategic changes into action. Project management supports the business as Wärtsilä’s business is project based by nature.
Myllyviita characterizes Wärtsilä as a functional organisation. A common problem in functional organisations tends to be that there are strong function leaders. Project Managers are needed to manage projects which are cross functional involving persons from many different functions within the organisation. The persons from the business functions report both to their Functional Manager as well as to the Project Manager.
Furthermore, Myllyviita sees the certification of Project Managers important for creating credibility in the eyes of the customer, and in the creation and sustaining of a unified project culture and language, in other words the PMBOK which is the frame of reference. A common project language helps meet customer requirements and create quality.
Benefits of Project Manager Certification at Power Plants
Sami Myllyviita listed the following benefits of Project Manager Certification.
Strategy behind the Certification of Project Managers
When asked whether there is a strategy behind how many Project Managers are certified at Wärtsilä Power Plants, Myllyviita referred to Wärtsilä Project Management’s vision statement where one stated goal is that all complex projects are to be managed by certified project managers. Today there are over 50 certified PMP’s in Power Plants.
We interviewed Sami Myllyviita, Director of Project Management Office, in Wärtsilä Finland Oy Power Plants on March 7th, 2011 concerning PMO’s role in supporting the certification of Project Managers.
How PMO supports the certification of Project Managers
Project Management Office has an important role in supporting the certification of Project Managers. The PMO department at Wärtsilä Power Plants was founded in 2007 expressly for the purpose of creating career paths and certification for Project Managers. PMO’s main function is to create and sustain training and certification for Project Managers.
When the PMO department at Wärtsilä Power Plants was founded, a model of PMO’s main functions was developed. Sami Myllyviita explains how everything begins with processes. Processes have to do with Wärtsilä Project Management Methodology and the PMBOK which is the frame of reference. It includes the continuous improvement of work processes. Myllyviita stresses the need of having processes in place in order to be able to certificate. The second element in the model is people. People is concerned with the career path and the training and professional certification programs for Project Managers. The certification programs are also used as a way for finding competent people within the organisation. The third element, Tools involve Wärtsilä Project Management Information Systems. This function is needed for developing and maintaining systems that support the processes, so that they can be used. Together, processes, competent people, and tools that support the way of working lead to quality.
Why PMO Supports the Certification of Project Managers
Myllyviita sees project management as one important way of putting the organisation’s strategic changes into action. Project management supports the business as Wärtsilä’s business is project based by nature.
Myllyviita characterizes Wärtsilä as a functional organisation. A common problem in functional organisations tends to be that there are strong function leaders. Project Managers are needed to manage projects which are cross functional involving persons from many different functions within the organisation. The persons from the business functions report both to their Functional Manager as well as to the Project Manager.
Furthermore, Myllyviita sees the certification of Project Managers important for creating credibility in the eyes of the customer, and in the creation and sustaining of a unified project culture and language, in other words the PMBOK which is the frame of reference. A common project language helps meet customer requirements and create quality.
Benefits of Project Manager Certification at Power Plants
Sami Myllyviita listed the following benefits of Project Manager Certification.
- Added customer credibility
- Project management certification supports the company’s strategy
- Improved project success. The success rate of project has improved significantly after the certification was taken into use
- The creation of sustainability with the ability to retain key competences
- The ceation of a career perspective for employees
Strategy behind the Certification of Project Managers
When asked whether there is a strategy behind how many Project Managers are certified at Wärtsilä Power Plants, Myllyviita referred to Wärtsilä Project Management’s vision statement where one stated goal is that all complex projects are to be managed by certified project managers. Today there are over 50 certified PMP’s in Power Plants.
