Well, this morning I’m heading to a testing center in Alabama to take my Project Manager Professional (PMP) exam. This is after about six months of studying. If I pass, then I’ll have my PMP certification, and that will help me when I retire.
What I’ve learned from this experience is that how the Air Force does program management is very different than how it is taught in the civilian world. It has the same fundamentals, but puts much more focus on the processes and not on planning. The civilian world focuses much more on holistic planning. Now, that is according the the “book”, and what I find in a real civilian job may be radically different.
I do think that the Air Force could do a better job if they adopt some, or most of the holistic planning approaches taught in PMP. I know that I do wish that I had studied this before my last big project, as perhaps it would have helped me avoid the disaster that it became.
I look forward to this day being done, and then I can rest for a couple of weeks. Then I’ll start studying for the other certification that I want to have before I retire.