What do PMP and Algebra have in common?

Today’s question:

Question: What do studying for the PMP exam and and studying Algebra have in common?

Answer: You uttered the phrase, “Will I ever use this in real life?!”

Yes, you did. Don’t deny it.

So go apologize to your teenager right now, because when he asked that question last week about Algebra (with a sufficient dose of teen indignation), you answered that it was good for his general education, it taught him how to think and reason, and that it could lead to understanding other other maths and sciences.

And after apologizing, repeat your answer back to yourself. It’s the same reasoning.

The Pedantic PMP Exam

I have a colleague who used to be PMP certified but who accidentally let it lapse a few years ago. She and a few others are now starting to study up to (re-)certify. She stopped me in the hallway today:

Oh, my! I’ve started studying that PMP Study Guide, and it’s clear that the PMP is even more picky on stupid stuff than it was when I first certified! It’s all this nit-picky stuff that you’ll never use in real life. It’s only about things you might use on a multi-million dollar, many-year project.

And she’s right. At least partly.

My beef with most PMP / PM training is exactly that. It’s scaled for so large a project that the poor PM is left to have to scale it all back down to his own project.

But General Knowledge Is Good

And this is where the Algebra comparison comes in.

Studying all that methodology does provide a broad knowledge and awareness of various tools, practices, and approaches that can be applied to projects of varying sizes in different industries.

You probably never factored a single polynomial after 10th grade.

And you may never use the Delphi technique [or insert your favorite hated PMBOK technique] to gather requirements or to conduct a risk analysis.

But then again, you may. Or you may use some of the underlying principles in a scaled-down, adapted manner. Or your boss, having just returned from some management seminar, may ask if you’re using such-and-such technique, and you really don’t want to respond with a blank stare. Or you may take a new job in a new industry and the senior PM does use Delphi and now you suddenly need to understand it.

What To Do?

So, suck it up. Man up and approach your PMP study more like you tell your teenager to approach the Algebra. It’s not only for the pragmatic usability — and there is pragmatic usability on PMBOK — but also for the general education and strategic thinking value you’ll gain. If you let yourself.

So let yourself.

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