Sponsored Links
-
Should Ediscovery Project Managers need PMP certification?
3 CommentsApparently Kroll Ontrack suggests that applicants for Litigation Support Project Manager positions have PMP certification. Curiously, they also would prefer those with a business-related degree to a computer science related one. PMP stands for Project Management Professional, and proves that you are willing to spend several hundred dollars to add three capitalized letters to your resume. And the company that hands them out – yeah, it’s called the Project Management Institute! I believe you also must take classes from the PMI to qualify. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not mocking those who have this certification, as it shows that they are willing to do things that other project management candidates are not, but this use of certifications certainly isn’t helping hire the best and brightest in the ediscovery field.
The post also points out that Kroll would like their PM’s to have a bachelor’s in finance, not in computer science or any related technical field.
Related posts:
- Looking for Effective Legal Project Management? In a recent post, Paul Easton discusses an article on...
- Legal Project Management Here’s an interesting interview with Alice Burns regarding legal project...
Published on April 26, 2010 · Filed under: litigation support; Tagged as: Kroll Ontrack, PMP certification, project management
3 Responses to “Should Ediscovery Project Managers need PMP certification?”
-
Steven B. Levy, Author of Legal Project Management: Control Costs, Meet Schedules, Manage Risks, and Maintain Sanity said on April 27th, 2010 at 8:37 am
Getting a PMP is a lot harder than spending a few hundred bucks.
It represents a specific style of project management, one which may or may not be applicable to Kroll’s particular processes. Kroll needs to attract customers as well as process documents for e-discovery; perhaps they believe “we have dozens of PMP-certified folks managing our e-discovery projects” will help them reach that goal. Given how much trouble firms and in-house groups have figuring out e-discovery, let alone e-discovery vendors, they may be right in thinking it can serve as a differentiator when it comes to the purchase decision.
I personally don’t think that an all-PMP staff, were you to control for other variables, would prove significantly better than an equivalent no-PMP-in-sight staff. On the other hand, I don’t think they’d do worse either. And ya gotta market….
-
Thanks for linking to my post. I would like to correct one item in your post. You do not need to take courses from PMI to qualify for PMP certification. In addition to passing an exam and five years of documented project-management experience, the PMP certification requires 35 hours of project-management education. Classes offered by PMI Registered Education Providers are pre-approved, but this requirement can also be fulfilled by employer/company sponsored programs, training companies/consultants, distance-learning providers, and university/college courses. See PMI’s PMP Handbook for more information.
-
Ediscovery Trends said on May 3rd, 2010 at 8:33 pm
Thanks for the feedback – it’s easy to dismiss a PMP as nothing more than marketing (which I agree with, but hey – I don’t have one!), but they at least show a manger puts effort into project management and that certification definitely helps getting a foot in the door with new clients. After that, it’s all about the results, of course.
And thanks for the correction regarding the PMI hours – I’m more of a technical person and don’t always keep up to speed on PM certification requirements.
