An exploratory study on the influence of PMP certification on the project success rates in IT industry

Abstract

It has been long since researchers have turned their attention to project management in the IT industry. Project success in the IT industry remains low despite all the project management study. Project success is critical for organisations to remain competitive in the industry. Certifications for project managers were identified as one strategy to improve project success rates since efficient and effective project management is critical for project success. This is because certifications are believed to improve the focus of project managers on project success factors to improve project performance leading to project success. Continuing failure rates of IT projects necessitated an investigation into the role of PMP® Certification in increasing project success rates. The PMP® Certification is known as Project Management Professional (PMP®) and is provided to project managers by the Project Management Institute (PMI). An exploratory cross sectional qualitative design was employed to identify the value of PMP® Certification on the success of IT projects and its influence of project success factors. Twelve project managers in the IT industry with PMP® Certification and PMP® Certification were interviewed to examine their views on PMP® Certification in project management and its contribution to project success. The research concludes with the identification of value of PMP® Certification in project management and future recommendations for the research. Author keywords: PMP Certification, PMI, PMO, ITIL, PRINCE2, CAPM, IT, project manager, IT industry, project success, success factor, qualitative