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Technical writers can meet project management certification requirements by working on a project team to create a communications deliverable. Often we take a leadership role in designing a document that is integral to the product, such as a help file. Sometimes we come in at the late stage of a project and write a users manual for the product. We interview those who created the “product” as we write the manual, becoming part of that team. Even as lone technical writers we play a pivotal role in the larger team of client and customers; writing documents according to the requirements of the deliverable’s user. We can apply the breadth of our experience to become highly qualified and effective project managers. Project management certification is a natural extension of our skill base and is a way to demonstrate our value to employers.

Josette enjoys working in HTML and has helped create several Web sites for use in small business ventures. She’s been a technical writer for over ten years and a member of STC off and on, as funds allow. Josette also has her PMP certification and plans to keep working as a technical writer/project manager as long as she can!

As technical writers, we are often called on to perform project management, which requires effective communication skills, understanding information management and people. Most of a project manager’s time is spent developing and using various forms of communication, giving the technical writer a significant program management advantage. As technical writers, we are communicating and using the skills of a project manager on a daily basis as we plan and execute documentation projects. So achieving a project management certification is a natural progression of our talents in our profession. A project management certification can also increase respect for technical writers in a corporate world that may not understand the scope of talent we bring to the job.

The practical aspects of a transition from technical writer to project manager require good planning and luck. Gaining first-time project management employment in an organization that needs both technical writers and project managers is sometimes easier said than done. Normally you need project management experience to be employed as a project manager—a catch-22 situation. Frequently companies don’t realize the value of someone with technical writing and project management skills. Technical writers can use experience prior to having a project management position to earn a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) or Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI). Selecting a certification program depends on your career goals, level of formal education and level of project management-applicable experience. These certifications can help you to expand your career options and demonstrate your flexibility to prospective employers. Table 1 provides a comparison of the requirements for earning a CAPM versus a PMP certification.

Table 1. PMI Program Management Certification Requirements

	CAPM	PMP
Education Requirement	At least a high school diploma or Associate’s degree	A Bachelor’s degree OR An Associate’s degree or high school diploma
Experience Requirement	1,500 hours of work experience on a project team OR At least 23 hours of project management education	4,500 hours of project management experience within 36 months of non-overlapping time (with Bachelor’s degree) OR 7,500 hours of project management experience within 60 months of non-overlapping time (with Associate’s degree or high school diploma)
Project Management Education		At least 35 hours of project management education
Certification Exam	˜3 hours	˜3 hour

If you’ve been a technical writer for fewer than five years, you should consider the CAPM certification. The experience requirements are less stringent and it’s a good way to show an employer your flexibility and potential for future value. If you have more experience as a technical writer, consider the PMP certification. The experience requirements are more extensive, but the PMP certification holds more prestige and qualifies you for higher level employment. All project management experience for the application must be earned within eight years immediately prior to your application date. Additionally, these certifications require an ongoing education commitment to maintain active certification status.

CAPM

The CAPM certification requires less experience and education than the PMP certification but it can still be daunting when you first look at the requirements. Whether you choose the experience or education option, you should consider taking a certification class. The class allows you to prepare for the test and compare your experience with others who want to take the exam.

There are two different parts of the application for the CAPM exam: one for the project work experience and one for the project management education. You must submit the correct part or your application is incomplete. The application is seven pages long so it can be easy to miss information on the application.

You should also consider becoming a PMI member, especially if you are obtaining your CAPM or PMP certification. The certification exam is $225 for members and $300 for nonmembers (as of 2007). Individual membership costs $119; however, you receive the four periodicals and access to the online library of articles, white papers, and other project management related information, plus savings on the cost of the exam.

PMP

The PMP certification requirements are more difficult to meet, primarily due to the quantity of information required. If you keep track of how you spend your time over the years, filling out your application is much easier.

The PMP Certification holds more prestige and qualifies you for higher-level employment

The application is nine pages long and there are four pages of experience information you must fill out for every project you worked on. This can get complicated so you should try to write down as much as you remember about all of your projects and what part you played on each one.

The computer-based certification exam costs $405 for PMI members and $555 for non-members (as of 2008). The paper-based certification exam costs $250 for PMI members and $400 for non-members. The bigger PMP exam discount for PMI membership is definitely worth the cost of membership with the other benefits described in the CAPM certification section.

Application Overview

PMI bases certifications on nine knowledge areas and five main stages of a project. The nine project management knowledge areas are: integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communications, risk, and procurement. The five main stages of a project are: initializing, planning, executing, controlling/monitoring, and closing.

Certification covers nine project management knowledge areas: Integration, Scope, Time, Cost Quality, Human Resources, Communications, Risk, & Procurement

If you don’t keep track of what you do when, start now! Either certification exam application requires you to record the hours you spent on project stages and knowledge areas. This is also good information to keep for your resume and future applications. Table 2 gives an overview of the project stages you must include on your certification application.

For either certification, the project management experience does not need to be gained as the “direct” project manager but can be accomplished while “leading and directing project tasks.” The PMI Web site and the PMP Handbook contain guidance on applicable project management experience down to the task description level. One task description that you must record hours of experience on the certification application form is “Define the scope of the project based on the organization’s need to meet the customer project expectations.”

Table 2. Project Stages Overview for a Writing Project

Project Stages	Description
Initializing	Initializing is where project planning begins, from how the people, products, and phases will integrate to what the customer needs. You investigate the risks and rewards of the project in this phase in order to decide whether to go forward with the project. Generally this is the initial discovery phase of the project.
Planning	Planning is the second stage of the project when more quantitative plans are developed, such as how long the document will take to create, any issues that you may encounter with software, subject matter expert (SME) availability, and the actual structure of your writing project. Identify assistance needed from others to mitigate any risk of the document not being completed on time or with the resources available.
Executing	Once the “Planning” is complete, you begin the “Executing” stage of the project. You may still be waiting for answers about software integration of a help file, for example, but as long as the answers won’t cause the project to ‘derail,’ you can begin the actual writing of your documentation project. This stage is where you record the majority of your time on your certification application.
Monitoring/Controlling	Monitoring/controlling is where you occasionally take a step back to confirm that the documentation project is proceeding as expected. Are you receiving answers from your SMEs in a timely manner? Are software issues being resolved? Are you writing about things far afield from where you started, such as documenting marketing uses for a product while writing the help file?
Closing	To close a project, you will get the file or document into the hands of the correct people and reflect on the lessons you learned. Perhaps you should have talked to the manager of the development department in the planning stage instead of waiting for execution to begin. Or you may have discovered a major flaw in the help authoring tool that forced you to use web help instead of compressed help. “Initializing” and “Closing” take about the same percentage of project time on the certification application.

Table 2 is based on and adapted from the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Professional (PMP) Handbook project stages.

References

Project Management Institute Web site
Project Management Institute’s Project Management Professional (PMP) Handbook.

About the Authors

Laura Dahlinger
Senior member, TC Central Ohio Chapter/Lone Writer SIG

Laura Dahlinger is a technical writer/project manager working at the Ohio epartment of Transportation for Quick Solutions, Inc. in Columbus, Ohio. Laura has her PMP and has been doing technical writing/project management for seven years. She enjoys science fiction, reading, and karate along with spending time with her 18-month old daughter. Laura also njoys spending time with her husband, Mike, and their three cats while their daughter runs amok.

Josette Schaber

Josette Schaber is a technical writer working for Astute Solutions in Columbus, Ohio. She’s the mother of two wonderful kids and spends her “spare” time reeding and howing rabbits.