Looking for Professional Development Units (PDUs) this month? Whether you got your Project Management Professional (PMP) certification a little more recently or you’re a PMP veteran, there’s something for you below that will fit your skill level and schedule.
If you’re looking to challenge yourself or just find a way to pick up an easy PDU (we won’t judge), there’s a webinar, course, or book for you here.
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1. Mastering Digital Project Management | The Digital Project Manager
What: Course & Certificate Program
Where: Virtual
When: On demand
Cost: $950 USD
How it fits into the Talent Triangle: Ways of Working, Power Skills, Business Acumen
Our self-paced, online course is now eligible for 12 pre-approved PDUs across all sides of the talent triangle:
- 4 PDUs for Ways of Working
- 6 PDUs for Power Skills
- 2 PDUs for Business Acumen
You may already be a project master in a less technology-focused area, but this is a great way to gain a deep understanding of how to deliver complex digital projects successfully and consistently—you know, projects that involve people, pixels, and code like website or app builds, digital marketing initiatives, or mixed reality experiences.
Our course takes you through the entire project life cycle in a digital context—from shaping scope and nailing your kickoff, to go-live day and project closure.
You'll learn about how methodologies like waterfall, Scrum agile, and Kanban can be tailored and applied effectively in a digital space. And, perhaps more importantly, you’ll learn to hone the judgment, instinct, and leadership skills you need to succeed in a fast-paced digital world.
This comprehensive program not only covers the entire range of project management topics, it’s also designed to provide ample opportunities to practice the concepts using real-world scenarios.
It includes a variety of hands-on assessments and assignments, and you'll also participate in group discussions in our Slack community and get access to templates for each type of documentation covered in the course.
2. Managing Multiple Roles | The Digital Project Manager
What: Webinar
Where: Virtual
When: December 5, 8:30 am PST
Cost: Free
How it fits into the Talent Triangle: Power Skills
Project managers often wear many hats—if you thought you were the only one, don’t fret! If your role includes duties like account management, content creation, or copywriter, this event is for you.
Our panel of DPM experts will be answering questions, chatting about their strategies and approaches to managing multiple roles, and ways you can push back against the devaluation of the role of the project manager.
3. Tackling Project Risk Head-On Using AI (And Humans!) | The Digital Project Manager
What: Webinar
Where: Virtual
When: December 6, 8 am PST
Cost: Free for DPM members
How it fits into the Talent Triangle: Power Skills
Risk management isn’t usually your team’s favorite topic of conversation, but failing to manage risk can sink the project entirely. Can AI help make risk management a little more popular?
This December, The Digital Project Manager is hosting the third session in our AI exploration series, where we will be putting AI-driven risk management tools through their paces to see where they excel and where they fall short!
We’ll be taking some of the most challenging project risk use cases suggested by our members and building prompts and methods in front of a live audience. You’ll leave with a handbook of prompt recipes for managing risk as well as a free gift from us here at The Digital Project Manager.
4. Technology Enabled Collaboration For Inclusive Project Teams | Project Management Institute (PMI)
What: Webinar
Where: Virtual
When: December 12, 7 am EST
Cost: Free for PMI members
How it fits into the Talent Triangle: Power Skills, Business Acumen
Fostering strong collaboration and teamwork amongst your team members is critical to your project’s success. This webinar will focus on how project managers can use software tools to help strengthen the team’s bonds (and which tools to use), especially when the team is diverse and dispersed.
Learn key strategies to make sure all team members feel included, valued, and motivated on your projects, and that everyone is working toward the same project goal.
5. PMI Global Summit 2023 | PMI
What: Virtual Conference
Where: Virtual
When: On demand until January 31, 2024
Cost: Free for in-person conference attendees
How it fits into the Talent Triangle: Ways of Working, Power Skills, Business Acumen
If you attended the 2023 PMI Global Summit in Atlanta, GA, this year, you now have access to many of the sessions and workshops on demand through my.pmi.org.
This includes the opening keynote from Cassandra Worthy, in which she talked about the key skills that project managers need to create and maintain growth via change, as well as the closing keynote from Chris Barton, where he talked about changing your mindset when it comes to problem-solving and overcoming barriers.
There were also several AI focused sessions at the Summit, which explored what the future of project management looks like in relation to artificial intelligence, and what project managers can expect to see coming down the pipeline.
6. Empowering Your Future: Navigating A Rapidly Changing Business Landscape | PMI
What: Virtual Conference
Where: Virtual
When: On demand until January 31, 2024
Cost: Free for PMI members, $79 USD for non-members
How it fits into the Talent Triangle: Ways of Working, Power Skills, Business Acumen
This event is part of PMI’s Virtual Experience Series—the virtual event originally happened on June 15, 2023, and is now available on demand until the end of January.
The conference covered topics such as improving your skills, building your future as a project manager, and what the changing business landscape means for you. Hear from a variety of panelists on AI, inclusive leadership, innovation, and more in several featured sessions and nine breakout sessions. Plus, this one event is good for 11 PDUs.
7. PMXPO | PMI
What: Virtual Conference
Where: Virtual
When: On demand until January 31, 2024
Cost: Free for both PMI members and non-members
How it fits into the Talent Triangle: Ways of Working, Power Skills, Business Acumen
Also part of PMI’s Virtual Experience Series, PMXPO took place on March 23 of this year and is available on demand. This event focuses on the future of work and related changes in the capabilities and skills required of project managers.
This conference includes several featured sessions and six breakout sessions about the future of project management, using the right tools for maximizing leadership’s performance, generative AI, and more.
You’ll get eight PDUs out of this event, and this one is free for all, not just PMI members.
8. Doing Agile Right: Transformation Without Chaos | Darrell Rigby, Sarah Elk, Steve Berez
What: Book
Cost: $19 USD at Amazon
How it fits into the Talent Triangle: Ways of Working
If you’re just starting to explore agile and how it can help your projects or your organization at large, this book is a huge boon in understanding the misconceptions about agile and how to scale it, once you’ve implemented it.
The chapter on agile leadership is particularly insightful, detailing how leaders can do their jobs better by acting as a coach or mentor rather than a micromanager.
The book is aimed at business leaders who have the pull to implement agile in an organization, but project managers trying to get their teams onboard with agile (whether it’s coming from the organization or the project manager themself) can benefit as well.
9. How Big Things Get Done | Bent Flyvbjerg, Dan Gardner
What: Book
Cost: $24 USD at Amazon
How it fits into the Talent Triangle: Ways of Working
Those of us in the digital space often don’t frequently venture out to see what the worlds of construction or capital project management have to offer. But often, our digital projects have scopes or scales that are just as ‘big’ as projects in those worlds.
This book does a great job breaking down the reasons why projects are more likely to fail as they get bigger, pulling in examples from around the world, like Hong Kong’s XRL high-speed rail system. The book includes practical tips for avoiding “unique project” syndrome, estimating, and planning for and managing risks that apply to projects both digital and physical.
What Else Can You Do?
Webinars, books, and courses aren’t the only ways to get your PDUs. You can also earn PDUs for giving back to the profession and creating content of your own—starting a blog, hosting your own webinar, and contributing to forums, such as our membership community.