One of the less expensive ways to earn Professional Development Units (PDUs) is by reading books. Currently, every three years, you are required to earn 60 PDUs. Apart from taking formal training classes, you also can attend a luncheon or evening chapter meeting with formal presentations, which are worth 1 PDU per hour. Other ways include attending webinars and reading books on project management. Not only do you choose the books, but also you specify, within reason, how many PDUs for which you are applying.
This article describes how to earn PDUs by reading a book related to project management.
There are a myriad of books written on project management, so finding one that is both interesting to read and helpful for your project management career is highly probable. And as stated above, you specify the number of hours or PDUs reading the book is worth. I recently read an approximately 200-page book and earned 7 PDUs. So, if you are going to use this method, knowing the process for reporting book-related PDUs is important.
Since the process of reporting book-related PDUs is not real clear, let’s take a look at the rules and process. First let’s go over the PMI® Handbook rules, Figure 1.
The category is C: Self-Directed Learning. Note, of course, reading books is a self-directed learning activity. The PDU Rule says that 1 PDU is awarded for every 1 hour spent in a self-directed learning activity. The main restriction is that you can only earn up to 30 PDUs in this category per 3-year certification cycle. Although you are limited to a maximum of 30 PDUs from this category, it is still is a significant amount of PDUs. You can make it half way to the finish line from this one category alone.
Now let’s take you to the PMI® dashboard and how you can claim your PDUs. In Figure 2 we have the myPMI dashboard that displays the certification status.
A bar shows the number of PDUs earned and the number required, which is 60. Underneath this bar are three buttons: View PDUs, Report PDUs, and Earn PDUs. Select the Report PDUs button to request PDU approval for any category, Figure 2.
In the PDU category drop down menu in the Select PDU Category Step 1 of Reporting PDUs, select Category C: Self-Directed Learning, Figure 3.
The next form, Figure 4, is a little more subjective.
For the Program/Title description block they want you to enter the name of the activity. Simply enter the name and author of the book as your activity. Enter the start and finish dates for reading the book. Hours completed is the number of hours you spent reading the book.
The Provider name is the organization or individual name that provided the book resource. You most likely bought the book, and, therefore, would put yourself down as the Provider name. The PDUs claimed should be the same as the Hours completed, which for our example is 7. Submit this information and PMI will take one to two business days to approve the PDU request. But that is it! You are done.
Earning PDUs does not have to be expensive and the PMI® provides numerous ways to earn those elusive PDUs. Reading books is a great and versatile way to earn PDUs.
There are a myriad of books written on project management, and you choose the book you want to read. Reporting PDUs from book reading does not require a wealth of information. Really, all you need are the book title, author, and time spent reading the book. And, yes, provide them the source of your book resource. Most likely, this will be you. So reading books is a time efficient, interesting, and cheap way to earn PDUs.