I’m often asked which project management certification to choose. But that isn’t the first question I would ask.

PMI, IPMA, PRINCE2, Scrum… there are plenty of options, and their recognition varies depending on the country, sector and professional environment.

So, which one should you choose?

I would start with a different question: what do you want to be able to do after your training?

A certification may be well recognised on a CV without necessarily being the training best suited to the reality of your organisation’s projects.

And I would add a second question: where does that certification actually need to be recognised?

PMI, IPMA, PRINCE2 or Scrum: what are the differences?

If international recognition is the priority, PMI’s PMP certification is difficult to ignore. It is widely established and recognised across many professional environments around the world.

IPMA certifications have historically been well established in Europe and take a competence-based approach, with several levels of certification.

PRINCE2, which originated in the UK, provides a structured project management method and is now used internationally.

Scrum certifications follow a different logic. Scrum originated in software development and remains widely used by teams developing digital products. It can be applied in other contexts, but it is not a general project management approach.

And what happens when you get back to work?

Ultimately, this is the criterion that matters most to me.

I have never completely found what I was looking for in the different project management methods I have used or studied.

Some gave me the structure I needed. Others offered more room for adaptation and iteration. But in practice, I mostly came across projects that needed both.

That is why I gradually developed Circular Project Management (CPM).

Not to create yet another certification. The certification itself is secondary to me. It is included in our training as an added benefit for participants.

CPM was primarily designed to combine predictive and agile practices within the same approach, and then adapt them to the reality of each project.

Its certification obviously does not have the international recognition of a PMP. CPM is still young. So if that kind of recognition matters for your career, you also need to consider which certification is recognised in the professional environment in which you want to work.

Discover Circular Project Management

Photo credit: Benjamin Eriksen