"We promote professional project management in Germany through networking, qualification & social engagement"

As an independent association, the PMI Germany Chapter is embedded in the network of the globally active Project Management Institute (in short: PMI^®). As a regional representation of PMI, the PMI Germany Chapter is a network for project, program and portfolio management. In particular, it offers a range of re-certification opportunities. It also promotes project management as a independent discipline and the dissemination of the project work standards developed by the global association in the region.

Strategy of the PMI Germany Chapter 

Although we are "just" a professional association run by volunteers, we strongly feel that we should have a strategy so that we have common objectives which we can follow and generate maximum impact within our valuable time. 

The question of the goals and strategy of the PMI Germany Chapter was already of great importance in the course of the merger process of the three (regional) chapters Berlin/Brandenburg, Frankfurt and Southern Germany. However, the statutes created by the founding board deliberately contain only relatively vague allusions to it:

Especially §2.1 contains elements of why the association exists (purpose), what the association wants to achieve (vision/goal), but does not mention which role the association should actually take.

It was already obvious at the foundation of the PMI Germany Chapter e.V. that it would be the task of the elected board to develop the purpose, the vision and the role of the association by means of a structured strategy process.

In the course of this process, three spheres of activity were derived from the triad of purpose, vision and role, from which concrete value propositions then emerged for the target groups identified in the strategy process.

The following graphic provides an overview of the strategy development elements:

In the following, we will take a closer look at the elements of our strategy:

Purpose - the reason and sense why we do what we do

We offer a / are the network for all people who want to develop with project management, change something and be successful.

The focus of our work is on all people who want to make a difference or change something. Project management provides the foundation for successfully implementable change.

For us, all people means that we also want to do this for (as yet) non-members - with the aim of winning members, of course - and also that we want to actively live diversity.

Vision - what the future world will look like if we are successful

The community implements change professionally and successfully through the exchange, transfer of knowledge and methodological development of project management.

So this is the state we are aiming for: the community (of people who want to change something) exchanges knowledge with each other, imparts knowledge or is imparted knowledge and thereby acquires skills in the field of project management so that changes succeed. Project success criteria evolve over time i(see e.g. PMI’s Pulse of the Profession 2017 - https://www.pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/pulse/pulse-of-the-profession-2017). Whatever is to come, we see ourselves as part of the PMI family in the best possible position.

Role – how we behave and how we want to be in order to realize this vision

We openly and competently connect people, knowledge, trends and methods in project management.

We are currently acting as a connector by bringing together like-minded people and thus providing the platform for the aforementioned exchange.

In addition, we see potential to drive or initiate project management topics in the future.

To implement this, we need much more support from volunteers. Ultimately, the chapter's offerings stand and fall with the commitment of the volunteers.

Let's move on to the spheres of activity in which we want to be active, because we see this as the greatest potential value proposition for our members and those who want to become members:

Exchange and Networking – aren't we already doing that?

First of all, not everything has to be new if what already exists works well. It wouldn't be wise to discontinue popular offerings - there's no question of that. But the question is how we can create even more value for our members. For example, we have started to network and collaborate with other chapters around the world. This could be, for example, in the area of cultural diversity, so that if there are questions about local/regional customs in other countries around the world, we can facilitate connections to support, for example, the start of an ExPatriate engagement.

For new members, especially junior staff, we now offer support in the form of mentoring. And we see a lot of potential in reaching out to the startup community.

Knowledge Transfer – is this more than a chapter meeting and PD workshop?

Of course, and PMI has already done a lot there in the last few years... and so have we as PMI Germany Chapter. Just think of the Communities of Practice that we can quickly set up on current topics thanks to a lean but sophisticated concept and thus immediately convey practical benefits. The range of topics here is practically not limited by anything - except by your and hopefully not our lack of imagination.

And there will certainly be new formats to complement existing ones or to break completely new ground for us - just tell us what you are missing, because you are at the center of everything we do.

Methodological Refinement – what else is to come after the shift to agility?

Obviously there is a lot going on in this area e.g. the publication of the new 7th PMBOK, which shows fundamental changes compared to previous editions. In addition, Disciplined Agile is a hybrid agile framework for finding the best possible project approach for your own situation - this is also a central topic in our DA Community of Practice. And last but not least, we also deal with Citizen Development - perhaps best translated into German as "Fachbereichsentwicklung" - in which, among other things, a hyper-agile software development cycle is a fundamental element.

Our Target Groups: PM-Professionals and Next Gen PMs

We don't need to say much about the target group of PM Professionals, since they are already referred to in the term PMP certification. But we are convinced that we can do even more for the PM Pros. Because let's face it: nobody is perfect and can still develop further. And where, if not with us? This could be, for example, in the area of (reverse) mentoring, or benchmarking with PM pros from the international environment, or or or... Actually, the PM professionals have been THE classic target group of the former regional chapters in Germany and this will not change much, except that we also want to take care of the next generation of project managers - the Next Gen PMs.

In the Anglo-Saxon world, this target group is also called "change makers". These are sometimes very different people than "normal" project managers and they may not even be aware that they are working in projects or manage them. And for them, a certain amount of knowledge around the topic of project management would certainly be helpful for the Next Gen PMs, so that they can then also successfully implement change.

Next Gen PMs also simply means younger people dealing with projects, which is why we also want to strengthen our contacts with educational institutions such as universities and, in the future, also address schools. Our ultimate objective is to make sure that project management is considered a valuable discipline at every level of education.