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Newsletter Editor’s Note: Preparing for a certification can feel both exciting and overwhelming - and who better to learn from than colleagues who have just gone through the process? In this new Q&A series, we highlight recently certified team members who share their personal journeys, study approaches, challenges, and tips for success. Their real-world experiences aim to inspire and support anyone preparing for their next exam, offering practical insights and honest reflections from those who’ve been right where you are. At the end of each feature, you’ll also find a short author bio to help you get to know the voices behind the stories.

What motivated you to pursue your PMI-PMOCP certification?

Overall, I fell in love with the PMI Method & Standards, when I first had to research on how to properly run projects, after I became an accidental Project Manager for a Brexit Customs Project. From there, I started my PMI journey towards the PMP and also got inspired by a friend & colleague to learn about the ProSci Change Methods. With first success on large regional projects, I was given the opportunity & mandate to build up a PMO, to get a well-structured inventory of our Projects. From there, the flywheel started to kick in naturally. We accidentally followed exactly the steps on the flywheel in 2022, so when I was then in 2024 at the PMI conference in Barcelona and learned about the PMO Practice guide, I was very excited to dive straight into it. Many other presentations at the European PMI Summit, as well, focused on PMO, and all I learned there was that the structure PMI proposes aligns perfectly with how I experienced it unfold in Business reality.

What did your preparation process look like? / Which study materials or resources did you find most helpful? Do you have one or two tips for others preparing for the exam?

Once I started learning, I began with the official PMI® Authorised PMI-PMOCP™ Exam Prep Course. I really recommend it. It’s a great course. Once I went through it, I read the Practice Guide once from front to back and found there is just no way around it. Thereafter, I flew over certain sections of the Exam Prep Course again at a high level and then started learning with mock exam Questions. PMI Infinity can be a great help here, but also the paid version of Microsoft Copilot over Audio Conversations. Just ask it to give you very difficult PMO-CP Exam questions, with 4 possible answers, but only one that is true and then you can play quiz time while driving on the highway. If you are not an AI fan, there are great practice questions on Udemy (but one can feel they were also generated by AI).

How has the certification impacted your career or day-to-day work so far?

Overall, we finished the first Iteration of our PMO strongly, and the practice tips helped communicate the value. I also started reading “The Impact Engine” by Laura Barnard on how to level up the PMO Strategy, and wholeheartedly recommend her book to anyone who leads or works in a PMO.

As part of step 10 of the flywheel (the benefit realisation), but already leading back into step 1 of the 2nd Iteration (Awareness), we had to reach the Portfolio Managers, who are not too familiar with PMI methods, to level up the Mandate of the PMO. To get this done, I wrote a tiny business booklet called “THE EVER BUSY BEAVERS”, in the style of Who Moved My Cheese, which I afterwards distributed internally, in order to bring them along. You can get a copy here at www.elmarbischof.com; if you have a resistant Portfolio Manager yourself, bring them along and find a simplified communication basis.

Last Month, I handed over the PMO to my colleague, who worked alongside me in the 1st Iteration and who will lead it into the 2nd Iteration. I am very proud of her achievements and excited for her to level up at Change & Project Management & Strategy Alignment, while I now focus more on Portfolio Management topics in Strategic Procurement under Service Provider Management, for which I am actively studying for the PfMP.

What was the most challenging part for you, and how did you overcome it?

For me, the most challenging part of the PMO Exam, or any PMI exam, is always the time pressure. I am Dyslexic, and it is challenging to get attestation as a grown-up, as most of these are focused on children, and old attestations are not accepted by PMI, and hence it is challenging to get PMI to recognise the condition as a grown-up. To perform at my top, I did not consume sugar or coffee while preparing for the exam. Truly learned till I knew everything from the top of my head, and on the morning of the exam, downed two espressos and a can of Red Bull, to get my body in peak performance, to be able to read fast enough for the PMI requirements. Overall, I wish that PMI would make it easier for those of us who were diagnosed with Dyslexia as children and provide one day an easy global online team to improve accessibility for its exam conditions.

Who or what helped keep you motivated throughout your journey?

I have a dream of reigniting my academic ambitions and pursuing an executive master’s in project management to prepare for a PhD in Project, Program & Portfolio Management. Preferably at Alma Mater Europea, as I truly align with their values of promoting sustainable development, peace, democracy, and intercultural cooperation. Until then, learning and applying the PMI Standards will prepare me for these.

What would you say to someone unsure whether they should start this journey?

If you are not certain, I’d say go for it! 100%! I’d consider it worthwhile and a career-maker if you want to progress into Portfolio Management, or level up your PMO game.

Author’s Bio

I’m Elmar Bischof, and I’ve been fortunate to build my career at the intersection of logistics and project management. Today, I serve as Director of the Portfolio of Service Provider & Program Management Europe at Expeditors, where I guide teams to optimize complex supply chains and drive operational excellence. Along the way, I’ve held roles in logistics engineering, analytics, and network development, always striving to blend hands-on expertise with forward-thinking principles to deliver real value. As part of that, I also wrote & published a tiny booklet about the value of PMO’s to accidental Portfolio Managers, called “THE EVER BUSY BEAVERS: Building Value, not just Dams “, where I invite readers into a vibrant wetland where Barney, Brooke, Bucky, Betsy, and Baxter learn that activity without purpose won’t move the needle. Drawing on insights from the Project Management Institute, ProSci, Laura Barnard, and Michael Porter’s Five Forces, I’ve crafted a simple fable that translates proven frameworks into practical takeaways for leaders and project teams alike.

Newsletter Editor’s Note: Feeling inspired? We’d love to spotlight your journey next. If you’ve recently achieved a certification or are proud of the path you took to get there, reach out to editor@pmi-nl.nl. We’ll support you in shaping your story so it can motivate and guide others on their own certification path.