Abstract
The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the influence of the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification on the careers of PMP-certified female information technology project managers who are current members in a mid- Atlantic Project Management Institute chapter in the United States. The aim of this study was to determine the influence the Project Management Professional (PMP) project certification from the Project Management Institute had on the certified female project managers working in the information technology field. To achieve this, the data were collected through structured interviews of 6 project managers from the local mid-Atlantic Project Management Institute chapter. Three main themes emerged from the data: roles of the project manager, communication as strategy, project management career. From these three main themes, there were subcategories identified. These categories led to the recommendation for the Project Management Institute to refocus on interpersonal skills and move them from the appendix to a formal chapter. The recommended skills to focus on are: responsive leadership, fellowship building, safety net, peacekeeper, success coach, and communication.|Keywords: Project manager, PMP, Project Management Institute, PMI, interpersonal skills