Success stories illustrate value of NPDP Certification - PDMA launches "Gain the Edge" marketing program

by Ken Westray, PE, NPDP, member of PDMA Certification Committee

In the last 18 months, 103 individuals have "Gained the Edge" in their professional careers by becoming New Product Development Professionals (NPDP) in PDMA’s Certification program. The importance of certification for these individuals is reflected in the slogan of PDMA’s new marketing program, which focuses on how individuals "Gain the Edge" in NPD when they become certified.

The job titles of recently certified individuals ranged from Vice President of New Product Development or Innovation to Design Engineer, Project Manager, Researcher, Scientist, and Market Researcher. These individuals came from many geographic regions in the United States, as well abroad.

PDMA’s expansion of the NPDP certification to an international level is another milestone of acceptance for this program. Individuals were certified in countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, India, and New Zealand.

The industry sectors that value PDMA NPDP certification continue to expand. They now include financial services, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, construction, software, manufacturing, and various types of consulting.

As you read the following personal comments from recent NPDP professionals, remember that they are achieving a return on their investment in time and money by demonstrating their professional excellence through the NPDP Certification Program. As the economy continues to grow, the demand for New Product Development Professionals will continue to grow, and NPDP certification makes sure you "Gain the Edge" and won’t be left behind.

Ray Starbir, NPDP 2003, Manager, New Product Development, Cox Communications, Inc.

" Earning NPDP certification is a powerful example of an individual’s dedication to the craft of product development. It is a potent complement to experience, communications skills, and the other vital talents professionals continually develop. Late last year a new vice president joined our team. He was aware that we followed a Stage/Gate™ process, and my NPDP certification demonstrated that I understand how and why the process works, and the importance of related disciplines, such as portfolio management. Even with my years of New Product Development experience, there were gaps in my knowledge base. NPDP training and certification helped identify and fill those gaps, rounding out my skills and indicating what aspects I need to strengthen."

Glenda Wylie, NPDP 2003, Global Strategic Technology Manager, Halliburton Corporation

"NPDP certification has given me greater organizational visibility and credibility. NPDP certification provided me the product development principles to apply for the Halliburton Corporation to gain greater visibility and credibility with the customers. We continue to improve our New Product Development activities, receiving 16 industry recognition awards. Product revenue has been affected positively through the principles applied from the certification process learnings... If I had to do it all over again I would have gotten my NPDP certification sooner."

Eric Flett, NPDP 2004, Manager, Business Development, Technical Association of Paper and Pulp (Tappi)

"The NPDP certification process allowed me to understand what NPD best practices are and concentrate my studies in these areas. The achievement of certification in part satisfied my hunger for knowledge and gave me real feedback on my learning skills. Recently I have been asked to lead a team in identifying new value opportunities for our association. This is a high-visibility assignment which I believed NPDP certification helped me obtain."

Guy Belletete, NPDP 2004, Directeur General, Institut de Developpement de Produits, Montreal, Canada

"C’est fantastique! Up to now, we have disseminated product development knowledge on our own, based on reading, attending conferences, inviting experts, and staying close to our members’ new product developers. Now the NPDP certification represents a major step forward." He says further, "We represent a growing community in Quebec of new product developers. Achieving certification helps our professional image and credibility with the local community of development professionals. But the main benefit is that it will bring us a more profound understanding of the best practices and will help to establish a standard of knowledge for a common language. It is our mission to provide the best knowledge available in the world on product development in our community, and aligning our activities with the body of knowledge of PDMA will be an important improvement for us. I see the NPDP certification as a documentation of an individual’s professional achievement and I am convinced that this type of achievement will represent an interesting challenge for a lot of people. Including myself, there are three NPDP professionals in the Quebec province; we expect this to grow by several orders of magnitude within the year."

Ken Westray, PE (Professional Engineer), NPDP, is President of Atlanta, Georgiabased NP Learning, Inc. He is also a member of the PDMA Certification Committee and a certified NPDP trainer.

NPDP Exams to be Given in Real Time Starting June 2004.
NPDP certification will go real time with computer-based testing. PDMA has contracted with Thomson Prometric, the leading global testing center, to host the NPDP exam. When you feel you are ready to sit for the NPDP exam, contact Thomson Prometric via the web at www.prometric.com, complete the application, make your payment and select the city, date, and time you want to take the test. No more additional expense for travel, hotel, pencils and erasers, and limited availability hassles. Computer-based testing puts you in control. And the best for last: immediate feedback on how you did! When you hit the finish button, the grading will take place and you will know if you have passed or failed. For more details, rules, regulations, and links go to www.pdma.org/certification/

One Value of Certification - Job Retention
In these uncertain job times where poor corporate profit performance and downsizing can lead to job loss, your ability to differentiate yourself is critical. One way to do this is through PDMA’s NPDP certification. Within a few years of its inception, NPDP certification has become an increasingly valued credential within companies. A recent survey conducted by PDMA, for instance, showed that 41 percent of respondents agreed with the statement, "Certification helps me keep my job by differentiating me from my peers," while 27 percent had no opinion. Here is a typical job-retention comment from one professional: "My company was recently purchased… and I believe that NPDP certification added to the security of employment with the new company."

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