Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Forum: The Open Group Architecture Forum

Membership level: Silver

Bio: Dr Faiz Rasool leads PM Training School, a PMI ® Premier Authorized Training Partner with operations in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. Under his stewardship the school has expanded its portfolio to cover:

- Project-management credentials: PMP, PgMP, PMI-SP, PMI-ACP, and more

- Agile & scaling frameworks: SAFe, Scrum.org, and Disciplined Agile

- Enterprise Architecture & Sustainability: Involving The Open Group TOGAF® training (leveraging the Architecture Forum), and Green Project Management (GPM-b)

- Authorised testing services: Pearson VUE, IDP IELTS, PSI, LanguageCert, Kryterion, and other globally-recognized exam programs, making PM Training School a one-stop certification hub

With a professional career that blends engineering, teaching, and entrepreneurship, Faiz is passionate about elevating practitioners worldwide through accessible, high-impact learning experiences.

Q. How long have you been involved with The Open Group?
I have worked with The Open Group since 2024

Q. What do you do, and how long have you been doing it?
Since 2015 I have been running a global training outfit that helps professionals earn market-leading certifications. My day-to-day spans curriculum design, instructor development, and ensuring our exam-centre operations run like clockwork.

Q. Why did your organization become a Member of The Open Group Architecture Forum and what does your involvement look like?
Three drivers:

- Early access & influence. Silver membership gives us a seat at the table to preview drafts and shape the evolution of the TOGAF® standard and beyond

- Knowledge-sharing. Our instructors enrich classes with real-time insights from Forum work streams, while we feed practitioner feedback back into the Forum

- Thought-leadership. We aim to co-author guides and white papers—especially on how EA, project-delivery frameworks, and sustainability intersect

Practically, I attend monthly Architecture Forum calls, contribute to the Skills and Capability Work Group, and volunteer for consensus-review cycles.

Q. How has membership benefited you, PM Training School, and the industry so far?

- Credibility bump: Being listed among 900+ Member organizations reinforces our brand when students compare training providers

- Networking: We’ve forged partnerships with tool vendors and universities encountered in Member-only sessions

- Personal growth: Participating in working-paper debates sharpens my own EA thinking

Q. Why is it important for other organizations to join The Open Group?

If you rely on open standards—from EA to Zero Trust—you can either consume them or co-create them. Membership moves you from taker to shaper, giving you:

- Early visibility into where standards are heading

- A neutral, vendor-agnostic arena to influence direction and de-risk big bets

- A community to sanity-check architecture challenges and swap war stories  

Q. What are your hobbies?
Trail-hiking (New Zealand’s back-country never disappoints), reading non-fiction, and casual cricket and badminton on weekends.

Q. What book are you currently reading?
The TOGAF® Series Guide: Applying the ADM—part of my ongoing quest to turn theory into classroom-friendly stories.

Q. Social networks
Find me on LinkedIn where I post weekly “EA + Project Management” tips.

Q. Any last thoughts?
Enterprise Architecture is no longer a silo; it’s a cross-discipline play that must converse with agile, AI, DevOps, and sustainability agendas. Through The Open Group, I am keen to champion that holistic view—and I invite peers (especially from training and certification circles) to dive in and co-create the future with us.

Date published: June 20, 2025