Derek Pando

I agree with a lot of the other answers, if there is not a lot of voice of the customer in the discussion, it can often be the role of a PMM to insert it. I'd also recommend you talk about the timing and how it might impact go to market launches, for example, if there are 3 of 15 features that will be launched over the next 6 months that can be packaged together to tell a better marketing story, then I'd suggest to the PM team to group them together to make for a more buzz worthy launch.

I'd value a project management certification as much as I would a certification on PPT or excel. Interesting point, nothing negative, but will not make much of a difference in getting hired or not.