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PM Guide 2.0: Guideline For The Certification of Project Managers
PM Guide 2.0: Guideline For The Certification of Project Managers
0
GUIDELINE FOR THE CERTIFICATION
OF PROJECT MANAGERS
IAPM
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF PROJECT MANAGERS
In 1997 the IAPM was still a fledgling pays tribute to people for their achieve-
association. It started out as a loosely ments in project management. These
structured international network for people may have been instrumental to
project managers who shared the ob- the resolution of a crisis situation, they
jectives of promoting and modernising may have successfully implemented a
project management and providing complex development project or they
young project managers with the tools may simply have performed exception-
to work effectively and successfully. ally in various areas of project manage-
Since this time, the IAPM has held ment for many years.
annual International Project Manager
Meetings (IPMM). Back in 1998 the The Book of the Year award honours
IAPM published the precursor to the books on the subject of project man-
PM Guide 2.0, the IAPM By-laws of agement that are published in both
Project Management. These by-laws German and English. These books may
were completely revised and adapted communicate experience and knowl-
to modern requirements and real-life edge in an innovative way, be (auto)
project management scenarios in the biographical works or textbooks pro-
PM Guide 2.0, which was published in viding an introduction to the subject of
2010. In the same year, the IAPM was project management.
completely relaunched.
The IAPM is an independent certifica-
In 2012 the IAPM introduced two tion body which examines the knowl-
awards, the Project Manager of the edge and competence of the certifica-
Year Award and the Book of the Year tion candidates with a comprehensive,
Award. fair and neutral online examination
system. The certification system is there-
The Project Manager of the Year Award fore tailored to the challenging world of
is very special to the IAPM because it project management in the 21st century.
As project manager, you take advantage These guideline will help you to make
of all available opportunities to plan and targeted use of your project management
implement projects, to review progress knowledge.
and to draw conclusions on how to do It is divided into three sections:
things better in the next project. Why do
you have to document everything you do?
Because you know how important it is for SECTION 1:
future projects. Project managers always THE PROJECT
try to improve on the things they disliked
about their former managers or their be- How to initiate a project and bring it to a successful conclusion.
haviour. Yet despite being the probably
most important manager in the organisa-
tion, project managers often lack orienta-
tion. They need rules and proven systems
SECTION 2:
to help them in their work.
PEOPLE IN THE PROJECT
How to take the soft factors in project work into account.
We have come to the conclusion that
project managers need a comprehensive
range of project management tools to
help them perform what is the most com- SECTION 3:
plex management task of all. CERTIFICATION GUIDE
How to obtain certification of your PM competence and enhance your
market value.
IAPM
International Association of Project Managers ™
THE
7 Communication
4 Stakeholders
meetings, workshops,
presentations
6 Steering
PROJECT
committee
8 Creation of the and core
specification team
11 Work package
10 Creation
of the WBS
9 Creation of the 12 Cost breakdown/ 13 Process / time
phase model budget schedule
Functional, matrix,
16 15 PPM and WPR 14 Risk analysis
autonomous
Complex
5 3
to expend in return? es be derived from routine activities?
undertaking? Is it an interdisciplinary project? Has the start and finish been defined?
Is interdisciplinary
4 cooperation necessary? What expertise do the project team mem- When can you start formulating the ob-
Defined bers need? Which qualifications should jectives for a specific project contract?
responsibilities they have? Do they come from different When will you have finished planning the
for results? departments, divisions, companies, cul- project and setting up the organisational
tures? structures? When will the project deliver-
able be finished? When will you be able to
If the answer to every question is yes, Have responsibilities been defined? assess how much the project has actually
it can be assumed that the new task is a project.
Who is the customer? Who is providing cost? When will you have documented
If the answers to some of the questions is no, the necessary funding? Can some as- the knowledge gained in the project and
that‘s not a problem because some aspects of the task can be supported by project pects of the project be grouped or del- made it available to your company?
management methods. egated in sub-projects or work packages?
STAKEHOLDERS
III I
Projects are made by people for people!
IV II
Who will be affected by or able to influence your project and/or the project deliverable?
What can you do to get these people involved in the project? What organisational aspects
do you have to consider?
low
Put the people or groups of people in a portfolio.
low high
The two axes of the portfolio represent level affected and influence. INFLUENCE
Project performance objective Prioritising objectives The project may be implemented in an Adaptation of project scope or organisa-
existing company or (though this is un- tion
What do you have to achieve by the end Which objective has priority A: quality,
usual) in a temporary company with its You either then have to reduce the scope
of the project? time or cost compliance?
own legal status (e.g. Ltd.). The project of the project in order that it can be com-
Which things have subordinate priority?
manager has to consider whether this missioned or leave the scope as it is and
Project time objective
might be the case. look for another customer who is higher
Project cost centre
When will the project start and when will
up in the organisation’s hierarchy.
the performance objective be achieved? If the project is an internal one, a project Set up the steering committee
Have you remembered to allow for float cost centre is set up as the basis for reli- Core team
Initial ideas on the steering committee
time? able cost management (cost budgeting,
should be discussed with the customer. Based on the PESTLE and stakeholder
cost monitoring).
From this time on, regular meetings with analyses which have already been con-
Project cost objective
the customer have to be held. In order ducted, the project manager considers
Project release
How much money will have been spent to make this possible, a formal steering the functions and departments which will
by the end of the project? Now, the customer can release the pro- committee which has both the customer be required in the project. People in de-
Does that include contingency funds? ject, which means that you are able to and the project manager as members is partments which can exert the strongest
plan, implement and finalise it. set up. Now it is clear that your customer influence on the success of the project
has to be a person with authority, i.e. he are appointed as members of the core
has to be able to allocate budget funds, team (PM team). To do this, the project
intervene in the company‘s existing or- manager provides the customer with a
ganisational structures and make strate- list of the necessary functions and skills
gic decisions! profiles. The customer then has to liase
with the department managers and ar-
The project charter specifies the project manager‘s role in the project and in the steering If the customer is not able to do these range for the necessary employees to be
committee. Both the project manager and the customer are members of the steering com- things, he cannot commission the pro- released from regular duties to work on
mittee. The steering committee should have as few members as possible and meet on a ject and you cannot take a project of this the project.
regular basis. scale on under these circumstances.
If there is need to make any changes, they will be directly reflected in the quality, time and
cost objectives and the consequences of any changes will be evident.
PHASE MODEL
AS A TEAM
Now the project budget and timeframe have to be planned.
A simple yet effective means of doing this is to create a phase plan.
Chart
Project phase plan Estimate of the duration and costs of COSTS (€) This cost/time chart can be used to
each phase
Date of phase plan creation, participants. assess project progress and as the
Individual work 5 min basis for control measures.
Workshop procedure
Preparation of a summary of results, ta-
Definition of phases and the results in bles and a chart
each phase. A standard phase model is Team work 20 min
useful here
Team work 15 min Workshop planning results
A table and the appertaining chart are
shown on the next page.
Phase1 P2 P3 P4 P5
Result Res. Res. Res. Res.
TIME (MONTHS)
The WP is similar to a quotation and, like the quotation, it is used to plan, check and evaluate performance. Formu-
lating a WP is not team work. It is a good idea to give this task to the person responsible for the WP. The formulation
of the WP is followed by plausibility checks and further consultations.
Prepare Welcome If one of the participants Welcome Communicate Remember that a picture says more
isn‘t necessary, let him go. than a thousand words and images have
agenda and introduction That saves time! content to be generated in the mind,
Present the not on the wall!
Book Reason and objective problems Present
venue of the event and objectives problems
Refer to
Writing the minutes of the meet-
Minutes ing is your first duty as project documents
manager.
Project Date
Use open-ended questions at
Subject Start your meetings (e.g. why, what
for …).
Venue
As project manager, you are responsible for ensuring that your own or sub-project
Chairperson managers‘ presentations have structured content and are interesting.
Minute taker
Persons attending Be demanding on your presenters!
Signatures of persons who have read the minutes How?
Absentees
Distribution list Ask for eloquently presented an interesting presentations and you‘ll always be amazed
Agenda by the results!
2
PEOPLE
1 Team building
IN
PROJECTS
7 Personal success 3 Motivation
5 Conflict management
INTRINSIC
Conflicts are part of the human’s nature. 3. Conflict management: open conflicts You can‘t manage your time effectively When you have identified the things that
unless you are absolutely clear on your are important to you with the measures
• Have you checked where the conflict
1. Preventing conflicts life objectives. You can obtain clarity by that you will use to achieve them and the
is in the conflict spiral?
way of dates by when you want to have achieved
The main thing is to prevent conflicts • Have you checked whether you are them, you can group other tasks around
from occurring. How do you do that? the right conflict manager for your • a funeral oration your issues, follow an efficient time man-
project organisation form? agement concept and apply the appro-
• stakeholder management • a life fairytale and/or
• Have you used the 10 point plan for priate methods (e.g. time scheduling and
• providing information to the right peo- • a toilet map
conflict management? deadline monitoring, filing, documenta-
ple tion and archiving systems, creation of
• H
ave you obtained professional ad-
• obtaining feedback, e.g. at the end of Write down all your visions about a quiet work environment that helps you
vice (works council, company medi-
the meeting/ workshop etc. what you want to achieve, create, ex- to concentrate while you work, use of
cal officer, company psychologist,
perience, see, learn and practice modern communication and information
• and by implementing project reviews. mediator, arbitrator, legal expert, line
in your life. methods etc.)
manager, steering committee etc.)?
Keep your eyes open at all times to identi- • Have you reported, transferred, es- Your desires
fy any latent conflicts! And remember that calated the conflict to the proper per-
the conflict may still occur, even if you are The areas that you identify in this way
sons or departments?
watchful. provide clarity about your mission, stra-
tegic orientation, desires and attitudes to
2. Conflict management: covert conflicts life.
• Is the conflict out in the open or cov-
ert?
• Have you prepared a social network
diagram?
• Have you correctly identified the par-
ties to the conflict?
• Have you created profiles of the con-
flict partners?
• Are the conflict partners included in
the organisation chart?
3
in its current version. The basis for the IAPM website (www.iapm.net). However,
Project Management Guide is the project whether the certificate has acquired its
management knowledge base of IAPM. knowledge from the Project Management
Guide or other documents is irrelevant for
The knowledge base was developed in admission to the examination. The IAPM
cooperation with an international panel supports the independent preparation for
of scientists and project managers. you the certification exams.
CERTIFI-
is continuously adapted to international
standards and findings.
CATION
GUIDE
46 © IAPM International Association of Project Managers 47
CERTIFICATION APPLICATION AND
EXAMINATION
Certified Junior Project Manager (IAPM)
Applicants must demonstrate a basic
Certified Senior Project Manager (IAPM)
Applicants should have at least five years
ADMITTANCE PROCEDURE
knowledge of the project management of project management experience, three
competence elements. Verification of ex- of which in a senior position or a position The certification application must be ac- Persons applying for Certified Senior Pro-
perience is not necessary. with major responsibilities. They are re- companied by the following documents: ject Manager (IAPM) certification who do
quired to furnish proof of project manage not meet the application criteria will be
Certified Project Manager (IAPM) ment experience and competence in the Application documents for Certified Junior notified by the IAPM. They cannot object
use of project management methods and Project Manager (IAPM) and Certified to the IAPM’s decision. A new application
Applicants must demonstrate a knowl- Project Manager (IAPM) certification
tools. can be made as soon as the applicant
edge of the project management com-
• Application form has gained additional experience in pro-
petence elements. Verification of experi-
ject management and satisfies the IAPM
ence isn’t necessary, but advantageous.
Application documents for Certified Senior criteria. If the applicant does not yet have
Project Manager (IAPM) certification Certified Project Manager (IAPM) certifi-
cation, the IAPM recommends this option.
• Application form (online) with details
of project management experience
(list and description of between one
and five projects in which the appli-
cant was project manager or held a
CERTIFICATION LEVELS COMPETENCES key management function).
5 ANONYMOUS
CERTIFICATION
• No subjective evaluations
• No “fail quota“
• No discrimination