The “movers and shakers” are pretty clear at this point. In Australia, it is the Australian Institute for Project Management (AIPM); in Great Britain, the Association for Project Management (APM) is the recognized leader; the International Project Management Association (IPMA) sets standards for participating organizations all over the world. In the United States and many countries throughout the world, it is the Project Management Institute (PMI).
In addition to these project management organizations, the American Management Association (AMA) is a leader in providing management books and seminars. Project management is a part of their management coverage, and the AMA is therefore an excellent source for project management information.
As you might expect, the movers and shakers are the ones who establish the standards and bodies of knowledge and certification processes for their sphere of influence. In some cases, these spheres of influence overlap. When they do overlap, several things happen. First, there is competition between the two for new members. Second, there is competition between the two for dominance. Dominance, in this case, means whose standards and whose doctrine will be used for the now-disputed members and area. Third, can and will they coexist?
Generally speaking, development and proliferation of the organizations has been on a geographical basis. Each country has its own requirements for qualification and certification (more on that later). The Project Management Institute (PMI) has defied that mold somewhat and now reportedly has over 100,000 members in more than 125 countries. Even though the PMI is recognized worldwide and offers its certification worldwide, the PMI does not offer a specific international certification as does the APM.
To get a feel of how all of this has come about, over time, consider Figure 2-1. It shows that the PMI was the first to recognize the need for a formal project management process. It also shows that the Australian standards were modified by the incorporation of the PMI’s PMBOK in 1995, which leads to some degree of commonality. You can see by the dates that project management, as a discipline, has been around for a while, but in the late 1980s and 1990s took a giant leap. Interest and standardization are increasing rapidly. The British APM took a bold leap forward in 1998 and was the driving force to create an international group for project management, the International Project Management Association (IPMA). The IPMA is a worldwide organization and is the first real step toward international standardization of at least the core issues. There are now many countries where the PMI and IPMA as well as local standards exist.
Table 2-1. Chronology of Project Management Association and documentation development.
ORG | ACTION | 1969 | 1976 | 1977 | 1988 | 1989 | 1995 | 1996 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PMI | PMI formed | × | ||||||||
AIPM | AIPM formed | × | ||||||||
AIPM | AIPM issues NCSPM | × | ||||||||
PMI | PMI issues PMBOK | × | ||||||||
APM | APM formed (?) | × | ||||||||
APM | PRINCE developed | × | ||||||||
AIPM | AIPM incorporates PMI PMBOK | × | ||||||||
APM | PRINCE2 developed | × | ||||||||
IPMA | IPMA formed | × | ||||||||
IPMA | IPMA issues ICB | × |
To try to make your contact with the appropriate organization a little easier, the data in Figure 2-2 provides a list of project management organizations. Contact details will be provided in the following paragraphs.
The AIPM was formed in 1976 as the Project Managers’ Forum and has been instrumental in progressing the profession of project management in Australia. The AIPM has over 3,000 members throughout Australia. The AIPM developed and documented their standards as the Australian National Competency Standards for Project Management (NCSPM). The AIPM uses the NCSPM as its basis for required knowledge and certification testing. The NCSPM provides for certification at six levels; these range from team member to multilevel program director. These levels are described in the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF). The AIPM currently certifies project managers only at three levels of the AQF. These levels are the middle to upper-middle levels of the AQF. The NCSPM incorporates the nine knowledge areas of the PMI’s PMBOK directly into the knowledge part of their qualification program.
Criteria: Australian National Competency Standards for Project Management (NCSPM)
Project Director/Program Manager (Level 6)
Project Manager (Level 5)
Project Team Member/Project Specialist (Level 4)
Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) National Office Level 9, 139 Macquarie St. Sydney NSW 2000 Phone: 02 9252 7277 Fax: 02 9252 7077 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://aipm.com.au/
Telephone. Call the headquarters using the telephone number above and tell them you are interested in joining. They will direct you to the proper office.
Online. Go to the AIPM Web site listed above. From the “Membership” pull-down menu, select “Application Forms,” then select the proper form (most likely “Member”). This is a “pop-up.” Follow the instructions.
The APM was formed about 1988 and adopted PRINCE as their standard. PRINCE stands for PRojects IN Controlled Environments. PRINCE was derived from the standards developed for the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA). They later participated with the British government and other organizations in updating PRINCE to PRINCE2. PRINCE2 is maintained by the British government with input from the APM. The APM currently uses PRINCE2 as its basis for required knowledge and certification testing. PRINCE2 is a process-based approach with five stages for “enabling efficient control of resources and regular progress monitoring throughout the project.”[1] The APM offers four levels of certification, from Associate Project Management Professional (Level 1) to Certificated International Project Manager (CIPM) (Level 4).
Criteria: PRINCE2
Certificated International Project Manager (CIPM)
Senior Project Manager (Level 3)
Certified Project Manager (Level 2)
Associate Project Management Professional (Level 1)
Association for Project Management (APM) 50 West Wycombe Road High Wycombe Buckinghamshire HP12 3AE Phone: 01494 440090 Fax: 01494 528937 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.apm.org.uk/
Telephone. Call the headquarters using the telephone number above and tell them you are interested in joining. They will direct you to the proper office.
Online. Go to the Web site listed above. Click on “Membership.” Click on the appropriate membership level. Click on “Fees and How to Apply.” Follow the instructions under “How to Apply.”
The asapm was created in 2001. The stated mission of the asapm is “to provide opportunities for U.S. industry and individuals to improve their project management competencies. This is accomplished through a series of programs and projects that interchange information and demonstrate the “best practices” of the project management profession.”[2] The asapm offers a broad array of competency assessments for different levels of stakeholders, with certifications for many of them.
Senior management or project sponsor (SP)
Resource Managers (RM)
Project Office Manager (PO)
Project Directors or Program Managers of complex multi-organization projects (aCPM3)
Project Managers of large, complex projects (aCPM2)
Project Managers of medium or less-complex projects (aCPM1)
Project Team Members (TM)
Certifications for the asapm Certified Project Manager (aCPM) roles are currently under development. The asapm certifications incorporate the asapm National Competency Baseline, the Global Project Manager Performance-based Competency Standards and PMI’s PMBOK as the knowledge base and requires that applicants for its certifications be current practitioners in the project management field. Their certification process assesses performance-based competency, rather than just knowledge, and follows the general guidelines of the IPMA (International Project Management Association) and requires extensive interviews by project management peers.
The asapm staff have cleverly incorporated the elements of their competency model into a software data set developed in the Microsoft Access format. They call this model “CompModel SixPack.” A single-user copy is available on the Web site at: http://www.asapm.org/l_compmodel.asp.
The asapm always prints their acronym in lower case. When asked why, Stacy Goff said: “. . . We did it to reflect that our organization’s purpose is to serve our members, so the lower case illustrates that subordinate status. We are here to serve our members, as opposed to the other way around. This is something that we feel is part of our differentiation, compared to some other organizations.”[3]
Criteria: IPMA’s Competence Baseline, as adapted for the United States, plus the Global Project Manager Performance-Based Competency Standards
Project Directors or Program Managers of complex multi-organization projects (aCPM3)
Project Managers of large, complex projects (aCPM2)
Project Managers of medium or less-complex projects (aCPM1)
American Society for the Advancement of Project Management P.O. Box 1945 Monument, CO 80132 USA Phone: 931 647-7373 Fax: 931 647-7217 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://asapm.org/
The IPMA was spawned by the APM and registered as an international organization in Switzerland in 1998. The IPMA created their International Project Management Base Competencies (IBC) in 1999 and uses them as the base for their certifications. The IPMA offers four levels of certification: Certificated Projects Director (Level A), Certificated Projects Manager (Level B), Certificated Project Management Professional (Level C), and Certificated Project Management Practitioner (Level D).
Criteria: IPMA Competence Baseline (ICB)
Certificated Projects Director (Level A)
Certificated Projects Manager (Level B)
Certificated Project Management Professional (Level C)
Certificated Project Management Practitioner (Level D)
International Project Management Association P.O. Box 1167, 3860 BD NIJKERK, The Netherlands Tel: +31 33 247 34 30 Fax: +31 33 246 04 70 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.ipma.ch/
Note: Contact the IPMA through one of the means listed above and follow their instructions. You must join the IPMA through one of their associate members. The headquarters office will lead you through this process.
Telephone. Call the headquarters using the telephone number above and tell them you are interested in joining. They will direct you to the proper office.
Online. Go to the Web site listed above and click on [email protected]. Send an e-mail message stating you wish to join the organization and request directions.
The Project Management Institute was created in 1969 in New Castle, Pennsylvania.[4] The PMI was headquartered in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, until 1999, when it moved to Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. The PMI is the foremost project management organization in the United States and has over 100,000 members throughout the world. The PMI released their first body of knowledge as the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) in 1986. Subsequent updates were made to the BOK, and the last issuance was A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) 2000, issued in the year 2000, also referred to as The PMBOK Guide. The PMBOK Guide concentrates on the core attributes of an internal project and does a good job of that. The PMI uses the PMBOK as its basis for required knowledge and certification testing. The PMBOK lists nine areas that cover many subareas, which, if placed on an indentured list, would constitute about forty-six areas and subareas altogether. The PMI provides for certification at two levels: Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Associate Project Manager (CAPM). A third level, consisting of numerous subdivisions, was temporarily introduced to “tailor” qualification requirements to specific industries, but this is presently being held in abeyance.
Criteria: Project Management Knowledge areas (in PMBOK)
Project Management Professional (PMP)
Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
Project Management Institute (PMI) Four Campus Boulevard Newtown Square, PA 19073-3299 USA Phone: 610 356-4600 Fax: 610 356-4647 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.pmi.org
Telephone. Call the headquarters using the telephone number above and tell them you are interested in joining. They will direct you to the proper office.
Online. Go to the PMI Web site shown above. Under “Membership,” “Become a Member.” Click on “Apply for Membership” and follow the instructions.
The AMA was founded in 1926 as a nonprofit organization. It is the preeminent management association of America and offers seminars, conferences, and forums and briefings on current issues. Through its publications arm, AMACOM, the AMA offers books and publications, and print and online self-study courses. The AMA offers many certificates for attending their training courses and seminars but does not provide certification, per se, for project managers.
American Management Association (AMA) 1601 Broadway New York, NY 10019 Customer Service Phone: 800 262-9699 Fax: 518 891-0368 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.amanet.org/
Telephone. Call customer service using the telephone number above and tell them you are interested in joining. They will direct you to the proper office.
Online. Go to: http://www.amanet.org/joinama/index.htm. Select one of the subsets of either “Companies” or “Individual” and follow instructions.
Many of the above organizations desire that their standards be accepted at a higher level. In order to accomplish this, the developing organization submits its standard to the higher-level authority for consideration. The considering authority usually takes some time to evaluate the standard, comparing it to others in the same field and making recommendations for changes, if necessary. Depending on the acceptance of the changes by the developing organization, the standard is accepted or rejected by the considering authority. Presently, several project management organizations have submitted their body of knowledge to higher authorities to be sanctioned by that authority. At the present time, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has accepted the PMBOK as a standard. The National Standards Systems Network (NSSN), American Society for Quality Control (ASQC), and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) are considering that same move. Understandably, the IPMA has submitted its body of knowledge and standards to the ISO for consideration as well. Figure 2-3 shows a summary of these activities.
In addition to the project management standards, you will encounter the standards of many organizations that will affect the technical aspects of your project. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC), the International Standards Organization (ISO), the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), just to name a few. I have to limit it to a few because the last time I counted, I found over 150 such organizations, and I probably missed several at that. These few will give you an idea of the scope, content, and breadth of the bodies and their standards.
These kinds of standards are usually referenced in the “Reference Documents” section of your Requirements Document. As I said, these standards can affect the technical aspects of your project, and it is your responsibility to ensure these standards (at least the parts that are referenced) are available to your technical people in the performance of their tasks.