Introduction to Project Management Accreditation Article

Anyone starting out on a career in project management is faced with a number of options with regard to which accreditation route to follow. Combine this with the number of levels of qualifications, then overlap onto this the other ‘streams’ of specific topics such as Risk Management, Planning etc., and quite soon the whole thing can become a bit of a nightmare.

Fear not. It is actually quite simple and in the text below we offer a beginner’s guide to how the various elements are structured.

There are four main routes you can follow to gain a formal project management qualification. These first three are based around a ‘body of knowledge’, which represents those skills that delegates ought to be able to deploy in the workplace. They are not in themselves methods (a method is a prescribed way of doing something), but more broad in their approach considering all of the aspects of project management including topics such as investment appraisal for example.

Association For Project Management (APM)

The first is The Association for Project Management. This organisation is the UK’s main professional project management organisation with approximately 30,000 members. They offer four levels of accreditation start with the Introductory Certificate (ICPM), followed by the APM Professional qualification (APMP), and thereafter the Practitioner Qualification (PQ) and Certificate of Project Manager (CPM) as the final level. Each are examined in different ways.

Although there are recommendations, the APM does not impose strict requirements for experience of a delegate prior to these exams.

In addition to these, the APM also offer some accreditations in specific topics e.g. Risk Management.

The APM is currently seeking Chartered Status with a view to enabling it to offer Chartered Status to qualified project managers. They are targetting the Implementation of a Register of Chartered Practitioners in 2010.

The Project Management Institute (PMI)

The main alternative to the APM route is to follow the Project Management Institute syllabus. The PMI is based in the United States and has a huge number of members. Whilst using some American terminology a lot of the study is similar in nature and scope to the APM. The two main credentials awarded by the PMI are the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®) and the Project Management Professional (PMP®). They differ from the APM’s qualifications in that they use only multiple choice question type exams and they also impose mandatory minimum requirements for demonstrable experience and/or education of delegates, before they can enrol in the exam.

In addition to these, the PMI also offer some accreditations in specific topics e.g. Risk Management, Programme Management, Portfolio Management Planning & Control.

The British Computer Society

The British Computer Society also sponsors the Information Systems Examining Board ‘Certificate in Project Management’. This is broadly similar in syllabus and scope to both of the above and is usually followed by members of the Information Systems professions.

Office for Government Commerce (OGC)

The fourth main stream is the one owned by the Office for Government Commerce and implemented by the APM Group (n.b. the APMG are completely separate from the APM). These qualifications include the very popular PRINCE2® Method (P2). PRINCE is an acronym standing for “Projects in a Controlled Environment” and P2 is a prescribed method or protocol that rigidly determines how a project should be managed. It does not consider some of the wider project management techniques in great detail. The method was drawn up by the OGC and for many government sponsored projects its use is obligatory. For delegates working in these environments a qualification in P2 is highly recommended. Starting out on a P2 programme, you might consider taking either a P2 Foundation or a P2 Practitioner training course and the associated exams.

In addition to P2, the OGC also offers some other accreditations in specific topics that are administered through the APMG. These include Management of Risk (MoR), APMG Programme and Project Sponsorship (PPS®), Managing Successful Programmes™ (MSP™) MoR Risk and Portfolio, Programme and Project Office (P3O).

PMProfessional Learning provide a whole variety of training, workshops and support that cover each of the approaches discussed, for whatever the maturity of the individuals or the type of projects being worked on.

Whichever route you choose, we are sure that you will find project management a very fulfilling and exciting career. The modern world that surrounds you, the hospitals the roads, the organisations, the services, the facilities, they were all created by projects. Project Managers deliver the future. Few careers can offer that.