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Competent Project Manager

Competent Project Manager qualification - 2005OGC

A new

and OGC

Project Manager qualification

June 2005Alan Harpham – Chairman of the APM GroupPippa Bass – Office of Government CommerceRoy Godfrey – Department of Constitutional AffairsDev Mohindra – Cabinet Office

Why this qualification?


• Assessing potential of individuals to manage

‘medium risk’ projects

– supporting objectives of the PPM Specialism

• Providing a development path for Practitioners

• Using alternative assessment process

– rather than traditional exam


Programme and Project Management (PPM) Specialism

• A government-wide membership of PPM practitioners.

• Objectives of the PPM Specialism:

– Create an appropriately sized and improved skilled PPM workforce.

– Ensure PPM is seen as a mainstream management skill.

– Facilitate better allocation of PPM staff to PPM roles.

– Ensure PPM skills are both recognised and transferable.

– Ensure improved rewards and career prospects for members.

Project classification and PPM Levels


Medium Risk Projects (PM)

Minor Programmes (PgM)

Low Risk Projects (PM)

(Delivery Roles)

High Risk / Complex / Mission-Critical Projects (PM)

Major Programmes (PgM)

Delivery leadership aptitude

PPM skills & experience assessment

PPM knowledge examination

PPM foundation knowledge1

2

3

4

Source : OGC’s PPM Specialism

OGC approach


• Use the partnership relationship with APMG– accreditation and qualification partner

• Pilot the assessment in Government Departments– sufficient candidates to ‘test’ the process– OGC Assessor to represent government perspective

• Review the Pilot– lessons learned throughout the process

• Support APMG in delivering qualification to wider audience

What is the new PM qualification?


• A professional development event for PMs– that ideally is tailored to a specific organisation– yet retains a consistent standard across organisations

• A peer review of the PM’s past qualifications and experience– based on a review of:

• the candidate’s existing qualifications– ideal link in qualification chain post PRINCE2TM Practitioner

• actual experience of managing ‘medium risk1’ projects– and/or ‘mission critical2’ projects

• references from SRO or Project Executives• self-assessments of:

– PM competences– Inter-personal skills

• project presentation• in-depth interview by two peers (at least one independent of employer)

Note: 1 & 2 see definitions in OGC Successful Delivery Toolkit v 4.5, www.ogc.gov.uk

Benefits for the Employer


This qualification lets employers know that this individual possesses:

• the skills and competences to manage a ‘medium’ risk project:– effectively, and

– efficiently

Useful for:

• Assuring the competence of PMs for:– internal project sponsors

– clients of PM services companies

– managers, directors and shareholders of both

• Reducing the risk of unsuccessful project outputs

• Allocating existing staff or recruiting new staff for projects

Benefits for individuals


Useful for:

• demonstrating to and convincing their employers that they are competent to manage a ‘medium’ risk project– or prospective employers

• Obtaining advice on career next steps:– to enhance existing skills and experience to become a candidate

for ‘mission critical’ projects, or

– for less successful candidates to re-prepare themselves to obtain the Competent Project Manager qualification

Eligibility Criteria


• 3 years experience in project management in general with 1 year as a PM,– including 6 months experience of managing a ‘medium’ risk project (or as a team

leader on a ‘mission critical’ project)

• Either PRINCE2TM Practitioner or similar experience of working in a project environment where QM system is based on principles of PRINCE2TM

• Demonstrate experience of working as project manager or team leader through all stages of the lifecycle

– from initial idea, through justification, implementation and hand-over to operations

• Present oral evidence of at least one completed project which they managed for at least 50% of lifecycle

• Portfolio of evidence to show required standards can be met in:– project and

– inter-personal skills

PRINCE2TM is a registered trademark of OGC

Assessment Process


• Initial application review– Includes application, CV, project schedule (role, duration, risk level) and– Self-assessment of project and inter-personal skills– Candidate informed to prepare presentation on a project they have

managed for at least 50% of lifecycle• Assessment

– 1 to 1½ hour interview with two peers• at least one independent of employer

– Interview covers all or part of:

• Post Assessment- Assessors discuss candidate and agree their recommendation- Inform candidate of recommendation and provide feedback- Decision provided to APMG’s Exam Board and Certification Board

• Project presentation • PM competencies

• other PM experience • other qualifications

• inter-personal skills • Referee’s comments

Update, renewal and getting started


• Qualification is subject to continuous review based on:– annual submission of schedule of projects worked on, identifying SRO

or Project Executive and other specified details

– Three-yearly more formal review which involves SRO referee(s) and• may involve another peer review and/or interview

• How to start:– Contact Nicola Kelly

• Call 01494-452450 or

• e-mail [email protected]

Participants’ view


• Roy Godfrey– Department for Constitutional Affairs

• Dev Mohindra– Cabinet Office

• Eleri James– Department for Constitutional Affairs

Roy Godfrey - DCA


• New Practically-based Qualification– Assessment against other PMs– Familiar with APMG through PRINCE2TM

• Relatively Pain Free Process– Pulling together the application was the Hard Bit!

• Interview with Presentation Intro.– Q&A challenging but open and fair

• Constructive Feedback– Looking at next steps/roles in PPM

Dev Mohindra – Cabinet office


• Background– Project Manager at the Cabinet Office

• Why did I volunteer?– New role & wanted to prove competence

• Application process– Process helped to boost confidence

• Assessment– Relaxed but intense

• Results & Benefits– Rewarding experience and boost to self esteem

and confidence

Eleri James - DCA


• Apprehension– Having gone through the traditional accreditation process many years ago, I was apprehensive

about having to go through something similar again. The thought of possible failure filled me with dread, particularly as I was in the middle of delivering a very high profile project for DCA.

• Preparation Time– Getting the application form completed was quite time consuming but I was fortunate in that my

immediate line manager was putting himself forward as a pilot candidate as well and appreciated the time needed to get the job done properly. I found that my experience of competency based assessment, reporting and selection helped me complete the application form and, in particular, to find suitable examples of my strengths and weaknesses. I'm not so sure it would have been quite so easy otherwise.

• Challenging, but rewarding Interview– The interview process itself was very challenging. To be in the spotlight for that length of time

was hard - I was exhausted at the end of it (and I'm sure it showed!). However, I found the experience extremely rewarding and the feedback excellent.

• Testing but fair Process– I believe CPMP to be a much fairer process of accreditation, particularly as its predominantly

based on practical experience and the interview certainly focused on testing that the evidence I had given was substantiated."

Any questions?


• Purpose of qualification• Process• Participants’ views• P………• ………..

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