Competence framework 2nd edition and new project professional qualification, Colin macKenzie 26th Jan, Newcastle

1. Competence
Framework 2nd
edition
and New Project
Professional
Qualification
APM North East Branch Meeting
26th
January 2016
Colin MacKenzie
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2. Who am I?
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3. What I’m going to talk about
 Provide a high level overview of the APM Competence framework 2nd
edition
 Summarise the benefits it can provide to organisations and individuals
 Give you an insight into our new qualification and how this is aligned to
the competence framework
 Provide update on launch plans for new qualification
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4. Capability v’s Competence
Capability:
“The power or ability to do something”
Competence:
“The ability to do something successfully or efficiently”
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5. Competence Framework 2nd
edition
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Who is aware?
Who has used it?

6. Why did we need to change?
 Previous framework had not been reviewed or updated since 2008
 Edition 1 only relevant to Project Managers, not inclusive
 Wanted to create a platform to build our product and service proposition that
enabled us to support our 2020 Strategy vision
 We wanted to respond to customer feedback:
– Extend existing framework beyond just Project Management
– Ensure it becomes more relevant and practical for project professionals
– Ensure it’s flexible enough to integrate into existing frameworks and programmes
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7. What’s different?
 Streamlined and easier to use
– Number of competences reduced from 47 to 27
– Mapped new competence to old ones
 Addresses both application and knowledge of each competence
 Relevant for Project, Programme and Portfolio Managers and PMO roles
 14 new role profiles
 New ratings scale
 New complexity guidance
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8. 27 competences
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9. Competence overview
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10. Ratings scale
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11. Complexity Guide
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12. How should you use it?
 Review the Competences and decide which are relevant to your role
 Read the performance indicators for both application and knowledge then score
these holistically
 Ask someone else to validate your scores
 Measure yourself against a specific role profile
 Use the gaps highlighted to develop and build into your PDP and CPD plan
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13. Key benefits
 Role profiles give you the professional body view of competence and provide a
trusted benchmark
 Enables you to make (consistent) comparisons across your PM community
 Identifies the differences between professional body benchmark and actual skills
within your organisation
 Identify skills gaps and can be used to support professional development plans
 Facilitates movement between the 4 project professional disciplines
 Modern Framework that can be used as it is or integrated into an existing
framework
 Flexibility - can be used for self assessment, line manager assessment, or as part
of a 360 degree assessment 13

14. More information on APM website
Now forms part of your corporate membership and you should have access to
all these resources from your next renewal 14

15. In summary….
 It’s integral to and underpins everything we do at APM
– Basis of all of our new product development
 It enables organisations to assess their capacity and capabilities across the
breadth of their different functions
– Enables senior management teams to plan the skills development and
knowledge acquisition strategies in a common way for all delivery teams.
 It enables individual project professionals to assess the knowledge and
experiences that they have against the knowledge and experience they
require to progress their career
– Identifies the study pathway that will best suit their individual requirements.
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16. New APM Project Professional Qualification
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17. Introduction to new PPQ qualification
 It’s a developmental qualification that sits on the route to RPP
– Natural progression from Project Management Qualification
 It’s not a direct replacement for the existing Practitioner
Qualification, but it sits in the same space
– The PQ is a retrospective assessment whereas the new qualification takes a
progressive/developmental approach
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18. “Qualification route”
Progressive route to become a Registered Project Professional

19. Qualification overview
 It’s aligned to APM’s Competence Framework 2nd
Edition
 It’s been developed as a multi-paper qualification taken in stages
 4 modules, each of 3 hour duration with scenario based questions
 It includes 3 universal modules around governance, leadership and project
controls, alongside one elective module
 3 role specific modules - Project, Programme and Portfolio Management
 It will provide a progressive “qualification route” to become a Registered
Project Professional (RPP)
 Its been developed by practitioners, for practitioners
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20. Target audience
• Typically have 3-5 years’ experience as a project professional
• “Fast track” project professionals
• Project professionals who have already successfully achieved the APM
Project Fundamentals and APM Project Management qualifications
• Project professionals wishing to become MAPM grade members
• Project, Programme and Portfolio Managers who have been mapped to
the intermediate levels on the Competence Framework Role Profiles
• Practitioners who have successfully delivered projects
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21. A mix of core and optional modules
Professionalism
and Managing
Others
Planning and
Control
Governance+ +
Project
Management
Programme
Management
Portfolio
Management
or or
APM Project Professional
Qualification
RPP
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22. Three ‘core’ modules
1. Professionalism
and Managing
Others
2. Planning and
Control
3. Governance
• Ethics, compliance and professionalism
• Team management
• Conflict management
• Leadership
• Risk and issue management
• Schedule management
• Resource management
• Budgeting and cost control
• Governance arrangements
• Stakeholder and comms management
• Reviews
• Change control
• Business case
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23. Three ‘elective’ modules
Project
Management
Programme
Management
Portfolio
Management
• Procurement
• Contract management
• Requirements management
• Solutions development
• Quality management
• Transition management
• Financial management
• Resource capacity planning
• Frameworks and methodologies
• Independent assurance
• Financial management
• Resource capacity planning
• Frameworks and methodologies
• Independent assurance
• Asset allocation 23

24. Feedback from Pilot candidates
 The individual exam papers appear to be at the level candidates would expect
 Most candidates said the questions were clear, although what was required in terms of
length of answer was less clear
 Candidates said they found it more difficult to demonstrate their experience and
application of their knowledge in their answers
 Most candidates found their pre-prepared notes useful and helpful
 Having access to sample papers and answers for launch is key

25. Update on progress
 Existing Practitioner Qualification will remain for foreseeable future to
provide choice to organisations and individuals
 Pre-pilot and Pilots completed in Q4 2015
 Pilot review completed in early February
 Final Go/No Go decision mid February
 External marketing campaigns start in February
 Anticipate full launch in Spring 2016

26. Benefits
 Relevant to all project professionals
 Fills a gap in the market
 Provides that progressive route to RPP
 Encourages project professionals to demonstrate the practical
application of knowledge
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27. And finally, what’s to come….?
 Launch of PPQ in Spring, supported by a number of marketing and
communications campaigns
 Realignment and naming of our qualification suite later in 2016
 Launch of new website and CRM in mid summer (timings tbc)
– Improved registration and joining processes with straight through processing
– Improved event booking
– New customer centric website with much improved discoverability
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28. Questions
colin.mackenzie@apm.org.uk
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