IPMA-A Guidance for assessment

For the accreditation as ‘Certified Project Director’, you must demonstrate your experience and competencies in an interview with two assessors. The basis of the interview is a project report prepared by yourself about a project you have managed. Furthermore, you have to submit an experience document, an executive summary report and a self-assessment. This may seem relatively straightforward, but it isn’t. Many candidates, therefore, choose to be coached during this process.

Target audience
Project managers who want to become ‘Certified Project Director’. In the last twelve years, you must have a minimum of 60 non-overlapping months of experience as a project manager, of which at least 36 months at IPMA-A level. The remaining months may be at IPMA-B level. In these 60 months, you have performed approximately 4,400 hours or more on these projects, of which a minimum of 2,500 hours on projects at IPMA-A level.

Objective
The guidance is focused on attaining the IPMA-A certificate and helping you to grow as a project manager, enhancing your project management competencies.

Certificering
For the assessment, you have to complete:

• Experience document, in which you demonstrate that you meet the prerequisites;
• Executive summary report, in which you describe three projects that you have managed;
• Self-assessment against the IPMA Individual Competence Baseline;
• Project report of the most important project on which you want to be assessed.

In addition, you must refer four people who are aware of your experience as a project manager.

The IPMA-A certification process consists of four stages:

• Intake by two assessors of IPMA Certificering based on your own project files;
• The evaluation of the eligibility of your application based on the experience document, the executive summary report and the self-assessment;
• The evaluation of your project report;
• The actual assessment interview.

The IPMA-A assessment must be completed within 18 months after your registration.

Guidance process
The guidance process starts with an intake based on your own project files to establish whether you meet the assessment prerequisites. If your experience is sufficient, you can register for the IPMA-A assessment, whereafter the IPMA Certificering will invite you for an intake by two assessors. After their GO, the actual guidance process can start. After completing your experience summary, your executive summary report and your self-assessment, you can forward these documents to IPMA Certification for review. Once these documents have been approved, you can start to prepare the project report. After approval of the project report by the assessors, you can prepare for the assessment interview.

The entire guidance process includes:

1. Intake by e-mail and online based on your own project files;
2. Guidance in preparing your experience summary, executive summary report and self-assessment;
3. Guidance in preparing the project report;
4. Trial assessment and interview training shortly before the actual interview.

The guidance process is based on four contact moments. Further guidance takes place by e-mail and online.

IPMA-A assessment
The IPMA-A assessment itself is not included. To apply for the assessment, you must register directly at www.ipmacertificeren.nl.

Study load
The expected time to complete the assessment is approximately 100 hours.