Date: August 22, 2003. Washington, DC—Lew Ireland, President of American Society for the Advancement of Project Management (asapm), today announced the launch of America’s first Competence-Based Project Manager Certification program.
The program will be rolled out in phases with the first offering targeted at managers of complex projects and programs. Ireland noted that while there are other project management certification programs available in the United States, he explained that most of these programs were either application-specific, did not assess competence, or were not project manager certifications.
asapm Certified Senior Project Manager
The program will ultimately include at least four different certification levels; asapm’s initial offering will be asapm Certified Senior Project Manager, and is related to IPMA-B®.
Society President Ireland said the Society began with this certification because “while organizations need a range of project management and project manager assessments, this is the level that has the most
potential to enhance organizational performance in both the public and private sector.”
asapm has created an independent entity, PMCert, to oversee the program.
Why Get Certified?
Bill Duncan, PMCert Chair, noted that the Certified Senior Project Manager certification will be of interest to both individuals and organizations. “Those responsible for selecting and promoting project managers are always looking for an independent assessment of their choices,” he said.
“Most of the other cross-industry certification programs emphasize written tests of knowledge. Evaluating job performance is more difficult, but it is such performance that primarily leads to the positive project
results that the enterprise desires.”
The Process
Ron Waller, PMCert Senior Assessor, described a three-step assessment process. In Stage 1, prospective candidates submit an application that documents their experience, education, and expertise. After an initial evaluation, successful applicants are asked to complete a written Project Report in Stage 2.
The report allows candidates to document how their knowledge, experience and performance contributed to the project's success. In Step 3, the same team of Assessors who evaluated the Project Report meets with the candidate face-to-face in order to obtain further evidence of the individual’s personal and professional qualities.
According to Waller, this results-oriented approach is unique in US project management certification programs.
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Availability
The next Certified
Senior Project Manager certification interviews are targeted for the end of second Quarter, 2007.
Project Managers who wish to become an asapm Certified Senior Project Manager will tentatively have until 1 June to apply and until 15 June to complete their written report for this round of assessment interviews.
The Competence Road Map
Practitioners who earn the Certified Senior Project Manager certification will also gain instant worldwide recognition, because the asapm program is consistent with International Project Management Association’s (IPMA) four-level certification program.
Ireland noted that asapm and PMCert would be developing additional certifications for other levels: project executives and program managers, project leads, and project associates.
Certification in your profession benefits project practitioners, your employers, and society as a whole by reducing the waste from poorly managed projects, and enhancing achievement of project objectives. For more information about asapm, please visit the society's web site at www.asapm.org.
About asapm
asapm is a not-for-profit professional society dedicated to advancing the project management discipline in the United States. Working through its members and with other professional associations around the world,
asapm provides leadership to grow the project management profession in the USA.
This asapm Certified Senior Project Manager program draws from a recognized International program of competence certification, so while it is new to the United States, it will have instant standing around the world.
asapm is a registered trademark, PMCert is a servicemark of the American Society for the Advancement of Project
 Management.
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