The IAPM project management model
Project Management Model PM Guide
The IAPM is an association which sets professional project management benchmarks, taking international requirements into account. To ensure that project managers have a high level of professional competence, good leadership skills and maintain a common standard, the IAPM has been publishing the PM Guide 2.0 - Guideline for the Certification of Project Managers since 2010.
The PM Guide is the basis for the IAPM certification programme and it defines the knowledge elements
that are relevant for project manager certification. It covers all the rules, systems and tools that a project manager needs. The IAPM has defined specific aspects of project work and project management for assessment (certification test).
The PM Guide is an internationally valid and generally binding standard for project managers. It explains the hard and soft project management skills that a project manager should have.
Hard skills as defined by the PM Guide
The hard skills are presented in a process-oriented way and comprise analytical, planning and supervisory aspects of project structures and processes. There are nineteen hard skills topics:
- Project check implementation
- Project file creation
- Project environment analysis
- Project stakeholder analysis
- Project contract acquisition
- Steering committee set-up and core team building
- Defining topics for project workshops
- Creation of a specification
- Creation of a phase model
- Creation of a work breakdown structure
- Work package definition
- Cost breakdown structure and budget drafting
- Process and time schedule creation
- Risk analysis implementation
- Nomination of sub-project managers and work package owners
- Structuring the project organisation (line, matrix, autonomous)
- Project start-up
- Project review implementation
- Project close-out
Soft skills as defined by the PM Guide
The soft skills cannot be presented in a process-oriented way. They relate to the organisation of people in projects. There are eight soft skills topics:
- Team building
- Leadership
- Motivation
- Working in the project team
- Conflict management
- Time management
- Personal success
- Stress management
The PM Guide is currently available in English (ISBN 978-3-941739-07-9) and German (ISBN 978-3-941739-06-2).