APM announces launch of its new Registered Project Professional standard
Following on from last week’s post about Professional Bodies in Project Management and the result from the Benchmark Report 2010 that 54% of project practitioners were not aligned to any professional body in project 
management; an update has just arrived from the APM (Association for Project Management) about their Registered Project Professional initiative.
As you should be aware the APM have been going through some changes over the last few years – kicking off their bid for Chartership, launching the five dimensions of project management and overhauling their presence in the online world particularly with the new community website. The Registered Project Professional is all about APM’s continued journey to professionalism, “build(ing) momentum in creating a recognised and valued profession” whilst waiting for the outcome of the chartership bid.
So what is an APM Registered Project Professional?
It’s a new standard from the APM which is aimed at anyone who works within projects, programmes or portfolios. As part of the pilot, the first 28 candidates were awarded with their certificates during a presentation at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster on 25th November 2010. Speaking at the presentation Mike Nichols, APM chairman said:
“APM will be able to make its impact on the project management world by launching a new wave of extraordinarily capable project managers who are able to display their commitment by proudly wearing the badge of Registered Project Professional”.
The standard – RPP – has been created from a combination of APM’s five dimensions of professionalism – breadth, depth, achievement, committment and accountability. This in effect means your knowledge of project management (the theory; methods etc); the level of your experience; the professional accreditations you have in project management; your committment to continually learning and developing; and finally the ethical code you abide by when carrying out your work.
After following the RPP standards process successfully, each participant will be able to distinguish themselves from others in the field as being endorsed by the professional body.
So how do you become a Registered Project Professional?
From March 2011 you can apply to become a RPP and start the process;
Candidates will complete an online application and e-portfolio of evidence which includes:
- Short statements providing evidence of competence in the critical competences
- A project-based CV to support the statements of competence
- A record of CPD carried out in the previous 12 months
- Named referees who can confirm a candidate’s suitability
- Evidence of academic and professional qualifications
The applications will be assessed and successful candidates will be invited to a 45 minute professional discussion.
Applicants will need to demonstrate their knowledge – as defined in the APM Body of Knowledge and evidence of competence – as defined in the APM Competence Framework. Professional qualifications in project management will be one of the ticks in the box as will a current record of CPD (Continuous Professional Development) which may be a challenge if you are not attending conferences, seminars, branch meetings, training courses, writing articles or sharing knowledge.
So broadly speaking the Registered Project Professional is an exercise in gathering together your existing experiences and knowledge – understanding where you sit in terms of the competency levels of project management and creating a project based CV.
Steve Norton, a programmes and engineering manager from Thales, took part in the first pilot and saw it as an opportunity to have his own professional background and competencies independently assessed;
“Going through the process was straight forward. The most valuable part of the preparation was going back to the APM Competence Framework and working through it. That is the advice I’d give to anybody. Start slow and take your time to work through the competencies set and assess yourself against them. That helped enormously”.
As previously discussed here on the Camel, Arras are 100% behind initiatives that further the development and recognition of the programme and project management industry. Benchmarking against peers is an important element in recognising and ultimately driving up standards.
At this time we still look forward to the outcomes of the pilots and further details about the process. Inclusiveness for all PPM practitioners is paramount if we are to drive up standards across all disciplines. Whilst understanding this is a starting point the assessment criteria today still feels very “project manager” focused, and tightly coupled with APM compliance.
All in all I think the UK project management industry is ready for this standard from the APM, the profession needs to counterbalance the surge of just PRINCE2 qualified practitioners and get back to looking at the whole package!
