APM Professional certificate
The Introductory Certificate in Project Management is the entry level to the APM’s professional qualification programme and offers an insight into this exciting and challenging discipline.
No prior knowledge or experience in project management is required for this certificate. It is designed for anyone looking to start a successful career in project management or those wanting to understand the principles of project management excellence.
The course is 2 days (Saturday & Sunday, 9:00 – 17:00 each day) and features a 60 question, multiple-choice exam taken over one hour on the final afternoon.
What is assessed?
This highly interactive and participative course covers the following topics:
§ Exam Overview
Candidates are given details on the structure and content of the ICPM Examination. They are provided with several opportunities to practice sample exam questions and are given advice on how to approach the paper, including appropriate revision and exam techniques.
§ Introductions
An opportunity to familiarise candidates with the course content, desired outcomes and individual requirements.
§ Anatomy of a Project
This session differentiates between project and operational work, looks at the project life cycle and the benefits of adopting a structured approach to Project Management. It also defines project management and the project management process, the roles and responsibilities within projects and discusses the importance of the project sponsor.
§ Projects in their Environment
This session distinguishes between programmes & portfolios, their management and the benefits of each.
§ Concept Phase
Candidates discuss benefits management, needs statements, stakeholder management, successes criteria, critical success factors and key performance indicators for projects. This session also looks at how the project strategy contributes to its success, as well as an overview of the Business Case and its typical contents.
§ Definition Phase
Effective planning and estimating help to define the optimum approach to executing a specific project. In this session candidates look at the importance of the Project Management Plan.
They will become familiar with the process of developing the Work Breakdown Structure and other structures that help to break a project into manageable ‘chunks’. They will also look at estimating and other techniques that can be used to enable efficient utilisation of resources during the project lifecycle whilst ensuring that time constraints are satisfied. In addition, fundamental techniques such as networks, critical path analysis, resource and cost planning are covered.
§ People in Projects
Candidates discuss the ‘soft’ skills associated with managing people. This includes areas such as communication, effective meetings, teamwork, motivation and leadership.
§ Specific Knowledge Areas
Candidates are provided with the skills t o identify, assess and manage project risks. They will gain an understanding of the activities needed to ensure that the project meets the necessary quality requirements. This session also covers the procurement process.
§ Implementation
Candidates look at information management, project reporting, and project monitoring and control. This session also looks at issue management and the importance of implementing change in an informed and controlled manner. There is a close link between change and configuration management – the processes of ensuring that the project utilises and delivers what it is obliged to.
§ Handover & Closeout (inc. Post-Project Evaluation)
The final session looks at the importance of ensuring that there is a controlled handover of project deliverables to the ‘‘client’. The importance of organisational learning from project experience and disbanding the project team in an effective manner are also covered.
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