Eight Unisys project managers recently passed the International Project Management Association (IPMA) certification examination.
Dennis Engelbrecht, project director at Unisys Africa, says this certification "proves the dedication of Unisys project management resources to providing the highest level of skills when implementing projects throughout the customer base.
"It provides a level of competence that a customer would expect from the people involved in its implementation projects," he adds.
The IPMA is a European body, similar to the American Project Management Institute (PMI). According to Engelbrecht, its certification is more relevant to system integration projects than its American counterpart.
"The IPMA is fairly new in SA, having recently established an office here. Previously it operated only in continental Europe and the UK. For that reason, its certification is not that common in SA. The eight Unisys project managers are among the first ones to have written the exam."
The exam consists of two papers: an hour-long multiple-choice test and a three-hour long questionnaire. The entry requirement to write the exam is two years` project management experience.
According to the IPMA, the certification programme is an incentive for project managers and members of project management teams to:
* Expand and improve their knowledge, experience and personal attitude;
* Continue their education;
* Improve the quality of project management; and
* Better achieve project objectives.
The programme gives project management personnel an internationally acknowledged certificate demonstrating their qualification and competence, and allows the suppliers of project management services to validate their employees` professional qualification and competence. This gives clients the certainty that they are getting the services of project management professionals.
A variety of qualifications and competences concerning knowledge, experience and personal attitude are assessed in this programme. The IPMA consists of a four-level certification system. The main requirements for each level are derived from typical activities, responsibilities and requirements from practice. The four levels are:
* IPMA Level A: The certificated projects director, who should be able to direct all projects of a company or branch or all projects of a programme.
* IPMA Level B: The certificated project manager, who should be able to manage complex projects him/herself.
* IPMA Level C: The certificated project management professional, who should be able to manage non-complex projects him/herself and/or assist the manager of a complex project in all elements and aspects of project management.
* IPMA Level D: The certificated project management practitioner, who should have the project management knowledge in all elements and aspects.
According to the IPMA, the characteristics of a complex project are: many interrelated subsystems/sub-projects, elements and context relations; several involved companies and/or different organisational units; numerous different disciplines; several different phases; and many project management methods, techniques and tools necessary and applied.
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