Performance Based Competency Standardsfor Global Level 1 Project
Managers This document is the first in a series of planned standards. Future
standards are expect to address other levels of project manager as well as program
managers,project team members, project management consultants, project
management trainers, and others as identified.
Why Global Standards?
As project management has become a more widely used management
approach,both public and private sector entities have become interested in
standards that describe levels of acceptable workplace performance.
Many of these entities operate across
national boundaries and are thus interested in standards and
qualifications that are transferable. Governments, concerned with
ensuring an internationally competitive workforce, and individuals,
desiring greater mobility, are also interested in the mutual
recognition and transferability of qualifications.
The purpose of the Global Performance Based Standards for Project
Management Personnel initiative is therefore to develop an agreed
framework that can be used bybusinesses, academic institutions,
professional associations, and government standards and
qualifications bodies globally. This framework will form the basis
for review, development, and recognition of local standards and will
thereby provide a sound basis for mutual recognition and
transferability of project management
qualifications.
For the purposes of this initiative, a framework is defined as a
structure that describes elements and relationships in such a way
that stakeholders with divergent views and vested interests can
achieve a common understanding and enter into productive
dialogue.
Performance Based Competency Standards
Performance based competency standards (PBCS) describe what people
can be expected to do in their working roles, as well as the
knowledge and understanding of
their occupation that is needed to underpin these roles at a
specific level of competence. While PBCS are designed for assessment
purposes, they are also developmental in nature when assessment is
used to support reflective practice. PBCS have been developed within
the context of government endorsed standards and qualifications
frameworks in Australia (ANTA), New Zealand (NZQA), South Africa (SAQA)
and the United Kingdom (QCA).
The PBCS as presented in this document focus on threshold
performance —
demonstration of the ability to do something at a standard
considered acceptable in
the workplace. PBCS should be distinguished from attribute-based
competency models which are generally focused on superior
performance. Performance based competency standards, also called
occupational competency
standards, address two primary questions:
• What is usually done in the workplace in this occupation,
profession, or role?
• What standard of performance is usually considered acceptable?
The answers to these questions are typically written in a
particular format. Although the actual terms used may vary, the
basic structure and content is quite consistent:
• Units of Competency
A Unit of Competency describes a broad area of professional or
occupational performance that is meaningful to practitioners and
that will be observable in the performance of individuals in the
workplace. Most occupations will have 10-15
Units of Competency.
• Elements of Competency
Elements describe in more detail what is done in the workplace
within each Unit of Competency. A single Unit will generally have
3-5 elements.
• Performance Criteria
Performance Criteria describe the standard of performance that is
required. Performance Criteria specify the type of performance in
the workplace that wouldconstitute adequate evidence of competence.
They describe what a competent
practitioner would do, expressed in terms of observable results
and/or actions in the workplace. Performance Criteria specify the
results from which competent performance in would be inferred.
• Range Statements
Range Statements describe the circumstances or context in which
competent performance is expected. They add definition to the Unit
by elaborating critical or significant aspects of the performance
requirements of the Unit.
• Evidence Guides
The Evidence Guides provide information to help an assessor
determine how the described competence can be demonstrated. Products
refer to project documentsthat may be provided by the individual
while processes refer to narratives. The category labeled resources
identifies people who might be consulted by the assessor. The
evidence guides are illustrative, not comprehensive.
• Underpinning Knowledge and Understanding
Adequate workplace performance is built on a foundation of relevant
knowledge and understanding. While the underpinning knowledge and
understanding may not be directly observable, its inclusion in the PBCS may help provide a more accurate assessment.
• Required Skills
Performance-based competency assessment addresses skills
indirectly: the presence of skill is inferred from an individual’s
ability to meet the performance criteria. However, by identifying
the Required Skills, these standards may also be
used by training and development organizations to help individuals
develop the skills needed to meet the performance criteria.
Role Description for Global Level 1 Project Manager
In some organizations, project manager is a position or title,
while in others, it is a role.Whether a position or a role, the range of responsibilities varies
widely:
- A project manager could be responsible for all aspects of the
feasibility, design,
construction, and commissioning of a power plant with a budget of
well over 100
million USD.
- A project manager could be responsible for the development of a
research report
with a budget of less than 100 hours.
- Project managers may be responsible for subprojects that are
elements of larger
undertakings. Obviously, what project managers do, and what level of performance
is acceptable,will be very different. Thus it is important to clarify the
applicability of a standard
that attempts to measure the competence of a project manager. As a
basis for the development of standards, the GPBSPMP Initiative has
identified two levels of project manager based on the management
difficulty of the project involved. The difficulty factors and the
ratings for each level are given in the chart following while the
text below explains each of the factors in the table.
1. Stability of the overall project context.
The project context includes the projectlife cycle, the
stakeholders, the performing organization, and the wider
socioeconomic environment. When the project context changes — phase
contents are in a state of flux, team members come and go,
functional managers change, applicable laws and regulations are in a
state of flux — the project manager’s challenge increases.GPBSPMP Initiative, Proprietary and confidential, © 2005 all rights
reserved 5 of 7 Final, pre-release draft, March 4, 2005 ver 0.8
2. Number of distinct methods and approaches involved in performing
the project.
Most projects involve more than one management or technical
discipline; some projects involve a large number of different
disciplines. Since each discipline tends to attack its part of the
project in a different way, more disciplines
means a project that is relatively more difficult to manage.
3. Magnitude of legal, social, or environmental implications from
performing the project.
This factor addresses the potential impact of external factors. For
example, a project manager responsible for the construction of a
nuclear power plant close to a major urban center will generally
need to deal with a larger number of stakeholders and a more diverse
stakeholder population than the manager of a residential home
construction project.
4. Expected financial impact (positive or negative) on the project's
organizational stakeholders.
This factor accounts for the traditional measure of “size,” but
does so in relative terms. For example, a project manager in a
consumer electronics start-up is subject to more scrutiny than a
project manager doing a similarly sized project for a computer
manufacturer with operations around the globe.
5. Strategic importance to the project's organizational
stakeholders.
This factor addresses yet another aspect of size, and again deals
with it in relative rather than absolute terms. While every project
should be aligned with the organization’s strategic direction, not
every project can be equally important.
6. Stakeholder cohesion regarding the characteristics of the product
of the project.
When the stakeholders are all heading off in different directions,
getting them aligned and moving in the same direction can be an
enormous management challenge.
7. Number and variety of interfaces between project and other
organizational entities.
In the same way that a large number of different disciplines on a
project can create a management challenge, a large number of
different organizations can as well.
In order to be assessed at Global Level 1, an individual must have
managed a project that meets, at a minimum, all of the criteria for
Global Level 1. Their assessment project must not have any
characteristics that fall into the column labeled “below
level 1.”
Appendix A
Shared Elements for Role Descriptionfor Global Level 1
■Underpinning Knowledge and Understanding
Communication theory and practice
Conflict management theory and practice
Cost benefit analysis
Decision making theory and practice
Delegation
Ethics standards
Knowledge gained from previous relevant projects
Leadership theory and practice
Project management theory and practice
Relevant legal and regulatory requirements
Team building theory and practice
Project Manager
■Required Skills
Collecting, analysing, and organising information
Communication skills
Conflict management skills
Decision making skills
Influencing others
Listening skills
Negotiation skills
Planning and organising activities
Problem solving skills
Reflective thinking skills
Using mathematical ideas and techniques
Using technology
Working with others in teams
Appendix B
Assessment Guidelines
This appendix is not a part of the standard. It is included in
order to provide a some basic information for organizations that may
wish to develop an assessment process using this standard.
The Assessment Process Assessment is the process of collecting evidence and making
judgments about whether an individual can perform to the level
expected in the workplace as expressed in the relevant standard.
Assessment should be broad enough to include evidence of the
achievement of all the performance criteria. Assessment must confirm
the inference that competence is
(a) able to be satisfied under the particular circumstances assessed
and
(b) able to be transferred to other circumstances.
Assessment methods should reflect basic workplace demands such as
literacy andthe needs of particular groups,
including but not limited to:
• People with disabilities
• People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• Women
• Younger people
• Older people
• People in rural and remote locations.
Assessor Requirements
Generally, an assessor will need to demonstrate:
• Prior competence as a project manager at or above the level of
the candidate being assessed.
• Evidence of currency in the field of project management (e.g.,
managing projects, consulting on project management, providing training in project management).
• Competence in conducting performance-based competency
assessments.
Evidence Requirements
While the assessor must be confident that the learner or candidate
is competent
against the standard, the onus is on the candidate to demonstrate
that the evidence
provided is:
- Authentic (candidate’s own work)
- Valid (directly related to the current version of the standard)
- Reliable (candidate consistently meets requirements in the
standards)
- Current (candidate currently has capacity to perform to the
level in the standard)
- Sufficient (addresses all the dimensions of the standard)
- Relevant (the evidence was obtained from a project that meets
the minimum standards for the role assessed)
- The knowledge and skill levels described in the standard
must also be demonstrated
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