Certification Program Overview

History of the Four-Level-Certification (4-L-C)

This Program was originally developed by the International Project Management Association (IPMA) and officially released in 1998.
Over 100,000 certificates have been issued since then in nearly 50 countries.
IPMA has certified more individuals as project managers than any other organization in the world.

asapm Certification Program Levels and Requirements
Title	IPMA Level	Abbrev- iation	Self-Assessment	Exam	Evidence	Interview
Project Associate	D	IPMA-D	Yes	1, 2, 3	No	No
Project Manager	C	IPMA-C	Yes	3	PoE, 360	Yes
Senior PM	B	IPMA-B	Yes	3	PoE, 360	Yes
Program Manager	A	IPMA-AG	Yes	No	PoE, 360	Yes
Portfolio Manager	A	IPMA-AF	Yes	No	tbd	Yes
Projects Director	A	IPMA-AD	Yes	No	tbd	Yes

Abbreviations:
A, B, C, D = IPMA Level
G = proGram
F = portFolio
D = Director

Exam Codes:
1 = Multiple choice
2 = True/False
3 = Short answer

Evidence Codes:
PoE = Portfolio of Evidence
360 = 360 degree assessment
(see Stage 2 Application for details)

Which Certification is Right for Me?
Level and abbreviation	Prerequisites	Typical job titles
Project Associate IPMA-D	2 FTE years working on projects or 6 months and BA/BS	Team member, Junior PM, Technical Specialist, Scheduler, Team Leader
Project Manager IPMA-C	3 FTE years managing non-complex* projects during the past 6 years	Project Manager, Project Lead, Deputy PM, Technical Lead
Senior Project Manager IPMA-B	3 FTE years managing complex* projects during the past 6 years	Senior Project Manager, Project Manager
Program Manager IPMA-AG	Available January, 2010
Portfolio Manager IPMA-AF	To be announced
Projects Director IPMA-AD	To be announced

* See the CIFTER Article for how we determine Project Management Complexity.