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IPMO-Practitioner

Building on the Foundation

Course Description

The International Project Management Officer (IPMO)® certification is the most important industry-recognized certification series for project management officers and professionals working in or associated with PMO activities and related services.

Certified IPMO Practitioners have demonstrated, through a combination of formal training and competency assessment, that they have an in-depth understanding of PMO principles and practices, including the design, implementation, and operation of a single PMO at any level or construct within an organization. This certification builds on the IPMO-F (Foundation) certification.

Since PMOs began to appear in organizations, academic researchers and project management practitioners have been asking how to best structure PMOs in terms of services, roles, governance, culture, and leadership styles to provide maximum sustainable benefit. This, in turn, drives the perceived value of PMOs across the organization.

The problem is that the majority of recommendations to date have created confusion and resulted in piecemeal approaches. Less than 33% of PMOs reach their full potential (PMI, 2013), indicating a limited understanding of how PMOs should be defined not only at the project, program, and portfolio levels but also in what they do, how they do it, and their configurations that optimally support the organizational needs of today and tomorrow. AIPMO and its partners’ experience confirms that the vast majority of PMOs are only offering about a third of the PMO services they should be offering. High-performing PMOs are more than three times as likely as their low-performing peers to reach their full potential in contributing business value to their organizations (PMI, 2013). This course brings together the latest in academic research and expert practices from international experts who have also contributed to international standards in the domains of PMOs, projects, programs, and portfolios. The IPMO-P certification will ensure that you have the competencies to bring your PMO into the high-performing PMO category.

The course covers topics of strategy formulation and execution, success factors, success criteria, PMOs and their services, assessment of the current PMO setups in terms of SWOT, and then a roadmap to strategically design and implement a PMO using an integrated approach to ensure PMO alignment with organizational objectives. The content of AIPMO’s Body of Knowledge is covered, which will comprise a series of books covering PMO Principles, Portfolio, Program, and Project Principles, PMO Techniques and Tools, PMO Services and Capabilities, plus references to other books.

As a PMO Practitioner, you will be able to design, establish, or revalue your PMO, i.e., a set of services within the context of your organization and the projects you support. You will understand the key PMO documentation, how to define and measure PMO performance, PMO success, PMO benefits, and PMO value, and link these to the latest thinking in AIPMO’s new principle-based PMO maturity model. In doing so, you will have the opportunity to find out why some PMOs might perform below expectations and learn how to improve individual and collective PMO performance in an organization to achieve the maximum sustainable benefits.

This course is also designed to be hands-on and encompasses the day-to-day operational aspects of PMOs by detailing the challenges and good practices to improve communication and optimize service utilization. You will take away key documents from the course that can be used immediately at your workplace to carry out PMO strategic and operational reviews, as well as day-to-day activities.

Today,

Tomorrow,

Together.

PMO Services and Capabilities

THE BOOK FOR EVERY PMO PROFESSIONAL

This book is for every PMO professional who would like to understand how to define and deliver a PMO service strategy. Big part from the course material is from this book and the questions in the exam as well. It is highly recommended for all of the participants to have the book before the course start.

Buy on Amazon

PMO Services and Capabilities Book

Modules

  • Course outline
  • AIPMO
  • Introductions
  • Certification path, Different levels of exam & Sample foundation questions
  • Definition of lifecycle
  • The organizational context of AIPMO’s strategic lifecycle framework
  • AIPMO’s lifecycle framework’s contents and PMO capabilities
  • AIPMO’s document map for PMO creation and P3 record-keeping
  • AIPMO’s body of knowledge, 22 service domains
  • Module retrospective
  • Mapping mission (organization purpose) and environmental factors to strategy
  • Organization’s governance hierarchy - a driver of PMO setup
  • Implementing strategic objectives in portfolios, programs, and projects
  • Portfolio program and project level as a driver of PMO setup
  • Module retrospective
  • PMO/PMO services organizational demand
  • Identify, record, and characterize PMOs stakeholders
  • Stakeholders define success criteria and provide success factors
  • Module retrospective
  • We All Need to Take Action But How?
  • The Evolution of Sustainability: A Historical Journey
  • Sustainability Frameworks and Standards
  • Uncovering the Facts: Why Sustainability Projects Fail
  • Sustainability Scale Levels for Single and Multi-PMOs
  • Current Role of PMOs and Sustainability
  • Potential of PMOs in Driving Sustainability Initiative Success
  • Barriers to PMO Engagement in Sustainability Initiatives
  • Integrating Sustainability into PMO Services: Current Approaches and Challenges
  • Emerging Trends in PMOs and Sustainability
  • Retrospective
  • Project’s challenges as a PMO set-up driver
  • Applying principles over procedures as challenge rises
  • (Some) Project control choices - Foundation refresher
  • PMO charter - align with driving factors, new PMO need and charter
  • Gathering people’s needs for services and service levels
  • Module retrospective
  • Translating PMO drivers to the PMO’s strategy & management plans
  • Translating PMO scope to PMO design and service procedures
  • Competences (skills) and tools to deliver PMO services
  • Technique and tool (software and non-software) selection and deployment
  • PMO resource management and sourcing the PMO staff
  • PMO headcount and PMO's resource needs or capacity constraints
  • PMO business justification (balancing design with costs)
  • Module retrospective

  • Why pilot the PMO’s services
  • PMO's day-to-day cadence helps drive project progress
  • Determining & reporting status (project and PMO)
  • PMO as project document library and knowledge managers
  • Continuous process improvement
  • Drivers of change
  • Retiring a PMO service
  • Transforming a PMO service
  • Process steps to retire temporary and permanent PMO
  • PMO transformation
  • Module retrospective
  • Project and project management success
  • PMO success
  • PMO capability maturity metrics
  • Link between PMO capability maturity and PMO success
  • Module retrospective
  • Theories in academic research and practitioner use
  • Definitions of an eponymous law, theory, and phenomenon
  • What comes next in your career development
  • Career options and AIPMO qualification paths
  • Module retrospective

Teaching Approach

The training approach includes

1

Lecture

2

Team exercises

3

Group discussions

4

Case study

5

Personal coaching

6

Exam

This is one of my best trainings that I ever had. I feel that its practical I feel its hitting my areas that I want to improve. There were many ideas that I can apply and share it with my colleagues. Again this is a practical course that has increased my knowledge. 

Salahuddin Iskanderani
Project Engineer, Atmata

The course was really Insightful. Some of the concepts for setting up a PMO were new and I liked the different approach from everyone, the different maturity, different ways people execute aspects of PMO. Now I really have the reason to go to the management and advocate for certain aspects of service capability, in terms of capacity since now I got the literature and I know how to list the things in very structured way. 

Donald Chinyanga
PMO Head, FBC Holdings Limited

I enjoyed attending the IPMO-P course and particularly liked case studies. We were guided by amazing instructor, and I found his tips particularly helpful. I also liked the framework and found it very useful! 

Ben Watson
Senior PMO Manager, John Lewis Partnership

The IPMO-P course was great. It was great to interact with so many people around the world. I found the case studies particularly helpful. It was good to have participants from different countries and different fields.

Nacereddine El Hadi Ait Belkacem
Cluster PMO Director, Edge

Who should attend

  • PMO directors/PMO managers 
  • Project/program management professional 
  • Consultants (involved in projects and/or organizational change) 
  • Project/program/portfolio managers with expertise in PMOs
  •  Experienced PMO core team

Key takeaways

Understand the importance of a strategic PMO lifecycle framework to design and run PMO services to achieve maximum sustainable benefits

Describe the different roles of PMOs across different levels of the organization

Workshop experience in applying the Strategic PMO lifecycle framework to your PMO with an aligned set of PMO services that address your organization’s challenges

Gain experience in establishing the mandate for PMO implementations

Understand the drivers of PMO change and how to see the signs

Understand PMO success and how it is measured

Understand the similarities and differences between organizational project management maturity and PMO management maturity

Understand your own PMO improvement plan

Learn new techniques and tools never used before in the PMO arena

Prerequisites

  • 3 years plus experience in project and/or program management
  • 3 years plus experience as a PMO member or higher, i.e., PMO manager
  • Ideally IPMO-F, SC-IPMO, and MA-IPMO
  • Ideally a formal PM certification such as PMP®, Prince II®, or IPMA® (Levels C or higher, i.e., B or A)
  • Educated at degree level or similar

Exam

The online exam is run by AIPMO, and moderated by a proctor from AIPMO at the end of the course.

  • Open book exam, 75 multiple choice questions 
  • Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes 

Attendees are notified of their exam results by email.


IMPORTANT NOTICE

The AIPMO books are part of the course reference material (included only in the in-class  package.) If you’re attending virtually, please order them on Amazon.

Note: If a book appears as ‘out of stock’ or ‘currently unavailable’ on Amazon, it indicates that, based on your location, you might need to visit your country-specific Amazon in order to make a purchase.

Frequently Asked Questions

You Ask, We Answer

Each of the certification categories serves a different purpose. The first category, “PMO Core Certifications,” shows that you have the competencies to design and build a service-orientated PMO with services that are needed by your project community. At the top-level (Expert) certification, you must show that you have the competencies to design and build one or more PMOs (called PMO topologies) within an integrated PMO Services topology. The second category of certifications is called the “Specialist” certifications because they directly relate to the ability to offer PMO services. If a PMO service is planned, then the PMO needs to have the capability to provide it. There are over 20 specialist courses at the time of writing. Project team members also need these courses. The third category of courses, called “Master Class” certifications, comprises three certifications that everyone needs, regardless of whether you are a PMO, project team member, or a PM/O director. These courses are the techniques and tools of a trade, so everyone, including project professionals, needs them.

These three certifications are part of the PMO core certifications. IPMO-F (Foundation) is for the PMO and project team members and covers topics related to working in a PMO and project team. It covers the lower part of the AIPMO Strategic Lifecycle framework.

IPMO-P (Practitioner) is for PMO managers, project managers, and senior PMO and project team members. It covers topics such as how to identify the need for a PMO and design it and how to justify and build a PMO and its services.

IPMO-E (Expert) is not for everyone. It is the top-level certification for PMO directors and consultants who manage, consult, or design enterprise PMO and PMO Service topologies.

For now, it is best to ask one of our professionals. You can either call or chat online. They can provide you with expert advice on planning and advancing your career.

The short answer is yes. Bundles are shown on the website, but you can also call to ask if you can get a special discount. This will also be considered if you join the course as a group.

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