IPMA project management: competence instead of method
The International Project Management Association (IPMA) is a worldwide federation of national project management associations. Its legal seat is in Zurich. When the ICB4 was published, more than 60 national organisations belonged to it, in Switzerland the Swiss Project Management Association (spm).
What is special about IPMA: the association does not describe a method but competences. While HERMES, PRINCE2 or the PMBOK Guide define how a project should run, IPMA describes what a person must be able to do in order to lead projects successfully.
The ICB4: the competence standard
The basis is the Individual Competence Baseline, version 4 (ICB4). It is regarded as the global standard for individual competences in project, programme and portfolio management. The ICB4 says of itself that it is neither a textbook nor a cookbook. It does not describe processes and does not recommend specific methods or tools. Which method is used is decided by the organisation.
The ICB4 defines competence as the application of knowledge, skills and abilities in order to achieve the desired results. It arranges 29 competence elements in three areas, the so-called “Eye of Competence”:
| Area | What it is about | Elements |
|---|---|---|
| Perspective (context) | the environment of the project: strategy, governance, regulations, power and interest, culture | 5 |
| People | personal and social competences: self-reflection, communication, leadership, teamwork, conflict, negotiation | 10 |
| Practice | the craft: project design, objectives, time, cost, risks, stakeholders, change | 14 |
28 of these elements are relevant to project management. The fourteenth element in the Practice area concerns only programmes and portfolios.
The four certification levels
In Switzerland, the IPMA certifications are carried out by the VZPM (Verein zur Zertifizierung von Personen im Management, the association for the certification of persons in management). Its supporting organisations include the spm and the SGO. According to the VZPM, a total of 32,749 initial certificates at levels A to D had been issued in Switzerland by the end of 2025, and around 416,000 worldwide. IPMA today has 72 national member associations.
| Level | Title | Core competence and admission according to the VZPM |
|---|---|---|
| D | Certified Project Management Associate | Working in project teams. No project experience required, written examination. |
| C | Certified Project Manager | Leading projects of limited complexity or sub-projects in complex undertakings. At least 3 years of experience in the last 6 years. |
| B | Certified Senior Project Manager | Leading complex projects. At least 5 years in the last 8 years, 3 of them in a leadership role in complex projects. |
| A | Certified Project Director | Leading very complex projects, programmes or portfolios at strategic level. At least 5 years in the last 12 years, 3 of them at strategic level. |
From level C upwards, the VZPM does not only test knowledge. It assesses competence on the basis of a report on one of the candidate's own projects and an interview with assessors. In the interview, candidates describe specific situations, their approach and the result. The VZPM justifies this by saying that past behaviour is the best basis for assessing future behaviour.
A certificate is valid for five years. For renewal, at least 30 months of practice and 175 hours of further training must be demonstrated during this period.
In addition, there are certificates in Agile Leadership at all four levels. They are based on an interpretation of the ICB4 for agile environments.
What certification costs
The prices are set by the VZPM. They apply to initial certification in the public certification rounds, without preparation courses.
| Level | Initial certification | With a valid certificate of the level below |
|---|---|---|
| D | CHF 900 (in companies CHF 800, at educational institutions CHF 440, in each case from 5 persons) | – |
| C | CHF 3,200 | CHF 2,900 (with Level D) |
| B | CHF 4,300 | CHF 3,700 (with Level C), CHF 4,000 (with Level D) |
| A | CHF 5,900 | CHF 5,300 (with Level B), CHF 5,600 (with Level C) |
Recertification after five years costs CHF 250 for Level D and CHF 600 for levels A to C. Unemployed persons and students pay the educational-institution price for Level D. Depending on the preparation, course costs are added.
Who gets certified
The VZPM does not publish which industries the certified persons come from. I have not found a breakdown by industry in the studies of the German-speaking project management associations either. There are only indications:
- According to the ZHAW, the IPMA system is used in the private sector, in public administration and by the self-employed, predominantly in Europe and Asia.
- A specialist article by the Verband der Wirtschaftsinformatik from 2008 names financial service providers, industry, IT and telecommunications as well as public administration as areas in which IPMA certificates are particularly valued in Switzerland. This is an assessment by the authors, not a statistic, and it is more than 15 years old.
Reliable figures by industry are therefore not available. An enquiry to the VZPM could clarify this.
Why this matters to clients
A method says what has to be done in a project. It does not say whether someone can lead a project. The HERMES reference manual explicitly assumes that those involved have project management training or sound practical experience. An IPMA certificate from level C upwards is independent evidence of this, testing knowledge and experience together.
What a certificate does not deliver is described in the article on IPMA Level C in this series.
My support
I have been IPMA Level C certified since 2023 (Certified Project Manager, valid until 2028), have worked with HERMES for years and combine the two: HERMES as the method for structure and decisions, the IPMA competences for leading people and dealing with the project's environment.
Why a certificate is always a snapshot and where I place myself today, I describe in the article on IPMA Level C.
Sources: IPMA Individual Competence Baseline for Project Management, version 4.0, German edition · VZPM, IPMA certification system (in German) · VZPM, IPMA Level C (in German) · VZPM, IPMA Level B (in German) · VZPM, IPMA Level D (in German) · VZPM, recertification (in German) · VZPM, presentation of the IPMA certificates, as at 17 July 2026 (in German) · VZPM, prices for certifications, valid from 1 March 2024 (in German) · ZHAW, IPMA overview page (in German) · Kähny and Kruschitz, Zertifizierungen im Projektmanagement, VIW, 2008 (in German) · HERMES Reference Manual Project Management, 2022 edition (in German)