IPMA

The aim of a project environment analysis is to record, examine, evaluate and document all factors influencing the project. Both the strategic importance and the possible effects of parallel projects are taken into account, including synergy effects and conflicting relationships.

Projektron BCS supports you in the analysis with the Environment view, in which you can differentiate between the following factors:

Internal environment factors

External environment factors

Factual environment factors (factual factors)

Social environment factors

With Projektron BCS, you can quickly record the most important framework conditions of your project and visualize the environmental factors in the form of a clear diagram. This allows you to keep an eye on all relevant influencing factors and take targeted measures to ensure the success of the project.

You can record and analyze the interests and influences of social influencing factors (stakeholders) by attitude and influence using a dynamic matrix (stakeholder portfolio diagram). The contact management (CRM) integrated in BCS enables you to declare external persons, organizational units or groups as stakeholders. This allows you to plan the appropriate communication strategy for each stakeholder group at an early stage (communication plan) and define assessment criteria for controlling the strategies.

The definition phase according to the IPMA standard also includes the definition of how to deal with contracts and the definition of contract content with customers. The contract design with suppliers follows in the subsequent planning phase. With its integrated inventory and contract management functions, Projektron BCS equips you optimally for all eventualities and requirements of your contract creation and management.

With Projektron BCS, you can efficiently and conveniently generate a variety of standard reports for your projects and your company. Project applications and project completion reports are available as standard templates that you can adapt to your own requirements. Checklist entries help you to carry out all relevant activities before the project is completed.

The reports provide you with well-founded information and an important basis for decision-making, which is essential for the successful management of projects in accordance with the IPMA standard.

Progress report: Templates for reports on project progress, status report and overview

Effort report: Templates for booked effort, total effort and tickets

Cost report: templates for cost allocation, cost units and project costs

Project reports from Projektron BCS also offer great advantages when working with external business partners:

Project preparation report: Contributes to a common understanding of the project

Proof of expenditure for projects and tickets: Increases transparency and ensures trust

Once integrated into Projektron BCS, you can design and use your own report templates thanks to the interface to the open source report designer BIRT. These templates can be used just as easily and conveniently for report generation and automated dispatch as the standard reports in Projektron BCS.

IPMA stands for “International Project Management Association” and is a globally recognized organization for project management. IPMA was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Switzerland. It is active in over 70 countries and has more than 70,000 members.

IPMA is committed to the further development of project management and offers various services and offerings for project managers. These include certifications for project managers at various levels

• Level D (Certified Project Management Associate): This is the entry level and relates to project staff working in a project team.
• Level C (Certified Project Manager): This refers to experienced project managers who can manage small to medium-sized projects.
• Level B (Certified Senior Project Manager): This refers to experienced project managers who can manage large and complex projects.
• Level A (Certified Projects Director): This refers to experienced managers who can lead and manage multiple projects or programs.

In addition, IPMA offers training courses, seminars and conferences to broaden and deepen the knowledge and skills of project managers. IPMA also works closely with other organizations to improve and promote standards and best practices in project management.

IPMA is known for its “4-Level Approach” to assessing project management competencies, which is based on the skills, experience and behaviors of project managers. This approach is also known as the “IPMA Competence Baseline” and is an essential basis for the certification of project managers by IPMA.

Overall, IPMA is an important organization for project management professionals who are committed to improving their skills and competencies in project management and strive for internationally recognized certifications.

Project management according to IPMA follows a standardized process that is divided into five phases. According to DIN 69901-5, project management encompasses the entirety of management tasks, organization, techniques and resources for the initialization, definition, planning, control and completion of projects.

1. Initiation: At the beginning, the objectives are roughly outlined, responsibilities are clarified, project management processes are selected and approval for the project is given.
2. Definition: In this phase, the project and its objectives are defined and documented. The project team is formed, a rough project structure is created, milestones are defined, expenses are estimated and success criteria are defined.
3. Planning: In this phase, the plan for the project is drawn up, which includes the steps for achieving the project goals and the schedule for implementing the project.
4. Realization/Control: In this phase, the activities of the project are carried out and monitored to ensure that the project is on schedule and on budget.
5. Closure: In this phase, the project is finalized, the results are reviewed and the project is officially closed.

Throughout the process, it is important that the project manager has good communication skills to lead the team and ensure that everyone involved is in the loop. The project manager should also proactively address the risks and challenges of the project and take action to minimize or eliminate them. Project management according to IPMA is designed to improve the skills of project managers at all levels and ensure that projects can be completed successfully.

It is difficult to say which project management method is better, as both IPMA (International Project Management Association) and PMI (Project Management Institute) are internationally recognized organizations that offer high-quality project management methods. Both methods have their strengths and weaknesses and are geared towards different needs and requirements.

	IPMA is more aligned with European standards and places more emphasis on the soft skills and leadership abilities of project managers. IPMA certifications therefore assess both technical and social skills.
	PMI, on the other hand, is geared towards American standards and places more emphasis on the use of tools and techniques for effective project management and monitoring. PMI certifications therefore mainly assess the technical skills of project managers.

Asian and American countries (both North and South) rely heavily on PMI-certified candidates to fulfill their project management tasks. PMI is more important globally than IPMA. IPMA, on the other hand, is only known in European countries, as it has its roots in Germany and France and its headquarters in Switzerland. The IPMA has issued 65,000 level B and C certifications and is represented on the European continent in Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Southern Europe. If you are planning to do project management in European countries, the IPMA is the better choice as it is more in demand. Similarly, the demand for PMI's PMP certification is higher as most Asian and American continents prefer project management using the Project Management Institute's methods. However, if you are looking for a certification that is widely accepted, PMI is the safer route even in Southern European countries, where IPMA and PMI are almost equivalent.

Ultimately, it depends on the specific requirements and needs of a project as to which method is more suitable. It is advisable to investigate both methods and check which one best suits the specific requirements of the project.

Project management according to IPMA has several strengths:

1. Focus on competencies: IPMA focuses on the competencies a project manager needs to be successful and offers a standardized competency model that can be certified at different levels. This helps to ensure that project managers at all levels have the necessary skills and experience to manage projects effectively.
2. Flexibility: IPMA is a flexible approach to project management that adapts to the needs and requirements of the project and the organization. The IPMA model can be adapted to fit the specific needs of organizations and projects, making it highly adaptable.
3. Emphasis on soft skills: IPMA places emphasis not only on the project manager's technical skills, but also on their soft skills, such as leadership, communication, collaboration and negotiation. This helps project managers to communicate more effectively with the team and stakeholders and build better relationships.
4. Supporting continuous improvement: Project management according to IPMA emphasizes the continuous improvement of processes and procedures in project management to ensure that projects become more effective and efficient. This helps to improve the quality of projects over time.
5. Internationally recognized: IPMA is an internationally recognized standard for project management and offers certifications at various levels that are recognized worldwide. This enables project managers to demonstrate their skills and competencies on an international level and improve their career opportunities.

Although IPMA project management has many strengths, there are also some weaknesses:

1. Complexity: The IPMA model is very complex and can be overwhelming for some organizations and project managers. It requires extensive training and knowledge to apply the model effectively. This can be challenging for smaller organizations or projects.
2. Time and cost: Implementing the IPMA model requires time and resources to train and certify project managers and to review and improve processes and procedures. This can be an obstacle for some organizations, especially if they have limited resources.
3. Emphasis on theoretical concepts: IPMA emphasizes theoretical concepts and models that may be difficult for some project managers to apply. Some project managers prefer practical approaches and may have difficulty applying the theoretical concepts in practice.
4. Emphasis on soft skills: Although the emphasis on soft skills is a strength of IPMA, this can be a challenge for some project managers, especially if they do not have strong leadership and communication skills. They may struggle to develop and apply their soft skills effectively.
5. No industry-specific standards: Unlike some other project management methodologies, such as Automotive SPICE, IPMA does not offer industry-specific standards. This can be a disadvantage for some organizations, especially if they operate in a specialized industry.

It is important to emphasize that these weaknesses do not mean that IPMA project management is bad. Instead, they should be taken into account when deciding which method is best suited to a particular project.