GAQM APM case studies
GAQM APM · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The GAQM Associate Project Manager (APM) is an entry-level project management credential offered by the Global Association for Quality Management, a body whose certification portfolio spans project management, Lean Six Sigma, software testing, business analysis and related disciplines. APM sits within GAQM's multi-level project management certification system, which the organisation describes as a three-level structure; APM is positioned as the associate tier, aimed at people moving into project coordination or junior project management roles, and at practitioners who want a structured, vendor-neutral grounding before pursuing higher-level project certifications. The GAQM APM case studies are 5 cases and about 4,016 words.
1Case 1 - The coordinator who owns the deadline but not the people
Priya manages a patient-portal upgrade at a 900-bed hospital. The organisation is a weak matrix: the four developers and two testers on her schedule still report to the Applications Support manager, who sets their objectives, approves leave and owns their appraisals.
833 words, about 4 min2Case 2 - A council system where nobody ever signed the scope
Northbridge Council approved £420,000 and nine months to replace its licensing system, with a business case promising 30% faster permit processing. Discovery produced 112 requirements in eight weeks with no formal sign-off: the licensing manager who owned the process was on sick leave for five of those weeks and sent a deputy with no decision rights, so the analyst marked 31 requirements as assumed.
809 words, about 4 min3Case 3 - Four days lost in a fixed-date retail fit-out
Halcyon Retail is fitting out a 1,800 square metre store for a 1 October opening. The approved schedule shows: design sign-off complete; fixture fabrication 20 days; electrical rough-in 12 days starting after sign-off and finishing before ceiling close; ceiling close 5 days after electrical; fixture install 8 days after fabrication and ceiling close; merchandising 6 days after fixture install; staff training 4 days running in parallel with merchandising but dependent on ceiling close; final inspection 3 days after both merchandising and training.
796 words, about 4 min4Case 4 - Under budget or under delivering?
Marcus controls a 12-month core-banking data migration with a budget at completion of £800,000. At the end of month 5 the figures are: planned value £350,000, earned value £280,000, actual cost £340,000.
753 words, about 4 min5Case 5 - Acceptance, a duplicate-claim defect, and team members leaving Monday
Vantage Health's claims portal release 4.2 has completed system test: 210 of 214 planned test cases passed. The four failures are two severity 1 defects - duplicate claim submission when a retry follows a timeout, and incorrect rounding of co-payment to the nearest pound - and two severity 3 cosmetic issues.
825 words, about 4 min