Project, Programme and Portfolio Management Competences (IPMA ICB4)
What the domain tests
This domain tests the IPMA Individual Competence Baseline (ICB4) view of project, programme and portfolio management competence. You need to apply the 29 competences across Perspective, People and Practice, and distinguish competence from knowledge.
Core rules
- ICB4 defines competence as knowledge, skills and ability applied in context. A candidate who can recite a technique but cannot adapt it is not yet competent.
- Perspective competences connect work to strategy, governance, compliance, power and culture.
- People competences cover self-management, integrity, communication, leadership, teamwork, conflict, resourcefulness, negotiation and results orientation.
- Practice competences cover design, requirements, scope, time, organisation, quality, finance, resources, procurement, planning and control, risk, stakeholders and change.
- Certification levels A–D differ by responsibility and complexity, not by the number of tools memorised.
- For a PMO, ICB4 is a diagnostic language: map services to competences and target development where gaps threaten benefits.
Worked example
A programme manager is strong on scheduling but weak on stakeholder engagement. Using ICB4, you record evidence for 'Stakeholders' and 'Risk and opportunity', not a vague 'communication issue'. You agree two observable behaviours: a stakeholder influence map reviewed monthly and a risk-response owner for each top risk. After a quarter, evidence shows earlier escalation and fewer surprises. Reasoning: competence is evidenced by behaviour in context, and development is targeted.
Traps
- Treating ICB4 as a checklist of documents.
- Mixing Perspective and Practice: strategy alignment is Perspective, not a scheduling technique.
- Rating people on personality rather than evidence.
- Ignoring the level of responsibility when comparing candidates.
- Assuming a PMO needs every competence at the same depth.