ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the notions of programme management competence and identifies a number of approaches for developing, improving and assessing competence. It discusses potential barriers to competence development. The chapter then examines current and emerging competence standards that have been developed to articulate the expected performance of programme managers in industry. The competence of individuals derives from their possessing a set of attributes, which they use to undertake occupational tasks. A competent person, therefore, is one who possesses the attributes necessary for job performance. Competence standards have been developed by industry bodies for project managers to codify the minimum performance requirements for project managers. The International Project Management Association (IPMA) has published an Individual Competence Baseline, which is currently in its third edition. IPMA has introduced an organization competence baseline for setting the baseline for organizational competencies in management by projects, which uses ICB for individual development, but also adds the project and organizational competence level.
