Project Manager Qualification Guidelines
Department of Commerce
Project Manager
Qualification Guidelines
Department of Commerce IT Project Manager
Level 1
Project Scope |
Experience |
Education/Training |
Manages a project characterized as “Small,” utilizing the 13 criteria listed below in “Determining the Magnitude of a Project.” Characterized by: • Moderately low cost • Low-to-moderate risk • Low-to-moderate impact on DOC mission and business practices Low-to-moderate impact on citizens, customers, and business partners |
Staff member with at least one year of general IT background Previous experience as a project team member with demonstrated planning and analysis capabilities Supervised or mentored by a Level 2 or Level 3 Project Manager |
Federal IT Investment and Project Management (OPM online at www.golearn.gov) or Fundamentals of Project Management Fundamentals of Information Security for Federal Information Systems (USDA) or Equivalent private-sector training Intermediate-level training in Project Management Software |
Department of Commerce IT Project Manager
Level 2
Project Scope |
Experience |
Education/Training |
Manages a project characterized as “Medium,” utilizing the 13 criteria listed below in “Determining the Magnitude of a Project.” Characterized by: • Moderate Cost • Moderate Risk • Moderate impact on DOC mission and business practices |
Staff member with at least two years of general IT experience and one year of lower-level PM experience. Results driven, with demonstrated self-motivation. Capable of assembling and managing a team. Mentored by a Level 3 Project Manager. |
Schedule and Cost Control * Risk Management * Earned Value Management Systems Fundamentals of IT Management and Capital Planning Financial Analysis for Non-financial Managers * - Not required if PM has PMI certification as a PMP or professional certification by an accredited institute of higher learning. |
Department of Commerce IT Project Manager
Level 3
Project Scope |
Experience |
Education/Training |
Manages a project characterized as “Large,” utilizing the 13 criteria listed below in “Determining the Magnitude of a Project.” Characterized by: • Moderate to high cost • Moderate to high risk • Moderate to high impact on DOC mission and business practices • Moderate to high impact on citizens, customers, and business partners |
Staff member with at least five years of general IT background Three years experience successfully managing a “Small” project or PMI certification as a PMP or Professional certification by an accredited institute of higher learning Supervision is generally provided only in terms of Agency policy objectives. |
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) (if not certified as a PMP) Assessing and Recovering Troubled Projects Leading High-Performing Teams or Leading Project Managers Advance-level training in project management software |
Determining the Magnitude of the Project
Determining the size and scope of a project (specifically in terms of costs, impact, and criticality) is an important first step; the size and scope of a project will determine the qualifications required of the project manager assigned. The following matrix can be used as a guideline for defining a project as small, medium, or large:
Respond to each of the following questions by allocating a value of 1 to 3 significance as the response:
1 = minimally significant
2 = moderately significant
3 = very significant
Consideration |
Score | |
1 |
How significantly will this project impact computer processing operations, network capacity, testing environment, and/or IT customer service? |
|
2 |
How significantly will this project impact staffing? |
|
3 |
To what extent is this project a collaborative effort? Does it involve more than one DOC agency, other Federal departments, or public interaction? |
|
4 |
How significantly will this project impact business operations? Will it involve or require the reengineering of business practices? |
|
5 |
To what degree does this project involve security of DOC information or information resources? |
|
6 |
How significant is the anticipated required training need which will arise as a result of this project? |
|
7 |
What is the project’s anticipated development and implementation timeframe? (1= less than 1 year; 2 = 1 to 2 years, 3 = more than 2 years) |
|
8 |
What is this project’s level of importance to DOC’s strategic goals? |
|
9 |
How significantly will this project impact U.S. citizens, DOC’s customers, and business partners? |
|
10 |
How significant are the development costs for this project? (1 = less than $1M, 2 = Over $1M but less than $5M, 3 = $5M or more) |
|
11 |
How significant are the project’s anticipated life-cycle costs? (1 = $5M or less, 2 = over $5M but less than $10M, 3 = $10M or more |
|
12 |
How significant are the issues involving compatibility of this product or service with existing technologies? |
|
13 |
How significantly will the operating unit’s business operations be impacted if this project is not approved? |
Add up the scores from the thirteen questions:
If the project scored 32 to 39, the project’s magnitude is Large.
If the project scored 21 to 31, the project’s magnitude is Medium.
If the project scored 13 to 20, the project’s magnitude is Small.
- Questions regarding this section may be directed to the IT Capital Planning & Investment Control Administrator