What are the Top 10 Project Management Organizations You Need to Know?

There are many Project Management Organizations – and many reasons to engage with them. And most of us have heard of several – and know a little about some. Some of us are members of one or two – perhaps more.

But how much do you know about the top Project Management organizations? In this article, I have selected what I think of as the top 10, and offer some basic facts about each of them.

Here’s what we will look at…

Types of Project Management Organization

Even with just ten organizations, it helps to classify them. And the main way we can do this is by their purpose. Project Management organizations may exist to do one or more of these things:

• Represent members
  These are membership organizations with a range of benefits for their members
• Develop, disseminate, and promote Project Management knowledge
  Some of these Project Management organizations create standards: others just set out their preferred approach.
• Training
  A common activity is to provide training in their approach to project management – or to provide a syllabus against which third parties can offer training. This links closely with…
• Certification
  These organizations offer formally accredited certificates that attest competence against their training syllabus and standards

Estimated reading time: 16 minutes

Grouping the Top 10 Project Management Organizations

All of our Top 10 Project Management organizations do one or more of those things. But most do more than one. So, this makes those categories poor for grouping them in an article like this.

So, we’ll be looking at three groups:

1. Primary Project Management Member Organizations
   1. APM: Association for Project Management
   2. IAPM: International Association of Project Managers
   3. IPMA: International Project Management Association
   4. PMI: Project Management Institute
2. Agile Project Management Organizations
   1. The Agile Alliance
   2. Agile Business Consortium
   3. Scrum Alliance
   4. Scrum.org
3. Project Management Accreditation Organizations
   1. APMG International
   2. Axelos

Primary Project Management Member Organizations

The primary Project Management organizations are the big beasts of the Project Management world. Although many countries have their own national project management organization, most of these are affiliated to the IPMA (which we cover below). The notable exception is the PMI (see below) which sees itself as an international, rather than a US project management organization.

I have chosen to list the:

• Two explicitly international organizations, IAPM and IPMA,
• Largest single organization (which is also international in scope), the PMI
• UK-based APM because of the exceptional role it is playing in creating and dissemination Project Management knowledge

The Benefits of Joining one of the Primary Project Management Organizations

There are many reasons for joining a membership organization. It is for each of us to determine which are compelling and therefore the best organization for us. I’d also note that, as far as I know, none places a bar on multiple memberships. So, if you cannot decide and, if your budget allows, why not double down?

Here are the reasons that strike me (in no particular order):

1. Professional membership is a badge of your commitment to your profession
2. Grades of membership are a way to chart your progress
3. The organizations often advocate for their members’ interests in the commercial, social, and political spheres
4. You can access professional development and learning opportunities like seminars, training, and conferences
5. …and also certification (or perhaps reduced rates for accessing materials and sitting exams)
6. Many produce journals, magazines, or newsletters
7. Attendance at events offers fellowship as well as professional development
8. They offer opportunities to contribute to the profession in a number of ways, including training, speaking, mentoring, or methodology development

So, let’s look at the four big beasts in the Professional Project Management Organization jungle. I’ll take them in alphabetical order…

Notable Honourable Mentions

National Project Management Membership Organizations

Most countries have their own national PM Membership organization. And most of these are member associations of the IPMA (above). And, those which don’t often have a local IPMA branch. There is a full list of member associations on the IPMA website.

Major Projects Association

The Major Projects Association in the UK is a membership organization for corporate and organizational members who engage in major projects. Contact them at https://majorprojects.org.

Agile Project Management Organizations

It can seem as if Project Management organizations that promote Agile or agile methodologies spring up like mushrooms in a damp basement. So, we’ll look at four that are clearly pre-eminent.

Like the four above, some of these are member organizations. But, unlike them, their focus is on Agile methodologies, rather than on broadly traditional, predictive project management.

I have gathered the bulk of our Agile Project management resources into a roadmap and resource guide: I Want to Study Agile Project Management.

Project Management Accreditation Organizations

Our last category is the two large accreditation organizations who exist to provide Project Management accreditations. But they are very different in nature…

APMG International is a global accreditation and examination institute. They offer training and accredit exams in a huge array of other people’s certifications. And these go way beyond Project Management.

Axelos develops Project Management and related methodologies. For each of these, it also creates a training and examination syllabus, and certifications at different levels.

What Project Management Organizations have I Missed?

If you think I’ve missed any from my top 10, or should add some honourable mentions, please do tell me below – and add a link, so I can research them. I will respond to any suggestions and acknowledge any I add in.