CPPD
AIPM Certified Practising Project Director
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How do I prepare for AIPM's CPPD?
CPPD (Certified Practising Project Director) isn't a multiple-choice exam — it's AIPM's RegPM workplace-based competency assessment for senior program directors, assessed against AIPM's own Competency Standards using real documentary evidence from your programs, not an exam paper. PassNova's free overview covers eligibility and how the assessment works; PassNova Premium (£4.99/month, 7-day free trial) unlocks a deeper preparation guide — choosing your qualifying evidence, compiling a convincing portfolio, and avoiding the most common reasons candidates are marked 'not yet competent'.
How CPPD is actually assessed
CPPD (Certified Practising Project Director) is a RegPM™ certification from the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) — for senior professionals who direct programmes or multiple major, interdependent projects. It is not a sit-down exam.
How the assessment works
CPPD is a workplace-based competency assessment. You compile documentary evidence — real deliverables from your own programme(s) — mapped against AIPM's own Competency Standards, typically drawn from around 15–20 key deliverables across the programme lifecycle. An AIPM assessor reviews your evidence and returns one of two outcomes: competent, or not yet competent (with a development pathway back to resubmission if the latter).
Who it's for and eligibility
- Direct accountability for managing programmes in your current role
- At least two programs consisting of multiple subordinate, interdependent projects in the last three years
- You've produced higher-level programme management plans, not just project plans
- You've directed subordinate project managers across the project lifecycle
- AIPM membership is required to certify
Once you apply, the assessment process runs to a 6-month window — worth planning around before you start gathering evidence.
Get ready to apply
A deeper walkthrough of the real assessment — evidence, portfolio and interview prep — unlocked with Premium.
Choosing your qualifying programme evidence
Start from AIPM's own Competency Standards document (linked below) and work backwards: for each competency unit, identify which of your real programme deliverables genuinely demonstrates it at director level — setting direction and governance for the whole programme, not just delivering one project within it. If your strongest recent work sits across two overlapping programmes, it's usually better to draw a smaller number of DEEP, well-evidenced examples from one than to spread thin evidence across several.
Compiling convincing documentary evidence
Raw artefacts (a programme plan, a board pack, a benefits register) aren't self-explanatory to an assessor who wasn't in the room. For every artefact, add a short cover note explaining: what decision or action it evidences, why it was your call to make as director rather than a project manager's, and what the outcome was. Assessors are far more convinced by ten well-annotated deliverables than thirty raw documents with no framing.
Common reasons for a 'not yet competent' outcome — and how to avoid them
- Project-level framing, not programme-level — evidence that reads like a project manager's work rather than a director's oversight of multiple projects
- Vague or generic evidence — documents with no explanatory linkage to the specific competency being assessed
- Missing context — an assessor who doesn't know your organisation can't infer complexity you haven't spelled out
- Thin coverage — one strong programme covering only some competency units, with no second source to fill the gaps
None of these are about the quality of your actual work — they're about whether the evidence, as submitted, makes that quality visible to someone outside your organisation.
Planning your 6-month assessment window
The clock starts when you apply, not when you're ready — so gather and organise your evidence before you formally apply wherever possible. A realistic plan: weeks 1–2 map evidence to competency units and identify gaps; weeks 3–8 gather and annotate documentary evidence; weeks 9–10 get a peer or mentor review; remaining time is buffer for AIPM's own review cycle and any resubmission.
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Where the real assessment comes from
PassNova's guide is independent preparation. You apply for and complete the official CPPD assessment directly with the body that runs it.
ℹ️ AIPM certification requires AIPM membership — see AIPM's site for current fees and the application process.
External official sites — fees and booking are handled by the provider, not PassNova.
CPPD: your questions answered
CPPD isn't assessed with a multiple-choice exam, so there's no question bank to practise here. Instead, PassNova has a Premium preparation guide covering how the assessment actually works, evidence and portfolio guidance, and assessment-day prep.
Premium unlocks every professional-certification course in full, the CPPD preparation guide, Nova (the AI study tutor), a study planner and downloadable PDF study guides — for £4.99/month or £39.99/year. Cancel anytime.
No — PassNova's guide is independent preparation content. You apply for and complete the official CPPD assessment directly with the awarding body, linked below.
Get ready for your CPPD application.
A deeper prep guide — evidence, portfolio and interview tips — unlocks with Premium.