P3O Basics

Guidance | Accreditation and Exams | Re-Registration 

Guidance

The use of a P3O model provides an organisation with a decision enabling / delivery support structure for all internal change. It takes into account ongoing business operations as well as the delivery of new or changed capability.

P3O may be provided through a single permanent office, (which may exist under many different names including Portfolio Office, Enterprise Program Office, Centre of Excellence, Corporate Programme Office, etc...) or through a series of permanent or temporary offices, such as programme and project offices, linked together in some way and providing a mixture of central and localised services. These structures also bridge the gap between the delivery side of the organisation and the strategy or policy makers.

The purpose of the P3O guidance is to provide universally applicable advice that enables individuals and organisations to establish, develop and maintain the business support structures that will allow:

• Informed senior management decision making to successfully deliver business objectives via portfolios
• Identification and realisation of business benefits and outcomes from programmes
• Successful delivery of benefits from project outputs

The guidance provided for P3O will provide:

• An introduction to P3O discussing why/when/how to use the P3O model including the difference between and distinct requirements of portfolio, programme and project environments.
• The benefits and value P3O can bring to the organisation including the business case, funding models and performance measures.
• Different models of P3O with examples
• Information on the functions/services and techniques/tools used by the units of a P3O model.

The P3O guidance is closely aligned with other OGC products; PRINCE2, MSP and M_o_R.

Accreditation and Exams

There are two levels of accreditation for P3O which result in internationally recognised qualification:

The Foundation Certificate shows familiarity with the guidance. It is a qualification that may be useful to anyone who needs to be an informed member of a P3O or works in business change activities in programmes and projects. It will enable the professional development of persons who choose P3O as a career.

The Practitioner Certificate is based on a longer scenario-based exam and tests the ability to apply the P3O guidance to particlar situations. The Practitioner is aimed at managers of PMOs, consultants offering advice on corporate governance arrangements and those requiring a deeper understanding of the appropriate P3O structures and implementation paths.

P3O Foundation Exam Format

• 40 minutes allowed
• Multiple choice examination
• There are 50 multiple choice questions with 50 marks available in total.
• Closed book exam
• The pass mark is 30 out of 50 available (60%)

P3O Practitioner Exam Format

• 2.25 hours allowed (no reading time)
• Objective testing examination
• 7 questions per paper with 10 marks available per question - 70 marks available in total
• Open book exam (manual only)
• The pass mark is 35 out of 70 available (50%)
• Pre-requisite: A pass in the Foundation level examination

Re-Registration

All P3O Registered Practitioners have the opportunity to re-register their accreditation within 3-5 years of the original certification date. Re-registering your accreditation demonstrates a commitment to continuous professional development and will keep you updated on any revisions of the methodology.

Please note that your qualification will not expire after 5 years, however you will no longer be a "Registered" Practitioner. To reclaim your Registered Practitioner status you can complete the re-registration exam at any time.

PRINCE2 Practitioner Re-registration Exam Format

• Objective testing examination
• Open book exam (manual only)

To re-register your P3O accreditation with Adaptive Frameworks please contact us for more information.