| What is the difference between Foundation
and Practitioner certification? |
| |
A PRINCE2 Foundation Certificate indicates
an understanding of the fundamental concepts of PRINCE2. It is awarded
after passing an examination of 1 hour consisting of 75 multiple choice
questions.
The Practitioner Certification shows that not
only are the concepts understood but that the person is able to
apply them in different situations, to projects of different sizes
and taking into account the special nature of the project. PRINCE2
Practitoners are expected to be able to scale PRINCE2 and tailor
it to meet particular needs. The Practitioner Exam is a 3 hour Objective
Test. It is misleading to call it a multiple choice paper, although
answers are selected in a separate answer booklet. The questions
are based on a scenario and require a solid knowledge of PRINCE2
as well as the ability to apply it to a particular situation.
|
| Where can I get a copy of the PRINCE2
manual? |
| |
The PRINCE2 manual, Managing
Successful Projects with PRINCE2, is not available through
standard bookshops. It can be purchased from Prince Australia or
from Approved Training Organisations.
Adaptive Frameworks will provide copies of the manual for $170
plus $9 postage. Place your order
here
|
| I have several years experience
as a project manager, can I just book in to do an Exam? |
| |
With project management experience, it is possible to
give yourself a basic understanding of PRINCE2 by reading the manual.
This level of study may be sufficient to pass the PRINCE2 Foundation
Examination. In the UK, public examinations are conducted. In Australia,
candidates may arrange examinations through offices of the British
Council.
Accredited Training Organisations (ATO) conduct courses which have
been approved by the APMG (the PRINCE2 governing body) and which
ensure a thorough understanding of the basic concepts. Approval
of PRINCE2 instructors is a lengthy and rigorous process. There
is also some administrative work in ordering and paying for examinations,
marking them, liaising with the APMG on results and forwarding certificates.
Most ATOs would be reluctant to have their delegates subsidising
the overheads of ‘walk-ins’.
Sitting for the PRINCE2 Examination at the Practitioner level without
a training course is not recommended for any candidate. The desire
to do so usually indicates a lack of appreciation of the level of
training provided in applying PRINCE2 to real world projects. The
PRINCE2 Practitioner Examination is not an easy examination and
more than one-third of candidates fail.
Adaptive Frameworks prides itself on achieving good pass rates..
|
| How does PRINCE2 compare with PMBOK?
|
| |
Both PRINCE2 and the Project Management Institute’s
Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge are based
on best practice in project management. There are no contradictions
in the two approaches but there are different emphases. Experienced
project managers can effectively integrate both approaches. Some
fundamental differences are listed below. More information can be
obtained from the articles provided on the download section of this
page. |
| |
PRINCE2 |
PMBOK |
| |
The approach to be taken by a project and its final
deliverables are known at the start. If the approach is not clear,
then there may be a preliminary project with a deliverable of a feasibility
report. |
Projects may include a feasibility study. |
| |
The Product Based Planning Technique of PRINCE2 is
used to define project outcomes as ‘products’. Activities
are derived from the product flow. The focus is on the project’s
deliverables. |
A Work Breakdown Structure is used. The focus on activities
occurs at the start. |
| |
A Customer/Supplier environment is assumed with the
focus on the customer’s Business Case. It is the customer’s
Business Case which drives the project. |
No assumption is made on the organisation in which
the project manager sits. |
| |
Projects are controlled by a small Board representing
the interests of the Customer, Supplier and End-user of the project’s
products. The Board is a decision making body chaired by an ‘Executive’
who is ultimately responsible for the delivery of the business benefit. |
Steering Committees tend to be larger and meet on a
regular basis. |
| |
In the initial planning for the project, it is divided
into ‘Stages’ based on management reviews or decision
points. Approval to proceed is given on a stage-by-stage basis. During
a stage, the project manager has full authority for the day-to-day
management of the project. The Board requires only short reports provided
the stage remains within agreed tolerances. A review of viability
occurs at the end of each stage or if the tolerances are forecast
to be exceeded. This is the concept of ‘management by exception’ |
Projects are seen as following certain pre-defined
phases aligned to the project life-cycle. The project manager is
responsible for delivering the project and reports regularly at
meetings of the Steering Committee.
Recent articles in the PMI journal have referred to an Adaptive
Project Framework which in some part, incorporates the PRINCE2 idea
of ‘Stages’.
|
| |
Apart from the Product Based Planning technique,
PRINCE is not prescriptive on the tools to be used or on areas such
as leadership qualities, procurement processes etc. PRINCE2 takes
the view that these aspects are well covered by proven methods or
possibly affected by organisational standards or cultural differences.
|
PMBOK includes several skills and specialist areas
in the tool set of the project manager including Earned Value Analysis
and Procurement principles |
| Is it true that PRINCE2 is very
bureaucratic? |
| |
This is one of the most irritating misconceptions
about PRINCE2. It is based on a shallow analysis of the methodology
and is more often an excuse for avoiding a structured approach.
PRINCE2 has been developed for use with any size of project. It
is obviously not necessary to throw the book at small to medium
sized projects. Indeed each of the PRINCE2 processes includes a
section on scalability and the architects of the methodology stress
that each process needs to be approached with the question, “How
extensively should this process be applied on this project?”
|
| What are the other Best Practice
methodologies? |
| |
The APMG works closely with the UK Office of Government
Commerce to administer the three Best Practice methodologies on
their behalf.
|
• PRINCE2
• Managing Successful Programmes
(MSP)
• Management of Risk (MoR) |
| Are templates available? |
| |
Descriptions of the PRINCE2 management
products (ie documents or artifacts) are included in Appendix A of
Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2. Delegates to Adaptive
Frameworks courses receive these on CD-ROM.
However, we have found two other excellent sites
for obtaining templates for project documents. Our favourite is
the Tasmanian
Government website.
The Office of Government Commerce (UK) also provides guidance in
best practice project management. Templates are provided as part
of the Successful
Delivery Toolkit. |
| Where can I get more information?
|
| |
Office of Government Commerce—Successful
Delivery Toolkit
www.ogc.gov.uk/sdtoolkit/
|
| |
APM Group—Embedding Best Practice
www.apmgroup.co.uk/web/site/Home/home.asp
|
| |
PRINCE2
www.ogc.gov.uk/prince2
or www.prince2.org.uk/web/site/home/home.asp |
| |
MSP
www.programmes.org/web/site/home/Home.asp
|
| |
MoR
www.m-o-r.org/web/site/home/home.asp
|
| Other useful information |
| |
Project vs Programme Management
www.e-programme.com/articles/progvsproj.htm
|
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