Frequently Asked Questions

PRINCE2TM

WHAT IS PRINCE2? PRINCE2 is a generic project management methodology that can be applied to different types of projects and projects of different sizes. It is comprehensive in its approach but flexible in application. It is a method for managing projects; there is no Hardware or Software (apart from supporting tools) just a best practice approach to running Projects in a consistent and referenceable framework. Whenever you want to deliver or change a new service, product, organizational process or system you need to know what is required, why it is necessary, by when key events need to occur, how it must occur and importantly who needs to be involved. The PRINCE2 methodology provides a step by step guide that will assist the Project Team to gather and structure the information necessary to start up a project and provides processes and control mechanisms allowing a controlled execution and closure of the project. PRINCE2 is flexible, adaptable and as much as a Project method can be, friendly. WHAT DOES THE NAME PRINCE MEAN? PRINCE is an acronym derived from Projects IN Controlled Environments. WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF PRINCE2? PRINCE was first established in 1989 by the CCTA (Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency) and is based on the PROMPTII methodology. PROMPTII is a methodology developed by Simpact Systems Ltd in 1975. Following feedback from users PRINCE was enhanced to include new processes and approaches ensuring that it was appropriate for different types of projects and projects of different sizes. This new version was launched in 1996 and became known as PRINCE2. The methodology is now used widely and recognised as a 'de facto' standard for project management. In 2009 PRINCE2 underwent a 'refresh' to further improve its usability and align it to more commonly used terminology. WHO OWNS / SELLS PRINCE2? The copyright of PRINCE2 belongs to the UK Office of Government and Commerce (OGC), the material itself is therefore Crown Copyright. The marketing of the manuals is carried out by The Stationery Office (formerly known as HMSO). The UK Office of Government Commerce has appointed The APM Group Ltd to manage the PRINCE2 accreditation, certification and as its examination body.

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HOW DO I BUY PRINCE2 AND HOW MUCH IS IT?

PRINCE2TM

You cannot buy PRINCE2 as such, it is free to use under licence by any person or company, all you need to pay for is training and possibly assistance in implementation. To understand if PRINCE2 is right for your company requires an investment of time, or help from an accredited PRINCE2 Consultancy organisation. HOW DO I GET RECOGNISED IN PRINCE2? It depends on if you are an individual or company. To get recognised in PRINCE2 as an individual you need to achieve certification at either Foundation or Practitioner level. As a very rough guideline if you are involved in Projects in a supporting role (you may be in a marketing, administration or technical job), Foundation level may be suffice. If generally you are leading projects then Practitioner is the level you should aim at. For companies wishing to adopt PRINCE2, the route tends to be slightly different. The biggest decision is decide if PRINCE2 is right for you, and that requires an investment of time, collecting and reviewing information from the marketplace. You could just take the view that with over 30,000 people having taken the PRINCE2 exams so far, it must be pretty proven and successful, otherwise it would not have the worldwide take-up it does. Once you have decided to implement PRINCE2, then you need to plan an adoption strategy. The most common approach is to train an initial group of people, then run a PRINCE2 project to decide if PRINCE2 is right for you, or run a pilot PRINCE2 project. Remember that PRINCE2 is configurable, so from the initial Project you can start to look at what parts of PRINCE2 you may or may not use. WHY DO I NEED A PRINCE2 QUALIFICATION? Individual The majority of people that consider PRINCE2 as a qualification do so for career and personal development reasons. Often this is driven by a change of job or career, where you notice that to get to the top of the CV pile, you need to have an extra qualification like PRINCE2 (even if you have been managing Projects successfully for many years without it). In many advertised positions PRINCE2 has become a prerequisite, particularly in Public Sector jobs. Company The majority of companies that implement PRINCE2 also encourage their employees to take the exams. If your staff have accredited PRINCE2 qualifications, then you can present your company as using PRINCE2. This works particularly well where you tender for or supply to any Public Sector companies, such as Police, local and central government. WHAT ARE THE PRINCE2 QUALIFICATIONS AND WHAT WILL THEY TEACH ME? There are two PRINCE2 qualification levels: PRINCE2 Foundation and PRINCE2 Practitioner. A PRINCE2 Foundation qualification will teach you the PRINCE2 principles, terminology and when qualified you will be able to act as an informed member of a project management team using the PRINCE2 methodology within a project environment supporting PRINCE2. A PRINCE2 Practitioner qualification is the highest level of PRINCE2 qualification and will teach you to apply PRINCE2 to the running and managing of a project within an environment supporting PRINCE2. Once

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Frequently Asked Questions

PRINCE2TM

qualified you will be able to apply and tune PRINCE2 to address the needs and problems of a specific project scenario. You will have a comprehensive knowledge of the relationships between the PRINCE2 processes, components, techniques and PRINCE2 products and will understand the principles underpinning these elements. HOW MANY EXAMS WOULD I NEED TO TAKE? You need to take two exams to become fully qualified, PRINCE2 Foundation and PRINCE2 Practitioner. If your role is one of being on the periphery of Projects, perhaps Project Administration, sponsor or on secondment, then Foundation level may be suffice. It tells people that you can work within a PRINCE2 project effectively. If you are a contractor or Project Manager, then chances are Practitioner level is the right certification, as it demonstrates the ability to run PRINCE2 projects. For individuals, we would say that the majority do eventually go to Practitioner level, some in stages, others in one go. Most companies generally train everyone involved in the project to Foundation Level, with a core of Project Managers to Practitioner Level. HOW DO I GET A PRINCE2 QUALIFICATION / CERTIFICATION? For a PRINCE2 Foundation qualification you should complete an accredited PRINCE2 computer based training course or PRINCE2 classroom course including the official exam for the PRINCE2 basics and terminology and to gain PRINCE2 Foundation certification. To become a registered PRINCE2 Practitioner, which is the highest level of PRINCE2 qualification, you need to complete an accredited PRINCE2 Practitioner blended learning course or PRINCE2 Practitioner classroom course, both of which include the PRINCE2 Foundation qualification and both exams. ARE THERE ANY PREREQUISITES BEFORE TAKING THE COURSE? No, but general Project Management training is ideal I'VE DONE THE FOUNDATION TRAINING AND EXAM ALREADY HOW DO I BECOME A PRACTITIONER? You need to sit a two day upgrade course - this is available as an intensive course or as an e-learning course combined with a workshop. WHAT WILL A PRINCE2 QUALIFICATION DO FOR ME? The PRINCE2 project management methodology is the de-facto standard for project management in the UK and is practiced worldwide. It covers the management, control and organisation of a project. A qualification in PRINCE2 will not only boost your skills and confidence when managing projects but will greatly improve your employment prospects. Many organisations, both private and public, mandate the use of PRINCE2 and therefore require their staff to be competent and qualified to practice the method.

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Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT DO PRINCE2 QUALIFICATIONS CONSIST OF?

PRINCE2TM

This is fairly straightforward! The two levels of qualification are Foundation and Practitioner. Foundation confirms your understanding of what PRINCE2 is, Practitioner shows your knowledge in the application of PRINCE2. CAN I JUST USE THE PRINCE2 MANUAL TO STUDY? You can, as the PRINCE2 manual contains pretty much everything you need. However it is hard work, and often your own interpretation of PRINCE2 may be different to that required. If you are working on a shoestring budget, then this may be the only option open to you, but with all the extra study involved, your time may be better spent learning using an accredited course such as the ones we offer. WHERE CAN I SIT THE EXAMS AND HOW MUCH ARE THEY? Exams can be taken at any accredited training company or there are open exam centers in Milton Keynes, York and Winsford. These Exams run only on certain days and places are pretty much booked in advance, sometimes there is a 4-6 weeks waiting list. Bear this in mind when planning your training. If you are based outside the UK and wish to complete a PRINCE2 exam, it is usually possible to sit them in a British Council office. Please contact the APM Group directly for more information on public exams. You can telephone: +44 (0)1494 452 450 to arrange the exam, email info@apmgroup.co.uk or visit the website www.prince2.org.uk Milton Keynes, York and Chester: Foundation = 220 including VAT Practitioner = 410 including VAT Both = 630 including VAT BUT WHAT IS THE KIND OF FEES WE ARE LOOKING AT? The training fee is chargeable on a per person basis. But, it is not fixed as it depends on various factors. But below we have listed as to what our competitors are charging.
No
1 2

Service Provider
ALC Group Hilogic

URL
http://www.alctraining.com.my/ http://www.hilogic.com.my/index.php

Foundation
RM 4,400 RM 4,450

Practitioner
RM 3,890 RM 3,150 RM 3,500

Both
RM 6,700 RM 6,800 RM 6,590

Remarks
No discounts

Early Bird No discounts

Global Knowledge Kennedy Ryder

http://www.globalknowledge.com.my/

RM 4,500

RM 4,000

http://www.kennedyryder.com/prince2_ foundation&practitioner.html

RM 4,400

RM 3,800

RM 6,800

Foundation 4 days Early Bird

RM 3,600

RM 3,400

RM 5,000

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Frequently Asked Questions

DO I GET MY NAME ON A LIST TO PROVE I HAVE DONE THE EXAMS?

PRINCE2TM

The APMG run an online register to show candidates that have passed Foundation and/or Practitioner. This can be found at www.prince2.org.uk As an employer you can also check the validity of peoples PRINCE2 certification, prior to contract or employment. HOW BIG DOES A PROJECT HAVE TO BE BEFORE PRINCE2 CAN BE USED? PRINCE2 can be applied to all sorts of projects, from the very small to the very large. Even projects lasting only a few days will benefit from selective application of PRINCE2 guidelines. The key to success with PRINCE2 is to remember it is highly configurable, and so can be adapted for all project types regardless of industry and marketplace. IS PRINCE2 AIMED AT ANY PARTICULAR TYPE OF PROJECT? PRINCE2 is designed to be applied generally to all types of project, be they construction, engineering, IT, business, financial or whatever. In the past, it has been aimed at IT projects, and so it is still well used in this area however there has been significant growth recently in other industries, especially Telecoms and Finance. DO I NEED A COMPUTER BASED PLANNING TOOL TO IMPLEMENT PRINCE2? No! PRINCE2 makes no recommendation on which tools you should use to assist you manage your projects but it does recognise that such tools are widely used. PRINCE2 will sit quite happily alongside a paperbased planning system or any other tool which you find to be effective in your environment. IS PRINCE2 SUITABLE FOR NON-IT PROJECTS? Yes! Unlike the first version of PRINCE, PRINCE2 is designed to be generic and can be used for projects of any nature. DOES PRINCE2 GUARANTEE A SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME TO PROJECTS? No! but applied sensibly it will increase the chances of your projects being successful. WHAT COUNTRIES RECOGNISE PRINCE2? Most organisations around the world recognise PRINCE2 as a standard methodology. WHY HAS PRINCE2 BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL AROUND THE WORLD? Perhaps because of its comprehensiveness PRINCE2 is often viewed as 'de facto' best practice project management on an international scale. Project Managers and organizations around the world have strived to procure or develop their own best practice approach for the management of projects. PRINCE2 offers a project manager, a project team and your organization a consistent set of processes, tools and a language for the management of projects.

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Frequently Asked Questions

PRINCE2TM

Being a generic and flexible approach for the management of 'business' projects it can be applied in any business environment. It is not a method that can only be applied by IT staff or people with years of project management experience. Anyone, anywhere in the organization can learn and use it as it is based on a logical approach to manage any project, be it to develop a car, change a business process or to manage the launch of a new product or service. The United Nations Development Programme are training staff to apply PRINCE2 for development projects. It is also a very effective tool for the management of stakeholders and their interests. Success however depends on how you and your organization chooses to apply PRINCE2. The method can also be easily tailored to align with existing business processes, workflows, tools and language. WHO USES PRINCE2? Small and large, private and government organisations around the world use PRINCE2. Here is a short list of some key users amongst the two hundred thousand accredited users globally:

British Government Departments Australian and New Zealand Federal and State Departments European Union Government departments United Nations Defense Academy of UK Danish Defense Dutch Ministry of Defense SUN Microsystems CIBA Chemicals Siemens Vodafone DHL Express Phillips Metropolitan Police HSBC NRMA

TELL ME MORE ABOUT EACH OF THE TWO EXAMINATIONS.

PRINCE2 Foundation Examination PRINCE2 Foundation Exam Syllabus The Foundation is the first of the two PRINCE2 Examinations you are required to pass to become a PRINCE2 Practitioner. This level is aiming to measure whether a candidate would be able to act as an informed member of a project management team using the PRINCE2 method within a project environment supporting PRINCE2. To this end they need to show they understand the principles and terminology of the method, specifically, candidates must be able to:

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PRINCE2TM

Describe the purpose and major content of all roles, the eight components, the eight processes and the sub-processes, and the techniques State which management products are input to, and output from the eight processes State the main purpose, and key contents, of the major management products State the relationships between processes, deliverables, roles and the management dimensions of a project. 75 questions per paper 5 questions to be trial and not counted in scores 35 marks required (out of 70 available) to pass 50% 5 of the 70 questions will be select style 5 of the 70 questions will be negative style 5 of the 70 questions will be missing word style The remaining 60 questions (including trial questions) will be standard style All sequencing questions have been removed from the paper and are not used in the PRINCE2 Foundation papers

PRINCE2 Foundation Examination Format

PRINCE2 Practitioner Examination PRINCE2 Practitioner Exam Syllabus This level is aiming to measure whether a candidate could apply PRINCE2 to the running and managing of a non-complex project within an environment supporting PRINCE2. To this end they need to exhibit the competence required for the Foundation qualification, and show that they can apply and tailor PRINCE2 to address the needs and problems of a given project scenario. Specifically:

Know or comment on detailed explanations of all processes, themes and techniques, and worked examples of all PRINCE2 management products as they might be applied to address the particular circumstances of a given project scenario Demonstrate that they understand the relationships between processes, themes, techniques and PRINCE2 management products and can apply this understanding Demonstrate that they understand the reasons behind the processes, themes and techniques of PRINCE2 Demonstrate their ability to the tailor PRINCE2 to different project environments.

The PRINCE2 Practitioner exam is in the "Objective Testing" format, a style of complex multiple-choice examination. PRINCE2 Practitioner Examination Format

9 questions per paper with 12 marks available per question all question items will be worth 1 mark, making the total number of marks available per paper 108 2.5 hours allowed (no reading time has been added)

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PRINCE2TM

Open-book examination (only the PRINCE2 Manual is allowed). Pass mark is 55%.

HOW DIFFRENENT IS PMP OR PMBOK FROM PRINCE2? The differences between PRINCE2 and PMBOK identified http://www.maxwideman.com/papers/comparing/comparing.pdf. The summary of the core differences identified are: The Guide [PMBOK] takes the best approach for purposes of teaching the subject content of each knowledge area, but is not so affective when it comes to providing guidance for running a particular project. whereas PRINCE2 provides a robust easy-to-follow methodology for running most projects Firstly, the two approaches are in fact not competing methodologies. PRINCE2 and PMBOK adopt two different approaches to managing a project and by their nature they complement each other in many ways. It is for this reason we always encourage people who have completed PMBOK training to also attend PRINCE2 training and vice versa for the reasons mentioned above. PMBOK can be summarised as an approach that provides information on what a project manager needs to know whereas PRINCE2 demonstrates how to apply this knowledge. For example PMBOK discusses the importance of defining roles and responsibilities in a project whereas PRINCE2 provides a model on how to set up a Project Team and standard role descriptions which are suitable for all types of projects. PMBOK is reliant on the project manager to develop a model for a project team structure. Users of PMBOK are sometimes frustrated as people may incorrectly view the project manager as a superman / superwoman, that is the planner, decision maker, problem solver, human resources manger etc. This may be common in the construction industry where PMBOK has its origins, however, many business projects which for example may rely on IT based solutions, the functional and / or financial authority is not with the project manager but correctly with senior management. In this business environment project managers are not always best placed to make the key decisions. In PRINCE2 the responsibility of the project is with senior management and the role of the project manager is to manage the project on a day by day basis on behalf of senior management. If the above can be described as a key criticism of PMBOK it would be fair to say a key criticism of PRINCE2 is that it misses the importance of the soft skills needed to manage a project and it could probably provide more detail on knowledge areas such as scope management & contract management which PMBOK provides good guidance on. It is possible the recent popularity of PRINCE2 is because it provides a standard approach for the management of all types of projects. Every function of an organisation can use it, whereas PMBOK leaves it open to the project manager to decide on their approach which often means different approaches to manage different projects. Larger organizations have preference for standardising the management of projects and view PRINCE2 as the solution for this requirement. The other advantage of PRINCE2 is that little project management experience is needed to apply it whereas PMBOK requires time and experience to be appropriately applied. here can be found at

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Frequently Asked Questions

PRINCE2TM

In summary, a skilled project manager is one that can apply the knowledge areas of PMBOK with the aid of the project management processes of PRINCE2. A highly skilled project manager should also have the know-how to apply these methods appropriate to the scale, complexity and nature of the project

and adapt them for those fast paced projects.

As for mfQ Asia, we train in both of the methods and naturally we think they each have their own pros and cons. However we firmly believe that PRINCE2 is a far better methodology covering a much broader base than PMBOK. If you look at research as to why projects fail one of the things that comes up time and time again is inadequate governance. PRINCE2 is underpinned by very strong project governance it starts with the underlying principle of the importance of roles and responsibilities on a project, the governance theme goes on to provide detailed information about the types of roles and responsibilities required on a successful project as well as qualities of people who should fill those roles and, this is backed up by the processes which spell out exactly and how and when the governance should be dealt with. PMBOK on the other hand talks a bit about the project manager role but there is very little on project sponsorship (in fact the term Project Sponsor is used only a couple of times throughout PMBOK and there are no other references to strategic governance). PRINCE2 is also very strong on the processes for delivering a project and the process structure is simple and easy to follow making it ideal for implementing in large organizations which have varying levels of project management capability. PMBOK on the other hand is more about the skills that a project manager should have (there is as you are aware process stuff in it but nowhere near as strong as PRINCE2) and we believe is more suited to organizations that have their own process structure in place (and our thoughts on that are why would you bother customizing your own when you can use PRINCE2?) We dont see it as either / or PRINCE2 or PMBOK in fact we think they complement each other very well. PMBOK has strengths in for example the people management side of things and also scheduling which dove tails nicely with PRINCE2. Thus organizations wanting to have a standardized project management methodology in-place are recommended to embrace PRINCE2. Having done this, they could then get the project managers to undergo the PMP training to equip themselves with the various project management techniques. Briefly the comparison between the two would be as follows: PRINCE2 Origin - United Kingdom Administered by APMG Worldwide adoption A process based approach to project management A series of management processes defining what must be done, when and how it must be done and by whom over the life of a project Prescriptive Defines the roles of everyone involved in a project Origin - United States Administered by PMI Worldwide adoption A knowledge based approach to project management Describes core practices and a wider range of techniques that can be applied to manage a project Non - perspective Focuses on the project manager's role PMBOK

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Frequently Asked Questions

PRINCE2 Training organizations must be Accredited and hold a UK Government licence to train in PRINCE2. Accreditation requires compliance against the UKAS Quality Management standard for training & certification. Trainers must pass an independent competency assessment before certification and are subject to independent competency assessments on an annual basis.

PRINCE2TM

PMP training organizations are not required to comply with an internationally recognized Quality Management standard for training & certification. Trainer's competency to deliver training is not assessed.

Certification confirmed within approximately 2 weeks Certification typically confirmed within several months from the training of the training

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