PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner

PRINCE2 is an internationally recognised best practice project management methodology. Since its inception in 1989, it has been widely adopted and successfully implemented throughout both the public and private sectors around the world.

PRINCE2 Foundation level introduces delegates to the principles, techniques and processes required for successful project management.

PRINCE2 Practitioner Level follows on from the Foundation element looking at how the principles, techniques and processes learnt previously and required for successful project management are applied in the real world.

Audience: Who is the course for?

• Project Managers
• Project Support Staff
• Business Managers and Project Sponsors – to gain an understanding of how their project manager should be running a project
• Project Assurance
• Any team member who wishes to gain a recognised project management qualification
• Organisations and individuals who require a formal approach to project management
• Project managers and other team members requiring an in-depth knowledge of how to successfully manage a project, and an understanding of all the key stages of a project and materials that should be created at each stage to aid successful project management

Course duration:

Five days (the Foundation exam is normally taken during the afternoon of the third day and the Practitioner exam during the morning of the fifth day). Delegates must pass PRINCE2 Foundation level to continue on to the Practitioner element of the course.

Benefits to the individual:

• Recognised qualification
• Confidence to take on all change programmes
• Learn how to delegate work to teams

Benefits to the business:

• Gives staff tools to successfully deliver projects on time and within budget
• Minimised risk of project failure
• Reduced waste and increased productivity
• Higher levels of customer satisfaction
• Confidence to take on all change programmes
• The framework is flexible, scalable, and systematic and can be used for a huge variety of different projects.

Pre-requisites:

There are no pre-requisites for this course although delegates are expected to spend time before the course reading through the pre-course materials. Delegates must pass PRINCE2 Foundation level to continue on to the Practitioner element of the course.

Course outline:

Both the Foundation and Practitioner elements of the course are conducted through interactive group study using practical examples and activities. Group review of sample exam papers helps delegates to prepare for both the Foundation and Practitioner exams.

Delegates are expected to spend time reading and reviewing course materials each evening throughout the course. This extra study is necessary to pass the exams.

Over the first two and a half days of the course, the following Foundation topics are covered.

Introduction to PRINCE2 – introduction to PRINCE2, its seven principles and processes

PRINCE2 Processes and Activities

• Directing a Project
• Starting Up a Project
• Initiating a Project
• Controlling a Stage
• Managing Product Delivery
• Managing a Stage Boundary
• Closing a Project

PRINCE2 Themes

• Organisational structure - its relation to the project, the programme and the corporate organisation. Organisational roles.
• Business Case - what is a business case, continued justification, examples of business cases, development path, contents and three levels of options
• Quality - Key terms, example documentation, quality planning, control and assurance, records and responsibilities
• Risk - what is risk, risk management policy, example documentation, risk management procedure, identify opportunities and threats
• Plans - example plans, planning procedure, plan types, exceptions, product based planning, and risks.
• Change - what is configuration management, configuration management procedure, issue and change control procedure
• Progress - example documents, tolerances (covering timescales, costs, scope, risk, quality, benefit), stage length and duration, lessons, dealing with project exceptions

PRINCE2 Techniques

• Product based planning
• Quality review
• Change control

On passing the Foundation exam, delegates move on to Practitioner level. The emphasis is now on the application of PRINCE2 principles and practices in the real world. The topics covered at Foundation Level are reviewed and using two case studies supplied by the examination board, delegates are given an understanding of how PRINCE2 is applied and how it can be tailored to the project environment.

Exam details:

A one hour Foundation exam is taken in the afternoon of day three of the course. It is necessary to pass this exam in order to proceed to the PRINCE2 Practitioner level. The exam consists of 75 multiple choice questions and the pass mark is 50%. This is a closed book exam i.e. entrants may not refer to any course materials or their own notes.

A two and a half hour Practitioner exam is taken in the morning of day five of the course. This exam evaluates delegates' knowledge of the application of PRINCE2. It consists of nine questions worth 12 points each (108 points in total) and the pass mark is 50%. This is an open book exam meaning that entrants may refer to the PRINCE2 course materials and their own notes during the exam.

Course dates:

Date	Duration	Course	Location	Cost	Enquire/Register
28/5/2012	5 days	PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner	Havant	£1195
11/6/2012	5 days	PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner	Canterbury	£1195
9/7/2012	5 days	PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner	Newcastle	£1195
16/7/2012	5 days	PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner	Bristol	£1195
23/7/2012	5 days	PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner	Havant	£1195
3/9/2012	5 days	PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner	Newcastle	£1195
10/9/2012	5 days	PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner	Bristol	£1195
8/10/2012	5 days	PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner	Canterbury	£1195
5/11/2012	5 days	PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner	Newcastle	£1195
12/11/2012	5 days	PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner	Bristol	£1195