Advice for Prince2 Foundation and Practitioner Exams

[kwalford]

Hi All,

I have just passed both my Prince2 Foundation & Practitioner exams and I would like to provide feedback for anyone looking to take the exams, or simply study the Prince2 methodology.

Which Prince2 Provider did I train with for the Foundation & Practitioner exams?

I used QA and I can say that their classroom 5 course was very informative and well structured. The study material they provided was really beneficial, especially for the Practitioner exam. You will struggle to find any Practitioner exam practice papers online, but QA provide you with two which are very similar to the actual exams. I doubt the cheaper Prince2 providers will provide you with such comprehensive practice papers and you certainly need access to Practitioner exam practice papers before attempting the exam in my view. At the moment this was written (Dec 2012) they are offering free exam retake on the Practitioner exam too. I would most definitely train with QA again.

What Prince2 Study Material did I use?

I cannot stress this enough, get at least a fundamental understanding of Prince2 before going on a class room based course; the syllabus is a lot to learn in a week. With the classroom based course I was on, the people who did very little Prince2 study prior to the course really struggled to take it all in during the week.

I would recommend the below study material:

- Dave Litten's Prince2 Primer Videos

http://www.prince2primer.com

The videos are downloadable and go through the entire Prince2 syllabus. To get an idea of what to expect in the package, there are some clips on YouTube if you search for Dave Litten Prince2. The benefit that they bring is that can learn Prince2 in your own time, rather than trying to learn Prince2 in a fast paced class room structure. There are some aspects of Prince2 which you will not comprehend the first time around and these videos allow you to review those areas in your own time. There are practice papers for both Foundation & Practitioner exams included in the package, along with other helpful PDF's too.

- MGMT Plaza Guide Practitioner

http://www.mgmtplaza.com/mp/76 (you can save the PDF to your PC)

This extensive guide is really easy to follow and teaches you Prince2 in an easy to understand format. The language used makes learning Prince2 all that bit easier to learn. I would strongly recommend reading through this before going on the course as it covers everything the entire syllabus. The author has done a really good job with this Prince2 guide; due to the realistic examples of Prince2 he uses and the guide’s user friendly format.

- Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2 2009 Edition

Goes without saying really; you need to read through it! It is heavy going and pretty dull to read but it is a vital study aid. I would suggest reading and annotating Appendix A, as this section contains a lot of information relevant in the Practitioner open book exam. You are allowed to add post-it notes to the Prince2 Manual, and add hand written notes, but you cannot attach (glue) any other pieces of paper into the book for Practitioner exam.

What course could be done after completion of Prince2?

Association of Project Management Professional (APMP) for Prince2 Practitioners.

Personally, I am doing the Association of Project Management Professional (APMP) for Prince2 Practitioners. Prince2 teaches you the what, when, why and who but it teaches you very little of the how. This is where the APMP fills that gap; as it teaches you the Project management techniques, the 'how to' if you will.

See the below link for further information:

http://www.best-management-practice.com ... _paper.pdf

If any of the authors or owners of the above content would like their references removed, then please contact me.

I hope this has been helpful.

Many thanks,
Kit.

[dhaughey]

Great feedback and advice Kit - thanks. I agree with you about QA. I've trained with them and always found them to be very good indeed.

Another great resource to add to the list is 'An Introduction to PRINCE2' by Frank Turley.

From the manuals introduction:

....The main objective of this book is to provide a logical and easy-to-understand introduction to PRINCE2. The idea fort his book came from the questions I received from people trying to learn PRINCE2 and after reading the PRINCE2 manual.

http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/docs/prin ... ion-ps.pdf

Cheers,
Duncan

[kwalford]

Great feedback and advice Kit - thanks. I agree with you about QA. I've trained with them and always found them to be very good indeed.

Another great resource to add to the list is 'An Introduction to PRINCE2' by Frank Turley.

From the manuals introduction:

....The main objective of this book is to provide a logical and easy-to-understand introduction to PRINCE2. The idea fort his book came from the questions I received from people trying to learn PRINCE2 and after reading the PRINCE2 manual.

http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/docs/prin ... ion-ps.pdf

Cheers,
Duncan

My pleasure. I hope it helps anyone looking to take the Prince2 Exams.

One of the links (MGMT Practitioner PDF) I mention is also by Frank Turley. If you go on youtube and find a Prince2 video with the tutor having Irish accent, it is probably him! :)

[oyen72]

Hi,

I really like the above reviews. I found it very useful. I am very new to project management and in fact its a new career move for me with zero experience. I have looked at the suggested websites. Accessing the materials is a bit challenging now. I intend to self study before taking the exams and would appreciate study materials if it is appropriate and allowed in this forum.
Thanks