Prince2

Discussion in 'Other IT certifications' started by mattwest, Apr 21, 2007.

  1. mattwest

    mattwest Megabyte Poster

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    Hi Guys,

    I've had a busy month and for various reasons i've been on 2 courses in the last 4 weeks. Anyway the last one i went on was Prince2. (Project Management).

    This was the Foundation and Practioner course so it involved a 75 question multiple choice exam for the Foundation qualification (which i passed :D ) and a 3 hour essay for the Practioner qualification. Although i have to wait like 2 months to find out if i passed the practitioner.... but as i wrote 21 sides of A4 i'm hoping i did! :blink

    Has anyone else looked into or done any project management training? Either to compliment their IT skills or to move into IT management or IT project management? Has anyone else done Prince2?

    Again if anyone wants any info on this qualification feel free to give me a shout and i'm happy to help. :D
     
    Certifications: See my signature...
    WIP: Maybe re-certify my CCNA
  2. Phoenix
    Honorary Member

    Phoenix 53656e696f7220 4d6f64

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    I've done a fair bit of project management as part of my career, no official courses or anything mind
    i've been somewhat torn between Prince2 and PMP, PMP seems to be more of a US thing where as Prince2 is more UK focused, ofcourse both are valid either side of the pond, as i dont know what side I will end up I havn't jumped in the deep end yet

    how did you find the difference between foundation and practitioner skillsets?
     
    Certifications: MCSE, MCITP, VCP
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  3. Sandy

    Sandy Ex-Member

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    I hold the Foundation Cert. we use PII at work and it works well for us.
     
  4. Arroryn

    Arroryn we're all dooooooomed Moderator

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    I've repeatedly looked at project management certs as part of the direction I want my career to go.

    I was going to start with the Project+ certification, as I only have experience on a couple of minor projects.

    The Prince2 appeals much more to me from the certification perspective, but I wasn't too sure on its industry recognition in comparison to the PMP qualification.

    How did you find the course content? Does it map well to a working IT environment, or is it a purely textbook experience?
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, 70-410, 70-411
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  5. mattwest

    mattwest Megabyte Poster

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    With regards to the two exams for Prince2 there is a fair bit of difference. The Foundation exam is a 75 question multiple choice exam with a pass mark of 38.... (a whopping 50%!).

    Its closed book and basically tests your knowledge of Prince2 in simple terms. There are 8 processes, 8 components and 3 techniques in Prince2 and the exam may ask "which of the following 4 processes would the Project Initiation Document (PID) be formed....” You select the right process and that’s that.

    To my mind it’s more for people who have exposure to Prince2 projects so they can understand what’s required, the documents produced, outputs and structure of a Prince2 project.

    As for the practitioner exam that’s much harder. It's open book so you can take in any non-electronic materials such as the study guide but the exam is 3 hours long and consists of 3 questions. Each worth 50 points therefore giving a 150 point total. Ok so the pass mark if 75 (50% again!) but it’s much hard to get the marks.

    Each of the 8 processes for Prince2 are broken down into anywhere from 3 to 8 "sub" processes and in the exam you have to show that you can apply Prince2 to a given scenario and show knowledge and understanding of the different elements.

    Anywhere from describing the project team structure to filling in a Project Quality Plan with valid acceptance criteria to designing a Product Flow Diagram could be tested. That’s why i would want to do Prince2 without doing a course.

    As for Prince2 being applicable in an IT environment - as with many of these things such as ITIL in an ideal world with enough staff and the right corporate environment it would be excellent. However you can’t always apply it all. However i do have a much better understanding of projects and can apply certain elements such as "defining a proper project board" to the projects i work with.

    Also I would definitely go Prince2 as its applicable in the UK and spreading…. But time will tell! :blink

    I hope that makes sense!! :rolleyes: :D
     
    Certifications: See my signature...
    WIP: Maybe re-certify my CCNA
  6. Adzmobile

    Adzmobile Nibble Poster

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    Hi Matt! Thanks for the info you have provided. I wanted to ask you regarding Prince2 foundation, what kind of study time do you think is required to pass the exam.. I found ITIL to be a 2 week job of self study.

    Is it possible to complete Prince2 in 3 weeks lets say? Or is there much more ground to be covered? Its so expensive the exam! So i really want to make sure i know it inside out before taking it.


    Thanks!
     
    Certifications: Commvault Administrator, CCNA, ITILv3, CCA for XenApp 6, CCAA for XenApp 6.5, CCA for XenDesktop 5, CCA for NetScaler 9.2, CCA for XenServer 6,VMware VCP5, VSTP 5, HP SMB Storage, Citrix Certified Enterprise Engineer (CCEE), EMCISA, VCAP-DCA
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  7. Kitkatninja
    Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    Kitkatninja aka me, myself & I Moderator

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    I've tried Project+, but failed it by a few points (it was a beta exam). I did my NVQ 3 in Management and did a module on Project management. Looking into Prince 2 (just the foundation at this point), but with my schedule I'm not sure when I'll be able to go for it.
     
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  8. JonnyMX

    JonnyMX Petabyte Poster

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    The foundtion exam is pretty much a memory exercise. You don't really need an in-depth grasp of the methodology, but you need to know what the different documents are for, who is responsible for what and when things happen. The questions are short multiple choice. The only thing worth doing is reading and re-reading the OGC manual.

    Timescales are hard to put down, it depends how much time you have on your hands and how quickly you absorb things. The manual is not particularly user friendly, and I found myself reading chunks of it time and time again without it making the slightest bit of sense to me.

    The upside is that it isn't a particularly hefty document - it's a fraction of the size of anything you'll see for any technical exams. You could read it in a day easily.

    If you are including the practitioner exam, the answer is 'probably'. Although in order to pass the second exam, you need to have a much more detailed understanding of what the processes are. I would never have got it from just reading the manual. The format of the exam is also pretty horrendous unless you know what to expect or have done some practice papers.

    I did a one week course at a training centre. We had an experienced trainer who knew his stuff inside and out. You study the manual for two and a half days and sit the foundtion exam on the Wednesday afternoon. Providing you pass, you spend the next day re-capping and going over practice questions for the practitioner exam, which you then take Friday morning.

    The course was £1,500. Considering the cost of the exams, and that it was 5 days with lunch and refreshments all included, I thought it was excellent value for money.

    It's one of the few certifications where I would dissuade people from 'self study' and actually recommend a training centre. I'd also mention that trainers and the centre themselves need to be authorised by APMG so they are generally not offered by some of the more dubious establishments that we hear so much about...
     
    Certifications: MCT, MCTS, i-Net+, CIW CI, Prince2, MSP, MCSD
  9. Asterix

    Asterix Megabyte Poster

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    Great information Guys, Im looing at doing the Foundation and Practitioner course at westminister university which is 5 days long and £795, inclusive of exams (and manual for early registrations):

    PRINCE2® Short Courses - University of Westminster

    Assuming this is an authorised APMG this sounds like a steal of a price, anyone have any experience with this course @ Westminster or anything else i should look out for?

    Asterix
     
  10. JonnyMX

    JonnyMX Petabyte Poster

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    It pretty much has to be.
    Unlike certification exams, Prince2 exams are paper-based and like A levels etc they are delivered signed and sealed by courier, signed in, signed out etc etc.

    Cracking price, considering the manual alone is about £60.
     
    Certifications: MCT, MCTS, i-Net+, CIW CI, Prince2, MSP, MCSD
  11. JonnyMX

    JonnyMX Petabyte Poster

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    There's always MS Sure Step if anyone's looking for an IT equivalent... :biggrin
     
    Certifications: MCT, MCTS, i-Net+, CIW CI, Prince2, MSP, MCSD
  12. Asterix

    Asterix Megabyte Poster

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    Why the Biggrin? I thought i had a good understanding of available certifications but still don't know what SureStep is! does it hold any value?
     
  13. JonnyMX

    JonnyMX Petabyte Poster

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    It's project management for implementation and upgrade of MS Dynamics products.
    It's one of the MS business certifications (MB5-858). It used to get you something like Microsoft Certified Business Something, but now it seems to get you an MCTS.

    Might be of interest to some.

    Biggrin because I'm a happy sort...
     
    Certifications: MCT, MCTS, i-Net+, CIW CI, Prince2, MSP, MCSD
  14. Asterix

    Asterix Megabyte Poster

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    Ah thanks for the explaination, as it is related to Proj management on the MS platform ill avoid that one :D
     

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