Prince2- UK certification for Project Management

Another project certification that i did in recent days was the Prince2 certification for Project Management. Projects IN Controlled Environments is a process-based method for effective project management. PRINCE2 is a de facto standard used extensively by the UK Government and is widely recognised and used across different industries, both in the UK and internationally. Being in Project Management Profession, it is advisable for you to enroll in PRINCE2 training.

The institute that I opted to do the same is Simplilearn. They are accredited trainers of APMG for imparting Prince2 training. I got their reference from one of my friends. On calling them up, i realised that i could get a discount on my fee if i enrolled a month prior. Since i was keen on this, I made the necessary arrangements of getting my finances in order. They confirmed my participation as soon as the fee amount was received. Their official website is www.simplilearn.com.

I have to admit...One of the reasons was to get additional PDUs (45) for ensuring my PMP certification is taken care of as you have to accumulate PDUs for maintaining your certification. I also need to do 40 hrs of mandatory training in a year as it's a company standard. So enrolling for Prince2 seemed to be complimenting many needs apart from added knowledge on project management.

The training is held on weekends for those who opt for the same. Prince2 training is vigorous. So you will need a lot of focus during these sessions. There are no ready made answers to scenarios that were practised in class. Our trainer was very experienced and was able to add a lot of value to the discussions that we were having in class. We were a mixed lot of students from different backgrounds. The discussions were lively. It sometimes did get argumentative because each had a different outlook based on their personal experiences in projects. I keep harping on this fact. But this is something that we really need to ensure if we want to learn any new methodology. Don't bring your personal experiences on projects as a benchmark for any training. Don't keep discussing on what you did on your projects. People get into that mode of constantly disrupting the class with their umpteen experiences which results in limiting the time for the actual methodology based discussions. Hence I find such folks extremely disruptive.

It's fine if you get confused with the different terminologies between Prince2 and PMP. Just keep reading the Prince2 manual once you are home. The manual is very detailed and is a good reference point for all your doubts.

I don't want to get into any arguments on which methodology is better i.e Prince2 or PMP because i believe that we need to take those aspects of training that suits us and our working environment. But to sum up some facts about PMP and Prince2...


• Both are project management methodologies that are used to run a project efficiently.
• PMP is accredited by PMI institute where as PRINCE2 is accredited by APM group.
• PMP is recognised all over the world whilst PRINCE2 is vastly recognised in Europe region.

• Both will give an insight into how to run project successfully, so both accreditations are at par with each other.

Also, let's face the reality. You can do umpteen certifications. But if you basically suck in communication, interpersonal skills, experience and managerial skills, if you lack management support or strong PM team, no amount of certifications are going to save that project. All of these frameworks  are equally useful to manage a project. And all of them will equally fail if the people on the project don't manage it properly.

The key features of Prince are:

• Its focus on business justification
• A defined organisation structure for the project management team
• Its product-based planning approach
• Its emphasis on dividing the project into manageable and controllable stages
• Its flexibility to be applied at a level appropriate to the project.

Prince provides projects with:

1. A controlled and organised start, middle and end
2. Regular reviews of progress against plan and against the Business Case flexible decision points
3. Automatic management control of any deviations from the plan
4. The involvement of management and stakeholders at the right time and place during the project
5. Good communication channels between the project, project management, and the rest of the organisation.

Role  have someone responsible for doing the organising and controlling - this person is called the Project Manager. The Project Manager will select people to do the work on the project and will be responsible for making sure the work is done properly and on-time. The Project Manager draws up the Project Plansthat describe what the project team will actually be doing and when they expect to finish.Unlike PMP, the project manager is not a superhuman under Prince2. He's more of a facilitator than the main decision maker. I guess that's a more practical approach in most aspects of project.

Prince2 Exams- Foundation & Practitioner

After a 2 day session, there's the Foundation exam which will have 75 questions. There are 4 multiple choice answers provided against which one is the right choice. You need to be calm and read through all the options slowly. Most times, 2 options will not make any sense. 2 will sound similiar. The latter options are from where you need to make the right choice. You need to score 35 out of 70 to pass. 5 are trial questions which are not graded. The one hour time provided is sufficient if you keep a decent pace while answering questions.

After 2 days of Practitioner training, you can opt to give the exams immediately after the class. It's a 2.5 hr session. The exam is scenario based. There are 9 questions that are provided. Each are 12 marks. 108 marks are in total. You need to score 59 marks out of 108 to pass. This exam is difficult. It's an open book exam with 2.5 hrs that's provided for completion. The time is extremely limited. The book is of help only if you have gone through the book thoroughly before the exams as there's really not much time to keep searching for a concept. The scenario that's provided is complex. You have to rack your brains to select the right options. So unless you are thorough with your concepts, this exam will prove difficult to clear.

You get your results in 3-4 weeks from APMG. They come via post. It's a joyous moment to hold your certificate in your hands. Of course...how much of Prince2 is implemented depends on your Organization and their PM practices. But personally,the governance methods in Prince2 are very effective.

PRINCE2 is in the public domain. At its simplest level, PRINCE2 is documented in a manual published by the Stationery Office. Further detail can also be found on the website...http://www.ogc.gov.uk/prince/. There are Accredited Training Organisations and Registered Consultants able to work with you to tailor and focus PRINCE2on your requirements. Details of these can be found on the website.

Education consists mainly of what we have unlearned.”-  Mark Twain