Prince2 certification is one of the most often implemented project management methodologies in the world. Obtaining a certificate that confirms your expertise in this methodology can significantly facilitate the development of your professional career, and become a pass for your dream work.
The majority of recruitment advertisements for project managers have certificates provided by one of the three leading institutions that create project management methodologies in the field of “mandatory” or “other skills”. So far, Prince2 is the most popular methodology in Poland.
Unlike the remaining methods (IPMA, PMI), in this case, candidates for certificates are not required to have previous practical experience in project management.
The first certificate, Prince2 Foundation, is based on a single selection test. Each candidate has 60 minutes to reply 75 questions, 5 of which are not evaluated. With this, the methodology holder tests new questions, which can be included in the set of examination questions in the future.
To become a Prince2 Foundation Certificate holder, it is necessary to get 50% during the test, which means 35 correct answers. The exam is based on theoretical knowledge of a candidate. It tests the knowledge and understanding of the concepts included in the official manual.
Foundation certificates are given for unlimited periods. This level is mainly dedicated to members of the project team, support team, supervision team, and service change team.
The practitioner’s exam can only be attended by the Prince2 Foundation Certificate Holder. Prince2 Practitioner Certificate is confirmation of the ability to apply the principles of methodology in practice, and the ability to adapt to the reality of a project. Practitioners are dedicated to project managers and people responsible for implementing Prince2 in their organizations.
No need to have experience in project management before the exam. Keep in mind that the exam tests our knowledge of the methodology and understanding is deep. That is why, it is necessary to answer these questions according to new knowledge obtained from the handbook, not based on your own experience of the development of various projects.
This certificate is given for 5 years, its validity must be prolonged between 3-5 years after the last exam. Re-certification has a test form that lasts 1 hour and consists of 3 blocks of questions, 10 questions each.
How do you prepare for the exam?
Before taking a practitioner exam, a candidate must pass the foundation one. This means that we are familiar with important things theoretically. If we have doubts or aspects of the methodology is not clear to us, we must return there and read the chapter given in the manual once more. In the case of the foundation exam more than a month ago, I suggest reading the entire handbook once more to refresh your knowledge of important things.
The practitioner’s exam has an open book form, it means that during the exam we can only use the official Prince2 handbook. Need to spend time and your manual “tag” correctly. Here, you can find several places for tags:
Attachment A, Page 249 – This contains a description of the prince’s product for management. During the exam, it will be a place where you can quickly find what business case assignments and what they should have. In practice, we will find many answers there.
Appendix C, page 288 – This contains descriptions of all roles defined in the methodology and description of their responsibilities. Besides that, this is a place to find information about e.g. What kind of report should be prepared by the Project Manager and which team manager.
The project management team structure, page 36, which allows us to quickly analyze different organs.
Quality diagram on page 51, which presents all quality management schemes in a project.
An image that presents the entire risk management process, on page 84.
The image that presents the possibility of reaction to risks and opportunities in a project, on page 89.
Images on page 101, illustrate the problem procedures and change controls.
The table on page 103 presents the possibility of the reaction of the director committee against the given problems.
The process model of all Prince2 methodology, on page 123.
The right manual preparation before the exam can be very important. Work with a previous handbook that had previously significantly increased work with him during the exam, finding the information and definition needed.
During the exam we must answer the following questions:
Classic single choice questions – “Choose from the possible answer list”. The correct answer must be selected from the list of 3 or 4 possible answers,
Multiple choice – “Choose two correct answers from the list of 5 possible”. This question has the same structure as before but requires more than one answer. This is the only type of question that requires more than one answer. To get the second point of the answer must be correct. If we provide more or less than two answers, or just one correct answer, the point will not be given.
The matching response – “Set the first column element to the second column element.” There is only one correct answer for this kind of question. However, the element of the second column can be used more than once, and they may not be used even once.
