The lecturer was reassuringly grey-haired Funny place for an IT training organisation – nestled between the builders’ merchants and tyre and exhaust outlets. It doesn’t look like there’s anywhere to buy lunch – good thing I brought a sandwich with me. But, there is at least no problem with parking, and the building I’m headed for looks tidy and respectable.
The lecturer (I suppose I should say, “course facilitator”) turns out to be lurking outside, pulling down a sly fag before start-up time. He’s reassuringly grey-haired – I’d hate to be learning something off someone who looks younger than me (a preference that is becoming increasingly hard to sustain, now that James Bond, Doctor Who and the leader of the Conservative Party are all my junior – so what do I want to be when I grow up?).
There’s no reception – I just walk straight through the door and into the training room. The lecturer asks my name, and simply checks me off on a list (hint for cash-strapped PRINCE2 wannabes – just turn up at a course, give a common name like “John Smith” and you could be in f.o.c.).
Joy! There is not only coffee, but also a fine selection of biscuits and even a bowl of fruit. Dodging the latter, I seize a latte and a Kitkat.
09:00 – the introductions begin. We all do the usual “My name is Joe Bloggs, and I am an alcoholic [sorry] a Senior Analyst who is starting to manage projects” speech. The room is packed – there are 16 delegates in total, a full course. I learn later that there has been a marked increase in the course’s popularity over the past three to four months – a sign of the times? So many boxes to be checked these days.
The delegates are a mixed bunch. Mostly, they fall into pretty obvious categories by their particular definition of “smart casual” dress (as specified in the pre-course notes – is there another country in the world where this would need to be mentioned?):
- NHS, local authority and charity employees: Marks & Spencer (or maybe Primark – have you heard there’s a credit crunch?) sensible blouses, polo shirts, slacks and skirts, all in varying shades of beige polyester;
- Software house, telecoms and engineering techies (looking to be promoted beyond their competence): defiantly scruffy jeans and tee shirts;
- Bankers (a complete wunch): the same business suit and shirt they wear every day, but … err … leave the tie off … (it is casual, you know).
There’s one professional student (he’s just done his MBA, and PRINCE2 obviously slots in somewhere between the Applied Basket Weaving and Masters in Financial Mathematics courses he’s got lined up for autumn). There’s also one bold young lady who blatantly admits to having been made redundant (so, I’m not the only one hoping to tout myself around to anyone who’s hiring).
The lecturer introduces himself. He has, indeed, been around the block a few times, and has an IT background involving major insurers and banks, before joining this training crew. He has an avuncular, no nonsense style – I think he’s going to be good.
The course structure and objectives are covered. This is a five-day course, with the Foundation Exam on Wednesday afternoon, and the Practitioner Exam on Friday afternoon. It is intensive stuff – not, it is stressed, because PRINCE2 is intellectually difficult, but simply because there is a lot of information to impart. I wonder how many amongst us have actually completed the pre-course reading (most of the OGC manual); naturally, I make light of my efforts when in conversation, and I suspect that I am not the only one who does not wish to sound like a swot. In truth, I do think that, without a decent bit of pre-course work, you would rapidly be drowning in unfamiliar jargon.
We all get a very nice handout pack, containing slide copies, along with pens and highlight markers to go with our OGC manuals that we were sent in the post pre-course. We find out that – shock horrors! – there will be HOMEWORK in addition to the 9am-5.30pm slog. So much for having a life.
The aim is to complete the imparting of knowledge by Wednesday lunchtime, so that we can tackle the Foundation Exam in the afternoon. Thursday till Friday lunchtime, thereafter, will concentrate on the scenario work that is required for the Practitioner Exam. We are politely informed that we may feel overwhelmed.
Big news – BOTH exams are now multiple choice! No more three-hour essays for the Practitioner, thank God. Now, even a retarded chimpanzee has a fair chance of at least a 25% score.
A bit of gossip – PRINCE2 is changing. As of 2009, the manual will be split into two documents – one for Project Managers, and one for the Project Board. Well, let’s not worry about that now.
09:30 – the course proper starts. Basic stuff first – what is a project? Why do projects fail? Why use a Project Management method?
The answers, surprisingly enough, are to be found in the OGC manual … now, this really is a key point, because, let’s face it, what are we all on this course for? To learn how to use PRINCE2? Maybe for some of us … but, in the real world, the real purpose of the course is (just like the real purpose of school and university) to enable you to pass the exam. What we really want is that box ticked so that the next brain-dead recruitment agent who leafs through our CV doesn’t instantly discard it because “the client really wants someone who is PRINCE2 qualified”. Now, the Foundation Exam is closed-book (it’s basically just a memory test) but in the Practitioner Exam (the real challenge) you are allowed to take along your copy of the OGC manual (and nothing else).
Which is, if you think about it, pretty amazing, really. I don’t recall being allowed to take along my copy of Milton Friedman’s Monetary History of the United States to my University macroeconomics exam. And, even if I had, it might not have done me much good, as the exam was just as likely to cover Keynes as Friedman, and a dozen other economists too. But, with PRINCE2, the OGC manual is literally the word of God – that’s it, the whole subject in those 450 pages, containing the answer to every question you may be posed. And, you get to take it in with you.
Maybe I’m stating the obvious here, but it strikes me that the key Practitioner Exam technique is to know your way around the OGC manual, to have high-lighted the key points (you are allowed to use an annotated version), and to be able to find the relevant sections as quickly as possible.
And, it becomes clear, this course is going to deliver on that front. As he goes through each topic, the lecturer shows us which section of the manual contains the information, and even suggests which sentences to highlight with our funky yellow pens. Plus, I am rapidly adding any notes I take down to the manual’s margins, not on a separate pad or my handout pack – you can’t take those into the exam!
On my way home tonight, I am going to make an essential purchase: a pack of those mini-Post-it notes to mark each manual section for instant access.
10:30 – break for coffee, and this time a muesli bar (well, I had to skip breakfast). Soon after we are back to it, with an overview of PRINCE2 proper, PRINCE2 benefits and some of the jargon and product descriptions. Note that PRINCE2 is about projects, not programmes – the old PRINCE (1) used to cover programmes, but the OGC have worked out they can sell more manuals by splitting programme management into a separate discipline and calling it MSP.
12:30 – lunch, and wonder of wonders, a buffet appears. Now we are talking – there was no hint of us getting fed in the course brochure. I realise that to some of you a few rounds of sandwiches, a couple of pork pies and mini quiches, plus some fruit cake to follow, may not sound like much (especially if you are employed by the European Commission), but I for one now consider my course fee very well spent. Get in!
13:00 – Starting Up a Project. After lunch, we cover the SU process and project organisation, followed by a case study where we all have to identify likely individuals in a set project scenario.
15:30 – another coffee break, followed by Business Cases and a Business Case case study.
16:00 – I feel my eyes getting very heavy; there is only so much information one can absorb. Luckily, we whiz over risk management and get into another case study, so I have to wake up.
17:15 – wind up time. Some interesting statistics on the exam pass rates:
- Foundation Exam : 99%
- Practitioner : 80%
I’m not sure if that’s reassuring or daunting – how thick will you feel if you fail? Actually, given that the pass level is only 50%, it’ll probably be quite difficult to fail (remember, retarded chimps get 25% on multiple choice).
What’s truly astounding is that over 500 people per week are sitting the Practitioner Exam in the U.K. alone!
Looks like PRINCE2 is going the way of A-levels – no wonder all the job ad’s specify accreditation. They’ll be asking for instructor-level marks soon (66% or above).
Another piece of real-world advice: while there are thirty-six different PRINCE2 management products listed in the manual, in reality you can get away with using about eight.
If in doubt, always raise a Project Issue!
We are given our homework – a mock Foundation Exam.
17:30 -we are released! Hurrah! So far, I am impressed – especially by the lunch and biscuits.
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3 comments:
Your class sounds too long - 9:30 to 5:30 so you must have been exhausted. Our prince2 courses start at 9:30 but always finish by 4:30 leaving students to get home a bit earlier to do their homework.
Enjoyed reading the article above ,really explains everything in detail, the article is very interesting and effective.
Wish to see much more like this
Thank you and good luck in the upcoming articles.
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It is the basic level of certification. It is the first of the two PRINCE2® qualifications that are required to successfully become a Registered PRINCE2® Practitioner.
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