I know it's a bit boring but please talk to me about Prince2

[Llamapolice]

I work in the public sector and have been told a few times that to progress my career (which I'm keen to do) it would look good to have this.

I will have to pay for it and organise and do it in my own time which I am willing to do. What do I need to know?

-Do you have to do the Foundation level to progress to Practitioner or can you go straight to Practitioner? I have managed projects so I don't know if I need Foundation? And where does the Agile level fit in?
-Also - how hard is it? What sort of exam do you have to do?
-How much of a time commitment is it going to be?

Anything else?

I completed the foundation and practitioner levels Inc exam over a one week intensive course a few years back. There was a lot of homework to do in terms of reading ahead in the textbook as it couldn't all be covered in the time, and also lots of tests of stuff you'd learnt that day to be done in your own time then looked at the next morning, so it was a heavy week.

If you've done any further education I'd say it's fairly straightforward but there is A LOT of particular buzzwords or phrases that you need to use to show competency, so even though your description of something and how to use it in practice is spot on, if you don't call it by the step name they give it etc then you lose marks.

Exam was a lot of multiple choice etc so not too hard, closed book though.

You have to do the foundation to complete practioner but many courses will just do them in one together

The foundation course as long as you have some common sense is pretty dam easy. The practioner is a little harder but there are some great quick note books that explain everything really clearly

Look at other courses too and work our what would stand you in better stead.

Depending on your role P3O is well recognised.

As far as I know Prince2 is used mostly in public sector. I did the course about 14 years ago and never used the methodology. I work in this field though not public sector.

Thanks all that's really helpful. I'll look at PO3, never heard of it before.

PRINCE2 & Agile are two different types of project management methodology - Agile isn't a level in Prince2.

Prince2 is a 'waterfall' method. Very simply put, the aim is do very thorough, documented, preparation up front and have it fully assessed and signed off before progressing. Its admin heavy, which is why it's suited to public sector where paper trails are important. Agile aims to be admin-light, preferring to take a focused and flexible approach to projects.

Google both and their differences - there's loads online.

If you lack confidence about passing Prince2 exams first time, look for a supplier who offers 2nd attempts etc as part of the fees.

It has been a long time since I did Prince2, it was 2004 I think.

The course consisted of:

• Read the big red book before the course (iirc it was around 20hrs reading)
• Go to the course, first 4 days are spent basically re-reading sections of the book with some additional commentary, and everyone highlighting key phrases.
• Study book and some past papers each night (I did this on the 45 min train journey there and back each day)
• End of 4th day sit multiple choice which tries to trip you up with wording/their buzzwords to get "foundation" - every single person in the class passed
• Day 5 prepare for the written Practitioner exam in the morning with a couple of example questions where the examiner heavy implied what was in the exam in the afternoon - 13 out of a class of 15 passed.

I know some places do, but I honestly wouldn't care if someone had Prince2 on their CV or not.

If you are public sector every person/ department has a training budget. Have you added this to you aspirations and training needs in your Appraisal with your manager. I would do this if you haven't, I worked for the NHS and they were more than willing to pay for me to do it as part of my personal development.

I did PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner as a 5 day course some years ago, and then recently re-did the Practitioner during 2 days, to 'top up' my status. Most people just do it once but technically the Practitioner part does expire.

It's a boring as hell, and there are a lot of courses out there that may be more relevant to you. Have a look at the ILX Group or Knowledge Academy - both are well known providers of these types of training. There's also PRINCE2 Agile available these days.

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