Prince2 Practioner

[thunderlizard]

When we sat the Practitioner exam not one of us even had time to open the 'Managing Successful Projects' manual let alone leave early.

Was that under the essay style format or the 2009 multiple-ticking regime?

[original PM]

What an utter pile of crap.

Take it you disagree then?

[Naaarwich]

Was that under the essay style format or the 2009 multiple-ticking regime?

I did mine in early 2008 and it was the multiple choice. Early this year they have updated Prince2.

Its a shame PMI isn't widely used in this country as I think their model is better - you have to have at least 5000 hours of verified PM experience before you can even sit the exam and also the exam tests you on your PM skills and not just on processes as Prince2 does.

[RichardCranium]

PRINCE2 is a complete waste of time. Sorry. Being a PM has nothing to do with memorising a collection of useless and irrelevant information

PRINCE2 is a useful collection of tools for a newbie PM. However, it takes a few years' experience to know how to apply it.

I like the Business Case philosophy, the Project Board structure, the Risk & Issue Management and I am a complete convert to Product Based Planning.

But knowing how much to apply, and when, takes experience.

And, as you suggest, that is not project management. People have problems, not projects. PRINCE2 covers the mechanics of project management but does not address people issues at all.

Single biggest risk to any project, and frustration to all working on such projects are wannabe PM's and / or someone bull******* about their 'experience'.

Absolutely. Almost every "Top Ten Reasons Why Projects Fail" list misses out Reason 0: an incompetent project manager.

[veerarish]

Got the results last night through email and wooho...Passed the practioner.

I am throughly chuffed with myself about utilising the october bench period to pass Prince2 Practioner through self study...


Now to tackle the real crunch of breaking into Project management,moving away from Technical Consultancy roles....

Hi valluvan,

Congrats!!!

I have booked the practitioner exam next month.Any tips for passing this exam.
I am going through the manual.Other than that I am not finding much resources on net.

[jgohilfb]

Congratulations!!!

Did you sit for the Prince2 2009 Foundation Practitioner course or Prince2 2005? Apparently the pass rate of Prince2 2009 is not as high as the 2005 one.

[PM-Junkie]

PRINCE2 is a useful collection of tools for a newbie PM. However, it takes a few years' experience to know how to apply it.

I like the Business Case philosophy, the Project Board structure, the Risk & Issue Management and I am a complete convert to Product Based Planning.

But knowing how much to apply, and when, takes experience.

And, as you suggest, that is not project management. People have problems, not projects. PRINCE2 covers the mechanics of project management but does not address people issues at all.

Absolutely. Almost every "Top Ten Reasons Why Projects Fail" list misses out Reason 0: an incompetent project manager.

Actually, in my days as a PM I found the biggest risk to a project's success was incompetence or naivety in the levels above the PM. If the PM is worth their fee, there are ways around it...but if the PM is a gimp as well then the whole thing is doomed.

In my experience incompetent PMs (and sadly there are a lot of those) merely expose silly decisions/standards/practice above them. A PM who understands the technology that's being used/deployed...knows how to manage upwards as well as downwards...and has the gravitas to stand up to idiots and keep stakeholders from pestering the troops, is worth his/her weight in gold (and as an aside, the best PM I've ever come across was of the female persuasion).

And to the person who said the PMI standard is better than PRINCE2 - the two are different (one can be called a standard, one is a framework) and can actually go together, but I agree. Although not many PMPs are audited....so I suspect there are lots of incompetent PMP people out there too. What I do like about the PMP though is that it only lasts 3 years and you have to extend your knowledge to keep it...not just sit another silly test like you do with PRINCE2. For that reason alone I always prefer 3 year+ PMPs over newly hatched PMPs and PRINCEs

At the end of the day though, running a project is common sense....it certainly isn't rocket science. It always beats me why so many people are so carp at it!