FAQ's on PRINCE2. What are the PRINCE2 qualifications and what will they teach me?

Transcription

1 FAQ's n PRINCE2 What are the PRINCE2 qualificatins and what will they teach me? There are tw PRINCE2 qualificatin levels: PRINCE2 Fundatin and PRINCE2 Practitiner. A PRINCE2 Fundatin qualificatin will teach yu the PRINCE2 principles, terminlgy and when qualified yu will be able t act as an infrmed member f a prject management team using the PRINCE2 methdlgy within a prject envirnment supprting PRINCE2. A PRINCE2 Practitiner qualificatin is the highest level f PRINCE2 qualificatin and will teach yu t apply PRINCE2 t the running and managing f a prject within an envirnment supprting PRINCE2. Once qualified yu will be able t apply and tune PRINCE2 t address the needs and prblems f a specific prject scenari. Yu will have a cmprehensive knwledge f the relatinships between the PRINCE2 principles, themes and prcesses and PRINCE2 prducts and will understand these elements. What will a PRINCE2 qualificatin d fr me? The PRINCE2 prject management methdlgy is the de-fact standard fr prject management in the UK and is practiced wrldwide. It cvers the management, cntrl and rganisatin f a prject. A qualificatin in PRINCE2 will nt nly bst yur skills and cnfidence when managing prjects but will greatly imprve yur emplyment prspects. Many rganisatins, bth private and public, mandate the use f PRINCE2 and therefre require their staff t be cmpetent and qualified t practice the methd. What is the rigin f the name PRINCE? PRINCE is an acrnym derived frm Prjects IN Cntrlled Envirnments. What is PRINCE2? It is a methd fr managing prjects, there is n Hardware r Sftware (apart frm supprting tls) just a best practice apprach t running Prjects in a cnsistent and referenceable framewrk. PRINCE2 is flexible, adaptable and as much as a Prject methd can be, friendly. PRINCE2 may be similar t what yu currently use, but what it des best is pull tgether cmmn names and descriptins int a structure that anyne familiar with PRINCE2 can understand, regardless f backgrund and Industry.

2 Hw d I get recgnised in PRINCE2? It depends n if yu are an individual r cmpany. T get recgnised in PRINCE2 as an individual yu need t achieve certificatin at either Fundatin r Practitiner level. As a very rugh guideline if yu are invlved in Prjects in a supprting rle (yu may be in a marketing, administratin r technical jb), Fundatin level may be suffice. If generally yu are leading prjects then Practitiner is the level yu shuld aim at. Fr cmpanies wishing t adpt PRINCE2, the rute tends t be slightly different. The biggest decisin is decide if PRINCE2 is right fr yu, and that requires an investment f time, cllecting and reviewing infrmatin frm the marketplace. Yu culd just take the view that with ver 30,000 peple having taken the PRINCE2 exams s far, it must be pretty prven and successful, therwise it wuld nt have the wrldwide take-up it des. Once yu have decided t implement PRINCE2, then yu need t plan an adptin strategy. The mst cmmn apprach is t train an initial grup f peple, then run a PRINCE2 prject t decide if PRINCE2 is right fr yu, r run a pilt PRINCE2 prject. Remember that PRINCE2 is cnfigurable, s frm the initial Prject yu can start t lk at what parts f PRINCE2 yu may r may nt use. Why d I need a PRINCE2 qualificatin? Individual The majrity f peple that cnsider PRINCE2 as a qualificatin d s fr career and persnal develpment reasns. Often this is driven by a change f jb r career, where yu ntice that t get t the tp f the CV pile, yu need t have an extra qualificatin like PRINCE2 (even if yu have been managing Prjects successfully fr many years withut it). In many advertised psitins PRINCE2 has becme a prerequisite, particularly in Public Sectr jbs. Cmpany The majrity f cmpanies that implement PRINCE2 als encurage their emplyees t take the exams. If yur staff have accredited PRINCE2 qualificatins, then yu can present yur cmpany as using PRINCE2. This wrks particularly well where yu tender fr r supply t any Public Sectr cmpanies, such as Plice, NHS, lcal and central gvernment. What d PRINCE2 qualificatins cnsist f? This is fairly straightfrward! The tw levels f qualificatin are Fundatin and Practitiner. Fundatin cnfirms yur understanding f what PRINCE2 is, Practitiner shws yur knwledge in the applicatin f PRINCE2. If yur rle is ne f being n the periphery f Prjects, perhaps Prject Administratin, spnsr r n secndment, then Fundatin level may be suffice. It tells peple that yu can wrk within a PRINCE2 prject effectively. If yu are a cntractr r Prject Manager, then chances are Practitiner level is the right certificatin, as it demnstrates the ability t run PRINCE2 prjects.

3 Fr individuals, we wuld say that the majrity d eventually g t Practitiner level, sme in stages, thers in ne g. Mst cmpanies generally train everyne invlved in the prject t Fundatin Level, with a cre f Prject Managers t Practitiner Level. Hw big des a prject have t be befre PRINCE2 can be used? PRINCE2 can be applied t all srts f prjects, frm the very small t the very large. Even prjects lasting nly a few days will benefit frm selective applicatin f PRINCE2 guidelines. The key t success with PRINCE2 is t remember it is highly cnfigurable, and s can be adapted fr all prject types regardless f industry and marketplace. Is PRINCE2 aimed at any particular type f prject? PRINCE2 is designed t be applied generally t all types f prject, be they cnstructin, engineering, IT, business, financial r whatever. In the past, it has been aimed at IT prjects, and s it is still well used in this area hwever there has been significant grwth recently in ther industries, especially Telecms and Finance. D I need a cmputer based planning tl t implement PRINCE2? N! PRINCE2 makes n recmmendatin n which tls yu shuld use t assist yu manage yur prjects but it des recgnise that such tls are widely used. PRINCE2 will sit quite happily alngside a paper-based planning system r any ther tl which yu find t be effective in yur envirnment. Is PRINCE2 suitable fr nn-it prjects? Yes! Unlike the first versin f PRINCE, PRINCE2 is designed t be generic and can be used fr prjects f any nature. Des PRINCE2 guarantee a successful utcme t prjects? N! but applied sensibly it will increase the chances f yur prjects being successful. Wh wns/sells PRINCE2?

4 The cpyright f PRINCE2 belngs t the UK Cabinet Office, the material itself is therefre Crwn Cpyright. The marketing f the manuals is carried ut by The Statinery Office (frmerly knwn as HMSO). Hw many exams wuld I need t take? Yu need t take tw exams t becme fully qualified, PRINCE2 Fundatin and PRINCE2 Practitiner. Read mre abut the PRINCE2 Fundatin exam. Read mre abut the PRINCE2 Practitiner exam. When can I expect the results f my PRINCE2 Examinatins? PRINCE2 fundatin examinatins can be marked n lcatin with prvisinal results prvided immediately after marking. Practitiner answer sheets are marked at APMG-Internatinal ffices and results released sn after. If yu have taken yur exam via an ATO, practitiner results are sent by the relevant APMG- Internatinal ffice directly t ATOs within 48 hurs. Yur ATO shuld ntify yu f yur results s please cntact them fr further details regarding this. If yu did nt take yur exam thrugh an ATO, yur results will be sent directly t yu via the relevant APMG-Internatinal ffice apprximately 7-10 days after the date f yur exam. When will I receive my certificate? A fundatin certificate will be dispatched t yu apprximately 2 weeks after we have received yur exam paper back int ur ffices, if yu nly tk the fundatin exam. If yu sat a practitiner r bth exams, a practitiner certificate will be dispatched 2 weeks after the practitiner results have been released. Please nte that if yu have taken yur examinatins via an ATO, certificates are dispatched t ATOs. Therefre if yu have nt received yur certificate shrtly after the abve time frames please cntact yur ATO directly.

5 What are the pass marks fr the PRINCE2 examinatins? Pass marks fr the PRINCE2 examinatins are as fllws: Fundatin: Yu will need t scre 35/70 t pass the Fundatin exam. Practitiner: Yu will need t scre 59/108 t pass the Practitiner exam. Re-Registratin: Yu will need t scre 20/36 t pass the Re-Registratin exam. Hw can I advertise myself as PRINCE2 qualified n my business card? Candidates wh have passed the PRINCE2 Practitiner examinatin can put PRINCE2 Practitiner n their business cards. Yu can als include a web address n yur business card ( which takes yu t an nline list f all PRINCE2 Registered Practitiners. Can I use the PRINCE2 lg? Only rganizatins licensed t d s are allwed t use the PRINCE2 lg. Such rganizatins include PRINCE2 ATOs (Accredited Training Organizatins) and PRINCE2 ACOs (Accredited Cnsulting Organizatins) accredited by APMG-Internatinal. The PRINCE2 lg is a registered trademark f the Cabinet Office and must nt be used withut their permissin r apprpriate license. Due t data prtectin laws, we are unable t qute rganizatins that use PRINCE2 withut prir cnsent. Hwever we can cnfirm that PRINCE2 is used by a wide variety f rganizatins in varius industries, bth public and private. The methd is extremely ppular amngst lcal and central gvernment departments and is als adpted by a number f multi-natinal, blue-chip rganizatins. FAQ's n ITIL What is ITIL? ITIL is the mst widely adpted framewrk fr IT Service Management in the wrld. It is a practical, nnnsense apprach t the identificatin, planning, delivery and supprt f IT services t the business.

6 ITIL principles are used by a number f rganizatins in bth the public and private sectrs such as NASA, the NHS, HSBC bank, Disney and L'Oreal. ITIL is als supprted by quality services frm a wide range f prviders including cnsultancies, sftware and tl vendrs and well knwn service prviders such as IBM, Telefnica, HP and British telecm (BT). Develped by the Cabinet Office, the ITIL best practices are detailed within five cre guidance publicatins utlining the fundamental ITIL principles, and cre-derived publicatins, which fcus n ther specific applicatins r areas within the service management discipline. There is als an easily accessible, yet cmprehensive qualificatins scheme, ffering a range f persnal training curses and certificatins cvering specific r clustered ITIL Service Lifecycle phases and prcesses. These are ffered thrugh a netwrk f accredited Examinatin Institutes and Training Organizatins. ITIL Best Practices als underpin the fundatins f ISO/IEC (previusly BS15000), the Internatinal Service Management Standard fr rganizatinal certificatin and cmpliance. Organizatins can therefre implement ITIL principles in rder t meet the requirements within the standards, t achieve rganizatinal certificatin. Can I becme a member f ITIL? There is n direct membership ffered fr ITIL, as ITIL is a guidance framewrk, hwever there are a number f internatinal membership grups, institutes and frums fr IT Service Management principles and practices. The mst widely knwn and accepted membership frum in the IT Service Management space is prvided by the itsmf - the IT Service Management Frum, wh have ver 50 internatinal chapters. Can I use the ITIL Accreditatin Marks? The ITIL lg appears in a number f accreditatin marks, which can nly be used by certain rganizatins wh are accredited fr specific ITIL services r prducts, and have entered int a licensing agreement with APM Grup-The Accreditr.

7 The "ITIL Accredited Examinatin Institute" mark which includes the ITIL lg and the text "Accredited Examinatin Institute" is restricted t use by Licensed and Accredited ITIL Examinatin Institutes nly. The "ITIL Accredited by" mark, which includes the ITIL lg and individual EI lg's with the text "Accredited By" is restricted t use by Licensed and Accredited Training Organizatins nly, and nly in the cntext f their ITIL training, cnsulting and marketing activities. The "ITIL Licensed Affiliate" mark which includes the ITIL lg and the text "Licensed Affiliate" is restricted t use by Licensed Affiliates nly, in the cntext f the ITIL training, cnsulting and marketing activities they cnduct in cnjunctin with a Licensed and Accredited Training Organizatin. Fr examples f these marks, please see the fllwing page: Hw many peple have taken the ITIL qualificatins wrldwide? Unfrtunately, the APM Grup-The Accreditr is unable t share this infrmatin with the general public at this time, as this infrmatin is nly shared with members f the ITIL Qualificatins Bard, the Licensed examinatin institutes and the ATO cmmunity. Hwever, we are establishing a prcess fr making this infrmatin available n the ITIL Official website smetime in the future. Hw can I appeal my examinatin/accreditatin decisin? All EIs will have their wn individual prcess fr appeals against accreditatin r certificatin decisins. Individuals shuld use this prcedure in the first instance. Hwever, if a candidate is dissatisfied by the prcessing r result f an appeal r cmplaint made thrugh the EI, they have the right t escalate this t the Cabinet Office's Official Accreditr, The APM Grup Ltd. If necessary, the APM Grup may take the appeal r cmplaint t the ITIL Qualificatins Bard fr cnsideratin and reslutin. In this instance APM Grup will submit the issue r cmplaint t the next

8 meeting f the ITIL Qualificatins Bard and ensure feedback is prvided in a timely fashin after the meeting. Can my rganisatin achieve ITIL certificatin r cmpliance? ITIL certificatin r cmpliance is nt achievable, because ITIL is a framewrk f guidance and nt a standard; hwever, an rganisatin can achieve ISO/IEC certificatin, the standard fr IT Service Management, which is underpinned by ITIL best practices. If implemented effectively, ITIL principles can help rganizatins t meet the requirements and can help an rganizatin achieve certificatin when audited by a registered certificatin bdy. Fr mre infrmatin, please see What are the Intellectual Prperty rules and permissins fr ITIL? The APM Grup has delegated authrity t issue Trade Mark Licences fr the re-use f the Cabinet Office's Trade Marks. APM Grup als have the authrity t issue Trade Mark and Crwn cpyright licences t thse wh wish t reprduce cntent frm fficial publicatins prduced by the Cabinet Office relating t thse trademarks. The rules and permissins arund the use f Intellectual Prperty subsisting in ITIL are varied, depending n the user, s fr full and detailed infrmatin, please see: Can I use the ITIL lg? The ITIL lg is the Best Practice swirl fllwed by the wrd ITIL. This specific lg can nly be used by the Cabinet Office, TSO and APM Grup-The Accreditr.

9 If yu wish t use the lg fr any reasn yu will need t btain prir permissin frm the Cabinet Office. Please cntact the Cabinet Office at: ServiceDesk@gc.gsi.gv.uk May I use the ITIL diamnd device? The ITIL "diamnd device" has a fur quadrant pattern. It cmes in varius clurs, is a lapel pin and may appear n ITIL certificates r sme itsmf publicatins. The Cabinet Office des nt wn this lg. If yu wish t reuse the diamnd device yu need t cntact itsmf fr permissin. Fr mre infrmatin, please see Can I advertise myself as ITIL qualified n my business card? Currently, there are n pst-nminals fr ITIL certified individuals. Any individual wh wuld like t include infrmatin n their ITIL certificatin n a business card needs t take nte f the fllwing: A Cabinet Office Trade Mark lg (e.g. the ITIL Swirl) cannt be used n business cards as they advertise a persn/cmpany and nt the assciated prduct. A Cabinet Office wrd mark can (e.g. ITIL) be used n a business card as lng as the crrect symblgy is used. Fr example: Je Blggs ITIL Accredited Trainer Where practical (if it can be included legibly) the Trade Mark acknwledgement statement shuld als be shwn. Fr example: Je Blggs ITIL Accredited Trainer ITIL is a Registered Trade Mark f the Office f Gvernment Cmmerce, in the United Kingdm and ther cuntries.

10 When will my name appear n the Glbal Successful Candidate Register n the ITIL Official Site? The name and examinatin details f all successful ITIL examinatin candidates wh have given permissin will be added t the Glbal Successful Candidate Register at: This website is updated by each Licensed Examinatin Institute directly. If yur details d nt appear n the website 6 weeks fllwing cnfirmatin f yur examinatin result, cntact the Examinatin Institute yu gained yur qualificatin thrugh. Examinatin Institute details can be fund n the fllwing webpage: If yu are nt aware f which EI this was yu shuld cntact yur curse prvider. I have passed an ITIL examinatin. Will I receive an ITIL Pin? ITIL examinatin candidates shuld btain their pin frm their Examinatin Institute upn successful cmpletin f their examinatin. The Examinatin Institutes administer the pin scheme n behalf f the itsmf ( wh ffer pins t successful candidates in exchange fr cntact infrmatin fr Service Management related marketing and infrmatin purpses. Yur pin will either be sent directly t yu with yur certificate r yu will be advised f the applicatin prcess fr receipt f the pin, which will invlve prviding yur express permissin t share yur infrmatin with the itsmf. If yu have passed an examinatin but have nt yet received yur pin, please cntact yur Examinatin Institute listed n the fllwing webpage: If yu are nt aware f which EI this was yu shuld cntact yur curse prvider.

11 Hw d I btain a replacement ITIL pin r certificate? T get a replacement certificate r ITIL pin yu shuld cntact the Examinatin Institute thrugh which yu gained yur qualificatin listed n the fllwing webpage: If yu are nt aware f which EI this was yu shuld cntact yur curse prvider. I have passed an ITIL examinatin. Can I have the actual scre that I achieved in my examinatin? If yu have had cnfirmatin f yur ITIL examinatin result but nt the scre, yu shuld cntact the Examinatin Institute thrugh which yu gained yur qualificatin listed n the fllwing webpage: If yu are nt aware f which EI this was yu shuld cntact yur curse prvider. FAQ's n ISO/IEC What are the Benefits f an ISO Certificatin? An ISO certificate is prf that yur IT rganizatin has demnstrated its ability t Be aware f custmer needs and respnd t these needs. Deliver services which meet defined quality levels. Make use f resurces in an ecnmical way. As such, the ISO certificate and the crrespnding lg are increasingly a cmpetitive advantage in the market: Many clients even demand ISO cmpliance as a cnditin fr awarding cntracts t IT service prviders.

12 Of curse, wrking alng ISO (and ITIL) principles als ffers internal benefits fr the IT rganizatin, because the standard is all abut supprting the business side with adequate IT services, while prviding thse services as efficiently as pssible. The decisin t g fr an ISO certificate sets a specific target fr yur IT rganizatin and helps t cncentrate minds. An ISO certificatin initiative is, in ther wrds, a gd way t kick-start the adptin f ITIL Best Practice and t make sure mtivatin stays high. What exactly d we have t d t becme ISO cmpliant? Unfrtunately, the standard ISO/IEC 20000:2011 itself nly sets ut a number f requirements which must be fulfilled in rder t qualify fr an ISO certificatin. S there is n shrt answer t the questin "What needs t change?". As a result, there is ften a prblem at the start f an ISO certificatin initiative: It is nt clear what the future (ISO cmpliant) state f yur IT rganizatin shuld be like, making it hard t determine what yu shuld aim fr and hw much change is needed. Hwever, since ITIL and ISO are clsely aligned, it is pssible t turn t ITIL fr advice. Make ITIL Best Practice instantly available fr yur ISO Prject ITIL knwledge is available in the frm f bks, but the ITIL Prcess Map, tgether with the ITIL - ISO Bridge prvides yu with a better alternative: Our ISO cmpliant ITIL prcess mdel presents the ITIL cntents as a cmplete set f prcess flwcharts ("Prcess Templates") and checklists ("Dcument Templates"). The ITIL - ISO Bridge tells yu what ITIL prcesses and dcuments shuld be in place t meet a certain ISO 20000:2011 requirement. Fr every ne f the standard s 147 single requirements, yu can jump right int the relevant prcess diagrams and dcument templates. This means yu get specific suggestins n hw the requirements can be fulfilled - the ideal way t quickly understand what exactly it means fr yur IT rganizatin t becme ISO cmpliant.

13 We d nt mean t say, hwever, that yu must implement all prcesses t the letter. The reference prcesses shuld be seen as ne pssible apprach t implementing ISO 20000, and it is acceptable t use the riginal prcesses as a starting pint and adapt them t yur wn rganizatin's needs - as lng as yu stay in line with the ISO requirements. What is being verified during the ISO Certificatin Audit? The aim f the ISO20000 certificatin audit is t check if yur rganizatin fulfils the ISO requirements. In particular, the mandatry requirements f 'ISO/IEC 20000:2011, Part 1: Service Management System Requirements' must be fulfilled. Bradly speaking, the ISO audit relates t the fllwing aspects f yur rganizatin: Dcumentatin f the ISO Prcesses Adequately dcumented prcesses are a prerequisite fr managing and cntinually imprving yur prcesses. This is why an ISO audit typically starts with the examinatin f the prcess dcumentatin: Are all the prcesses dcumented? Are the prcesses linked by cnsistent infrmatin flws? D the prcesses fulfill the ISO requirements? ] Familiarity with the ISO Prcesses The ISO auditr will hld structured interviews with IT staff t check if everyne is familiar the prcesses: D all members f IT staff knw their wn prcesses? D they have a general understanding f all ISO prcesses? ] Adherence t the ISO Prcesses

14 If the ISO prcesses are executed as dcumented, there are traces in the frm f dcuments and recrds (fr example, the Incident Management prcess is prducing Incident Recrds if executed crrectly). This is why the ISO audit will include an examinatin f evidence related t the ISO prcesses: D the expected dcuments and recrds exist? Are they adequate fr their purpses? What are the typical Prject Steps leading t ISO Certificatin? Create awareness Cmmunicate the gals and benefits f the ISO certificatin and the apprach fr achieving ISO cmpliance. This step shuld include giving everyne in yur IT rganizatin at least a basic understanding f ITIL. Determine the ISO certificatin scpe If yu want t limit the scpe f yur ISO certificate: Decide what parts f the rganizatin, what services and/ r what lcatins shall be cvered by the ISO certificate. Cnduct an initial ISO assessment Determine gaps between tday s situatin and the standard's requirements; this can be dne by an external advisr, but there is als an "IT Service Management Self Assessment Wrkbk" published by BSI. The result f this step is a detailed list f the ISO requirements where cnfrmant and nncnfrmant areas are identified. Fr nn-cnfrmant areas the list includes the findings n what exactly the shrtcmings are and hw they can be addressed.

15 Set up the ISO prject Establish a prject bard. Chse a prject manager and prject staff. Determine the necessary resurces, prepare a prject plan and assign tasks. Chse a certifier and an experienced external advisr. Prepare fr the ISO certificatin audit Clse the gaps identified during the initial ISO assessment usually the mst timecnsuming part f an ISO certificatin initiative, because (depending n the level f cmpliance fund during the initial assessment) a cnsiderable number f prcesses may need t be mdified r intrduced. During preparatin fr the ISO audit, an inventry f requirements, dcuments and recrds helps t keep track f what requirements are already fulfilled and what related evidence (dcuments and recrds) is in place. T help yu with this task, the ITIL - ISO Bridge cntains a pre-cnfigured inventry which yu can use t mnitr yur prgress twards ISO cmpliance. Cnduct the ISO certificatin audit The actual ISO audit must be carried ut by an external certifier frm a Registered Certificatin Bdy (RCB, an rganisatin which has been granted permissin t perate under the itsmf ISO/IEC Certificatin Scheme). Retain ISO Certificatin After the initial certificatin, a renewal f the ISO certificate is due every three years, with intermittent assessments every 6 t 12 mnths.

16 Make sure that yu cntinue t adhere t the standard and put a strng emphasis n cntinual service and prcess imprvement. Are there typical Pitfalls in an ISO Prject? N management supprt Management must understand and cmmunicate why the service prvider is seeking certificatin, and visibly endrse the initiative. T little invlvement f IT staff The advantages f Best Practice shuld be explained t everyne in yur rganizatin, and all members f IT staff shuld be invlved as clsely as pssible during the design f the new ISO cmpliant prcesses. If IT staff are able t cntribute their views and experiences during the ISO prject, this greatly enhances acceptance f the new prcesses - and ensures lng-term success. Insufficient resurces fr the ISO prject Management cmmitment must be backed up by the prvisin f sufficient resurces fr the certificatin prgram. This includes making sure that staff assigned t the prject are freed frm sme f their day-t-day tasks.