Prince2 - worth it?

[Pulse]

Ray Singh said:

I started this course today. Its run by core IS.
It was heavy going with lots of acronyms. Fundamentals test on Thursday and Practitioner on Friday.

It was a full 9 - 4 today with only an hour for lunch - 2 hours of homework tonight.

Its hard going.

Foundation, isn't it? Unless they've changed the name of it.

[Ray Singh]

Sorry yes, too much learning - Foundation and Practitioner - my mistake - to many things to absorb today.

[Pulse]

You'll be fine, don't worry! How much pre-reading did you do before the course?

[Ray Singh]

We were given a small Prince 2 Foundation book to read that gave an overview of the Prince2 technique. CoreIS have also supplied a SW package that asks Foundation questions in random order. I have been asked to answer between 100 and 120 questions in an hour and score over 55% (pass rate).

I am also trying to explain SU, IP and DP stages to someone who doesnt know about Prince2 as my other hour tonight.

[Podie]

Foundation is usually 3 days, followed by 2 days Practitioner.

The biggest deal is getting your head around the terminology - once that sinks in, you should be OK.

Remember the Practitioner is open book - so make sure you know where to find things.

[MrP80]

Podie said:

Foundation is usually 3 days, followed by 2 days Practitioner.

The biggest deal is getting your head around the terminology - once that sinks in, you should be OK.

Remember the Practitioner is open book - so make sure you know where to find things.

Agree with that, the most important thing is learning where each section is and making sure it's labelled - actually having some knoweldge about it is a bonus! Passing the exam shows you know the exam, not that you are a PM

[Pulse]

I didn't even tab my book. I never wrote in it either.

Just learn it inside out, and rely on the book if needs be. Everything is easy to find.

[Podie]

MrP80 said:

Passing the exam shows you know the exam, not that you are a PM

Agreed.

[Ray Singh]

I have my foundation exam tomorrow morning. The pass mark is 55%.
I have tried two past papers today, one before I completed the full course - scored 45% and one this evening and scored 58%.

It will be tight tomorrow, but fingers crossed I should pass the foundation. Practitioner exam on Friday, where the pass mark is 55% again.

Its all a bit of a blur to me, but i guess that if you have done some project management before, it will all fall into place. unfortunately, i have not.

[Pulse]

Ray Singh said:

I have my foundation exam tomorrow morning. The pass mark is 55%.
I have tried two past papers today, one before I completed the full course - scored 45% and one this evening and scored 58%.

It will be tight tomorrow, but fingers crossed I should pass the foundation. Practitioner exam on Friday, where the pass mark is 55% again.

Its all a bit of a blur to me, but i guess that if you have done some project management before, it will all fall into place. unfortunately, i have not.

Actually, I found it the other way round. It's harder to pass because you try to relate it to your role, and think to yourself "We don't do that" or worse "We call it this"... So you get confused.

A friend of mine passed with no knowledge of project management, and even being generous he is a bit of a dim wit.

[Ray Singh]

LOL I can relate to Dim wit, so there is hope for me tomorrow !

[Pulse]

I want to be as honest as possible, without making you worry. I can only speak from my personal experience, and I read the entire book before I started my course. Before the course I did some practice exams and was easily passing both exams. During classroom practice exams, I was getting around 90% on the Foundation, and ended up getting about 80% I think, so I'd take 10% off the practice exam marks.

My advice? Don't even sleep tonight. Get the book read thoroughly, and make sure you pass. It's an investment in time now, and worth it.

[Ray Singh]

Passed the foundation this morning. It was hard going actually. But i got 68% of the required 55% pass mark.
Revising hard for the practitioner this afternoon and tonight.

Will all be over by tomorrow lunchtime.

[bigandclever]

Ray Singh said:

Passed the foundation this morning. It was hard going actually. But i got 68% of the required 55% pass mark.

Well done!

Pass mark for Foundation is still 50% though, you were even better than you thought

[Podie]

Ray Singh said:

Passed the foundation this morning. It was hard going actually. But i got 68% of the required 55% pass mark.
Revising hard for the practitioner this afternoon and tonight.

Will all be over by tomorrow lunchtime.

Good work.