Prince2 Practitioner: classroom or online?

[Martin brown]

Hi all,

I'm currently self funding my Prince 2 accreditation and have so far passed the foundation by self studying a text book and completing the exam online (as I knew the exam would be relatively straight forward).

My question is, would you recommend buying a 2 day course or complete the test online for the practitioner? The classroom is double the cost of the online option and as I'm self funding this is obviously a consideration. I've managed to borrow the Alexos 'managing successful projects with prince 2' which has already been populated with tabs etc. Is the course really worth it over online or is the 2 day course just preparing the book for the exam?

Thanks very much

[rsbmw]

In my opinion, practitioner (course or exam) adds almost nothing to what you have already learned for foundation. If it's just about collecting the badges, online is sufficient, it's not a difficult exam to pass.

[Flooble]

First check you really need it.

If so, online. As mentioned above, it's not horrifically difficult anymore.

[mybrainhurts]

What's this all about?

[paul789]

I've managed so far to avoid this nonsense.

[Martin brown]

As a current PM, with redundancy looming it seems prudent to complete this as it's a requirement for most PM jobs these days. Yes there are questions around how appropriate the methodology is in many situations but the reality is it is a 'tick box' for these types of jobs now.

[paul789]

Martin brown said:

As a current PM, with redundancy looming it seems prudent to complete this as it's a requirement for most PM jobs these days. Yes there are questions around how appropriate the methodology is in many situations but the reality is it is a 'tick box' for these types of jobs now.

Sure, it's an easy filter to drop those without the badges and it can make sense to gather them.

I just dislike the way it makes some people think though - work the methodology rather than focus on the outcome.

Prince 2 and ITIL - make me shudder; but then again I'm probably showing how out of touch I am having left IT (for now) - it all seems to be about Agile PM methodologies and DevOps from what I can gather.

Edited by paul789 on Thursday 16th February 13:19

[Flooble]

Nah, depends where you are.

Some places are so nuts they even talk about combining everything - an agile waterfall continuous delivery ITIL Service Transition compliant managed project

In my experience the worst project managers are the people who were cluttering up the office, so got sent on the course and then come back clutching their certificate and telling everyone "this is how to manage a project". They always ignore the bit in the PRINCE2 book about "tailor to suit" and insist on every single document, record, register and process ...

[paul789]

Flooble said:

Nah, depends where you are.

Some places are so nuts they even talk about combining everything - an agile waterfall continuous delivery ITIL Service Transition compliant managed project

In my experience the worst project managers are the people who were cluttering up the office, so got sent on the course and then come back clutching their certificate and telling everyone "this is how to manage a project". They always ignore the bit in the PRINCE2 book about "tailor to suit" and insist on every single document, record, register and process ...

Ah yes, the "Configuration Management" brigade. Zafira drivers the lot of them.

[TwistingMyMelon]

Hi OP, mind saying who you did the exam with, as there are lots of providers out there, just considering the same myself

[Martin brown]

I completed the foundation online exam through knowledge academy. A good experience and competitive on price.

Agree with the points made about tailoring to suit. Equally, I think Agile is only applicable in certain circumstances (certainly not a regulatory project) and should be tailored appropriately. Overall, I think the accreditation provides as a minimum, that you have knowledge of a waterfall methodology even if people have limited ability to apply it effectively.

[BoRED S2upid]

mybrainhurts said:

What's this all about?

Something to put on your CV.

[Flooble]

I'd also vote for Knowledge Academy. They got one of my guys through the exam. I leave the reader to infer what they want from that statement.

[pseudonym]

I've just done the APM PMQ (4 days classroom + 2days revision/exam).

Although Prince2 is a requirement in most PM roles, no one actually seems to abide by it's rigid structure or even know why they ask for it anymore. It just comes across a little 'old hat'. Any employee worth their salt will know this.

APM have just been granted a Royal Charter as of January this year where they'll likely start awarding charterships during the summer - I can honestly see APM becoming the industry standard in the next few years. Personally, I wouldn't waste your time with Prince2, if you want a title, aim for Chartered status.

[rsbmw]

If you're already a PM and simply need the badge - just book the exam and refresh on some of the terms the night before, IIR it's only a 55% pass mark on an "advanced multiple choice" exam.

[six wheels]

I completed the combined Foundation and Practitioner course in a classroom setting a couple of years back. I haven't been near an online Prince2 course so cannot compare the two.

Personally I found the exam preparation and the exam itself pretty hard going. Not because the subject matter is complex - and let's ignore the merit of Prince2 for a second - but because the exam itself seems aimed more at catching you out rather than measuring your knowledge of the subject. I also found the material very dry - again not complex as such but hard to take in because it was so plain.

You mention the classroom is twice the cost of online. Ok. Would a classroom setting give you a better shot at passing the exam? What happens if you fail the online course - do you lose access to the online training and need to pay again for access?

Best of luck either way.

Cheers, Steve.

[Flooble]

I second everything mid-engined says.

The fresh PRINCE2 certificated guys are utterly starry-eyed with the idea of piles of paperwork making projects magically work.

Even though that isn't what the book itself says!

[Martin brown]

This thread isn't about the merits of Prince2. The subject relates to the cost effectiveness of an intense 2 day course over a cheaper (a maybe viable) alternative online course.

I don't disagree with some of the comments made about naïve PM's thinking they are now experts because they have an accreditation. As a current PM, I hardly use most of what is referred to. However, (and as previously stated) for many PM job adverts, Prince2 accreditation is a requirement.

I've already paid for and completed the foundation. The practitioner provides the 'real value' in terms of a prospective employee application so I will be going ahead regardless of the merits. I can always progress with APM or something similar following Prince2.

Cheers

[Rev Limit]

I did both the foundation and practitioner courses and exams in a week with SPOCE training in a classroom. It was intense to say the least but a good way of getting it over and done with, rather than stringing it out for months doing a couple of hours studying a night.

[TheAngryDog]

it's a bit harsh to bin cv's of people with recent prince 2's, they may have years of experience in PM roles but did a course / was paid for by their employer etc. Madness.