PRINCE2®: 2009 – IMPACT ON EXAMINATIONS

The APM Group, the body responsible for accrediting training organisations and administering the PRINCE2 examination scheme, has issued a statement regarding the update of PRINCE2 and the impact this update will have on the Foundation and Practitioner examinations.

Candidates are advised that there will not be a major difference between the 2005 and 2009 versions of PRINCE2. The APM Group therefore recommends candidates not to delay their training or exams. Furthermore, all candidates who have taken their examination on the earlier edition of the method will find their qualification remains valid until they need to re-register.

PRINCE2 Registered Practitioners need to take the re-registration exam within five years of their certification date as shown on their certificate. All certificates are valid for the registration period shown on them and exams do not have to be retaken outside of the normal re-registration cycle.

When the 2009 exams are released the re-registration exams will be based on this version and not previous versions. Candidates are then advised to attend either a short course from an Accredited Training Organisation (ATO) rather than simply reading the new manual. Both the Foundation and Practitioner Examinations will be based on the new ‘Managing Projects’ manual and will not include material from the new ‘Directing Projects’ book. Depending on demand an examination based on the Directing manual will be developed and launched towards the end of 2009.

The 2009 examinations will come into practice once the official manual has been published and they are dependant on this publication. It is expected that both the publication and examinations will be available during Q2 2009.

There will be a crossover period for exams – for a minimum of three months after the launch of 2009 – where exams will be issued on either the 2005 or 2009 version of the manual. After this, exams will be based on 2009 manual only. Dates during which either examination version can be taken will be confirmed when the launch date is finalised, as will the date for the withdrawal of PRINCE2:2005 examinations.

Investment in training on previous PRINCE2 versions will not be lost as it is still a valid and productive methodology for the management of projects. The refresh of the manual updates and improves the method but it is not a major re-write. Users of the 2005 version are under no obligation to update to the 2009 version, though of course may do so if they wish to. If the system is working well for an individual or organisation at the moment they are under no pressure to change this.

The PRINCE2:2009 examinations at Foundation and Practitioner level will be available in all the languages which the PRINCE2:2005 ones are; Chinese (Mandarin), Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Spanish (Castilian). All languages will be available at the launch of the PRINCE2:2009 examinations.

All currently approved ATOs will be permitted to train PRINCE2 2009 provided they have updated their courseware – and the updating of course materials is well underway here at Maven Training.

The APM Group is running a series of sessions to update ATOs on the method and pilots of the new examinations will take place during March and April 2009.

For further announcements see the PRINCE2® Official Website and OGC Best Management Practice News.