Is this course accredited?
Yes, it is accredited by the APMG
What is the experience of the Instructor(s) delivering my course?
All of our trainers are fully accredited and have over ten years of experience in Managing Successful Programmes methodologies
What do The Knowledge Academy provide me on the course?
We provide pre-course reading, the official Managing Successful Programmes manual, The Knowledge Academy courseware folder, official certificates and refreshments.
Does the course include exams?
Yes, the course includes the both the MSP Foundation and Practitioner exams
Are there any prerequisites for the MSP examinations?
There are no prerequisites for the Foundation examination, however, candidates must achieve a pass at Foundation level before completing the Practitioner examination
What is the structure of the exams?
The Foundation exam is multiple choice and the MSP Practitioner exam is in the "Objective Testing" format, a style of complex multiple-choice examination
What time shall I arrive at the venue?
Please arrive at your training venue for 08:45am
The Knowledge Academy
The Knowledge Academy Materials and Trainers
The Knowledge Academy MSP® course materials and trainers are accredited by APM Group Ltd. ensuring that delegates receive a consistently high standard of training. The Knowledge Academy course materials are regularly assessed and maintained in line with stringent standards administered by APM Group Ltd. The Knowledge Academy trainers are regularly assessed by The Knowledge Academy and AMP Group Ltd. to ensure that their knowledge of Programme Management and MSP® are strong enough to deliver training that helps delegates extract maximum benefit from attending our courses.
The Knowledge Academy MSP® course materials are based on the 2011 edition of, “Managing Successful Programmes” and include examinations based on this manual.
MSP® Foundation and Practitioner Training (including examinations)
The Knowledge Academy MSP® Foundation and Practitioner event is designed to maximise delegates’ potential in the MSP® training environment.
Following confirmation of booking The Knowledge Academy will send the Pre-Course work to the delegate. This work consists of;
1) Reading: Introduction, Principles, Introduction to Themes from the “Managing Successful Programmes”
2) Pre-course workbook to be completed by the Delegate and handed to Trainer at the start of course.
The pre-course work on a The Knowledge Academy course will require around 15 hours of study prior to the course start date. The Knowledge Academy MSP® Foundation and Practitioner training event is an intensive 5 day course that includes the MSP® Foundation and Practitioner examinations within the course. Upon booking, Joining Instructions that describe the course location and other administrative details will also be emailed.
MSP® Foundation
A 50 question multiple choice examination with a pass mark of 30 out of 50. Success in this examination indicates that the candidate would be able to act as an informed member of a programme management team using the MSP method within a programme environment. Please note that success in the Foundation examination is a prerequisite for that candidate to move forward to the Practitioner examination.
MSP® Practitioner
A 80 question Objective Test Examination with a pass mark of 40 out of 80. Success in this examination indicates that the candidate could apply MSP® to the running and managing of a non-complex programmes. MSP® Practitioner status should be Re-Registered every 3 to 5 years via the MSP® Re-Registration examination.
Course Structure
The Knowledge Academy MSP® Foundation and Practitioner 5 day course follows a two part structure. The first three days of the course involve familiarisation with the content of the MSP® manual, preparing for the Foundation examination. Following successful completion of the Foundation examination, delegates will spend one day preparing for the MSP® Practitioner examination, sitting this examination on the final day of the course.
Course Content
The Knowledge Academy MSP® Foundation and Practitioner 5 day course covers the following topics:
Principles of MSP®
Governance Theme
Organisation
Vision
Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement
Benefit Realisation Management
Blueprint design and delivery
Planning and Control
The Business Case
Risk management and issue resolution
Quality management
Transformational Flow Overview
Identifying a Programme
Defining a Programme
Managing the Tranches
Delivering the Capability
Realising the Benefits
Closing a programme
Tailoring MSP® to the programme environment
- 2011 Edition Managing Successful Programmes OGC Manual
- The Knowledge Academy Courseware Book
- Pre-Course Material
- Exams
- Certificate
- Experienced Instructor
- Refreshments
- “Very good course - I can't praise the trainer enough for the knowledge that he imparted to us all.”By Anne Cartwright (Rating: 4.9 out of 5, 19/03/2012) from London
- “Intense full-on course with lots to learn but made easier by the trainer.”By Brian Dunn (Rating: 4.9 out of 5, 23/02/2012) from Birmingham
- “Great course, I really got to grips with the MSP concepts.”By Toby Marshall (Rating: 4.7 out of 5, 28/03/2012) from Sheffield
- “Excellent course, the trainer really made the content understandable.”By Liam Grover (Rating: 4.7 out of 5, 24/04/2012) from Birmingham
- “The trainer was excellent, delivering the methodology in a fun and practical way by engaging all of the attendees. They were also excellent at preparing us for the exams.”By Elly Tumbler (Rating: 4.9 out of 5, 01/04/2012) from Norwich
- “Was very impressed with the course, I would definitely think about coming back to do more.”By Andrew Walker (Rating: 4.8 out of 5, 05/02/2012) from Leeds
- “A challenging course effectively carried through. Participants with broad experience helped to enrich the discussions in a very positive way. The content and presentation by the trainer was consistently high quality and engaging while the facilities provided were excellent. Overall the course was fast paced and focused on practical application. A valuable and intense learning experience.”By Mike Butcher (Rating: 4.9 out of 5, 03/05/2012) from Bristol
- “I found the training course in terms of pre-work, course content and delivery extremely useful to securing a pass. The relaxed, informal set up for all exercises and interaction with other delegates, using their real life examples to bring MSP to life, helped massively too!”By Richard Connor (Rating: 4.8 out of 5, 13/03/2012) from Glasgow
- “Good quality training courses that are more than value for money. The class was small and we all got to know each other quickly - questions and discussion on particular points made the day go quickly.”By Michael Docherty (Rating: 5 out of 5, 20/02/2012) from Milton Keynes
MSP Training - The 2011 review
A few minutes ago, I finished another successful MSP (Managing Successful Programmes) Practitioner course. MSP is in an interesting place at the moment, because we’re in the transition between two versions of the official MSP manual. My battered & much used copy of the 2007 version is still relevant to some of the courses that I teach, but I have a shiny new copy of the 2011 version as well. The new version of MSP was only released at the beginning of September, but I’ve already delivered one course based on this for TKA. The MSP framework has not changed radically for this new version, but there have been some interesting improvements in the detail, with changes to benefits realisation catching my eye.
I’ve been a trainer for 7 years and teach PRINCE2, Management of Portfolios (MoP) and APMP (Association for Project Management, Practitioner) courses, in addition to MSP. The whole best practice family of guidance from the OGC (Office of Government Commerce) has evolved quite a bit over the last couple of years, with new versions of PRINCE2 and MSP, together with new manuals about portfolio management (MoP) and portfolio, programme & project offices (P3O) all enhancing the subject area.
The Management of Portfolios manual gives a fresh perspective on how organisations manage change, concentrating more on what changes should be happening, and the co-ordination of those changes, rather than on how to deliver change.
The OGC guidance on portfolio, programme and project offices gives long overdue exposure to the value of an organisation having skilled support for change teams, even to the point of having a corporate “centre of excellence” containing skills and experience of a wide range of change management initiatives.
When you add to the above recent developments in guidance about risk management (MoR) and management of value realisation (MoV), you begin to see how dynamic this whole subject area is.
OK, so maybe I’m considered a bit of a “nerd” for being passionate about all of these frameworks and methods, but having managed projects, programmes and change initiatives for over twenty years, before finding my way into training, I find this whole area fascinating. I can see so much benefit in the establishment of common approaches and common jargon across the whole spectrum of the delivery of change. Additionally, all of the good work that has gone into the evolution of these approaches by professional bodies, such as the APM, PMI (Project Management Institute) and the BCS (British Computer Society) complement the OGC’s best practice family.
Anyway, enough rambling from me. It’s Friday afternoon and I’ve got a train to catch. Hopefully, I’ll see you on a course, sometime soon.
