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 P3O® methodologies
What do The Knowledge Academy provide me on the course?
We provide pre-course reading, the official Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices manual, The Knowledge Academy course ware folder, official certificates and refreshments
Does the course include exams?
Yes, the course includes the both the P3O® Foundation and Practitioner exams
Are there any prerequisites for the P3O® 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 P3O® 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
What is the pre-course reading?
We would like for you to read the first chapter of the P3O® manual, “Portfolio, programme and project offices”
What are the hours of the course?
The training hours are start at 9am and finish at 5pm approximately
Is there home work?
There is a minimum of 2 hours homework each evening
The Knowledge Academy
P3O® Foundation & Practitioner
The Knowledge Academy P3O® Foundation and Practitioner event is designed to maximise delegates’ potential in the P3O® training environment. Following confirmation of booking The Knowledge Academy will send the Pre-Course work to the delegate. This work consists of;1) Reading first chapter of the P3O® manual, “Portfolio, programme and project offices “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 P3O® Foundation and Practitioner training event is an intensive 5 day course that includes the P3O® Foundation and Practitioner examinations within the course. Upon booking, Joining Instructions that describe the course location and other administrative details will also be emailed.
P3O® Foundation & Practitioner Training (including examinations)
The Knowledge Academy P3O® Foundation and Practitioner event is designed to maximise delegates’ potential in the P3O® training environment.
Following confirmation of booking The Knowledge Academy will send the Pre-Course work to the delegate. This work consists of;
1) Reading first chapter of the P3O® manual, “Portfolio, programme and project offices”
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 P3O® Foundation and Practitioner training event is an intensive 5 day course that includes the P3O® Foundation and Practitioner examinations within the course. Upon booking, Joining Instructions that describe the course location and other administrative details will also be emailed. In addition, delegates will be required to complete a MINIMUM of 2 hours homework each evening which will be set by the instructor.
P3O® Foundation
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 Portfolio management team using the P3O method within a Portfolio environment. Please note that success in the Foundation examination is a prerequisite for that candidate to move forward to the Practitioner examination.
P3O® Practitioner
A 70 question Objective Test Examination with a pass mark of 35 out of 70. Success in this examination indicates that the candidate could apply P3O® to the running and managing of a non-complex Portfolio s. P3O® Practitioner status should be Re-Registered every 3 to 5 years via the P30® Re-Registration examination.
Course Structure
The Knowledge Academy P3O® 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 P3O® manual, preparing for the Foundation examination. Following successful completion of the Foundation examination, delegates will spend one day preparing for the P3O® Practitioner examination, sitting this examination on the final day of the course.
The Knowledge Academy P3O® Foundation and Practitioner 5 day course covers the following topics:
Why have a P3O?
P3O Model
Implement or Re-Energize a P3O
Tools and Techniques
Roles & Responsibilities
Business Case
Model Tailoring
P3MS Summary
Functions and Services
- Official Portfolio, Programme and project Offices Course Book
- The Knowledge Academy Courseware Book
- Pre-Course Material
- Exams
- Certificates
- Experienced Instructor
- Refreshments
- “The course was very well paced and structured. Our trainer clearly had complete understanding of the course materials and delivered it in a clear and concise manner.”By Victoria Wadie (Rating: 4.8 out of 5, 25/04/2012) from Sheffield
- “There was a lot of information to take on board in the course and it was handled very well by the trainer. I would like to add that the trainer’s approach and knowledge of the subject was exceptional.”By Kevin Roberts (Rating: 4.9 out of 5, 16/03/2012) from Newcastle
- “Course content was well structured, the course materials were great and very helpful.”By Ben Rose (Rating: 4.8 out of 5, 30/04/2012) from Southampton
- “The trainer's technical knowledge is excellent and I'd recommend the company to colleagues interested in this course and others.”By Harry Gaines (Rating: 4.9 out of 5, 01/05.2012) from Luton
Earned Value Management
The Myths of Earned Value Management in Project Management
After decades of using Earned Value Management, I have seen a lot of misinformation about Earned Value. Mostly this boils down to:-
simple ignorance of what Earned Value Management really is
not understanding the differences between Earned Value Management and Earned Value Analysis
fear of the difficulty of implementing Earned Value methods
The fact is, the Earned Value Management techniques with a 40 year heritage is one of the best ways to manage almost any project, and should be a key part of any Project Manager's toolkit. There has to be a reason why nearly project manager in America and Australasia routinely uses Earned Value Management and Analysis.
With that in mind, I set out to break some of the most common question about Earned Value Management.
Why Implement Earned Value Management?
It is true that Earned Value was originally developed by the US government, and that governments have led the way in implementing EVM.
With a $3 trillion budget, the US federal government is by far the largest project-managing entity in the world. Many individual US government projects are larger than all but the largest private companies.
Recent studies in "Mega Projects and Risks" by Bent Flyvbjerg, based on in-depth reviews of three large-scale European megaprojects, namely the Channel Tunnel, the Great Belt Link, and the Oresund Link, identified a common feature of the conventional megaprojects development, that is, despite overwhelming costs overrun, below projection revenue, and strikingly poor performance records in terms of economy, environment and public support, megaprojects grow continuously in number and scale around the world, forming the so-called megaprojects paradox.
This is true in the UK as well, where the government is in charge of the largest and most complex defence, research, energy, and public works projects.
In August 2010 last year the Major Projects Review found common failings in projects and also that there is no cross-government understanding of the size and cost of the Government’s Major Project Portfolio (GMPP) consisting of the most significant Projects, or of the cost and viability of the individual Projects within it.
In January 2011 the Prime Minister confirmed the mandate for the new Major Projects Authority (MPA) within the Efficiency and Reform Group in the Cabinet Office, with the fundamental aim of significantly improving the delivery success rate of Major Projects across Central Government. Hence the major interest in EVM in the UK.
Many global studies show that EVM is the most effective method for addressing the problems of under-estimating and managing to achieve the intended result.
EVM's Work Breakdown Structures, schedule constructs, and Organisational Breakdown Structures provide a significant boost to the accuracy of scoping and estimating project budgets.
EVM's variance reporting, monitoring of project performance, and ability to forecast project outcomes provide the best estimates at almost any point in a project of what it will ultimately cost and when it will complete.
So governments have learnt that EVM provides significant insight to help hold Projects to account.
This accountability, and a long positive track record on numerous large projects, has led many governments to absolutely mandate EVM use on all their projects both internal and external. It’s happening in the UK today, with more and more government projects using EVM.
Private sector companies are now learning the same lessons about EVM and are mandating EVM as well. Often commercial enterprises learn from their government projects the value of EVM and implement it throughout all of their programmes to ensure commercial success.
