PRINCE2 Exam Questions, PRINCE2 Examination Advice

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PRINCE2 Examination Options

PRINCE2 exams are either taken:

as part of a PRINCE2 accredited training course through your PRINCE2 training provider,
at a British Council office arranged through the examination board (APMG).

Whichever option you choose, the PRINCE2 exams you sit will be the same in terms of style and structure.

When you are booking your PRINCE2 training course, check that your PRINCE2 examinations are included in the cost of the PRINCE2 course and that your invigilator has been officially approved by the examination board (APMG).

If you decide to sit the PRINCE2 exams at a British Council office you will need to contact the APMG themselves.

To check locations, availability and cost please email servicedesk@apmgroup.co.uk stating which country you are based in.

From the 6th July 2009 until 31st December 2009, candidates can undertake either the PRINCE2 2005 Qualification Scheme or the PRINCE2: 2009 Qualification Scheme. After the 31st December 2009, the PRINCE2 2005 exams will no longer be available.

PRINCE2 Foundation Exam

The Foundation is the first of the two PRINCE2 Examinations you are required to pass to become a PRINCE2 Practitioner. This level is aiming to measure whether a candidate would be able to act as an informed member of a project management team using the PRINCE2 method within a project environment supporting PRINCE2. To this end they need to show they understand the principles and terminology of the method, specifically, candidates must be able to:

Describe the purpose and major content of all roles, the eight components, the eight processes and the sub-processes, and the techniques
State which management products are input to, and output from the eight processes
State the main purpose, and key contents, of the major management products
State the relationships between processes, deliverables, roles and the management dimensions of a project.

PRINCE2 2009 Foundation Exam Format

75 questions per paper
5 questions to be trial and not counted in scores
35 marks required (out of 70 available) to pass – 50%
5 of the 70 questions will be select style
5 of the 70 questions will be negative style
5 of the 70 questions will be missing word style
The remaining 60 questions (including trial questions) will be standard style
All sequencing questions will be removed from the paper and will not be used in the PRINCE2 Foundation papers

PRINCE2 2005 Foundation Exam Format (available till 31st December 2009)

Multiple-choice
One hour duration
75 questions
38 correct answers are required to pass
Closed-book

PRINCE2 Practitioner Examination

PRINCE2 Practitioner Exam Syllabus

This level is aiming to measure whether a candidate could apply PRINCE2 to the running and managing of a non-complex project within an environment supporting PRINCE2. To this end they need to exhibit the competence required for the Foundation qualification, and show that they can apply and tailor PRINCE2 to address the needs and problems of a given project scenario.

Specifically:

Know or comment on detailed explanations of all processes, themes and techniques, and worked examples of all PRINCE2 management products as they might be applied to address the particular circumstances of a given project scenario
Demonstrate that they understand the relationships between processes, themes, techniques and PRINCE2 management products and can apply this understanding
Demonstrate that they understand the reasons behind the processes, themes and techniques of PRINCE2
Demonstrate their ability to the tailor PRINCE2 to different project environments.

The PRINCE2 Practitioner exam is in the "Objective Testing" format, a style of complex multiple-choice examination.

PRINCE2 2009 Practitioner Examination Format

9 questions per paper with 12 marks available per question – all question items will be worth 1 mark, making the total number of marks available per paper 108
2.5 hours allowed (no reading time has been added)
Open-book examination (only the PRINCE2 Manual is allowed).
55% pass mark (59/ 108)

PRINCE2 2005 Practitioner Examination Format (available until the 31st December 2009)

9 questions, with a scenario background and appendices
Each of the 9 questions is worth 40 marks
An overall score of 198 out of a possible 360 is required to pass (55%)
Three hour duration
Open-book examination (only the PRINCE2 Manual is allowed).

Important Note on the Pass Mark: From 6th July 2009 the pass mark for the Practitioner exam is changing from 50% to 55%, for papers based on either the 2005 or the 2009 editions of Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2.

Passing PRINCE2 - PRINCE2 Exam Preparation

Passing PRINCE2 doesn't need to be daunting if you are fully prepared.

Below are some general PRINCE2 exam preparation techniques to help you pass your PRINCE2 exam.

Practice PRINCE2 exam questions - utilise the ILX Group PRINCE2 Exam Simulator

The ILX Group curriculam exam simulator provides the ultimate test of whether or not you have understood and absorbed the course content.

Random PRINCE2 exam questions are selected from a sample PRINCE2 exam and must be answered within the specified time as if under PRINCE2 exam circumstances.

ILX offer an exam simulator as part of their course and you can download a trial version of this to give you a flavour of what will be expected in the actual PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner exams.

Review PRINCE2 past examination questions

Reviewing PRINCE2 past examination questions is a great way of testing your knowledge of the subject area and of getting an idea of the type of PRINCE2 questions to expect on your PRINCE2 exam.

Knowing the PRINCE2 course material is necessary but not sufficient to guarantee success on the PRINCE2 exam - you also need to be able to communicate the answers effectively under exam conditions.

Practice using sample questions in the same format as the exam and answer them in a simulated test environment. Even though you are only practicing, it is better to write full answers to the questions so you can work through the entire thought process.

The practice session should serve as a feedback loop. Check the answers to the practice questions to diagnose your strengths and weaknesses. If you are weak in an area, go back and study it further to address any gaps.

Revising with summary notes

Make a condensed version of your readings and class notes by creating summary notes that pinpoint the key PRINCE2 terms and concepts and make sure that you understand them.

The process of making summary notes can help you to retain more information. By writing the information thoughtfully instead of just seeing it, you can develop a greater perception of the material. To take this further, activate your other senses: you can recite the summary notes aloud, and even record and listen to them.