Preparing for the Next Shot

If you’ve failed a PRINCE2 exam, you need to prepare for your next shot by revising the whole method as well as focusing on those areas where you think you’re below par. In particular, make sure you’re clear on each of the following areas:

Roles and responsibilities: Make sure you know what each role is responsible for within the project management team [Manual Appendix C, P2FD Ch10 and Ch11] and what the roles are doing in a PRINCE2 project.

Processes: Check you know the sequence in which the processes are used, who is primarily responsible for the activities within each process, and who else is involved. Practise ‘locating yourself’ when looking at a particular activity, to be clear on what is going on at that point, what products are in use and where you are in the project. So, for example, when you ‘Authorize a Stage or Exception Plan’ in the process Directing a Project, you’re a Project Board member in a Project Board meeting at the end of a stage (End Stage Assessment), or you’re part way through a stage after an Exception Plan has been produced by the Project Manager (Exception Assessment).

Themes: Go through them all again to be sure you have a clear understanding. Make sure that you know what each theme is for and what it contains and, for the Foundation exam, make especially sure that you’re familiar with the ‘purpose’ statements at the start of each theme and process chapter in the PRINCE2 manual.

Principles: Make sure you understand what each one means and check that you know how it’s built in to the method. For example, exception management is used in Controlling a Stage when the Project Manager escalates an issue, but it’s also used at project level and again at team level in Managing Product Delivery, because a Team Manager may be working within tolerances on a Work Package.

Management products: Make sure you know what each product is used for and when, who produces it and what the sections in each one are all about.

Product planning (for Practitioner level): Make sure you understand the diagrams and the Product Description, and practise drawing some diagrams. Although you’re not required to draw answers in a multiple-choice format exam, if you’ve practised you’ll be well used to the techniques and you’ll find it easier to answer questions about them. [P2FD Ch14]