Article: PRINCE2 or APM: Which is the Right Approach?

23 May 2010	Posted by Administrator on 23 May 2010 at 20:30 Project managers and business managers often ask whether the PRINCE2 method or the APM syllabus would be more appropriate to improve their project management capability. Vicky Billingham, Training Director at Projectivity Ltd looks at the two project management methods and compares and contrasts the two approaches.
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Introduction

PRINCE2 has become recognised as the standard for project management in the UK and is becoming more popular worldwide.  The APM on the other hand is more a set of topics within the area of project management that together form a "toolkit" for project managers. Both have advantages but you might be wondering which one is going to be more useful to you, either in your current role or when you look for a new project management role. This article compares and contrasts the two approaches.

Background to PRINCE2

PRINCE2 is a process-based approach for project management. It is designed to be a scalable method for the management of all types of projects. The main handbook for the method is the PRINCE2 manual, “Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2”.

There are two main levels of PRINCE2 qualification: Foundation and Practitioner.

• The Foundation exam is a one-hour multiple choice format exam with 75 questions and a pass mark of 50%. 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.
• The Practitioner exam is in the style of a complex multiple-choice examination, taken over 2.5 hours and with a pass mark of 55%. This level is aiming to measure whether a candidate can apply PRINCE2 to the running and managing of a non-complex project within an environment supporting PRINCE2, and is based on a case study project.

The accreditation body for PRINCE2 is the APM Group:www.apmg-international.com

Background to APM

The APM uses the APM Body of Knowledge. As opposed to a method, this is more a set of topics within the area of project management that together form a "toolkit" for project managers.

APM qualifications are aligned to the four level certification programme of the International Project Management Association providing recognition throughout the world. APM qualifications are aligned with the APM Body of Knowledge, 5th edition.

The first two levels of APM qualification are the APM Introductory Certificate (APMIC) and the APMP. (The APMP sometimes gets mixed up with the APM Practitioner, which is a 2.5 day live assessment. The second ‘P’ in APMP does not stand for anything).

• The APMIC is a 60-question, multiple-choice exam taken over one hour, with a pass mark of 60%. It tests the language of project management and the structure of a successful project.
• The APMP assessment involves a three hour written essay-based paper, and tests the candidate’s breadth of knowledge in all areas of project management, from strategic and commercial implications, to the technical, organisational, and people management skills required to participate effectively within a project team.

The accreditation body for the APM qualifications is the Association for Project Management: www.apm.org.uk

Similarities

Both approaches are based on common sense principles and provide a more structured and organised way of managing projects. Both cover the more tangible skills and techniques of project management, such as risk management, quality, change control, project management team structures, project business cases and stakeholder management.

In terms of training, both the PRINCE2 Practitioner and APMP courses are typically taught over about 5 days. In each case there are many training organisations offering the courses as either on-site events based on a customer site, or public scheduled events which are more appropriate for individual delegates or where there is a smaller number of delegates from one organisation.

In both cases, the exams can be taken in two ways: either at the end of a workshop provided by an accredited provider or at an open exam centre after some self-study.

Whichever route you or your organisation decides to take, there is still a fair amount of work to do to embed the methods and techniques within your organisation after the training and exams are completed.