Managing Successful Programmes – MSP® Advanced Practitioner Examination Workshop 2011

Overview

This 2-day course builds on each participant's previous MSP knowledge and experience. and provides participants with the opportunity to build the skills needed to approach the MSP Advanced Practitioner examination with a measure of confidence.

This course will develop the assurance of the delegate in terms of their responses to dealing with changes during the life cycle of their programme. It will enable them to analyze and assess their programme and make considered evaluations. By achieving MSP Advanced Practitioner status, delegates will demonstrate their ability to understand the status of a programme and provide solutions for the way forward using the MSP methodology and their programme management skills.

The course includes the MSP Advanced Practitioner examination and is delivered by fully accredited trainers and industry leading experts with extensive experience of using MSP.

Prerequisites

• Delegates need to be MSP Practitioner registered at the time of sitting the MSP Advanced exam.

• This course is designed for those who have had experience in programme management roles, eg Senior Responsible Owner, Programme Manager, Business Change Managers, Programme Office Manager

Delegates will be provided with pre-course reading by email prior to attending the course. This pre-reading comprises a mixture of theory, sample questions and application of MSP, the set Case Study 'MSPCare' which presents a complex programme scenario, a sample advanced practitioner examination paper and answer guidance. Success on the course will be enhanced by close attention to the pre-reading materials so it is recommended that delegates spend approximately 15 hours working through the pre-reading. Candidates must supply their own copy of the MSP 2011 manual (Managing Successful Programmes - ISBN: 978-011-331327).

If you have not received your pre-reading material within one week of the start of your course, please contact your Account Manager or the QA Examination Administration team on 44 (0)1793 696273 or info@qa.com.

Additional work will be required during evenings consisting of consolidation reading, mock examination questions and exercises. This evening work is an integral part of the course and delegates should expect to spend 2 hours each evening on these activities.

Please note: You must bring signed photo ID with you on any APMG exam (passport, driving licence, student card) as you will be asked to produce it by the invigilator prior to the exam. You must also be familiar with the APMG Terms and Conditions of Certification which can be found here on the APMG International website.

Delegates will learn how to

• review and understand the standard 'MSPCare' case study supplied for the Advanced Practitioner exam delegates
• apply MSP knowledge to the MSPCare scenario
• ensure that they provide answers which reflect their experience and abilities in programme management in the Advanced Practitioner examination
• It will also enable delegates to take the Advanced Practitioner examination and use a selection of exam techniques to allow them to understand the questions and answer them.

Course Outline.

MSP overview

A reminder of the main elements of the MSP method
PLEASE NOTE: Please bring your MSP Guide (Managing Successeful Programmes - ISBN: 978-011-331327) this is NOT provided on this course. Attendees of this course are assumed to be up to date in their knowledge of MSP® from their previous courses which allowed them to achieve their practitioner standard qualification.

MSPCare Case Study

An understanding of the MSPCare Case Study, which presents a mix of both public and private sector elements
PLEASE NOTE: Please bring your MSPCare Case Study with you to the course.
Interrogation of the MSPCare scenario through application of MSP methodology and best practice programme management

Exam Techniques

Exam techniques required to pass the Advanced Practitioner exam

• Understanding of questions
• Required answer elements
• Use of the MSP manual and MSPCare scenario to present answers

Examination

All delegates will sit the MSP Advanced Practitioner examination at the end of the course.
The exam format is as follows:

• Essay based
• Three hours duration
• Up to 3 questions
• 75 marks available
• 38 marks or more are required to pass (50%)
• Open-book (other material in the form of course notes, examples, copies of presentations, etc. can be used during this examination but no electronic aids, such as laptops, may be used).

By successfully passing the Advanced Practitioner exam, delegates attain 'Registered Advanced Practitioner' status.
Please note that candidates must have passed the Practitioner exam before attempting the Advanced Practitioner exam (However, APMG have made provision for those candidates who wish to sit the Advanced Practitioner examination before they have their results from the Practitioner exam. However, MSP candidates who pass the Advanced Practitioner exam yet fail the Practitioner exam, must re-sit the Practitioner exam within 24 months to validate their Registered Advanced Practitioner Status. If the candidate does not complete within the 24 months, the candidate will be required to re-sit the Advanced Practitioner exam as well.)

Re-Registration

All MSP Practitioners and/or Advanced Practitioners should be re-registered within 3-5 years of their original certification.
The format of the Advanced Practitioner Re-registration is:

• A 2000 - 4000 word 'dissertation' (suggested target 2500 words) on a specific subject (selected from a range of topics) demonstrating application of MSP. It would ideally be based on a 'real life' programme that the candidate has worked within. If this is not possible (if a candidate has not recently worked within a programme or their programme contains classified information), it would be acceptable to base it on the Advanced Practitioner Case Study 'MSP Care'. There are no time restrictions imposed on this dissertation. The dissertation will be marked out of a possible 75 marks with the candidate needing 38 marks to achieve a pass. Should the candidate fail the Re-registration, feedback will be provided. The candidate is permitted to update and re-submit their paper, however should this second attempt be a fail and detailed feedback is given then the candidate must submit a new paper. Instead of the re-registration paper, a candidate also has the option to sit the full Advanced Practitioner examination to re-register at this level.

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