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PassingthePRINCE2Foundationexam

TopassyourPRINCE2Foundation
examwithflyingcoloursandprove
yourfabulousknowledgeofthe
PRINCE2methodology,yourrevision
andexampreparationmustbe
approachedintherightway.

Thisebookcontainsplentyoftipsand
adviceforPRINCE2studentswhoare
readytotackletheFoundationexam
andachieveapass.

Withalittlepreparationand
knowledgeofwhattoexpect,you
shouldfeelconfidentandhopefully
passthisimportantexam,whichcan
improveyourcareerprospects,and
willenableyoutogoaheadandstudy
forPRINCE2Practitioner.

Whatdoestheexamtest?

ThePRINCE2Foundationexamtests
thatyourknowledgeand
understandingofthemethodis
sufficienttobeabletoworkeffectively
with,orasamemberof,aproject
managementteamworkingwithinan
environmentsupportingPRINCE2.

Itisalsoaprerequisiteofthe
Practitionerexam.Itaddresseseach
areaoftheFoundationsyllabus:

Principles
Processes
Themes
Roles
Techniques
Managementproducts
OverviewofPRINCE2
BenefitsofusingPRINCE2

Theexamboard(APMGInternational)
saysthatsuccessfulcandidatesshould
understand:

Thecharacteristicsandcontextofa
projectandthebenefitsof
adoptingPRINCE2
ThepurposeofthePRINCE2roles,
managementproductsandthemes
ThePRINCE2principles
Thepurpose,objectivesand
contextofthePRINCE2processes

Whatdoestheexamconsistof?

Theexamismadeupof75multiple
choicequestions,whichyoumust
completein1hour.Allthequestions
arecontainedwithinaquestion
booklet.However5ofthesequestions
aretrialquestionsanddonotcarrya
mark.Theremainingquestionscarry
onemarkeach,sothismeansthat
thereare70marksavailableonthe
wholeexampaper.Beawarehowever,
thatthe5trialquestionsarenot
highlightedassuch.Infacttheylook
likeanyotherquestion,soyoumust
trytoanswerall75questions.

Thepassmarkis50%soyouneedto
scoreatleast35correctanswersto
pass.Theexamisclosedbook,which
meansthatyoucannottakethe
manualoranyotherprintedor
electronicmaterialswithyouintothe
examinationroom.

Thequestionsfocusondefining
terminology,explainingthebenefitsof
thePRINCE2methodology,and
identifyingtherelationshipbetween
PRINCE2specificroles,productsand
processes.

Thequestionsarealwaysinmultiple
choiceformat,soyousimplyneedto
pickoneansweroutofthefour
optionsgiven.Therearenotrick
questionsontheexampaperandeach
questiononlyhasonecorrectanswer.

Thecandidatedetailsform

Justpriortotheexaminationstarting,
theexaminvigilatorwillreadoutthe
instructionsandrulesfortheexam.
Youwillbegivenacandidatedetails
formtofillinininkwherearecan
fillinyournameandaddress.Your
namewillbeprintedonyour
certificateandtheaddressyouenteris

theonewherethecertificatewillbe
sent.

Theinvigilatorwillprovideyouwitha
uniquecandidatenumberusuallyin
theformatP2R/123456.Thisnumber
uniquelyidentifiesyouandyoumust
writethisnumberontothecandidate
detailsform.Onceyouhavecompleted
thisform,theinvigilatorwillcheckyour
photoIDandcollectuptheforms.

Fromthenon,everythingyouwrite
mustbeinpencilideallyHB,asthisis
theonlytypewhichcanbescanned
easily.

Theanswersheet

Youwillthenbegivenananswersheet
whereyoumustfillinyourcandidate
numberatthetopseethepictureon
thenextpage.Whentheexamstarts,
youwillfillinyouranswersonthis
sheet.

Thereareonly2correctwaysto
completeyouranswersheet:either
completelyfillintheovalshape,or
drawathickhorizontallinethrough
theoval.Anyotherwayandyourun
theriskthatthemachinewhichscans
yourpapermaynotreaditproperly
andsoyoucouldfail.Seetheexample
onthenextpage.

Thequestionbooklet
Afterfillinginyourcandidatenumber
ontheanswersheet,theexamisready

tostart.Atthispointtheinvigilatorwill
giveyouthequestionbooklet.Thiswill
containallofthe75questions.You
mustwriteyourcandidatenumberon
thefrontcover.Thisbookletmaynot
leavetheroom,soifyougotothe
toiletduringtheexam,youmustleave
thisbookletintheexaminationroom.
Itmustalsobehandedbacktothe
invigilatorattheendoftheexamalong
withyouranswersheet.

Questionstyles

Manyofthequestionscanbe
answeredquickly.Forexample,
considerthefollowing:

Q.Inwhichofthefollowingprocesses
doestheProjectBoardchoosea
suitableriskresponse?

a. ControllingaStage
b. ManagingaStageBoundary
c. DirectingaProject
d. StartingUpaProject

IfyourememberthattheProject
Boardonlyperformsoneoftheseven
processesthentheansweris
straightforwarditsDirectinga
Project,optionc.

However,somequestionsrequire
morethought,suchasthisexample:

Q.Whichofthefollowingtasksform
partoftheproductbasedplanning
method?

i.Writingtheproductdescriptions
ii.Creatingaproductflowdiagram
iii.Designingtheplan

iv.Creatingtheproductbreakdown
structure

a. (i),(ii)and(iii)
b. (ii),(iii)and(iv)
c. (i),(ii)and(iv)
d. (i),(iii)and(iv)

Fortheabovequestion,readthe
statementsiiv,andthendecidewhich
threeformpartoftheproductbased
planningmethod.Isuggestthatyou
readeachofthe4optionsandtickthe
onesyouaresureformpartofthe
technique.Ifthereareonly2options
youaresureabout,atleastyouhave
reducedyourlastdecisiontoachoice
betweenthe2remainingoptions,so
pickoneofthemandthenmarkyour
answerpaperaccordingly.

Asyoucansee,itreallydoeshelptobe
abletoquicklyrecallyourPRINCE2
knowledgequickly.Withsuchlimited
timeandnomanualallowed,revision
mustbetopofyourFoundationexam
preparationplan.
Howtorevise

Thenumberonerevisionmethodisto
practicethoseexamquestions!Asthe
questionsarecompiledfromalimited
questionbank,themorepractice
questionsyouattempt,themore
preparedyouwillbe.ThePRINCE2
examboardprovides2sample
FoundationexampaperstoPRINCE2
AccreditedTrainingOrganizations,soif
youhavestudiedusinganaccredited
trainingcourse,theseshouldbe
providedtoyou.
Practisingthesamplepapersalsohelps
youtorefineyourtechnique,andyou
willbeabletopredicthowwellyouare
likelytoperformintheactualexam.
Ifyoufinditdifficulttoremember
things,trycolourcodingorhighlighting
yourrevisionnotes.

Postitnote:Createyourowndiagrams
asarevisiontool
Tacklingtheexam
Therearethreethingstokeepinmind
duringtheFoundationexamtiming,
questioncomplexityandmakingsure
toanswereveryquestion.
Timingisthemostimportantaspectto
keepinmind.Theexamconsistsof75
questions,andthereare60minutesto
answerthem.Thisonlyallows48
secondsperquestion.Whenfacedwith
thissmalltimeframe,itsbesttohave
agoodstrategyduringtheexamwhich
maximizesyourchancesofscoring
highly.Thestrategywerecommendis
thethreepassapproach.
Thethreepassapproach

Visualrevisiontools,suchasflow
chartsandorganisationalmodels,are
alsoaninvaluableformofpreparation.
Memorizingandreproducingthesefor
yourselfwillfurtheraidyour
understandingofPRINCE2,and
ultimatelyimproveyourchancesof
examsuccess.

Pass1gothroughtheentirequestion
paperfromstarttofinishandanswer
thosequestionswhichyoufeel
confidentaboutandonlytakeafew
secondstoanswer.Markyouranswer
ontheanswersheetandmarkyour
questionpapersoshowyouhave
answeredthequestion.Leaveany
questionsyouareunsureabout.Often
attheendofthisfirstpass,youmight
onlyhavespent1520minutesand
possiblyanswered3040%ofthe
questions.
Pass2gothroughtheunanswered
questions,thistimespending1015
secondsreadingeachone.Ifyoudont
understandwhatitisaskingyou,read
itonemoretime.Marktheanswer
sheetwithyouranswersandyour
questionpapertoshowyouhave

answeredthequestion.Attheendof
thispassyouwillonlybeleftwith
thosequestionswhichtakealongtime
toanswer,oryouarestillnotsure
about.

scorersintheFoundationexamwill
haveabetterchanceatgettingahigh
scoreinPractitioner,whichiscertainly
somethingtokeepinmind.
Thingstoremember

Pass3rereadtheremaining
questions.Byaprocessofelimination,
discountthoseoptionswhichyouthink
aredefinitelywrong.Crossthemout
onthequestionbooklet.Ifyoudothis,
youcanofteneliminate2options
straightawaywhichwillleaveyouwith
2optionslefttochoosefrom.Readthe
questionandthe2remainingoptions
onemoretimeandifyoureallycannot
decideguess.
Whateveryoudo,makesurethatone
optionhasbeenselectedonyour
answersheetforall75questionsinthe
questionbooklet.

Applythethreepassapproachto
maximizeyourchancesofgaining
therequiredmarks
DoNOTspendtoolongoncomplex
questions.Itsalwaysbettertoskip
thesequestionsandanswerthem
attheend
Becarefulaboutoveranalyzing
questionsandthinkcarefully
beforechanginganswers.Your
initialresponseisoftenthecorrect
one
Onlyselectoneoptionforall75
questionsandensureyouhave
filledtheseinontheanswersheet

Preparingwell,knowingwhatto
expectandthoroughlyunderstanding
thePRINCE2methodology,willall
greatlyimproveyourchancesof
success.Also,statisticsshowthathigh

Onthedayoftheexam,youmust
bring:

PhotoID(suchasapassportor
drivinglicence)youcannottake
theexamunlessyouhaveproofof
IDtoshowtheinvigilator.
Pencilsandaneraserfor
answeringthosequestions!
Penforfillinginthecandidate
detailsform
Waterensureyouhavewaterto
drinkduringtheexam.Studies
showthatstudentswhodrink
waterduringexams,onaverage
score4.8%highermarksthan
studentswhodontdrinkwater.[1]

Otherpointstoremember:

IfEnglishisnotyourfirstlanguage
oryouhavecertainconditionssuch
asdyslexia,youmayfeelthat
completingtheexamintheallotted

timewillbeachallenge.Inform
yourtrainerbeforetheexam,and
theymaybeabletoorganiseextra
timeforyou
Telltheinvigilatoriftheexam
environmentisbotheringyou(such
asnoiseorsunlight)oryoufeel
unwell.Dothispreferablybefore
theexambegins
Ifyouneedtochangeananswer,
youshouldruboutthewrong
answerasthoroughlyasyoucanin
ordertoavoidambiguitywhenthe
answersheetismarked
Allmobilephonesandelectronic
devicesmustbeswitchedofffor
thedurationoftheexam
Ifyoufailtheexam,youcanretake
itatalaterdate,althoughyouwill
needtopaytheexamfeeagain
Attheendoftheexam,the
invigilatorwillmarkyouranswers
andgiveyouaprovisionalresult.
Youwillthereforeknowontheday
ifyouhaveprovisionallypassedor
failed.Twoweekslater,theexam
board(APMG)willconfirmthe
result
Ifyouhavepassed,youshould
expecttoreceivethecertificate
aboutfourweeksafterreceiving
yourresults,andyourname,
candidatenumber,examdateand
trainingcompanywillappearon
APMGsonlinesuccessfulcandidate
register.Youcanalsooptoutof
thisifyouwish,butitisagoodway
forpotentialemployerstosee
proofofyourPRINCE2qualification

Conclusion
Wehopeyouhavefoundthisguideto
passingthePRINCE2Foundationexam
useful.Thoroughknowledgeofhow
PRINCE2worksandagreatexam
techniquewillleadtoexamsuccess,
andyoushouldfeelreassuredthatall
thequestionsaremultiplechoice.
Confidence,effectivestudy,and
practicingsampleexamswillallboost
yourchancesofpassingtheexam,and
achievingaqualificationrecognisedin
industriesthroughouttheworld.
References
[1]Pawson,C.(2004,April).Bringwater
intoexamstoimproveyourgrade.
http://www.uel.ac.uk/news/press
releases/2012/04/waterexams.htm

Youmightalsoliketheseebooks:

PRINCE2vsthePMBOKGuide

LearnthePRINCE2Principles

LearnthePRINCE2Themes

LearnthePRINCE2Processes