APM Project

Professional

Qualification (PPQ)

Step

Chartered

APM Project Professional Qualification
(APM PPQ)

3 Days training for £900 (plus VAT)
Based on the new 2nd Edition
Builds on the APM Project Management Qualification
Leads to Full Membership of the APM and Chartered Project Professional route 1

3 Day Live Virtual Classrooom

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Dedicated Virtual In House Training

What’s covered…

Gain a broad understanding of project management.

Learn the importance of professionalism and managing others

Learn the principles of project management.

Learn the fundamentals of governance in project management

No prior knowledge or experience is required.

Gain a thorough understanding of project planning and control

Assessment

Assessment
Elements

Must Pass

Scenario assessment, oral exam and a written report.

What is the APM Project Professional Qualification (PPQ)?

If you already work in the project management field then you will have heard of the suite of professionally recognised qualifications from the UK-based Association for Project Management (APM). These professional project management qualifications cover a range of different experience levels from the novice project manager up to those with many years’ experience managing complex projects who can achieve Chartered Project Professional (ChPP) status.

Parallel Project Training is an APM accredited training provider, ensuring you receive the best professional project management training available.

Build on your existing knowledge

The APM Project Professional Qualification (PPQ), from the Association for Project Management (APM), builds on the knowledge gained in the APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ). It leads to direct entry as a full member of the Association for Project Management (MAPM). It is also a recognised assessment route for Chartered Project Professional (ChPP). This means that you demonstrate your up-to-date knowledge of current practices and methods of project management. As such, you can follow route 1 (professional practice, CPD and ethics) to Chartered Status. 

Demonstrate your project management capabilities

The APM Project Professional Qualification (APM PPQ) version 2 (updated August 2020) incorporates a mix of tools, techniques, processes and skills that demonstrate candidates project management achievements, and this qualification specifically assesses capability in delivering projects, programmes and portfolios.

It is an assessment that covers both general and specific skills that professionals require across all areas of project management. It sits as a new qualification at a higher level than the APM Project Management Qualification (APM PMQ) (formerly the APMP) and below the gold standard Chartered Project Professional status.

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Downloadable Content

PPQ Course Outline

PPQ Syllabus

PPQ Candidate Guidance

PPQ Exam Techniques

PPQ Sample Case Study

Upcoming Public Courses APM Project Professional Courses (PPQ)

Jun 20	APM Project Professional Qualification (PPQ) Excluding Assessment 3 day PPQ with pre exam catchup	Session information Sessions PPQ Workshop Tue 20 Jun 09:00 BST – Thu 22 Jun 16:30 BST Online PPQ Pre-exam Catch Up Tue 18 Jul 09:00 BST – Tue 18 Jul 12:00 BST Online £990.00 excl. VAT	Online	View Register
Sep 04	APM Project Professional Qualification (PPQ) Excluding Assessment 3-day PPQ with exam prep follow-up	Session information Sessions PPQ Workshop Mon 04 Sep 09:00 BST – Wed 06 Sep 16:30 BST Online PPQ Pre-exam Catch Up Mon 02 Oct 09:00 BST – Mon 02 Oct 12:00 BST Online £990.00 excl. VAT	Online	View Register
Oct 31	APM Project Professional Qualification (PPQ) Excluding Assessment 3-day PPQ with exam prep follow up	Session information Sessions PPQ Workshop Tue 31 Oct 09:00 GMT – Thu 02 Nov 16:30 GMT Online PPQ Pre-exam Catch Up Tue 28 Nov 09:00 GMT – Tue 28 Nov 12:00 GMT Online £990.00 excl. VAT	Online	View Register

WHAT TOPICS WILL THE APM PPQ COURSE COVER?

The course is divided into three modules. Each module includes:

Module 1 – Effective leadership and management

Module 2 – Governance

Module 3 – Planning and control

Reasons to take the APM Project Professional (PPQ) Course

Gain a qualification that recognises your knowledge of how to apply project management professionally.
Be ready to apply for full membership of the APM (MAPM) by the direct route
Have a recognised qualification that enables you to apply for Chartered Project Professional by following route 1
Be able to demonstrate professional application of the principles of project management, including:

Provide visionary leadership for a project
Establish and develop high-performing project teams
Approach conflict in a positive and constructive way
Use structure problem-solving to resolve difficulties
Take effective decisions to support project delivery
Adopt different strategies to communicate with stakeholders
Approach stakeholders and negotiation in line with the interest of the project
Align the project government structure to organisational practice

Maintain control of the project
Implement an effective change control process
Identify and track the benefits of the project
Adopt a structured approach to managing the budget and actual cost for the project
Manage risk to maximise opportunities and reduce threats
Manage issues in a proactive and effective way
Prepare and apply a project management plan for the delivery of the project

How Can I Study And What’s Included?

We are offering our PPQ course via a 3 day virtual training programme. This is supported by our own PPQ study guide and provision of sample scenario questions, as we aim to provide everything you need to pass your PPQ assessment. We design all of our courses to cater for a wide range of learning styles, and aim to provide a variety of learning resources.

A 3 day, 12 webinar, tutor led course in which you will work through the syllabus and sample case study, evaluating the techniques used to prepare you for your assessment.
A hard copy of our PPQ study guide, written by Parallel Project Training and designed to guide you through everything required for the PPQ...
Sample scenario questions and answers...

What Does the Assessment Involve?

The APM PPQ assessment is built up of 3 parts;

A scenario task, where you will play the role of the project manager in a pre-seen case study situation. A typical task might be negotiating a change request with stakeholders or presenting a progress report to senior management. The assessors will play the role of the stakeholders.
An oral assessment during which you will answer questions about the pre-seen case study. So, for example, “critically analyse the approach to leadership in this case study”.
A written report where you will be asked more in-depth questions such as “preparing a brief report, for senior management, on the governance structures used in a project” on a pre-seen case study.

Our PPQ package does not include the assessment fees. To book your assessment you will need to contact the APM directly, or visit the APM at apm.org.uk/qualifications-and-training/project-professional-qualification-ppq/

Technical Requirements and Compatibility

Our e-Learning webinars are conducted via Adobe Connect. Upon registering for your course, you will be sent a link to the meeting room. You can access the Adobe meeting room either through your browser or by downloading the Adobe Connect App. We recommend you download the App to access the meeting room as we have found this enables a more stable connection. You are invited to enable your webcam and microphone in order for the tutoring sessions to be 2 way and more engaging.

Read More About Project Management…

5 Types of Project Stakeholder

Here are 5 types of project stakeholder:

1. individuals and groups performing the work,
2. individuals and groups affected by the work;
3. owners and shareholders;
4. customers;
5. statutory and regulatory bodies

1) The project team doing the work are key stakeholders in the project. They have to understand why the project is essential. And why they should commit to the project delivery. Without this they are unlikely to be motivated to deliver the project. So it’s essential that the PM communicates the overall vision for the project.

2) People affected by the project are critical to the project success. For example, if the users are not happy then it is unlikely that the project will get the benefits. Understanding how the project will impact those affected is a key part of the success of the project. So, for example, a developer may want to discuss the impact of a development on the local schools.

3) Owners will want a return on the investment in the project, So they have a vital role in the critical investment decisions. They may not be the sponsor but will have to ultimate say on I the project proceeds. Communication and keeping the owners onside is essential to any project. This will be especially true at gate decision points.

4) Ultimately customers will influence the overall success of the project. If the customers are not happy with the outcome then they are unlikely to use the facility and take their custom elsewhere. So for example, if a customer doesn’t like a new airport, then they are highly likely to decide they want to fly from a different airport. So, in this case, it’s imperative to make sure we fully understand the customer needs.

5) Statutory bodies and regulators will set the legal standards against which the project has to e delivered. So, for example, they may set planning of environmental protection constraints. Because they are statutory rules, then these must be understood and followed by the project team. So, for example, the protection of newts.

4 Methods of Identifying Risks

First let’s consider the difference between a risk and an issue…

A risk is an event that may occur will have an impact on the project objectives. Whereas an issue is something that is likely to cause the project to go outside tolerance and need to be escalated to the next level. In practice, risk tend to be in the future and so project managers have time to prepare risk reduction measures to control the impact on the project. Issues, on the other hand, tend to be much more certain and immediate. Notice from the definition that issues are not absolutely certain but in practice, they have or are extremely likely to cause a problem. Issues also need to be significant and require escalation. A small problem that the project manager can deal with is not an issue. A problem such as the realisation that the benefits are no longer viable is significant and will need to be escalated to the next level of management.

4 methods of identifying risk

1) Brainstorming
2) Prompt lists
3) Check lists
4) Delphi

1) Brainstorming is a technique which involves bringing the team together to generate a large number of risk quickly in a creative way. Ideally, a brainstorming session has three phases. First a briefing by a neutral facilitator to set the scene. two a generation of lots of ideas. Sometimes by taking turns, building on the ideas of others and everyone contributing but it’s ok to pass. And finally a collation phase where key ideas are pulled together into themes, duplicates removed and themes summarised. From this final list, the facilitator should create a finalised list of risks for evaluation.

2) Prompt lists are structured areas to consider or headings for risks. These lists often form part of a project management method. Typically they might include technical, commercial, legal, resources, environmental. Which in each area a team can then brainstorm the likely risks. It’s a useful technique to break down a workshop into subgroups. With each team considering one area of the prompt list and then reporting back to the rest of the group. Compared to brainstorming, prompt lists offer structure and ensure that key areas are not neglected.

3) Checklists are predefined lists of risks. These are used to “tick off” risk that applies to a project. These are very useful in areas of the project that are more like business as usual. For example, this could include volume house building or IT desktop installs in a big organisation where the project will perform the same operation many times. Checklists are a good way of capturing and sharing common risks. Again they are often developed and deployed as part of a project management method and are maintained by the project office.

4) Delphi is a way of consulting experts. This is differentiated from brainstorming because the experts don’t meet. The facilitator consults them individually and then a facilitator collates the answers in an iterative process. During this process, the experts comment on the collated results and the risks are updated based on feedback. The process continues until consensus is reached across all the experts. Needless to say this is a very slow and laborious process. Its reserved for the most challenging and difficult projects.

5 Component of a Project Management Method

The component of a project management method are:

People and Organisation
Process
Products
Templates and Documentation
Tools

1) People and organisation:

The Project Management Method will have a standard way of referring to roles and responsibilities consistently across the organisation. Standard terms will be used such as Project Manager, Project Sponsor, Product etc. Where standard public tools are used, such as PRINCE2 these terms will be adopted, but where there is an internal system those terms will be used. It is important that the terms are consistent across the organisation so that everyone in the organisation is clear as to what the role entails, the responsibilities and where they fit in the project structure. The roles and responsibilities are also important in assessing the capability of a person, and by being consistent across the organisation the person becomes transferable to different projects within the Organisation assuming all the projects will conform to the Project Management Methodology.

2) Processes

Processes are those activities which are defined in the project methodology and are linked to the project life cycle. They are referred to and described in the Project Management Plan. They tell the stakeholders how things are going to be done and will align with organisational governance. For example, the process may say that a project cannot be approved for the delivery without a successful gate review at the end of the definition phase. Or will set out the control processes for things such as risk management, change control or reporting.

3) Products

Products are those things which are produced by the project and can be two types: a) those produced as part of running the project, i.e. the Project Management Plan or b) those produced as part of the project output which will need to for fill success criteria for acceptance. The project management methodology will define what products are to be produced and when. This is important to clarify the product requirements and communicate them to the project team.

4) Templates

Templates and documents may be produced as standard, or a list of required will be included in the project method. The templates may act as a prompt for ideas or work where there are pre-entered information or titles – i.e. a risk assessment or risk matrix. The templates and standard documents are important for communicating the work done in a consistent way. The can be word templates such as the PMP and Business Case, or Excel templates such as the risk register.

5) Tools

The project management method may require the use of certain tools, these may be public such as Microsoft Project, or proprietary internal tools developed by the teams. The tools will improve continuity across projects as all project will be working to the same standard tools. This will help with reporting from a number of projects to the stakeholders, and also will enable resources to be moved around the organisation as the people will be familiar with the tools used.

Learn more about project management frameworks and methods in What is a Project Management Framework (or Method)? and how it can help your organisation.

The Main Purpose of a Business Case

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Matrix Organisation Structure

Advantages of a matrix organisation structure when used in a project environment

1. Shared resources

2. Specialist skills

3. PM have line management authority

The sharing of resources across the business is an advantage of matrix organisation. The Project Manager can source specialist skills by liaising with the Functional Heads and identifying who is available, their ability and ultimately use them on the project. By sharing resources it can save on costs as the staff are already employed within the business. For example, the project is to set up the Company Christmas Party. It will require specialist knowledge from a number of different departments.

Staff with specialist skills working on a project is an advantage of matrix organisation. These members of staff can be seconded from their day job in a functional department to a project environment for a period of time. Their skills can be utilised on the project but will remain within the business once the project ends. It also allows for the members of staff to become more motivated as they can develop in areas that maybe they get no experience in on their day job. For example, the marketing of the Christmas Party and the invitations and banners will be undertaken by the Marketing resource on the project.

Project Managers having a clear line of authority is an advantage of a matrix organisation. Resources will be aware of the reporting line whilst working on the project. For example, the resource brought onto the project from the Marketing Department for the marketing of the Christmas Party will report directly to the Project Manager.

Disadvantages of a matrix organisation structure when used in a project environment

1. Line Management conflict

2. Resource management culture

Line management conflict can be a disadvantage of a matrix organisation. By working in a matrix organisation the resources are only seconded to the project for limited amount of time. They do still have their Line Manager from their Functional Department. This sometimes can cause conflict if they are asked to carry out tasks from both areas. The resources would need to identify how to prioritise work in these situations.

Resource management culture is also a disadvantage of a matrix organisation. The Project Manager would need to be an excellent communicator and ensure they are aware of who the available resources are, their skills and ability and their willingness to join the project. The Functional Manager would need to work with the Project Manager to identify these people. For example they would arrange networking sessions or informal presentations so that both the staff and the Project Manager are fully aware of all the opportunities available to them.

APM Project Management Qualifications

APM Project Professional Qualification (APM PPQ)

What is the APM Project Professional Qualification (PPQ)?

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Downloadable Content

Upcoming Public Courses APM Project Professional Courses (PPQ)

Sessions

PPQ Workshop

PPQ Pre-exam Catch Up

Sessions

PPQ Workshop

PPQ Pre-exam Catch Up

Sessions

PPQ Workshop

PPQ Pre-exam Catch Up

WHAT TOPICS WILL THE APM PPQ COURSE COVER?

Reasons to take the APM Project Professional (PPQ) Course

How Can I Study And What’s Included?

What Does the Assessment Involve?

Technical Requirements and Compatibility

Read More About Project Management…

1) People and organisation:

2) Processes

3) Products

4) Templates

5) Tools

APM Project Professional Qualification
(APM PPQ)