APM Project Management Qualification (PMQ) Programme

Projects and business as usual

First we will cover an overview of the course syllabus, assessment criteria and the exam question types followed by exploring how projects transform ongoing operations and how project support strategic change as part of a co-ordinated programme or portfolio of projects.

The situational context of projects

Projects are not delivered in isolation they need to fit within the overall business, legal and political environment. In this session we will examine factors which may affect a projects context including relevant legislation, and tools you can use include PESTLE, SWOT and VUCA.

Organisation structures, project roles and lifecycles

Projects need to work with a wide range of different organisations and cultures. To be effective a project team needs clear roles and responsibilities. In this session we explore the different types of organisation and the key responsibilities of the project manager, sponsor, user, product owner and the project office and how these operate in a linear, iterative and hybrid lifecycle. This includes the importance of project reviews and benefits of capturing lessons learned from projects. 

Communication

The key to good communications in a project environment is the identification and management of stakeholders. In this session, we explore the processes for managing stakeholders, the contents and structure of a communications plan and the factors affecting communications in a project environment.

Conflict and negotiation

All projects have periods of conflict, resolving these conflicts by negotiations is a critical skill for many project managers. In this session we look at the different approaches to conflict resolution and the stages in the negotiation process. 

Leadership and teamwork

People deliver projects and so in this section we look at how to develop and lead successful project teams. This includes discussions on the leadership qualities of a project manager, the principles of motivation, the impact of leadership on team motivation, the advantages of adopting situational leadership models and the benefits of effective teams and team working in virtual teams. 

Scope management

In this session we will define scope in terms of outputs, outcomes and benefits and explain how to manage scope through requirements management. 

Requirements, configuration and change control

We will explain how to manage scope through requirements management and configuration management. We will also look at the different stages in change control and the relationship between change control and configuration management. Finally in this session we explain the advantages and disadvantage of a change control process. 

Planning for success

Planning projects relies on a clear understanding of the project outcome, business benefit and a structured project management plan. In this session we explore the first stage in planning a project from the business case to the project management, plan. We will explain the purpose of a business case, benefits management and describe the authorship and ownership of a business case. We also explore the importance of payback, internal rate of return and net present value for project business cases. 

Project planning

In this session we explain project information management and a typical project reporting cycle, the purpose of the project management plan and the authorship and ownership of the project management plan. We will look into more detail at the management of stakeholders and the use of stakeholder maps and discuss the links with the communications plan. Finally, a range of estimating techniques will be explained, together with the problems of trying to provide an accurate estimate and the concept of the estimating funnel.

Scheduling

Planning and controlling activities and resources is a vital part of project control. In this session we look at detailed project planning explaining techniques such as dependency networks, critical path and critical chain analysis, and the process of creating a schedule. 

Resource management

In this session we will explore the management of resources including categories and types of resources used by projects and how resources are applied to a scheduling process. This will include differentiating between resource smoothing and levelling. Cost is also an important aspect of project control, so in this session we will explain budgeting and cost management, including the use of earned value management. 

Risk and issue management

Every project has risk. In this session we look at a proactive risk management process. This includes examining the stages in a risk management process, risk response planning, the benefits of risk management and the difference between risk and issue management. In this section we will also examine the importance of a risk and issue escalation process. 

Quality and procurement

Poor quality management leads to poor customer satisfaction, additional cost and project delay. In this session we look at the elements of project quality management including quality planning, assurance and control. We will also look at the role of a procurement strategy in project delivery and the different forms of contractual relationships and payment types as described in the APM Body of Knowledge. 

Exam preparation, revision and setting of mock exam

Exam preparation and revision

Online Exam

The APM PMQ exam is a 3 hour written exam. The pass mark is 55%. The APM PMQ exam is taken online via a proctoring service, where you will be observed by an invigilator whilst completing your exam. Your exam registration will be organised by Parallel, however it is the APM who will contact you directly with the login information, and a test link for the exam.