Managing Successful Projects

Any organisation or individual seeing the need for a controlled approach to managing its programmes. The event is suitable for programme managers, experienced project managers, programme support team members and senior managers from any discipline.

From £POA

Aimed at: People with some project experience

Exam: Foundation - 1 Hour, multiple choice. Practitioner - 2 ½ hours, multiple choice

Teaching type:

Classroom course
Virtual classroom

In-house course
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Project Management Professional

Your study options
Parallel can deliver this course for you in whichever medium suits you best. Whether you would like your delegates to come together in a face-to-face session or bring colleagues together virtually from all over the world, we can discuss options to suit you.

Virtual delivery

Our online learning options are very popular and are particularly useful for those clients whose delegates might be spread across the country or the world. Virtual classroom training doesn’t just involve sitting and listening to the trainer talk – delegates will be encouraged to participate in discussions and understand theoretical concepts through real-world examples.

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Face-to-face delivery

We have more than 15 years’ experience delivering training courses for corporate clients. We can provide dedicated face-to-face training for your team to help them enhance their project management skills. Our corporate clients value bespoke project management training approaches which will ultimately help to improve project delivery and efficiency.

Course overview

Based on the Association for Project Management (APM) guidance for Planning and Project Control Managers and Engineers this course builds a structured and formalised approach to planning and controlling projects.

The APM’s guide, ‘Planning, Scheduling, Monitoring and Control – The Practical Project Management of Time, Cost and Risk.’ sets out a comprehensive and practical guide to project control across a number of different industries. The guide set out in practical terms the recommended best practice for the implementation of project planning and control.

Benefits

Adopting this guide will provide organisations and individuals with the following benefits:

Following this guide provides organisations with a common understanding of the approaches to project planning, reporting and control.
Being clear about the standards improves the quality of project planning, especially the level of detail required to give effective project control.
It improves the quality of transparency and accuracy of project reporting, so that project managers and senior stakeholders can have improved confidence in the data presented.
This is turn strengthens the project governance processes and leads to more effective decision making.
The combined effect is more clarity about the current state of the project and increased chances of project success.

practical exercise APM PMQ training course

What topics are covered

Our standard course outline can be tailored to you. We can focus on key areas or remove topics that are not relevant to your organisation. You can find each of the topic areas listed below, but please contact us if you would like clarity on key areas or would like additional support in other areas. We use a range of exercises to help engage delegates and demonstrate project processes.

communication methods in project operating environment

MSP introduction and overview

What is a programme? What is programme management? MSP® Structure.

MSP framework and concepts

Introduction to MSP® Principles, Themes, Processes and Documentation.

checking ROI for risk management on a project

MSP themes

Organisation, design, justification, structure, knowledge, assurance, and decisions.

MSP processes

Identify the programme, Design the outcomes, Plan progressive delivery, Deliver the capabilities, Embed
the outcomes, Evaluate new information and Close the programme.

Paul Naybour, CEng, MBA, BSc(Hons), MAPM, MIET, Business Development Director

The PPQ is a fascinating course to teach. We have had some excellent conversations about how we could apply project management to a case study. There is no right answer, and it’s very interesting to see the different approaches to the case study proposed by the different teams. It is especially useful for people to consider projects outside their day-to-day experience.

Google reviews

Great course provider and great trainer Tyrone, have learnt so much in 5 weeks!

Gemma Vare

March 22, 2024

Highly recommended Parallel Project Training. Carmen is a fantastic trainer, she is able to guide you through the training in a friendly and welcome manner, she takes the qualification and puts it into bite size chunks to make it digestible over the 5 weeks. Thanks for all your help!

Grace Mortlock

February 29, 2024

Would highly recommend using Parallel Project Training. They have supported me in my journey to achieving my APM PMQ.The presentations and podcasts that they provide are informative and easy to understand. Compared to other training providers they are also one of the cheapest around.

Sam Hills

October 12, 2023

Excellent course and really well led by Tyrone. Great method of getting the key information across and really informative.

Aaron

April 3, 2023

Amazing course and highly recommended. Carmen was very knowledgeable and easy to understand in order to pass the APM PMQ exam.

Rico Craigie

March 6, 2023

Excellent training delivered by Paul Naybour; would recommend to anyone pursuing APM qualifications

Tom Murphy

February 27, 2023

I can highly recommend Parallel Project training for the preparation of the APM certification. The trainer are highly skilled and take huge effort in working with each individual to prepare for the exam (Thank you Carmen for you huge support and going the extra mile!). Their online platform includes very helpful videos and their prep questions trains you well for the assessment criteria.

Absolute worth it!

Nosherwan Ali

February 20, 2023

Attended the APM PFQ training & certification – One of the best trainings I have been in, the instructor (Jan Underdown) was very knowledgeable on the subjects due to her immense real-life experience in project management, very articulate and took time to ensure everyone understood the concepts.

Thomas Madathiparampil

October 27, 2022

Parallel Project Training provide a well-structured course, enabling an in depth understanding of project management methodologies, structures and challenges to overcome. The tutor (Jan Underdown) balanced the course well and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The online service is exceptional!

Nicola Evans

October 27, 2022

Would highly recommend this course. Very well led, Jan skill fully balanced the breadth of syllabus in a pace that was manageable for the 5 week course.

Leigh Haywood

September 13, 2022

FAQs

When it comes to taking the Project Planning and Control examinations, are there any pre-requisites?

Is there a main publication that can be used for Project Planning and Control, and where can I purchase it?

There is one main publication that supports the qualification scheme for Project Planning and Control. This is published by the APM and is called “PLANNING, SCHEDULING, MONITORING AND CONTROL – The Practical Project Management of Time, Cost and Risk”

The book can be purchased direct from APMG Business Books via their website. However, if you are following the course through an Accredited Training Organisation (ATO) like Parallel Project Management then the book is included as part of the course fee.

Is training for the exam absolutely necessary?

Whilst training for the exam is not absolutely necessary, it is highly recommended. Those individuals who undergo training with an Accredited Training Organisation will not only receive lots of help and support with their study but will also be offered the option of self-study in preparation for the examination. Training will help you to consolidate those areas of the exam material that you are unclear on, offer you to ask any questions you might have on the course material and can give you the confidence that will hopefully help you to pass your examinations first time.

How do I sit the exam?

Most Project Planning and Control Accredited Training Organisations will include the examination as part of the training package that they offer for the course. They will give you details of this when you sign up for the course so you will know how long you will have to study in preparation for the examination. However, and this is mainly for those individuals who have self-studied, APMG also hold public exam sessions on a global scale. The UK has four such centres dedicated to public exams.

How do I sit the exam?

Is the Project Planning and Control examination available in different languages?

How long will it take to learn the material for the course?

When you study for the examination with an accredited training organisation such as us the usual timeframe for delivering the foundation course is just 3 days. If you are studying for both the foundation and the practitioner course, then these are generally delivered over a period of just 5 days. You may want to spend some time studying the course material on your own as well over this time. Using an individual accredited training organisation for your studying of the course material is a good investment that is worth considering as this will allow you to look at things like tailored and blended learning solutions that may work better for your circumstances.

For those individuals who choose the self-study option, there is no set amount of time that is needed. It is down to the individual themselves and how much time they are prepared to put into studying. This means being disciplined enough to make the time to study on a regular basis and of course will vary from one individual to another. For those individuals who want help to study or would like to achieve their qualification in a timelier fashion this is probably not the best route to take.

What is the pass mark for the Project Planning and Control Exam?

How long does it take to get the results from my examination?

If you have taken your Project and Control Foundation exam through an Accredited Training Organisation like Parallel then we will receive your exam results approximately 7-10 days after the date of your examinations, we will then inform you of the results. In some, rarer, cases and at the discretion of the exam invigilator who is presiding over the exam it may be possible for the exam to be marked immediately on the day; however this is not always an option.

Is there an expiration date for the Project Planning and Control Certification?

How long will it take to receive my certification following the course?

How can I claim my digital badge for my Project Planning and Control qualification?

When you have been informed that you have passed your examination you will be given the option to go into your APMG Candidate Portal and create a digital badge.

This is done by logging into the portal, looking at your exam results and then choosing “Create Badge”. This will take you to an external website which hosts the digital badges. There will be clear instructions available to assist you in creating an account. Once this has been done you will be able to login, your badge will be pending and all you will need to do is accept it.

What is a digital badge?

You can use a digital badge to show your achievements easily online. You will be able to do this by embedding it in your email signature, on a website, digital CV or social media. It will allow clients, employers and customers to easily check your skills and credentials.

Project Planning & Control™ is a trademark of APM Group Limited, and must not be used without prior permission or an appropriate license.”