Passing The 2009 Prince2 Practitioner Exam

By Author: Simon Buehring
Total Articles: 45
Comment this article

In a series of posts, of which this is the fourth, I present the facts about the 2009 version of the PRINCE2 Practitioner exam, in addition to thoughts on what they might tell us about the future of PRINCE2 project management professional qualifications. If you are considering PRINCE2 Practitioner training, read on for insight into the process of becoming a Registered PRINCE2 Practitioner

How can students maximise their chance of success in the PRINCE2 Practitioner exam?

Careful preparation and good exam technique are both key to passing the PRINCE2 Practitioner exam; approaching the paper with a strategy in mind will help to ensure that vital minutes are not wasted. By the time students have completed their PRINCE2 Practitioner training at Knowledge Train, they will have worked through two sample exam papers in detail, with the opportunity to ask questions and receive advice about any tricky subjects. Comparing the number of marks you receive for each of the nine topics covered in the sample papers should give you a good idea of your strongest areas of understanding in relation to PRINCE2, as well as those requiring ...
... improvement. In my experience, students from a corporate background often find that they excel at questions focusing on the Business Case or Organisation topics, for example, while those possessing technical skill may prefer the analysis of Change or Quality. Once you have identified the topics that you find most - and least - challenging, you can formulate an approach to the exam.

One strategy is to tackle the questions based on the three topics you find easiest at the beginning of the exam. If you can work quickly through these, you will boost your confidence and perhaps leave yourself with slightly more time to answer the kind of questions you find more difficult. Consider your three least favourite topics last, rather than risk agonising over questions you find challenging at the expense of gaining easier marks on your stronger topics.

Another, perhaps better approach is developed from the observation that each section of the exam has a particular style of questioning - some of the questions tend to be accompanied by rather more text than others. By answering the questions that require relatively little reading first, you may be able to gain a number of marks in a relatively short period of time, especially if these questions relate to the topics about which you feel most confident. The time remaining can then be spent unpicking the wordier questions.

Whether you select one of the above approaches or devise a strategy of your own, good luck!

Simon Buehring is a project manager, consultant and trainer. He works for KnowledgeTrain which offers PRINCE2 training in the UK and overseas. Simon has extensive experience within the IT industry in the UK and Asia. He can be contacted via the KnowledgeTrain project management courses website.