MSP® Foundation & Practitioner virtual

‘Managing Successful Programmes’ (MSP®) represents proven Best Practice programme management and is a framework for successfully delivering large scale, transformational change, through a dossier of related projects and related activities to make the change ‘stick’.

The Foundation qualification will provide you with the necessary knowledge and understanding of the MSP guidance to interact effectively with those involved in programme management. The Practitioner qualification will enable you to apply the MSP framework to your own work and, therefore act as an informed member of a programme management team — someone responsible for managing, leading, supporting or advising on work within an MSP environment.

What is virtual training?

Virtual instructor-led training (VILT) incorporates both the personal teaching experience of a classroom, with the ease and flexibility of a virtual environment. Our VILT courses are interactive and engaging, allowing participants to communicate with both the instructor and each other in a collaborative manner. Please review our FAQs for more information relating to virtual learning, including the technical specifications.

This course includes, but is not limited to:

• Programme management principles
• Governance themes
• Determining if a change warrants a programme approach and whether it is worthwhile
• Benefits management
• Leadership and stakeholder engagement
• Risk and issue management
• Transformational flow processes
• Identifying and defining a programme
• Managing the tranches
• Delivering the capability and realising the benefits
• Closing a programme
• Introduction and principles
• Governance themes
• Transformational flow processes including:
  • Identifying the aim of the programme and envisaged benefits to the organisation
  • Defining the programme and specifying how the organisation will be different afterwards
  • Managing the tranches to establish and run the programme Delivering the capability to monitor and coordinate the projects
  • Realising the benefits to embed the change through adequate transition activities
  • Closing the programme and ensuring the ‘end goal’ has been achieved

This is an intensive five-day course that prepares you for the MSP Foundation and Practitioner examinations. The training is conducted via a virtual training environment. You need to ensure that you can satisfy the technical requirements that can be found here. In addition, whilst attending your course, there will also be some examination preparation evening work.

This course is aimed at any organisation or individual seeking to understand and adopt a controlled approach to running and controlling its programmes, in particular:

• Programme managers
• Senior Managers who will ‘sponsor’ the change
• Operational Managers charged with embedding the change in their area
• Operational staff undertaking a role in the programme or related projects
• Programme office staff (PMO) wishing to build upon their project management knowledge
• Experienced Project Managers
• Those seeking a professional qualification in programme management

Foundation Learning Objectives

You need to show that you understand the key principles and terminology within the MSP guidance. Specifically, successful candidates should be able to:

• Distinguish between projects and programmes
• Identify the MSP defined types of programme and their characteristics
• Explain the benefits of applying the MSP guidance to the management of a programme of transformational change
• Explain the purpose and areas of focus of the defined roles
• Explain the purpose of the seven MSP principles, the nine governance themes and the six transformational flow processes
• Explain the purpose of MSP programme information (documents)

Practitioner Learning Objectives

You need to exhibit the competences required for the Foundation qualification and show that you can apply the MSP guidance in a relatively uncomplicated programme within a programme environment. Specifically, successful candidates should be able to:

• Identify additional value as a result of managing the described change as an MSP programme
• Explain and apply each of the MSP principles, the governance themes and the transformational flow processes and their activities
• Explain the relationship between the MSP principles, governance themes, the transformational flow, programme information (documents) and the MSP defined programme management roles
• Produce and evaluate examples of MSP programme information (documents)

• All accompanying course material
• The official MSP manual
• The cost of the MSP Foundation and Practitioner examinations (must be taken online via remote proctor within 12 months of purchase)
• Online pre-course

A concentrated course that requires you to complete mandatory online pre-course study, which is designed to take approximately 6–8hours to complete. Full instructions with a link to the online pre-course will be issued within 48 hours of your confirmed booking.

Review the technical requirements for the online pre-course learning here.

Exams are taken online via remote proctor. Two weeks prior to course commencement ILX will arrange for an exam voucher to be issued. You then have a choice, you can either:

• Book a suitable time after your virtual classroom event has finished to undertake your exam,

        OR

• We currently allocate exam time within the virtual classroom event. So that you can book directly, we will advise you of recommended exam timings as part of the candidate guidance — this is issued three weeks prior to course commencement.

Note: You are responsible for booking your own exam. You must pass Foundation prior to taking the Practitioner examination.

Foundation exam format

• Multiple-choice exam
• 1-hour duration
• 75 questions (including five trial questions)
• 50% pass mark (35/70)
• Closed-book

Practitioner exam format

You must first pass the MSP Foundation exam to sit the MSP Practitioner exam. The exam format for the Practitioner element is as follows:

• Objective testing
• Eight questions per paper,
• 50% pass rate (40/80)
• 2½ hours duration
• Open book (only the MSP guide is allowed)