Management of Portfolios (MoP)® Foundation & Practitioner classroom

The Management of Portfolios (MoP) guidance provides advice and examples of how to apply principles, practices and techniques that help optimise an organisation’s investment in change alongside its business-as-usual (BAU) work. ILX Group’s Management of Portfolios (MoP) Foundation and Practitioner classroom course will prepare you for both the Foundation and Practitioner qualifications in MoP.

About the course

MoP helps organisations to answer a fundamental question:

‘are we sure this investment is right for us and how will it contribute to our strategic objectives?’ Investment is the key word because portfolio management is about investing in the right change initiatives and implementing them correctly. MoP achieves this by ensuring that:

The programmes and projects undertaken are prioritised in terms of their contribution to the organisation’s strategic objectives and overall level of risk Programmes and projects are managed consistently to ensure efficient and effective delivery
Benefits realisation is maximised to provide the greatest return (in terms of strategic contribution and efficiency savings) from the investment made.

Duration

This a five-day classroom course.

Pre-requisites

You must have passed the Foundation exam prior to undertaking the Practitioner examination.

Learning objectives

Foundation

The Foundation level qualification measures understanding of the principles, cycles, practices, techniques, roles, responsibilities, documents and organizational context within which portfolio management operates. Specifically by the end of the Foundation course you should know and understand the:

scope and objectives of portfolio management and how it differs from programme and project management
benefits from applying portfolio management
context within which it operates
principles upon which successful portfolio management is based
approaches to implementation, the factors to consider in maintaining progress, and how to assess the success of portfolio management
purposes of the portfolio management definition and delivery cycles and their component practices, and relevant techniques applicable to each practice
purpose and key content of the major portfolio documents
scope of key portfolio management roles

Practitioner

By the end of the Practitioner element of the course you should be able to apply and understand how to tailor MoP effectively. Specifically you should be able to demonstrate your ability to:

define the business case to get senior management approval for portfolio management
plan the implementation of portfolio management
select and adapt MoP principles, practices and techniques to suit different organizational environments
evaluate examples of MoP information (including documents and role descriptions)
analyse the solutions adopted in relation to a given scenario

This is an intensive five-day course that includes the following:

All accompanying course material (hardcopy)
Online pre-course
The official MoP manual (digital & hardcopy)
The cost of the MoP Foundation and Practitioner examinations (valid for 12 months from purchase date. Exams must be taken online via remote proctor)

Materials

Hardcopy ILX course material: You will be provided with a printed version of the ILX course material. This will be issued on day one of your course.

Digital and hardcopy official manual: You will be given access to both a digital and hardcopy version of the official manual. The hardcopy will be issued on day one of your course with your course material. For the digital version you will be sent an email invitation approximately two weeks prior to course commencement to register on the Peoplecert portal. Once registered you will be able to access the digital version of your manual.

What's covered?

Foundation

MoP overview
Implement, sustain and measure
Strategic and organizational context
Portfolio management principles
Portfolio definition cycle
Portfolio delivery cycle
Roles and documentation
Foundation examination

Practitioner

Introduction and the Practitioner examination overview

Implement, sustain and measure

strategic and organizational context
portfolio management principles
portfolio delivery cycle
organizational governance

Portfolio definition cycle

portfolio management principle (strategy alignment)

Portfolio delivery cycle

all practices except organizational governance

Roles and documentation

Practitioner Examination

Target audience

This certification is aimed at those involved in a range of formal and informal portfolio management roles encompassing investment decision making, project and programme delivery, and benefits realization. It is relevant to all those involved in the selection and delivery of business change initiatives including:

Members of Management Boards and Directors of Change
Senior Responsible Owners (SROs)
Portfolio, Programme, Project, Business Change and Benefits managers
Business case writers and project appraisers

Important note regarding pre-course

There is mandatory online pre-course work that must be undertaken prior to attending this course. It is expected that it will take approximately two hours to complete. You will be sent full instructions with a link to the online pre course within 48 hours of your confirmed booking. In addition, whilst attending your course there will also be some examination preparation evening work.

Review the technical requirements for the online learning here.

Exams are taken online via remote proctor. You will be sent an email invitation approximately two weeks prior to course commencement to register on the Peoplecert portal. Once registered you will be able to book your online exam at a date and time of your choice. You are responsible for booking your own exam. For more information about how to take your exam and the technical requirements, please click here.

Exam format

Foundation

Multiple choice examination questions
50 questions per paper
25 marks required to pass (out of 50 available) - 50%
40 minutes’ duration
Closed book

Practitioner

Objective testing format
Four questions per paper with 20 marks available per question - all question items will be worth one mark, making the total number of marks available per paper 80
Three hours allowed Open book exam (MoP guide only)
40 marks required (out of 80 available) to pass - 50%