Managing Successful Programmes: 5th Edition (MSP®) Foundation and Practitioner

The Managing Successful Programmes: 5th Edition (MSP®) Foundation and Practitioner course enables you to understand the core elements of the MSP® best practice programme management framework.

You’ll be able to explain each stage of the MSP® journey and outline how its themes, principles, and lifecycle apply in real-world scenarios. Building on your Foundation-level knowledge, the course helps you develop the skills to tailor and use the framework effectively. By the end, you’ll be ready to implement MSP® in live programmes within your organisation.

MSP® Foundation Learning Outcomes

• Programme Management Principles: Learn widely recognised best practices for programme management, including principles, themes, and processes that help organisations manage programmes effectively.
• Programme Lifecycle: LGain knowledge of the programme lifecycle, from identifying and defining the programme, through managing delivery phases, realising benefits, and closing the programme.
• Governance and Control: Understand how governance and control mechanisms are applied to ensure the programme stays on track, aligned with organisational objectives, and delivers expected benefits.
• Benefits Realization: Recognise the importance of defining, tracking, and realising the benefits a programme is designed to deliver for the organisation.
• Communication and Collaboration: Learn how to communicate and collaborate effectively within the programme team and with stakeholders to ensure transparency, alignment, and support for programme objectives.
• Roles and Responsibilities Familiarise yourself with the roles and responsibilities of people in programme management to support efficient and effective delivery.
• Risk and Issue Management: Acquire knowledge of how to identify, assess, and manage risks and issues that could impact the programme’s success.
• Quality Management: Understand how to ensure programme deliverables meet predefined quality standards through quality assurance and control processes.
• Tailoring: Learn the importance of tailoring the MSP 5th edition method to suit the specific needs and context of your programme and organisation

MSP® Practitioner Learning Outcomes

• Programme Management: Develop expertise in programme management best practices, mastering principles, themes, and processes to help organisations manage programmes effectively.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Learn how to effectively manage diverse stakeholders, including executives, sponsors, team members, suppliers, and customers, using advanced communication and relationship-building skills.
• Governance and Control: Gain an in-depth understanding of programme governance, including setting up and maintaining governance structures, accountability mechanisms, and assurance processes to deliver programme success.
• Benefits Realization: Master techniques for identifying, defining, tracking, and realising the full range of benefits a programme is intended to deliver, with a strong focus on benefits measurement and realisation.
• Resource Management: Learn how to allocate and optimise resources, including human, financial, and material resources, even in complex and changing environments, to achieve programme objectives.
• Problem Solving: Develop expertise in addressing complex programme management challenges and resolving issues efficiently and effectively.
• Risk and Issue Management: Acquire advanced knowledge of identifying, assessing, and managing risks and issues that can impact a programme’s success.
• Quality Management: Understand quality assurance and control processes to ensure that programme deliverables and outcomes meet or exceed defined quality standards.
• Tailoring: Learn how to tailor the MSP 5th edition method to suit the specific needs and context of your programme and organisation.

Our MSP Foundation & Practitioner training course is delivered over five consecutive days in a live virtual classroom format. You’ll be guided by experienced and certified trainers who bring real-world expertise to every session. The course is structured to blend theory with application, using interactive resources, group discussions, case studies, and official practice questions.

You’ll receive the MSP 5th Edition official manual, pre-course reading, and exam access all included in your course fee. This schedule is designed to prepare you efficiently for both exams, with the Foundation covered first, followed by more in-depth Practitioner training.

MSP® Foundation exam

Exam format - Multiple-choice (Standard Classic, Missing Word & List).

• All the questions are in a 'multiple-choice' format.
• You will receive a question and four possible answers for the 'Standard Classic' questions.
• In the 'Missing Word' questions, you will encounter a sentence with a missing word, and your task is to select the correct word from four given options.
• For 'List' questions, you will be shown a list with four statements, and you need to identify the two correct ones.

Number of questions - 60.

• There are 60 questions, each worth 1 mark.
• No negative marking.

Duration - 1 hour (60 minutes).

• If you're taking the exam in a language other than your native or primary working language, you may be granted an additional 25% extra time for 75 minutes.

Pass Mark - 36/60 (60%).

Material allowed - None.

• This is a 'closed-book' exam, which means you may only use the materials provided for the examination.

MSP® Practitioner exam

Exam format - Multiple-choice (Standard Classic & Matching).

• The questions are all in a 'multiple-choice' format. Each one begins with a brief scenario description, followed by a question.
• The 'Standard Classic' questions, worth 1 mark each, have four possible answers (A, B, C, D).
• For the 'Matching' questions, worth 3 marks each, you will be given three pieces of information. You must select the correct answer for each piece from a list of five or six options.

Number of questions - 70.

• Every Matching question consists of three items that need to be paired correctly.
• With a total of 18 Matching items and 52 Standard Classic questions, the exam comprises a total of 70 question items.

Duration - 2 hours 30 minutes.

• If you're taking the exam in a language that's not your native or working language, you might be eligible for 25% extra time, giving you a total of 188 minutes.

Pass Mark - 42/70 (60%).

Material allowed - MSP manual.

• This examination is an 'open book.' You are allowed to use the Managing Successful Programmes 5th Edition publication. However, no other materials besides this publication and the examination papers are permitted.

IMPORTANT: You must ensure your device is compatible with taking your exams. Please check and follow the official guidelines here.

MSP® is a registered trademark of the PeopleCert group. Used under licence from PeopleCert. All rights reserved.

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