The MSP® Foundation Exam

The MSP Foundation Certificate is awarded for knowledge of the Managing Successful Programmes methodology, developed by the Office of Government Commerce and used throughout the public and private sector. It is a prerequisite for the MSP Practitioner and Advanced Practitioner qualifications, and it provides vital CV points for anybody seeking to establish a foothold in Programme Management.

The awarding-body for the MSP qualifications is the APM Group (APMG), which is also responsible for the PRINCE2 Project Management qualifications. According to the APMG, the MSP Foundation exam has a 99% pass rate.

Who should take the Foundation exam?

The Foundation level exam is aimed at people who want to (or already) work in a programme environment, and especially at those who need to be familiar with MSP terminology and concepts.

The Exam Structure

• 50 multiple choice questions
• 60% pass-mark (30/50)
• Forty minutes
• Closed-book

The Content

The MSP Foundation exam tests a candidate’s general knowledge and understanding of the MSP methodology, as set out in the official Managing Successful Programmes manual.

There are thirteen syllabus units against which questions may be set:

1. Overview and Programme Management Principles
2. Governance Themes Overview
3. Organisation
4. Vision
5. Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement
6. Benefits Realisation Management
7. Blueprint Design and Delivery
8. Planning and Control
9. The Business Case
10. Risk Management and Issue Resolution
11. Quality Management (including Configuration Management and Issue Management)
12. The Transformational How
13. Programme Office

Revision Strategies

1. Practice makes perfect: MSP Foundation exam questions are drawn from a limited question bank. The more questions you practice, the more familiar you will become with the question style, and the greater your chances of exam success.


2. Diagrams and Charts: don’t rely solely on the illustrations given to you in the manual or by your trainer. Constructing your own diagrams and charts will help you to understand the MSP concepts.


3. Vocabulary Test: MSP terminology is vital to the Foundation exam. Give yourself a list of new terms to learn each day. Stick them to the fridge or the bathroom mirror. Recite them at bedtime. Read them instead of the daily paper on your way to work.

Exam Strategy

The most important exam strategy is good timing. There are 50 questions and forty minutes, which allows 48 seconds per question. If you spend too long worrying about question no. 3 then you will jeopardise your chances of passing the exam.

Dealing with variations in question complexity is another important part of exam strategy. As all questions are equally weighted, you should not spend too long on one problem; however, some questions will necessarily be harder, and require more time, than others.

One strategy is to work through the paper three times:

1. Attempt all questions, circling those about which you are unsure.
2. Read the questions more carefully, checking that you have not made avoidable errors, for example: identifying the true answer when it is the false that is required.
3. Spend any remaining time considering the questions that remain ambiguous.

And finally: there is no negative marking in the MSP Foundation exam. A multiple choice question provides you with the correct answer. Even you circle answers at random, there is a statistical probability that you will get some of them right. The only way to guarantee getting an answer wrong is to leave it blank. Make sure that you answer every question.

MSP® is a Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce