P3O: Portfolio, Programme & Project Offices Explained

P3O: An Overview of Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices

19 Feb 2026

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Select your preferred training course below:ITIL Foundation certification

they must pass the

ITIL Foundation exam.If you become ITIL certified at Foundation level, you can then consider pursuing higher ITIL certifications.

ITIL Foundation is worth 2 credit points.2. ITIL v3 Practitioner certificationITIL Practitioner certification teaches you how to apply the ITIL framework. It does it by:

Explaining the Continual Service Improvement (CSI) approach to structure improvement initiatives;

Covering three key areas crucial for improvement initiatives:

Organizational Change Management;

Measurement and Metrics;

ITIL v3 Foundation or an ITIL 4 Foundation certificate is a perquisite for the ITIL Practitioner exam. ITIL Practitioner is not a prerequisite for the ITIL v3 Intermediate level certifications.

ITIL Practitioner is worth 3 credit points.

3. ITIL v3 Intermediate certifications

Intermediate levels come in two sets of modules:Service Lifecycle Modules (worth 3 credit points each):

Service Strategy (SS);

Service Design (SD);

Service Transition (ST);Service Operation (SO);Continual Service Improvement (CSI).

Service Capability modules (worth 4 credit points each):

Planning, Protection and Optimization (PPO);

Service Offerings and Agreements (SOA).

ITIL intermediate certifications are a stepping stone from either Foundation or Practitioner and enable you to get sufficient credit points to gain Expert certification.

4. ITIL v3 Expert certificationYou can earn ITIL Expert certification after gaining 22 credit points. The way to do that is to sit a MALC (Managing Across the Lifecycle) Exam. MALC tests your ability to integrate your ITIL knowledge in real-world settings.

Passing the MALC exam is worth 5 credit points. The MALC exam’s prerequisite is 17 credit points gained from either Lifecycle, Capability or Practitioner modules. 2 of the credit points must come from Foundation certification.

5. ITIL v3 Master certification

This certification shows that you can apply ITIL in an organisation. Every ITIL Master candidate will select a different range of personal experiences. That’s why there is no fixed syllabus for this qualification.In the exam, you must explain and justify:How you would select and apply elements of the ITIL Framework such as:

ITIL knowledge; or,

ITIL methods; or,

supporting management techniques;

to achieve desired business outcomes in one or more practical assignments.

To be eligible for the ITIL Master certification, you must:have achieved the ITIL Expert certificate;

have worked in IT service management for at least five years in a leadership, managerial, or higher management role.

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ITIL 4 Strategist Direct, Plan & Improve (DPI) £1,799 +vat

What is a Project Management Office (PMO)?

Transition from ITIL v3 to ITIL 4

ITIL 4 Foundation

if you are already an ITIL v3 Foundation certificate holder. You must study ITIL 4 Foundation to become familiar with the new version.

AXELOS has designed an ITIL Managing Professional Transition Module. It is designed for ITIL v3 candidates who are ITIL Experts. Candidates who have achieved 17 credits from across the v3 scheme are included too. What’s the cost of ITIL v3 certification?

Studying for

ITIL certification

may not be cheap. But it is worth it when you get certified. It helps you to climb the ladder of your ITSM career. For details of ITIL v3 Foundation costs click this button: ITIL v3 certification path infographic

This infographic shows the ITIL v3 certification pathway.