How to pass your Foundation-level exam in PRINCE2

Introduction was launched in 1996.

If you like this article, please link to this page, or share it on social media. Please note that this article was updated to reflect changes in Currently, over 100,000 PRINCE2 7PRINCE2 exams^{th are sat somewhere in the world every year.} editionAgile released in September 2023.‘Agile’ is an umbrella term used to refer to numerous product delivery methods, frameworks and techniques used by development teams.

Exam pass ratesAgile approaches emerged from the software industry in the 1990’s, to try to overcome many of the problems which had beset traditional software projects. They were often delivered late, over budget, and with low quality.

In the UK, the national average pass rate for the There are different Foundation-level exam in PRINCE2Agile approaches stands at 97%. You don’t want to be one of the unlucky 3%. In addition, candidates who score highly on the Foundation exam are also likely to do better on the harder Practitioner exam., the most famous being

In fact you shouldn’t worry too much if you attend one of Knowledge Train’s classroom ScrumPRINCE2 Foundation course, or study KanbanPRINCE2 Foundation online training, Extreme Programming, and because our exam pass rate is over 99% for both.Lean

Exam tip. All Agile approaches are based upon the – aim for the highest mark you can on your Foundation exam by using this guide to help you.12 Agile principles

Question types

The exam is made up of 60 multiple-choice questions, which you must complete in 1 hour. All the questions are contained within a question booklet.

The pass mark is 60% so you need to score at least 36 correct answers to pass. The exam is closed book, which means that you cannot use the

he exam contains 4 types of question style: ‘standard’, ‘list’, ‘negative’, and ‘missing word’. The questions are always in multiple-choice format, so you simply need to pick one answer out of the four options given. There are no trick questions on the exam paper and each question only has one correct answer.

‘Standard’ style questionsSee all dates

This is the style of question which you will have answered many times before. For example:Who is Agile for?

Q. In which of the following processes does the project board choose a suitable risk response?History of Agile

1. Controlling a stageEngineers in the software industry in the 1990s created Agile approaches when they were trying to address problems with software projects being consistently late, over-budget or delivering low quality software.
2. Managing a stage boundaryToday many industries outside the software industry use Agile approaches.
3. Directing a projectFocus of Agile
4. Starting up a projectAgile approaches do not concern themselves with the wider questions about whether a project is worth it, or whether the benefits can be realized afterwards. They do focus however on delivering value to the customer by delivering products incrementally, in the most efficient manner possible.

If you remember that the project board only performs one of the seven processes then the answer is straightforward – it’s These products are likely to do what the user/customer needs because the customers have been involved in a constant cycle of defining and prioritizing requirements, developing, testing, and providing feedback.directing a projectDelivery of working products.Agile methods are delivery teams doing the work – whether part of a project or not. They focus on questions for the team such as ‘what needs to be delivered next week?’, and ‘is the working software what the customer needs?’

‘List’ style questionsCollaboration

For example:One of the

Q. Which of the following tasks form part of the product-based planning method?Agile principles

• i. Writing the product descriptions is that people on teams must work together collaboratively with the customer. This is done by defining and prioritizing requirements, developing, testing, and providing feedback in a continuous and repetitive cycle of iterations. Often, the customer will be co-located with the development team.
• ii. Creating a product flow diagramSelf-organisation
• iii. Designing the planSelf-organisation by teams is also one of the Agile principles. Agile teams determine their own tools and techniques to use (e.g. task backlogs, burn-down charts, Kanban boards), rather than these being mandated by a
• iv. Creating the product breakdown structureproject manager

1. (i), (ii) and (iii).
2. (ii), (iii) and (iv)PRINCE2 and Agile comparison
3. (i), (ii) and (iv)Planning
4. (i), (iii) and (iv)One key difference between PRINCE2 and Agile methods is that PRINCE2 is often described as a predictive (plan-based) approach, while

For the above question, read the statements i-iv, and then decide which three form part of the product-based planning method. I suggest that you read each of the 4 options and tick the ones you are sure form part of the technique. If there are only 2 options you are sure about, at least you have reduced your last decision to a choice between the 2 remaining options, so pick one of them and then mark your answer accordingly.Agile

‘Negative’ style questions calls for short-term, incremental achievements independent of an over-arching plan (the adaptive approach).

For example:This means that, while PRINCE2 enables the customer to remain focused on the project’s original business goals, Agile approaches are very responsive to changes in the project environment and customer requirements.

Which is Agile approaches assume that the development process is (predictably) unpredictable. They encourage complete transparency, close collaboration and frequent delivery of usable sub-products that will eventually contribute to the final product delivered.NOTLevels of plan a role within PRINCE2?PRINCE2 has the concept of ‘

1. Project managerlevels of plan
2. Project assurance’. This suggests that different plans are required by different levels of the project management team. There are 3 levels of plan in PRINCE2:
3. Business managerLong-term – this is a high-level
4. Senior supplierproject plan

For this type of question, it is important that you take notice of the word which is required by the key decision-makers (the project board). NOTMedium-term – this is a stage plan required by the project manager for every stage of the project.. The word Short-term – this is a team plan required by each team manager (leader) to cover the work done by their team. This is a detailed plan.NOTSprints and timeboxing is always bolded to bring your attention to the fact that the question is a negative one.Agile approaches such as

‘Missing word’ style questionsScrum

For example:, take this concept even further by suggesting a detailed plan for each ‘sprint’. A Scrum sprint is based upon the key Agile concept of a ‘time-box’ – a fixed period of time typically ranging from between 1-4 weeks.

Identify the missing word in the following sentence.Delivering working products

A purpose of the [ ? ] practice is to control any unacceptable deviations from the project’s objectives.At the end of every Scrum sprint a Scrum team delivers working software to the customer. Delivering working software at the end of each sprint guarantees that the software is never delivered late.

1. ChangeThe customer receives ever increasing increments of working software until, at the end of the final sprint, they receive the fully built and tested system.
2. PlansTime-boxes and team plans
3. ProgressThe Agile concept of time-boxes or iterations fits in neatly with PRINCE2’s concept of a team plan because there can be one or more time-boxes within a team plan.
4. RiskPRINCE2 doesn’t prescribe how many time-boxes a team plan should contain because that’s a decision for the self-organizing Agile team members.

The answer is the progress theme. Even if you couldn’t remember the purpose of the progress theme, you might have been able to get the answer by a process of elimination by asking yourself what the other themes are about (controlling changes and issues, planning what is to be done, controlling uncertainty). As you can see, it really does help to be able to quickly recall your PRINCE2 AgilePRINCE2 addresses similar concepts to these in the form of ‘be on time and hit deadlines’ which is one of the knowledge quickly.five PRINCE2 Agile targets

Exam tip. Similarly, regular releases is one of the five – with limited time and no manual allowed, revision must be top of your exam preparation plan.focus areas in PRINCE2 Agile

Revision.

Exam practiceResponding to change

The most common revision method is to practice those exam questions! As the questions are compiled from a limited question bank, the more practice questions you attempt, the more prepared you will be. The Cost of changePRINCE2 examOne criticism of more predictive board provides 2 sample exam papers to PRINCE2 Accredited Training Organisations, so if you have studied using an accredited training course, these should be provided to you.project management approaches

In addition, is that it is difficult and costly to manage changes. Changes are managed through formal change control processes, and decisions taken by a change authority.Knowledge TrainIn Agile approaches, changes can be done quickly. This is because customer requirements (e.g. software features) are described by the customer in the form of tasks which are prioritised in a backlog. has developed a further Because planning is never done further in advance than the next iteration (1-4 weeks usually), tasks can be quickly re-assigned a different priority, new tasks added, or unnecessary tasks removed.mock Foundation examAgain, PRINCE2 Agile views change positively. One of the five targets in PRINCE2 Agile is the ‘ which you can also use to practice exam style questions.embrace change

Exam tip’ target which sees change as something positive to be embraced, rather than something negative to be managed. – practicing sample exam papers helps refine your exam technique. To try a sample exam, click the button below.PRINCE2 doesn’t have to be waterfall

ParaphrasingThere is a perception (wrong in my view) that PRINCE2 struggles to adapt to changing business requirements.

There will be a considerable number of questions which ask you the purpose of a This view is based upon the assumption that PRINCE2 is a project ‘management productwaterfall, a ’ approach. A waterfall approach is where requirements are documented and approved before moving to a design phase, followed by a build phase and finally a testing phase.practiceThere is nothing in PRINCE2 which prescribes such a or a waterfall approachprocess. In fact, the latest . Since there are a lot of management products, practices and processes, that’s a lot of purposes to remember! That can be too many things. You need some trusted methods to help you remember so try paraphrasing.PRINCE2 manual 7

Go to Appendix A in the thPRINCE2 manual edition and one by one, read the purpose of each of the assumes that on many projects, requirements emerge and evolve as the project continues.management productsPRINCE2 manages such changes to project scope using its change control approach. However, lower-level changes, such as a feature requests can easily be managed at the team level using the prioritization techniques common in Agile approaches.. If you don’t understand it, read it again. Then write down in your own words the meaning of the product. Try to write it in less than 10 words.Using both PRINCE2 and Agile

Exam tipThe best of both worlds – paraphrasing forces your brain to engage with the subject matter which helps with longer-lasting memory retention, and deeper learning.Whereas PRINCE2 focuses on understanding what products are needed to support the business needs, Agile focuses on completing those products in an efficient manner, incrementally delivering more working software (products) as the work progresses.

Try paraphrasing the purposes of the 7 practices and 7 processes too.Utilizing Agile approaches on PRINCE2 projects therefore can bring the best of both worlds – the structure and direction of PRINCE2, coupled with the flexibility and responsiveness of Agile.

Mind-mapsPRINCE2 is not concerned with how teams organize or the methods they use. It does however define a simple interface between the customer organisation which is paying for the project and the supplier organisation which provides the teams which do the specialist work.

Visual revision tools, such as Business focus and timely deliverymind-mapsThis therefore means that teams on a PRINCE2 project can use any development approach they choose – including any of the Agile approaches. Providing they comply with the interface defined by PRINCE2, teams can utilize the benefits of Agile (such as on-time delivery), whilst the customer maintains the benefits of PRINCE2’s focus on the or flow charts can also help. Creating these for yourself will aid your understanding of PRINCE2, and ultimately improve your chances of exam success. Try to create one mind-map for each theme and one for each process.business justification

After you’ve created your own mind-maps you can compare them against the ones we produced inside our themes and processes ebooks..

Exam tipQuick PRINCE2 and Agile comparison – drawing mind-maps is a great way to aid your understanding of PRINCE2PRINCE2Agile.Useful for the customer to justify a project

Exam timing

There are three things to keep in mind during the exam – timing, question complexity and making sure to answer every question.See all dates

Timing is the most important aspect to keep in mind. The exam consists of 60 questions, and there are 60 minutes to answer them. This only allows 1 minute per question. When faced with this small timeframe, it’s best to have a good strategy during the exam which maximizes your chances of scoring highly. The strategy we recommend is the three-pass approach .

The three-pass approachSelf-paced

Pass 1PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner (with Foundation) self-paced online
Go through the entire question paper from start to finish and answer those questions which you feel confident about which only take a few seconds to answer. Mark your answer and leave any questions you are unsure about. Often at the end of this first pass, you might only have spent 15-20 minutes and possibly answered 30-40% of the questions.

Pass 2£1,399 +vat
Go back to the start and read through the unanswered questions, this time spending 10-15 seconds reading each one. If you don’t understand what it is asking you, read it one more time. If you think you know the answer, mark your answer, otherwise skip to the next unanswered question.

At the end of this pass you will only be left with those questions which take a long time to answer, or you are still not sure about.

Pass 3
Go back to the start and re-read the remaining questions which you haven’t yet answered. When answering a question, by a process of elimination, discount those options which you think are definitely wrong. If you do this, you can often eliminate 2 options straightaway which will leave you with 2 options left to choose from. Read the question and the 2 remaining options one more time and if you really cannot decide guess.Instructor-led

After completing pass 3 you should have answered all questions. Whatever you do, make sure that one option has been selected for all 60 questions in the exam.PRINCE2 Agile Foundation course

• Apply the three-pass approach£1,299 +vat to maximize your chances of passing.
• Do See all datesNOTPRINCE2 vs PRINCE2 Agile spend too long on complex questions – skip them and answer them last.In 2015, in recognition that many people were struggling to find a way of applying PRINCE2 on Agile projects, AXELOS launched PRINCE2 Agile
• Don’t over-analyze questions.[2]
• Think carefully before changing answers. Your initial response is often correct..
• Only select one option for each question and ensure you have filled in your answers correctly.PRINCE2 Agile is essentially

Preparing well, knowing what to expect and thoroughly understanding the the same as PRINCE2PRINCE2 methodology. They both rely upon the exact same principles, practices, and processes. The only real difference is that the PRINCE2 Agile guidance explains in detail how to tailor these elements for Agile projects. In the , will all greatly improve your chances of success. Also, statistics show that high-scorers in the Foundation exam will have a better chance at getting a high score in Practitioner, which is certainly something to keep in mind.PRINCE2 manual

Exam day, whilst there are lots of examples of how to tailor PRINCE2 to different project context, it doesn’t go into the same amount of detail as the

On the day of the exam, you must be prepared by having the following:PRINCE2 Agile manual

• Photo ID. (such as a passport or driving license) otherwise you Fix or flex?cannotIn particular, PRINCE2 Agile explains what to ‘ sit the exam.fix or flex
• Computer’ for the 6 performance targets of PRINCE2 (time, cost, quality, scope, risks, benefits). with internet access, webcam, audio with micFor PRINCE2 Agile, time and cost are fixed. These cannot change. However, to be able to deliver what the customer truly needs, scope and the products’ quality criteria can be flexed.
• Quiet room What to flex must be agreed with the customer. Typically, to achieve this PRINCE2 Agile uses with anprioritization techniques such as MoSCoW empty desk , coupled with sprint backlogs.– you cannot have any papers or books on the tableThe other 2 performance targets (benefits and risk) may be either fixed or flexed depending upon the customer’s needs.
• WaterConclusion – ensure you have water to drink during the exam. Studies show that students who drink water during exams, on average score 4.8% higher marks than students who don’t drink water. Simply choosing to use a particular method or approach will never guarantee a project is always successful. In fact, any method or approach used without thinking will make a mess of any project.^{[1]The PRINCE2 focus on the business justification and whether a project is justified when the business environment changes remain its biggest assets. It helps to ensure that projects are based upon sound business sense.}

Exam tipThe ability to respond quickly to changes with on-time delivery of products which deliver value to the customer is the biggest contribution of Agile approaches. – your brain needs watering so don’t forget to bring water to the exam!So, is it a matter of choosing either

Pre-examPRINCE2 or Agile

Just prior to the examination starting, the exam proctor will ask you to show your photo ID, turn your camera 360 degrees to show the room, and will read out the instructions and rules for the exam.? I don’t think so. If you are looking for a robust project management methodology to use on Agile projects, then PRINCE2 Agile fits the bill perfectly.

During the examPRINCE2 Agile gives practitioners both the control and governance to guide the project, whilst at the same time it provides the agility and ability to deliver rapidly in a changing business environment.

If English is not your first language you will automatically get 25% extra time – 75 minutes instead of 60!If you want to learn more about PRINCE2 Agile, or want to become certified, consider taking a

Similarly, you may find completing the exam difficult if you have dyslexia or another medical condition. To get the extra time, you must contact PeopleCert before the exam with a report from your doctor or other medical professional proving your condition. This will then get approved by PeopleCert and you will be awarded extra time.PRINCE2 Agile course

If you fail the exam, you can re-take it at a later date, although you will need to pay the exam fee again..

At the end of the exam, you will not be able to mark any more answers. If you finish the exam early you can submit your answers.Both

You will receive your exam result on screen as soon as the examination is over. You will receive confirmation by email shortly afterwards.PRINCE2 Agile Foundation

Conclusion

We hope you have found this guide to passing the exam useful. Thorough knowledge of Self-pacedPRINCE2PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner (with Foundation) self-paced online and a great exam technique should help you to pass your exam.

Study, effective revision and practicing sample exams will all boost your chances of passing the exam, and achieving a qualification recognised in industries throughout the world.£1,399 +vat

References

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