About The Course

The purpose of the practitioner level is to confirm you have sufficient knowledge and understanding of the MSP guidance to act as an informed member of a programme management team. This level is also required for programme management professionals progressing toward the advanced practitioner certification, and those aspiring to become programme management professionals in the future.

The practitioner course follows on from the Foundation course, where the method, its philosophy and its terminology are introduced. It focuses on the more intricate aspects of the method. Based on a case study, the method is put into practice through a series of challenging questions that mirror the questions of the exam.

The course consists of a series of lectures and seminars. This time the emphasis is on the seminars where the method is put into practice with the help of case studies. The lectures are designed to remind you how the method operates while the seminars take on the principles and apply them to the case study. The comprehensive course handbook, containing all the course’s slides, is used along with the case study, which most students would have met prior to this course. By assuming familiarisation with the method, the course can proceed at a pace that helps the visualisation of the method’s concepts. Each seminar ends with sample multiple choice questions that prepare us for the certificate examination.

MSP philosophy and structure
What is a programme and how it differs to both business as usual and project work 
Relationship between the MSP principles, governance themes and the transformational flow

The 7 MSP principles
Remaining aligned with corporate strategy
Leading change
Envisioning and communicating a better future
Focusing on benefits and threats to them
Adding value
Designing and delivering a coherent capability
Learning from experience

The 9 MSP governance themes
Organisation
Vision
Leadership and stakeholder engagement
Benefits management
Blueprint design and delivery
Planning and control
Business case
Risk and issue management
Quality and assurance management

The 6 MSP Transformational Flow Processes
Identifying a programme
Defining a programme
Managing the tranche
Delivering the capability
Realizing the benefits
Closing a programme

At the end of this course you will be able to:

• Understand the facts, terms and concepts relating to each theme
• Understand how each governance theme relates to the principles
• Understand the approach to the treatment of each governance theme
• Appreciate how each governance theme is applied throughout the transformational flow
• Understand the responsibilities involved in each governance theme
• Apply and tailor the relevant aspects of each governance theme to a given scenario
• Identify, analyse and distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate application of each governance theme in a given scenario

Target Audience This course is aimed at any organisation or individual seeking to understand and adopt a controlled approach to running and supervising its programmes, in particular:

• Programme Managers
• Senior Managers who will ‘sponsor’ the change, or perhaps be held accountable for its success
• Operational Managers charged with embedding the change in their area
• Operational staff undertaking a role in the programme or related projects
• Programme office staff (PMO) wishing to build upon their project management knowledge
• Experienced Project Managers
• Those seeking a professional qualification in programme management

The MSP Practitioner examination takes place at the end of the course, usually on the morning of the last day. The MSP Practitioner exam consists of:

• 8 questions, each worth 10 marks each. Total of 80 marks
• “Objective Test Examination” format – a style of complex multiple-choice examination.
• 2½ hours duration
• Delegates may use their official MSP manual: “Managing Successful Programmes” only
• Candidates require a minimum of 40 marks (50%) to pass

Please note that candidates must pass the foundation exam before attempting the practitioner exam.

By successfully passing the practitioner exam, delegates attain ‘Registered Practitioner’ status