MSP® Managing Successful Programmes - Foundation/Practitioner

[Updated April 2021 – MSP® 5th Edition]

• Five-day fully-accredited course
• Comprises Foundation (3-day) and Practitioner Prep (2-day) modules
• Modules can be taken separately or combined. See below.

Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®) represents proven good practice in the successful adoption of enterprise agility through the application of programme management. It is a framework whereby large, complex change can be broken down into manageable, inter-related projects.

MSP has been used and adopted by many organisations both within the public and private sectors.

Why adopt MSP?

Today’s organisations exist in a climate of constant and increasing change. Organisations that have learned how to transform themselves through effective leadership and strategic control are more likely to survive and prosper. Programme management is increasingly being recognised as key to enabling organisations to manage that transformation.

Where there is major change there will be complexity, risk, many interdependencies to manage, and conflicting priorities to resolve. Experience shows that organisations are likely to fail to deliver change successfully where:

• There is insufficient board-level support
• Leadership is weak
• There are unrealistic expectations of the organisational capacity and capability to change
• There is insufficient focus on benefits
• There is no real picture of the future capability
• There is a poorly defined or poorly communicated vision
• The organisation fails to change culture
• There is insufficient engagement of stakeholders.

Adopting a programme management approach such as MSP provides a structured framework that can help organisations avoid these pitfalls and achieve their goals.

Roles and responsibilities

MSP defines the roles and responsibilities of all who need to form part of the leadership of a programme. Effective leadership of a programme is achieved through informed decision-making and a flexible management regime. The key roles involved are:

• Sponsoring Group
• Senior Responsible Owner
• Programme Manager
• Business Change Manager
• Programme Office.

MSP  Integrated Framework

There are three lenses to the MSP framework:

Principles – the common factors that underpin the success of any programme.

Themes – covering essential governance and controls.

Processes – an incremental lifecycle that is flexible and adaptable yet enables an orderly progression with clear decision criteria

Copyright Axelos Limited

This course is available as a 5-day combined Foundation & Practitioner module, also available as a 3-day Foundation module or 2-day Practitioner module where the 5th Edition Foundation exam has been achieved previously. 

Learning outcomes

The aim of this course is for each student to be able to work in a programme, including:

• Recognise a programme, and how it is different to a project
• Apply MSP theory in practice
• Effectively control the start, progress and closure of a programme
• Integrate the MSP themes and processes into a programme
• Establish a programme organisation and manage the appropriate stakeholders
• Apply the programme management principles across the life of the programme
• Establish a Programme Office to support a programme

Who should attend

The MSP Foundation & Practitioner course module is appropriate for:

• Senior Executives
• Programme Sponsors
• Programme Managers
• Business Change Managers
• Programme and project management consultants

MSP Foundation is invaluable for individuals who are interested in learning how to manage multiple projects and programmes successfully. It is designed to support programme or project managers, people working in a programme office, business change managers, and programme and project delivery team members who wish to gain a greater understanding of the MSP guidance to work more effectively in large scale project or programme environments.

MSP Practitioner is designed for project, programme and business change managers who want to apply the MSP framework to real-life scenarios. Practitioner is a must-have certification for both project and programme management professionals who need to deliver organizational value for their employers and to boost their careers.

Course contents

Foundation Level

Day 1

• Course Introduction
• MSP Overview
• MSP Principles
• Themes:
  • Organisation
  • Design
  • Justification

Day 2

• Themes:
  • Structure
  • Knowledge
  • Assurance
  • Decisions

Day 3

• MSP lifecycle including:
  • Identify the programme
  • Design the outcomes
  • Plan progressive delivery
  • Deliver the capabilities
  • Embed the outcomes
  • Evaluate new information
  • Close the programme
• Practice Foundation exam
• Facilitator led study

Practitioner Course

Day 4

• Revision of topics from Foundation course and their application to a scenario
• Sample papers

Day 5

• Practice questions
• Practitioner exam hints and tips
• Facilitator led study or private study

Course fees

Course

Fees A$ per person

• MSP® Managing Successful Programmes Combined with Exams (5 days)
  • Live Virtual Training = $3,160  + gst
  • Face-to-Face Training = $3,660 + gst

• MSP® Managing Successful Programmes Foundation Course & Exam (3 days)
  • Live Virtual Training = $2,280  + gst
  • Face-to-Face Training = $2,580 + gst

• MSP® Managing Successful Programmes Practitioner Course & Exam (2 days)
  • Live Virtual Training =$2,100  + gst
  • Face-to-Face Training = $2,300 + gst

What you get:

• Official MSP Manual Managing Successful Programmes published by AXELOS Limited – Hard Copy
• Comprehensive ALC Course Workbook – Hard Copy
• Practice Examinations
• MSP Foundation Certificate Online Exam Voucher – 3 Month Validity
• MSP Practitioner Certificate Online Exam Voucher – 3 Month Validity

NOTE: you will be expected to do some evening study during the course

Foundation & Practitioner Exams

Participants will be provided with an online exam voucher to sit the exams at a time and date of their choosing within 3 months of the course. The web-proctored exams are available 24/7 and run by the examination institute PeopleCert. 

*As of 01 February, 2022 paper-based exams will no longer be offered by PeopleCert the examination institute for MSP®. All exams will be conducted online. During the course you will receive an exam voucher and instructions how to book the exam for a date and time of your choice within 3 months of the course. The exams are web-proctored by PeopleCert and are available 24/7.

The Foundation Certificate Exam Format is:

• Multiple choice questions
• 60 questions per paper with one mark available per question
• 36 marks required to pass (out of 60 marks available) – 60%
• 60 minutes’ duration
• Closed book.

The Practitioner Certificate Exam Format is:

• Objective testing
• 70 question items per paper
• 42 marks required to pass – 60%
• Two-and-a-half hours’ duration
• Open book exam. Candidates may use the official printed hard copy of the Managing Successful Programmes 5th Edition. The manual may be annotated and tabulated but no sticky notes or loose-leaf papers containing additional notes will be allowed.

Pre-Requisites

The Foundation Certificate is a mandatory pre-requisite to undertake the Practitioners exam.