PMP vs. PRINCE2 Certificates
By Nader Khorrami Rad, PMP
What's the difference between the PMP and
PRINCE2 certifications? Which one should I
choose? Which one's better for my career?
Well, there are a lot of questions like this; after
all, being certified seems more and more
important these days. I'm going to provide you
with as much information as I can, on this
comparison, hoping you can make a more
educated decision.
Differences in a Nutshell
Well, in a table actually! There are two common certificates for PRINCE2, the
PRINCE2 Foundation (the simple one), and the PRINCE2 Practitioner (the
advanced one). I'll compare these two with the PMP certification.
PMP PRINCE2
Foundation
PRINCE2
Practitioner
Subject PM Knowledge PM Method
Deals with
question type
How? What? When? Whom?
Most common
in
USA, Canada,
Middle East,
Australia
UK, Europe, Australia
Source of the
exam
Mainly PMBOK
Guide, but not
limited to it
The official manual, Managing
Successful Projects with PRINCE2
Number of
questions
200 75 8x10
Type of
questions
Multiple choice Multiple choice Objective testing
Abstract Abstract Scenario based
Passmark 62% 50% 55%
1
Note: passing is not
based on a
pre-defined value,
and it's not publicly
available, but said to
be close to 62%.
Duration 240 minutes 60 minutes 150 minutes
Extra time for
taking the
exam in a
second
language
No 15 minutes 30 minutes
Open book? No No Yes
Exam place Exam centre
(Prometric)
Exam centre, any other approved place,
or online
Prerequisites At least 3 years
of experience in
the project
management
field (5 years if
you don't have a
four-year degree)
Formal training
might be required
Being certified as
PRINCE2
Foundation
At least 4,500
hours experience
in leading and
directing projects
(7,500 hours if
you don't have a
four-year degree)
Formal training
might be required
35 hours of
formal project
management
education
Registering for
the exam
By registering at
pmi.org, and
taking the exam
in Prometric
exam centres
around the world
Usually by registering at an accelerated
training organisation and taking the
exam online (wherever you are), at an
exam centre, or at any other place
you've arranged with your training
organisation
2
Renewing the
certificate
Every 3 years, by
PDUs
It doesn't expire! Every 3 to 5 years,
by a relatively
shorter exam
Exam cost €465/$555 ~€270/$365 ~€360/$485
Price is fixed Yes No, price is different among training
organisations
Cost of the
required
course
Starting as low
as €40 for online
courses
Starting as low as €70 for online
courses
OK, now we can discuss it in more detail.
What's PMP?
PMP is short for Project Management Professional, and is a professional certificate
from PMI (Project Management Institute). PMI is a USA based non-for-profit
organisation focused on project management, which has developed and
published a number of standards, including:
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide).
The Standard for Program Management.
The Standard for Portfolio Management.
Organisational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3®).
And also a number of practice standards and frameworks:
Practice Standard for Project Risk Management.
Practice Standard for Earned Value Management.
Practice Standard for Project Configuration Management.
Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures.
Practice Standard for Scheduling.
Project Manager Competency Development Framework.
There's no doubt that PMBOK Guide is the most famous standard among these,
and people are using it (or trying to use it) worldwide; that's why it even has
three extensions:
Software Extension to the PMBOK Guide.
Construction Extension to the PMBOK Guide.
Government Extension to the PMBOK Guide.
These help you use the PMBOK Guide more effectively in certain application
areas.
3
PMI has recently added a line of practice guides, which includes:
Managing Changes in Organisations: A Practice Guide.
These are a great source of knowledge for everyone involved in the project
management field, and you should definitely be serious about using them.
PMI also has a number of certifications. Once you are interested to, and have the
requirements, you can take the exams and you will be awarded with globally
recognised certificates upon passing the exams, which is great, not only because
you can easily prove your knowledge, but also because in the process of
preparing for the exams, you will learn a lot and you will have to fill in a lot of
gaps in your knowledge. These are the PMI's certifications:
Project Management Professional (PMP)® - as you might guess, this is
about the PMBOK Guide, but you should know that the exam questions are
about the project management body of knowledge in general, and the
PMBOK Guide is just a part of it; well, an important part.
Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® - a simple form of PMP.
Program Management Professional (PgMP)®.
Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP)SM.
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® - yes, there's no standalone
publication for this yet, but there's a syllabus and they award certifications.
PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)®.
PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)® - lookout all of you project planners
out there, this is useful for you.
OPM3® Professional Certification.
Well, that's all. Let's now take a look at PRINCE2.
What are PRINCE2 Certifications?
PRINCE2 is a project management methodology previously owned by the UK's
Cabinet Office. PRINCE2, among other "Best Practices" are now owned by
AXELOS, a new joint venture company in the UK. This "Best Practice" family
consist of the following:
PRINCE2 - project management.
MSP - program management.
MoP - portfolio management.
M_o_R - risk management.
MoV - value management.
P3O - project, program, and portfolio management offices (PMO).
P3M3 - project, program, and portfolio management maturity model.
ITIL - IT service management.
And of course, there are exams and certifications for all of them; usually in two
levels of Foundation and Practitioner.
4
There are three levels of certification for PRINCE2:
PRINCE2 Foundation - it's the simple one.
PRINCE2 Practitioner - it's the important one.
PRINCE2 Professional - well, it's just too hard!
When people are talking about PRINCE2 certifications, they usually refer to the
PRINCE2 Foundation and PRINCE2 Practitioner. The former is easier than PMP
and it's unfair to compare them, while the latter is as hard as PMP, or as some
people believe, even harder than PMP. The main source for both the Foundation
and Practitioner exams is an official publication named "Managing Successful
Projects with PRINCE2." I'll cover both PRINCE2 certifications in this article.
Different Viewpoints on the PMBOK Guide and
PRINCE2
You should know that there's a big difference between the PMBOK Guide and
PRINCE2. The PMBOK Guide is a prescriptive knowledge, while PRINCE2 is a
descriptive methodology. PRINCE2 answers WHAT, WHEN, and WHOM questions,
while PMBOK Guide answers HOW questions.
So, which one do you need? Obviously both of them!
Just take a look at the PMBOK Guide 5th Edition, page 2, "This standard is a
guide rather than a specific methodology. One can use different methodologies
and tools (e.g. agile, waterfall, PRINCE2) to implement the project management
framework." And there's a similar statement in the official PRINCE2 manual,
pages 230 and 231, which also mentions the PMBOK Guide. Therefore, these two
standards are not competitors, you need both of them (or similar replacements
for each of them) to be able to manage your projects successfully.
Where are They Used in the World?
Well, PMBOK Guide and PRINCE2 are not competitors, but most people do not
believe so, and that's why many people are trying to decide which one is better
for them; which is a wrong question! None of them replaces the other one, they
are different things. But anyway, each of them are better known in different
countries. PMBOK and PMP are better known in the USA, Canada, Middle East,
and Australia, while PRINCE2 is better known in the UK, Europe, and Australia.
How's the Exams?
The big difference between the PRINCE2 Practitioner exam and the other two is
that the Practitioner exam questions are based on a scenario. The exam papers
describe a project and you have to answer different questions based on that
scenario. The other two exams are a collection of normal abstract multiple choice
questions which are completely independent.
5
Passing the PRINCE2 Foundation exam is the easiest among these three. The
PMP and the PRINCE2 Practitioner are in the same level; some people believe
that the PMP exam is harder, and others believe that PRINCE2 Practitioner is
harder.
What's the Prerequisites?
Not everyone can take the exams! Almost all of them require you to pass a
standard course, either online, or in a physical classroom. PRINCE2 Foundation
doesn't have any other prerequisite, and PRINCE2 Practitioner has only one
more: being certified as PRINCE2 Foundation. PMP exam has more prerequisites
though; you need to have a certain amount of relative experience.
How to Register for the Exam
OK, let's say you've decided to take the exam and you're ready; how should you
register to take the exam? The training organisations have an important role in
your PRINCE2 certification process; you normally cannot take the exam directly
from AXELOS. So, be careful with the organisation you choose. And by the way,
the accelerated training organisations are allowed to set their own prices, that's
why you see different prices in different websites.
The PMP exam on the other hand, is very straightforward; you go to the pmi.org
website, apply and pay, and they give you access to book the exam in the
Prometric website as soon as your application is accepted.
Cost!
And yes, they cost you both time, and money. But don't worry, it's worth it.
For the PMP exam, you should pay €465/$555 if you're not a member. You can
simply pay €97/$129 to become a member and the exam price would become
€340/$405.
The PRINCE2 exams do not have a fixed price; it depends on the training
organisation you've chosen. It's usually around €270/$365 for the PRINCE2
Foundation and €360/$485 for the PRINCE2 Practitioner, excluding the cost of
the course.
You might need to pay a price for the courses in all three cases, which usually
starts at about €40 for the most affordable online PMP courses and €70 for the
most affordable PRINCE2 courses.
In the case of PRINCE2 Practitioner, you should also pay a fee for renewing your
certificate by taking a short exam. You would also like to have the official
publications. You should buy the PRINCE2 publications separately, but you can
download all the PMI publications for free, once you become a member.
6
Source of the Exam
The source of the PRINCE2 exams is the official manual, "Managing Successful
Projects with PRINCE2." The main source of the PMP exam is the "PMBOK Guide",
but the exam is not limited to the guide and you need to have a broader
knowledge. Therefore, you should read a PMP exam preparation book or/and take
a good-enough online/classroom course.
Conclusion
OK, I hope you've found all the information you were looking for. If you're going
to decide, I strongly suggest you remember that PRINCE2 and PMBOK Guide are
not competitors, and you'd better learn both of them. In case of getting certified,
why not get both types of certifications? If you would like to, this is my
suggestion:
Learn both PRINCE2 and PMBOK Guide in 1. an introductory level.
2. Learn PRINCE2 more seriously.
3. Take and pass the PRINCE2 Foundation exam.
4. Learn PMBOK Guide super-seriously.
5. Take and pass the PMP exam.
6. Learn PRINCE2 super-seriously.
7. Take and Pass the PRINCE2 Practitioner exam.
And don't stop there! There;s a lot more to learn, including:
Agile methods such as Scrum.
Programme management.
Portfolio management.
And you can also improve your theme knowledge and techniques, such as risk
management, benefits management, configuration management, scheduling, etc.
Good luck.
Nader Khorrami Rad is a project management expert with 12 years of
experience. A PMP, CSM, and PSM-I certified civil engineer with a Philosophy of
Science master's degree.

Krucifax:
.

Can a graduate without engr job experience go for PMP?

afolag:

Can a graduate without engr job experience go for PMP?

Absolutely. PMP is not engr specific.

Krucifax:


Absolutely. PMP is not engr specific.

thanks fax .....I did confirm but I was shocked to be in experienced candidate could only go for certified associate project management. What can you say abt this.

Your best bet would be to go to the websites and see which works best for you based on you specific circumstances see below.

https://www.pmi.org.uk/index.php/prof-development/professional-qualifications


https://www.prince2.com/