P3O® Foundation + Exam

This certification is a key requirement for the following jobs:

• Project Board members
• Team Managers
• Business Change Analysts
• Project and Programme Office personnel
• Operational line managers / staff

• Know facts, terms and concepts relating to the Introduction, the principles of a P3O® model and its elements
• Know facts, terms and concepts relating to the business justification for implementing a P3O®
• Know facts, terms and concepts relating to selecting the right P3O® model and its functions and services
• Know facts, terms and concepts relating to the processes to implement and re-energize a P3O®
• Know facts, terms and concepts relating to operating a P3O®, including the use of tools and techniques

This course is likely to add to the employment related skills of the participants. The skills developed are likely to be used in the course of being an employee or working in a business.

• Know facts, terms and concepts relating to the Introduction, the principles of a P3O model and its elements
  • Key PPM definitions:
    • PPM
    • Portfolio, programme and project
    • Portfolio, programme and project management
    • Business as Usual

• What a P3O is:
  • Definition of P3O
  • The potential elements of a P3O model and their definitions
• Understand key concepts relating to the Overview, Principles of a P3O model and its elements including the Introduction to P3O
• Key concepts of a P3O:
• The objectives of and differences between portfolios, programmes and projects
• The objectives of and differences between portfolio, programme and project management and how they help to deliver change

• The organizational context of P3O:
  • The relationship between Business as Usual, change and PPM
  • How the elements of a P3O model align to portfolio, programme and project lifecycles
• How a P3O provides a decision-enabling/delivery- support model and how each P3O model element helps to deliver change
  • What a P3O is:
    • The relationships between the elements in a P3O model and the organization
    • The objectives and key functions of each P3O model
  • The governance responsibilities of, and services offered by, a P3O and its links with other aspects of corporate governance

• Know facts, terms and concepts relating to the business justification for implementing a P3O
  • The ways that a P3O can help an organization deliver its strategy:
    • The elements of Business change governance support and enablement
    • The terms ‘doing the right programmes and projects’ and ‘doing programmes and projects right’

• Understand key concepts relating to the justification for implementing a P3O
  • How a P3O can help an organization deliver its strategy and add value, including its role in supporting and enabling business change governance
  • The Best Management Practice principles for extracting value from programme and project management and how a P3O model can help deliver them
  • How to recognize stakeholders and the typical requirements of different stakeholders
  • The P3O Value Matrix and how it can be used to identify stakeholder needs
  • How to recognize the problem to be solved by establishing the P3Oand the analysis of recent issues and reviews
  • The use of P3M3 assessments to identify key P3O functions
  • The role of the outline Vision Statement and initial Blueprint in defining how the P3O will add value
  • The purpose, typical contents and approach to developing the P3O Business Case

• Typical P3O capabilities and linked outcomes, benefit drivers, and the use of a Benefits Map to show relationships between outputs, capabilities, outcomes and benefits
• Typical constraints and how they impact on implementation
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
  • What they are
  • Their purpose
  • How they can be used to measure the success of a P3O
• KPIs:
  • Typical KPIs to measure the success of a P3O
  • Minimum areas for setting improvement targets
• Common barriers to P3O implementation and how to overcome them

• Know facts, terms and concepts relating to selecting the right P3O model and its functions and services
  • The three different functional areas in which the P3O can provide services
  • The different types of offices which a P3O can consist of, specifically permanent or temporary

• Understand key concepts relating to selecting the right P3O model and its functions and services
  • The different strategic planning or portfolio support functions offered within a P3O
  • The different delivery support functions offered within a P3O
  • The different centre of excellence (COE) functions or services offered within a P3O
  • Typical factors that may affect the design of the P3O model
  • Where a P3O should report in order to add value to an organization
  • The types of P3O models and how they differ for centralized versus decentralized offices
  • The characteristics and underlying success factors for a P3O model with an organization portfolio office
  • The characteristics and underlying success factors for a P3O model with hub portfolio offices
  • The characteristics and underlying success factors for a virtual P3O model
  • The characteristics and underlying success factors for a temporary P3O model
  • The reasons for and key considerations of distributed models
  • How and why the emphasis of functions and services offered by the different offices in a P3O model can differ
  • The need to integrate a P3O model with the wider organizational model, the role of the Head of P3O in doing so, and the use of embedded resources
  • Independent P3O assurance services and how they can be delivered
  • How P3O governance services align with the wider organization
  • The role of information assurance and the role the P3O will typically play in supporting it
  • Typical non-PPM functions which are sometimes undertaken by a P3O and why, and the impact this can have on a P3O
  • The key drivers and other factors which should be considered when sizing a P3O

• Know facts, terms and concepts relating to the processes to implement and re-energize a P3O
  • The key activities in the implementation lifecycle for a permanent P3O and their sequence
  • The four sections of a typical P3O Blueprint

• Understand key concepts relating to implementing and re- energising a P3O
  • The need to use a defined process to implement the P3O, typically based on MSP principles
  • The key activities and outputs of the Identify process
  • The key activities and outputs of the Define process
  • The use and typical content of a P3O
  • Which reports are created at portfolio, programme and project level or by transition management and the typical information flows between the P3O model and senior management and the wider organization
  • The key sources of threats to achieving the Blueprint
  • The key activities and outputs of the Deliver (Deliver Capability/Realize Benefits) and Close processes
  • The implementation lifecycle for a temporary programme or project office:
    • The focused set of stakeholders
    • Organizational context
    • Definition and implementation of a temporary programme or project office

• The implementation lifecycle for a temporary programme or project office:
  • Running a temporary office through to delivery
  • Treatment of internal resources

The implementation lifecycle for a temporary programme or project office:

• Closing down a temporary office
• Recycling

• Know facts, terms and concepts relating to operating a P3O, including the use of tools and techniques
  • The three ways tools may be used

• Understand key concepts relating to operating a P3O, including the use of tools and techniques
• What tools and techniques are, how they can be used and where they can typically be found within an organization
• Typical benefits of using standard tools and techniques
• Typical critical success factors that will ensure the successful implementation of tools and techniques:
  • Typical critical success factors
  • How to achieve critical success factors
  • How organizational maturity impacts on successful implementation
• Common P3O tools and their functions
• Typical objectives, uses and benefits of P3O techniques:
  • Portfolio prioritization and optimization
  • Complexity modelling
• Typical objectives, uses and benefits of P3O techniques:
  • Management Dashboards
  • Knowledge Management
• Typical objectives, uses and benefits of P3O techniques:
  • P3O Information Portal
  • Facilitation – workshop techniques
• Typical objectives, uses and benefits of P3O techniques:
  • Skills development and maintenance
  • Business-process swimlanes
• Typical objectives, uses and benefits of P3O techniques:
  • Capacity planning for resource management
  • Assurance, gated reviews and health checks

• Know facts, terms and concepts relating to the roles in a P3O model
  • The three types of P3O roles and whether a specified P3O role is a management, generic or functional role

• Understand key concepts relating to the roles and responsibilities in a P3O model
  • The skills and competencies needed for P3O staff
  • The purpose, including skills and attributes where stated, of each P3O management role
  • The purpose, including skills and attributes where stated, of each P3O generic role
  • The purpose, including skills and attributes where stated, of each P3O functional role
  • The key responsibilities of each P3O management role
  • The key responsibilities of each P3O generic role

PRINCE2® Foundation
P3O® Foundation
MOP® Foundation
BCS PM Foundation
PRINCE2® Foundation & Practitioner