Please note: The PRINCE2 Professional designation has been retired by Axelos at the end of 2017. Click here to go back to our Project Manager Certification page.
This designation is issued by Axelos in the UK. It is the highest level of three in the PRINCE2 system.
- PRINCE2 Foundation
- PRINCE2 Practitioner
- PRINCE2 Professional
Axelos does not publish the number of people that are PRINCE2 certified. We have found sources that mention about 1.5 million exams taken since 1996, but the Practitioner certification lasts for only 5 years so the number of active certifications is probably alot less than that.
Unlike the other project management certifications, there are no letters after your name upon completing PRINCE2 certification, on any of the three levels.
Who is it For?
The PRINCE2 Professional certification is the elite project manager certification under the PRINCE2 system. It is intended for project managers who wish to demonstrate their project management competence. There is no exam to write. Rather it involves an intensive residential assessment in which the candidate is scored while making complex project decisions.
Equivalents
The other equivalent project management certifications are:
- Project Management Professional (PMP), issued by the Project Management Institute (PMI)
- International Project Management Associate, Level B (IMPA-B), issued by the International Project Management Association (IPMA) through member associations in each country. These member associations have quite a bit of freedom, and some countries even change the name of the certification itself. For example, in the UK the official IPMA-B certification is called the Registered Project Professional (RPP) issued by the IPMA member organization in the UK, the Association for Project Management (APM).
Education Requirements
There is no background education requirement such as a secondary or post-secondary degree. There are also no courses to take in advance of the residential assessment.
Experience Requirements
There are no project management experience requirements to register for the PRINCE2 Professional assessment.
Other Requirements
In order to register for the PRINCE2 Professional residential assessment you must have passed the PRINCE2 Practitioner exam within the last 3 years. And because the prerequisite for the PRINCE2 Practitioner exam is the PRINCE2 Foundation exam, you need to have written both.
Since 2014, Axelos has accepted any of the other project management certifications from other organizations in leiu of the PRINCE2 Foundation exam.
- CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management)
- PMP (Project Management Professional)
- IPMA Level A
- IPMA Level B
- IPMA Level C
- IPMA Level D
There are no other requirements. No minimum education level, no courses to take, and no resume to submit. You don’t even need project management experience to register for the residential assessment.
That said however, the residential assessment is not easy and it is not fair to say you do not need project management experience to pass it. You will need to be able to make project decisions and be able to defend them in the face of conflicting priorities. You will be asked to discuss and solve problems with 2-3 other candidates while being recorded. There is an interview at the end. The assessor scores you on a scale of 0 – 3 on 19 criteria:
- Prepare the Project Product Description
- Prepare the outline Business Case
- Design the project management team structure
- Tailor corporate strategies
- Perform product-based planning
- Apply the risk management procedure
- Apply the communication management procedure
- Plan the project
- Refine the Business Case
- Prepare the Benefits Review Plan
- Prepare an End Stage Report
- Capture lessons learned
- Prepare a Work Package
- Apply the issue and change control procedure
- Plan and conduct the Closing a Project process
- Prepare End Project Report (including Lessons Report)
- Interpersonal skills
- Manage team performance
- Manage own performance
To pass, you must receive a score of 1 or more on each criteria and average greater than 1.6 overall.
Official Textbook
Although there is no written exam for the PRINCE2 Professional certification, the official textbook for the PRINCE2 methodology is called Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2, written by Axelos. It is available for £75 from the Axelos website, or from Amazon.
Cost
The cost for the residential assessment varies based on the provider.
Learn More
To learn more, surf the Axelos website and make sure you check out the PRINCE2 Qualifications page.