APM Project Fundamentals Qualification (APM PFQ)

The first session will introduce you to the structure and content of the course, the APM PFQ examination style and a case study which will be used for exercises throughout the course.

This session sets the scene for the rest of the course and establishes the definitions of projects, programmes and portfolios.

It looks at project lifecycles including linear, iterative and hybrid lifecycles.

Lastly, it will describe key roles associated with project management including the project manager, the customer, the project sponsor, project governance, the product owner, the project management office, and the project team.

During this session, we will consider the purpose and contents of the project’s business case. The business case describes the justification for undertaking the project and sets out the expected benefits that can be expected after the project is completed.

It will also describe the authorship and ownership of a business case and explain the use of success criteria key performance indicators (KPIs) and benefits.

In this session, the course will introduce the seven scheduling steps and consider the first two steps. These determine the scope of the project by identifying the products we will produce, and the activities and tasks required to produce them.

It will also discuss and describe the main breakdown structures and the fundamental relationships between them.

This session will consider dependencies and networks which will highlight the purpose of networks and explain the different network relationships. You will learn how to produce networks for your projects.

This session will consider four common estimating techniques, which are: Subjective, Analogous, Parametric, and Analytical.

It will then discuss risk and risk management, how to identify and mitigate risks, how describe issues, and the way that risks are managed.

Finally, it will explain the difference between effort and duration.

This session considers the way in which we calculate the critical path and why we need to know what it is.

It will show you how to define the products, establish the activities, draw the network, estimate the duration of each activity, and take account of the risks.

This session will cover adding resources to the schedule and consider the most efficient utilisation of the resources. It will explain how float can be used to determine team size, and describe the factors that should be considered when allocating resources to tasks.

This session will consider the way we monitor and control the project.

Monitoring relates to sending and receiving information; whereas controlling is all about evaluating the information, making decisions, and taking action.

It will: 

• Describe different methods of maintaining control 
• Explain the project control cycle 
• Describe the stakeholder management process 
• Define and describe communication 
• State the purpose of decision gates, post-project reviews, benefits reviews, and project audits  
• Define change control and configuration management  
• Define project reporting and the contents of common reports. 

In the final module, the course will describe why PESTLE analysis might be used by a project manager, define the term ‘procurement strategy’, and describe common types of contract and pricing schemes.

It will look at quality and describe how we ensure it is achieved, define the term ‘deployment baseline’ and how it differs between linear and iterative lifecycles, and finally, define and describe both teamwork and leadership.