MSP® Foundation, 5th Edition

Course summary

The MSP® guidance and certification are designed for professionals who lead, manage or support transformational change. MSP® was created as industry best practice with a principle-based approach to deliver outcomes and benefits in any sector. It focuses on the common challenges involved to ensure project outputs translate into business outcomes and benefits, and deliver increased value to an organisation. The updated MSP® 5th edition adopts an incremental approach to the programme lifecycle that emphasises more flexibility, adaptability, and responsiveness and the enabling of organisational agility.

There are two levels within the course, each examined separately: the Foundation level and the Practitioner level, which you can take sequentially or at separate times.

The purpose of the MSP® Foundation level is to confirm you have sufficient knowledge and understanding of the MSP® guidance to interact effectively with those involved in the management of a programme or act as an informed member of a programme office team, business change team or project delivery team working within an environment supporting MSP®. The Foundation qualification is a pre-requisite for the practitioner certification.

Entry requirements

There are no formal entry requirements for this course. However, you should familiarise yourself with the manual and study for around 10 hours before the first day of training. You will also need to study between training days.

What's included in the course price?

The course price includes:

• all training
• course materials provided via Blackboard
• an online exam
• When you register for your first MSP® course with us, we will also include the official digital manual at no extra cost to you
• MSP® Take² - free exam re-sit in case of an unsuccessful result

No VAT is payable on our short courses.

About MSP®

MSP® is a globally recognised certification for both existing or aspiring programme managers and project managers. Anyone involved in the direction, management, support and delivery of programmes or multiple projects will benefit from the guidance. This course is ideal for any professional looking to learn more about project and programme management, to gain the certifications needed for a career or just to improve on their understanding.

Programme management is the coordinated management of projects and business-as-usual activities to achieve beneficial change. The MSP® 5th edition framework provides a practical, step-by-step approach for designing and running successful programmes. It will improve programme-level decision-making and is relevant to both public and private sector companies of all sizes.

MSP® comprises a set of principles, governance themes and a set of processes for use when managing a business transformation. It provides an integrated framework that guides the work using three lenses:

• Fundamental principles: these are derived from positive and negative lessons learned from programme experiences. They are the common factors that underpin the success of any transformational change.
• Governance themes: these define an organisation's approach to programme management. They allow an organisation to put in place the right leadership, delivery team, organisation structures and controls, giving the best chance for success.
• Processes across a programme lifecycle: this provides a route through the lifecycle of a programme from its conception through to the delivery of the new capability, outcomes and benefits.

Discounts and offers

Group

If you are booking as a group or institution, please contact us before you book as you may be able to benefit from our 15% group or corporate discounts.

Foundation and Practitioner bundle

Book the MSP® - Practitioner course together with the MSP® Foundation course for a 10% discount on the combined price.

Returning short course delegates

We offer a 10% discount to returning short course delegates. If you’re not booking your first short course or professional qualification with us and this discount is not applied to your course at checkout, please contact us.

UoW undergraduate/postgraduate students, alumni and colleagues

We also offer a 20% discount to our undergraduate and postgraduate students, alumni, and colleagues. To receive your discount code, please contact us before booking your course.

Course structure

The course requires a first pass of all the material in the official manual, so it is important that you do some reading before the course starts. We will provide you with pre-course material that explains what reading is expected before beginning the course.

The course consists of a series of classroom (or online) lectures and group exercises. The lectures introduce the method’s terminology, then we will discuss case studies to explain how to use the method in practice. We will provide supplementary learning material via the University’s online learning platform. At the end of each day, we will use multiple choice questions to remind us of the day’s learning and to prepare us for the certificate exam.

The content of the course follows the contents of the method’s manual, which we will send to you before the course start. You will need to read the manual before you attend your first teaching session.

The Foundation Certificate exam has the following format:

• multiple-choice
• 60 minutes duration
• closed-book examination
• 60 questions
• 36 marks required to pass (out of 60 available)  - 60%

The exam is a PeopleCert Online Proctored Exam. You will get an exam voucher from us and you then book your exam with PeopleCert, at a date of your choosing. Your MSP® Foundation exam must be sat within six weeks of the end of your course.

For your online proctored exam, you must ensure your computer and the room you choose to take your exam in meet the minimum requirements. More information can be found on the PeopleCert websiteGo to the PeopleCert website.

The Managing Successful Programmes manual should be used for study and is not permitted to be used in the Foundation exam. The exam is intended to assess whether the candidate can demonstrate sufficient recall and understanding of the MSP programme management framework (as described in the syllabus) to be awarded the MSP Foundation qualification.

Accreditation

This course is professionally accredited by PeopleCert, the Official Accreditor of AXELOS Limited. On completion, you will be ready to undertake the MSP® Practitioner course.

The University of Westminster is an Accredited Training Organization (ATO), approved by PeopleCert.

MSP® is a registered trademark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.
The Swirl logoTM is a trademark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.

Your career

Programme management takes project management to the next level and is often a natural progression for experienced project managers. Whereas projects deliver outputs and discrete parcels of change, programmes focus on the coordination of multiple related projects. They are more strategic, more focused on managing organisational growth and change, and have a defined value proposition.

If you are looking to accelerate your career, possessing the industry-recognised MSP® Foundation certification will demonstrate your proficiency to deliver change successfully and to use the MSP® methodology to meet business objectives. MSP® certification provides you with unique tools and skills that are not usually familiar to project managers, helping you to stand out to prospective employers. Whether you choose to work in the public, third or private sector, at home or abroad, MSP® is applicable across numerous industries and can be tailored to local situations.

On successful completion of the Foundation course, you will be ready to continue learning about MSP® by undertaking the Practitioner course.