MoP® Foundation

The Management of Portfolios (MoP) framework has been developed to meet the needs of organisations required to undertake many major projects and programmes simultaneously whilst maintaining high levels of Business As Usual (BAU) work. The methodology helps Portfolio Managers to define which programmes and projects are the right ones to undertake, which ones are a priority and then gives them the tools to deliver those programmes and projects successfully.

The MoP methodology provides best-practice principles, processes and techniques to help organisations define and deliver successfully programmes and projects and to ensure that the portfolio meets its strategic objectives. The framework can be applied to all organisations irrespective of industry or size.

MoP Foundation Level is an introduction to the MoP framework. Delegates who successfully pass the Foundation exam can progress to studying to become a MoP Practitioner.

Audience: Who is the course for?

• Those involved in a range of formal and informal portfolio management roles encompassing investment decision making, project and programme delivery and benefits realisation
• Those involved in the selection and delivery of business change initiatives
• Members of management boards
• Directors of Change
• Senior Responsible Owners (SROs)
• Portfolio, programme, project, business change and benefits managers
• Business case writers
• Project appraisers

Course duration:

Two days. The exam is taken on the second ay.

Benefits to the individual:

• Recognised qualification
• Ability to work as an informed member of a Portfolio Office or in a range of portfolio management roles

Benefits to the business:

• A better assessment of which projects and programmes are a high priority and will bring about real business benefits results in:
  • Reduced risk of project failure
  • Reduced costs due to terminating or not initiating projects that will bring about sufficient benefits
  • Improved delivery of programmes and projects
  • Better and more efficient allocation of resources
• Projects and programmes become better aligned with the strategic objectives of the organisation

Pre-requisites:

There are no pre-requisites for this course but delegates should be familiar with the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) Best Practice Guidance along with any project and portfolio management methods used by their organisation. There is approximately two hours of homework per night during the course. This is necessary in order to pass the exam.

Course outline:

The objective of this course is to enable delegates to understand:

• The principles, cycles, practices, techniques, roles, responsibilities, documents and organisational context within which portfolio management operates
• The scope and objectives of portfolio management and how it differs from programme and project management
• The benefits from applying portfolio management
• The context within which it operates
• The principles upon which successful portfolio management is based
• The approaches to implementation, the factors to consider in maintaining progress, and how to assess the success of portfolio management
• The purposes of the portfolio management definition and delivery cycles and their component practices, and relevant techniques applicable to each practice
• The purpose and key content of the major portfolio documents
• The scope of key portfolio management roles

Over the two day course, the following topics are covered:

Overview

• Terms and concepts relevant to an overview of portfolio management

Implement, sustain and measure

• Terms and concepts relating to implementing, sustaining and measuring portfolio management
• How to implement, sustain and measure portfolio management

Strategic and organisational context

• Terms and concepts relating to the relationships between portfolio management and other corporate functions and activities with a role in delivering strategic objectives
• The key aspects of the relationships between the portfolio and other corporate functions and activities with a role in delivering strategic objectives

Portfolio management principles

• The principles upon which efficient and effective approaches to portfolio management are built

Portfolio definition cycle

• The terms and concepts relating to the portfolio definition cycle

Portfolio delivery cycle

• The terms and concepts relating to the portfolio delivery cycle

Roles and documentation

• The definitions and concepts relevant to the main portfolio management roles and key documentation

Exam details:

A 40 minute exam takes place on the second day. The exam consists of 50 multiple choice questions and the pass mark is 25/50 or 50%. This is a closed book exam i.e. entrants may not refer to any course materials or their own notes. It is necessary to pass this exam in order to proceed to the MoP Practitioner level.

MoP Foundation - course description

MoP Practitioner - course description

MoP Foundation &Practitioner - course description