PRINCE2 vs PMI

PRINCE2 vs PMI are two of the most popular standards in project management circles. Even with moving industrial trends, Agile has proved itself time and again to be a set of valuable and easily implementable practices that have changed how the organizations work. So people have often sought after popular Agile certifications to join the trend crowd. 

However, with the availability of many Agile certifications to choose from, it can oftentimes become confusing for aspirants. This article will give you a comprehensive idea about the certifications under Agile: PRINCE2 and PMI.

PRINCE2 stands for “Projects IN Controlled Environments” while PMI is the abbreviation of “Project Management Institute” which publishes the “Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)”. Therefore, it is sensible to compare PRINCE2 and PMBOK published by the PMI.

But what exactly are PRINCE2 and PMI? Read ahead to know all the details.

The Project Management Body of Knowledge, abbreviated as PMBOK, is a collection of processes and knowledge areas which are widely accepted and followed by professionals in the field of project management as best practice. 

It is internationally recognised and provides an outline of the basics of project management. It can be used in any field of management, whether it be manufacturing, engineering, software, or even construction.

In short, the PMBOK is a guide consisting of commonly accepted standards of Project Management.

Certification Exam

• 120 questions 
• Multiple choice type
• 3 hours
• Closed book type exam

Prerequisites

• Secondary degree 
• 21 contact hours of training in agile practices 
• 12 months of general project management experience within 5 years.  
• 8 months of agile project management experience within the last 3 years.

What is PRINCE2?

PRINCE2 is a set of successive processes and techniques focusing on scalable, flexible, easily customizable, principle-driven, agile framework to make an organization’s projects work.

PRINCE2 agile is presented as a set of best practices, behaviours, concepts, frameworks, and techniques which speed up the velocity of an existing framework.

PRINCE2 is based on a set of processes, principles, and themes. Let’s look at these principles, processes, and themes.

Principles

• Continuous business justification
• Acquire knowledge from experience
• Continuous improvement
• Clear roles & responsibilities
• Management in stages
• Manage & deliver within tolerances
• Product quality-centric approach
• Adapt according to the project

Processes

Starting, directing, controlling and closing a Project as well as management of stage boundaries and product delivery.

• Starting: Learning whether the project is worth working on and is viable for the organization to carry on.
• Directing: Taking decisions, allocating resources and estimating budget.
• Preparing for review by the management.
• Initiating: Setting up a controlled environment and proper plan for the project.
• Controlling: Management of work and risks.
• Creating, delivering and accepting the final product.
• Closing: Finally delivering the product as well as evaluation of the project.

Themes

Certification Exam

• 50 Questions
• Multiple choice type questions
• 1 hour
• Closed book type exam
• Passing marks: 55%

Prerequisites

• No such prerequisites or prior project management experience

What you learn

• Scrum, Kanban, Lean approaches
• Integration of highly efficient practices into pre-existing IT and non-IT projects
• Integration of PRINCE2 alongside other practices of Agile

Conclusion

Every Agile methodology has some merits and demerits of its own which provide various benefits to organizations depending on their organizational needs. However, each organization deploys best practices and project management methodologies suitable to their needs and business goals. So it is beneficial for individuals aspiring for a career in project management methodologies to make informed decisions as that may shape up their career ahead in the future.