Project and Programme management

Today’s organisations exist in a climate of constant and increasing change. The many dynamic and contradictory drivers for change include innovations in technology, working practices (including outsourcing and partnerships), mergers, increased demands from regulation and for the public sector, delivery of policy driven by changing political parties and/or ministers. Whatever the organisation, wherever it is located, however it is structured, the rate of change is increasing.

Organisations that have learned to transform themselves through effective leadership and strategic control are more likely to survive and prosper. Programme management is increasingly being recognised as a key tool to enable organisations to manage that transformation. Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) represents proven programme management good practice in successfully delivering transformational change, drawn from the experiences of both public and private sector organisations.

The MSP framework is based on three core concepts:

MSP Principles – derived from lessons learned in programmes that had both positive and negative results. They represent common factors that underpin the likelihood of success of any programme of transformational change.
MSP Governance Themes – an organisation’s approach to programme management needs to be defined, measured and controlled. The Governance Themes allow organisations to put in place the right leadership, delivery team, robust organisation structures, controls and control information (e.g. Blueprint, Business Case, Quality Management Strategy, etc), giving the best chance of delivering the planned outcomes and realising the desired benefits.
MSP Transformational Flow – the flow provides a route through the lifecycle of a programme, from its conception through to its delivering the new capability, outcomes and benefits and finally on to the close of the programme.

Capita Learning & Development’s MSP Advanced Practitioner Re-Registration training course is based on the 2007 edition of the MSP manual: ‘Managing Successful Programmes’.

At a minimum of three, maximum of five years, after initial certification, Registered MSP Advanced Practitioners are required to sit and pass the MSP Advanced Practitioner Re-Registration Examination in order to retain their Registered status. The Advanced Practitioner Re-Registration Examination is a two to four thousand word dissertation, with no time limits and delegates able to use whatever reference material they wish. The dissertation should, if possible, cover work of which the candidate has direct experience from working in a programme environment within the last five years. The candidate does not need to have been the programme manager in order to write about the programme with which they were involved. If a candidate has not worked with a programme within the last five years then they may write about the MSPCare scenario programme (written for the Advanced Practitioner examination) as if it were one with which they had been closely involved.

The pass mark is fifty percent (38/75 marks). Failure to pass the Advanced Practitioner Re-Registration examination after five years as a Registered Advanced Practitioner will result in withdrawal of Registered MSP Advanced Practitioner status.