APM PQ Assessment Centre A Bluffer’s Guide Nick Rickard V1.0.

APM PQ Assessment Centre

A Bluffer’s Guide

Nick RickardV1.0

Topics

• Introduction

• Assessment Centre structure

• Preparation

• Assessment Criteria

• Feedback

• Summary

Introduction - Facts

• You will be there because you will be seen to be ready– Your CV assessment rates your performance to date

as worth of PM Licence Level 2 (ie APM PQ)

• Stress goes when you are prepared• Preparation is quality not quantity• You need to give a compelling performance

– Need to have good evidence across the assessment criteria and demonstrate the behaviours of an APM Practitioner

Introduction - Disclaimer

• The knowledge refresher against the assessment criteria and suggestions listed here got me through… this time– The scenario changes from centre to centre– It is a subjective assessment and not

consistent (despite APM claims)

Topics

• Introduction


• Preparation


• Feedback

• Summary

Structure - Application

• Completion of APMP (APM Professional) training and exam (PM Level 1)

• Complete DE&S (Provek) CV through the PTG team

• Results will indication whether performing at PM Licence Level 2 (APM PQ) standard and therefore ready to apply

• Apply through DE&S PTG team

Structure - Centre

• Assessment Centre considered the best method for selection

• APMP Exam tests knowledge

• APM PQ tests ability to apply the knowledge– This is essential, do not just quote theory

Structure - Centre

• 3 days (not all full)– Total of 2 days assessment– Written, group and role play exercises– (Comparable to B2 Assessment Centre)

• Assessment based on performance over 3 days against 30 assessment criteria

• Passmark 85/120

Structure - Criteria

• 30 Assessment Criteria– 7 key ('bold') criteria which must score at least

a 2 (next slide)

• 21 criteria based on work produced– Eg 'identify project issues', ' apply a risk

management process...'

• 9 criteria on approach to work– Eg 'Communicate succinctly...', 'lead and

influence a small team'– Criteria 16-18, 25-30

Structure - Scoring System

• 4 – Extensive evidence provided

• 3 – Good evidence provided– Average required for pass

• 2 – Partial evidence provided– Minimum for 'bold' criteria

• 1 – Little or No evidence provided

Structure - Scenario

• PM role– The exercises are based on a scenario– Small / medium sized organisation looking to

expand / diversify therefore new project– You will mostly be in role as the Project

Manager• ie write “I will do...”

– Scenario develops through centre and through assessment criteria

• ie business case first, project eval last

Topics

• Introduction


• Preparation


• Feedback

• Summary

Preparation - Criteria

• Get to know the assessment criteria, ways to demonstrate, and evidence required

• Revise APMP learning– Terminology: risk, issue, dependency– Processes: risk, quality, config control– Commercial company: profit-driven

Preparation - Examples

• Produce own stock answers– ie generic risks that apply to most projects– Application of processes

• Past papers– DE&S PTG Project Scenario

• Exercises (question not scenario) are very close to those at the centre

Preparation - Presentation

• Centre includes a 5-10 min presentation– Suggested topic is career to date / recent

career and learning points– Relate to project management and APM PQ

criteria– Review (Provek) project based CV

Preparation - Courses

• No specific courses– Revision of any weak APMP topics

Preparation - Tactics

• Realism– The centre is a staged scenario– Accept ‘unrealistic’ scenarios– Get on with it, play the game

• Concentrate on assessment criteria– Process is more important than the 'right'

answer– Time management, all deliverables

Preparation - Suggested Answer Format

• Bullet points, not verbose text

• Sub headings to make easy to read– And help author to plan


• Can only get marked on clear evidence of application of knowledge– Explain everything - “relevant stakeholders”– Apply the theory to the scenario and give

specific risks/actions/issues– Go further – “teambuilding”, what is it,

• Spell out processes– don’t take steps for granted


• Will be told which assessment criteria are being covered for each exercise– So cover them explicitly

Preparation – Group Work

• Accept the false scenario and work for common benefit

• Be prepared to concede in the interest of moving the group forward

• Allow opportunity for all to lead, contribute, scribe, etc– More on this under relevant Assessment

Criteria– Group membership changes for each exercise

Preparation - Role Play

• Use preparation time fully, plan for the interruption in another exercise

• Take control – time and situation• Role(s) are played by assessors, they are not

actors but try to take it seriously• Don't rise to provocation• Try to turn tables, what would that person

suggest• You can only be assessed while you're talking

so don't let them gush their life story

Topics

• Introduction


• Preparation


• Feedback

• Summary

Assessment CriteriaSession 1 Written - 2h15 - Business Case

30min to read, break, 1h30 written response

Business Case (headings will be given in exercise)

background

reasons for undertaking (business goals and objectives)

define scope

options evaluation (inc do nothing)

benefits

benefits realisation, success criteria

cost and timescale, key milestones

Investment appraisal – DCF, NPV, IRR, payback period, RoI

allows financial viability to be compared with other projects

confirms why the investment is worth it

assumptions, constraints, dependencies

risks and issues

approvals

Assessment Criteria1. Determine stakeholders and their influence and interests

Identify stakeholders and include external stakeholders not included in the Case Study

Look for additional analysis outside Business Case – base on external

Stakeholder management – Power(Influence) v Interest(Support)

Stakeholder Power Interest Agenda Actions

Power V Interest

High Low Low High

Assessment Criteria2. Design the optimal project organisation

Project Sponsor (responsible for benefits)

Project Board / Steering Group (chair: sponsor, user, supplier, assurance)

Project Manager (responsible for delivery of P(Q),C,T)

Project Team, functional lead and project support, Finance and Commercial, workstream leads

User (requirements and acceptance), stakeholder, assurance (independent)

programme office, project support office, quality manager, resource manager, admin

3. Analyse and understand Project Success Criteria and Business Benefits

Project Success Criteria – satisfaction of user needs P(Q),C,T

Business Benefits – organisational reasons for doing the project

But make SMART – Key Performance Indicators

V-curve: User Reqs Verification Acceptance into Service

Detail Reqt Validation System Acceptance

System Design

Name Role/Title Responsibilities

Assessment Criteria4. Analyse and understand project constraints and dependences

Constraint - process that must adhere to – legal, OJEC

Dependences – something that must be done or supplied by a third party

5. Identify project risks and assumptions

Cause, uncertainty, effect

There is a risk that X may occur because of Y resulting in Z

There is an opportunity that X may be realised because of Y resulting in Z

Ensure you do RISKS and OPPORTUNITIES

Assumptions – aspects to be treated as facts for delivery of project

Do not mix up risks and issues

risk – could happen – probability x impact

issue – when a risk occurs

combinations of risks (small risks summing to give large risk)

risk – treat, terminate, transfer, tolerate, fallback

assumptions, contingency (fallback) plan enacted if a risk occurs

Assessment Criteria6. Identify project issues

Certainty – Will impact and cannot be resolved by PM

Also capture action required by Project Sponsor

Do not mix up risks and issues

risk – could happen – probability v impact

issue – when a risk occurs

7. Demonstrate an understanding of project context and the overall business case

State the objective of the project clearly

Do Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA)

Think payback

Make recommendation

project context – internal (policies, structure, manpower) and external (customers, legislation, demand)

PESTLE - Political, Economic, Social, Technical, Legal, Environmental

Option Costs Revenue Payback/Impact Do nothing Stop Project Case Study One more

Assessment CriteriaSession 2 Group - 3h00 - Project Management Plan

30min to read, break, 2h30 written response

Project Management Plan

project overview

execution strategy

scope of work, WBS, PBS

schedule

milestones

organisation and RAM

roles and responsibilities

monitoring and control methods

risk management plan and register

budget

change management

quality

communications

procurement plan

H&S

information management

spend time analysing the schedule and information given, don't dive into producing the PMP – is there adequate cost / resource planning?

why: change to be deliveredwhat: objectives, scope, acceptance criteriahow: strategy for managing and monitoringhow much: budgetwho: roles and responsibilitieswhen: timescales, milestoneswhere: location (costs)

Assessment Criteria8. Define the scope of the project

Draw PBS and break down to WBS

Define in scope and out of scope

Consider requirements not directly in the Business Case

Analyse the data given – do not accept at face value

9. Demonstrate a comprehensive application of project management planning

Produce/Analyse OBS

Produce/Analyse schedule

Produce/analyse RAM/RACI

Look for adequate planning in terms of cost and resources

List all other plans that should be included in a PMP

Look for things not in the Business Case

Assessment Criteria9. Demonstrate a comprehensive application of project management planning (cont)

Product Breakdown Structure (PBS) – project deliverables

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) – understand time, cost, duration, effort and risks

Organisation Breakdown Structure (OBS)

RACI – Responsible, Accountable, Consult (Communicate), Inform

Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) – cross relates WBS to OBS (using RACI)

scheduling determines project duration, id all tasks, scheduling logic, sequencing, refine

resource scheduling – not 100% efficient, changeover time if working on multiple projects, reiterate

optimism, underestimate task duration and/or cost

Assessment Criteria10. Apply a risk management process competently to the project

risk management process – initiate, identify, assess, plan response, implement response

risk management plan

methodology

roles and responsibilities

budget for risk

timing, when do assessment

analysis, scoring

risk thresholds, escalation routes

reporting format and timing

tracking and review

Risk/ Opportunity

Prob Impact Mitigate Fallback Trigger point for implementing

Owner

Assessment Criteria10. Apply a risk management process competently to the project (cont)

combinations of risks (small risks summing to give large risk)

risk – treat, terminate, transfer, tolerate, fallback

assumptions, contingency (fallback) plan enacted if a risk occurs

Look for risks not in the business case

Do not get confused with issues

11. Apply a quality management process competently to the project

Quality

assurance: validates, provides confidence

control: inspection and testing

planning: management system

continuous improvement: LfE, feedback

Assessment Criteria11. Apply a quality management process competently to the project (cont)

Quality Plan

customer requirements

organisation, roles and responsibilities

quality systems

quality standards

deliverables – acceptance criteria

QA and QC processes and procedures

change and configuration management

Confirm Assurance Manager responsible for Quality

State QA policy – refer to ISO 9001 and or Company’s QA Policy

Develop Acceptance criteria from Project Success Factors / KPIs

Define QC checks throughout the process leading to overall acceptance – quality assurance

Quality review by Project Manager around testing events – pass, provisional with minor defects and forward action plan

Failed: Project stops until problem rectified

Include User

LFE – cause and effect

Think Product quality and Process quality

Assessment CriteriaSession 2 Written - 1h20 - Selection Criteria for an ITT

read quickly and written response

12. Demonstrate an ability to incorporate best value approaches

Describe best value = appropriate quality output/resource input

i.e. appropriate quality return to satisfy need for lowest reasonable output (cost)

then weight matrix scoring regime but explain rationale

not just technical, also soft issues, eg capability, subcontractors, previous performance

13. Demonstrate an awareness of generic legal and contractual issues

Contractual – IPR, Liquidated damages, payment milestones, change process

Legal – H&S, EU law, Environmental Statute, competition statute

apply to the scenario

Assessment CriteriaSession 3 Group - 2h15 - Preparing/planning for a Negotiation Meeting

1h30min to read and prepare, break, 45min of role plays and evaluation

14. Prepare for a negotiation with a supplier of critical services to the project

Identify negotiating objectives and priorities for ranking them

Identify negotiating factors – where, when

Roles – good cop, bad cop, commercial lead, supported by PM etc

Suggest strategy, must have, can trade, bottom line and role - must / should / could

Consider alternative perspectives – theirs and ours – predict opponent's preferred position

Suggest fallback if no agreement – elevate to sponsor if outside limit, walk away etc

Do not just negotiate on cost, think about trading other factors as well

negotiation – agreement, consensus – prepare, discuss, propose, trade/bargain, agree

Assessment Criteria15. Analyse conflict situations and apply an appropriate style to resolve the issue

Consider core issue – why has this arisen?

Consider different approaches to resolve conflict

Propose approach to resolve that supports plan

Maintain good comms and body language – empathise

Consider alternative strategies if not going to plan

16. Objectively reflect on the performance of self and others

Identify strengths and weaknesses – confused, aggressive etc

Analyse and present evidence to back up findings and recommended improvements

At the end reflect on overall learning points – did we resolve the conflict

Assessment CriteriaSession 4 Group - 2h45 - Manage Change to Case Study

15min to read, break, 2h00 plan and written response, break, 30min questions from assessor

19. Optimise Project Plans to respond to a major change

Propose options for dealing with change

Identify all impacts on Business Case, scope and Project Plan

Consider how change would be implemented.

Analyse options

Recommend an option with justification in the context of project plans

20. Apply effective change control and configuration management

Configuration Control – documentation and change management (baseline, change log)Id Originator Description Options Impact Decision Status On cost,

quality, time to deliverables at baseline issue

decision issued, plans updated to issue 2

Assessment Criteria20. Apply effective change control and configuration management (cont)

Discuss change control process

Relate process to project

Identify configurable items

Use change log

Consider impact of change on configured items

21. Balance conflicting stakeholder expectations

Identify stakeholders affected by change

Discuss the impact on them

Consider options for managing to protect project deliverables

Anticipate their reactions

Assessment CriteriaSession 4 Written - 1h05 - Plan to Monitor and Control the Case Study

Read quickly and written response

22. Demonstrate an ability to monitor project progress and take suitable controlling actions

Describe a range of monitoring and controlling actions

Apply them to the scenario

Approach - Discard full EVM as too expensive and time consuming, delegation of work stream and short interval monitoring and control

Delegation - Develop Work Streams based on previous PBS, WBS and RA/RACI work.

Agree timescales and budgets to deliver with work stream owners ensuring requirements are clearly articulated through KPIs and Success criteria

Monitoring / Reporting:

Hierarchy of monitoring and reporting from WS owner through PM to Board

Parameters to be monitored P through acceptance, C, T, Risks, issues and change requests

highlight report – period covered, work completed, budget update, schedule update, work planned, risk status, (effect of mitigation), issue status (resolution), general observations, escalation conditions, quality

checkpoints – informal meeting / email, as per report

Assessment Criteria22. Demonstrate an ability to monitor project progress and take suitable controlling actions (cont)

For an actual workstream:

Daily engagement – informal briefs from all WS owners – on track or any issues.

Weekly review with all WS owners. Review P(Q),C,T progress against baseline – captured by PSO. Analyse and understand variance. Show graphs to identify principle of variance id. Forecast of achievements for following week.

Fortnighty – as above but formal PSO update to schedule with progress used to generate “traffic light” report to sponsor. All significant variance (trigger at +/- 10% or Critical Path) explained, corrective actions identified and any Issues elevated.

Monthly Meeting with sponsor around traffic light and “by exception”

Control:

understand reason then apply appropriate action – overtime, resource re-allocation, non critical path timescale extensions. Use of management reserve contingency

Look for blip or trend

Issues elevated

communications plan – stakeholders, information required, frequency, method

Assessment CriteriaSession 5 Group - 2h05 - Review and present to Sponsor on whether Project has been a success

10min to read, 1h00 to plan and prepare, break, 45min questions from assessor and evaluation

23. Plan and conduct a suitable post project evaluation review

PPE considers:

KPIs / Success Criteria

Processes

People

LFE – cause and effect

Recommend success or failure

Plus learning points for QMS / continuous improvement

Consider information that needs to be reviewed and criteria

Project success and benefits realisation

Identify pros and cons of deliverables and processes

Decide whether success or failure and support with facts

Consider how stakeholders will be engaged and involved in review process

Consider all information from project

Assessment Criteria23. Plan and conduct a suitable post project evaluation review (cont)

post project evaluation – review benefits (business case), objectives (PMP), quality (quality plan), change (change log), risk (risk management plan) – between project handover and close, understand cause and effect

V-curve: User Reqts Verification Acceptance into Service

Detail Reqt Validation System Acceptance

System Design

24. Objectively identify lessons learned separating causes from effects

Contribute to the review in the spirit of improvement

Identify successes and failures considering Critical Success Factors and downstream benefits

Determine causes and outcomes

Consider how to embed learning in workplace

Assessment CriteriaSession 5 Written - 1h00 - Essay Question

Prep beforehand, read quickly and written response

Question selected from list in APM booklet

Demonstrate experience and capabilities in project management, real examples and application

Weight all parts of question equally

Assessment CriteriaPresentation - 0h30

Prep beforehand, 10-15min presentation, 10min questions from assessor (questions may relate to dips from other exercises to help build evidence)

17. Present information clearly and factually

Structure presentation to make key points in allotted time

Speak clearly and do not read from notes

Use appropriate body language

Illustrate and make learning points

Do not overrun

18. Answer questions relevantly and succinctly

Clarify/demonstrate understanding of question

Answer questions coherently and succinctly

Maintain good working relationship when answering

Pause for thought when necessary

Assessment CriteriaThroughout

25. Communicate succinctly in writing

Answer the question

Avoid unclear notation

Do not bother with intro or summary

Plan

Bullets

Order headings

Make it easy

26. Lead and influence a small team

Active interest

Suggest ways forward

Take turn at flipchart

Intervene to keep team focused

Listen to others and involve them

Be sensitive and use appropriate style and timing when intervening as a leader

Lead or follow as situations dictate

Assessment Criteria27. Work effectively as a team member

Support the team in carrying out the work

Be actively involved throughout

Contribute to a plan to the work and stick to it

Show consideration and build on their input

Remain consistently cordial

28. Communicate verbally in an appropriate way (including listening)

Use appropriate language and tone of voice

Explain others and own position clearly

Maintain body language and eye contact

Ask questions to encourage team to get involved

Do not appear to be stopping appear to be listening

Assessment Criteria29. Obtain information through the use of appropriate questions

Adopt appropriate style for questioning

Maintain good relations

Ask succinctly and coherently

Clarify and check understanding with questions

Be consistent

30. Present compelling recommendations to the project sponsor

Present evidence with logical and convincing arguments

Have enthusiasm and belief

Make appropriate response to questions

Show empathy with sponsor

Eye contact

Topics

• Introduction


• Preparation


• Feedback

• Summary

Feedback

• Post assessment centre report– c2 weeks later, no feedback at the time

• Report– Scores and rationale for each criteria– Use to focus on improvements– Can be subjective– 1-4 is a limited range and assessor can easily

present the evidence to push up or down

Feedback

• If successful submit certificate to PTG– Collect level 2 Licence– Special bonus award

Topics

• Introduction


• Preparation


• Feedback

• Summary

Summary

• Know the assessment criteria– and which are being assessed

• Apply (not quote) the theory– give specific worked examples

• Support the group work

• GOOD LUCK!!!

APM PQ Assessment Centre

A Bluffer’s Guide

Nick Rickard

APM PQ Assessment Centre A Bluffer’s Guide Nick Rickard V1.0.

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Transcript of APM PQ Assessment Centre A Bluffer’s Guide Nick Rickard V1.0.