PRINCE2 2009 refresh spookily familiar to ITIL users

PRINCE2 gets a new version this year. For those who went through ITIL V3 Refresh, it is deja vu all over again.

Listen to the APMG annnouncement regarding the new qualification:

Candidates are advised that there will not be a major difference between the 2005 and 2009 versions of PRINCE2. The APM Group therefore recommends candidates not to delay their training or exams. Furthermore, all candidates who have taken their examination on the earlier edition of the method will find their qualification remains valid until they need to re-register.

PRINCE2 Registered Practitioners need to take the re-registration exam within 5 years of their certification date as shown on their certificate. All certificates are valid for the registration period shown on them and exams do not have to be retaken outside of the normal re-registration cycle.

When the 2009 exams are released the re-registration exams will be based on this version and not previous versions. Candidates will be able to attend either a short course from an Accredited Training Organization (ATO) or simply read the new manual. Both the Foundation and Practitioner Examinations will be based on the new 'Managing Projects' manual and will not include material from the new 'Directing Projects' book. Depending on demand an examination based on the Directing manual will be developed and launched towards the end of 2009.

The 2009 examinations will come into practice once the official manual has been published and they are dependant on this publication. It is expected that both the publication and examinations will be available during Q2 2009.

There will be a cross over period for exams – for a minimum of three months after the launch of 2009 - where exams will be issued on either the 2005 or 2009 version of the manual. After this, exams will be based on 2009 manual only. Dates during which either examination version can be taken will be confirmed when the launch date is finalized, as will the date for the withdrawal of PRINCE2:2005 examinations.

Investment in training on previous PRINCE2 versions will not be lost as it is still a valid and productive methodology for the management of projects. The refresh of the manual updates and improves the method but it is not a major re-write. Users of the 2005 version are under no obligation to update to the 2009 version, though of course may do so if they wish to. If the system is working well for an individual or organization at the moment they are under no pressure to change this.

We heard all that with ITIL V3. It's just a refresh. No major changes. No need to wait for the next version to do the exams (that advice is of course given in the best interests of the candidates). Old qualifications will still be recognised. And they think they will kill off PRINCE2:2005 exams within three months.

The only difference is that the qualifications are promised for the same quarter as the new manual.

[See also the comments below for more information...]