PRINCE2 Agile Foundation: blending agile approaches with greater governance

In more recent years, many organizations have started using agile ways of working to respond rapidly to these challenges and constant demands. PRINCE2 Agile^® offers you the best of both worlds: effective project governance tailored to suit the agile context.

Previously, if you wanted to certify as a PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner, you had to pass the PRINCE2 Foundation exam first.

Now, with the launch of the PRINCE2 Agile Foundation exam, you can attend a one-week integrated course which allows you to achieve PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner. This is great news because you have two choices:

1. You can attend an integrated course offering PRINCE2 Agile Foundation and Practitioner as part of the same event.
   OR
2. You can sit the PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner certification, with the PRINCE2 Foundation as a pre-requisite.

The PRINCE2 Agile Foundation and Practitioner certifications are aimed at:

• Anyone who is already using PRINCE2 and wants to adopt agile ways of working (route 2 above would be the best if you are already PRINCE2 Foundation certified).
• Anyone who is using agile and wants to apply more governance and control, enabling a broader application of their agile ways of working (route 1 above would probably be more suitable).

So what does the PRINCE2 Agile Foundation qualification cover?

It will give you a high-level understanding of the following PRINCE2 elements:

• PRINCE2 principles
• PRINCE2 themes
• PRINCE2 processes
• PRINCE2 management products
• PRINCE2 roles and responsibilities

However, the majority of the Foundation syllabus is focused on how you can integrate the agile ways of working with PRINCE2. So you will have the benefit of gaining a basic understanding of PRINCE2 but with the emphasis more on how you should apply it in an agile context. This will include how to apply or tailor the PRINCE2 elements when working with agile delivery teams.

In particular, you will understand the agile behaviours of self-organization, collaboration, transparency, rich communication and exploration. Another key part of the PRINCE2 Agile Foundation syllabus is to gain an understanding of Scrum and key terminology that would be used by Scrum development teams.

Why PRINCE2 Agile?

PRINCE2 Agile can be integrated with many different agile frameworks, such as Scrum, Kanban, AgilePM and Lean Start-up. So, if you are using an agile framework currently, there’s no need to change frameworks. What you are doing is enabling your current agile way of working to be used in a wider project context.

How do you keep your PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner certificate current?

PRINCE2 Agile Foundation certificates are valid for life. One of the recent changes AXELOS has made to the PRINCE2 Agile certificate scheme is to bring the PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner certificate validity in line with PRINCE2 2017. PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner certificates are now valid for three years and there are two ways in which candidates can remain current.

• re-sit the full PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner exam;
• or subscribe to online content subscription, My PRINCE2. Candidates must log 60 CPD points in the prescribed categories across the three-year period to earn a PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner digital badge linked to their certification.

STOP PRESS: for all people newly-certified in PRINCE2 Agile Practitioner, AXELOS is including a one-year subscription to My PRINCE2 , our new online subscription service where practitioners can access the latest templates, toolkits and thought leadership to keep your best practice skills up-to-date.