APM Project Fundamentals Qualification — Information & Free Practice

About APM Project Fundamentals Qualification

APM Project Fundamentals Qualification · GB

Key exam facts

Provider

Association for Project Management (APM) owns and awards the qualification; the online examination uses the Surpass platform.

Format

English online examination with 60 compulsory standalone multiple-choice questions, four options and one correct answer per question; available through accredited providers or remotely with live invigilation.

Exam questions

Total questions: 60; Scored questions: 60.

Time limit

60 minutes standard examination time; individual reasonable adjustments may include extra time and/or rest breaks.

Passing score

60%: 36 correct answers out of 60. No marks are deducted for incorrect answers.

Exam fee

Open online exam only, GBP including VAT: APM members £260.40; non-members £278.40; resit £207.60. Training-provider course prices are separate.

Topics covered

• Understand project management and the operating environment.

  • Define the term ‘project’.
  • State the differences between a project and business as usual.
  • Define the term ‘project management’.
  • State the key purpose of project management.
  • Define the terms ‘programme management’ and ‘portfolio management’ and their relationship with project management.
  • Describe why PESTLE analysis might be used by a project manager.

• Understand project life cycles.

  • State the phases of a typical linear project life cycle.
  • State the phases of a typical iterative project life cycle.
  • Define the term ‘hybrid life cycle’.
  • Define the term ‘extended project life cycle’.

• Understand the roles and responsibilities within projects.

  • Outline project management roles and responsibilities (including the project sponsor, project manager, project governance, project team members, end users, product owner and the project management office).

• Understand project management planning.

  • Define the term ‘deployment baseline’.
  • State how deployment baselines differ between linear and iterative life cycles.
  • Outline the stakeholders of a project management plan.
  • Outline the purpose and typical content of a business case.
  • Explain the role of a project sponsor and project manager in relation to developing a business case.
  • Explain how a stakeholder analysis supports effective stakeholder engagement.
  • Define the term ‘benefits management’.
  • State typical estimating methods (including analytical, analogous, parametric).
  • Outline the purpose of the estimating funnel.
  • Explain why establishing success criteria is important at the start, during, and at the handover of a project.
  • Outline the purpose and benefits of project progress reporting.

• Understand project scope management.

  • Define the term ‘scope management’.
  • Differentiate between scope management within linear projects and scope management within iterative projects.
  • Describe how product breakdown structures (PBS) and work breakdown structures (WBS) are used to illustrate the required scope of work.
  • Outline how a project manager would use cost breakdown structures (CBS), organisational breakdown structures (OBS) and the responsibility assignment matrix (RAM).
  • Define the terms ‘configuration management’ and ‘change control’ in the context of scope management.
  • Explain the relationship between change control and configuration management.
  • Outline the stages in a typical change control process.
  • Outline the activities in a typical configuration management process (including planning, identification, control, status accounting and verification audit).

• Understand resource, scheduling and optimisation in a project.

  • State the purpose of scheduling.
  • State the purpose of critical path analysis.
  • State the purpose of milestones.
  • Define the term ‘time boxing’.
  • Outline options for resource optimisation (including resource levelling and resource smoothing).
  • Define the term ‘procurement strategy’.

• Understand project risk and issue management in the context of a project.

  • Define the term ‘risk’.
  • Explain the purpose of risk management.
  • Outline the stages of a typical risk management process (including identification, analysis, response and closure).
  • Describe the use of risk registers.
  • Define the term ‘issue’.
  • Outline the purpose of ‘issue management’.
  • Differentiate between an issue and a risk.
  • State the stages of an issue resolution process.

• Understand quality in the context of a project.

  • Define the term ‘quality’.
  • Outline the purpose of ‘quality management’.
  • Define the term ‘quality planning’.
  • Define the term ‘quality control’.
  • Outline the purpose of ‘quality assurance’.
  • State the purpose of: decision gates, post project reviews, benefit reviews and project audits.

• Understand communication in the context of a project.

  • Define the term ‘communication’.
  • Outline the advantages of different communication methods (including face to face, physical and virtual).
  • Outline the disadvantages of different communication methods (including face to face, physical and virtual).
  • Outline the contents of a communication plan.
  • Explain the benefits, to a project manager, of a communication plan.

• Understand leadership and teamwork within a project.

  • Define the term ‘leadership’.
  • Explain how a project team leader can influence team performance.
  • Outline the challenges to a project manager when developing and leading a project team.
  • Outline how a project manager can use models to assist team development (including Belbin and Tuckman).

How to prepare

Work through the topics, read the explanation after each answer, and revisit the areas where you miss questions. Use the official outline and reference materials below to guide your study.

These independent practice questions are not actual exam items and do not guarantee a passing result.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources and references

• APM Project Fundamentals Qualification Handbook

  p. 13, section 12(c)

• APM Project Fundamentals Qualification Handbook

  p. 3, section 2

• APM Project Fundamentals Qualification Handbook

  p. 13, section 12(a)

• APM open online examinations

  PFQ, Price (inc. VAT)

• APM open online examinations

  PFQ open online exam, Price (inc. VAT)

Confirm current exam arrangements with the exam provider.