PRINCE2 Certification
The official PRINCE2 accreditation & certification body is the APM Group.
They inform about the certification quite well on their website.
From my experience as a PRINCE2 Approved Trainer I can say the Foundation exam is not difficult if you meet all four criteria below:
- You attend an accredited certification course - i.e. run by a PRINCE2 Approved Trainer working for an Accredited Training Organisation (or its affiliate) using accredited training materials
- You do both your pre-course preparation and homework during the course as instructed by your trainer
- You have a sound command of the language you sit the exam in
- You come to the exam self-confident and follow the test-taking strategy you learned during the course.
Should you not meet one of the above criteria the risk of failing the exam is higher, but you still have a fair chance of passing. In case you do not meet more than one of these criteria: Well, all I can say is good luck - you'll need it very much :)!
The Practitioner exam is tougher than Foundation. Of course this is on purpose, otherwise it would not make sense to have two exams, right? :). And has been made harder in July 2009 as APM Group felt the pass rates were too high - at least that's what I heard. And I agree with them. Actually, what certificate would you value more as an employer or customer: One where just say 2/3 of the candidates pass the exam, or one where over 90% pass it?
Especially since the "hardening" of the Practitioner exam I would almost say you need project management experience to pass it. Ok, it is not mandatory, and you do not have to be a project management professional to pass the exam. But if you have never worked in a project environment before and still want to take the Practitioner exam, it gets tough.
Although I personally still find it easier than the PMI PMP exam. The reason is the PRINCE2 Practitioner focusses on the application of the stuff described in the PRINCE2 manual, whereas the PMI PMP exam expects you to know and be able to use all sorts of project management tools & techniques (including quite a few you'll never use in real life :)), which are just briefly outlined in the PMBOK Guide. Or, in popular terms, the PRINCE2 Practitioner tests how you can cook, whereas the PMP tests how well you can use all the equipment you can find in a big five star restaurant kitchen.
Clearly, on one hand for most people it is sufficient to be able to cook well, and on the other hand there will always be demand for five star chief cooks as well. So both the PRINCE2 Practitioner and the PMI PMP credentials have their well deserved place in the world :)