SPM PQS 5227 study plan

Map each of the ten exam domains to the specific PQS/SPM competency statements you can name without notes, and flag the two you cannot describe at all

Write a one-page summary of how project, programme and portfolio contexts differ in governance authority, reporting line and benefit horizon

Explain in writing how a business case, project mandate and benefits register connect, using one worked example

Draft a change control procedure with roles, thresholds, escalation route and audit trail, then test it against three hypothetical change requests

Define assurance in your own words and distinguish first-, second- and third-line assurance with one example each

Build a 40-activity schedule in a spreadsheet or tool, assign dependencies, and calculate the critical path by hand to verify the tool output

Apply critical chain and resource levelling to the same schedule and record the effect on float and finish date

Produce a bottom-up cost estimate for a 6-month project using three estimating techniques and reconcile the differences

Construct a cost baseline with contingency and management reserve, then calculate cost and schedule variance and the cost performance index from given earned value figures

Forecast estimate at completion using both the CPI-based and the remaining-work methods

Run a structured risk identification session on a case project and log at least 20 risks and 5 opportunities in a register

Score each entry qualitatively on probability and impact and rank them, then justify the top five in writing

Perform quantitative analysis on the top five using expected monetary value and a simple decision tree

Assign a specific response strategy to every high-ranked risk and opportunity, naming the owner and trigger

Design a risk review cadence and define the escalation criteria that would trigger it early

Produce a stakeholder analysis grid mapping influence against interest and derive a tailored engagement approach for each quadrant

Write a communications plan specifying audience, message, channel, frequency and owner for at least eight stakeholder groups

Convert a vague statement of need into a prioritised requirements set using MoSCoW, with acceptance criteria for each must-have

Trace three requirements from origin through design to test, and identify one gap in the chain

Draft a scope statement with explicit inclusions, exclusions and assumptions, then write the change request that would follow from adding one excluded item

Write a benefits realisation plan linking each benefit to an owner, metric, baseline and measurement date

Distinguish output, outcome and benefit for a case project and correct three wrongly stated benefits

Design a quality plan with acceptance criteria, review gates and a cost-of-quality breakdown

Compare fixed-price, target-cost and time-and-materials contracts on risk allocation and select one for a given scenario with justification

Draft the evaluation criteria and weighting for a tender, including how you would handle a conflict of interest in the panel

Work through five ethical dilemmas covering gifts, supplier pressure, optimistic reporting and confidentiality, and record the decision and rationale for each

State the professional conduct obligations around accuracy of reporting, conflicts of interest and use of confidential information

Apply a stage-gate governance model to a case project and define the decision rights at each gate

Write an assurance plan naming the reviews, their independence level and the evidence each will examine

Reconcile a governance failure case against your own change control procedure and list the controls that would have prevented it

Answer 120 mixed practice questions under timed conditions and log the domain of every wrong answer

Re-study only the three domains with the lowest accuracy and rewrite your notes for each into a one-page summary

Rehearse the calculations you got wrong: critical path, earned value, EMV and estimate at completion

Explain each of your weakest ten concepts aloud in under two minutes without notes

Sit a second full timed mock and compare domain accuracy against the week 7 baseline

Close every remaining error-log item by writing the correct reasoning in one sentence each

Re-derive the earned value and critical path formulas from first principles without reference

Review the change control, risk and assurance artefacts you built and confirm each is internally consistent

Plan exam-day logistics: timing per question, calculation scratchpad approach and a strategy for flagged items