Overview
APM Project Fundamentals Qualification (PFQ) eLearning provides a structured introduction to project management for learners who want to understand key concepts, terminology, principles, and practices. The course is aligned to the APM Body of Knowledge 7th edition and supports preparation for the APM Project Fundamentals Qualification exam.
This self-paced eLearning course gives learners 12 months of access to digital content, allowing them to track progress and manage their learning around work commitments. The course includes videos, written content, quizzes, and sample exam questions designed around the PFQ syllabus.
As the first step in the APM certification pathway, PFQ helps learners build a broad understanding of project management and develop the knowledge needed to make a positive contribution to project work.
Prerequisites
There are no specific experience or qualification requirements for this course.
This course is suitable for learners who:
- Work in, or plan to work in, a project environment
- Want to progress their career and improve employability
- Want to understand project management as a profession
- Need an overview of project management rather than training in a specific methodology
Target audience
This course is designed for learners who want to gain a clear foundation in project management.
It is suitable for:
- Professionals who want to understand project management terminology, principles, and processes
- People who are not directly involved in project management but need to work with project teams or understand project delivery
- Project team members who want to make a stronger contribution to project work
- Aspiring project managers preparing for a career in the project profession
- Project managers who want a foundation before progressing to more advanced certification, such as the APM Project Management Qualification
Objectives
By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
- Understand project management and the project operating environment
- Describe different project life cycles, including linear, iterative, and hybrid approaches
- Explain key roles and responsibilities within projects
- Understand the purpose of project management planning
- Describe project scope management and its role in successful delivery
- Understand resource scheduling and optimisation in a project context
- Explain project risk and issue management
- Understand the role of quality in project delivery
- Describe communication in the context of project work
- Understand leadership and teamwork within a project environment
Outline
- Project management terminology and core concepts
- The role of projects in delivering change
- Project management as a professional discipline
- How projects differ from routine operational work
- How project management contributes to organisational objectives
- The differences between projects, programmes, and portfolios
- How projects contribute to wider strategic outcomes
- The relationship between project activity and organisational priorities
- How governance supports decision-making across project environments
- Linear life cycles
- Iterative life cycles
- Hybrid life cycles
- The purpose of project reviews
- How life cycle selection affects project planning, delivery, and control
- Implementing strategy through projects
- The purpose and content of a business case
- Defining project success
- Understanding benefits and how they are realised
- How projects contribute to organisational outcomes
- Identifying and understanding stakeholders
- Stakeholder engagement principles
- Communication planning and delivery
- The importance of clear information flow
- Communication in project teams and wider project environments
- Scope management and the importance of clear boundaries
- Procurement in a project context
- Estimating work, cost, and time
- Scheduling project activities
- Creating and using the project management plan
- Establishing the deployment baseline
- Resource planning and scheduling
- Resource optimisation techniques
- Balancing project demands with available capacity
- How resource decisions affect time, cost, and quality
- Monitoring resource use during delivery
- Risk management principles
- Identifying and assessing project risks
- Issue management in the context of project delivery
- Change control processes
- Configuration management
- How effective control supports project stability and informed decision-making
- Progress monitoring
- Project reporting
- Quality management principles
- Quality planning and control
- Using project information to support decisions
- Maintaining visibility of performance throughout the project life cycle
- Project team roles and responsibilities
- Leadership in a project environment
- Team development
- Collaboration and teamwork
- Supporting effective performance across project teams
- Reviewing the 10 PFQ learning outcomes
- Understanding the 59 assessment criteria in the PFQ syllabus
- Practising multiple-choice questions
- Identifying areas for further revision
- Preparing to book the optional exam after completing the digital learning
Exams and assessments
- 1 hour
- 60 multiple-choice questions
- 60 marks available, with each question worth 1 mark
- Closed book, with no study materials permitted
- Delivered in English
- Available online in a classroom setting with QA, or at home using a remote live invigilator
- Passed by achieving 36 marks out of 60, equal to 60%
Hands-on learning
- 12 months of access to digital learning content
- Approximately 10.25 hours of online content
- Self-paced study that can be completed around work commitments
- Digital progress tracking to support independent learning
- Quizzes and sample exam questions aligned to the PFQ syllabus
- Coverage aligned to the APM Body of Knowledge 7th edition
- A clear pathway towards further project management certification
Frequently asked questions
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Find more answers to frequently asked questions in our FAQs: Bookings & Cancellations page.
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When will I receive my certificate?
Certificates of Achievement are issued at the end the course, either as a hard copy or via email. Read more here.