Podcast
Business Exam Prep
Hosted by Ran Chen, EA, CFP® · EN
Business Exam Prep is a free, daily podcast by OpenExamPrep covering the most in-demand business and management certification exams — including PMP, CAPM, Six Sigma, FPC (Payroll), CMP, and more. Each 5-minute episode breaks down one exam topic with concrete examples, common exam traps, and memory tricks to help you pass on your first attempt. No fluff, no filler — just the concepts you need to know, explained the way the exam tests them. This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation for everyone. For free practice questions, AI-powered explanations, flashcards, and full study guides, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ Subscribe and listen daily — your certification is closer than you think.
31episodes
Episodes
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PRINCE2 Exam Prep 40, Process — Initiating a Project (IP)
2d ago00:02:58Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The primary purpose of the Initiating a Project (IP) process is to create the detailed foundation, the Project Initiation Documentation (PID), before committing to major project resources. - IP refines the outline business case from the pre-project stage into a detailed business case, justifying the project's continuation. - A core activity is creating the four key management approaches: Risk, Quality, Change Control, and Communication. - The PID is the key output of this process, which is baselined and requires Project Board approval before the first delivery stage can begin. - A common exam trap is confusing the detailed planning in IP with the high-level viability check in the Starting Up a Project (SU) process. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →PRINCE2 Exam Prep 39, Process — Directing a Project (DP)
3d ago00:03:05Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - That the Directing a Project (DP) process is exclusively for the Project Board and runs for the entire project lifecycle. - How the principle of 'Management by Exception' allows the board to govern without micromanaging. - The five key activities of the DP process: authorizing initiation, the project, stages or exception plans, giving ad-hoc direction, and authorizing closure. - How to avoid the common exam trap of confusing the board's 'directing' activities (DP) with the Project Manager's 'controlling' activities (CS). - A simple mnemonic to remember the five activities: "Go, Go, Go, Help, Stop." For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →PRINCE2 Exam Prep 38, Process — Starting Up a Project (SU)
4d ago00:03:45Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The purpose of the Starting Up a Project (SU) process is to verify project viability before any detailed planning begins. - The key trigger for the SU process is the Project Mandate, and its main output is the Project Brief. - Core activities include appointing the Executive and PM, capturing lessons, designing the team, and preparing an OUTLINE Business Case. - A common exam trap is confusing the pre-project SU process with the more detailed Initiating a Project (IP) process. - The SU process produces an outline Business Case and an Initiation Stage Plan, not the full Business Case or the complete Project Initiation Documentation (PID). For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →PRINCE2 Exam Prep 37, Exception Reports and Exception Management
5d ago00:02:58Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - An Exception Report is triggered by a forecast that tolerances will be breached, not after the breach has already happened. - The Project Manager's primary role is to produce the Exception Report, detailing the cause, impact, options, and a clear recommendation. - Once an exception is reported, the Project Manager's authority to act stops, and the Project Board takes over decision-making. - The Project Board's options include approving a change, requesting an Exception Plan, or prematurely closing the project. - An approved Exception Plan replaces the current Stage Plan for the remainder of that stage, not the entire Project Plan. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →PRINCE2 Exam Prep 36, Progress Reports — Highlight, Checkpoint, End Stage
6d ago00:03:05Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The distinct audiences and purposes of Checkpoint, Highlight, and End Stage reports in PRINCE2. - That Checkpoint Reports flow from Team Managers to the Project Manager, detailing Work Package progress. - That Highlight Reports are regular, time-driven summaries from the Project Manager to the Project Board, used when the stage is within tolerance. - That the End Stage Report is a retrospective review of a completed stage, used by the Project Board to authorize the next stage. - How the Communication Management Approach document defines the timing and format for all project reports. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →PRINCE2 Exam Prep 35, Progress Practice — Tolerances by Aspect
1w ago00:03:36Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - That PRINCE2 tolerances apply to six specific aspects: Cost, Time, Quality, Scope, Benefits, and Risk. - The hierarchy of tolerance setting, from Corporate to the Project Board, the Project Board to the Project Manager, and the Project Manager to the Team Manager. - The critical concept that an exception is triggered by a *forecasted* breach of tolerance, not an actual one, which is central to the 'Manage by Exception' principle. - How to spot common exam traps, such as overlooking non-financial tolerances like scope and quality or confusing stage-level and project-level authority. - The mnemonic "Can The Queen See Big Rabbits?" to quickly recall the six tolerance aspects during your exam. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →PRINCE2 Exam Prep 34, Configuration Management Essentials
1w ago00:03:04Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The five core activities of PRINCE2 configuration management are Planning, Identification, Control, Status Accounting, and Verification/Audit. - The Configuration Management Strategy is the key document created during initiation that defines how all project products will be tracked and controlled. - A 'baseline' is a formally approved version of a product; any changes to it must go through a formal change control procedure to prevent scope creep. - Each product is tracked using a Configuration Item Record, which details its unique identifier, version, status, owner, and relationships to other items. - Verification and audit are crucial for ensuring the configuration records accurately reflect the actual state of the products, which is distinct from quality control. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →PRINCE2 Exam Prep 33, Change Control Procedure and Issue Register
1w ago00:03:01Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The five steps of the PRINCE2 change control procedure: Capture, Examine, Propose, Decide, and Implement. - How the Issue Register is used to formally log and track requests for change, off-specifications, and other project issues. - The distinct roles and decision-making power of the Project Manager, Change Authority, and Project Board based on project tolerances. - Why a separate change budget is essential for funding approved changes and how it differs from cost tolerance. - The critical link between implementing a change and updating the corresponding Configuration Item Records. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →PRINCE2 Exam Prep 32, Issues Practice — Issue Types and Recording
1w ago00:03:23Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The three official PRINCE2 issue types: Request for Change, Off-Specification, and Problem/Concern. - The critical difference between recording informal issues in the Daily Log versus formal issues in the Issue Register. - The purpose of an Issue Report as the formal document for analyzing and presenting an issue for decision. - The four possible decisions that can be made on an issue: approve, reject, defer, or request more information. - A common exam trap of confusing the Daily Log with the Issue Register and when to use each. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Transcribe →PRINCE2 Exam Prep 31, Risk Responses — Avoid, Reduce, Transfer, Accept, Share
2w ago00:03:22Tap to summarizeThis podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The six appropriate PRINCE2 risk responses for threats: Avoid, Reduce, Fallback, Transfer, Accept, and Share. - The four appropriate PRINCE2 risk responses for opportunities: Exploit, Enhance, Share, and Reject. - How to select a risk response that is proportionate to the severity of the risk, a key exam concept. - The critical difference between the Risk Owner (accountable) and the Risk Actionee (responsible for execution). - A mnemonic to help you remember the six threat responses for your exam: AS RAFT (Avoid, Share, Reduce, Accept, Fallback, Transfer). For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
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