You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
PEOPLECERTMSP Foundation (5th edition)
The MSP Foundation (5th edition) certification validates your understanding of the MSP programme management method, covering principles, themes, and processes that help organizations manage programmes effectively. It is designed for project and programme managers, business change managers, and others involved in programme delivery. Earning this credential demonstrates your grasp of benefits realization, governance, and aligning programmes with organizational strategy.
Exam formatMultiple choice
Duration60 minutes
DeliveryPeopleCert
Passing score60%
Free questions403
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What MSP-FOUNDATION-5TH-EDITION proves, and what it asks of you
What this certification covers, who it is written for, and what the exam itself looks like on the day.
3domains
16objectives
88concepts
US $701.00exam fee
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
About this certification
The MSP Foundation (5th edition) certification introduces you to the globally recognized MSP method for programme management. It focuses on the holistic management of programmes, emphasizing benefits realization and alignment with organizational strategy. The certification covers the principles, themes, and processes that underpin effective programme delivery, from identifying and defining a programme through to managing delivery phases, realizing benefits, and closing the programme.
This certification is ideal for professionals involved in programme management, including project managers, programme managers, business change managers, and senior responsible owners. It provides a solid foundation for those looking to advance to the MSP Practitioner level and demonstrates your commitment to best practices in programme management.
Who it’s for
This certification is for professionals involved in programme management, including project managers, senior project managers, programme managers, portfolio managers, business change managers, benefits managers, project delivery team members, senior responsible owners, and business analysts. It is suitable for those who want to understand the MSP method and apply it to manage programmes effectively, ensuring strategic objectives are met and benefits are realized.
Recommended experience
No formal experience is required, but familiarity with project or programme management concepts is beneficial. Understanding of basic project management principles; Experience working in a project or programme environment; Awareness of organizational strategy and benefits management
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective PeopleCert measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official PeopleCert exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
Understand how to apply the MSP principles in context
- Analyse the application of MSP principles in context
Understand how to apply and tailor relevant aspects of the MSP themes in context
- Assess the component parts of the programme strategy, programme plans, and the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle
- Organization theme
- Design theme
- Justification theme
- Structure theme
- Knowledge theme
- Assurance theme
- Decisions theme
Understand how to apply and tailor relevant aspects of the MSP processes in context
- Identify the programme process
- Design the outcomes process
- Plan progressive delivery process
- Deliver the capabilities process
- Embed the outcomes process
- Evaluate new information process
- Close the programme process
On the day
The exam itself
Everything PeopleCert publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
No mandatory prerequisites — this certification has no required predecessor exam or credential.
Exam codeMSP-FOUNDATION-5TH-EDITION
CertificationMSP Foundation (5th edition)
Exam formatMultiple choice
Duration60 minutes
Questions60 questions
Passing score60%
DeliveryPeopleCert
LanguagesEnglish, Chinese
PricingUS $701.00
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path PeopleCert lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to MSP Foundation (5th edition)
Credential earnedMSP Foundation (5th edition) Certification Renewal and maintenance
MSP certifications need renewal every three years. Keep your certification current by logging 60 CPD points through PeopleCert Plus membership or by passing a different exam from the same product suite before the renewal date. Stay current with the latest technologies and maintain your certification.
Learn more about renewal requirements Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. PeopleCert maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by PeopleCert
Exam registration
Register for the exam through PeopleCert, PeopleCert’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official PeopleCert certification page for exam policies and requirements.
View the official pageYour coach
And when you are serious, your coach Pip takes over
Your coach in the app reads what you have answered with the book closed and tells you one thing to do tonight. It will not count an answer you gave with the page open, and it will tell you when you are not ready.
See how the coach worksBefore you book
Questions people ask
How does the MSP Foundation (5th edition) relate to the previous MSP 4th edition?
The 5th edition updates the MSP method to reflect contemporary programme management practices. The Foundation exam now covers the updated principles, themes, and processes. If you hold an MSP 4th edition certification, you may need to take the new Foundation exam to stay current, but PeopleCert does not specify a bridge exam for MSP.
Is there a higher-level MSP certification I can pursue after Foundation?
Yes, after passing MSP Foundation, you can progress to the MSP Practitioner level, which focuses on applying and tailoring the method to real-world scenarios.
Can I take the MSP Foundation exam online?
Yes, PeopleCert offers online proctored exams. You can take the exam from your home or office, provided you meet the technical and environmental requirements.
What is the retake policy if I fail the MSP Foundation exam?
PeopleCert offers a Take2 Re-Sit option, which allows you to retake the exam at a reduced cost. Without Take2, you must wait a specified period before retaking, typically 15 days for the first retake.
Are there any hands-on or lab components in the MSP Foundation exam?
No, the MSP Foundation exam is a closed-book, multiple-choice exam with 60 questions. There are no hands-on or lab components.
What job roles does the MSP Foundation certification map to?
The certification is popular among project managers, programme managers, portfolio managers, business change managers, benefits managers, and senior responsible owners.
Can I renew my MSP Foundation certification by passing a different exam?
Yes, you can keep your certification current by successfully completing a different exam from the same product suite before your renewal date.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 403 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept PeopleCert measures — each one written out.
3domains
16objectives
88concepts
89free pages
The domains, and what sits inside them
Every objective below is a page you can open and practise now, without an account.
The official PeopleCert exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
1Understand how to apply the MSP principles in context32 questions
2Understand how to apply and tailor relevant aspects of the MSP themes in context162 questions
Assess the component parts of the programme strategy, programme plans, and the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle3 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Organization theme5 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →Design theme5 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Justification theme5 concepts · 3 pagesOpen →Structure theme4 concepts · 3 pagesOpen →Knowledge theme4 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Assurance theme5 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Decisions theme4 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →
3Understand how to apply and tailor relevant aspects of the MSP processes in context209 questions
Identify the programme process7 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Design the outcomes process6 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Plan progressive delivery process7 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →Deliver the capabilities process7 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Embed the outcomes process6 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Evaluate new information process6 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Close the programme process7 concepts · 7 pagesOpen →
Not a table of contents
Every line on this map already opens
In front of every objective the practice pages are already there, free and without an account. This is one objective, opened.
Analyse the application of MSP principles in context7 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
32 questions on this objective, five to a page. Every range above is a real page, open now, with no account.
Reading the map is not the same as knowing the ground
The curriculum tells you what is on the exam. Proving you know it is a different job — and it is the one the closed-book run does.
Free questions
403 questions. No account, no card.
The whole bank is open. 5 questions to a page, every answer explained, and a discussion thread on each one.
403questions
89pages
16objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1Understand how to apply the MSP principles in context32 questions
2Understand how to apply and tailor relevant aspects of the MSP themes in context162 questions
3Understand how to apply and tailor relevant aspects of the MSP processes in context209 questions
What a practice page gives you
1Five to a page
Short enough to finish, long enough to matter.
2Every answer explained
Not only which one is right — why the others are wrong.
3A discussion on each
Ask, answer, and vote. Every question has its own thread.
A question, and the idea behind it
Every question comes from a concept
These are not trivia. Each one is written against a concept in the book, so when you get one wrong there is somewhere to go and find out why.
The visual book
See it once. Carry it into the exam.
The pages shown here come from our AI-900 book — an example of how each concept is written in plain language and, where the idea needs one, drawn as a full page you can take in at a glance.
88concepts
403free questions
Why a picture, and not another paragraph
Three reasons, and each one is a real finding rather than a slogan.
You can see it againThe whole idea at onceWhere it starts, what happens in the middle, what comes out, and the mistake to avoid.
Multimedia principle · MayerThe look-alikes sit togetherThe pairs the exam tests are drawn side by side, so the difference is seen, not told.
Dual coding · PaivioWhat one page is made of
You are never asked to read a poster here — only to see how one is built. After that, every other page is legible at a glance.
1A numbered strip on top
The idea as a sequence, followed with a finger before a word is read.
2Panels for the parts
What it is, how the machine learns it, when it is the right tool.
3The trap, framed
The distinction the exam tests, given its own box instead of buried in prose.
4One line at the bottom
The sentence to carry into the exam room.
Open book, on purpose
Answer it with the picture beside you
This is the part that teaches. The illustration and the written explanation stay where they are while you work, so a scenario stops being a memory test and becomes something you can simply look at.
It teaches · it does not count
A smartphone uses AI to unlock when the owner looks at the camera. Which AI capability is being used?
AImage classification
BFacial recognition
COptical character recognition
DObject detection
Look at the five steps. Detect finds a face, align straightens it, encode turns it into numbers, search compares it with a stored face, and decide answers one question: is this the same person? Classification would only say “a face”. Detection would only draw a box. Neither decides whose.
Then the page shuts, and it starts counting
The same questions come back with the book closed — that run is the one that counts. After it, your coach picks one thing for tonight, sized to the time you have, and brings pages back before you lose them.
Testing effect · Roediger & Karpicke 2006 · spacing effect · Cepeda et al. 2006
Official resources
Straight from PeopleCert
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
2official links
88concepts mapped
The source
PeopleCert’s own pages
We link to them rather than repeat them, so nothing here goes stale behind them.
Checked against the source
Every objective on the official PeopleCert outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 16 objectives, 88 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When PeopleCert changes the outline, this page changes with it.
16objectives on the outline→88concepts written→403free questions
An official page tells you what will be asked. It cannot tell you what you will get right.
That is the only question worth answering the night before, and no link answers it. You answer it by taking the questions with the book closed, and seeing what comes back.