Program and Portfolio Management Certification

The Program and Portfolio Management Certification is a free 20-minute skill test from Science of Apps. It tests managing programs and portfolios — benefits realisation, dependencies, governance, prioritising investments, capacity, portfolio balancing and stage gates. Score 70% or more on its 20 questions to earn a verifiable Program and Portfolio Management certificate (SOA-PPM). Every question is based on published standards and research — including What is project management? (Project Management Institute), The Official Kanban Guide (Kanban University), Discounted cash flow (DCF) (Investopedia) — and each answer is explained with its source.

Read the four skill areas on this page, then take the 20-minute test online — no fee, course or sign-up. You see every answer explained when you finish. Score 70% or more and you get a Program and Portfolio Management certificate straight away, on screen, as a PDF and by email, with a credential ID anyone can verify.

Yes. The questions are original scenarios written by Science of Apps, and each one is based on a public source you can read: What is project management? (Project Management Institute); The Official Kanban Guide (Kanban University); Discounted cash flow (DCF) (Investopedia); OKR meaning, definition and examples (What Matters (John Doerr)); What is Lean? (Lean Enterprise Institute); COSO frameworks (COSO). The source is shown under each question and linked in the answer review. Science of Apps doesn't copy questions from other tests.

Four skill areas with five questions each, drawn from a bank of 10 per area so a retake brings new questions: Programs (Benefits realisation, Dependencies and Governance); Portfolios (Prioritising investments, Capacity and balance and Stage gates and review); Portfolio financials and metrics (Investment cases, Portfolio KPIs and Value tracking); Agile at scale (Lean portfolio management, Quarterly planning and Dependency management). Every question is an original scenario based on a published standard, official documentation or research, named under the question.

Program manager, Portfolio manager, PMO lead, Head of delivery and Transformation director. It suits anyone who wants a quick, verifiable way to show Program and Portfolio Management skills, from students and career switchers to experienced professionals.

Yes. The test is online, in English and free everywhere — people take it from India, the US, the UK, Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Your certificate is dated with your own local date and can be verified from anywhere at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/.

20 questions — 5 from each of 4 skill areas — with a 20-minute limit. You need 70% (14 of 20) to pass and 90% for distinction.

We rate it Advanced: assumes years in the role or deep specialist knowledge. It has 20 scenario questions — 5 from each of 4 skill areas — and a 20-minute limit. You need 70% (14 of 20) to pass and 90% for distinction.

To become a program or portfolio manager in 2027, show you can deliver outcomes across many related projects: defining benefits and tracking their realisation, managing dependencies and shared risks, running governance and stage gates, prioritising investments, balancing capacity and keeping the portfolio aligned with strategy. Employers want leaders who say which projects to stop as well as start. Bring a multi-project story with outcomes and verify with a free 20-minute test. Our full career guide covers the hiring process, interview loop, pay and a prep plan: scienceofapps.com/blog/program-portfolio-management-career-guide/

Nothing. There is no fee to take a test, to receive the certificate, to have it emailed or to verify it, and no sign-up.

On our server, not in your browser. The answers never reach the page until you submit, so a certificate can only be earned by passing. Each certificate gets a unique credential ID stored by Science of Apps.

You see your score for each area and every question with the correct answer and why, with the published source behind it. You can retake after 30 minutes, and the retake draws questions you haven't seen yet.

No. Every certificate is dated, so it always shows when you passed. Retake a test any time for a newer date or a higher score.

Yes. After you pass, Add to LinkedIn opens the Licenses & certifications form with the certificate name, Science of Apps as the issuer, the issue date, your credential ID and the verification link filled in. You can also download it as a PDF or PNG, and it's emailed to you as a PDF.

Every certificate has a credential ID and a QR code. Scanning it, or entering the ID at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/, shows the holder's name, the certification, the score and the issue date from our records.

No. They are Science of Apps' own assessments of applied skill. They aren't issued by a university or standards body, and they work best alongside a portfolio that shows the skills in real work.