APM PMQ Negotiation
What is the difference between APM PMQ and PMQ?
The PMQ, formerly known as APMP, syllabus assesses breadth of knowledge in all areas of project management and covers knowledge areas from the APM Body of Knowledge, including budgeting and cost management, conflict management, communication, earned value management, leadership, negotiation, procurement, sponsorship and teamwork.
There are two examination routes for the qualification:
- A three hour paper where candidates must answer ten from sixteen questions. OR
- For PRINCE2® Registered Practitioners a two hour paper that recognises prior learning. In this paper candidates must answer six from ten questions.
Question 1.
Explain four stages that an effective negotiation should progress through.
A structured process gives the negotiator a framework and some checks on progress.
Negotiation – Preparation
During the preparation stage it is important for the negotiators to understand the issue/problem, study relevant material, learn about opponents’ objectives (if possible) and this should avoid surprises, anticipate opponents’ strategies, define their own objectives and priorities, define their own negotiating strategy and allocate roles and responsibilities.
This will include deciding which member of the team will lead the negotiation, the member who is to take notes and the member who will observe. The team should establish what they are prepared to trade and establish their “bottom line”. As well as deciding upon their “bottom line” the team should also anticipate the other party’s “bottom line” and areas of potential trade.
Negotiation – Discuss
Trade information and check any assumptions you have made about the other party. At this point you may have to change your expectations in light of some information gained from the other party. You should also be looking for signals from the other party as to interest points and areas they will not discuss. Time spent at this step will assist the process later.
This will involve the note taker in keeping notes of the discussions made, any phrases that may indicate that the other party is prepared to trade (e.g. “normally”, “mostly we..”, there may be possibilities”). The observer should be concentrating on the responses of the other party to the statements made during the discussion.
It is often useful after this step to take a short break so that the information gathered by the negotiator, observer and note taker can be analysed and the negotiation strategy improved.
Negotiation – Propose and bargain
The opening bids. These should be made in the expectation of a counter bid. If they get rejected then you have missed something in the discuss step, go back. If a counter bid is made then you move into bargaining to get closer to a deal.
Opening and later bids should always be made in format of “If you ….. then we….” followed by counter-proposals, adjusting till you come to an acceptable agreement. During this stage it is again useful to break off to analyse the information gained by the team.
This also stops hasty decisions being made and can lead to a better deal for all concerned.
Negotiation – Closing
It is important to confirm the agreement and record the results of the negotiation. This should be a written record that all parties can sign and leave the negotiating table with an accurate and complete record of the agreement achieved. This is most important, as you want to avoid any comeback or misunderstandings later.
When the agreement is written up both parties should be prepared to scrutinise it carefully and make sure that the common agreement reached orally has been transcribed accurately into the written form. This may require some minor adjustments until the final document is agreed.
