IICTP MarkIICTP

Portfolio strategy

Portfolio Technical
Practitioner.

For executives who answer for the whole portfolio. It proves you can allocate capital, govern technical risk and align stakeholders across an enterprise.

Check your eligibility See the examRSS Feed
  • Portfolio defense
  • Timed online exam
  • Valid for 3 years
Sample board memoNot from the exam bank
The situation

Three programs compete for one engineering budget. One carries the largest risk, one has the clearest return, and an acquisition under review would add a fourth.

  • 01What do you fund?
  • 02What do you stop?
  • 03What do you put in front of the board, and why?
Portfolio defense180 items
180Governance scenario items
240 minExam time
3 yearsValidity
60TDUs per cycle

Who it is for

People accountable for the whole portfolio.

The CTP® tests how you lead a team and the PgTP® how you run a program. The PfTP® tests how you steer the portfolio of programs.

01

VPs of engineering

Answer for how a whole engineering organization spends its people and its money.

02

Chief architects and CTOs

Set the technical direction of an enterprise and defend it to the board.

03

Portfolio directors

Choose which programs to fund, pause or stop, and carry the risk of that choice.

Eligibility

One requirement inside another.

The 48 count towards the 96. Not sure where you stand? Check your experience and it counts for you.

96months

Professional technical business experience

Eight years of technical work in a business setting. Employed or self-employed work counts, and so does leading without the title.

48months

Portfolio leadership

Part of the 96, not extra. Owning a set of programs and their budget, and deciding what to fund, pause or stop.

The exam

A defense, then 180 scenarios.

A portfolio defense panel and executive governance scenario items, in 240 minutes. Each asks for a decision about capital, risk and governance. It is a timed online exam with an integrity attestation.

Plate 03 · Survey

Exam

Portfolio Technical Practitioner exam

A portfolio defense panel and executive governance scenarios. Judgement at enterprise scale.

Items
180
Time
240 min
Parts
Defense + scenarios
Mode
Timed online exam
  1. 01
    Capital allocationWhere engineering money goes, and what it must return.
  2. 02
    Technical risk governanceWhich risks the enterprise carries, and who signs for them.
  3. 03
    Portfolio architectureHow the programs fit together as one enterprise system.
  4. 04
    Stakeholder alignmentBringing executives to one decision they will stand behind.
See the path

Plate 06 · Strata

The defense

Your portfolio, defended in person

A panel examines how you allocate capital, govern risk and align stakeholders, on the evidence of your own portfolio leadership.

  • Portfolio defense panel
  • Executive governance
  • Timed online exam
See the path

Path to certification

Five steps, in order.

Each step has one job, and you can see all five before you begin.

  1. 01
    Confirm eligibility96 months of professional technical business experience, 48 of them in portfolio leadership.
  2. 02
    PrepareStudy the syllabus with an IICTP Authorized Training Partner, whose instructors hold the credential.
  3. 03
    Sit the examA portfolio defense panel and 180 executive governance scenario items in 240 minutes, timed online with an integrity attestation.
  4. 04
    Earn the insigniaYour PfTP® is added to the public registry with a verifiable digital badge.
  5. 05
    MaintainEarn 60 TDUs in each three-year cycle, then renew.

Cost

Priced in the open.

Shown in US dollars and rupees. Training fees are set by each Authorized Training Partner and are not included.

FeeMemberNon-member
Exam fee$599₹29,000$799₹39,000
Renewal, every three years$99₹5,500$179₹9,900

Members save $200 on the exam. See membership.

Maintain

Sixty units, every three years.

At least 35 come from education and up to 25 from giving back. The insignia means active competence, not a pass from years ago.

MinimumMaximum

Plate 04 · Signal

Every 3 years

3

Year cycle

Renew by earning 60 TDUs

  • Logged and reviewed
  • Keeps your registry status active
How renewal works

Peers

You do not steer alone.

IICTP’s regional chapters are volunteer-led and bring practitioners together. At this level you are the one they ask. Speaking at or mentoring in a chapter counts towards your TDUs, under giving back.

The team behind the chaptersThe board

Plate 05 · Network

4Chapter cities

Find your chapter

Volunteer-led regional chapters where practitioners meet.

  • Bangalore
  • London
  • Berlin
  • San Francisco
See the chapters

The credentials

Where the PfTP® sits.

The most senior of the four. Each credential fits a different stage of a career.

ATP®

Foundations

Junior developers, associate PMs and QA leads.

CTP®

Practitioner

Tech leads, engineering managers and senior IT PMs.

PgTP®

Program

Program managers, multi-squad leads and principal architects.

You are here

PfTP®

Portfolio

VPs of engineering, chief architects, CTOs and portfolio directors.

Trust

Checked in public.

Every PfTP® is recorded in the public registry with a signed record that an employer can check without asking you. The exam is written against the TPBOK™ by practising experts, and the standard is set apart from the organizations that sell preparation.

Open a sample recordThe TPBOK™ GuideThe board

PFTP-2022-04812

Sample record · Portfolio

Dr. Elena Rostova

Portfolio Technical Practitioner (PfTP®)

Issued
2022
Expires
2028
Focus
Standards harmonization
Open this record in the registry

Questions

What people ask before they apply.

Every requirement here is published in the TPBOK™ Guide and on the credential pages.

Do I need the PgTP® first?

The published prerequisites for the PfTP® do not list it. They ask for experience: 96 months of professional technical business experience, 48 of them in portfolio leadership. See the PgTP®.

What counts as portfolio leadership?

Owning a set of programs and their budget, and deciding what to fund, pause or stop. Employed or self-employed work counts, including consulting, and leading without the title. Check your experience to see where you stand, month by month.

What if I am just short of a requirement?

You can ask for an equivalency review. The Check your experience page shows how far you are, and has the request link when you are close.

How is the exam different from the PgTP®?

It has two parts: a portfolio defense panel and 180 executive governance scenario items in 240 minutes, against 170 case items in 210 minutes for the PgTP®. It asks for decisions about capital, risk and governance for a whole enterprise.

How long does the PfTP® last, and how do I renew?

Three years. In each cycle you earn 60 Technical Development Units, log them and submit them for audit. Renewal costs $99 for members and $179 for non-members.

Who can teach the preparation course?

Only licensed Authorized Training Partners. Every instructor must hold the credential and pass an annual Certified IICTP Instructor evaluation. Become a Training Partner.

Steer the portfolio with a standard behind you.

Check where your experience stands, then prepare with an Authorized Training Partner when you are ready.

Check your eligibility See the PgTP®

Portfolio Technical Practitioner (PfTP®)