This study guide is for candidates preparing for Administrators (AD7) in the field of project management: EPSO/AD/429/26 - 2.
It accompanies EU Training’s field-related ICT Project Management practice questions and brings together the main topics and free learning resources used when creating the question set.
The 2026 EPSO ICT AD7 competition has four separate fields. This guide focuses only on Field 2: ICT Project Management.
The field-related multiple-choice test is taken in your language 2. It contains 30 questions, lasts 40 minutes and has a pass mark of 15/30. Because this test is used for ranking, your goal should not be to scrape past the threshold. You need to prepare for applied project-management questions under time pressure.
At AD7 level, ICT project management is not about knowing a few project terms. The profile is aimed at experienced professionals who can control delivery in complex institutional settings. That means understanding lifecycle governance, scope, cost, schedule, risk, stakeholders, contracts, testing, privacy, security and supplier coordination well enough to make good decisions when these areas overlap.
The practice questions are designed to test project judgement, not rigid loyalty to one method. You may see calculations, short scenarios, governance questions, delivery problems, supplier issues, stakeholder conflicts and security or compliance situations.
A strong candidate should be able to distinguish:
- a technical issue from a management decision
- a project risk from an active issue
- a scope change from uncontrolled scope creep
- an output from a benefit
- a useful escalation from unnecessary delay
- a supplier report from real delivery evidence
Use this guide as a study route. Start with the official EPSO competition notice, then work through the topic areas below and focus most on the areas where your practice results are weakest.
The EPSO ICT AD7 Notice of Competition
Always start with the official EPSO Notice of Competition. It is the only legally binding source for the competition rules, test structure, eligibility requirements and field duties.
For ICT Project Management, the Notice describes a broad delivery role. It covers managing ICT projects, programmes and portfolios across the full lifecycle; defining solutions through business and technical analysis; planning and coordinating resources; monitoring delivery performance, quality and compliance; and coordinating stakeholders, teams, testing activities and contracts.
The practice questions follow that scope. They cover the full project-management chain: initiation, baselines, portfolio choices, requirements, estimates, cost and schedule control, risk, change, reporting, team leadership, stakeholders, frameworks, testing, contracts, supplier performance, security and privacy in delivery.
A frequent trap in this profile is choosing the answer that feels practical but gives the decision to the wrong person. Some decisions belong to the project manager. Others belong to the sponsor, business owner, change authority, technical specialist or supplier manager.
As you practise, keep asking:
- Who owns this decision?
- Is this a technical fix or a governance action?
- Has the impact on scope, cost, time, quality and risk been assessed?
- Is the issue still a risk, or has it already happened?
- Is the project still within tolerance?
- Is the answer preserving control, or just moving fast?
The aim is not to memorise project vocabulary. It is to recognise the project-management judgement EPSO may test under time pressure.
Main topic areas
EU Training's ICT Project Management practice set contains 200 questions across eleven topic areas. These areas reflect the breadth of the EPSO profile, so the questions are not limited to one methodology, one delivery model or one type of ICT project.
Use this section as a study map. For each topic, focus on the decision being tested, not just the terminology.
ICT project, programme and portfolio lifecycle management
This area covers initiation, baselines, benefits, portfolio prioritisation, programme escalation, closure and the difference between outputs and outcomes. It may also include calculations such as ROI and earned value measures where they support management decisions.
The key is control. A project needs a baseline before performance can be judged. A programme-level decision may be needed when benefits or dependencies cut across several projects. A portfolio board should allocate resources based on value, strategic fit, risk and capacity, not on politics or whoever shouts loudest.
Business and technical analysis
This area covers elicitation, functional and non-functional requirements, user needs, traceability, validation, conflicting requirements and solution options.
Treat requirements as a control mechanism, not paperwork. A vague stakeholder wish needs to become something testable. Ask whether the requirement explains what the system must do, how well it must do it, who needs it, and how it will be verified.
Cost, schedule, resources, deliverables and risk
This area includes SPI, CPI, EAC, ETC, VAC, TCPI, PERT, EMV, float, leads, lags, critical path, reserves and resource constraints.
You need to know the formulas, but the calculation is only half the task. The more important part is interpretation. For example, a project can be on budget for the work completed but still badly behind schedule. A negative forecast variance means the budget problem is not theoretical; it is already visible in the forecast.
Scope, change control and reporting
This area covers baselines, change requests, impact analysis, change authority, scope creep, exception reporting, configuration management, decision logs and RAG reporting.
Change control is not about slowing everything down. It is about making informed decisions. A change is not controlled just because it is logged. It is controlled when its impact on scope, cost, time, quality and risk is assessed before the right authority decides.
Team coordination and leadership
This area covers task allocation, mixed teams, contractors, bottlenecks, morale, scarce specialists, acceptance discipline and performance conversations.
At AD7 level, supervision and coordination matter. A good answer does not simply give the hardest work to the fastest person, push all interesting tasks to contractors or accept weak deliverables because the deadline is close. It balances risk, capability, continuity and team health.
Stakeholder, client and technical-team management
This area covers expectation management, conflicting views, communication, governance packs, sponsor decisions, user involvement and translation between business and technical teams.
When stakeholders disagree, do not bury the conflict inside the technical solution. Surface the trade-off, clarify the decision needed and get the right commitment. The project manager should not quietly make business-value decisions that belong to governance.
Horizontal ICT initiatives and added value
This area covers projects that cut across departments, systems or organisational boundaries. It includes coordination, reuse, standardisation, benefits and institutional fit.
Horizontal projects often fail when treated like local projects. Their value depends on adoption, shared governance and cross-team coordination. Ask whether the initiative creates reusable capability, reduces duplication or improves consistency across the organisation.
ICT project frameworks and governance methods
This area covers PM², agile, hybrid delivery, governance roles, tolerances, stage gates, escalation and the relationship between method and judgement.
Do not treat frameworks as rituals. A tolerance protects delegated authority. A stage gate checks whether the project is still viable. An agile increment creates feedback. A governance board needs honest forecasts, not optimistic reporting.
Quality assurance and test management
This area covers test strategy, acceptance criteria, defect triage, UAT, regression testing, non-functional testing, quality gates, verification and validation.
Use a simple distinction. Verification asks whether the system meets the specification. Validation asks whether it meets the real user or business need. A system can pass written tests and still fail if the requirements were wrong.
Contract and supplier management
This area covers acceptance, SLAs, service credits, supplier delays, contract deliverables, escalation, penalties, rework and supplier performance evidence.
Do not confuse contract language with delivery control. A service credit does not fix a service. A deliverable that works but fails agreed criteria is not acceptable. A delayed supplier component is not just a supplier problem; it is a project dependency that must be managed.
Security, privacy and compliance in ICT delivery
This area covers data protection, cybersecurity, compliance reviews, secure design, privacy impact, access control and auditability.
Security and privacy should not appear only at the end of delivery. A strong answer builds them into requirements, design, testing, supplier obligations and change control. Late compliance surprises are often project-management failures, not just technical failures.
How to read the questions
The project-management questions are intentionally mixed. Some require calculations. Some test roles and responsibilities. Others ask what to do when a delivery problem would be easier to hide than escalate.
The correct answer is usually the one that keeps delivery moving while preserving control. It should not bypass evidence, authority, traceability or decision rights.
When reviewing missed questions, write down the decisive distinction in one line. For example:
- output versus outcome
- functional versus non-functional requirement
- risk versus issue
- scope change versus scope creep
- CPI versus SPI
- verification versus validation
- sponsor decision versus project-manager decision
- supplier compliance versus real delivery performance
For calculation questions, make a small formula sheet and practise until the formulas become familiar. In the actual test, you want to spend your time interpreting the result, not rebuilding the formula from memory.
Free learning resources for ICT Project Management
The resources below are free to read or study. They were selected because they support the kinds of questions covered in EU Training's ICT Project Management practice questions.
You do not need to read everything from start to finish. Thoroughly read the Notice of Competition first - the qualifications and duties required pertaining to your profile, then use these other resources based on your weaker areas.
Official competition source
EU Careers ICT AD7 Notice of Competition
Start here. This is the official source for the competition and should be used to check the field profile, duties and selection context. Keep an eye on your EPSO profile page too for important updates and test date announcements.
NoC link: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/2425/oj
EPSO profile page link: https://eu-careers.europa.eu/en/job-opportunities/ict-project-management
EU project-management methodology
PM² resources
Free European Commission project, programme, portfolio and agile guides. This is the most relevant methodology source for an EU institutional setting.
Link: https://pm2.europa.eu/pm2-resources_en
PM² Project Management
Useful for lifecycle, roles, artefacts, plans, monitoring and control, governance and closure.
Link: https://pm2.europa.eu/pm2-methodologies/pm2-project-management_en
PM² Programme Management
Useful for programme-level escalation, benefits coordination and governance across related projects.
Link: https://pm2.europa.eu/pm2-methodologies/pm2-programme-management_en
PM² Agile Guide
Useful for understanding how PM² governance can work with agile delivery, incremental releases and hybrid ICT projects.
Project-management refresher
OpenLearn project management course
A free Open University course on project basics, feasibility, lifecycle and planning. Useful if you want a clear refresher before moving into PM² material.
Agile delivery
Scrum Guide
The official free Scrum Guide. Use it for product backlog, sprint planning, increments, Scrum roles and empiricism without relying on commercial summaries.
Link: https://scrumguides.org/scrum-guide.html
Atlassian agile project management guide
A readable practical supplement on agile delivery, backlogs, roadmaps and sprint ceremonies. Use it as background, not as the formal EU methodology source.
Link: https://www.atlassian.com/agile/project-management
Public-sector digital delivery
GOV.UK Service Manual
A practical public-sector resource on designing and running digital services, working with multidisciplinary teams, user research, accessibility and service standards.
Link: https://www.gov.uk/service-manual
Quality assurance and testing
ISTQB Foundation Level syllabus
Useful for testing principles, test design, test management, defects, quality and the difference between verification and validation.
Link: https://istqb.org/certifications/certified-tester-foundation-level-ctfl-v4-0/
ISTQB free sample exams
Useful for practising judgement around testing concepts, defect handling and quality decisions.
Link: https://astqb.org/istqb-foundation-level-sample-exam/
Security, privacy and compliance in delivery
OWASP Software Assurance Maturity Model
A useful framework for integrating security into software delivery and project governance.
Link: https://owaspsamm.org/
NIST Secure Software Development Framework
Useful where project decisions touch secure requirements, testing, change control, release management and supplier delivery.
Link: https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/218/final
Quick recap
The points below recap the most useful practice habits from this guide. Use them after each question block to make sure you are reviewing actively, not just checking your score.
- Work through one topic area at a time.
- After each question block, write down the distinction that decided the answer.
- For plausible wrong answers, note why they were tempting but incorrect.
- For calculations, write the formula, do the maths, then explain what the result means.
- For action-based questions, ask who owns the decision or approval.
- Check whether the answer preserves evidence, authority, traceability and control.
- Focus on the project principle behind the answer, not just the correct option.