bugi77 - I stand with you and believe me its the background check process which consumes most portion of the application time while processing.
For Instance, I have got 12 years of work-ex and I have worked for 4 corporations during this time. So I can imagine the time taken by CIC. In fact, its the employer who takes time to respond back to CIC. Similarly, for education credential validation as well if universities are prompt enough to reply back, files will move faster.
I am sure you will get the PPR soon. Have faith