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PRINCE2 2009 - Directing Projects with PRINCE2 part 13

Project Board duties and behaviours

Support the Project Manager

Project Board members must provide effective support for the Project Manager.

The Project Manager is the focus for the day-to-day management of the project work and this is often a busy and stressful role.

The Project Board can relieve some of this stress and remove some of the obstacles by demonstrating visible and sustained support for the Project Manager.

There are many means of achieving this:

  • Ensure that the Project Manager is sufficiently experienced and properly equipped for the scale of the project involved
  • Emphasize to all concerned that the Project Manager carries the Project Board’s delegated authority during stages - and reinforce this if it is challenged
  • Provide unified and consistent direction
  • Commit resources for the approved plans
  • Use influence to ensure that, wherever possible, the resources committed in plans are actually delivered
  • Provide for adequate Project Support (see the section covering ‘Project Support’), so that the Project Manager can communicate and lead without getting bogged down in formalities and administrative work
  • Listen carefully to the Project Manager’s advice and consider what should be done to remove any obstacles. Act as a mentor, where appropriate
  • Allow time for planning - exerting pressure to ‘get started’ on the deliverables is a common failing
  • Implement supportive Project Assurance arrangements
  • Be readily accessible for consultations, advice and guidance
  • Respond promptly and constructively when issues are escalated
  • Participate in all the formal Project Board reviews

There is always the possibility that the Project Manager does not measure up to the role.
This may become evident in the contacts with the Project Board or come to light as a result of Project Assurance concerns.
In these circumstances, the Project Board should discuss the problems in private and determine, if necessary, how to engage a replacement with minimum disruption to project progress or morale.
Organizations are generally sensitive to how effectively this type of situation is managed - personnel and stakeholders will respond well if a handover is conducted calmly and professionally.
If there is prevarication or open dispute, confidence in the overall project management will be undermined.

Where an important change is necessary in the project management team (not just the Project Manager) - for whatever reason - a PRINCE2® stage boundary provides a logical and convenient opportunity for the handovers.

All references above are in Directing Successful Projects with PRINCE2 unless stated otherwise.

PRINCE2® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries.

This product contains EVERYTHING in the publications:

Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2 - 2005 edition
Managing successful Projects with PRINCE2 – 2009 edition
Directing Projects with PRINCE2.
plus:
The Complete Project Management package.

And much more besides - at a fantastic price.