Progress

• Purpose
• Progress defined
  • What is progress?
  • What are progress controls?
  • Exceptions and tolerances
• The PRINCE2 approach
• Delegating authority
  • The four levels of management
  • Project Board controls
  • Project Manager controls
• Use of management stages for control
  • Overview
  • Number of stages
  • Length of stages
  • Technical stages
• Event driven and time driven controls
  • Overview
  • Baselines for progress control
  • Reviewing progress
  • Capturing and reporting lessons
  • Reporting progress
• Raising exceptions
• Responsibilities

Key sections

• Introduction
• Business case
• Organization
• Quality
• Plans
• Risk
• Change
• Progress
• Introduction to processes
• Starting up a projectDirecting a project
• Initiating a project
• Controlling a stage
• Managing Product Delivery
• Managing a Stage Boundary
• Closing a Project
• Tailoring PRINCE2 to the project environment
• Directing Projects with PRINCE2

The PRINCE2® approach

Event-driven and time-driven controls

Reporting progress

The frequency of reporting should reflect the level of control required, and this is likely to vary during the project.
For example:

During the design stage, less frequent control may be required than during later management stages If the team is highly experienced then less frequent reporting may be appropriate, whereas for an inexperienced team the Project Manager may wish to increase the frequency of reporting until sufficient confidence has been gained on the capability of the team

The following management products are used for progress reporting:

The Team Manager will produce this to provide the Project Manager with details of progress against the Work Package.
The Work Package will include the frequency of Checkpoint Reports required.
The Project Manager will collate Checkpoint Reports and use these as part of the progress assessment when reviewing stage status

The Project Manager produces this report on management stage progress for the Project Board.
The Project Board will determine the frequency of Highlight Reports required, either for the whole project or stage by stage, and document this in the Communication Management Strategy.
The Highlight Report allows members of the Project Board to manage by exception between end stage assessments as they are aware of the tolerances agreed with the Project Manager in the Stage Plan.
The Highlight Report should confirm that progress is being made within these tolerances and provide early warning of possible problems which may need actions.
As part of the Communication Management Strategy, the Project Board can request that copies of the Highlight Report be sent to other interested parties outside the project.
The Project Board may also issue the Highlight Report (or a summary of it) to corporate or programme management.

This is produced by the Project Manager towards the end of each management stage, providing the Project Board with the information on the progress to date, the overall project situation and (in tandem with the next Stage Plan) sufficient information to ask for a Project Board decision on what to do next with the project.

This is produced by the Project Manager towards the end of the project, during the Closing a Project process, and is used by the Project Board to evaluate the project and authorize closure.

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