PRINCE2 2009 - Directing Projects with PRINCE2 part 2
of the Cabinet Office under delegated authority from the Controller of HMSO.
Overview of PRINCE2
Key definitions
The following definitions are used in PRINCE2® and are important for understanding the context of the method.
A projectA project is a temporary organization that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to an agreed Business Case.
PRINCE2 should only be used for managing projects.
The ‘temporary organization’ needs to be big enough or complex enough to justify producing a Business Case and setting up project management controls.
If the work can be managed simply as a ‘line management’ task, using PRINCE2 could create an inappropriate management overhead.
A programme is a temporary flexible organization structure created to coordinate, direct and oversee the implementation of a set of related projects and activities in order to deliver outcomes and benefits relating to an organization’s strategic objectives.
A programme may have a life that spans several years.
Clearly, there are similarities between projects and programmes - both are temporary and seek to achieve benefits for the sponsoring organization.
But there are also important differences.
The key distinction is that a project typically produces or changes something (its products) and is then disbanded.
Although the purpose of a project is to deliver changes that will ultimately realize Business Case benefits, it rarely exists long enough to ensure that they are fully delivered.
For the most part, the benefits of the undertaking are likely to be accrued after the project is completed.
Moreover, many projects are ‘enablers’, i.e. their products will not deliver business benefits directly but must be augmented by other activity to produce these benefits. For example, the construction of a hospital building is not sufficient, in itself: the medical, nursing and administrative services, equipment and systems must be in place before the healthcare benefits can be achieved.
Programmes are typically established to coordinate the work of a set of related projects, to manage the outcomes and to realize the aggregate benefits.
They are often (but not always) established when organizations decide to transform their operations or services from their ‘current state’ to an improved ‘target end-state’.
The functions at the programme level tend to be less focused on delivering specialist products but rather on coordinating the efforts of the various projects so that the resulting transformation is effectively integrated.
OGC has produced a valuable guide for managing programmes of this type, Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®), which is fully compatible with PRINCE2.
Project management and PRINCE2Project management is the planning, delegating, monitoring and control of all aspects of the project, and the motivation of those involved, to achieve the project objectives within the expected performance targets for time, cost, quality, scope, benefits and risks.
The objective of project management is to achieve effective control over the project work.
It is logically impossible to exert control over anything without some form of plan.
The manager then monitors progress - by comparing it with the plan - and exerts control by taking corrective action where necessary.
By definition, a manager must delegate at least some of the work to others, and there are two distinct aspects to delegation.
Firstly, delegation requires leadership skills - notably motivation.
Leadership and motivation are not competencies that can be codified in a method, so, although PRINCE2 does help managers to lead effectively (by defining the things they should be doing), it does not directly address interpersonal skills, such as motivating and negotiating.
However, there are many other forms of management development and training that can be implemented alongside PRINCE2 to enhance leadership skills.
The second aspect of delegation is that it requires the existence of a hierarchical organization structure within which to delegate.
One of the characteristics of project work discussed in the section covering ‘Introduction’ was that it is cross-functional.
This means that the line hierarchies we are familiar with in most organizations tend to be ineffective when it comes to managing projects.
It is this aspect of delegation that PRINCE2 addresses directly by defining a flexible, temporary organization model with roles and responsibilities that are optimized for project work.
Note also that our definition of project management identifies six performance targets for a project:
- Time
- Cost
- Quality
- Scope
- Risk
- Benefits
Of course the approach to each of these will have a bearing on the others: for instance, if scope is expanded, time and cost (and possibly risk) will be impacted.
Much of project management is about balancing and prioritizing these factors in order to match the needs of corporate or programme management.
The PRINCE2 method provides a comprehensive, flexible and fully integrated set of best practices for setting up an appropriate project management team, establishing plans, monitoring the six performance targets and maintaining control through effective decision making.
One of the strengths of the PRINCE2 structure is the way in which the organization, plans and controls are integrated.
Individual good practices can be implemented for many aspects of project management but, to achieve maximum benefit, the various disciplines must knit together in a consistent, workable overall framework - as in PRINCE2.
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.
MSP® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries.
Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2 - 2005 edition
Managing successful Projects with PRINCE2 – 2009 edition
Directing Projects with PRINCE2.
plus:
The Complete Project Management package.
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