Introduction

• Forewood
• Introduction
  • Introduction part 1
  • Introduction part 2a
  • Introduction part 2b
  • Introduction part 2c
  • Introduction part 3
• Principles
  • Principles
  • Continued business justification
  • Learn from experience
  • Defined roles and responsibilities
  • Manage by stages
  • Manage by exception
  • Focus on products
  • Tailor to suit the project environment
• Themes
  • What are the themes?
  • Applying the themes

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

What PRINCE2 does not provide

It is not intended (or possible) for PRINCE2® to cover every aspect of project management.
There are three broad topic categories which are deliberately considered to be outside the scope of PRINCE2:

Specialist aspects

PRINCE2’s strength is in its wide applicability – it is entirely generic.
Consequently, industry-specific or type-specific activity is excluded.
Engineering models, project lifecycles or specific techniques (such as organizational change management or procurement) can readily be used alongside PRINCE2. PRINCE2 categorizes all these aspects of project work as ‘specialist’ (which means that the specialist products concerned need to be identified and included within project scope and plans).

Detailed techniques

There are many proven planning and control techniques that can be used in support of the PRINCE2 themes.
Examples are critical path analysis (in planning) and earned value analysis (in progress control).
Such techniques are well documented elsewhere.
Only techniques that have a specific PRINCE2 approach are described, e.g. the product-based planning and quality review techniques

Leadership capability

Leadership, motivational skills and other interpersonal skills are immensely important in project management but impossible to codify in a method.
Leadership styles vary considerably and a style that works in one situation may be entirely inappropriate in another.
The fact that it is easy to think of successful leaders who have adopted very different styles – from autocratic to consensus-based – bears this out.
For this reason, PRINCE2 cannot address this aspect of project management directly.
There are many leadership models and interpersonal-skills training programmes that fulfil this requirement.

Benefits of PRINCE2

Before introducing the structure of the method, it is worthwhile reviewing the key benefits of adopting PRINCE2:

• PRINCE2 embodies established and proven best practice and governance for project management
• It can be applied to any type of project - and can easily be implemented alongside specialist, industry-specific models (‘engineering models’ or ‘development lifecycles’)
• PRINCE2 is widely recognized and understood, and therefore provides a common vocabulary for all project participants - promoting effective communication
• PRINCE2 provides for the explicit recognition of project responsibilities - so that participants understand each other’s roles and needs. There is a defined structure for accountability, delegation, authority and communication
• Its product focus clarifies (for all parties) what a project will deliver, why, when, by whom and for whom
• PRINCE2 plans are carefully designed to meet the needs of the different levels in the management team, improving communication and control
• It is based on a ‘management by exception’ framework, providing for the efficient and economic use of management time (whether at corporate, programme, Project Board or project management levels)
• PRINCE2 ensures that participants focus on the viability of the project in relation to its Business Case objectives - rather than simply seeing the completion of the project as an end in itself
• It defines a thorough but economical structure of reports
• It ensures that stakeholders (including sponsors and resource providers) are properly represented in planning and decision making
• Adopting PRINCE2 promotes learning and continual improvement in organizations
• PRINCE2 promotes consistency of project work and the ability to reuse project assets; it also facilitates staff mobility and reduces the impact of personnel changes/handovers
• PRINCE2 is an invaluable diagnostic tool, facilitating the assurance and assessment of project work, troubleshooting and audits
• There are scores of accredited training and consultancy organizations (ATOs and ACOs) operating worldwide, who can supply expert support for PRINCE2 projects or for organizations planning to adopt PRINCE2.

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