PRINCE2 Methodology & Advantages

Projects IN Controlled Environments or known as PRINCE2, is a methodology in project management. Which is applicable to all types of projects.

It is evolved from an earlier method called Project Resource Organisation Management Planning Techniques or known as PROMPT II. In 1989 the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) started using one of the methodologies of PROMPT II for their Information System Project Management as a UK Government standard. And later they named it as “PRojects IN Controlled Environments” or “PRINCE2” s an acronym name.

PRINCE2 METHODOLOGY

PRINCE2 is not like others framework structure. It can promptly be custom-made to any size or sort of Project Management Framework. PRINCE2 methodology has comprised of 4 primary parts of Integrated Elements. Those are 1.Core Principles; 2.Themes; 3.Processess; and 4.Tailoring.

• Core Principles: It has seven principles. Which is using for evaluating a project in a good way. Those principles are,
• Continued business justification.
• Learn from experience.
• Define roles and responsibilities.
• Manage by stages.
• Manage by exception.
• Focus on products.
• Tailor to suit the project environment.
• Themes: Ought to be tended to consistently be parts of Project Management. It gives us a decent review of how to address each of these viewpoints. Those viewpoints are, Business Case. Organization. Quality. Plans. Risk. Change. Progress.
• Processes: From beginning to the end of a project it has been using seven processes step by step to complete a project. Those processes are,
• Starting Up a Project.
• Initiating a Project.
• Directing a Project.
• Controlling a Stage.
• Managing Product Delivery.
• Managing a Stage Boundary.
• Closing a Project.
• Tailoring: Tailoring is about speculation how best to apply the strategy to Project Management to get a decent adjust of project control and low organisation. It has been checking on
• Terms and Language.
• Management Products.
• Roles and Responsibilities.

Advantages of PRINCE2 methodology

PRINCE2 has lots of benefits and also capabilities. Below we are highlighting all its benefits and capabilities.

Key Benefits:

◈ Conveyance Confidence.
◈ Talk the Same Language.
◈ Client Focused.
◈ Conveys Reliability.
◈ Backings Cross Functional Working.
◈ Convey What the Business Need.
◈ Adaptable Control.
◈ Vocation Development.
◈ Some portion of an Integrated Set.

Key Capabilities:

◈ Support Business Outcome.
◈ Empower Business Change.
◈ Oversee Risk in Line with Business Needs.
◈ Enhance Customer Experience.
◈ Show Value for Money.
◈ Persistently Improve.

Pros and Cons about PRINCE2 methodology

PRINCE2 also has its own few pros and cons. Actually, PRINCE2 has only one small con, which very small to manage.

Its Pros are:

◈ PRINCE2 gives a strategy to overseeing projects inside a plainly characterized structure.
◈ It has been giving learning about what to do if the project doesn’t create as arranged.
◈ In this method, every strategy is resolved with its key data sources and yields and with specific targets and activities to be finished.

And its Con is:

◈ Infrequently PRINCE2 become improper for little tasks or where prerequisites are relied upon to change because of the work required in making and looking after reports, logs and records.

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The 7 principles, themes and processes of PRINCE2

Are you Agile or Prince?

Many today are supporters of agile project management methods such as Scrum or Kanban. PRINCE2 is more a representative of classic project planning - but there are also voices that follow the hybrid system: PRINCE2 for the clear structure and framework, Scrum for sprints within the project stages. So it makes sense to look at PRINCE2 (Projects in Controlled Environments) and its principles - here the overview of the 7 principles, the 7 topics and the 7 processes.

The 7 Principles - from Good Practice to Best Practice

The seven basic principles of PRINCE2 are the backbone of a project. They are used again and again. You can also ignore parts of it - but if you remove too many vertebrae from the backbone, the project can collapse.

- Ongoing justification. A project has to pay off. Invest, expenditure of time and resources must be constantly justified.

- Valuable experience. Project teams should learn from previous projects. Therefore, project journals should be available.

- Defined roles. Everyone needs to know what the other one is doing. It has to be clear who the decision maker is.

- Defined phases. Difficult tasks are better divided into manageable sections or project phases.

- Defined exceptions. In a well-running project hardly intervene. The project management is only informed if there is a problem or if it becomes apparent.

- Focused product. The result is a product and it should be well defined. The product properties determine the work, not the other way around.

- Customized project environment. PRINCE2 can be scaled and customized. Projects that adapt PRINCE2 to their needs are more successful than dogmatic PRINCE2 projects.

The 7 topics - from clue to certainty

The seven topics are something like the working dimensions of a project. For example, in each project, the organization wants to be defined, the quality or risk to be weighed. While perhaps the principles from above are still informal or self-evident in a project, at the latest the themes of a project should be transcribed. The topics can also be dealt with W-questions.

- Business Case. Compare with the ongoing justification. It's about turning an idea into a worthwhile business case.

- Organization. Compare with the defined roles. Here, the project manager defines all the roles and responsibilities of the participants.

- quality. Compare with the focused product. It is also about quality. To make sure that this is not too abstract, it is important to define and stick to it at the beginning of a project.

- Plans. With a plan you get to the destination. Plans focus on products, timeframes, costs, quality and benefits.

- Risks. This topic serves to anticipate, identify, evaluate and control events during a project. These are recorded in a risk log. Negative risks are referred to as threats and positive as opportunities.

- Changes. This topic is about editing change requests and issues that occur during the project. The idea is not to prevent changes, but to subject them to a standardized procedure.

- progress. The project progress must be constantly checked. The project manager checks where the team is relative to the plan. Escalations to the end of the project are part of the project progress.

The 7 processes - from planning to action

PRINCE2 is a process-oriented method. Anyone who has been scanning these lines with restless eyes and wondering: when will the action finally come - are now in their element! This is about the division of a project into process sections, and here the action is brought into a structured sequence. The project manager closely monitors the project phases and leads the team to a goal. In addition, the English terminology is mentioned here because the processes are occasionally provided with the specified project abbreviations.

- Prepare / Start Up (SU). Create a project mandate that answers logistical questions about the project. It explains the purpose of the project, who does it and how it is done. The project briefing results from the mandate, existing project diaries and discussions with the persons involved in the project. This phase should also discuss feasibility and gather all information for the next process.

- Initiate / Initiate a Project (IP). This phase is about recognizing what needs to be done to complete the project successfully. The project manager describes the project dimensions that need to be controlled, such as time, cost, quality, scope, benefit, or risk.

- Steering / Directing a Project (DP). This project dimension applies to the entire project. The five core activities are initiation, phase demarcation, ad hoc alignment / consulting, project completion.

- Controlling a Phase / Controlling a Stage (CS). Here the tasks of project manager and team manager are described. The project manager authorizes work packages that break down the project into manageable activities. He assigns these to the teams and their leaders and monitors progress and progress if necessary. At the same time, team leaders have these tasks: Coordinating the daily work and communication between the team members and the project manager.

- Managing the product / Managing Product Delivery (MP). Here the communication between team leader and project manager is controlled. The product delivery is divided into three sections: Accepting a work package, executing a work package and handing over a work package.

- Managing the phase transition / Managing Stage Boundaries (SB). The project manager and a steering committee review each phase. The panel decides whether the project should continue. The project manager meets with the team to record the learnings for the next phase. The main activities are: planning the next phase, updating the project plan and the business case, reporting the end of the phase or creating a change or exception.

- Closing / Closing a Project (CP). When is a project over? This banal question is not so easy to answer at the end of complex projects. This makes it all the more important to adhere to these guidelines: declare the project over, identify follow-up actions, complete the project diary and hand over the product.

This overview describes the framework conditions under which projects should take place. As always, a project is only as successful as the motivation and discipline of those involved. At the same time PRINCE2 offers enough flexibility - up to the use of agile methods - to lead projects to success. PRINCE2 brings the discipline to the project. It depends on the project manager to apply rules creatively.

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Structure of PRINCE2: Its Benefits in Project Management

Introduction

PRINCE2 (an acronym for PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is a de facto process-based method for effective project management. Used extensively by the UK Government, PRINCE2 is also widely recognised and used in the private sector, both in the UK and internationally. The PRINCE2 method is in the public domain, and offers non-proprietorial best practice guidance on project management.

PRINCE was established in 1989 by CCTA (the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency), since renamed the OGC (the Office of Government Commerce). In June 2010, the Office of Government Commerce Best Practice Management functions moved into the Cabinet Office.

PRINCE was originally based on PROMPT, a project management method created by Simpact Systems Ltd in 1975, and adopted by CCTA in 1979 as the standard to be used for all Government information system projects.

When PRINCE was launched in 1989, it effectively superseded PROMPT within Government projects. PRINCE remains in the public domain and copyright is retained by the Crown. PRINCE2 was published in 1996, having been contributed to by a consortium of some 150 European organisations.

7 Principles of PRINCE2

PRINCE2 is a process-based approach that focuses on organization and control over the entire project, from start to finish. That means projects are thoroughly planned before kickoff, each stage of the process is clearly structured, and all loose ends are neatly tied up after the project ends.

The PRINCE2 method is built on these 7 principles

1. Projects must have business justification. Each project must have a clear need, a defined customer, realistic benefits, and a detailed cost assessment.

2. Teams should learn from every stage. Lessons are sought and recorded at every step in the process, and then used to improve future work.

3. Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. Everyone should know exactly what they’re responsible for — and what their teammates are responsible for.

4. Work is planned in stages. Projects are broken up into individual work phases, with periodic reviews to record lessons learned and confirm the project is still on track to meet requirements.

5. Project boards “manage by exception.” Since board members are typically senior execs who don’t have time to manage a project’s daily activities, they establish baseline requirements for things like time, cost, risk, and scope, and then delegate daily oversight to the project manager. The project manager has the authority to get the project back on track if it’s running late, going over budget, etc. But if issues arise that will impact the established requirements, that’s an “exception,” and the project board decides the best way to proceed.

6. Teams keep a constant focus on quality. Deliverables are continually checked against requirements through the use of a quality register.

7. The approach is tailored for each project. The PRINCE2 method itself should be adjusted to suit the needs of each project, changing the amount of oversight and planning to fit the size of the project, number of people involved, etc.

PRINCE2 Outlines Eight Processes

1. Startup: The decision-makers gather and appoint a Project Manager. Together, these people all define the need for the project and outline the processes by which it is to be executed.

2. Direction: A Project Board is responsible for the overall success of the project, but an individual called the Project Manager, who reports to the Project Board, is charged with the responsibility of managing the details.

3. Initiation: The Project Manager prepares a Project Initiation Document. This document is submitted to the Project Board for approval. If it is not approved, it is returned to the Project Manager for revision.

4. Stage control: The project is broken down into manageable stages, the number of which depends on the project size and risk level. Each stage contains plans for the succeeding stage. Before a new stage can be begun, the current stage must be fully executed.

5. Stage boundary management: The current stage is reviewed, and the process for the next stage is developed. The project can continue only after the Project Board has approved the execution of the current stage and the plan for the next stage.

6. Planning: This includes decisions as to what products will be produced, the activities that will be required to produce the products, estimates of the cost, time, and other resources that will be necessary, risk analysis, activity scheduling, and process streamlining.

7. Product delivery management: The Project Manager must make sure that the right products are produced according to the planned schedule.

8. Closing: After the project has been completed, the Project Manager conducts a Post Project Review, which is an evaluation of the project’s outcome. Once this document has been approved by the Project Board, the project is closed down.

The 7 Phase Process

Starting-up a project

- Someone submits a request for a new project, called the project mandate. The project mandate is very brief, covering only why the project is necessary and what it will ideally accomplish.

- Someone assesses every project mandate to make sure the company is capable of taking on the project.

- If approved, the person who initiated the project then submits a more detailed project brief, which covers the actions, resources, manpower, etc. needed to execute the project.

Directing a project

- The project board reviews and evaluates project briefs based on business justification and viability for another round of approval/disapproval.

- The project board decides what it needs to do in order to organize and execute each approved project, and what/how they’re going to delegate to the project manager.

Initiating a project

- The project manager creates Project Initiation Documentation, including a comprehensive project plan and baselines for 6 performance targets: time, cost, quality, scope, risk, and benefits.

- Initiation documents are sent to the project board for approval. Once the board is confident in the project plan, they give their approval once again and work begins.

Controlling a Stage

- The project manager breaks down the project into smaller “work packages” and passes them off to team managers and teams to complete.

- The project manager oversees the progress of work packages during each stage and steps in to help overcome roadblocks or correct any mistakes, if necessary.

- Team managers coordinate detailed daily work and act as the link between the project manager and individual team members, helping to make sure everything goes according to plan.

Managing Product Delivery

- The project manager checks progress against the project brief and makes sure deliverables meet quality expectations.

- The project board evaluates completed work packages, and either approves them or requests revisions/changes.

Managing Stage Boundaries

- The project manager and project board review each stage to make sure the project is progressing according to plan and meeting project assurance requirements.

- At each review, the project board decides whether to continue with the next stage or to abandon the project completely.

- Project managers hold a retrospective with the project team to record any lessons learned and improve the next stage.

Closing the Project

- When the project is complete, the project manager wraps up and loose threads, including documentation, outcomes, and reporting.

Advantages of Prince2

- PRINCE2 provides a controlled start, controlled progress, a controlled close

- Regular reviews against plan, business case and risks

- PRINCE2 provides flexible decision points

- Automatic management control over deviations

- Stakeholder involvement at the right times

- Clear communication channels

- Project managers using PRINCE are able to establish terms of reference before the project start

- There is a defined structure for delegation & communication

- Project manager divide a project into manageable stages for more accurate planning

- Resource commitment from management is part of any approval to proceed

- Regular but brief management reports are available (checkpoint reports, highlight reports and exception reports)

- Meetings with management are kept to a minimum, but at vital points in the project

- End product users are able to participate in the decision-making

- End users are involved in project progress

- End users participate in quality checks throughout the project

- User requirements are specified

- PRINCE2 is free (other then any training or support you want to pay for)

- PRINCE2 has a strong User Group

- PRINCE2 is supported by (UK) Government and organisation such as APM and ISEB

- Training courses are available from many accredited training organisation

- PRINCE2 is flexible and can be applied to any kind of project

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The Seven PRINCE2 Themes Defined

The PRINCE2 project management method contains 7 PRINCE2 Principles, 7 PRINCE2 Processes and 7 PRINCE2 Themes. The Seven PRINCE2 Themes are integrated into the 7 PRINCE2 Processes and this is a notable strength of the PRINCE2 method. The PRINCE2 Themes offer a thematic approach to the project whilst the PRINCE2 Processes describe the chronological approach to the project from beginning to end. With these PRINCE2 themes comes the ability to steer the project towards success and the seven PRINCE2 themes defined below are vital to ensuring that your project is provided with every opportunity to succeed.

The Business Case

The first of the PRINCE2 themes is the Business Case which aims to clearly define the reasons for which the project is being undertaken. The Business Case documents the benefits that the project is expected to deliver and in order for the Business Case to remain valid, the benefits must continue to outweigh the risks and costs that are associated with the project at hand.

Continued business justification must be maintained in order for the project to continue and the Business Case of the PRINCE2 themes will provide a reference point to ensure that this is achieved. This vital document enables the Project Board to define the estimated costs, risks and benefits of the project which will provide a clear view of what will constitute a successful result for the current project.

It is necessary, when considering the Business Case of the PRINCE2 themes, to ensure that this document is referred to regularly and updated at the end of each project stage. If at any point during the course of the PRINCE2 project it is found that it has veered too far from the objectives as laid out in the Business Case, the Project Board can make the decision to prematurely close the project to minimise further losses and prevent the wastage of the remaining resources. The Business Case, as defined in the PRINCE2 themes, can be considered to be the Guide Book for the project.

Organisation

The next of the PRINCE2 themes that we will be taking a look at is the Organisation Theme. The main goal of the Organisation theme is to define the structure for responsibility and accountability of the project team members, the Project Manager, the corporate management, the Project Board and the stakeholders. The roles and responsibilities within a PRINCE2 project ensure that everyone is aware of what is required from them and this prevents uncertainty and situations of “passing the blame”.

Some of the roles that are found within the Organisation aspect of the PRINCE2 themes are:

• Executive – as a member of the Project Board, the Executive is responsible for ensuring that a PRINCE2 project maintains its focus on achieving the expected objectives and assuring that the project provides value for money.

• Senior User – this Project Board member specifies the product/s and outcomes that the project must achieve and is responsible for defining the required benefits and demonstrating to higher management that the project is fulfilling these needs.

• Project Manager – is the person who is ultimately held responsible for the success or failure of a project and this is determined by whether or not the required product is delivered, meets the quality criteria and does not exceed the budget for time and cost.

• Team Managers – are usually present on large-scale projects where the project team is broken down into smaller teams and the duties of the Team Manager is to ensure that the Work Packages are received, completed and returned; as well as reporting progress to the Project Manager via Checkpoint Reports.

Plans

When it comes to the PRINCE2 themes, the Plans theme is one of the most important and provides the crucial backbone which supports the method. Regardless of whether or not you use the PRINCE2 method, there is no denying that proper planning is essential to the success of any project. Not only does planning define the instructions for the future of the project, it also provides a means by which to evaluate the project as it progresses. The PRINCE2 theme for planning enables you to clearly see what has been achieved thus far and what has been expended on a project at any given point.

There are four levels of planning within this PRINCE2 theme:

1. Project Plan

This is used by the Project Board throughout the course of the project as a baseline against which project progress can be measured. The Project Plan contains an overall schedule and cost assessment for the project, as well as the approved tolerances that have been agreed upon.

2. Stage Plan

The Stage Plan is a baseline reference which is used by the Project Manager for the day-to-day activities that must be carried out when managing a PRINCE2 project. Each stage has its own Stage Plan and these will describe the resources and products involved with that stage, the tolerances assigned by the Project Board and the quality activities which must be addressed. Updating the Stage Plan regarding the ongoing progress of the stage will allow the Project Manager to spot deviations in a timely manner.

3. Team Plan

When the current project requires Team Managers (generally due to size and/or complexity), the Stage Plan can be segmented into Team Plans which are used by the Team Managers. These Team Plans are used to allocate tasks, monitor progress and remain watchful with regards to team-level constraints.

4. Exception Plan

If, at any point during the project, it is forecast that the stage-level tolerances will be exceeded, the Project Manager must submit an Exception Report to the Project Board as expected by this one of the PRINCE2 themes. This will include details of the exception, the impact that it is expected to have on the project, suggestions for what course of action can be taken and the recommendation of a particular option that could be implemented to handle the issue. When necessary, an Exception Plan will be created through this section of the PRINCE2 themes as a response to the Exception Report. If approved, the Exception Plan will replace the section of the original plan from the point at which the Exception was noted.

Risk

The Risk Theme supports the first three PRINCE2 Themes and is focused on managing the risks associated with the project. High quality risk management significantly increases the project’s chance for success and this one of the PRINCE2 themes provides a risk management strategy for the project at hand.

The Risk Management Strategy which is used by the PRINCE2 project management method recommends five steps when dealing with risks:

• Identify the risk
• Assess the probability and impact of the risk
• Plan a response to the risk
• Implement the approved risk response
• Communicate all information associated with the risk

Quality

An important inclusion in the PRINCE2 themes is the Quality Theme. This addresses the need to fulfil the specified quality requirements of the product that is to be delivered by the project. The purpose of the Quality portion of the PRINCE2 themes is to define the expected level of quality that must be achieved in the development of the product.

Whereas other project management methods place their focus on cost or time, the emphasis of the PRINCE2 method is on quality. Dedicated quality planning, quality control, quality management strategy and quality review all strive to ensure that the quality tolerances for the product are met in order for the product to be accepted by the customer.

Change

Change is inevitable and this is particularly true when it comes to the world of project management. One of the PRINCE2 themes is the Change Theme and this provides the required guidance for managing these changes. Approaching change in a reliable and controlled manner is essential to managing it appropriately whilst maintaining the security and stability of the project.

Change deals with project issues which are any relevant events which were unplanned but have happened, or are likely to happen, and require management action. When an issue has been identified, the PRINCE2 method has a five-step procedure for dealing with the issue:

1. Capture the issue information in the Issue Register (or Daily Log for informal management) and create an Issue Report
2. Examine the issue and assess the impact it can have on the project if change is initiated
3. Evaluate alternatives and recommend the proposed action necessary to handle the issue
4. The Project Manager, Project Board or Change Authority will make a decision regarding the action to be taken
5. Implement the authorised corrective action and update the appropriate Logs and Registers

Progress

The last of the PRINCE2 themes is the Progress Theme and the purpose of this is to monitor and control the progression of the PRINCE2 project. To ensure continued business justification, it is vital to compare the project plans to the project reports. The plans will describe the expected input and the reports will identify what has already been achieved and what is still required. This comparison assists in minimising the variation between the expected progress and the actual progress which then determines whether or not the project is still on track to achieving its objectives. Without this control in place for monitoring the project’s progress, it could veer far enough away from the Business Case to result in it being deemed no longer viable and this almost always results in a premature closure and a failed project. Ensuring that progress remains steady can truly make the difference between failure and a successfully completed project.

The PRINCE2 method is well-structured and is based on the experience, knowledge and insight of many project management professionals. To ensure that you gain every advantage provided by this method it is necessary to implement the method as it was designed and this includes making proper use of all seven of the PRINCE2 Themes.

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