Prince 2 and Project Management
By
Sayed Ahmed
Just E.T.C.Technologies Inc.
Just E.T.C Education Inc.
www.justETC.net
Aspects of Prince2
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Steps
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Starting up a Project
Initiating a Project
Directing a Project
Controlling a Stage
Managing Product Delivery
Managing a Stage Boundary
Closing a Project
Related Concepts
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Business Case Analysis
Organization of Teams
Progress
Quality
Risk
Change
Overview of Prince2
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Changes and upgrades of business processes are done
by projects
PRINCE2 is a scalable and flexible project management
method
◦ Suitable for any type of project [ref: the book]
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PRINCE 2 Offers
◦ Controlled management of change
◦ Active involvement of the users in the product development
PRINCE 2 Offers
◦ Efficient control of development resources
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PRINCE 2 distinguishes the management
of the development process from the
techniques for development
PRINCE2’s View of Project Management
 Five characteristics of Project work (than
regular business operations)
◦ Change: Projects are used to introduce
changes to businesses
◦ Uncertainty: Projects will almost always
introduce something new and unknown
◦ Temporary: Many times, a project team comes,
finishes the project and goes away
◦ Unique: In some major or minor ways,
projects are always unique
◦ Cross-functional: A project needs people with
different skills
Project Performance Variables
Cost
 Time
 Quality
 Scope
 Benefits
 Risk
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Seven PRINCE2 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
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Roles
Project Sponsor
 Program Management Body (Project Board)
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◦ Key decision maker
◦ May be absent in small projects
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An Executive
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Holds the purse string of the projects
Ensures that projects meet company strategies
Ensures that there is always a business case
Strongly tied with the program management
For small projects, sponsors become the executives
A Project Manager
◦ Sets up a daily log for the projects
◦ Ensures that the project gets done within defined time limit
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Customer, User and Supplier
Capture Previous Lessons
PRINCE2 encourages to create lessons
logs to ensure that the same mistakes are
not done in the future projects
 How to capture?
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◦ Use similar previous projects’ reports
◦ Corporate programmer or external lessons
◦ Previous experience of similar projects from
Individuals or teams.
Project Manager and Lessons Capturing
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Responsibilities
◦ Create a lessons log
◦ Review lessons from previous projects esp.
similar projects to find out lessons that may
benefit current projects
◦ Talk to people with previous project
experience or people currently working with
similar projects
◦ Document any useful lessons
◦ For small projects
 Ask people around
Stages
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Stages in Picture (Reference: Prince2.com)
Starting Up a Project
A pre-project process
 Ensures that the pre-requisites for initiating the
project are in place.
 Ensures that there is a project mandate describing
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◦ The reasons for the project
◦ Expected Outcomes
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Activities
◦ Ensures that the information required by the project
team is available
◦ Planning and appointing the project management team
◦ Create the initiation stage plan
Initiating a Project
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Justify the reasons to proceed with the project
Establish a stable management basis
Confirm that a reasonable business case exists for
the project. Document it.
Agree to the commitment of resources
Enable and encourage the Project Board to take
ownership of the project
Outline the baseline for the decision-making
processes as will be required during the project’s
life cycle
Ensure that time and effort investment is decided
wisely considering the risks to the project
Managing Stage Boundaries (MSB)
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Provides the Project Board with key decision
points on whether to continue with the
project or not
Objectives
◦ Assure that all deliverables from the previous
stage (Current Stage) are complete
◦ Provide the information to assess the continuing
viability of the project
◦ Provide the information needed to approve the
current stage's completion
◦ Record any lessons that may help later
Controlling a Stage (CS)
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Handles day-to-day management of the project
◦ Hence, this process forms the core of the Project
Manager's effort on the project
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This process is a cycle of the following activities
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Authorize work to be done
Gather progress information about that work
Watch for changes
Review the situation
Report
Take any necessary corrective action
Ongoing risk management and change control
Managing Product Delivery (MP)
◦ Ensure that planned products are created and
delivered
◦ Ensure that the work is done
◦ Ensure that the work conforms to the
requirements
◦ Ensure that the completed work meet quality
requirements
◦ Obtain approval for the completed products
Closing a Project
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Execute a controlled close to the project
Wrap up the project either at its end or at
premature close
Check that the objectives as mentioned in the
Project Initiation Document (PID) have been met
Check the Customer's satisfaction with the
deliverables
Get formal acceptance of the deliverables
Confirm that maintenance and operation
arrangements are in place
Prepare an End Project Report
Planning
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Planning is an ongoing activity carried out
at different stages
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Plan an initiation stage
Plan a project
Plan a stage
Create an Exception plan
Planning Framework
Establish the products that are needed
 Determine the sequence in which the
products will be produced
 Define the form and content for each
product
 List activities involved for their creation
and delivery
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Reference
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Prince 2: A Practical Handbook by Colin
Bentley