Benefits of PRINCE2®
PRINCE2® is a structured method providing organisations with a standard approach to the management of projects. The method embodies proven and established best-practice in project management. It is widely recognised and understood, and so provides a common language for all participants in the project.
PRINCE2® is the UK de-facto standard for project management developed by the Government and used in both the public and private sectors. The acronym stands for PRojects IN Controlled Environments.
PRINCE® was developed by the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) now part of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC). The methodology was originally developed for use on IT projects, but since its re-launch, when it was geared towards a general best practice approach, it has been used on many non-IT projects.
PRINCE2® is designed for use on a very wide range of projects, from ‘programmes’ of projects down to small ones involving just two or three staff for a short period. Clearly the approach to managing a very large, expensive, high-profile, business-critical project is going to be vastly different to managing a very small one which is neither business-critical nor high risk. PRINCE2® is very flexible and adaptable, allowing organisations to use one standard, scalable method for providing a controlled environment through which to deliver different sizes and types of project between these extremes with the resulting benefits. This delivers advantages of consistency and familiarity with the project approach particularly for contract staff or employees from external supplying organisations. Practitioners can gain recognised qualifications (Foundation and Practitioner Certificates). These confer professional credibility on in-house staff and set minimum standards for contractors.
PRINCE2® provides benefits to the organisation, as well as the managers and directors of the project, through the controllable use of resources and the ability to manage business and project risk more effectively. PRINCE2® enables projects to have:
- a controlled and organised start, middle and end
- regular reviews of progress against plan and against a specified Business Case
- flexible decision points
- automatic management control of any deviations from the plan
- the involvement of management and stakeholders at the right time and place during the project, and
- good communication channels between the project, project management, and the rest of the organisation.
The methodology requires frequent review of the Business Case (the justification for the project). This means the project can be given higher priority if the Business Case gets stronger or stopped quickly if the Business Case collapses. The Business Case is established before resources are spent on running a project.
Business benefits are checked during, at the end of the project and afterwards in a Post-Project Review or series of Post-Project Review(s), not merely recorded as justification at the beginning. This means the organisation can be realistic about its projects and learn from one project to the next, neither overstating nor understating the benefits.
PRINCE2® incorporates regular checks against the plan and alerts the project owners quickly if projections indicate that the project will go outside pre-determined tolerances. This brings project sponsors in quickly to make decisions if circumstances change.
The method provides a defined project structure for delegation, authority and communication. This reduces significantly the likelihood of confusion over responsibilities and authority. It also provides a means of controlling resources and a framework to manage risk effectively; risk management is incorporated into PRINCE2® project management processes so ‘crisis management’ ceases to be the norm.
PRINCE2® ensures that key interests in the project are represented in the Project Management Team. This means that users get what they need, deliverables are justified by the benefit to the organisation and that the products are technically viable.
The nature of key deliverables is agreed at the outset. This helps everyone understand exactly what the project will deliver and significantly reduces the risk in delivery of the 'wrong' product.
The identification and definition of products provides clear milestones for unambiguous progress checks. Both Project Manager and Project Board can see progress easily.
PRINCE2® includes a Product-based Planning technique which can make a major contribution to programme management and to mapping the interfaces between projects. This technique supports the focus on delivery of products rather than the carrying out of activities.
PRINCE2® separates within its process model where products are delivered (often completed by separate, external supplying organisations) and the management of the wider project by the customer organisation. Thus, PRINCE2® can be used by any sponsoring organisation alongside any different project management approach used by its supply partners.
Quality checks are provided throughout the project and product by product, as required.
A PRINCE2® project is divided into manageable chunks (stages) for more accurate planning and to build in key management reviews. Resource commitment from management accompanies authority to proceed with project stages. This puts responsibility for providing resource with those who commission the project rather than with the Project Manager who usually will not have authority to commit such resource.
A Communication Management Strategy is compiled to ensure stakeholders receive and contribute regular information flows. Project Boards are kept abreast of progress in between scheduled control points enabling them to 'manage by exception'. This gives the Project Manager freedom to manage the project in between those control points with clear authority.
The method stresses the need to control change from the outset, helping to avoid 'scope creep' followed by a 'freeze on change' which distances the project from the realities of a dynamic business environment.
PRINCE2® is a process-based approach to project management. Each process is defined with its key inputs and outputs together with the specific objectives to be achieved and activities to be carried out. This process-driven model fits with the requirement of ISO9001:2001.
Within each of the processes, PRINCE2® produces documents such as the Project Initiation Documentation (PID) used to define the project, form the basis for its management and the assessment of overall success. The Risk Register is used to identify record and grade risks to the project and the Lessons Report used to pass on any lessons that can be usefully applied to other projects.
The UK is the main user of the methodology, which was developed originally by the UK Government for use in the public sector thirteen years ago. Since then it has been adopted by the private sector and is now starting to spread world-wide. Countries in which PRINCE2® is becoming established include the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, South Africa, Australia, and even the United States. Thus, the method is supported by a wide range of service- and tools-providers, and has strong user groups so that practitioners can influence development of the method.
With organisations realising the importance of project management, it’s perhaps not so surprising that in the UK around 250 people a day are taking the PRINCE2® Foundation and Practitioner exams. This may also be attributed to the fact that it is easier to adopt an existing project management methodology than to create your own, with all the cost and time that involves.
The APM Group is an internationally recognised provider of qualifications in PRINCE2®. The schemes supporting the methodology have gained recognition by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). This is the first time a qualification scheme aimed at Project Management Professionals has achieved this recognition.
UKAS is the sole accreditation body recognised by the British Government, against internationally recognised standards, organisations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services.
The APM Group have approved over 100 accredited training organisations that have successfully steered hundreds of thousands of candidates through their PRINCE2® examinations. At present UKAS accreditation is restricted to the PRINCE2® programmes in the UK, however, there are plans to introduce it to APM Group’s activities in Australia and The Netherlands.
Most people have only heard good things about PRINCE2® and often wonder what its shortcomings are. It's not easy to criticise PRINCE2® but sometimes it can be seen as bureaucratic. This is usually before people realise how easy it is to tailor to their particular needs. As with any other methodology, you should use the bits that work for you and discard the rest. Don't be too religious in trying to follow the method to the letter.
