Principles of PRINCE2® is an internationally recognized project management methodology that has been used by more than 150 companies. The PRINCE2® project management method is successful in different kinds of businesses. PRINCE2® can be used in IT and non-IT projects, as well as in different sized projects. It is a project management methodology that can be applied to any project, regardless of their location, industry sector and size.
Today’s organizations are constantly looking for new methods of production that will enable them to produce high quality goods or services in a very short amount of time.
There is constant pressure on the project manager to control and manage their projects. The role has been given a lot of responsibility, which includes managing objectives and deadlines. This is where the knowledge of Principles of PRINCE2® can offer excellent results, since it is very common nowadays and companies prefer not only those who are certifiably trained but also those who embrace this knowledge.
The PRINCE2® courses cover the four elements of the project management method: themes, processes, principles, and project management. There are some big benefits to becoming a certified PRINCE2® professional.
There are two different types of certification in PRINCE2®:
The Foundation program is designed for all people who work in environments that use PRINCE2® as a guide. Candidates who study engineering and technology can pursue this qualification.
The PRINCE2® Practitioner qualification course is an advanced course that covers all aspects of the PRINCE2® method including processes, principles and project management. Here, the managers will manage their team by assigning PRINCE2® roles and responsibilities to the members and clear guidelines for their work.
This will help them be better at coordinating tasks and completing projects as a group.
What is PRINCE2®
PRINCE2® is a project management methodology that is mostly used in the UK, Australia and European countries. Focuses on managing resources and risks by dividing projects into smaller stages, defining clear roles & responsibilities, and using seven processes to manage the project life cycle.
PRINCE2® is a high-quality project management framework that has carved out a niche for itself by offering superior project management processes, no matter how big or small your project is. It provides streamlined, controlled project management principles and themes that help managers to manage and control projects easily.
The PRINCE2® methodology is a process-based approach to managing the project from start to finish. By using it, you can avoid last-minute hurdles and hindrances, by planning before the project begins. PRINCE2® has guidelines for all the stages of a project, from roles and responsibilities to control and management.
Why have so many businesses adopted PRINCE2® ?
In today’s fast paced business world decisions are being made every moment and any delay leads to the loss of opportunities. To avoid any negative effects and to be smartly adaptable to the many convulsions of our environment, businesses have to initiate
Organizations are turning to more effective project management approaches in order to increase their chances of success. This is why, of late, different kinds of project management methodologies have been on the rise. PRINCE2® is a popular project management methodology that can be easily applied.
Why PRINCE2® ? What 2 stands for?
PRINCE2® is made up of 2 letters. The original PRINCE2® version was developed and introduced in the late 1980s, but there were problems with it. In 1996, the approach was reviewed and updated to include more modern problems in project management.
PRINCE2® 2 is an updated project management methodology that is more effective, efficient, and accurate. All of the leaders in the project management industry helped create it because they wanted to help their clients be more successful.
What are the 7 PRINCE2® Principles?
As we have seen, the PRINCE2® certification has helped the project managers in any projects they take on or industry they are related to. The following 7 principles help them in many ways, such as shortening time to market, reducing rates of failure, high quality, and controlling and managing projects for meeting customer expectations. The principles are not product based but serve as guidelines for every industry.
PRINCE2® methods are built up on seven core principles. Together, these principles provide a framework for good practice. They are:
1. Continued business justification:
Your project must have a clear justification in order to be successful, including a clearly-defined customer, feasible and scalable benefits, and a complete cost assessment. This is the primary principle of PRINCE2®, which helps you stay focused on the project goals and objectives.
2. Learn from experience:
Projects should include the successes and failures of past projects in order to learn from them. There is a lot of knowledge obtained by studying these strategies. Every project has a beginning, a step-by-step process, and an end completion.
- At the beginning of the project – The previous experience helps a great deal to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the team and organization.
- When a project begins – The team members should share lessons learned and make sure to never forget these lessons.
- When we complete a project – The experience and knowledge learned should be assembled and compiled so that it can be used in future projects. If nothing is shared with future projects, then there’s no point in pursuing any further learning or experience.
3. Defined roles and responsibilities:
It becomes much easier for team members to work with each other effectively when they know what their roles and responsibilities are. Principles of PRINCE2® helps to make sure that every team member’s roles and responsibilities are defined so that they can do their jobs more efficiently and productively.
There are 3 broad categories of roles, they are:
- Business – Management people, board members, and investors are the ones that are pushing for the viability of the project and want to see a profit.
- Project Users – These are the people who use the products or services of our project. There may be many users or one user, it depends. The customer is also classified as a type of user.
- Vendors – This includes the people who work on the project and all those involved. They are rewarded accordingly for their service, as specified in their contracts.
4. Manage by stages:
Projects are broken into stages for more manageable and accurate management. Once the stage is over, it is reviewed by the superiors and any learning will be recorded for the future course. This helps management ensure that the project is on track and has no potential loopholes.
There at least 2 stages, those are
- The Project Initiation stage
- The Project Execution stage.
The project board monitors the progress of the project and reassigns tasks to the Project Manager.
Boundaries are natural phases of a project. Boundaries must be managed and controlled by the project manager.
5. Manage by exception:
Board members are senior managers and cannot allocate their time for the project on a daily basis, but will define the requirements and assign them to the project manager. Some of the measurable elements of this project are time, cost, risk assessment, scopes, and others. If anything goes wrong in the project, such as the timeline being too tight or the budget is getting exceeded, the project manager will act appropriately. There are issues that might impact the establishment, and these must be dealt with by board members to avoid ill effects.
There are 6 exceptions which are made.
- 1. Cost – One of the main factors is the project budget. The board needs to provide a high level of tolerance. If the PRINCE2® Cost is outside this allowance, then it’s up to the board to make the tough decision.
- 2. Time – If a project takes longer than the deadline it needs to be reassessed by the board.
- 3. Quality – This is set during the planning stages of a project, with defined levels of tolerances. Defined as many other issues, requirements include strength, production time, and maintenance requirements.
- 4. Scope – One of the most common reasons for project failure is leaving projects with unclear goals. So, project scope needs to be well-defined throughout its duration.
- 5. Benefits – Be sure to specify and ensure that the benefits are being monitored right through the project cycle. The benefits might be like profits or a reduction in cost, etc.
- 6. Risk – The risks must be managed so that they don’t get worse. There are four ways to deal with risk: Mitigate, Accept, Avoid and Transfer. Each kind of risk has its own specific set of tolerances and rules.
6. Focus on the product:
Teams guarantee that the deliverables are done accurately and precisely and meet project objectives. Quality control is the main thing looked at for every project.
The deliverables are of 2 types
- Documentation – Management Products are documents such as PID, Risk Register, and Issue logs. They are for internal use only.
- Standard products – These are the deliverables to the customers.
7. Tailor to suit the project:
Different projects have different requirements. The PRINCE2® environment can be tailored to meet the unique needs of each project by adjusting aspects such as the number of team members, amount of supervision, and stage planning.
Importance of PRINCE2® Principles
Principles of PRINCE2® helps guiding project managers and help them get their tasks done without failing. They reduce the risks, they make it easier to reach deadlines, they cost less and still produce high-quality products.
The number of roles in PRINCE2®
There are three core positions on projects, the project board, project manager, and team members. The additional supplemental positions are defined to make the process more efficient.
We will discuss the total of 7 roles in PRINCE2®.
- The customer: The customer is in charge of the project and oversees how it is completed.
- The user: The user of the deliverables or someone impacted by the project’s outcomes will use the scheme. Sometimes, these are the same people.
- The supplier: A supplier is responsible for completing the project in the customer’s interest and delivering the best outcomes. The supplier offers the knowledge and skills needed to complete the project.
- The project manager: A project manager is a person who makes sure a project is completed successfully, putting all their skills to use. The project manager will plan, organize, control, and monitor the work to ensure that everything is done efficiently. They will form the team and assign roles to all team members. The project manager will ensure the project goes as planned and meets the customer’s expectations.
- The project team and team managers: Each project will have a team assigned to do what needs to be done. They might have one or many groups on different tasks and duties. A team leader may oversee the success of the given task or all tasks.
- Change Authority: requests for changes to the project specifications. Will provide a change budget, and the Change Authority has the power to either accept or decline change requests. Sometimes, the project manager will take on this responsibility.
- Project Assurance: Project Assurance provides an independent view of the progress of a project at agreed intervals. The person in charge is often the Project Board but may be appointed by the Project Board. They have to make sure that the project will remain on track with any changes and succeed in business assurance, human safety, and environmental impacts.
In the following article in this series exploring the seven roles in PRINCE2®, we will discuss the role of the Project Board. If you need some assistance with managing your project, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
The 7 Phase Process for the PRINCE2® project management method.
Here, we will break the project management process into seven parts to better understand it.
- Starting up a project: The customer states their needs and objectives for the project in a project mandate. We make sure that the company can complete what is needed. Once the project is accepted, the customer will provide more information to help us complete the project.
- Project direction: Now that the project brief is finished, the organization managers will evaluate it and assign a project manager to oversee all logistics.
- Project initiation: The project manager will create the project initiation document with a comprehensive plan and six factors. This document will determine the costs, quality, scope, time, risk, and advantages of the project. The documents will go to the project board for approval, at which point they will decide on the plan.
- Stage controlling: Stage Controlling will break the project into different stages. Teams will be made, and each team will have responsibilities. The project manager will map the process for each stage of the project. They will act if any problems or issues arise.
- Product delivery management: The project manager is responsible for meeting the expectations and ensuring that the organization’s deliverables are up to par. When the project is finished, the board will review it and ask for changes if necessary.
- Stage boundaries management: The manager and board evaluate the deliverables to ensure the project is going as planned.
- Project closing: Once the project is done, project managers will close threads like documentation, outcomes, and reporting. The PRINCE2® project management methodology is a very effective and successful project management method. This allows the project board and the project manager to track the project’s success at every stage of its life cycle.