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Introduction to PRINCE2 Project Management

PRINCE2

PRINCE stands for: PRojects IN Controlled Environments and is a structured method which can be applied to any size or type of project.

Ans. A structured project approach such as PRINCE2 will provide personnel:

A clearer understanding of Project Management

A more explicit definition of projects

A clearer view of project roles and responsibilities

A means of achieving product output

A means of improving the planning process

A means of committing project resources

PRINCE2 has rapidly gained acceptance amongst the UK Public Sector as a key tool for the management of projects.So what can PRINCE2 offer as a project approach?

PRINCE2

The PRINCE2 method can be broken down into two clear elements:

Management Components

The PRINCE2 process.

Planning

Quality Review

Management of Change

Configuration Management

These elements are supported by a number of techniques including:

Within a PRINCE2 project there are number of Management Components

comprising of:

PRINCE2

Organisation

Controls

Stages

Management of Risk

Quality in a Project Environment

Configuration Management

Change Control.

PRINCE2

Project Direction

Starting a Project

Initiating a Project

Managing Stage Boundaries

Closing a Project

Planning Controlling a Stage

Managing Product Delivery

The Processes of a PRINCE2 project can be represented as a number of clearly

defined phases:

PRINCE2 - Introduction

The PRINCE2 method can be applied to the management of all type of projects.

The PRINCE2 method will not however, take the place of common sense.

No two projects are alike and therefore a degree of flexibility must be adopted in the application of the PRINCE2 method.

Blindly following PRINCE2 (or any other method) will often lead to frustrationconfusion and possible project failure.

Starting a Project

PRINCE2 Processes – Starting a Project

Objectives of the Process

The primary objective of this process is to provide a controlled beginning to a project.

PRINCE2 seeks to achieve this through:

Identification of clear project objectives.

Planning for the Initiation Stage.

Identification of a realistic approach to the work to be done.

Creation of a suitable project management team.


Instigation of a Project

The trigger for the Starting a Project Process is the receipt of a Project Mandate.

The term Project Mandate is used to describe any request to undertake a project and as such can be received in a number of forms including:

Formal written Project Request

Informal written Project Request (Email, Fax etc.).

Verbal Request.


Key outputs of Starting a Project include:

Creation of Project Brief – Document that can inform interested parties of theexistence of the project and its potential impact

Creation of Project Board – the Project Board are members of the organisation that have overall responsibility for the success of the project and can include:The project managerProject SponsorEnd user of project output

Membership of this group is flexible and should reflect the complexity of the Project as well as its potential impact upon the organisation and its stakeholders

Creation of a Risk Log – this enables the project manager to begin to identify and therefore plan for any potential risks to the project


At this stage of the project it is important to have a clear idea of what the Project is hoping to achieve in terms of its output(s).

To do this a significant amount of information is needed as this will be usedto identify resources needed, time requirements, lines of communication as well as the financial impact that that project may have on the organisation.

Information gathered at this stage will be used to inform the project manager of the potential risks involved in undertaking the project as wellas information needed to get the project off to a smooth start.


Structure of the Project Brief

Planning Initiation StagePlanning QualityProject Planning

Refining Business CasePreliminary Risk Assessment

Define the Project Approach

Define Review Activities

Define Acceptance Criteria

Define Project ConstraintsDefine Project Objectives

Define Project Scope

Define Quality Criteria

Define Reporting Activities

Information Gathering

Planning &Analysis

Risk Log

Project Initiation Document

Outputs derived from the Project Brief


Appointment of the Project Board

The Project Board has the overall authority for the project and is responsible for the initiation, direction, review and eventual closure of the project.

Who is Responsible to whom and for what.

To support the appointment of personnel to a Project Board a useful

exercise is to identify:

Who is Accountable to whom and for what.

Who must be informed of project developments.

Who must be consulted as part of the decision making process.

Who must provide support to the Project.

Pro ject Resources & Team s

O rganisation or Program m eM anagem ent

The Pro ject Board

ProjectA ssurance

Pro ject Support

Team LeaderTeam LeaderTeam Leader

Senior User Executive Senior Supplier

Pro ject M anager


PRINCE2 Processes – Initiating a Project

The purpose of Initiating a Project is to provide a common understanding

for all those involved with the project including:

The reasons for doing the project

The key products to be delivered

How and when the products will be delivered

The scope of what is to be done

Any constraints that apply to the project

Who is to be involved in the decision making process

How the required quality criteria will be achieved

What risks will/may be faced

How the project is to be controlled.

Project Initiation Document.

Quality Log.

Issues Log.

Project Files.


Key outputs of Initiating a Project:


The Project Initiation Document (PID)

The Project Initiation Document (PID) represents the major management product created in this phase. This document must contain sufficient information to allow the Project Board to identify:

Whether there is a justifiable reason to proceed with the project

What the project is aiming to provide

How the project will achieve its aims

Who will undertake the work

Where the project will be undertaken

When the project will start and finish.

The Project Initiation Document (PID) forms the baseline for decision-making during the project’s lifetime and represents the standard against which the success of the project will be measured.


Supplementary documents produced during the Initiation of a Project are the:

Issues Log

Quality Log.

These documents should be updated during the lifetime of the project as a way of capturing relevant information and identifying actions to be undertaken by project personnel.

Project Files.

By setting up dedicated project files it will be possible to store and retrieve all information relevant to the management of the project.

As part of the Project Initiation process there is a need to create a central repository to hold all project documentation. This is achieved through the creation of project files.

Directing a Project

PRINCE2 Processes – Directing a Project

This process is aimed at the Senior Management team responsible for the project usually represented by the Project Board.

Authorising the preparation of a project plan and business case for the projectApproving the project go-ahead

Checking that the project remains justifiable at key points in the project life cycleMonitoring progress of the project and giving advice as required

Ensuring that the project comes to a controlled close.

Within a PRINCE2 project these decision makers have five main responsibilities:

PRINCE2 Processes – Directing a Project

It is the responsibility of the Project Manager to keep the Project Board informed of the progress of the project through the regular submission of Highlight Reports which give necessary and timely information regarding the progress of the project.

It is often necessary as part of this regular communication to submit Exception Reports. These document highlight an issues that have arisen during each stage of the project and the actions necessary to ensure continuation of the project

The Project Board are responsible for informing the Project Manager of any risks and issues from the wider environment that may affect the project activities and hence outcomes.

Controlling a Stage

PRINCE2 Processes – Controlling a Stage

This process requires the controlled production of agreed products:To stated quality standards

Within agreed cost, effort & time

To achieve the defined benefits of the project.

This is the process by which the Project Manager monitors and controls theactivities of the project and can be thought of as the day to day managementof the project.


The control of a stage will consist of a cycle of:

Authorising work to be doneMonitoring the progress of work ongoing

Identifying changes

Reviewing the project situation and triggering new work authorisations

Reporting activities

Taking any necessary corrective action.

In practice these processes should be tailored in respect of the size and complexity of the project.There may be no need to hold formal meetings to discuss actions, although the Project Board must be kept aware of project progress and be consulted in the event of changes outside of agreed tolerance levels.


Collecting all progress information for work currently ongoing

Collecting feedback on quality checking activities

Estimating the time and effort required to complete any unfinished work

Estimating the availability of resources

Publishing accomplishments

Identifying any points that need attention.

A Progress Assessment achieved by:

The capture of Project Issues is best achieved by the upkeep of a Project Issues Log.

Project Issues apart from general problems and questions can result in:

A Request for Change, resulting in a change of specification or Acceptance Criteria of the project

An Off Specification, covering errors or omissions found in work alreadyconducted or planned for the future.


Project Issues

The Project Manager is responsible for managing the actions taken once an issue has been identified, although a project support role may be nominated to act as the central focus for receiving and documenting Project Issues.


Reviewing Stage StatusThe objective of this process is to check that the current stage is kept within the tolerances set by the Project Board

This is achieved by reviewing:Progress against the Stage Plan

Resource allocation and availability

Project activities against tolerance levels

Updating Lessons Learned

Escalating those issues which must be considered by the Project Board.

The Project Manager is also responsible for:Checking the validity of the Business Case

Reviewing the Risk Log.


Reporting Highlights

The production of Highlight Reports is the recommended process for communicating the status of a Stage to the Project Board. Highlight Reports should summarise the relevant information on which the Project Board will make decisions.

The Project Manger is responsible for the reporting of highlights to the Project Board at a mutually agreed frequency.


Escalating Project Issues

In the event that any action required to correct a Project Issue falls outside of agreed tolerance margins, the proposed actions must be escalated to the Project Board for consideration and/or approval.

Management of Work Packages

A work package as the name suggests is a collection of tasks that once Completed make a contribution to the overall progress of the project. The identification of discrete work packages can help the project manager To break the overall workload of the project down into manageable pieces.

Once a Work Package is completed it must be checked by the Project Manager to confirm that it conforms to the agreed product description, specification, standards and constraints.

Managing Product Delivery

PRINCE2 Processes – Managing Product Delivery

Making certain that work on products allocated to each team is authorised by the Project ManagerChecking authorised Work Packages for completeness of information

Creating team plans

Checking progress against plans

Ensuring completed products meet the desired quality criteria

Ensuring approval for the completed product is provided by the Project Board.

This is the part of the process that deals specifically with the creation of the product(s) of the project.

The objectives of the process are to allow the Team Leader to manage day to day operations and ensure that the planned products are created and delivered by the project team.

This can be achieved by:


Accepting a Work Package

Defining exactly of what is required of each work package

Planning the work necessary to complete the package

Perform a risk analysis of the activity(ies) to be undertaken

Confirm available resources

Agree the quality criteria to which the work package must conform

Confirm how and to whom the Work Package must be handed over.

Where work is delegated there must be a clear understanding between the Project Manager and the project team of all the work requirements.

This can be achieved by the Team Leader (in consultation with the Project Manager) through the following activities:


Executing a Work Package – ie getting the work done

The necessary steps within this are:Allocate work to team members

Capture and record the effort expended

Determine achievement of each element within the Work Package

Monitor and control the risks associated with the Work Package

Evaluate with the creator(s) the amount of effort still required

Feedback progress and status reports to Project Managers

Ensure quality checking procedures are carried out and products meet quality criteriaCommunicate any problems that may arise.


Delivering a Work Package

Obtain sign-off by any required quality checkers for the product(s) developedHand over the completed product(s)

Advise the Project Manager of completion of the Work Package.

The methods employed to achieve these should be defined as part of the Work Package Authorisation process and are the responsibility of the Team Leader.

This process has three elements:

PRINCE2 Processes – Managing Stage Boundaries

Through the effective management of Stage Boundaries the Project Manger is able to confirm for the Project Board which project outputs planned for the current stage have actually been deliverer.

Planning each stage to a level of detail that allows individual tasks to be identified, planned and undertaken.Updating the Project Plan to provide an overall view of project progress

Updating the Business Case in response to any significant changes to the project’s environment* Updating the Risk Log*

Updating Lessons Learned Report

Producing Exception Plans*.

*These actions should be tailored to reflect the current status of each project stage and may therefore not always be necessary.

The main activities undertaken during this process include:

PRINCE2 Processes – Closing a Project

A project exists for a finite length of time and will, as products are created and stages completed, need to be closed in an orderly and controlled manner.

Decommissioning the project

Identifying follow-on actions

Project Evaluation Review

Production of an End Project Report

Updating of the Lessons Learned Log.

These activities include:

The method of Closing a Project will need to be tailored to suit the needs of each individual project although there are a number of core activities that must be undertaken by the Project Manager.


Decommissioning the Project

Confirming that products of the project have been approved and handed over to the Customer

All project information is completed and stored within the project filing system

That a notification is sent to all interested parties and associated organisations that the project is closing.

This process is directed towards ensuring that all issues have been dealt with or, if necessary, transferred to the list of follow on actions.

The Project Manager is responsible for:


Establish actions required following the projectDocument any Follow-on Action recommendation

Recommend a date and plan for any Post Project Review considerednecessary.

Identifying Follow-on Actions

Project Evaluation Review

Assess the results of the project against what it was intended to achieve

Examine the records of the completed project to assess the quality of its management Identify lessons to be learned from the project and applied on future projects.

The aims of this process are to:

The aims of this process are to:


Documentation produced as part of this process will include:

End Project ReportThe Project manager is responsible for creation of this report which will detail the effectiveness of the project management process and and how well the project has performed against the Project Initiation Document (PID).

Lessons Learned ReportThis report should be aimed at answering the question “what should be done differently next time?” and is part of the ongoing process of quality Improvement.

It is important to identify who should receive the Lessons Learned Report as well as informing the Project Board of its location.

Plans and Planning

PRINCE2 Processes – Plans and Planning

Planning and re-planning are constant and key activities when managing any project.

Identified products

Timescales

Costs

Quality.

Within the PRINCE2 method the planning activities are aimed at creating plans for:

The project as a whole

Each stage within the project

The project team’s work within the project.

Plans created as part of the role of the Project Manager must address how the following are to be met during the lifetime of the project:


The hierarchy of plans within the PRINCE2 method is as follows:

Team Plan

Programme Plan

Project Plan

Stage Plan Exception PlanThe exception plan isOften referred to as acontingency plan and is usually invoked when the project gets into some form of difficulty ieexperiences a risk of some nature.


Project plans are usually constructed by listing the sequence of activities required to carry the project from start to completion, and developing an action plan to complete the activities.

Sequencing is a necessary consideration for determining the project schedule and duration.

All activities required to complete a project must be precisely defined and coordinatedSome activities must be done sequentially, and some simultaneouslyUsing a hierarchical planning system will allow these activities to be identified and sorted appropriately.


Components of a Plan

Time & Cost

Assumptions

Activities

Resources

Products

Quality Requirements

Pre-requisites

RisksControl Points

Revised Activities & Resources


Steps involved in the Planning Process

Step 1 - Identify and define products to be produced during the project.

Step 2 - Determine the sequence in which products will be produced.

Step 3 - Identify the activities needed for the creation of each product.

Step 4 - Estimate resource requirements & elapsed times for each product.

Step 5 - Schedule the activities & resource requirements.

Step 6 - Create draft plan (include risks and contingencies).

Step 7 - Review plan and create Plan Text.

Step 8 - Finalise Plan and gain approval from appropriate authority.


Identify and define products to be produced during the project.

Determine the sequence in which products will be produced.

Identify the activities needed for the creation of each product.

Creation of Network Diagrams.

Activities Outputs

Steps in the creation of a Work Breakdown Structure


7

1

2

65

34

Activity Network Diagramsenable a visualrepresentation of what work is to be done and in what order.

Activity NetworkDiagrams also highlights any prerequisites thatmust be completed as part of productdevelopment.


The formation of a Work Breakdown Network Diagram represents the first activity in the creation of a project schedule.

A schedule is the conversion of a project action plan into an operating timetable.

It serves as the basis for monitoring and controlling project activityTaken together with the plan and budget, it is probably the major tool for the management of projects.

In a project environment, the scheduling function is more important than it would be in an ongoing operation.

Projects lack the continuity of day-to-day operations and often present much more complex problems of coordination.

Schedules


a m TE b

Estimating:

Optimistic (a), Pessimistic (b), and most likely (m), which are expressions of the risk associated with the time required for each activity

On the distribution graph m is the mode, a is the estimation of actual time so that the the actual time will be a or greater about 99 percent of time, and b is estimated such that about 99% of the time the activity will have a duration of b or less.

Expected Time (TE) is found by: TE=(a + 4m + b)/6

The method is based on BETA statistical distribution. TE is an estimate of the mean of the distribution, as a weighted average of a,b, and m with weight 1-4-1.

Activity Optimistic time

Most likely time

Pessimistic time

Expected time (TE)

a 10 22 22 202010151014

41118

8

b 20 20 20c 4 10 16d 2 14 32e 8 8 20f 8 14 20g 4 4 4h 2 12 16i 6 16 38j 2 8 14

Project activity times and precedences



Scheduling often requires the creation of a Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) Network and/or a Gantt (Timescale) plan. The information required to produce either of these project representations can be derived from the Product Activity Network.

3 7 10

Review the StrategyPlan

5 2 12

16 2 18

Produce Project Brief

16 0 18

11 5 16

Design and AppointProject Team

11 0 16

0 3 3

Appoint the ProjectBoard Executive

0 0 3

3 8 11

Plan the ProjectApporach

3 0 11

10 4 14

Prepare BoardPosition Paper

12 2 16

3 2 5

Appoint the ProjectManager

9 6 11

0 3 3

Appoint the ProjectBoard Executive

0 0 3

Earliest Start Time Duration Earliest Finish Time

Latest Start Time Total Float Latest Finish Time

Example of a PERT Network


Example of a Gantt Plan

ID Task Name1 PROJECT LIFE CYCLE2 CONCEPTUAL PHASE3 PRELIMINARY PROJECT PLAN4 Define Scope & Objectives5 Document Assumptions & Dependencies6 Define Project Organisation7 Define Project Execution Approach8 Estimate Resource Requirements9 Develop Phase Schedule10 Define Project accounting Procedures11 Prepare Risk Assessment12 PROJECT CONCEPT13 Define Project Structure14 Prepare Outline of the Problem15 Develop Potential Solutions Description16 Define Development Alternatives17 Prepare Plan & IT Cost18 Write Management Summary19 Prepare PCR & Issues Register20 Conduct PCR

S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S2 04 Mar '02 11 Mar '02 18 Mar '02 25 Mar '02

Task Bar Summary Bar Linkage Line Milestone

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