PROJECT SYSTEMS AND METHODS

PRINCE2 Methodology
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Contents
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PRINCE2 History:  PAGEREF _Toc279390847 \h
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Introduction:  PAGEREF _Toc279390848 \h
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What are the principles of PRINCE2?  PAGEREF _Toc279390849 \h
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What are the differences between the processes?  PAGEREF _Toc279390850 \h
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What are the important differences between the PRINCE2 2009 themes and PRINCE2 components?  PAGEREF _Toc279390851 \h
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An analysis of the methodology:  PAGEREF _Toc279390852 \h
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Disadvantages  PAGEREF _Toc279390853 \h
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PRINCE2 comparison to Body of Knowledge (BOK):  PAGEREF _Toc279390854 \h
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Suggestions to improve and adapt PRINCE2 methodology:  PAGEREF _Toc279390855 \h
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Conclusion:  PAGEREF _Toc279390856 \h
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Resources  PAGEREF _Toc279390857 \h
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PRINCE2 Methodology
PRINCE2 History:
PRINCE2 methodology is an updated version of the Prince which was developed in 1989 by the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) to fulfill the project management needs of the UK government. It was initially used for IT based projects but soon it spread out to other industries and fields. In 1996 PRINCE2 was released in the UK as a standard project management method, and its success led to its release all over the world. Its latest version was released in 2009.
Introduction:
PRINCE2 can be broken into three broad areas:
Principles
Processes
Themes
The approach of this methodology is process based. This approach explains the management the numerous processes involved in bringing together the raw materials required for a successful project. You don't pick and choose which elements of PRINCE2 to apply to your project. PRINCE2 is applied fully to help ensure consistency and standardize your approach. Although the full methodology is applied in each case, an integral principle of PRINCE2 is that you can tailor its use. This ensures that for any given project, a correct and appropriate amount of planning, control, governance and the use of the processes and themes is utilized. (Charvat, Jason 2010, pp. 118-123)
What are the principles of PRINCE2?
Principles are the basic foundations of any methodology and are termed as guiding obligations for good conduct or practice. The objective of PRINCE2 is to provide a project management method that can be used all over the world in all different types of industries, cultures and organizational setups. Universal methodologies can only succeed if they have a certain set of principles on how these can be applied to the different industries in a uniform manner.
A common critique that PRINCE2 methodology is faced with is that sometimes it can be applied in an over-prescriptive way or too ostensibly. Keeping these drawbacks in mind PRINCE2 2009 was revised and carried with itself a set of principles (resulting from lessons learned from projects which did not do too well or were exceptional) that provided a sound framework for the people part of the project. These principles assist the practitioners in using their judgment in terms of the application of the method and giving them a level of control that is suitable for that particular level, intricacy and significance of the project. (Garton, Colleen 2009, pp. 345-357)
In case a project fails to adhere to these principles it is not being executed using PRINCE2 correctly, as the principles of this methodology are the foundation of what describes a PRINCE2 project. This can be used as an experiment to determine whether a project is being managed using PRINCE2, therefore whether the project is following good project management practice and hence will be able to attain a successful result.
What are the differences between the processes?
The main difference between the previous PRINCE2 methodologies and the updated 2009 is that they were far less perceptive. Every single process comprises of a number of activities and each activity consists of a number of recommended actions. PRINCE2 has a set sequence of processes which in the real world may not be following exactly as they have been laid out. This might not be a major cause for concern but the people involved should assess whether or not any further corrective actions might be necessary later in the project or whether the project is at a serious risk by not following the outlines sequence of process.
The PRINCE2 2009 has seven processes as compared to eight in PRINCE2 2005. The planning process has been united with the plans theme (which comprises of a recurring planning procedure which can be used to produce or update any type of plan). The planning steps from the process lifecycle perspective are included in the Initiating a Project process (planning a project) and Managing a Stage Boundary process (planning a stage). (Charvat, Jason 2010, pp. 203-207)
Another great benefit of the PRINCE2 2009 is that the products can be taken over by the people involved in the project at any stage of the project and not towards the end like in PRINCE2 2005. The Controlling the Stage process now has different measures to ensure whether any finished products need to be officially handed over to the user. When a product is transferred to user early it is usually beneficial to both the supplier and the client.
The Closing the Project process now comprises of more clear guidelines in case of early closure. In case of PRINCE2 2005 the term abandon was used on the other hand PRINCE2 2009 stresses on making the projects product safe and then to review and analyze if there is any remaining and possible value that can be retrieved from the project and if it is a possibility – how it will be carried out for e.g. they can be sold at a good price to a third party. (Garton, Colleen 2009, pp. 378-380)
What are the important differences between the PRINCE2 2009 themes and PRINCE2 components?
The themes present in PRINCE2 2009 are those characteristics of project management that:
Need to be evaluated and handled all through the project lifecycle. These are not one time activities.
Require specific guidelines for PRINCE2 processes to be carried out efficiently
When the above definition was applied on PRINCE2 2005 as a test it was not supported by the Configuration Management as PRINCE2 does not require a specific treatment for Configuration Management in the similar fashion that it doesn’t require a specific treatment for estimating for example. When other aspects of project management from other bodies of knowledge were reviewed to assess whether additional themes could be included in it, Benefits Management and Stakeholder Engagement were chosen and were later included in the Business Case theme and Organization theme respectively.(Charvat, Jason 2010, pp. 267-275)
An analysis of the methodology:
The PRINCE2 project methodology divides a project into distinct manageable sections. A key feature of PRINCE2 is the definition of main input/output points, specific objectives and associated tasks to be carried out during the initial phases. This helps to provide a greater degree of control thereby avoiding deviations from the base-lined project plan. Such type of control is helpful as it allows stakeholders to decide the sequence of product delivery, grouping and decision making, resulting in an organized deployment path.
The following section describes some of the benefits of deploying the PRINCE 2 process model:
Helps in providing a focused start, middle and finish.
Creates multiple business benefits.
To help keep stakeholder involvement alive, PRINCE2 helps inacquiring and maintaining the rewards which are the main reasons for undertaking the project.
Most Project Management Offices seek to standardize and regularize processes to ensure consistency and best practice deployment. This however is not possible since “no two projects” are ever the same. PRINCE2 is able to take this factor into account by identifying the ideal management environment for each project; thereby providing each project an individual management environment. (Garton, Colleen 2009, pp. 421-428)
PRINCE2 reduces unknown factors by providing a defined approach in the form of processes, practices, standards, templates and PM tools. This obviously helps in improving performance and delivery since a shared, standardized approach is always easier to adopt rather than a customized or personalized approach. With the help of standardization tools, documents, communication and project procedures become more transparent and easy to apply across the board.
A key aspect of PRINCE2 is “Tailoring”. Since standardization helps in applying this methodology across multiple industries and projects as described above, tailoring helps in making the methodology even more advantageous.( Dow, William 2009, pp. 345-351)
PRINCE 2 defines tailoring as the appropriate use of PRINCE2 on any given project ensuring that there is correct amount of planning, control, governance and use of processes and themes. To put it simply, tailoring is done by the project management team to adapt the method to the context of a specific project.
Tailoring involves adapting the PRINCE 2 method to both external and project factors. External factors to consider could be any corporate standards that need to be applied while project factors would include items such as the scale of the project. For example if there were two projects - one simple and the other to build the worlds' tallest tower – a PM would still follow corporate standards in each case, but those for the tower could involve more in-depth work. And, in terms of themes, the risk element would still be addressed in the simple project, just not to the same extent or depth as with building the world's tallest tower.( Kliem, Ludin & Robertson, 2009, pp. 235-241)
Another benefit of the PRINCE 2 method of managing projects is that regardless of the project scale, complexity, geography or culture, or whether it is part of a program or is being managed as a stand-alone project, the full PRINCE2 methodology is applied each and every time.
In contrast to other approaches to project management, another key benefit of PRINCE2 is that, it may be applied to all projects. Certain other methodologies like DSDM, for example, are only applicable for IT projects; or techniques such as PMBoK (details described above) which can tell a project manager what has to be done - but not how it can be done. This is certainly helpful to new or inexperienced project managers who may lack experience and a sense of direction, therefore making it difficult to obtain the wanted outcome. (Garton, Colleen 2009, pp. 521-528)
Finally since the methodology is applicable all kinds and sizes of projects having PRINCE2 available publicly, allows easy access to organizations for intellectual capital tools, documentation and processes.
Disadvantages
Despite the advantages of PRINCE2, described above, the methodology does have certain drawbacks. For instance PRINCE2 has been deemed inappropriate for projects that require greater amounts of administration. Although standardization is generally considered a best practice according to PRINCE2 and some PM method experts, certain projects by nature will require a greater degree of customization and administration. Proponents of PRINCE2 claim that this is incorrect and based on a poor understanding of the methodology. (Kerzner, Harold 2010, pp. 256-260) However even after deploying the tailoring methods desc...