2009 has become an important milestone in the history of project management with the release of the newly enhanced PRINCE2 project management method.

Since its publication in 1996 PRINCE2 has become the world’s must used project management method.

The purpose of the enhancements is to make PRINCE2 an even more user friendly model with better alignment to more commonly used project management terminology and practices. Since its original release we never envisaged PRINCE2 would become so widely accepted in so many different industries across the world.

As the challenges of 2009 and beyond are vastly different to 1996 it is natural for the methodology to evolve. Today’s PRINCE2 has a better balance between theory, logic and application.

A ‘high level’ snapshot of the changes to PRINCE2

We envisage the enhancements made to the methodology will allow PRINCE2 to remain the project management method of choice and the predominant project management certification in the world.

If you would like to learn more about PRINCE2 and its use in the market place contact us now.

Project documents may vary in size dependent on the complexity of a project. Greater complexity may require greater control, greater control may mean more documentation to assure the project is adequately controlled.

I once worked for someone who used the ‘window ledge test’ to determine if he should bother looking at the documentation prepared by the project manager.  He would place the printed document on his window ledge and if it happened to be blown away by a gush of wind he would conclude it was not worthy of review.

I’m sure you would agree this is not a sensible way to determine if the project manager has given adequate thought on the planning and control of the project.

The thickness of the project documentation does not matter, the quality of the information within the document however does. 

There are no rules stopping a project manager from using bullet points and diagrams to streamline their documentation.  In a recent audit of a portfolio of projects all the projects where of different complexities though the level of documentation was about the same.  After comparing documents it seemed like some of the project managers were guilty of the ‘copy and paste’ sin: ‘if it’s in my colleague’s document it’s then good enough for my project documentation’.  This is not always true.  Clever project managers scale their documentation according to the risk, nature and value of the project. Comparing project documentation for ideas may be a good way to improve the management of your project but to reproduce pages that may add very little value to the management of your project runs the risk of  subjecting others to ‘death by documentation’ and delaying senior management decision making.  Creating documentation that adds little value to the management of the project is an unnecessary and a time consuming task.  Project management methods like  PRINCE2 offer a set of project documents to help capture and communicate project information, however in the case of PRINCE2 it is not a document based project management method, but a ‘process based’ method.   In summary the application of project management processes is always mandatory and documents created to aid with the application of these processes should be scaled up or down according to the complexity of the project.

1. Ensure everyone with an interest in the project knows what to do, when events will happen, who will be involved and how the project will be executed and managed
2. Ensure a baseline exists for project progress and decision making associated with status, changes, management of issues and determining ongoing viability of the project.

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As a project management tool PRINCE2 does not illustrate how financial management tools operate, though it explains the importance of these tools in respect to the financial control of a project. 

Earlier this decade in the advent of a series of corporate accounting scandals a succession of corporate governance legislation were enacted (most famously the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002). These statutes enhanced financial standards by which boards, management and accounting firms must comply with.  It is widely recognized by industry experts that PRINCE2 (PRojects In Controlled Environments) is an effective method for the management of projects and aids organisations in their challenge to comply with requirements set out in recognized governance standards such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, CLERP 9 and other corporate law.

Today financial professionals are required to adopt a broader role in their organization assuring compliance to corporate financial governance standards. To be effective in their role financial professionals must become knowledgeable in best practice standards such as PRINCE2 to ensure their organization is effective in the operation of internal controls relating to significant investments and projects.

PRINCE2 explains the processes required to control projects and equip delegates with knowledge to appropriately audit the value of a project and the effectiveness of controls including financial tracking and reporting processes.

Increasingly financial professionals are adopting a role which PRINCE2 refers to as Project Assurance.  Throughout the project this role is responsible for advising senior management on the value of an individual project and the adequacy of its performance controls. 

In today’s challenging environment financial professionals are also an integral part of corporate committees responsible for assessing which projects the organization should continue to invest in.

PRINCE2 demonstrates:

- The importance of a project Business Case

- How a Business Case should be prepared and managed throughout its life

- How to assess the ongoing viability of a Business Case

- Where to establish key decision points in a Project Plan

- When & how the Business Case should be reviewed

- Project budget inclusions

- Key project documents important for compliance and auditing purposes

- An approach to assess the most cost effective project delivery model

- How to set a financial control and reporting framework for projects

- The importance of risk budgeting and its application in a project environment

- The application of Change Control and use of Change Budgets

- How to apply cost tolerances  to facilitate Management by Exception

- Project Planning and estimating approaches.

In summary PRINCE2 provides projects a governance framework and aids with compliance to enhanced corporate governance standards. It is important for Financial Controllers that their organisation’s projects follow a consistent approach for planning, estimating and reporting.  By not applying standardised and robust project management process the true performance of an organisaton’s portfolio of projects may never be known.  Financial Controllers have a special interest in that projects are appropriately governed to assure their success and their outputs produce a return on investment.

PRINCE2 is an internationally proven method that offers consistency in approach and best practice project management, improving the chances of success and better outcomes.

In the current environment tighter financial controls and reporting is a key topic amongst all levels of management and this will test the appropriateness of existing project governance models used by organisations, especially when concise and accurate decisions need to be made on which projects must be halted, others redefined and which new projects will need to be initiated.

These decisions need to be made with confidence but how does one decide which projects require continued investment.  On making a decision five key performance elements must be considered together. They are:

·     Financial investment and return,

·     Project timings, (is the ‘window of opportunity’ closing?)

·     Expected benefit/value of the project to the business,

·     The project’s risk profile; and

·     Your team’s ability to satisfy customer requirements.

Decision-making becomes ever more difficult if your projects lack:

·     Clear project roles and responsibilities

·     An accepted Business Case

·     Agreed performance measures

·     A standard approach for planning and control

·     Effective identification and management of risks

·     Periodic reviews of project progress and issues

·     Project documentation

These are core elements of best practice project governance that will facilitate Go – No Go decisions that all senior management must confront. 

A model which fulfils the requirements of best practice is the project management method PRINCE2^TM(PRojects IN Controlled Environments, 2^ndversion). Utilsing a common, robust and auditable project method will better position organisations to make those tough decision. Learn more about: PRINCE2