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UNDERSTANDING PRINCE 2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHOD
A good project management method will guide the project through a controlled, well-managed and clear set of activities, to achieve the desired results. Structured project management means managing the project in a logical, organized way, following defined steps. PRINCE adopts the principles of good management, to avoid the problems identified above and thus helps to achieve successful projects. These principles can be summed up as under:- A project is a finite process with a definite start and end.
- Projects always need to be managed in order to be successful.
- There has to be a genuine commitment towards the project.
WHAT IS PRINCE 2 '
PRINCE, Project IN Controlled Environments, is a project management methodology covering the organization, management and control of projects.
PRINCE 2 can be defined in a number of ways:
PRINCE 2 is a process-based approach management, providing an easily tailored and scaleable method for the management, for all types of projects.
PRINCE 2 is a de facto standard used extensively by the UK Government and is widely recognized and used in the private sector, both in the UK and internationally.
PRINCE 2 is a project management methodology developed by the Government of the United Kingdom (UK) and used internationally, especially in Information Technology (IT) environments. PRINCE 2 makes use of the best proven practices from a variety of industries and backgrounds. It is based on the experiences of scores of projects, project managers and project teams who have contributed, some from their mistakes or omissions and others from their successes. Documents with templates and clear decision points are the main features of this methodology.
Prince 2 is recognized as a world-class international product and the world’s most widely used standard method for project management. It includes many years of good practice in project management and provides a flexible and adaptable approach, to suit all projects. It is designed to provide a framework, covering the wide variety of disciplines and activities required within a project.
Many organizations are employing the skills and services of external suppliers, working alongside in-house resources, to enhance their ability and to deliver successful projects. Prince 2 provides a mechanism to harness these resources and enable the team to integrate and work together effectively on a project.
FEATURES OF PRINCE 2
- A PRINCE 2 project has the following characteristics:
- The PRINCE 2 focuses on business justification.
- It has a product - based planning approach.
- It defines organization structure for the project management team.
- It divides the project into manageable and controllable stages.
- It defines the amount of resources required.
- It applies flexibility at a level appropriate to the project.
BENEFITS OF PRINCE 2
PRINCE 2 provides benefits to the managers and directors of a project and to an organization, through the controlled use of resources and the ability to manage business and project risk more effectively. PRINCE 2 is a non–proprietary and easy to learn method. It includes established and best proven practices in project management. It is widely recognized and understood, providing a common language for all participants of the project. This will enable you to make fewer mistakes, to learn from those that you do make, and thus, save money and efforts of an organization.
BENEFITS TO AN ORGANIZATION
PRINCE 2 is a single, common, structured project management methodology which provides:
- A common, consistent approach.
- A controlled and organized start, middle and end.
- Regular reviews of progress against plan.
- Assurance that the project continues to have a business justification.
- Flexible decision points.
- Management control of any deviations from the plan.
- The involvement of management and stakeholders at the right time and place during the project.
- Good communication channels between the project, project management, and the rest of the organization.
- A means of capturing and sharing lessons learned.
- A route to increasing the project management skills.
CONCLUSION
Project management is a complex discipline and it would be wrong to assume that blind application of PRINCE 2 will result in a successful project. By the same token, it would be wrong to assume that every aspect of PRINCE 2 will be applicable to every project. For this reason, every process has a note on scalability. This provides guidance to the Project Manager (others involved in the project) as to “how much” of the process to apply. The positive aspect of this is that PRINCE 2 can be tailored to the needs of the project. The negative aspect is that many of the essential elements of PRINCE 2 can be omitted, sometimes resulting in a PINO project – Print in Name Only.
So, we can conclude that PRINCE 2 is a method for managing projects. It helps you work out as to who should be involved and what they should be responsible for. It gives you a set of processes to work through and explains what information you should be gathering along the way. But PRINCE 2 doesn’t do the work for you; it cannot guarantee that your projects will be successful. Good projects, which deliver quality results, on-time and within budget are dependent on the quality of people, involved from the Project Board down to the individual team.