Prince 2: The Road Map To Project Success

PRINCE2 is an acronym for PRojects IN Controlled Environments. It is an effective process-based method for authoritative project management. It is mostly used by the UK Government and also in private sectors, internationally. The PRINCE2 method offers the best practice guidance on project management. PRINCE was established in 1989 by CCTA (the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency). Since then, it is widely used for Project Management.

PRINCE2 principles helps to manage the projects particularly in the business world. Before proceeding further, you should have knowledge about, “What is a Project and what makes a successful project?”

A project can be defined as “a management environment that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to a specified business case”. You can connote the term “Project” in a broader perspective by considering the downside, that is by taking into account the conditions that culminate in the failure of a project.  

Given below are some of the factors responsible for the failure of a project-

• Lack of management support: Results into insufficient finance and resources.
• Resource problems: Can mean there is a lack of employees in the project
• Lack of clarity: If the clarity about the roles and responsibilities is missing, a sag in the performance curve is inevitable.
• Poor communication: The necessary project information, if not routed in the proper direction, may cause confusion among the team members.
• Lack of leadership – A project can be unsuccessful if team members are not guided properly. This may happen if the project manager himself does not have the required experience or management skills.

The Project can be successful if the following are present-

• Preplanning– For a project to be successful, planning plays a crucial role. The project manager should have a vision of the project outcome. The first step to achieve this is to create and explain the roles and responsibilities to the team members.
• Strong leadership – The team lead should be skilled enough to spearhead in the best way possible. If the team members get proper guidance, any project can be implemented successfully.
• Project completion time – The key to the success and reputation of a project hinges on how well the timeline has been managed. Completing the project within or before the stipulated time not only impresses the Client, but also proves to be a measure of the potential of the project members.

For successful and smoothly operated projects, PROMPT II, PRINCE, and subsequently PRINCE2 were all introduced to operate with the common reasons for project failure. PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is considered as a calibrated International product. It is the standard method for managing the projects and providing a flexible and accommodating approach to suit all the projects. There are some keys to project success while using Prince2, which enhances the quality of the project.

• Reducing Waste: Reducing waste saves both money and time. However, it is difficult to predict and pinpoint the sources of waste. Prince2 helps eliminate waste through the following two techniques-
• Project Assurance : Project Assurance is essential for a PRINCE2 project. It is a kind of survey which gives accurate information to the project board. Organizations are getting smarter due to “assurance audit”. This does not need a separate role, since the ‘financial merger’ does the ‘financial audit’ for you.
• Tailoring –:With PRINCE2, you can tailor the projects to make them small, yet effective.

    1. Improving Strategy for Business Arrangement:

To make the project run and sync towards the business goal, make sure your project is equipped with:

Continued business justification – ‘A project should be run only if it is aligned with the organizational goal’, is the fundamental principle of Prince2. If you plan a strategy and resources for the project, your project will be effective.

Business Case – The Business Case keeps record of the costs and expected outcome of a project. The non-perishable business cases can create inconsistent project objectives.

     2. Sponsor engagement:

Communication – It is useful to keep all the stakeholders in loop, including the sponsors.  PRINCE2 calls it stakeholder engagement rather than sponsor engagement. If anyone is interested in the project, they are expected to be updated with the project.

Communication Management Strategy – A document that describes communication strategy with the stakeholders, may vary depending on the project size and organisation. You can make groups for communication. For instance, the group for project team meeting can also have communication strategy for individuals which depends on their communication preference.

By and large, Prince 2 has proved to be a highly effective method for the success of any project. The team leads should be knowledgeable enough to master the method and upscale their teams accordingly.

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