PRINCE2 Project Board: Roles and Responsibilities

PRINCE2 Project Board supports the SRO or the Senior Responsible Owner in providing management and direction for a project. It is imperative for the Project Board to have in-depth knowledge of the Agility concept, with an emphasis on the concept of a dynamic scope and the management method of requirements.

If you aspire to learn more about Agile methodologies, how they are implemented in an organization, and the roles of the PRINCE2 project board members, you can do so by opting for the best PRINCE2 training that will help you earn a professional certificate. In addition to learning about how to make a PRINCE2 project board meeting agenda template as well as a PRINCE2 exam board, you will also be able to build your project management skills.

PRINCE2 Project Board Structure

As an additional answer to the question what is project board in PRINCE2 and what is its responsibility, we can go on to say that the project control board is held completely accountable for the failure or the success of the project. They also help provide a unified and proper direction to the Project Manager and the project and help provide resources for it. They are solely responsible for authorizing the funds for the project and offering sustained and visible project leads.

The PRINCE2 project board structure is built keeping in mind the requirement of the following characteristics. A lack of any of these would lead them to be inefficient in helping the project lead. They are:

• Authority to get things done
• Credibility
• Ability to delegate
• Availability to aid the Project Manager

The PRINCE2 Project Board members are always busy and run by the concept, Management by Exception. It enables the Project Manager to always keep them informed regarding the progress of the project as well as in making key decisions. The Project Manager uses the Highlight Report to communicate with the Project Board to offer progress metrics at the current stage.

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PRINCE2 Project Board is a project management team that comprises three main members, the Executive, the Senior Supplier and the Senior User. They play an integral role in the management of the project and are responsible for allocating resources, authorizing funds and even giving projects the green signal to commence operations.

Only one individual is allowed to be the Executive while the Senior Supplier and the Senior User’s roles can be assigned to numerous individuals. The Executive is the one who is the owner of the Business Case and gives his final word on all the decisions that are taken. Therefore, it is important to note that the Project Board is not democratic in nature.

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Let us discuss in detail the main project board roles and the project board responsibilities involved in the project board:

1. Executive

The executive role in a team project board is always appointed by the Program or the Corporate Management team. They own the Business case and are entirely responsible for the project’s proceedings. Their operations and is aided in their role by the Senior Suppliers and the Senior Users. An Executive is responsible for ensuring that the project does not go off track. He/she consistently monitors its progress metrics till it achieves its predestined goals and objectives. Also, an executive needs to thoroughly and regularly monitor a project’s focus on delivering the products that are expected to achieve the benefits forecasted at the initiation and planning stage.

2. Senior User

The Senior User has one of the most important PRINCE2 project board roles. They represent the other Users and generally, the individuals responsible for the operations and maintenance after the products are closed upon their delivery. They help specify the benefits that have been expected from the very start of the project and are responsible for regularly reporting to the Project Board regarding the benefits that were returned against the project. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Senior User is entirely responsible for reporting the benefits that were realized during the course of the project.

In certain instances such as relatively smaller projects or in-house projects, both the role of the Executive and the Senior User is often assigned to one individual. Hence, this individual would be responsible for the representation of both the Users as well as the Business. They are responsible for specifying the requirements of the Users who will utilize the products produced from the project.

They are also responsible for the seamless communication between the Users and the Project Management Team. They additionally need to ensure that the solution proposed by the project will meet the end needs of the Users. Lastly, they are in charge of monitoring the quality and usability of the proposed requirements.

3. Senior Supplier

The Senior Supplier Role is responsible for representing the interests of the designers, developers and facilitators of the products produced in the course of the project. They can come from the organization of the targeted customers (for instance Purchasing Manager) or a supplier.

The role of a Senior User can be allotted to one or more individuals who can represent the other suppliers assigned to this role. They also represent the ones who implement the products and make sure that the quality of the products remains consistent. They also see that the technical integrity of the project is not compromised.

When it comes to consistent maintenance of the post-project completion, the Senior Supplier is also responsible for representing the people who offer support and maintenance. The Senior Supplier role is responsible for offering the required resources for the project. They also need to ensure that the right equipment, tools, knowledge and labor are in place and that the produced products will fulfill the criteria expected of them.

Calibers of PRINCE2 Project Board Members

PRINCE2 board members are responsible for the major workings of the project starting from decision-making and allocating resources to even offering maintenance after the completion and closing of a project. As a project board member, it is imperative to have the necessary skills to lead a project from conception to completion.

If you are an aspirant in project management, you need to have a basic understanding of the inner logistics of the projects. With reliable PRINCE2 Foundation training online, these skills can be easily attainable. If you want to know more about the PRINCE2 project board roles and responsibilities we have listed some of the board of directors' responsibilities for your reference. The Board members should have the ability to perform the following tasks:

• Fully comprehend project plans and keep track of the progress against the predestined plan.
• Set tolerance levels which should be a benchmark against which the project manager needs to operate.
• Fully understand and operate on the important factors affecting the successful delivery of a project.
• Possess the authority to allocate the required resources and release funding from their respective supplier and user communities.
• Maintain relationships and ensure seamless coordination with both internal and external stakeholders of the project.
• Allocate the delegated authority as pre-requirements to make sure that the project meets the pre-destined objectives.
• Have an awareness of the wider perspective and the way it makes an impact on the project at hand.

PRINCE2 Project Board Responsibilities

The members of the project board project management are allocated the leading roles. Therefore, they have a lot on their shoulders starting from fully comprehending project plans to keeping track of progress against said plans. They also help set the benchmarks against which a project manager must operate. They need to understand and operate on the factors affecting the seamless delivery of a project. With that being said, let us look into the responsibilities of the respective board member positions.  

1. Executive

The Executive holds the topmost rank on the management board of a project. The key responsibilities of the executive have been listed below:

• The Executive is entirely responsible for making sure that the project does not lose track of its primary goals and objectives. They need to strictly monitor their focus on delivering products that can potentially achieve the benefits that have been forecasted at the initiation stage.
• An Executive also offers only one point of accountability.
• The Executive is responsible for the project design and the appointment of the Project Management Team. It can include the remaining Project Board members including the Project Manager.
• The Executive is entirely responsible for creating the Business Case at the initial stage of the project. He/she owns the Business Case and is concerned about the value for money that the project is bound to return all through its operations. The Project Manager needs to keep the Business Case updated, but the ownership always lies with the Executive.
• The Executive appears as the face of the project to the external people who are also part of the project.
• They are responsible for conveying the project proceedings and metrics to the external stakeholders and also to the Management teams.

2. SRO

The SRO or the Senior Responsible Owner is the representative owner of the entire business change and is held accountable for the final delivery of a project. Upon successful delivery, they are the ones who are first recognized. They more or less represent the chair of the board and are responsible for the following responsibilities:

• Allocating the role of a project manager and even being willing to delegate authority.
• Signing and approving the project initiation document and project brief or equivalent for agreeing to all major plans relevant to the project.
• Authorizing major changes from the stage plans that have been previously agreed upon.
• Signing and authorizing the completion of every stage, comprising of the deliverables, and approving to commencement of the following stage.
• Conveying necessary information relevant to the project to the stakeholders and the organizations.
• Ensuring that the resources required are available for use.
• Mediating and resolving conflicts amongst the project team, supplier, client or delivery agent.
• Approving the project tolerances for quality, time and cost.
• Offering wholesome strategic guidance for every project they handle.
• Establishing a foolproof risk management plan.
• Establishing that the quality assurance arrangements are efficient enough.
• Offering directions and advice to the project manager.
• Approving the report for the end project as well as the report about the lessons learned.
• Making sure that the post-project review is well-strategized and scheduled.
• Resolving any deviations from the predestined plans or even escalating if required.

3. Senior User

The senior user also plays an integral role in the management of projects. They come second in command to the Executives and are responsible for the following:

• Making sure that the project meets the desired expectations from the project.
• Ensuring consistency of the progress as per a user’s perspective.
• Maintaining and promoting a focus on the expected project results.
• Making sure that the necessary user resources are available and if not, made available.
• Making sure that the products are signed off upon completion.
• Prioritizing user decisions over board decisions and even contributing to them.
• Resolving priority conflicts as well as user requirements.
• Offering a view from the perspective of a user view and offering recommendations based on follow-on action.
• Briefing the user management on every aspect relevant to the projects.

4. Senior Supplier

The senior supplier represents the designers and the facilitators of the project. They play a very integral role in the management and commencement of a project. They are responsible for the following:

• Approving goals for supplier activities. 
• Making sure that the progress maintains consistency from the supplier’s perspective. 
• Promoting and keeping the focus on the expected project outputs. 
• Making sure that the supplier resources are available for use. 
• Making sure that the products are signed off upon completion. 
• Contributing to the opinions of the suppliers on board decisions. 
• Resolving conflicts related to supplier priority or resource. 
• Briefing non-technical management about the supplier aspects related to the project.

Why Project Board Matters in PRINCE2?

The Project Board plays a very important part in the structure of the PRINCE2 Project Management. The Project Board leads the project. They also approve project ideas and are entirely responsible for the project outcome.

Be it success or failure despite leading it based on the instruction received from the corporate/program management, they are held accountable. The Project Board also sets benchmarks and establishes constraints within which a Project Manager is required and expected to operate.

Robust organizations are consistently taking up numerous projects. With more than one project running simultaneously all at the same time, it can get quite challenging to keep track of the all-time progress. This is where the responsibility of the project boards comes in to fill the gap. Some of the main reasons why having a reliable project board is a mandate in any business big or small have been listed below: 

• Project boards act like a handy visual aid to the stakeholders as well as the other members to seamlessly and quickly communicate the proceedings in different areas of the project.  
• Having a reliable project board helps stakeholders follow up on the progress and to know if and when they are required to step in.  
• Project boards also come in handy for projects related to website maintenance, web applications and software development.  
• With the help of a project board, the team members will know the exact position of the project at any particular time, what should be the next course of action and what needs to be done in the near future. They prevent the project from getting sidetracked with consistent monitoring. 
• The most important aspect of a project board is to encourage real-time updates and even simplify changes in the management processes.  
• Project boards are also part of the created work process that helps them get continuous feedback that aids in problem identification.

Project management is a highly honorable task in a corporate setup. If you aspire to be a project manager or a part of a board member, you will need to learn in detail about the relevant operations and proceedings relevant to project management. With reliable online Project Management courses, you will easily be able to grasp the basic fundamental concepts of project management in any framework. Explore more about PRINCE2 roles and responsibilities in our latest blog.

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Conclusion

To conclude things we can consider the project board as a live document existing to keep track of your progress, pinpoint potential areas for improvement, and also secure all of the necessary information consolidated in one place. A project board is responsible for aiding departments within the organization to work in tandem and stay on track to reach the predestined objectives and goals.

Once a board is structured properly, anyone with computer skills can comprehend it easily and view any required changes and updates. If you want to know more about PRINCE2 project management, you can take up a reliable KnowledgeHut best PRINCE2 training course which is deemed one of the best online courses.