PRINCE2 Tailoring Directing a Project
After approval to initiate the project has been confirmed, care should be taken to ensure the integrity of the interface to the Initiating a Project, Managing a Stage Boundary and Closing a Project processes when the formal decision to start the next management stage or close the project is made.
The degree of formality may differ in different circumstances provided decisions are explicit and traceable, ranging from verbal advice and decisions to those which are formally documented in e-mail, meeting minutes or other traceable formats.
Tailoring the roles in Directing a Project
All the activities in this process are the accountability of the Executive but the actual work may be done by others. The Project Manager should not take any decisions or give approval or directional matters which are the responsibility of the Executive. The roles of Executive and Project Manager must be kept separate.
In some situations, the decisions made at a stage boundary, particularly when funds are released for the next stage, such decisions may be taken by a role at a higher level than the Executive such as in a program, portfolio or organization context.
For this reason, the authorize stage or exception plan activity may be treated as a separate process in a tailored PRINCE2 process model.
Directing a simple project
Directing a simple project is likely to be less formal than for a larger project. If the project is a two-stage project, there will be no decisions requested from managing stage boundaries except when an exception plan is needed.
Directing projects when using an agile approach
When using an agile approach direction and decisions need to happen quickly.
Management by exception must operate effectively for the whole project team, as it creates an environment conducive to the agile way of working where people are empowered and self-organized.
Regarding progress reporting, the project board should expect emphasis to be placed on the quality and amount of the requirement being delivered, since for agile delivery, time and cost are fixed.
Information flows may be frequent and informal. As an example, the project board may attend reviews and demonstrations so that decision-making can be based more on information gathered from the team as opposed to formally reported.
Directing a Project from a supplier perspective
If the project is run from a supplier perspective, the Executive looks after the interests of that supplier operation. The supplier may also provide a person to act as senior supplier on the project board of the customer’s project.
In the early stages of a project, it may not be possible to appoint the contractor or supplier representative to the role of senior supplier on the project board, simply because no supplier or contractor has been selected yet.
In such circumstances, a person should be appointed to look after the interests until all such an appointment can be made.
Some projects have many suppliers and so there may be more than one senior supplier role and/or a person nominated to look after the interests of several suppliers
Directing a Project within a programme
The choice of individuals to undertake the project board roles is open. As an example, the Executive may be the same person as the programme manager.
The key is that each role holder has no conflicts of interest and it is clear who they report to in the respective programme and project organization structures.
All accountability is with respect to governance should be explicit.
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