PRINCE2 7 – Creating A Perfect Product Description.
Far too often, the creating of PRINCE2 Product Description is seen as the boring bit of Product-Based planning, and the perception is that you are just filling out details of yet another form.
You will be aware that for each product on the PRINCE2 Product Flow Diagram (remember that the Product Breakdown Structure may have extra ‘grouping’ products), there will be a referencing product description.
I strongly urge you to perform the exercise of Product-Based planning within a workshop environment with an independent facilitator. For those of you familiar with the Agile Methodolgy – go HERE for more information, the use of the Atern Facilitated Workshops technique is perfect.
Many people believe that the PRINCE2 product description is just a document to be filled out, when in actual fact it is a valuable and powerful tool to help define the deliverables of a project. Indeed, the very act of answering the questions posed in each section of the product description will help you better understand the product and its inherent quality criteria.
It may take several hours to ‘fill in the form’ of a particular product, but the valuable part is the detailed discussion that converges on a jointly agreed description. Other product descriptions may only take a few minutes.
The purpose of the project product description is to describe the project’s major products and intended
purpose, including the user’s quality expectations and the acceptance criteria and acceptance methods for the project.
It is created in the process of starting up a project and refined during the process of initiating a project.
Such PRINCE2 Product Description workshops needs to be attended (even if part time), by appropriate representatives of the participating organizations. Typical attendees should include:
- Those with specialist knowledge of the product
- Customers who will gain benefit from the product
- Users who need to operate and maintain the product
- Business representatives to represent aspects such as return on investment
The above stakeholders may also include third parties if appropriate.
Key sections of a PRINCE2 7 Product Description:
Purpose
A description of what the project products will fulfill and who will use them. This is simply the reason why you need to build this product in this project. It may be when trying to fill in this section that a joint agreement is reached that the product is not needed after all!
Or it may be that there are different opinions of why the product is needed, in which case this is an ideal opportunity to discuss and agree on a joint purpose.
Major products:
A description of the major products to be delivered
Derivation.
What the products are based on, such as existing products or a requirement for a new capability
Although you may not have created yet, the PRINCE2 product flow diagram will show the predecessor dependencies upon which this product relates. For example, this product may be derived from a technical specification or prototype, in which case they would be the products from which this one is derived.
Thinking through a product’s dependencies may help reveal additional products that had not been previously identified.
Not all dependencies may be products however, some dependencies may be milestone decisions or control points within the project schedule (yet if course, to be created).
User’s quality expectations:
A description of the quality expected of the project products and the standards and procedures that will need to be applied to achieve them
Acceptance criteria:
A prioritized list of criteria that the project products must meet to be accepted by the user
Acceptance methods and responsibilities:
The means by which acceptance will be confirmed and who will be responsible for the acceptance decisions
Project level quality tolerances:
Any tolerances that apply to the acceptance criteria.
Additional Information (optional)
This is not included, but I add here in case you find these helpful or requested.
Identifier.
This is often alpha-numeric, and serves as an easy quick reference that can be included for the PRINCE2 product breakdown structure and product flow diagrams.
Title.
Some thought should be given to making the title clear and unambiguous. This is particularly important where several variances of a particular product will need to be created.
Having be short and succinct title can also help when naming each product of the product breakdown structure and product flow diagrams. Make sure that the terminology speaks in the common language of your organization.
Composition.
They should simply describe what a product is composed of, and referral to the PRINCE2 product breakdown structure diagram may be helpful here. Be careful not to confuse this section with the quality criteria heading which comes later.
If you have a specification as a separate document, then you may wish to reference that here and explain precisely the specification scope and how it will be presented.
Quality responsibilities.
There are three potential roles involved here; those who create or produce the product, those who carry out the quality checks, and those who will approve the product.
All three should be clearly described here. However, it may be that those who carry out quality checks may be the same individual who approves the product.
Quality tolerance.
This refers to each of the quality criteria mentioned above. Tolerances usually have a plus and minus boundary, and the quality criteria must fall within such boundaries. Some products may only have a plus boundary; for example a physical component may be smaller in size but must not exceed a maximum dimension.
Some quality criteria are absolute. Meeting dates at specification is an example; the product either fails or passes. Beware of stating a quality tolerance that is subjective as this may lead to poor quality or expensive rework.
Quality method.
This describes how you will carry out the quality criteria check to measure whether or not the products meet its criteria. In the same way that there is an infinite variety of products, then so too, there are an infinite variety of quality checking methods.
PRINCE2 includes a technique called the formal quality review which is meeting-based. Some products may simply be weighed or measured with a ruler, others may need to be sent to specialist test sites to carry out quality checking via calibrated equipment.
Quality skills required.
This section may include the knowledge, skills and experience required to carry out the quality checking. You may need very specific qualified personnel here, but on the other hand, you may want to use a novice or a typical user (this is particularly important if the quality criteria states that the product must be understood and used by an unqualified individual).
Format and presentation.
It may be that this section is not required, but many products, particularly documents or data, may need a standard formatting and presentation style (A4, Letter, software language, physical presentation – on a memory stick for example).
Development skills required.
Once it is clear what the product is, then this section can be filled in with the relevant skills needed to create the product. Remember that you may wish to include a suitable individual as having the relevant knowledge, skills, and experience.
Quality criteria.
This is the criteria that the finished product must meet in order to be approved and used within the lives operational area. The quality criteria may be seen as the acceptance criteria for this product.
Here, it is important that the relevant roles mentioned at the beginning of this article are involved in agreeing a complete set of quality criteria. The danger is that it’s just specialist individuals who are used to define the quality criteria, then important business or operational metrics are missed out.
For example, what about maintainability? Do the quality criteria include easy to replace parts of the product?
Summary.
Well, that’s just about wraps up how to correctly use the PRINCE2 product description document, and I’m sure that you will agree that from now on, it is not seen just as a simple form filling exercise, but rather a valuable and vital tool and technique to ensure that your projects will be successful.
PRINCE2® 7 Foundation and Practitioner
Learn PRINCE2® 7 Foundation and Practitioner Online
** Enhance your PRINCE2 career now **
PRINCE2® Masterclass gives you the skills necessary to manage projects effectively and achieve your objectives.
Get 7 days a week 12 months one to one coaching with ex PRINCE2 examiner Dave Litten.
PRINCE2® is a globally recognized project management framework. By completing both the Foundation and Practitioner courses through our self-paced e-learning, you will develop an understanding of the methodology and learn how to effectively adapt it to any project.
The PRINCE2® 7 Foundation and Practitioner Masterclass is PeopleCert Accredited and guarantees to take you from PRINCE2 Novice to PRINCE2 Practitioner with our famous video learning, study guides and practice exams.
What Does the Masterclass Cover?
The PRINCE2 Foundation examination assesses your knowledge and comprehension of the PRINCE2 project management methodology as detailed in the syllabus. The PRINCE2 Practitioner examination, on the other hand, gauges your ability to apply and tailor the PRINCE2 method. Candidates who pass the Practitioner exam should be able to start implementing the method on an actual project with some guidance. However, their effectiveness may differ based on their experience in project management, the complexity of the project, and the level of support they receive in their work environment.
