PRINCE2 Progress Control
Capturing and reporting lessons
One of the principles in PRINCE2 is that the project team learns from experience. Lessons have to be sought, recorded and actioned during the project. PRINCE2 uses the word “sought” to ensure that everyone in the project checks for previous lessons. Any useful experiences are then recorded into a Lessons Log.
Lessons can be about anything that could help the project. These include how best to communicate, how to deal with a supplier, how certain documents should be tailored for this kind of project and which product specialists to get help from when doing the product breakdown structure. The Project Manager continues to add new lessons to the Lesson Log during the project.
What is a Lessons Learned report?
The Lessons Learned report is used to document lessons that might be of value to future projects. If a lesson is of value only to the current project, then it should not be included in the Lessons Learned report.
A Lessons Learned report has to be created at the end of the project during the Closing a Project Process. In larger projects, a Lessons Learned report might be created during the project, for example, during the Managing a Stage Boundary Process.
Reports used to Report Progress
What report does the Team Manager use to report to the Project Manager and when is the frequency decided?
The Team Manager uses the Checkpoint Report to report to the Project Manager. Information on the progress of the work done compared to the agreed Team Plan is also included in it.
The Project Manager will agree on the frequency for these reports with the Team Manager when they are accepting the Work Package.
What 3 reports are used by the Project Manager to report to the Project Board and when is the frequency decided for the most-used report?
The three reports are the Highlight Report, the End Stage Report and the End Project Report.
The Highlight Report
The Highlight Report is used by the Project Manager to report on the status of the current stage compared to the Stage Plan. The important word here is ‘highlight’ as a 1- to 2-page report should be sufficient.
The Highlight Report allows the Project Board to manage by exception between each stage end, as they are aware of the tolerances agreed with the Project Manager in the Stage Plan, so the Highlight Report should report the current status of tolerances of Time, Cost, Quality, Scope, Benefits and Risk.
The frequency of the Highlight Report is first agreed in the Communication Management Strategy and this can be updated during the Managing a Stage Boundary Process.
The End Stage Report
The End Stage Report is created by the Project Manager towards the end of the stage and compares the performance of the stage compared to the Stage Plan.
The End Project Report
The End Project Report is produced by the Project Manager towards the end of the project during the Closing a Project Process and is used by the Project Board to evaluate the project before they take the decision to authorize closure.
What is Raising Exceptions?
This is quite easy to understand and you will see that it is linked to the principle “Manage by Exception.” The best way to explain this is with a question, i.e., “When is an exception raised and by whom?”
An exception is raised when an agreed tolerance is exceeded or is forecast to be. You raise an exception by alerting the level above you.
The Work Package tolerances are agreed between the Team Manager and the Project Manager when the Team Manager accepts the Work Package. If the Team Manager exceeds or has been forecast to exceed a tolerance, then they raise an issue (not an exception). They just tell the Project Manager, and the Project Manager enters the issue in the Issues Register and starts to create an Issue Report if the issue needs to be handled formally.
The Team Manager does not need to create an Exception Report. They just need to inform the Project Manager by raising an issue.
Stage Tolerances are agreed between the Project Board and Project Manager. If the stage is forecast to go out of tolerance, then the Project Manager creates an Exception Report to capture and analyze why, and then to provide this information to the Project Board.
The Exception Report can include a number of options with usually one recommend option. The Project Board can do the following:
- Adjust the tolerance level
- Remove the cause
- Request more time to consider the issue
- Request an exception plan.
Project Tolerances are set between the Corporate or Program Management and Project Board. If project tolerances are forecast to be exceeded, then the Project Board will advise the Corporate or Program Management and can provide an Exception Plan to show how the issue can be handled and to complete the current stage.
Progress Responsibilities
What are Corporate or Program Management responsible for?
- They provide the project tolerances in the project mandate
- They make decisions on the Exception Plan when Project Tolerances are forecast to be exceeded, as the Project Board cannot do this.
What are the responsibilities of the Executive?
- Providing stage tolerances
- Making decisions on the Exception Plans when stage tolerances are forecast to be exceeded
- Ensuring that progress remains consistent from a business point of view.
What are the responsibilities of the Senior User and Senior Supplier?
- Ensuring that progress remains consistent from a user and supplier point of view
What are the responsibilities of the Project Manager?
- Authorizing Work Packages
- Monitoring progress of Stage Plans
- Producing Highlight Reports, End Stage Reports, Lessons Learned reports & End Project Reports
- Producing Exception Reports for the Project Board when the stage-level tolerances are forecast to be exceeded
- Maintaining the project registers and logs.
What are Team Managers responsible for?
- Agreeing on Work Packages with Project Manager
- Producing Checkpoint Reports
- Notifying the Project Manager of any forecast deviation from the Work Package tolerances.
What is Project Assurance responsible for?
- Verifying the Business Case against external events and project progress
- Confirming stage and project progress against agreed tolerances in case the Project Manager is bending the rules.
What is Project Support responsible for?
- Assisting with the compilation of reports
- Assisting the Project Manager in maintaining the Issue Register & Risk Register
- Maintaining the Quality Register on behalf of the Project Manager. (Check that everything is going according to plan.)
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