Starting up a project management products
PRINCE2 Starting up a project overview
The provision of a project mandate activates the process of starting up a project. The project mandate is then used as input to develop the initial business justification for the project documented in the outline business case as part of the project brief.
In the process of directing a project, the project brief is approved by the project board when authorizing the project initiation.
The PRINCE2 outline Business Case
The outline business case is refined into a full business case during the process of initiating a project. The project board approves this when authorizing the project.
There are three basic business options concerning any investment:
● do nothing differently
● do the minimum
● do more than the minimum.
The ‘do nothing differently’ option should always be the first option and act as the basis for quantifying the other options. The difference between do nothing differently, do the minimum, or do more than the minimum is the benefit that the investment will buy.
The analysis of each option provides the project board and the project’s stakeholders with sufficient information to determine which option presents the best value for the organization. It answers the question: for this level of investment, are the expected benefits more desirable, viable, and achievable than the other available options?
PRINCE2 Management product: Project brief
Purpose:
The purpose of the project brief is to provide a full and firm foundation for the initiation of the project.
Project definition: explains what the project should achieve and should include:
● the background
● project objectives
● desired outcomes
● project scope and exclusions
● constraints and assumptions
● project tolerances
● users and any other known interested parties.
Outline business case: reasons why the project is needed and the business option that is selected
Project product description: includes user quality expectations and acceptance criteria
Project approach: defines the approach to deliver the selected business option selected from the outline business case
Project management team structure and role descriptions: who will work on the project, in what role, and with what scheme of delegation and reporting
References: for any associated documents or products.
PRINCE2 Project product description
Introduction
The purpose of the project product description is to describe the project’s significant products and intended purpose, including the user’s quality expectations, 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.
Purpose: a description of what the project products will fulfil and who will use them
Major products: a description of the major products to be delivered
Derived from: what the products are based on, such as existing products or a requirement for a new capability
User’s quality expectations: 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: how acceptance will be confirmed, and the people responsible for the acceptance decisions will be determined
Project-level quality tolerances: any tolerances that apply to the acceptance criteria.
Format
The project product description can take a number of formats, including:
● a document, presentation slides, workbook, or mind map
● an entry in a project management tool.
PRINCE2 Management product: Initiation Stage Plan
Purpose
The purpose of the plan is to provide a proposal that outlines the what, where, when, how, and by whom the project as a whole (or a subset of its activities) will be performed. When approved, a plan provides a baseline against which progress can be measured and issues assessed.
Scope: description of the plan’s scope (project, stage, team, and exception)
Dependencies: external products or activities on which the plan depends
Planning assumptions and prerequisites: assumptions on which the plan is based and any fundamental aspects that must be established or remain in place for the plan to succeed
Lessons incorporated: details of relevant lessons from previous similar projects, which have been reviewed and accommodated within this plan
Products to be delivered: the product breakdown structure, product flow diagram, and product descriptions that fall within the scope of the plan
Work to be performed: the work in the scope of the plan shown by way of a work breakdown structure and the associated work package description(s)
Budget: the project costs, including the risk budget and change budget
Schedule: a representation of the project stages and activities, their durations, and sequence, such as a Gantt chart
Targets and tolerances: the permissible deviations for scope, cost, and time at the level of the plan.
Stage plans and team plans may also include sustainability and risk tolerances
Monitoring, control, and reporting arrangements: description of how the project will be monitored and controlled and of reporting procedures and responsibilities.
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