PRINCE2 7 People concepts
In PRINCE2, ‘People’ covers those who are working on a project and the relationships between them, as well as those impacted by a project.
Organizations are a complex ecosystem of fluctuating relationships. Projects change the organization, regardless of whether or not it is their primary purpose.
The success of a project will depend on how well the project establishes strong relationships with the organizations that support its delivery, as well as how it fits into the organizational ecosystem to deliver the change.
Projects combine a unique set of people from across the business, user, and supplier communities for a limited period of time.
PRINCE2 is a project management method composed of five integrated elements:
- Principles
- People
- Practices
- Processes
- Project context.
There are three people-focused activities: Leading successful change, leading successful teams, and communication. These are not standalone activities as they influence all aspects of project management.
Organizations are a complex ecosystem of fluctuating relationships. Projects change the organization, regardless of whether it is their primary purpose.
The success of a project will depend on how well the project establishes strong relationships with the organizations that support its delivery, as well as how it fits into the organizational ecosystem to deliver the change.
Projects combine a unique set of people from across the business, user, and supplier communities for a limited period.
The purpose of a project is to deliver change, which will affect people in their business as usual (BAU) activities, routines, and responsibilities.
How well the change is implemented, and therefore how well the project performs, depends on the capabilities of the project team, the strength of the relationships between them, and the people impacted by the change.
Leading successful Change
The purpose of the change management approach is to establish the target organizational state required for the project to meet its objectives together with how the business will shift from the current state and through any interim states.
It includes aspects such as descriptions and characteristics of the current, interim and target states and any enabling activities, resources and responsibilities.
PRINCE2 identifies three principal categories of project stakeholders (business, user, and supplier although there may be a wide range of other stakeholders with an interest in the project (for example, government, regulator, or unions).
Stakeholder buy-in is crucial to a successful project.
With buy-in, stakeholders may support a project; without it, they may oppose it and even block its progress.
Each stakeholder stands to gain or lose because of project delivery. And they can either see the project as something that advances or threatens their position.
At the start of a project, the project culture tends to reflect the organization’s culture. However, a distinct project culture may emerge as it evolves. As the project progresses, key influencers on the project may change, as do the key relationships.
It is important to ensure that the shared understanding of the project remains valid and supports the project’s evolving culture.
The ways of working should remain aligned with the way people are actually working, with the desired project culture and with the wider organizational ecosystem which the project interacts with.
Leading Successful Teams
Projects are delivered by people in a temporary team, typically working across organizational boundaries. This may lead to several challenges that are important to be aware of when leading a project team:
- Although a project manager has formal authority within the tolerances set by the project board, the actual power structure that emerges in a project does not always reflect this.
- Due to the temporary nature of projects and the multiple reporting lines of people working on the project, project managers often rely on their ability to influence and motivate people
- Team members often have competing priorities for their time and attention, which may at times conflict with the needs of the project.
- It is not unusual for members of the project team to be more senior than the project manager, potentially causing hierarchical tension.
On projects, leading and motivating people to achieve the project objectives is best done through collaboration across the project ecosystem, persuading, influencing, and co-creating with a focus on managing key relationships and seeking regular feedback to ensure team members remain aligned to the project’s objectives and agree to joint ways of working.
Managing People
Managing people in line with ways of working is far more effective when the ways of working have been co-created with project team members (and stakeholders), therefore improving their willingness to be managed in line with them.
In addition to those people formally assigned to a project, there are people within the business who are affected by the project but do not work within the defined project team.
They may make a direct or indirect contribution to the project. Leading people beyond a project’s direct authority (often across organizational boundaries) requires a degree of cultural intelligence.
Cultural intelligence is the capability to relate and work across cultures within the organizational ecosystem.
An effective team will require a diverse set of capabilities, competencies, and perspectives that match the requirements of the project. Understanding the people recruited or assigned to the project is important to put actions and support in place.
Building the team
An effective team will require a diverse set of capabilities, competencies, and perspectives that match the requirements of the project. Understanding the people recruited or assigned to the project is important to put actions and support in place.
PRINCE2 supports building effective teams through the following management products:
• Project plan
• Project management team structure and their role descriptions
• Communication management approach
• Project initiation documentation
• Product-based planning
Bringing the Team together
Whether projects are delivered virtually, in person, or through a hybrid approach, the way in which people work with each other needs to be carefully considered, both to optimize the use of people’s time and to build social cohesion.
When teams are virtual, located at a distance from each other, or hybrid, building social cohesion may need additional activities.
Communication Management
What channels will we use to communicate, and how frequently will we communicate?
The answers to these questions constitute the basis for our communication management approach.
Projects are often subject to high levels of scrutiny and open to misconceptions regarding their purpose and impact.
The communication management approach should:
• focus on listening and understanding perceptions and concerns as much as broadcasting to allow tailoring of messaging
• involve key influencers to shape messaging and support communications.
• provide information in multiple formats for sharing and feedback
• be adapted for communication across co-located, remote and hybrid teams.
A clear approach to communications is important to avoid unnecessary barriers in implementing any changes, as people seek to protect the current situation or to limit the perceived negative impact of the project.
The communication management approach will evolve and should be reviewed and adapted as necessary at each management stage boundary and in the final management stage to ensure it still includes all the key stakeholders.
For complex projects with a wide impact, it can be useful to develop the project with a smaller group of key influencers in what is sometimes referred to as a ‘quiet phase’.
A ‘quiet phase’ will keep wider communications to a minimum until the project is better defined and minimize the spread of misinformation or rumours (this is especially important when a project is politically sensitive and may be of interest to the general public).
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