PRINCE2 7 Give ongoing direction
GIVE ONGOING DIRECTION
Project board members may offer informal guidance or respond to requests for advice at any time during a project. The need for consultation between the project manager and project board is likely to be particularly frequent during the initiation stage and when approaching management stage boundaries
Ad hoc direction may be given collectively or by individual project board members. There are a variety of circumstances that might prompt ad hoc direction, including:
- responding to requests (e.g. when options need clarifying or where areas of conflict need resolving)
- responding to reports (e.g. highlight report, exception report, issue report)
- responding to external influences (e.g. changes in corporate priorities)
- project board members’ individual concerns
- responding to changes in project board composition (which may also require corporate, programme management or customer approval)
It is also possible that corporate, programme management or the customer revises the project mandate in response to events external to the project, or instructs the project board to close the project.
The project board has two primary options should corporate, programme management or the customer decide to change the project mandate:
- treat it as a request for change, asking the project manager to re plan the management stage and/or project
- stop, and restart the project by triggering premature closure. This may result in additional costs compared with the request-for-change option.
- The project board may appoint project assurance to undertake some of the reviewing and assessing actions (e.g. inspecting a request for change to confirm that adequate impact assessment has been undertaken)
When making decisions, it is important to consider the impact on all stakeholders (as identified in the communication management approach). The figure above shows the inputs to, and outputs from, this activity
PRINCE2 recommends the following actions:
- In response to informal requests for advice and guidance:
- seek advice from corporate, programme management or the customer if necessary
- assist the project manager as required.
- this may include asking the project manager to produce an issue report and/or an exception report
In response to an escalated issue:
- seek advice from corporate, programme management or the customer if necessary
- make a decision within the project board’s delegated limits of authority. This decision could be regarding:
- a problem/concern Ask for an exception plan or provide guidance
- a request for change Approve, defer, reject or ask for more information. Consider whether an exception plan is required
- an off-specification Grant a concession, defer, reject or ask for more information. Consider whether an exception plan is required.
In response to an exception report:
- seek advice from corporate, programme management or the customer if necessary make a decision, within the project board’s delegated limits of authority, to:
- increase the tolerances that are forecast to be breached
- instruct the project manager to produce an exception plan (stating what will be acceptable)
- instruct the project manager to close the project prematurely
- defer the exception for a fixed period of time. This is a useful response if there is low confidence in the forecast (that tolerances will be exceeded) or if the exception is contingent on a risk occurring.
In response to the receipt of a highlight report:
- review the highlight report to understand the status of the project
- ensure that the project remains focused on the corporate, programme management or customer objectives set, and remains justified in accordance with its business case
- ensure that the management stage is progressing according to plan
- keep corporate, programme management or the customer and other interested parties informed about project progress, as defined by the communication management approach take actions as necessary (e.g. ask the project manager to produce an issue report and/or an exception report)
In response to advice and decisions from corporate, programme management or the customer:
- ensure that the project management team is kept informed of external events that may affect it (e.g. advising the project manager of a change of project board personnel)
- notify the project manager of any changes in the corporate, programme management or customer environment that may impact on the project, and ensure appropriate action is taken. This may involve:
- raising an issue to the project manager
- instructing the project manager to produce an exception plan
- instructing the project manager to close the project prematurely
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