Executive and the Project Manager
This activity should be apparent, but it is crucial to understand why it should happen first. We need someone to make the decisions, and the other to manage …
Executive
The project board Executive will be the project’s primary decision-maker and should be able to do this. It is essential to understand that PRINCE2 uses the principle of roles, not people (the individuals who fill each position).
The executive also represents the interests of the business stakeholders; indeed, the executive owns the project Business Case and, as such, will want to ensure that it represents value for money.
Project Manager Responsibilities
The project must be managed daily, so a project manager is required. But the executive gives the orders, and the project manager runs about!
The project manager usually creates the Project Brief and, of course, makes the Initiation Stage Plan.
One of the first activities should be to review the project mandate and check that there is a clear understanding of the purpose and reasons for the project. This may entail talking with corporate or programme management to ensure clarity.
Executive Responsibilities
The project mandate will typically name the project board executive, and the commissioning organisation will usually appoint the individual to this role. As part of this appointment, it is essential to understand the executive’s responsibilities and prepare their role description.
As with any project management team member, each individual should be selected based on their suitability regarding knowledge, skills, experience, authority, commitment and availability to the project.
Therefore, estimating the time and effort required for each role is vital to ensure that the correct individual(s) have been selected. The executive will be chosen from the project’s stakeholders, ensuring their availability for the role. Ultimately the chosen person needs to be assigned.
Usually, the executive appoints the project manager, establishing their responsibilities. Again, a role description for the project manager needs to be created, and an agreement is sought from corporate or programme management.
Again, similarly, the time and effort required for the project manager role will need to be estimated, and a suitable person confirmed along with their availability and acceptance of the role.
Once the selected person has been assigned, the appointment should be confirmed with corporate or programme management. The final necessary action is to create the Daily Log, which is used as the project manager’s diary and would hold information that needs to be captured elsewhere.
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