Managing Product Delivery
The Manual states that the project manager’s job is to manage the work, not to do it. In other words, creating specialist products is the responsibility of the specialist team. If appointed, the project manager uses the Controlling a Stage process, while the specialist team and the team manager use the Managing Product Delivery process.
Therefore, the Managing Product Delivery process acts as the link between the project manager and team managers, emphasizing accepting and executing a Work Package and delivering a Work Package.
Each Work Package must contain at least one Product Description, and the role of the team manager is to coordinate that area of work. Several Work Packages may be given out at any one time to different specialist teams, or they may be given out in series to one team.
At a minimum, one Work Package may be given out in a particular management stage.
It would be chaotic to think that the team carry out any work they feel is necessary without the project manager’s authority. Therefore, work allocated to the specialist team can only start once it has been authorized and agreed between the project manager and the team managers.
The information in the Work Package clarifies precisely what is to be produced, what the expected work is at that time, and costs and timescales. This ensures that the planned products are delivered to expectations and within tolerance if this is applied.
It is also essential that accurate progress information is given on an agreed regular basis to the project manager (this is done via the periodic Checkpoint Reports) so that the project manager can assure themselves that work is proceeding to plan and that the products are being created to a satisfactory level of quality.
Managing Product Delivery will be triggered by the project manager authorizing a Work Package, which the team manager or members must accept. As part of accepting the Work Package, a Team Plan may be created, although if needed, this is often done in parallel with the creation of the relevant Stage Plan.
The information within the work package will ensure that the products are developed in line with any specified development methods, and the product descriptions included will describe the quality methods and quality criteria that each product must meet.
For a product to be completed, there are three steps: first, the product must be created to its draft status, the quality check and all quality reviews are carried out, and if successful, the product must be approved. The quality check and the approval must be independent of those creating the product in the first place.
The formality of the work package may differ depending upon whether the specialist team are internal to the organization or a third-party organization, in which case the work package may form part of the work statement contained within a contract.
The Purpose of the Managing Product Delivery Process.
In any project, the project manager needs to gain acceptance from those who create the products to commence work, check that the work is being appropriately executed within the constraints laid down, and ensure that the completed products are delivered.
The team manager will generally lead the specialist team in creating the products. Some teams will not need or use the team manager role, in which case the project manager will liaise directly with the specialist team.
The Managing Product Delivery process is typically used during each management delivery stage (although in lengthy or complex projects, the managing product delivery process may be used during the initiation stage).
The managing product delivery process consists of three activities:
- Accept a work package
- Execute a work package
- Deliver a work package
These three activities are typically carried out one after the other, with continuous liaison with the project manager using the Controlling a Stage process.
In essence, the project manager authorizes work to start by issuing a Work Package; once this has been agreed as realistic and acceptable by the team manager or the team themselves, work on creating the products can now start, and when the work package is complete, this is handed back to the project manager for their agreement or otherwise.
Each work package may contain one or more products, but in PRINCE2, every work package will come with at least one product description. The point is that the specialist team do not just carry out ‘work’ in isolation; instead, they carry out work that contributes to creating a specific product.
When the products are being created, regular Checkpoint Reports will be given to the project manager, providing them with an update on progress and any issues being worked on.
Checkpoint reports may take any form. For example, they may be a meeting, an e-mail, or a formal written report. The work package will lay down how often such checkpoint reports are to be issued, but typically, they would be given every week.
Therefore, the purpose of the managing product delivery process is to act as a controlled link between the project manager and the team manager and ensure that each work package is accepted, executed, and delivered.
During each PRINCE2 management stage, the project manager is expected to issue several work packages at one time; this may occur where there are several specialist teams or an internal team and an external third-party team.
Managing Product Delivery – outsourcing project work.
When a third party creates one or more products for the project, the team manager role will typically be filled by their project manager. Indeed, they would see the collection of work packages for which they are responsible as their ‘whole project’.
The team manager may create a plan to lay out exactly how that particular work package will be executed and delivered.
If a third party is being used to create work packages, this work will often be carried out within a contract, and hence, the terms and conditions need to be agreed upon. The terms and conditions may be decided during the initiation stage, during the creation of the next stage plan within the managing a stage boundary process, at the beginning of the relevant management delivery stage, or as part of the accept a work package activity.
A third party may be working under a contract that stipulates a fixed end date and a fixed cost for one or more of the work packages. Therefore, neither the team plan nor the regular checkpoint reports would need to report or contain the work’s end date and total budget.
However, the project manager must remain in control of the progress of the stage and, therefore, may request, as an absolute minimum, that the team manager provide critical milestones of the work to be carried out so that these can be reported regularly and timely corrective action taken.
Managing product delivery – objectives and context.
Work should only start on a work package after it has been authorized by the project manager and accepted by the team manager.
All those involved in managing and delivering the specialist products must be clear on what is to be produced and the expected work effort, cost or time scales.
The products created within each work package must follow the requirements outlined within each product description. Therefore, these product descriptions must be included as part of the work package.
Optionally, the project manager may request that the work package be delivered within specific tolerances, in which case the regular checkpoint reports should include performance against such tolerances.
The team manager role within the managing product delivery process.
The team manager is there to accept and check that authorized work packages given by the project manager are realistic and achievable within the constraints laid down.
Various interfaces will also need to be managed by the team manager. These include interfaces between one or more of the products being created and other products outside the scope of the work package. A simple example might be electrical cables and plugs to be consistent with other products made by another specialist team or organization.
The other interface that needs to be managed by the team manager is partly human interface. This will generally take the form of communication with others. For example, you ask questions or clarify with another person, use a third party to test a product or ensure that it meets specific requirements, and obtain authorization for acceptance criteria.
The creation of the optional team plan may take place as part of accepting each work package, or it may occur during the managing a stage boundary process and be done in parallel with the project manager producing the next stage plan.
Each product description for each product within the work package will have a set of quality criteria (and this may include the PRINCE2 Quality Review Technique), and therefore, each product is not considered complete until it has passed its acceptance criteria and the appropriate role or individual has authorized this.
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