PRINCE2 7 planning context
Organizational context
Understanding the organizational context is crucial as it forms the bedrock of project planning. This context encompasses policies, procedures, and support, which can significantly influence how a project is structured and managed.
For instance, the project budget might need to be prepared according to specific methods for handling capital investment expenditures.
Projects in governmental or other public organizations may need to comply with regulatory requirements and ensure transparency in record keeping.
For projects that are part of a programme, the programme management team plays a significant role, even leading the planning for its projects.
The programme may have dedicated planners who can provide templates for management products and assist the project manager in preparing and maintaining the project plan and stage plans, providing you with a strong support system.
The programme plan will influence the number and length of stages. Aligning stage reviews to programme milestones, for example, at the end of a tranche, may be desirable or necessary.
The programme may even define a set of standard stages with which all projects within the programme comply.
The programme delivery plan will detail which project products other projects use within the programme. The project’s plans should incorporate any dependencies to or from the project.
Commercial context
Suppliers are an important consideration for projects in a commercial context. Many projects rely on external suppliers to deliver work packages.
Aligning work packages with their responsible suppliers, whether external or internal, is a critical aspect of project management in a commercial context. This alignment ensures clear accountability.
In cases where an external supplier is responsible for a work package, this arrangement is often formalized through a contract.
It is recommended that the agreement require the supplier’s plans to clearly trace the applicable elements of the user’s project plan. The agreement should also require alignment with the acceptance criteria and quality specifications approved by the project board.
This approach is often referred to as a back-to-back agreement.
The agreement should state how these plans will be produced and what rights of inspection and audit the user has. The supplier’s plan should have sufficient activities or milestones for the user’s project manager to maintain their plans.
The user’s and supplier’s plans may be confidential to the other party as they may contain different information, such as dependencies to or from other client projects or subcontractor costs.
Therefore, preparing non-confidential versions of the plan can be shared while omitting private information is beneficial.
Plans must include procurement-related milestones such as purchase orders and milestone payments aligned with each stage.
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