The “Managing a Stage Boundary” process involves reporting on stage performance and planning the next stage, but missteps can lead to poor project board decisions.
In PRINCE2, the “Managing a Stage Boundary” process when executed effectively, empowers the project board to make confident go/no-go decisions. When handled poorly, it can send an otherwise promising project down the wrong track.
Why Stage Boundary Management Matters
Each stage in PRINCE2 is a self-contained unit of control. Managing the transition from one to the next ensures that:
- Progress is measured objectively.
- Risks and lessons are addressed.
- Plans remain aligned with business needs.
Key Activities in Managing a Stage Boundary
To help the project board make informed decisions, the following tasks are critical:
- Produce the End Stage Report: Summarize stage achievements, issues encountered, and status against tolerances (time, cost, scope, quality).
- Update the Business Case & Risk Register: Reflect updated costs, forecast benefits, and revised risk exposure.
- Revise the Project Plan & Next Stage Plan: Incorporate lessons learned and adjust resource allocations or timelines accordingly.
- Prepare Exception Plans (if needed): If tolerances were breached, justify how corrective actions will return the project to alignment.
- Seek Approval: Present the next stage plan and request authorization to proceed.
Managing a Stage Boundary Purpose
The purpose of the process of managing a stage boundary is to enable the project manager to provide the project board with sufficient information to be able to:
- review the success of the current stage
- prepare the next stage plan
- review the updated project plan
- confirm continued business justification and acceptability of the risks.
Therefore, this process should be executed at, or close to, the end of each stage.
Projects do not always go to plan, and in response to an exception report (if the stage or project is forecast to exceed its tolerances), the project board may request that the current stage and possibly the project is replanned.
The output from replanning is an exception plan that is submitted for the project board’s approval in the same way that a stage plan is submitted for approval. Exceptions are another possible trigger for this process.
Managing a Stage Boundary Objectives
These are to:
- assure the project board that all products in the current stage plan have been completed and approved
- prepare a stage plan or exception plan for the next stage review and if necessary, update the project initiation documentation, in particular the business case, project plan, user’s quality expectations, management approaches, project management team structure, and role descriptions
- provide the information needed for the project board to assess the continuing viability of the project
- record any information or lessons that can help later stages of this project or other projects
- request authorization to start the next stage.
For exceptions, the objectives of the process of managing a stage boundary are similar to those listed above but include preparing an exception plan and seeking approval to replace the project or current stage plan with the exception plan.
Managing a Stage Boundary Context
The process of managing a stage boundary is based on dividing the project into stages.
A project, whether large or small, must ensure that the products it creates will deliver the benefits sought, either in their own right or as part of a programme or portfolio.
The business justification of the project should be reconfirmed at the end of each stage. If necessary, the project can be redirected or stopped to avoid wasting time and money.
It is important to recognize that projects can go wrong or be affected by external factors that invalidate the business justification.
An early identifier of potential failure is the project manager’s forecast that any of the project or stage tolerances are likely to be exceeded.
In such cases, it is important to have a mechanism for corrective action to bring the project back in the right direction and under control.
A positive decision not to proceed is not failure. However, providing insufficient information that prevents the project board from making an informed decision is a failure, as it may lead to a wrong decision or an unnecessarily delayed decision.
The process of managing a stage boundary provides a means by which an exception procedure can be implemented.
PRINCE2 End Stage Report Template
Executive Summary
Brief overview of the stage objectives and overall delivery status. Notable achievements or issues that impacted outcomes.
Stage Performance Overview
Time: Planned vs. actual duration with reasons for variance.
Cost: Stage budget vs. actual spend; explanation of any deviations.
Scope & Quality: Deliverables completed; quality criteria met or missed.
Product Status
Inventory of products delivered in the stage.
Product Descriptions updates and quality review summaries.
Issues and Changes
Summary of key issues encountered and how they were managed.
Approved change requests and their impacts.
Risk Management
Overview of current risks and mitigation progress.
New risks identified and recommended actions.
Lessons Learned
What worked well and should be replicated.
Challenges to avoid in future stages.
Contributions from team retrospectives.
Business Case Update
Revised cost-benefit analysis.
Any shifts in assumptions or external factors.
Next Stage Plan
High-level breakdown of next stage activities and timeline.
Resource needs, team updates, dependencies.
Recommendations
Whether to proceed, revise, or halt the project.
Requests for further guidance or decisions from the project board.
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