How the PRINCE2 7 Project Plan and Business Case are used
The Project Plan and detailed Business Case are created in the initiation stage and form part of the Project Initiation Documentation. It is essential, therefore, that both these critical documents are kept updated, particularly at the end of each management stage.
The project board uses the Project Plan throughout the project to measure progress. In contrast, although the project manager created the Project Plan, they use the Stage Plan as their main progress document as the project is released to them one stage at a time.
Once the next Stage Plan has been created, the Project Plan is updated to include actual progress on the stage about to finish. This will include information such as actual cost, actual timeframes, actual work effort, and products that have been completed and approved.
Once the actual data has been captured, the Project Plan can be re-forecast to show the remaining duration, costs, resources, and products yet to be created.
Because the Project Plan represents the high-level view of the project, then as the next Stage Plan is created and more day-to-day level detail is known, this tool is used to update the forecast information within the Project Plan.
Suppose the Managing a Stage Boundary process is triggered due to a request for an Exception Plan. In that case, the Project Plan will be updated as mentioned above but to include detailed information from the newly created Exception Plan.
As part of updating the Project Plan, the Project Product Description should be checked and updated with any changes; for example, the acceptance criteria may need to be refined. Also, any current issues on the risks arising from planning should be added to the Project Plan, usually in the form of extra activities and resources.
New or modified Product Descriptions and their related Configuration Item Records must also be created and included within the project plan.
Any changes required to the information contained within the Project Initiation Documentation, such as strategies, controls, or project management team structure, should also be added as appropriate to the Project Plan.
One of the seven principles of PRINCE2 is that projects have continued business justification, and the project board are only authorized to continue providing that the project remains viable.
However, projects do not take place in a static environment. Even if the project is progressing to plan, the outside world or business environment may be changing. The Business Case needs to be updated to reflect these changes and reviewed to ensure it is still viable.
Since the executive of the project board is responsible for the Business Case, the project manager should consult with them or Business Assurance when reviewing or updating the Business Case.
An important activity here is to check that the risk appetite of those organizations involved remains the same or whether risk tolerances need to be redefined, in which case the risk register needs to be assessed and updated.
The Benefits Management Approach was created immediately after the detailed Business Case. This also needs to be updated at the end of each stage to record any results of possible benefit reviews undertaken during the completed management stage.
The benefits may differ in some way from those planned, including the impact of any approved changes or new and modified risks.
A key input to updating the Business Case is the Project Plan. In particular, implementation dates and project costs. Another essential part of the Business Case is the investment appraisal. The relevant data from the Project Plan and ongoing operational and maintenance timescales and expenses should be used to recast the full investment appraisal.
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