PRINCE2 – Authorize a stage or Exception Plan
It is important that a management stage starts only when the Project Board say is it should. The Project Board authorizes a management stage by reviewing the performance of the current stage and approving the Stage Plan for the next stage.
Approval of Stage Plans occur at the end of every management stage except for the final stage.
If an exception has occurred during the management stage, the Project Board may request that the Project Manager produces an Exception Plan for Project Board approval.
Only exceptions to Stage Plans when Project Plans need to be escalated for approval.
Deviations from the Project Plan may need corporate, programme management or customer approval. Work package exceptions are managed by the Project Manager using the controlling a stage process.
If approved, the Exception Plan will replace the plan that is in exception and will become the new baselined plan:
The Project Board may appoint project assurance to undertake some of the reviewing and assessing actions, for example, inspecting a Stage Plan to confirm that it is viable.
PRINCE2 recommends the following actions:
- Review and approve the end stage report
- Ascertain the performance of the project to date, asking the Project Manager to explain any deviations from the approved plans and to provide a forecast of project performance for the remainder of the project
- If required, include lessons from the lessons log. Ensure that the appropriate groups including corporates, programme management, the customer, or a centre of excellence have been made aware of their responsibility for taking any recommendations forward
- Check the risk summary to ensure the exposure is still acceptable and the risk responses for both opportunities and threats are appropriate and planned
If there has been a phased handover of products during the management stage:
- Verify that the product handover was in accordance with a change control approach and that user acceptance and operational and maintenance acceptance, exists for each product.
- Ensure where appropriate, that the resulting changes in the business are supported and sustainable
- Confirm who should receive which follow on action recommendation, if any, as summarized in the end stage report. In some instances, it may be necessary to review the detailed recommendation for some of the follow-on action recommendations.
- Ensure that the appropriate groups, for example operations or maintenance, have been made aware of their responsibility for taking any recommendations forward.
Review the Stage Plan or Exception Plan for which the Project Manager is seeking approval:
- Confirm the validity and achieveability of the Stage Plan or Exception Plan
- Review and approve any new Product Descriptions
- Confirm the vanity and achieve ability of the Project Plan and if necessary, secure the appropriate approval from corporate, programme management or the customer
- Confirm the approaches and project controls in the updated PID, are adequate for the remainder of the project
- Verify that the updated business case continues to demonstrate a viable project
- Review and approve the updated benefits management approach to ensure that any benefits planned to be achieved within the next management stage will be measured and reviewed
- Confirm that the project remains aligned with the strategy of corporate, programme management or the customer
The following decisions need to be made:
- Approve the plans and authorize the Project Manager to proceed with the submitted plans
- Obtainable commit the resources needed by the plans
- Set tolerances for the plan being approved
- For the final management stage, the Project Board should consider whether any residual tolerances from the previous management stages could be assigned to the plan, or whether they are better held back in reserve
- If a plan is rejected, of the Project Manager to revise the rejected plan, guidance should be given about the changes required to make it acceptable
- It may be necessary to instruct the Project Manager to initiate premature closure of the project
- Communicate the status of the project to corporate, programme management or the customer and keep other interested parties informed about project progress as laid down in the Communication Management Approach
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