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PRINCE2 Exam Key Learning Points 

 May 3, 2023

By  Dave Litten

PRINCE2 Exam Key Learning Points

PRINCE2 is a widely used project management method which guides you through all the essentials for running a successful project. Since its introduction in 1989 as a government standard for IT project management, PRINCE2 has been taken on by both the public and private sectors. It is now recognized as a de facto standard for project management.

Prince2 Processes And Themes

PRINCE2 is a flexible method, and although initially designed for the management of IT projects, it is now aimed at all types of projects. PRINCE2 takes the lessons from thousands of professionals in the past 30 years to create the current method.

These lessons enable it to be applied to any project regardless of your project scale, type, organization, geography or culture. PRINCE2 achieves this by isolating the management aspects of project work from the specialist contributions.

The specialist aspects of any project are then integrated with the PRINCE2 method. The latest version of PRINCE2 (2017 in 2023) presents this method in a more easily read and understood document, “Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2”.

This latest PRINCE2 method addresses project management with four integrated elements.

PRINCE2 Integrated elements

Except for Tailoring, there are seven of each of the following PRINCE2 principles, processes and themes:

The PRINCE2 Principles are the guiding obligations and good practices that determine whether the project is genuinely being managed using PRINCE2. There are seven principles; unless they are applied, it is not a PRINCE2 project.

The PRINCE2 Processes â€“ These describe the step-by-step progress through the project lifecycle from getting started to project closure. Each process includes checklists of recommended activities, products and related responsibilities.

The PRINCE2 Themes â€“ These themes describe aspects of project management that must be addressed throughout the project. They cover the various project management disciplines, including how they should be performed and why they are necessary.

Tailoring PRINCE2 To The Project Environment â€“ This addresses the need to tailor PRINCE2 to the project’s specific context. PRINCE2 is not a ‘one size fits all’ solution; it is designed to be adapted to the needs of each project.

PRINCE2 PRINCIPLES

The set of principles on which PRINCE2 is based originates from lessons learned from good and bad projects. If a project does not adhere to these principles, it is not managed using PRINCE2 because the principles are the basis of what defines a PRINCE2 project. The seven PRINCE2 principles are:

  • Continued business justification
  • Learn from experience
  • Defined roles and responsibilities
  • Manage by stages
  • Manage by exception
  • Focus on products
  • Tailor to suit the project environment.

Continued business justification

A requirement for a PRINCE2 project is that:

  • There is a justifiable reason to start it
  • The explanation should remain valid throughout the life of the project
  • The justification is documented and approved.

In PRINCE2, the justification is documented in a Business Case. As a project is inextricably linked to its business justification, it drives the decision-making processes to ensure that it remains aligned with the business objectives and benefits sought.

Learn from experience

In PRINCE2, learning from experience permeates the method:

  • When starting a project â€“ Previous or similar projects should be reviewed to see if lessons learned could be applied. If the project is a ‘first’ for the people within the organization, then the project should consider seeking external experience.
  • As the project progresses â€“ The project should continue to learn. Lessons should be included in all reports and reviews. The aim is to seek opportunities to implement improvements during the project’s life.
  • As the project closes â€“ The project should pass on lessons. Unless lessons provoke change, they are only identified (not learned).

Everyone involved with the PRINCE2 project is responsible for seeking lessons learned rather than waiting for someone else to provide them.

Defined roles and responsibilities

PRINCE2 Projects must involve resources with the appropriate skill set to undertake the required roles when necessary.

To be successful, PRINCE2 projects must have a project management team structure consisting of defined and agreed roles and responsibilities for the people involved in the project and a means for effective communication between them.

All PRINCE2 projects have the following primary stakeholders:

  • Business sponsors who endorse the objectives and ensure that the business investment provides value for money
  • Users who, after the project is completed, will use the products to enable them to gain the intended benefits
  • Suppliers who provide the resources and expertise required by the project (these may be internal or external).

Therefore, all three stakeholder interests must be represented effectively in the PRINCE2 project organization – two out of three are insufficient. If the project costs outweigh the benefits, the project will fail. Equally, if the outcome of the project does not meet the users? Failure is inevitable if the suppliers cannot feasibly deliver operational needs.

Manage by stages

Management stages provide PRINCE2 senior management with control points throughout the project. Shorter management stages offer more control, while longer management stages reduce the burden on senior management. Much effort can be wasted on attempts to plan beyond a sensible planning horizon. PRINCE2 overcomes this issue by:

  • Dividing the project into several management stages
  • Having a high-level Project Plan and a detailed Stage Plan (for the current management stage)
  • Planning, delegating, monitoring and controlling the project on a stage-by-stage basis.

PRINCE2 requires a minimum of two management stages: one initiation stage and one or more further management stages.

Manage by exception

PRINCE2 enables appropriate governance by defining distinct responsibilities for directing, managing and delivering the project and clearly defining accountability at each level. Accountability is established by:

  • Delegating authority from one management level to the next by setting tolerances against six objectives for the respective level of the plan:
  • Setting up controls so that if those tolerances are forecast to be exceeded, they are immediately referred up to the next management layer for a decision on how to proceed
  • Putting an assurance mechanism in place so that each management layer can be confident that such controls are adequate.

This implementation of PRINCE2′ management by exception’ enables efficient use of senior management time, as it reduces their time burden without removing control by ensuring decisions are made at the right level in the organization.

Focus on PRINCE2 products.

A successful project is output-oriented rather than activity-oriented. An output-oriented project agrees to and defines its products before undertaking the required production activities. The set of approved products establishes the scope of a project and provides the basis for planning and control.

A PRINCE2 project uses Product Descriptions to provide clarity by defining each product’s purpose, composition, derivation, format, quality criteria and quality method.

They provide the means to determine effort estimates, resource requirements, dependencies and activity schedules. Without a product focus, projects are exposed to significant risks such as acceptance disputes, rework, uncontrolled change (‘scope creep’), user dissatisfaction and under-estimation of acceptance activities.

Tailor to suit the project environment.

The value of PRINCE2 is that it is a universal project management method that can be applied regardless of project type, organization, geography or culture. Any project can use it because the PRINCE2 method is designed to be tailored to its specific needs.

If PRINCE2 is tailored, the project management effort and approach are likely appropriate for the project’s needs. Refraining from following the method or having no method at all will likely result in wasted effort.

The purpose of PRINCE2 tailoring is to:

  • Ensure the project management method relates to the project’s environment.
  • Ensure that project controls are based on the project’s scale, complexity, importance, capability and risk.
  • Tailoring requires the Project Manager and the Project Board to decide how the method will be applied, for which guidance is provided.

PRINCE2 PROCESSES

PRINCE2 is a process-based approach to project management. The PRINCE2 processes are structured activities designed to accomplish a specific objective. It takes one or more defined inputs and turns them into defined outputs.

There are seven processes in PRINCE2, which provide the activities required to direct, manage and deliver a project successfully. It is essential to understand the PRINCE2 Process Sequence.

PRINCE2 – Starting up a Project (SU)

The Starting up a Project process aims to ensure that the prerequisites for Initiating a Project are in place by answering the question: do we have a viable and worthwhile project? SU is a less comprehensive process compared to Initiating a Project process.

The aim is to do the minimum necessary to decide whether it is beneficial even to carry out the PRINCE2 Initiating a Project process. An important aspect is clearly understanding the customer’s quality expectations and acceptance criteria.

The objective of the PRINCE2 starting up a project process is to ensure that:

  • There is a business justification for initiating the project (an outline Business Case)
  • All the authorities (the project management team) exist to initiate the project.
  • Sufficient information is available to define and confirm the scope of the project (a Project Brief)
  • The various ways the project can be delivered are evaluated, and a project approach selected
  • Individuals who will undertake the work required in project initiation and/or will take significant project management roles are appointed.
  • The work required for project initiation is planned (the Initiation Stage Plan)
  • Time is well-spent initiating a project based on unsound assumptions regarding the project’s scope, timescales, acceptance criteria and constraints.

SU is triggered by the project mandate, which is provided by the responsible authority that is commissioning the project, usually the corporate or programme management organization.

The PRINCE2 Project Mandate is further refined to determine the project approach and the Project Brief. The project mandate should provide the terms of reference for the project and should contain sufficient information to identify at least the prospective Executive of the Project Board.

PRINCE2 – Directing a Project (DP)

The Directing a Project process aims to enable the PRINCE2 Project Board to be accountable for the project’s success by making critical decisions and exercising overall control while delegating day-to-day management of the project to the Project Manager. The objective of the DP process is to ensure that:

  • There is authority to initiate the project
  • There is authority to deliver the project’s products
  • Management direction and control are provided throughout the project’s life, and the project remains viable
  • Corporate or programme management has an interface to the project
  • There is authority to close the project
  • Plans for realizing the post-project benefits are managed and reviewed.

DP starts on completion of the SU process and is triggered by the request to initiate a project. There is a powerful ‘communication conduit’ activity between the project board and the project manager called give ad-hoc direction.

It can also communicate between the project board and other key stakeholders. DP does not cover the day-to-day activities of the Project Manager within a PRINCE2 project.

The next activity is to authorize a project. The Project Board manages by exception. It monitors via reports and controls through a small number of decision points. There should be no need for other ‘progress meetings’ for the Project Board. The Project Manager will inform the board of any exceptional situation.

PRINCE2 – Initiating a Project (IP)

The Initiating a Project process aims to establish solid foundations for the project, enabling the organization to understand the work needed to deliver the project’s products before committing to a significant spend. The objective of the Initiating a Project process is to ensure that there is a common understanding of:

  • The reasons for doing the project, the benefits expected and the associated risks
  • The scope of what is to be done and the products to be delivered
  • How and when the project’s products will be provided, and at what cost
  • Who is to be involved in the project decision-making
  • How the quality required will be achieved
  • How baselines will be established and controlled
  • How risks, issues and changes will be identified, assessed and controlled
  • How progress will be monitored and controlled
  • Who needs information, in what format, and at what time
  • How the corporate (or programme) project management method will be tailored to suit the project

IP within PRINCE2 aims to lay the foundations for a successful project.

Specifically, all parties must be clear on what the project is intended to achieve, why it is needed, how the outcome is to be completed and what their responsibilities are so that there can be a genuine commitment. Here in the Initiating a Project process, the project plan is created.

There are four approach documents to describe how the PRINCE2 project will be managed; these are the Risk Management Approach, the Change Management Approach, the Quality Management Approach, and the Communication Management Approach.

During IP, the Project Manager will create the suite of management products required for the level of control specified by the Project Board. The Project Manager should have agreed on how the Project Board will review and approve the management products.

The focus in PRINCE2 is, therefore, on the project board and project manager controls.

The outline business case needs to be refined into a detailed version, and all of the documentation of the project initiation documentation (PID) needs to be assembled. The activity refines the business case and creates the PID used.

PRINCE2 – Controlling a Stage (CS)

Controlling a Stage aims to assign work to be done, monitor this work, deal with issues, report progress to the Project Board, and take corrective actions to ensure that the stage remains within tolerance. The objective of the Controlling a Stage process is to ensure that:

  • Attention is focused on the delivery of the management stage’s products. Any movement away from the direction and Products agreed upon at the start of the management stage is monitored to avoid uncontrolled change (‘scope creep’) and loss of focus.
  • Risks and issues are kept under control.
  • The Business Case is kept under review.
  • The agreed products for the stage are delivered to stated quality standards, within cost, effort and time agreed, and ultimately in support of achieving the defined benefits.
  • The project management team is focused on delivery within the tolerances laid down.

CS describes the Project Manager’s work in handling the stage’s day-to-day management. This process will be used for each delivery stage of a project.

As part of management by exception, the project manager creates regular highlight reports for the project board and other key stakeholders if required. Whenever the project manager notices that the stage is departing from the stage plan, the activity of taking corrective action can be used.

Towards the end of each stage, except the final one, the activities within the Managing a Stage Boundary process will be triggered.

A critical control is that the project manager authorizes a work package before it is given out and then reviews the work package status regularly during the stage. In a similar way, the project manager has to review the stage status on a regular basis to be sure that it is proceeding to plan.

The CS process usually is first used after the Project Board authorizes the project. Still, it can be used during the initiation stage for large or complex projects with a lengthy initiation. Towards the end of the last management stage, the Closing a Project process will be invoked.

PRINCE2 – Managing Product Delivery (MP)

Managing Product Delivery views the project from the Team Manager’s perspective while Controlling a Stage process views it from the Project Manager’s perspective.

The purpose of MP is to control the link between the Project Manager and the Team Manager(s) by placing formal requirements on accepting, executing and delivering project work.

The role of the Team Manager(s) is to coordinate an area of work that will deliver one or more of the project’s products. Team managers can be internal or external to the customer’s organization.

The objectives of Managing Product Delivery is to ensure that:

  • Work on products allocated to the team via an authorized Work Package is approved and agreed upon.
  • Team Managers, team members and suppliers are clear about what is to be produced and the expected effort, cost or timescales.
  • The planned products are delivered to expectations and within tolerance.
  • Accurate progress information is provided to the Project Manager at an agreed frequency to ensure that expectations are managed.

Suppose the project uses external suppliers that are not using PRINCE2. In that case, MP provides a statement of the required interface between the Team Manager and the PRINCE2 method being used in the project by the Project Manager.

The Work Package may be part of a contractual agreement. The formality of a Team Plan could vary from simply appending a schedule to the Work Package to a fully formed plan presented in a similar style to a Stage Plan.

PRINCE2 – Managing a Stage Boundary (SB)

The purpose of Managing a Stage Boundary is to enable the Project Board to be provided with sufficient information by the Project Manager so that it can review the success of the current stage, approve the next Stage Plan, review the updated Project Plan, and confirm continued business justification and acceptability of the risks. The process should be executed at, or close to, the end of each management stage.

Projects do not always go to plan, and in response to an Exception Report, the Project Board may request that the current stage (and possibly the project) be replanned. In such a case, the activity plan, the next stage or exception plan, has been included to support either need.

The objective of the Managing a Stage Boundary is to:

  • Assure the Project Board that all products in the Stage Plan for the current stage have been completed and approved.
  • Prepare the Stage Plan for the next stage.
  • Review and, if necessary, update the Project Initiation Documentation.
  • Provide the information needed for the Project Board via the end-stage report to assess the continuing viability of the project – including the aggregated risk exposure.
  • Record any information or lessons that can help later stages of this project and/or other projects.
  • Request authorization to start the next stage.

For exception situations, the objective of the SB process is to:

  • Prepare an Exception Plan as directed by the Project Board
  • Seek approval to replace the Project Plan or Stage Plan for the current stage with the Exception Plan.

It is essential that, at the end of each stage, the project plan and business case are updated. SB is not used in the final management stage, as the activities to review the performance of the final stage are included as part of the Closing a Project process.

One early identifier of potential failure is the Project Manager’s forecast that any project or stage tolerance(s) will likely be exceeded.

In such cases, it is essential to have a mechanism for corrective action to bring the project back in the right direction. A favourable decision not to proceed is not a 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.

PRINCE2 Closing a Project (CP)

The purpose of Closing a Project is to provide a fixed point at which acceptance for the project product is confirmed and to recognize that objectives set out in the original Project Initiation Documentation have been achieved (or approved changes to the goals have been completed) or that the project has nothing more to contribute.

The objective of the Closing a Project process is to:

  • Verify user acceptance of the project’s products.
  • Ensure that the product(s) is supportable when the project is disbanded.
  • Review the performance of the project against established baselines.
  • Assess any benefits that have already been realized, update the forecast of the remaining benefits, and plan for a review of the remaining benefits.
  • Ensure that all open issues and risks are captured with the follow-on action recommendations.

One of the defining features of a PRINCE2 project is that it is finite – it has a start and an end. If the project loses this distinctiveness, it loses some of its advantages over purely operational management approaches. A clear end to a project:

It is always more successful than a slow drift into use and a recognition by all concerned that:

  • Provides an opportunity to ensure that all unachieved goals and objectives are identified so that they can be addressed in the future
  • Transfers ownership of the products to the customer and terminates the responsibility of the project organization.
  • Closure activities should be part of the Stage Plan for the final management stage. When closing a project, work is required to prepare input to the Project Board to obtain its authorization to complete the project.
  • The Executive should also notify corporate or programme management that the project has closed. It is also possible that the Project Board may wish to trigger a premature closure of the project under some circumstances.
  • If the project is being brought to a premature close, this process will still need to be executed but may have to be tailored to the actual project situation.

PRINCE2 THEMES 

The PRINCE2 themes describe aspects of project management that must be addressed continually. The strength of PRINCE2 is in the way the seven Themes are integrated, and this is achieved because of the specific PRINCE2 treatment of each theme. The seven themes are:

  • Business Case
  • Organization
  • Quality
  • Plans
  • Risk
  • Change
  • Progress

PRINCE2 Business Case Theme

The Business Case theme is used to judge whether the project is desirable, viable and achievable to support decision-making in its investment. The business justification is the reason for the project; remember, if there is no justification, a project should not be started.

If business justification is valid at the start of a project but disappears once it is underway, the project should be stopped or changed.

It is essential to understand the PRINCE2 Business Case contents.

This justification is documented in a Business Case describing the reasons for the project based on estimated costs, risks and expected benefits. When projects face changes or risks, the impact analysis should focus on the Business Case, as the project is only a means to an end (the outcome) and not the end itself.

The Senior User(s) is responsible for specifying the benefits and subsequently realizing the benefits through the use of the products provided by the project. This is benefits realization; in PRINCE2, this is planned in the CP process.

The Executive is responsible for ensuring that those benefits specified by the Senior User(s) represent value for money, are aligned with corporate objectives and are realistic.

In PRINCE2, the outline Business Case is developed at the beginning of the project and maintained throughout the project’s life. It is verified by the Project Board at each key decision point, such as End Stage Assessments.

PRINCE2 Organization Theme

The PRINCE2 Organization theme defines and establishes the project’s structure of accountability and responsibilities. PRINCE2 is based on a customer/supplier environment. It assumes that a customer will specify the desired result and probably pay for the project, and a supplier will provide the resources and skills to deliver that result.

This structure is established at the start of a project and maintained throughout the project’s life, changing as the needs of the project move from stage to stage. A successful project organization should:

  • Have business, user and supplier stakeholder representation.
  • Ensure appropriate governance by defining responsibilities for directing, managing and delivering the project and clearly defining accountability at each level.
  • Have reviews of the project roles throughout the project to ensure that they continue to be effective
  • Have an effective strategy to manage communication flows to and from key external stakeholders.

It is recommended that Project Board should always include representation from each of the business, user and supplier interests.

The level of overlap between the interests of the business, user and supplier will change according to the type of corporate organization and project.

For example, if a project uses an in-house supplier, the business and supplier interests will be more likely to have overlapping interests than an external supplier. Effective engagement with other stakeholders is crucial to a project’s success.

PRINCE2 recognizes four levels of management, these are:

  • Corporate or programme management â€“ This level sits outside the project management team but will be responsible for commissioning the project.
  • Directing â€“ The Project Board is responsible for the overall direction and management of the project within the constraints set out by corporate or programme management.
  • Managing â€“ The Project Manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of the project within the constraints set out by the Project Board.
  • Delivering â€“ Depending on the size and complexity of the project, the authority and responsibility for planning the creation of certain products and managing a team of specialists to produce those products may be delegated to a Team Manager.

PRINCE2 Quality Theme 

The Quality theme defines the PRINCE2 approach to ensuring that the project’s products:

  • Meet business expectations
  • Enable the desired benefits to be achieved subsequently.

The ‘focus on products’ principle is central to PRINCE2’s approach to quality. It provides an explicit common understanding of what the project will create and the criteria against which its products will be assessed.

The project costs, and timescales can only be estimated after establishing the quality criteria for the products and the quality management activities that must be included in the project’s plans.

PRINCE2 includes a quality review technique that is particularly helpful when reviewing documentation.

The Quality theme addresses the quality methods and responsibilities not only for the specification, development and approval of the project’s products but also for the management of the project.

Capturing and acting on lessons contributes to the PRINCE2 quality approach, as it is a means of achieving continuous improvement.

The terminology used in the Quality theme is derived from the ISO 9000 standards but explicitly aimed at project work.

A quality management system is the complete set of quality standards, procedures and responsibilities for a site or organization.

PRINCE2 Plans Theme

Effective project management relies on effective planning; without a plan, there is no control. For planning to be effective, it has to be based on a plan for the real world. PRINCE2 describes a simple and logical set of steps for creating and PRINCE2 Plan.

Planning provides all personnel involved in the project with information on the following:

  • what is required
  • How will it be achieved and by whom, using what specialist equipment and resources
  • When events will happen
  • Whether the targets are achievable.

The PRINCE2 Plans theme also describes the vital product-based planning technique. Progress is measured against a set of credible plans which provide a baseline against which to check. Estimating forms an essential part of a realistic and achievable plan.

A plan requires the approval and commitment of the appropriate levels of the project management team. PRINCE2 recommends three levels of plan to reflect the needs of the different levels of management involved:

  • The Project Plan â€“ The Initiating a Project process creates this.
  • Stage Plans – The Initiation Stage Plan is created by Starting up a Project process, and each subsequent Stage Plan is developed by Managing a Stage Boundary process
  • Team Plans â€“ The Managing Product Delivery process creates these.

The only other plan in PRINCE2 is the Benefits Management Approach.

This covers activities during and after the project and may be part of a corporate or programme plan. The Benefits Management Approach covers corporate, project and stage levels.

Planning information is disseminated to key stakeholders and other interested parties to secure any commitments which support the plan. PRINCE2 contains a product-based planning technique.

The Plans theme provides a framework to design, develop and maintain the project’s plans. Plans are the backbone of the management information system required for any project. PRINCE2 requires a product-based approach to planning.

PRINCE2 Risk Theme

The Risk theme aims to identify, assess and control uncertainty and, as a result, improve the project’s ability to succeed. A risk is an uncertain event that, should it occur, will affect the achievement of objectives.

There are several risk techniques. It consists of a combination of the probability of a perceived threat or opportunity occurring and the magnitude of its impact on objectives.

Risk-taking in projects is inevitable since projects are there to cause change deliberately, and change introduces uncertainty, hence risk. The project should establish and maintain a cost-effective risk management procedure.

Risk management is a continual activity performed throughout the project’s life. PRINCE2 has a well-designed risk management procedure. For risk management to be effective, risks need to be:

  • Identified â€“ This includes risks being considered that could affect the achievement of the project’s objectives and then described to ensure that there is a common understanding of these risks.
  • Assessed â€“ This includes ensuring that each risk can be ranked in terms of estimated likelihood, impact and immediacy and understanding the overall level of risk associated with the project.
  • Controlled â€“ This includes identifying appropriate responses to risks, assigning risk owners, and executing, monitoring and controlling these responses.

PRINCE2 recommends that every project have its Risk Management Approach and a means of control, i.e. the Risk Register. The Risk Management Approach for the project is likely to be based on any corporate or programme policies and processes already in place. The Risk Register captures and maintains information on all identified threats and opportunities relating to the project.

Project Support will maintain the Risk Register on behalf of the Project Manager. The Risk Management Approach will describe the procedure for registering risks.

PRINCE2 Change Theme

The Change theme identifies, assesses and controls any potential and approved changes to baselines. The aim of the issue and change control procedures is not to prevent changes but to ensure that the relevant authority agrees on every change before it takes place.

Change is inevitable during the life of a project; hence a systematic approach to identifying, assessing and controlling issues that may result in change is required.

Therefore the capture of issues and risks in a controlled manner is vital. Changes may arise from very many sources; PRINCE2 provides a common approach to issue and change control.

Without a practical issue and change control procedure, a project will become unresponsive or quickly drift out of control. The term’ issue’ covers anything happening during the project that may result in a change to a baselined product, plan or performance target (time, cost, quality, scope, risk and benefits) unless resolved.

Different types of issues need to be dealt with during a project:

  • Request for change â€“ A proposal for a change from a baseline.
  • Off-specification â€“ Something that the project should provide but currently is not provided (or is forecast not to be provided). This might be a missing product or a product not meeting its specification.
  • Problem/concern â€“ The Project Manager needs to resolve or escalate any other issue.

A prerequisite of a practical issue and change control is establishing an appropriate configuration management system that records baselines for the project’s products and ensures that correct versions are delivered to the customer.

Configuration management is the technical and administrative activities concerned with the creation, maintenance and controlled configuration change throughout a product’s life.

A configuration item is an entity subject to configuration management and change control. The entity may be a component of a product, a product or a set of products that form a ‘release’.

A release is a complete and consistent set of products managed, tested and deployed as a single entity to be handed over to the user. Configuration Item Records provide a set of records that describe such information as the status, version and variant of each configuration item and any details of significant relationships between such items.

PRINCE2 Progress Theme 

The Progress theme establishes mechanisms to monitor and compare actual achievements against those planned in order to provide a forecast for the project objectives, including its continued viability.

Progress, and hence progress reporting, is the measure of the achievement of the goals of a plan. It can be monitored at Work Package, stage and project level. Progress controls ensure that for each level of the project management team, the next level of management can:

  • Monitor progress
  • Compare the level of achievement with a plan
  • Review plans and options against future situations
  • Detect problems and identify risks
  •  Initiate corrective action
  • Authorize further work

Tolerances are the permissible deviation above and below a plan’s targets. An exception is a situation where it can be forecasted that there will be a deviation beyond the agreed tolerance levels.

If tolerances are not implemented, there is no precise measure of discretion if things do not go to plan. Tolerances may be usefully applied to several different aspects of the project, such as:

  • Time
  • Cost
  • Scope
  • Risk
  • Quality
  • Benefits

Tailoring PRINCE2 to the project environment

PRINCE2 may be Tailored or Embedded into the work undertaken by an organization. Tailoring refers to the appropriate use of PRINCE2 on any given project, ensuring that there is the correct amount of planning, control, governance and use of the Tailoring the PRINCE2 processes and theme tailoring.

In contrast, the adoption of PRINCE2 across an organization is known as embedding. The two should be considered separately:

  • Embedding â€“ Done by the organization to adopt PRINCE2, the focus is on the following:
    • Process responsibilities
    • Scaling rules/guidance (e.g. score card)
    • Standards (templates, definitions)
    • Training and development
    • Integration with business processes
    • Tools
    • Process assurance.
  • Tailoring â€“ Done by the project management team to adapt the method to the context of a specific project. The focus is on:
    • Adapting the themes (through the strategies and controls)
    • Incorporating specific terms/language
    • Revising the Product Descriptions for the management products
    • Revising the role descriptions for the PRINCE2 project roles
    • Adjusting the processes to match the above.

PRINCE2 can be used whatever the project scale, complexity, geography or culture. Some projects may claim they do not need ‘full PRINCE2’ and have only implemented portions of the method.

This can reveal a flawed understanding of PRINCE2 as the methodology is designed to be tailored. So tailoring PRINCE2 appropriately is ‘full PRINCE2’. Tailoring does not consist of omitting elements of PRINCE2.

Therefore tailoring is about adapting the method to external factors (such as any corporate standards that need to be applied) and the project factors to consider (such as the scale of the project).

The goal is to use a level of project management that does not overburden the project but provides an appropriate level of control given the external and project factors.

The method may need to be adapted to incorporate the terms and language of corporate or programme organizations to improve understanding. All the PRINCE2 process activities need to be done; the responsibilities for performing the activities may change.

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Prince2 Practitioner Masterclass

Your Route To PRINCE2 Practitioner

Prepare for your PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner Exams with our famous on-line course with streaming HD Video Lessons, study guides and mock exams. In the last fifteen years we have had 6,000+ Academy students successfully transform their careers as PRINCE2 Practitioners.

  • Bite Sized Lessons  The sheer size of PRINCE2 can be daunting. The Masterclass will guide you through the syllabus in easy to consume bite sized lessons
  • Be prepared and confident for the exams  Test your knowledge in a fun, entertaining environment with the PRINCE2 Foundation & practitioner exam revision tools
  • Enjoy yourself!  This PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner online course is broken into bite-size lessons, combining leading edge multimedia and interactive exercises for optimum enjoyment and knowledge retention
  • Feel confident with full tutorial support  Benefit from fast access to experienced, one-to-one learning support as you study via email and phone, so there is no need to feel isolated while you are learning
  • Take your time  Study at your own pace by bookmarking your progress and picking up where you left off at a speed that suits you

Dave Litten


Dave spent 25+ years as a senior project manager for UK and USA multinationals and has deep experience in project management. He now develops a wide range of Project Management Masterclasses, under the Projex Academy brand name. In addition, David runs project management training seminars across the world, and is a prolific writer on the many topics of project management.

The Projex Academy

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Project Management Masterclasses