PRINCE2 – Project Product Description
The PRINCE2 Project product description is created during the starting up a project process and forms part of the initial project scoping activity.
When the project moves into the PRINCE2 Initiation stage, it may be refined during the PRINCE2 Initiating a project process during creation of the project plan.
The project product description is subject to formal change control and should be checked and management stage boundaries within the managing a stage Process, to see if any changes are required.
The project product description is used in the closing a project process as part of the verification that the project has delivered what was expected and that the acceptance criteria have been met in full.
It is a senior user role that is responsible for specifying the project product , but it is quite normal that It is written by the project manager with appropriate consultation between the senior user and the project board executive.
The project product description forms part of the project brief and is used to help select the project approach defined within that document.
The project product description plays a key part here in defining exactly what the customer is expecting the project to deliver. It is the project approach that defines a solution or methods to be used by the supplier to create the project product.
If the project scope includes any transition or business change required to deliver project outcomes, the should also be defined as specialist products and explicitly stated and covered within the project plan.
So, in summary then, the project product description Is there to gain agreement from the user on the project scope and requirements, define the customer’s quality expectations, define the acceptance criteria, Methods and responsibilities for the project.
The project product description is derived from any existing products to be modified, or design specifications, or a feasibility report, or information contained within the project mandate.
PRINCE2 Customers quality expectations
Simply put, this is the quality expected of the Projects products, Outcomes, and the standards and process is that need to be applied to achieve that quality. Such quality expectations are normally captured in discussions with the customer, that is possible, these expectations should be prioritized.
The project product descriptions importance should be fully Understood, as it will impact every part of the product developments including Project time and cost.
PRINCE2 Acceptance criteria
In a similar way, this must be a prioritized list of criteria that the projects products and/or outcomes must meet Before the customer will accept them.
Acceptance criteria are measurable Definitions of the attributes that must apply to the set of products to be acceptable to key Stakeholders. The stakeholders include the users and the operational and maintenance Organizations.
Acceptance criteria may use any appropriate metric , but would typically include:
- Ease of use
- Ease of support
- Ease of maintenance
- Appearance
- Major functions
- Development costs
- Running costs
- Capacity
- Availability
- Reliability
- Security
- Accuracy
- Performance
It is important that project level quality tolerances are applied to each acceptance criteria stated.
It is also important to include the acceptance methods used to confirm that the product is acceptable.
The project product description Maybe derived from the project mandates, discussions with the senior user and executive or even a request for proposal.
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