Project assurance critical success factors
The project assurance is widely misunderstood by those using the PRINCE2 method, and in this blog I will show you how vitally important this audit function called project assurance really is.
The project board within a PRINCE2 project are responsible for providing their own project assurance, that is, business assurance, user assurance, and supplier assurance. However, they can delegate this to other individuals who would then report back to the relevant board member.
It is important to point out that each individual who have fulfills one of the three project board roles are aware that they may delegate some of their project assurance activities, all of them, or choose to carry them out themselves.
The reason for potentially delegating project assurance may be driven by their availability, or possibly because they do not have sufficient knowledge, skills or experience within the area of assurance in question.
Whether or not each of the three project board roles decides to delegate some or all of their project assurance activities, it is important that they are still responsible for the correct running of the project.
Just because delegated project assurance staff carry out the insurance work on the project boards behalf, they are not ultimately responsible for assurance as that remains with the relevant individuals within the project board.
To reinforce this point, those who had been delegated project assurance activities on behalf of project board members, do not attend project board meetings, but rather brief the relevant project board member on ensuring its progress and issues in advance of any such project board meeting.
Project assurance could be seen therefore as the audit function within a PRINCE2 project.
Unlike many traditional financial audits, the approach used for project assurance is a cooperative one, where both parties fully appreciate the opportunity to undergo an audit. Traditional auditors often approach their job as a ‘policing’ activity with the result that the audited person feels victimized and becomes very defensive.
In summary, when an audit is undertaken within a PRINCE2 project, all parties consider it a win-win activity.
Another important aspect of project assurance is that it is independent of the project manager and reports back directly to the project board to communicate what it has found.
It is for this reason that responsibility for project assurance lies with the project board, and they must ensure that for every project it is being carried out correctly.
Project Assurance responsibilities.
It is important when designing the PRINCE2 organization with regard to project assurance, that you choose individuals who both understand projects and also understand PRINCE2 from the standpoint of being a tailor of all, flexible and adaptable method.
If the individual’s providing project assurance view PRINCE2 as bureaucratic, then they will not have the right approach in tailoring and their audit responsibilities.
In addition the individual was chosen should be familiar with the common problem areas and where things can go wrong so that they know what to look for and can spot any clues of problem areas.
It may be that it searching for appropriate project assurance individuals that you may have to bring any external experienced people, but again, noted carefully that their approach is in harmony with the above two sentences.
Remember that you are looking for individuals with the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience both in the project or industry subject matter and in their ability to provide audit services.
In line with the PRINCE2 method, a product is not deemed complete until it has been created and tested, quality checked, and accepted by the appropriate individuals.
Therefore, those providing project assurance need the ability to audit all of those steps within product creation to assure them that the procedure has been properly carried out as well as merely checking that the documentation supporting the audit has got the right checks in the right boxes.
As I said in my opening paragraph, project assurance is all about corporation and being helpful rather than looking for trouble and nit picking small problems that in and of themselves can cause project delays.
What should Project Assurance audit?
Put simply, a PRINCE2 project will contain two types of products; management products and specialist products. It is therefore important that project assurance is applied to both areas.
Project Assurance for Management Products
Take for example the Business Case, which of course is a management product. Project assurance in the form of business assurance, should ensure that the right people have contributed to it, that it contains the correct and up to date information, and that it has been quality checked and signed off.
Another example of management products would be the project plan, stage plan, and team plans along with their respective work packages.
Project Assurance for Specialist Products
Specialist products are created and modified throughout the project life cycle and again should be subject to audit scrutiny. Specialist products are created from their Product Descriptions, and these would act as a good script for any audits.
Getting Project Assurance Right.
As you can see, it can be easy to bury the project in project assurance activity, which has the knock on effect of tying up management staff and increasing costs, so a balance is needed here. To get assurance right, each individual project needs to have a project assurance applied and tailored in an appropriate manner.
For small, simple, and low risk projects, it may not be necessary to provide project assurance to every single element of the products or indeed all of the management documentation products.
The project manager must make a point of briefing their team managers and advising how project assurance will be applied. It is significantly important to ensure that they understand that such project assurance is being done in a spirit of cooperation and as such, should be viewed as a valuable service to ensure project success.
Project Assurance and Project Support
Those who are new to the PRINCE2 method and in particular the structure of the project organization, get confused between project assurance and project support. They are of course, quite different.
From the standpoint of the project manager, project support provides a service to them, whereas project assurance would audit the project manager themselves.
For this reason it is important that the project support staff are not given any responsibilities for project assurance since projects support get involved in the actual work and this could lead to a conflict of interest.
PRINCE2® 7 Foundation and Practitioner
Learn PRINCE2® 7 Foundation and Practitioner Online
** Enhance your PRINCE2 career now **
PRINCE2® Masterclass gives you the skills necessary to manage projects effectively and achieve your objectives.
Get 7 days a week 12 months one to one coaching with ex PRINCE2 examiner Dave Litten.
PRINCE2® is a globally recognized project management framework. By completing both the Foundation and Practitioner courses through our self-paced e-learning, you will develop an understanding of the methodology and learn how to effectively adapt it to any project.
The PRINCE2® 7 Foundation and Practitioner Masterclass is PeopleCert Accredited and guarantees to take you from PRINCE2 Novice to PRINCE2 Practitioner with our famous video learning, study guides and practice exams.
What Does the Masterclass Cover?
The PRINCE2 Foundation examination assesses your knowledge and comprehension of the PRINCE2 project management methodology as detailed in the syllabus. The PRINCE2 Practitioner examination, on the other hand, gauges your ability to apply and tailor the PRINCE2 method. Candidates who pass the Practitioner exam should be able to start implementing the method on an actual project with some guidance. However, their effectiveness may differ based on their experience in project management, the complexity of the project, and the level of support they receive in their work environment.
