Tailoring PRINCE2 for Simple Projects
PRINCE2 can be used in any type of project of any scale. Scale is related to several factors, such as project complexity, size, risk, importance, product complexity, number of resources and cost.
The PRINCE2 manual states that companies should consider calibrating the scale of their projects, and this means that they should decide what makes a small project, a medium project and a big project.
It may not be an easy exercise to create your own project scale, so to help, the PRINCE2 manual provides a table of different project characteristics that you can try to match with your project to get an idea of the scale.
The PRINCE2 FIVE scales of projects:
Level 1: The Lowest level is Tasks. A group of tasks is done by a single person
Level 2: Simple Project with low risk involving a few persons. It has just one delivery stage. There are no Team Managers, as team members report to the Project Manager directly
Level 3: Normal Project with one or more delivery stages. Team Managers are present. It is an important project
Level 4: Daunting Project has multiple organizations with high risk, high cost. It is very important. It has multiple delivery stages and high visibility
Level 5: Program: These contain multiple projects
To use these guidelines, the Project Manager needs to ascertain:
- What scale is the project?
- Which elements on the project can I afford to relax or in other words, which information can I use from similar or recent projects?
For example, if the project is a similar project to one that was done recently, then it would be somewhat easier to:
- plan the project team
- create roles and responsibilities
- list risks
- define the quality criteria information
- create product descriptions and plans.
PRINCE2 Tailoring Effect on Themes
The Theme most affected by simple projects is the Organization Theme, as roles can be combined for small projects.
For example, the Executive and the Senior User can be the same person, and in a small project, Project Boards are also closer to the project, so they can decide to carry out their own Project Assurance.
Also for smaller projects, the people who create the products can report directly to the Project Manager – therefore, there is no need for Team Managers.
The Project Manager usually combines the role of Project Manager with Project Support and perhaps also works on some of the specialist products.
Tailoring the Business Case Theme for Simple Projects
This can be straightforward, as the Business Case just requires some information to justify the project and the investment with an overview of expected benefits. This could just be just a 2-page document.
Tailoring the Plans theme for Simple Projects
This will start with a Project Product Description and perhaps Product Descriptions for key deliverables and a Gantt chart. The plan itself, could even look like a Product Checklist.
A product checklist is a simple list of the products that will be produced by the project, with information on expected delivery dates, producer and reviewers, and can also include key milestones.
Tailoring the Quality theme for simple projects
Simple projects need to have an understanding of the quality required in the project, and this should be described in the Project Product Description and other Project Descriptions.
This can include the quality criteria, quality tolerance, quality method, and quality responsibilities.
Tailoring the Risk theme for simple projects
Simple projects need to analyse the risks facing the project, take actions to respond to the risks, and communicate risk information regularly to the Project Board via Highlight reports.
Tailoring the Change theme for simple projects
Simple projects need a simple method to control and manage the configuration of the products.
For example, it is possible to use a simpler Configuration Item Record template, but you will want to define where products should be stored, the naming conventions to be followed, and other such details.
Change-management needs to be done to ensure that the project will remain with its agreed scope and deliver the required products.
Tailoring the Progress theme for simple projects:
Simple projects will need some form of agreed controls and reporting requirements between the Project Board and Project Manager. It is always better to put these in writing, even if this is an email
PRINCE2 Tailoring Processes for Simple projects
All processes remain relevant in simple projects and therefore must be done; they can be a bit less formal than in more complex projects, however.
The Starting Up a Project process is often done very quickly, and the Project Initiation Documentation is written without first doing a Project Brief
This is possible for simple projects, especially if the project is similar to a previous project.
Tailoring Management Products for Simple Projects
A simpler format to the Management Products will help reduce the effort required by the Project Manager in a simple project.
Here are a few examples to explain this:
- Highlight Report: The Project Board may ask for a simple one-page Highlight Report or just a simple structured email
- All reports can be in the form of an email. This also makes it possible to use a folder in your email system to help manage this information
- Some of the Project Initiation Documentation can be in slides
- The Daily Log can include more information such as Risk, Lessons, Quality and Activities. The Project Manager therefore does not have to maintain other files that would hardly be used.
The following PRINCE2 Management Products may not be needed:
- Stage Plan: If there are just two stages in a project and one of these is the Initiation stage, then there is no need for a Stage Plan, as the Project Plan will contain the plan for the 2nd stage also
- Checkpoint Reports: If there are no Team Managers, there is no need for these reports
- Work Packages: This may not be needed if the Project Manager is in direct contact with the producers, and the products do not need the control of a Work Package
- End Stage Report: As there is just one delivery stage, there will be no Manage Stage Boundary process, and the End Project Report will be created in the Closing a Project Process
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