Microsoft Project with PRINCE2
Did you know that you can harness the power of Microsoft Project and use it to plan, monitor and control all your PRINCE2 Projects?
Don’t miss out, harness the Power of PRINCE2 to your Microsoft Project 2010 files… Master Microsoft Project 2010 HERE!
Here’s why, my MS Project 2010 Masterclass consists of streaming video and pdf tutorials showing you step-by-step how to master MS Project 2010 for all your projects.
Learn Microsoft project course 2010 tutorials online download. For manager projects and office tutorial project and training. Learn to baseline ms project plan, exporting gantt chart, the perfect 101 and planner.
Hi I’m Dave Litten and I’m very excited about my brand-new bonus that I’m offering with my Microsoft Project Primer Masterclass.
I’ve developed a set of prints toMicrosoft Project templates which are the perfect companion for you learning to master Microsoft Project.
What I’ve done is I’ve designed these Microsoft Project template files against the seven PRINCE2 processes so that you can tailor them for any PRINCE2 project no matter what its size risk or complexity.
What I’ve given you is a set of Microsoft Project PRINCE2 modules. You get my full plan creation module including the PRINCE2 product based planning technique.
You get fully customizable PRINCE2 delivery stage template, nine comprehensive PRINCE2 key document templates along with a full PRINCE2 delivery stage templates.
You get my pre-project authorization template and a fast-track double delivery stage PRINCE2 module. You get my PRINCE2 single delivery stage template for small and Lean projects and the delivery stage module for use with detailed Work Packages.
You get the full set of PRINCE2 register templates using Microsoft Excel for the risk, for the issue and for the quality registers you’re able to cut and paste.
You get a management-by-exception module for when project exception situations arise also you can cut and paste the PRINCE2 change control and issue Module for whenever you have such situations within your project plans.
The whole thing is designed to be plug-and-play.
Now just looking at the different levels of a PRINCE2 plan, you have of course the initiation stage plan, the project plan level, delivery stage plan levels, the optional team plans along with exception plans should they be required.
The challenge was how do we create and merge the Microsoft Project framework for a PRINCE2 project structure, yet at the same time include the project management time and event-driven controls.
Well I’ve got great news for you! With my modularized templates that you can plug straight into your PRINCE2 projects.
Let’s have a quick look at the PRINCE2 planning sequence and remind ourselves that the initiation stage plan is first baselined and used to deliver the initiation stage.
During that we create the PID and hence the project plan which is baselined during the initiation stage.
The first of the delivery stage plans are created and baselined and used as the basis to monitor manage and control each PRINCE2 delivery stage. This is normally broken down into at least one work package. Although quite normally there will be more than one.
Each work package in turn contains at least one product description although it’s normally the case that there will be more than one product being created within each work package.
Following on, you may well have other delivery stages. The minimum for a PRINCE2 project is the initiation stage plus one delivery stage, but don’t worry I’ve got you covered…
Whether it’s a simple single delivery stage or multiple delivery stages, you can plug my Microsoft Project PRINCE2 modules straight in no problem!
Taking a quick look at the managing sequence, the project manager, once the plan has been approved is there to catch what has actually occurred at stage level and at project level.
But within each stage at the work package level, the checkpoint report is a valuable input here when using the PRINCE2 method.
Reminding ourselves that we need to tailor the various plan levels during a typical sequence of managing a PRINCE2 project, the project managers challenge is to compare this actual information against the baseline plan so that he or she can determine the variances.
Having determined any such variances, then and only then, can the project manager forecast the future, and take any necessary corrective actions.
Also, and on an ongoing basis, manage risk and issues.
Of course that’s not all, it’s important to understand when issue or risk situations need to be escalated and of course regular reporting to the project board via the highlight report.
Don’t worry, I’ve given you all of the Microsoft Word editable templates for the standard documents that you’ll need when managing a PRINCE2 project and as you might imagine, I’ve built in all these dynamics into my Microsoft Project templates.
Let’s remind ourselves that during a stage, the dynamics of project management are that the project manager will give out work packages by authorizing them so that work can start and this will occur on a regular basis throughout each stage.
The project manager will then continually review work package status and this will happen via the regular checkpoint reports from the team managers.
When each work package is complete in terms of the products being quality checked and approved, the project manager will want to acknowledge that each work package is complete.
As part of the controls also during a stage, the project manager will want to manage ongoing issues and risks as well as take corrective action as I’ve mentioned.
And this will occur in an ad hoc manner throughout the stage.
Management by exception is an important control that’s built into PRINCE2 along with its exception report – and yes I’ve included this report as part of the Microsoft Word templates you’ll get.
Let’s not forget the important aspect of all project management, and that’s communication.
The highlight report is an important part of that but that’s certainly not all…
Consider in a general project, aspects such as contracts negotiation, team management and so on. All of these can happen in an ad hoc manner and it’s important therefore to build in to your Microsoft project templates.
The ability to plug and play. Here’s an example of a typical PRINCE2 project.
You know about pre projects with the project brief and initiation stage plan, you know about the initiation stage itself, the creation of the PID, and the plan for the first delivery stage, and then as you’re into each delivery stage you need to control a stage and manage product delivery which is where your work packages will come from.
If we assume that this is not the last stage, then you need to use managing a stage boundary process before entering into the final delivery stage.
Don’t worry, I’ve got all of these aspects covered in my Microsoft Project templates, so you really can mix and match.
You can design as few or many delivery stages as you need.
I’ve given you a template for both simple work packages and more complex work packages – particularly when you’re using third parties to deliver the specialist products.
At the end of the last stage, you’ll need to close the project down in a controlled manner and I’ve included the closing a project process as one of the many modules that you’ll get with my Microsoft Project template tool.
Just looking at the project process building blocks, you have of course pre-project aspects starting up a project, the initiation stage, the creation of the bid. Then you’re into delivery stages with work packages and managing a stage boundary and ultimately no matter how many stages you need, there’ll be a final delivery stage where you’re giving out work packages and closing the project.
I’ve given you a flexible range of templates so that you can tailor them for small simple projects or even down to personal assignment level if necessary. I’ve also included automatically calculated time and cost tolerance calculations so you can keep an eye on this important aspect and use Microsoft Project to help you determine whether a stage or project is forecast to continue to deliver within tolerance bounds.
I’ve built into the templates the all-important project things in terms of product based planning issue and change control and management by exception.
You’ll be able to use these subroutines if you will, to simply paste into your Microsoft Project delivery files.
Here’s a small example of what I mean by cut and paste templates here you can see I’ve given you an example of a typical PRINCE2 multistage Gantt view to which you can add management-by-exception should the need ever arise.
I’ve given you a PRINCE2 product flow diagram view built into each file as well as an extended PRINCE2 set of tables along with the tolerance calculations.
I’ve given you all the key prints to document templates based on the reports plans, product descriptions, and even the project product description along with three pre-populated Excel spreadsheets for users, the risk register, issue register, and quality registers within a PRINCE2 project.
All of these are fully tailorable and are all included in this valuable Microsoft Project PRINCE2 bonus, you’ll get seven PRINCE2 Microsoft Project template files each acting as a roadmap for creating Microsoft Project PRINCE2 plans.
It couldn’t be any easier!
You’ll get a set of PRINCE2 process Microsoft Project modules and every single task I’ve given you, has built in notes and advice and guidance on how to apply this to a PRINCE2 project you get separate mix and match modules allowing you to plug in and play with any of your Microsoft project files.
But that’s not all, I’ve included important product and work package tasks filters so that you can use this to help manage and control your PRINCE2 projects within Microsoft projects as well as for reporting requirements.
You get automatically calculated duration percentage to lerance and cost percentage tolerance right down at task level, at work package level, at stage level, and at project levels.
In summary, for those of you that invest in my brand-new Microsoft Project Advanced Masterclass, allowing you to master Microsoft Project, you’ll also get this valuable PRINCE2 planning tool consisting of Microsoft Word documentation files, Microsoft Excel register files – offered to you as a free bonus!
Dave Litten – Principal Instructor with PROJEX ACADEMY
All come included with two-minute high-definition videos showing you exactly how to apply these Microsoft Project template files to your PRINCE2 projects.
