Archana ShindePRINCE2® is a flexible Project management method that guides you through the essentials for managing successful projects, regardless of it’s Size, type organization, geography or culture. PRINCE2 PRINCIPLES make this possible. You can relate Principles as good practices framework for managing a successful project. If you do not adopt to principles in a project, then a project is not considered to be a PRINCE2 project. There are in all 7 PRINCE2 Principles:
- Continued business justification
- Learn from experience
- Defined roles and responsibilities
- Manage by stages
- Manage by exception
- Focus on products
- Tailor to suit the project
Let’s look at them in more detail below:
| Principle | Description |
| Continued business justification | A PRINCE2 project has to have continued business justification. There should be a justifiable reason to start the project The justification should remain valid throughout the life of the project and this justification has to be documented and approved. |
| Learn from experience | PRINCE2 project teams should learn from their and others previous experience. The lessons are sought, recorded and acted upon throughout the life of the PRINCE2 project. |
| Defined roles and responsibilities | A PRINCE2 project has to have a project organization with defined and agreed roles and responsibilities that engages the business, user and supplier stakeholder interests. |
| Manage by stages | Manage by stages principle recommends that a PRINCE2 project should be should be planned, monitored and controlled on a stage-by-stage basis. Here it is expected that you have to divide the project into a number of management stages. Management stages are the control points at major intervals throughout the project which provide senior management with point to decide the future actions for the project. Planning can only be done to a level of detail that is manageable and foreseeable. Effort can be wasted if here are attempts to plan beyond a sensible planning horizon |
| Manage by exception | ‘Management by exception’ Ensures very efficient use of senior management time. Manage by exception principle recommends that a PRINCE2 project has defined tolerances for each project objective to establish limits of delegated authority. PRINCE2 enables appropriate governance by defining distinct responsibilities for 3 levels of project Organization: directing, managing and delivery. Each level has clearly defining accountability. Accountability is established by: Delegating authority from one management level to the below it by setting tolerances against six objectives: Time, Cost, Quality, Scope, Risk and Benefit. If the set tolerances are forecast to be exceeded, they are immediately referred up to the next management layer for a decision on how to proceed further. |
| Focus on products | A PRINCE2 project focuses on defining and delivering products (End products and Sub-products) to deliver the project in specific their quality requirements. To ensure the focus on product, PRINCE2 uses Product based Planning Technique. |
| Tailor to suit the project | To Tailor is to Inspect and Adopt to the projects Environment. PRINCE2 is tailored to suit the project’s environment, size, complexity, importance, capability and risk. The purpose of tailoring is to: Ensure that the project management method used are appropriate for the project’s environment. If PRINCE2 is not tailored it can lead to ’robotic’ project management (the method is followed without question) or ’heroic’ project management (the method is not followed at all). |