Overview of PRINCE2 Project Management Methodology - Essay Example

Overview of PRINCE2 Project Management Methodology PRINCE2 is a structured process-based project management method. It is planned in a way that it covers the various disciplines and activities which are necessary in a project. PRINCE2 shows the management activities to be carried out in each process in the course of a project. It specifies eight management processes that are involved from when a project is initiated to its completion. The processes include; 1. Starting up a project This is a short process that ensures all the prerequisites to starting the project are well in place. It starts with a project mandate this could be verbal request or a project brief which explains the reasons for the project. This process has the objective of ensuring that the project the authorities for the project management exist. In addition, it is at this process that individuals who will take roles in the project are appointed, the work required for project initiation is planned and the hosting organization for the project is informed. 2. Initiating a project (IP) This process follows the pre-project process of starting up a project. It lays down the foundations for the implementation of the project. The project management team several successive steps: plan how the right quality of product will be produced, they plan the project, expand the business case, re-assess the risks, identify how products will be controlled, set up the necessary controls for the project and finally they prepare to get approval for the project. 3. Directing a Project Directing a project is a continuous process from the starting up of the project until when the project is closed. The project board, in charge of directing a project have the responsibilities of directing a project by authorizing the initiation of the project, providing management direction and control in the course of the project, liaising with corporate and program management and confirming the closure of the project. 4. Controlling a Stage (CS) This is a process centered on how the project manager handles the day-to-day management of the project. The process begins when the stage plan has been approved. Controlling a stage is the drive to Managing Product Delivery (MP). Although there is a natural pattern of events that ensures required actions are taken, the ad hoc nature of project management allows any or all of CS actions to be used in an event driven manner. Day-to-day control of the project work is central to the ultimate success of the project. 5. Managing Product Delivery (MP) This process involves the project manager, the team manager and third-party suppliers. Therefore, MP allows a controlled break between all the persons involved. Since the third-party may not be using the PRINCE2 method, this process should be carefully implemented to avoid cases over-bureaucratizing. The teams, who report to the project manager, agree on the details with the project manager. 6. Managing Stage Boundaries (SB) Before each stage is concluded, the next stage is planned as well as reviewing and updating the business case, risk situation and overall project plan. This stage provides information on any changes of personnel and management in the course of the project. Revisiting the Project Quality Plan and Project Approach highlights areas that need changing or refining. 7. Closing a Project (CP) Closing the project is set off either by the project approaching the end of the final stage or when the project ceases to be viable. This stage ensures that the objective and aims of the Project Initiation Document have been met. It also ensures that all the products expected have been given to the customer and the customer has accepted them. 8. Planning a Project Effective planning and control process are the determining factors for effective project management. Planning employs the product-based planning, a key technique in PRINCE2. Planning, which is a repeatable process helps the manager to monitor and control the progress of the project. In PRINCE2, plans are made to identify the products required and the activities and resources needed to deliver them. PRINCE2 also have components that the processes use. Firstly, the business case; a description of the reasons a project is undertaken and the justification for embark on the project. This is based on the estimated costs, benefits and savings expected and the risks involved. The second component is organization. PRINCE2 organization has four layers; the corporate or programme management, the project board (who provide direction for the project), the project manager (who provides day-to-day management of the project and the team manager (who manages the teams). Plans is the third component. It describes how, when and by whom a specific target or a set of targets is to be achieved (OCG, 2002). This is a design that outlines how targets for timescales, products, quality and costs are to be met. It helps all the processes within the project to determine whether targets are met, the timeframes are adhered to and what problems and risks are associated with achieving the targets. Controls is the fourth component. It has to do with decision-making. This component ensures that the project is producing the products needed, is adhering to schedule, resources and cost plans and that it remains viable. Project’s exposure to risk is handled by risk management component. Risk is considered as the probability of specific risks occurring and what their impact would be should they occur. Risk management aims at managing the exposure by keeping the exposure to an acceptable level in a cost effective way. Quality in a Project environment component is about quality management which seek to ensure that the quality expected by the customer is achieved. Quality management is an interrelation between quality system, quality assurance, quality planning and quality control. The other component, Configuration Management, whose aim is to identify, track and protect the projects products. It helps in quality control over the products being produced. Uncontrolled changes in a project may harm the project in a big way. Change control refers to assessment of the impact of potential changes, what importance they have and their cost. Then the management makes a decision whether to include them or not. PRINCE2 is able to work with some of the techniques which put into practice project management best practice. PRINCE2 specifically uses the Product-based Planning, change control and quality reviews. PRINCE2 versus PMBOK Both PRINCE and PMBOK methods agree on the outcomes of a project which include a unique product or service. They also agree on the progressive nature of projects which means projects go through progressive steps. Both methods guides project management through the steps of initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing. They describe the management practice at every process from the initiation of the close. The project processes and life cycle compare with the processes and components in PRINCE2 although in PRINCE2 they are more elaborate. However, as their names suggest – Projects in Controlled Environments (PRINCE2) and Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) the two methods vary in some areas. Basically, PMBOK provides extensive information on every area directly or indirectly involved in the project. On the other hand, PRINCE2 give ‘how-to’ guidelines throughout the project process. PMBOK is more diverse and encompasses other areas that affect the project like staffing, procurement and organizations (structure and culture). PMBOK appreciates the overlapping relationship of the project with other management activities. It divides the project guidelines into the general management which involves the phases and cycles of the project as well as the application areas. The application areas are functional departments and supporting disciplines like the marketing, legal production and inventory management. They also include technical elements like water and sanitation and software development among others. PMBOK provides information on how to go through the various project phases and life cycle. In addition, this method concentrates on other influences that impact on the project like stakeholders, organizational influences, management skills and social-economic-environmental influences. PMBOK has greater emphasis of the people involved in the project like the staff, the customers, and internal and external shareholders who, although they are not actively involved in the project might influence the running of the project. On the other hand PRINCE2 only focuses on the people actively involved in the project. PRINCE2 focuses on the people actively involved in the project and their roles and responsibility in every stage of the project. PMBOK methodology looks at different management areas like project integration management, time, cost, communications, human resource and risk management as single entities and does not show at what stage they are active and how they are to be carried out. I consider PRINCE2 to be the best method in project management since other than providing information on the areas of importance, it is more simple to use and provides ways on how to run the project from the pre-initiation stage to the completion of the projects. Although PMBOK method relies more on the other management activities, it does not show at what stage and by whom these activities are carried out. PRINCE2 details the step by step running of the project in a simple easy-to-follow guide from a simple to a complex project. Analysis of an Engineering Management Project This section analyses the “Essence of Toshiba Software Factory” Projects presented by Matsumoto Matsumoto. The concepts that lie behind software engineering management in the factory are analysed against the project management guidelines and best practices from both PRINCE2 and PMBOK. The project used the PMBOK management practices of policy management, communication and personnel management. It also employed the process management steps of initiation, planning, reviewing and evaluation and closure. The project was then taken through measurement and evaluation. Before a project is initiated or actually planned there has to be some objectives that needs to be achieved. This is what PRINCE2 manual refers to as the mandate for the project. For Toshiba company, they had the objectives of coping with the software crisis, “to make software visible for everybody for everybody in the organization” (Matsumoto, 2002), to improve software productivity and to improve the quality of software. Since this project is organization base, where Toshiba was the supplier and producer of the product the customer required, PMBOK concepts of organization culture and behavior impacted on the project. The management areas concentrated on include configuration management, productivity management, quality management, cost management and procurement management. The project included coming up with the Unit Workload Order Sheet (UWOS) as a way of making software more ‘visible’. Given its nature of a long-term project, it had ensure personnel management so that the level of expertise of the people involved in the project upgrade their skills and competence as the project moves along. The management practice in personnel management included a clarification of the level of skills requires as well as a career development program. Each individual in the company was expected to come up with short and long term goals and increase achievement at every evaluation milestone (Matsumoto, 2002). According to the PMBOK manual, “project communication management includes the processes required to endure timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, storage and ultimate disposition of project information” (p. 117). In the Toshiba project, it is reported that the data for management like the progress, productivity, progress and cost were transparent throughout the project. This was facilitated by a database management system which every member shared. Formal communications took place throughout the meeting by means of weekly project meetings, quality conference and designing meetings which were held at each baseline. The project went through the processes described in the PMBOK and PRINCE2 methods. The initiation process employed the PMBOK scope management in which the scope definition for software and hardware were worked together. This process does not show the starting up of the project in terms of the authorization and justifications of the project as outlined in the PRINCE2 model. This process involved exploring models to find a solution for the requirements given which was done through spiral processes. After the processes were carried out, determination and requirements negotiations were carried out and feasibility analysis carried out. Feasibility analysis is well described in the PMBOK manual whereby the feasibility of the program is evaluated before the project is embarked on. The next process was planning whereby the Unit Workload (UW) was planned. This was looked against the requirements specifications to ensure smooth adaptation of the changes of requirements. Review and evaluation was carried out by inspection/review teams that were prearranged at each project baseline. Configuration management, a component that goes with the processes according to the PRINCE2 manual and described as a management practice in PMBOK, was applied to all configurations. The process also used pert charts to analyse and visualize the progress, schedules and critical paths (Matsumoto, 2002). Review and evaluation process also employed Gantt charts to picture scheduled tasks and how responsibilities were allocated. The final process was closure where plans were made to accept visitors from Reusable Components Management Team. The economic benefits that would result from developing re-usable components were analyzed and plans were made to address the need of maintenance and evolution. The project description does not show the persons involved in the management processes and the responsibilities they had. Evaluation of a project is necessary. In fact, the PRINCE2 manual advices that evaluation should be done at the end of one process before the next one is embarked on. Evaluation in the Toshiba software project realized that the project had successes. The successes include clear management principles that were shared by all the members of the factory, they realized the objective of making software processes visible, baseline activities like inspection and review of the design as well as configuration management were defined and enforced effectively, there resulted in everyday use of the re-usable components, quality circles became successful voluntary activities and evaluating individual performances in the projects and rewarding people improved efficiency. However, it was observed that the project used too much of the waterfall life cycle model making it hard to appreciate the Spiral-type life cycle model (Matsumoto, 2002). In addition, the product families were given too much importance and there were insufficient supports by tools and environments. Projects management is termed as successful when the objectives of the project are reached and the project is able to realize areas of future development. The Toshiba software project realized its objectives and a need to keep up with the rapid technological changes like LSI was recommended as an area of future action. This project may not have fully employed the project management of quality management; it does not show the controls used and the organization of how the project was carried out. It uses the techniques described in the PRINCE2 method for project management best practice. They used the Product-based Planning whereby they concentrated on software development. They also used the change control technique by adopting the reusable components. Finally the project used quality reviews where they evaluated the work to identify whether they were able to meet the set objectives according to plan and in the time stipulated. References A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 2002, Project Management Institute, Pennsylvania, USA Office of Government Finance, 2002, PRINCE2, The Stationery Office, London. Matsumoto, Y. 2002, Essence of Toshiba Software Factory, Institute for Informatics, University of Stuttgart. Available on: . Read More