I can’t believe that at the time of writing this article that 15 months have passed since the latest version of PRINCE2 was launched. The refresh project itself took nearly 3 years to complete, running from the initial stakeholder workshops in October 2006 to the launch of the new publications in June 2009. Although I was the driving force behind the refresh (as lead author) it was meant to be a part time role. However towards the end of 2008 and through 2009 up until its launch it was consuming nearly all of my time! It’s fair to say that I became very attached to both the project and to the guidance that was eventually published.
So, 15 months on from the launch and having worked with numerous organisations applying the revised method, I guess it is a good time to reflect on the impact that PRINCE2 2009 has made. This article takes a look at PRINCE2 2009 one year on.
A REMINDER OF THE KEY CHANGES
PRINCE2 is often cited as the world’s most widely used project management method. Its success is largely due to it being non-proprietary but also due to the ability of organisations to apply it to a variety of industries, environments and project sizes. So why was it refreshed?
Since its launch in 1996, industry and society have not stood still. The emergence of agile and iterative approaches to project management and the EPSRC funded research (Rethinking Project Management) demonstrate there are challenges today that simply did not exist in 1996. Some aspects of traditional project management concepts do not serve such challenges. Therefore the remit for the refresh went beyond reviewing the log of issues raised on the old manual but also to solicit wider feedback and requirements from the user community and other interested parties. The authoring team were given the mandate of taking a fresh look at what was required from a project management method. We were not constrained by what was already there (i.e. the content of the 2005 version of PRINCE2).
The conclusion from the 9 months of public consultation was that the core method was essentially ok and that most of the issues users had with PRINCE2 were to do with the way organisations, projects or individuals were applying the guidance. Therefore the focus of the refresh was to incorporate a number of requested changes but in a way that preserved the core of the method and with an emphasis on making it easy to use and adopt.
With this in mind, the authoring team strived to produce an updated method that:
- is less prescriptive and more flexible
- is less theoretical and more practical – based on the input of over 170 organisations and validated through pilots
- included a set of clearly defined principles to help people involved in projects use their judgment as to how the method should be applied (rather than simply following a process without question)
- explicitly stated the need to tailor the method and provided guidance on how to tailor it
- is designed to align with other OCG products (MSP, M_o_R and P3O) enabling users to seamlessly integrate all four methods and frameworks
- clearly shows the linkage with other standards and BoKs
- emphasises the importance of the soft aspects of project management (but does not describe ‘how to’ apply the soft aspects as they are often culturally specific and therefore cannot be universally applied)
- stresses the method requires information and decisions, not documents and meetings – using PRINCE2 should not make project management bureaucratic
People already familiar with the previous 2005 version would instantly recognise these changes when they review updated 2009 version. Gone are the codes such as SU1, SU2, DP1 etc that labelled the sub-processes and became the dread of many people when having to remember them for their exams. In comes the use of plain English to describe PRINCE2’s principles, control themes, processes, roles and project management products.
The most noticeable change, however, is that PRINCE2 2009 comprises two guides:
- “Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2” is aimed at people who work on projects on a daily basis
- “Directing Successful Projects with PRINCE2” provides a guide for those who direct or sponsor projects.
The reason for adding the companion ‘Directing’ guide was to address the overwhelming feedback from the public consultation regarding the biggest challenge that most Project Managers faced: the Project Board not understanding their role and therefore not undertaking it in a way that the PRINCE2 method requires for effective sponsorship and decision-making. Further consultation with people who sponsor or direct projects revealed that they did not want to read through a 400+ page guide to discover their specific responsibilities and they also felt that a Project Manager oriented guide used language and concepts that were alien to them. They wanted their own guide, in their language and significantly more condensed than the 2005 PRINCE2 manual.
FEEDBACK FROM USERS
Since its launch in June 2009 I have received numerous and regular emails (and messages via twitter – andmurray01) thanking the authoring team for the improvements in PRINCE2 2009 and have seen numerous blogs reviewing PRINCE2. Here are just a few of them:
- “This is a vast improvement over the last version. It’s clear, practical, and full of common sense. The links to MSP are clear and consistent throughout the book. It can truly stand on its own as a basic text on project management. I am encouraging all our PMs to read it, which is not something I ever said of the last manual.”
- “Thanks for dropping all those codes. Nice to read a technical manual that’s nearly in plain English”
- “The last one was good, this one is great”
- “It’s great to see that PRINCE2 encourages projects to focus on benefits, rather than leaving it just to the programme”
- “Previously, the PRINCE2 methods were in danger of being applied in an ‘all or nothing’ approach, but this new version sets organisational maturity and appetite in the heart of the project management process” – http://www.pm4girls.elizabeth-harrin.com/
- “This book [Directing Successful Projects With PRINCE2] is long overdue: it’s a great idea to have a separate manual for those responsible for directing projects and sitting on the Project Board” – http://www.pm4girls.elizabeth-harrin.com/
I’ve also been helping a number of organisation upgrade to PRINCE2 2009 or to adopt PRINCE2 for the first time. During the course of such work I always ask my clients to say what they find most valuable in PRINCE2 2009. The following summarises (in order of popularity) what organisations have told me:
- ‘learning from experience’ principle
- ‘tailoring’ principle combined with the Project Environment chapter
- Project Board guidance, in particular the ‘duties and behaviours’
- concept of salvage in the Closing a Project process
- revised treatment of benefits helps Project Managers focus on why they are doing a project, not just what needs to be delivered.
The other interesting piece of feedback is the book sales for PRINCE2. The Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2 publication has outsold the previous version (on annual sales) and the Directing Successful Projects with PRINCE2 is now in its 3rd reprint due to a higher demand than anticipated.
The only disappointing piece of feedback is that many Project Board members still feel the Directing a Project with PRINCE2 guide is too big. It goes to show that over-delivering (providing too much guidance) is not a good thing.
The good news is that the publisher for PRINCE2, TSO, released a complimentary guide called the Executive Guide to Directing Projects within a PRINCE2 and MSP Environment which is about half the size of the Directing guide. It was written by the excellent Bob Patterson from the PRINCE2 authoring team and who was one of the main contributors to the Directing guide itself. I now encourage those people who support Project Boards (such as people undertaking project assurance roles or an organisation’s Centre of Excellence or PMO) to use the main Directing guide as an aide and get the Project Board members themselves to read and use the shortened (but broader) Executive guide.
ANALYSIS BY ACADEMICS
The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) undertook a research study into the value of PRINCE2 2009. The research was sponsored by APMG, TSO and OGC and took place toward the end of 2009 and early in 2010. The resultant report Creating Value In Project Management using PRINCE2 was published in July 2010.
“The research found that PRINCE2 is perceived as a very robust, comprehensive and pragmatic project management framework, which underwrites project success. Indeed, existing features of the PRINCE2 framework and manual ranked very high in mitigating perceived problems and issues”
Research by QUT cited the following as most the valuable features of PRINCE2 2009:
- Role of the business case in assuring continuing project viability
- Extensive guidance offered on project governance
- Expansion of the tolerance concept to encompass six areas
- Comprehensive definition of roles and responsibilities
- Product‐based planning and product‐focussed delivery
- Delegation of responsibilities to the appropriate level
- New chapters on tailoring and embedding
However, QUT also found factors that constrain the success of PRINCE2. There are organizational shortcomings, including poor project governance and the inability of organizations to successfully introduce and implement PRINCE2. They found that Project Board members still do not understand their roles and responsibilities, often lack experience or do not possess the necessary competency to undertake the role. They also cited a lack of senior management commitment and leadership, and a tendency to bypass Project Boards (a lack of project governance generally) as a key issue.
“The problems with project governance do not lie with the PRINCE2 framework. Indeed, the PRINCE2 participants ranked project governance features among the greatest strengths of the PRINCE2 framework.”
The QUT research backs up the conclusions made in the original Public Consultation Report we published in July 2007 – that the method is essentially sound, but it is the way it is used/adopted where the issues lie. It is disappointing perhaps that 6-9 months after the launch of the Directing guide that senior management commitment and Project Board competences continue to be the principle weakness in applying a structured method such as PRINCE2.
There are encouraging signs though. British Council in particular made great use of the Directing guide as a means to engage with project sponsors and to get them to direct projects in the spirit of the role. I’m also working with the London Councils on SRO/Sponsor training, with the vast majority of the guidance originating from the Directing guide. The Home Office introduced a Project and Programme Sponsor qualification (awarded by APM Group the same examination body that awards PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner certificates) which has a lot of common elements to the Directing guide as the guide was developed based on good practice from the likes of the Home Office.
CONCLUSION
Overall I’m really pleased with the results that the authoring team achieved. The team comprised: Anne-Marie Byrne (Project Manager), Andy Murray (Lead Author), Colin Bentley (Author of PRINCE2 1996, 2002, 2005 and our mentor), Nigel Bennett (author), Bob Patterson (author), Sue Taylor (author), John Edmonds (author) and Graham Williams (author), the 170 organisations that participated in the consultation, the 13 organisations who piloted the revised method and the 86 people involved in the quality reviews.
The feedback people send to me on PRINCE2 2009, the progress of the organisations I have worked with and the QUT study shows that PRINCE2 2009 is making a difference in improving project management generally.
However, we need to remind ourselves that it is only a method and organisations need more than just a method to have consistent successful project delivery. A broader view of what’s required for a systemic capability in project management can be seen in Figure 1.
Figure 1 – Competence Landscape for Successful Projects
The above landscape shows the behavioural, technical and contextual competence that individuals, teams and organisations need. It was developed in conjunction with Donnie MacNicol of team Animation Ltd (and Chair of the APM People SIG) and has really helped organisations to apply a more balanced approach to embedding best practices and avoid the temptation of the latest fad or PPM silver-bullet. It’s what has been keeping me busy since the launch of PRINCE2 2009 and will be the subject of another article and perhaps one day a published guide!
Posted by P3M3 Andy 
Using PRINCE2 