What is PRINCE2®?
PRINCE2® (PRojects IN a Controlled Environment) is a project management methodology to run Projects in an effective and efficient manner. It is one of the widely accepted project management frameworks by global organizations and practitioners.
PRINCE2 provides project essentials and serves as a barebone or backbone to run successful projects. This framework can be optimized to fit into any project environment (meaning any enterprises or government, industry, domain etc).
PRINCE2 revolves around the core concepts of principles, themes and processes.
Let’s get introduced to the PRINCE2 elements:
Principles:
Guiding principles or good practices or manifesto of PRINCE2 helps project practitioners across the globe to seed and nurture the right mindset, behaviour and culture while managing projects. There are seven principles.
1. Continued business justification (business value, worthwhile, viability)
2. Learn from experience (retrospection, maturity, feedback, improvement)
3. Defined roles and responsibilities (who is doing what, what is expected from whom, project stakeholders)
4. Manage by stages (boundaries, phases)
5. Manage by exception (delegation of authorities with tolerance)
6. Focus on Products (quality-centric approach to product delivery)
7. Tailor to suit the project (less-bureaucratic)
Themes:
Project management revolves around high level tasks such as Plan, Execute, Monitor and Control and these activities, in turn, are centered around project aspects such as Scope, Cost, Time, Quality, Risks and Benefits. There are seven themes. Themes are important areas of focus and answer all the questions like:
- How to run the project?
- What documents/templates/logs/registers/plans/communications are required from the start to the closure?
- What techniques/methods are required to manage the project?
1. Business Case theme (Business Case, Benefits Management Approach)
2. Organization theme (Project Organization Structure with roles and responsibilities, Communications Management Approach)
3. Quality theme (Quality Management Approach, Quality Register)
4. Plans theme (Project Plan, Gantt Charts)
5. Risks theme (Risk Management Approach, Risk Register)
6. Change theme (Change Control Approach, Issue Register, Configurations Management)
7. Progress theme (Project Controls)
Processes:
Processes are steps involved to accomplish the project objectives. PRINCE2 processes express the flow of work from pre-initiation to the closure, which also includes key tasks or actions to be fulfilled by the project stakeholders (such as Project Board, Project Manager and Team Manager(s)).
PRINCE2 processes and their tasks are structured in such a way as to apply the Principles and Themes seamlessly. There are seven processes.
1. Starting Up A Project (feasibility checks)
2. Directing A Project (Authorization and approvals)
3. Initiating A Project (Solid foundation before execution of the project work)
4. Managing Stage Boundaries (adjustments to the plans and activities, retrospections)
5. Controlling A Stage (work package, managing of risks/issues, progress reporting)
6. Managing Product Delivery (development of specialist products)
7. Closing a Project (formally end the project)
Benefits of PRINCE2:
- PRINCE2 provides good governance for project management.
- It can be applied in any industry, domain or organization (be it IT or non-IT).
- It can be tailored to be used alongside any other project management methodology.
- Common terminology or vocabulary helps in effective communication between all the project stakeholders.
- A defined structure for accountability, delegation, authority and communication is established with the help of project organization structure and all the key stakeholders are represented in this structure for better planning and decision-making.
- It focuses on delivering quality products to stakeholders to fulfill their needs and realize the benefits.
- Different types of plans suggested by PRINCE2 help to address the needs across different levels of management within the project organization.
- Manage by exception helps in avoiding micro-management with the help of delegation (with tolerances) and still having necessary control on the project work.
- PRINCE2 ensures benefit realization at its core, rather than simply completing the project within deadlines for cost and schedule.
- Traditional Project documentations are seen as bureaucratic in today’s agile world. PRINCE2 provides a comprehensive list of just enough documentation to suit any type of project.
- PRINCE2 recommends and provides control points to retrospect, learn lessons and continually improve the project work.
- It provides confidence to the project board or decision makers by establishing transparent audit mechanisms.
How can PRINCE2 b enefit you?
- If you are a student aspiring to get into a job, you will be well equipped with the project management skills you need, if you have a PRINCE2 certification before you enter the corporate world.
- If you are new to project management, PRINCE2 provides a brief overview of how to manage projects in a crisp and clear way. This can serve as your stepping stone into the field.
- If you are already a project manager encountering clients or customers using PRINCE2, it will help to align your work in PRINCE2 style.
- If you are already using PRINCE2 and encountering agile ways of working, you can learn more about tailoring PRINCE2 to suit agile environments using PRINCE2 Agile.
How can PRINCE2 b enefit your organization?
- If you are a start-up company running projects in your own heroic style, you can validate your ways of running projects with PRINCE2. If you see real value from this framework, you can start your PRINCE2 journey by simply using the Principles. This can save cost, improve project efficiency, infuse discipline and increase the success rate.
- If you are an enterprise using different methods/models to manage projects, still you can try using PRINCE2 to suit your project environment. One of the important benefits of using PRINCE2 is effective use of management time. Concepts of delegating with tolerance nurtures a culture of empowerment and experimentation and increases agility & control.
- If you are an organization working with clients using PRINCE2 models, it will benefit your project managers, team members and stakeholders to align the project work according to the customer’s needs.
- Having PRINCE2 certified practitioners in your company will provide an advantage to bag new contracts/clients.
- There are many reasons for a project failure. Vital reasons are lack of management support, user involvement, incomplete requirements and many more. PRINCE2 provides a project organization structure with correct composition or representation from different stakeholder groups such as sponsor, user and supplier. If implemented correctly, entities will be abundantly benefitted in terms of increasing the success rates of projects by aligning and delivering the products as per the project vision or goals.
- PRINCE2 is also robust and compatible with any other methods/methodologies/frameworks/good practices/tools/techniques that many organizations use. It serves as a backbone to support any initiatives. With agile models being rapidly implemented in today’s digital organizations, PRINCE2 can be easily tailored to run projects in an agile way.
- If scaled properly, PRINCE2 can support the management of projects in any domain or industry of any complexity.
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Components of PRINCE2 Certification:
- There are two levels in PRINCE2 certification.
- PRINCE2 Foundation is a pre-requisite to take up the Practitioner exam.
- If you are already a PMP/PRINCE2 Agile Foundation or Practitioner certified, you can directly take up the PRINCE2 Practitioner exam.
- There are also other foundational qualifications such as the PMQ or CAPM, among others, that make you eligible to write the Practitioner exam, provided you familiarize yourself with the PRINCE2 manual before the exam attempt.
To read more about the PRINCE2 certification, please click here to read our blog on “Facts about PRINCE2 Examination”.
Taking the exams:
- PRINCE2 exams can be taken in 3 different modes:
- Paper Based Test
- Computer Based Test
- Online Proctored Test
You need to get in touch with an Accredited Training Organizations (ATO) to book your exam. ATOs are authorized by Axelos (which is the governing body). Please visit this website to find out your nearest ATO
Examination Languages: The PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner examinations are currently available in English, German, Danish, Dutch, Polish, French and Norwegian.
Certification Cost:
- The certification cost differs based on the mode of examination and geography. The cost of both Foundation and Practitioner exams together may cost you between $500 to $900. The training cost is NOT included in the certification cost. Please check with your nearest ATO for more details.
- You can also buy the exam directly from Peoplecert (Examination Institute authorized by Axelos). To know Peoplecert’s certification rates, please visit
How much can I earn?
The modern job market seeks T-shaped professionals who are versatile in deep technical skills and broader management skills. Employers are looking for employees who have the right attitude to learn, adopt and adapt to current trends. Project management skills are highly recommended in this modern digital era.
Projects are used as a tool to induce any changes in an organization/enterprise/government. Be it process improvement, new product development, commissioning or decommissioning an existing service or product, making significant changes to an existing product or service, changing from one service provider to another, transition activities, organizational transformation, responding to a competitor’s moves or technological advancements (like robotization, cloudification, artificial intelligence), environmental changes, action plan to address uncertain situations like COVID-19 etc., there is always a need for project related roles.
If you check for project manager jobs in LinkedIn, Naukri or any other job sites, depending upon your industry and location, there might be a few thousands of unfulfilled openings. We cannot eliminate the fact that many job requirements are fulfilled internally within an organization or through employee referrals or partners.
As per PMI (Project Management Institute), demand for project managers will increase manifold in next 10 years. Please read “Project management Job Growth and Talent Gap Report” from PMI’s website. This report states that “by 2027, employers will need nearly 88 million individuals in project management-oriented roles. China and India will represent more than 75 percent of the total project management-oriented employment. ” This report shows that project managers are important contributors to productivity.
A snapshot of salaries related to project management roles in India published by PMI is furnished herewith. For more information about other countries, you may visit.
Conclusion:
- Skills always matter in any job roles.
- PRINCE2 certification improves your position in the job market and career progression within project and program management by gaining a recognized qualification.
- PRINCE2 helps organizations to support business outcomes, show value for money, continually improve, manage risks in line with business needs, optimize customer experience and enable business change.
- Some key benefits of using PRINCE2 for enterprises and practitioners are improved delivery confidence, ability to talk the same language and support cross functional working, deliver what business needs in a customer-focused way that is scalable, and the ability to adapt and have flexible control.
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