What is it?
Prince2 is the world's most widely used project management
methodology. Originally developed for UK government IT projects,
its use has been widened to large projects of all kinds, and it has
been taken up internationally in more than 50 countries, in both
public and private sectors.
Prince stands for Projects in Controlled Environments. Prince
was developed at a time when the UK government was outsourcing an
increasing amount of its work, and the methodology incorporates
much best practice on the integration of internal teams and
external agencies.
The focus throughout Prince2 is on the business case, which
describes the rationale and business justification for the project.
The business case drives all the project management processes, from
initial project set-up through to completion.
Where did it originate?
Prince was developed in 1989 by the Central Computer and
Telecommunications Agency (now part of the Office of Government
Commerce) as the UK standard for IT project management.
Prince2, released in 1996, recognised the wider use of Prince by
making it a generic project management methodology.
What's it for?
Prince2 takes a process approach to project management, fitting
each process into a framework of essential components that need to
be applied throughout the project.
Short overviews of Prince2 seem to state the painfully obvious,
but the genius of Prince2 is in the detail. In an ideal world,
Prince2 would ensure that every step within the project lifecycle
is completed meticulously, on time, by the right person and using
the right resources.
However, the methodology does not address leadership and people
management. It is used with other project management techniques
such as Gantt charts, and there is a link to Microsoft Project.
What makes it special?
Prince helps users to manage risk, control quality and change,
and "make the most of challenging situations and opportunities that
arise within a project", according to the Office of Government
Commerce.
How difficult is it to master?
The Office of Government Commerce describes Prince2 as "simple
to follow". There are various courses available from academic and
commercial providers. They range in length from an intensive five
days to six weeks-plus.
Where is it used?
Outside central government, local authorities and public sector
organisations such as police forces, Prince is used by telecoms
companies, banks and other large commercial organisations. It is
also used in enterprise resource planning implementations.
The latest version of Prince2 was released in 2005.
Training
The Stationery Office publishes the core training text -
Managing Successful Projects with Prince2 - and other guides to
applying and tailoring Prince2. The official Office of Government
Commerce Prince2 site has links to books and other resources.
There are two qualifications at foundation and practitioner
levels. The APM Group accredits organisations and individuals, and
it has a list of accredited course providers. These vary from
institutional sources - the British Computer Society, Open
University and Cranfield University - to commercial IT training
companies, and specialist project management consultancies.
The cheapest training and certification option is to buy APMG's
Core Prince2 Exam Book Bundle, and then take an Open Centre
examination.
www.ogc.gov.uk/methods_prince_2.asp
www.prince2.org.uk
Rates of pay
Salaries for IT professionals with Prince2 skills range from
£30,000 for those with a few years' project management experience
to £70,000-plus for the most senior project managers.
Vote for your IT greats
Who have been the most influential people in IT in the past 40
years? The greatest organisations? The best hardware and software
technologies? As part of Computer Weekly’s 40th anniversary
celebrations, we are asking our readers who and what has really
made a difference?
Vote now at:
www.computerweekly.com/ITgreats