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The three biggest reasons projects succeed...

...Are in this order - 1. They are very clear on what is to be achieved, the end result and benefit to the company, this is clear, concise and compelling and everyone involved in the project knows this outcome, and the role they are personally playing in making it happen. 2. The people who "own" the project are the people for whom the project is being done - customers, an internal department, and they buy into the benefits of why the project is being done, from day one and 3. Everyone on the project team respects, values and trusts each other - faced with the common enemy of potential failure (not delivering).

Visit / revisit a project you are working on - today, right now, and check it aginst these three checks. And always remember the role of project management software and processes - there to support these three, not to dictate them. After all, thank goodness we didn't have Prince 2 around when we built the pyramids, we would never have got them finished.

PS What to say if you are stopped by the police - tell them you have hair lice, they will leave you alone, apparently.

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Comments (3)

David,

I think that Prince 2 has its place - on large scale projects it can be a great help. However I do prefer the agile approach - it is less painful.

Refer to my blog article
- Pain with out gain (ROI) or pleasure with gain (ROI).

Derek

Thanks Derek what do other people think? Not as a debate, as a deal - real-life advice of what works please, with or without Prince 2...

Hi David,

Have you had some bad experiences with Prince 2? What method(s) would you recommend organisations use to manage large scale IT projects?

Derek

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