Creating a PRINCE2 Product Description

Mastering PRINCE2 product descriptions

Whenever a plan in PRINCE2 is created or updated, then the PRINCE2 Product-based planning technique is used, and this will mean that new or modified product descriptions will be created.

A product description will be created, modified or reviewed at the following activity points within a PRINCE2 project:

• Plan the initiation stage
• Create the project plan
• Accept a work package (the Team Plan)
• Plan the next stage
• Produced an exception plan

A product description is required for all specialist products, and in appendix A of the PRINCE2 Manual, there are product description outlines which may be used or tailored for the management products.  Because such management products are typically used on all PRINCE2 projects, it is not normally required to create product descriptions for them, merely to apply the product description outlines as a template.

To help understand the value of creating a product description and using it as a basis for creating the actual product, it is important to understand the value and purpose of doing this:

A product description assists in understanding from both the customer and supplier side, the detailed nature, purpose, function and appearance of the product.  The information contained within the product description defines who will use the product, sources of information, the level of quality required and the people or skills needed to create the product itself.

Directly the need for a product has been identified, then it’s product description should be created.  To start with, such product descriptions may not have all of the information required, but at least they have identified the need for the product within the project.  These initial product descriptions will be refined and updated as the product becomes better understood within the later planning steps.

The project manager or the team manager is responsible for writing product descriptions in the first place, however it is sensible and desirable to involve representatives from the operational area, users, or those with expertise in the product.  Of particular use is the involvement of such individuals when defining the product’s quality criteria.

If an organisation has a central project office or similar, then they should keep a library of successful product descriptions for re-use on future projects containing similar products.  In this way, a project manager should reference such a library to see if any product descriptions can be reused or modified for the current project.

Because product descriptions are a central part of any PRINCE2 plan, then the moment such plans are authorized and baselined, then the product descriptions within the plan are also baselined and hence, are then under change control.

Each product description contains its quality criteria, and this will differentiate the difference between an acceptable product and an unacceptable one.  For this reason, the quality criteria should be given careful thought.  Choosing general or ambiguous quality criteria will result in poor product quality, while at the other extreme, choosing tight and complex criteria may push up the cost and time of product creation, resulting in unnecessary ‘gold plating’.

The product description.

I referred above to the product description outlines within appendix A of the PRINCE2 Manual, and stated that these were a management product outlines.  The one exception to this is the product description of how to create a product description! This is intended for use as a 'template' for creating specialist products.

Each product description should have a unique identifier including the name of the project, the products name and version number.  It is important that each product is given a title.  This is the name by which the product is to be known, and it therefore will be in the form of a noun or outcome, as verbs would confuse the reader into believing that it is an activity.

A good example of a product title would be ‘Power Supply unit’.  A bad example would be , create the Power Supply unit’ as this would infer an activity.

The purpose of the product must be clearly stated as it is helpful in understanding the product functionality, its quality and size, complexity, etc.  Some products will be an end in themselves while others may be the means to an end; an example of this being a specification document which will lead to the creation of a design document.

The composition of the product should also be described and broken down into its elemental products, for example if the product were a plastic bottle, then its component parts would be the bottle itself, the cap or lid and the labelling.  If the product were a document, then the composition could describe the structure or chapter headings.

Another important aspect is the inclusion of all source products from which this product is derived.  In the example given above, a source product for the plastic bottle may be the specification document, or the bottle itself may be derived or bought in from the bottle manufacture as the project objective is just to fill and a label the product.

Another example of the relation could be an email or statement from the user or customer laying out the benefits that the product must bring and eventually realise.

The product description must describe the way in which the product is to be presented or its format.  If the product where a document, then this would describe whether it is to be presented as a ring binder, an email, or an electronic format such as a memory stick as an example.

For the product to be successfully created, then the knowledge skills and experience of those needed to develop it must be stated.  If this is neither known nor required, then the area, department, group, or organization may be referenced here rather than identify specific individuals.  If the product description is first created as part of the project plan, then the actual details of the individuals may be left until planning the relevant stage within which the product is to be created.

Quality criteria.

This lays down the quality specification that the product is to be produced or created against, and describes the quality measurements that will need to be applied by those inspecting the finished product.  In some cases this may only need reference a common standard that is documented elsewhere, rather than a detailed explanation of such criteria.

Where a product will it exist in various states, then different quality criteria for each state should be described.  Alternatively a unique product description should be created for each state.  An example of the different states of a product could be a document in different languages, a prototype version, or different physical locations of the same the product.

The quality tolerance of each of the above quality criteria must also be stated, and these will be the range of quality criteria within which the product would still be acceptable.  Examples here might be plus and minus certain dimensions, speed, resolution, colour, functionality, or weight.

The method of checking the quality or functionality must also be stated.  Examples here are a visual inspection, the application of a test programme, a review or walkthrough, the use of an external test house, the use of a calibrated instrument, etc.

In addition to the skills required to create the product in the first place, it is also vital that the skills required to carry out the above quality checking are documented within the product description.  This may point towards the knowledge, skills and experience of individuals or the area which will supply such checking resources.  As with the development skills, then identify and such individuals may be left until the planning of the relevant stage that this product description will be used.

Finally the quality responsibilities for those producing the product, those reviewing the product and those approving the product must be stated.

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