Key PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner Exam Learning Points

PRINCE2 - The Foundation and Practitioner Exam Key Learning Points

PRINCE2 is a widely used project management method, which guides you through all the essentials for running a successful project. Since its introduction in 1989 as a government standard for IT project management, PRINCE2 has been taken on by both the public and private sectors and is now recognized as a de facto standard for project management.

PRINCE2 is a flexible method and although originally designed for the management of IT projects it is now aimed at all types of project. PRINCE2 takes the lessons learned by thousands of professionals in the past 20-or so years to create the current method.

These lessons enable it to be applied to any project regardless of project scale, type, organization, geography or culture. PRINCE2 achieves this by isolating the management aspects of project work from the specialist contributions.

The specialist aspects of any type of project are then integrated with the PRINCE2 method. The latest version of PRINCE2 (PRINCE2009 – 2009) presents this method in a more easily read and understood document “Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2”.

This has been created as a result of a project that began in November 2006 This latest PRINCE2 method addresses project management with four integrated elements. With the exception of Tailoring, there are seven each of following principles, processes and themes:

The Principles - These principles are the guiding obligations and good practices that determine whether the project is genuinely being managed using PRINCE2. There are seven principles and unless all of them are applied, it is not a PRINCE2 project.

The Processes - These processes describe the step-by-step progress through the project lifecycle from getting started to project closure. Each process includes checklists of recommended activities, products and related responsibilities.

The Themes - These themes describe aspects of project management that must be addressed throughout the project. They cover the various project management disciplines including how they should be performed and why they are necessary.

Tailoring PRINCE2 To The Project Environment - This addresses the need to tailor PRINCE2 to the specific context of the project. PRINCE2 is not a 'one size fits all' solution; it is a designed to be adapted to the needs of each project.

PRINCIPLES

The set of principles on which PRINCE2 is based originate from lessons learned from projects both good and bad. If a project does not adhere to these principles, it is not being managed using PRINCE2, because the principles are the basis of what defines a PRINCE2 project. The seven PRINCE2 principles are:

• Continued business justification
   
• Learn from experience
   
• Defined roles and responsibilities
   
• Manage by stages
   
• Manage by exception
   
• Focus on products
   
• Tailor to suit the project environment.

Continued business justification

A requirement for a PRINCE2 project is that:

• There is a justifiable reason to start it
   
• The justification should remain valid throughout the life of the project
   
• The justification is documented and approved.

In PRINCE2, the justification is documented in a Business Case. As a project is inextricably linked to its business justification, it drives the decision-making processes to ensure that the project remains aligned to the business objectives and benefits being sought.

Learn from experience

In PRINCE2, learning from experience permeates the method:

• When starting a project - Previous or similar projects should be reviewed to see if lessons learned could be applied. If the project is a 'first' for the people within the organization, then the project should consider seeking external experience
   
• As the project progresses - The project should continue to learn. Lessons should be included in all reports and reviews. The aim is to seek opportunities to implement improvements during the life of the project
   
• As the project closes - The project should pass on lessons. Unless lessons provoke change, they are only lessons identified (not learned).

It is the responsibility of everyone involved with the project to seek lessons learned rather than waiting for someone else to provide them.

Defined roles and responsibilities

Projects must involve resources with the appropriate skill set to undertake the required roles at the required time..

To be successful, projects must have a project management team structure consisting of defined and agreed roles and responsibilities for the people involved in the project and a means for effective communication between them.

All projects have the following primary stakeholders:

• Business sponsors who endorse the objectives and ensure that the business investment provides value for money
   
• Users who, after the project is completed, will use the products to enable them to gain the intended benefits
   
• Suppliers who provide the resources and expertise required by the project (these may be internal or external).

Therefore, all three stakeholder interests need to be represented effectively in the project organization – two out of three is not enough. If the project costs outweigh the benefits, the project will fail. Equally, if the outcome of the project does not meet the users‟ or operational needs, or cannot feasibly be delivered by the suppliers, failure is inevitable.

Manage by stages

Management stages provide senior management with control points throughout the project. Shorter stages offer more control, while longer stages reduce the burden on senior management. A great deal of effort can be wasted on attempts to plan beyond a sensible planning horizon. PRINCE2 overcomes this issue by:

• Dividing the project into a number of management stages
   
• Having a high-level Project Plan and a detailed Stage Plan (for the current stage)
   
• Planning, delegating, monitoring and controlling the project on a stage-by-stage basis.

PRINCE2 requires there to be a minimum of two management stages: one initiation stage and one or more further management stages.

Manage by exception

PRINCE2 enables appropriate governance by defining distinct responsibilities for directing, managing and delivering the project and clearly defining accountability at each level. Accountability is established by:

• Delegating authority from one management level to the next by setting tolerances against six objectives for the respective level of the plan:
   
• Time
• Cost
• Quality
• Scope
• Risk
• Benefit
   
• Setting up controls so that if those tolerances are forecast to be exceeded, they are immediately referred up to the next management layer for a decision on how to proceed
   
• Putting an assurance mechanism in place so that each management layer can be confident that such controls are effective.

This implementation of 'management by exception' enables efficient use of senior management time, as it reduces their time burden without removing control, by ensuring decisions are made at the right level in the organization.

Focus on products

A successful project is output-oriented not activity-oriented. An output-oriented project is one that agrees and defines the project’s products prior to undertaking the activities required to produce them. The set of agreed products defines the scope of a project and provides the basis for planning and control.

A PRINCE2 project uses Product Descriptions to provide such clarity by defining each product’s purpose, composition, derivation, format, quality criteria and quality method.

They provide the means to determine effort estimates, resource requirements, dependencies and activity schedules. Without a product focus, projects are exposed to several major risks such as acceptance disputes, rework, uncontrolled change ('scope creep'), user dissatisfaction and under-estimation of acceptance activities.

Tailor to suit the project environment

The value of PRINCE2 is that it is a universal project management method that can be applied regardless of project type, organization, geography or culture. It can be used by any project because the method is designed to be tailored to its specific needs. If PRINCE2 is not tailored, it is unlikely that the project management effort and approach are appropriate for the needs of the project. Blindly following the method, or having no method is likely to result in wasted effort.

The purpose of tailoring is to:

• Ensure the project management method relates to the project’s environment
   
• Ensure that project controls are based on the project’s scale, complexity, importance, capability and risk
   
• Tailoring requires the Project Manager and the Project Board make an active decision on how the method will be applied, for which guidance is provided.

PRINCE2 PROCESSES

PRINCE2 is a process-based approach for project management. The PRINCE2 processes are a structured set of activities designed to accomplish a specific objective. It takes one or more defined inputs and turns them into defined outputs. There are seven processes in PRINCE2, which provide the set of activities required to direct, manage and deliver a project successfully. It is important to understand the PRINCE2 Process Sequence.

Starting up a Project (SU)

The purpose of the Starting up a Project process is to ensure that the prerequisites for Initiating a Project are in place by answering the question: do we have a viable and worthwhile project? SU is a less comprehensive process compared to Initiating a Project process. The aim is to do the minimum necessary in order to decide whether it is worthwhile to even initiate the project. An important aspect here is to clearly understand the customer's quality expectations and acceptance criteria. The objective of the starting up a project process is to ensure that:

• There is a business justification for initiating the project (an outline Business Case)
   
• All the necessary authorities (the project management team) exist for initiating the project
   
• Sufficient information is available to define and confirm the scope of the project (a Project Brief)
   
• The various ways the project can be delivered are evaluated and a project approach selected
   
• Individuals are appointed who will undertake the work required in project initiation and/or will take significant project management roles in the project
   
• The work required for project initiation is planned (the http://prince2primer.com/plan-initiation-stage-prince2Initiation Stage Plan)
   
• Time is not wasted initiating a project based on unsound assumptions regarding the project’s scope, timescales, acceptance criteria and constraints.

SU is triggered by the project mandate, which is provided by the responsible authority that is commissioning the project, usually the corporate or programme management organization. The Mandate is further refined to determine the project approach and the project brief. The project mandate should provide the terms of reference for the project and should contain sufficient information to identify at least the prospective Executive of the Project Board.

Directing a Project (DP)

The purpose of the Directing a Project process is to enable the Project Board to be accountable for the project’s success by making key decisions and exercising overall control while delegating day-to-day management of the project to the Project Manager. The objective of the DP process is to ensure that:

• There is authority to initiate the project
   
• There is authority to deliver the project’s products
   
• Management direction and control are provided throughout the project’s life, and that the project remains viable
   
• Corporate or programme management has an interface to the project
   
• There is authority to close the project
   
• Plans for realizing the post-project benefits are managed and reviewed.

DP starts on completion of the SU process and is triggered by the request to initiate a project. There is a powerful 'communication conduit' activity between the project board and the project manager called give ad-hoc direction. It can also be used to communicate between the project board and other key stakeholders. DP does not cover the day-to-day activities of the Project Manager. The next activity is to authorize a project. The Project Board manages by exception. It monitors via reports and controls through a small number of decision points. There should be no need for other 'progress meetings' for the Project Board. The Project Manager will inform the board of any exception situation. 

Initiating a Project (IP)

The purpose of the Initiating a Project process is to establish solid foundations for the project, enabling the organization to understand the work that needs to be done to deliver the project’s products before committing to a significant spend. The objective of the Initiating a Project process is to ensure that there is a common understanding of:

• The reasons for doing the project, the benefits expected and the associated risks
   
• The scope of what is to be done and the products to be delivered
   
• How and when the project’s products will be delivered and at what cost
   
• Who is to be involved in the project decision-making
   
• How the quality required will be achieved
   
• How baselines will be established and controlled
   
• How risks, issues and changes will be identified, assessed and controlled
   
• How progress will be monitored and controlled
   
• Who needs information, in what format, and at what time
   
• How the corporate (or programme) project management method will be tailored to suit the project

IP is aimed at laying down the foundations in order to achieve a successful project. Specifically, all parties must be clear on what the project is intended to achieve, why it is needed, how the outcome is to be achieved and what their responsibilities are, so that there can be genuine commitment to it. It is here in the initiating a project process that the project plan is created. There are four strategy documents to describe how the project will be managed, these are the Risk Management Strategy, the Configuration Management Strategy, the Quality Management Strategy, and the Communication Management Strategy.

During IP the Project Manager will be creating the suite of management products required for the level of control specified by the Project Board. The Project Manager should have agreed the means by which the Project Board will review and approve the management products. The focus in PRINCE2 is therefore on the project board and project manager controls. The outline business case needs to be refined into a detailed version and all of the documentation of the project initiation documentation needs to be assembled. The activity refine the business case and assemble the PID is used to do this.

Controlling a Stage (CS)

The purpose of Controlling a Stage is to assign work to be done, monitor this work, deal with issues, report progress to the Project Board, and take corrective actions to ensure that the stage remains within tolerance. The objective of the Controlling a Stage process is to ensure that:

• Attention is focused on delivery of the stage’s products. Any movement away from the direction and products agreed at the start of the stage is monitored to avoid uncontrolled change ('scope creep') and loss of focus
   
• Risks and issues are kept under control
   
• The Business Case is kept under review
   
• The agreed products for the stage are delivered to stated quality standards, within cost, effort and time agreed, and ultimately in support of the achievement of the defined benefits
   
• The project management team is focused on delivery within the tolerances laid down.

CS describes the work of the Project Manager in handling the day-to-day management of the stage. This process will be used for each delivery stage of a project. As part of management by exception the project manager creates regular highlight reports for the project board and other key stakeholders if required. Whenever the project manager notices that the stage is departing from the stage plan, the activity taking corrective action can be used. Towards the end of each stage, except the final one, the activities within the Managing a Stage Boundary process will be triggered. An important control, is that the project manager authorizes a work package before it is given out, and then reviews the work package status on a regular basis during the stage. In a similar way, the project manager has to review the stage status on a regular basis to be sure that it is proceding to plan. The CS process is normally first used after the Project Board authorizes the project, but it may optionally be used during the initiation stage for large or complex projects with a lengthy initiation. Towards the end of the last stage, the Closing a Project process will be invoked.

Managing Product Delivery (MP)

Managing Product Delivery views the project from the Team Manager’s perspective, while the Controlling a Stage process views it from the Project Manager’s perspective. The purpose of MP is to control the link between the Project Manager and the Team Manager(s), by placing formal requirements on accepting, executing and delivering project work.

The role of the Team Manager(s) is to coordinate an area of work that will deliver one or more of the project’s products. Team mangers can be internal or external to the customer’s organization. The objective of Managing Product Delivery is to ensure that:

• Work on products allocated to the team via an authorized Work Package is authorized and agreed
   
• Team Managers, team members and suppliers are clear as to what is to be produced and what is the expected effort, cost or timescales
   
• The planned products are delivered to expectations and within tolerance
   
• Accurate progress information is provided to the Project Manager at an agreed frequency to ensure that expectations are managed.

If the project uses external suppliers that are not using PRINCE2, MP provides a statement of the required interface between the Team Manager and the PRINCE2 method being used in the project by the Project Manager. The Work Package may be part of a contractual agreement. The formality of a Team Plan could vary from simply appending a schedule to the Work Package, to a fully formed plan presented in a similar style to a Stage Plan.

Managing a Stage Boundary (SB)

The purpose of Managing a Stage Boundary is to enable the Project Board to be provided with sufficient information by the Project Manager so that it can review the success of the current stage, approve the next Stage Plan, review the updated Project Plan, and confirm continued business justification and acceptability of the risks. The process should be executed at, or close to the end of, each management stage.

Projects do not always go to plan and in response to an Exception Report the Project Board may request that the current stage (and possibly the project) be replanned. In such a case, the activity plan the next stage or exception plan has been included to support iether need.

The objective of the Managing a Stage Boundary is to:

• Assure the Project Board that all products in the Stage Plan for the current stage have been completed and approved
   
• Prepare the Stage Plan for the next stage
   
• Review and, if necessary, update the Project Initiation Documentation
   
• Provide the information needed for the Project Board via the end stage report, to assess the continuing viability of the project – including the aggregated risk exposure
   
• Record any information or lessons that can help later stages of this project and/or other projects
   
• Request authorization to start the next stage.

For exception situations, the objective of the SB process is to:

• Prepare an Exception Plan as directed by the Project Board
   
• Seek approval to replace the Project Plan or Stage Plan for the current stage with the Exception Plan.

It is important that, at the end of each stage, the project plan and business case is updated. SB is not used in the final stage, as the activities to review the performance of the final stage are included as part of the Closing a Project process. One early identifier of potential failure is the Project Manager’s forecast that any of the project or stage tolerance(s) are likely to be exceeded. In such cases it is important to have a mechanism for corrective action in order to bring the project back into the right direction. A positive decision not to proceed is not failure.

However, providing insufficient information that prevents the Project Board from making an informed decision is itself a failure as it may lead to a wrong decision.

Closing a Project (CP)

The purpose of Closing a Project is to provide a fixed point at which acceptance for the project product is confirmed, and to recognize that objectives set out in the original Project Initiation Documentation have been achieved (or approved changes to the objectives have been achieved), or that the project has nothing more to contribute. 

The objective of the Closing a Project process is to:

• Verify user acceptance of the project’s products
   
• Ensure that the product(s) are supportable when the project is disbanded
   
• Review the performance of the project against established baselines
   
• Assess any benefits that have already been realized, update the forecast of the remaining benefits, and plan for a review of the remaining benefits
   
• Ensure that all open issues and risks with are captured with the follow-on action recommendations.

One of the defining features of a PRINCE2 project is that it is finite – it has a start and an end. If the project loses this distinctiveness, it loses some of its advantages over purely operational management approaches. A clear end to a project:

• Is always more successful than a slow drift into use and a recognition by all concerned that:
  • The original objectives have been met (subject to any approved changes)
     
  • The current project has run its course
     
  • Either the operational regime must now take over the products from this project, or the products become inputs into some subsequent project or into some larger programme
     
  • The project management team can be disbanded
     
  • Project costs should no longer be incurred
     
• Provides an opportunity to ensure that all unachieved goals and objectives are identified so that they can be addressed in the future
   
• Transfers ownership of the products to the customer and terminates the responsibility of the project organization.

Closure activities should be planned as part of the Stage Plan for the final management stage. When closing a project, work is required to prepare input to the Project Board in order to obtain its authorization to close the project.

The Executive should also notify corporate or programme management that the project has closed. It is also possible that the Project Board may wish to trigger a premature closure of the project under some circumstances. If the project is being brought to a premature close, this process will still need to be executed, but may have to be tailored to the actual project situation.

THEMES 

The PRINCE2 themes describe aspects of project management that must be addressed continually. The strength of PRINCE2 is in the way the seven themes are integrated and this is achieved because of the specific PRINCE2 treatment of each theme. The seven themes are:

• Business Case
   
• Organization
   
• Quality
   
• Plans
   
• Risk
   
• Change
   
• Progress

Business Case

The Business Case theme is used to judge whether the project is desirable, viable and achievable as a means to support decision-making in its investment. The business justification is the reason for the project if there is no justification a project should not be started. If business justification is valid at the start of a project, but disappears once it is under way, the project should be stopped or changed. It is important to understand the PRINCE2 Business Case contents.

This justification is documented in a Business Case describing the reasons for the project based on estimated costs, risks and the expected benefits. When projects face changes or risks, the impact analysis should focus on the Business Case, as the project is only a means to an end (the outcome) and not the end itself.

The Senior User(s) is responsible for specifying the benefits and subsequently realizing the benefits through the use of the products provided by the project. This is benefits realization, in PRINCE2 this is planned in the CP process.

The Executive is responsible for ensuring that those benefits specified by the Senior User(s) represent value for money, are aligned to corporate objectives and are realistic. In PRINCE2, the outline Business Case is developed at the beginning of the project and maintained throughout the life of the project. It is verified by the Project Board at each key decision point, such as End Stage Assessments.

Organization

The PRINCE2 Organization theme defines and establishes the project’s structure of accountability and responsibilities. PRINCE2 is based on a customer/supplier environment. It assumes that there will be a customer who will specify the desired result and probably pay for the project, and a supplier who will provide the resources and skills to deliver that result.

This structure is established at the start of a project, and maintained throughout the project’s life, changing as the needs of the project move from stage to stage. A successful project organization should:

• Have business, user and supplier stakeholder representation
   
• Ensure appropriate governance by defining responsibilities for directing, managing and delivering the project and clearly defining accountability at each level
   
• Have reviews of the project roles throughout the project to ensure that they continue to be effective
   
• Have an effective strategy to manage communication flows to and from key external stakeholders.

It is recommended that Project Board should include representation from each of the business, user and supplier interests at all times.

The level of overlap between the interests of the business, user and supplier will change according to the type of corporate organization and project. For example, if a project uses an in-house supplier, the business and supplier interests will be more likely to have overlapping interests than if an external supplier is used. Effective engagement with other stakeholders is key to a project’s success.

PRINCE2 recognizes four levels of management, these are:

• Corporate or programme management - This level sits outside the project management team but will be responsible for commissioning the project
   
• Directing - The Project Board is responsible for the overall direction and management of the project within the constraints set out by corporate or programme management.
   
• Managing - The Project Manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of the project within the constraints set out by the Project Board.
   
• Delivering - Depending on the size and complexity of the project, the authority and responsibility for planning the creation of certain products and managing a team of specialists to produce those products may be delegated to a Team Manager.

Quality 

The Quality theme defines the PRINCE2 approach to ensuring that the project’s products:

• Meet business expectations
   
• Enable the desired benefits to be achieved subsequently.

The 'focus on products' principle is central to PRINCE2's approach to quality. It provides an explicit common understanding of what the project will create and the criteria against which the project’s products will be assessed. The full project costs and timescales can only be estimated after establishing the quality criteria for the products and the quality management activities that have to be included in the project’s plans. PRINCE2 includes a quality review technique that is particularly helpful when reviewing documentation.

The Quality theme addresses the quality methods and responsibilities not only for the specification, development and approval of the project’s products, but also for the management of the project. Capturing and acting on lessons contributes to the PRINCE2 quality approach, as it is a means of achieving continuous improvement.

Terminology used in the Quality theme is derived from the ISO 9000 standards but aimed specifically at project work.

A quality management system is the complete set of quality standards, procedures and responsibilities for a site or organization.

Plans

Effective project management relies on effective planning, as without a plan there is no control. For planning to be effective, it has to be based on a plan of the real world. PRINCE2 describes a simple and logical set of steps for creating and PRINCE2 Plan. Planning provides all personnel involved in the project with information on:

• what is required
   
• How it will be achieved and by whom, using what specialist equipment and resources
   
• When events will happen
   
• Whether the targets are achievable.

The PRINCE2 Plans theme also describes the vital product-based planning technique. Progress is measured against a set of credible plans which provide a baseline against which to check. Estimating forms an important part of a realistic and achievable plan. A plan requires the approval and commitment of the relevant levels of the project management team. PRINCE2 recommends three levels of plan to reflect the needs of the different levels of management involved:

• The Project Plan - This is created by the Initiating a Project process
   
• Stage Plans - The Initiation Stage Plan is created by the Starting up a Project process and each subsequent Stage Plan is created by the Managing a Stage Boundary process
   
• Team Plans - These are created by the Managing Product Delivery process

The only other plan in PRINCE2 is the Benefits Review Plan. This covers activities during and after the project and therefore may be part of a corporate or programme plan. The Benefits Review Plan covers corporate, project and stage levels. Planning information is disseminated to key stakeholders and other interested parties in order to secure any commitments which support the plan. PRINCE2 contains a product-based planning technique.

The Plans theme provides a framework to design, develop and maintain the project’s plans Plans are the backbone of the management information system required for any project. PRINCE2 requires a product-based approach to planning.

Risk

The purpose of the Risk theme is to identify, assess and control uncertainty and, as a result, improve the ability of the project to succeed. A risk is an uncertain event that, should it occur, will have an effect on the achievement of objectives. There are several risk techniques. It consists of a combination of the probability of a perceived threat or opportunity occurring, and the magnitude of its impact on objectives.

Risk-taking in projects is inevitable since projects cause change and change introduces uncertainty, hence risk. The project should establish and maintain a cost-effective risk management procedure. Management of risk is a continual activity, performed throughout the life of the project. PRINCE2 has a well-designed risk management procedure. For risk management to be effective, risks need to be:

• Identified - This includes risks being considered that could affect the achievement of the project’s objectives, and then described to ensure that there is a common understanding of these risks
   
• Assessed - This includes ensuring that each risk can be ranked in terms of estimated likelihood, impact and immediacy, and understanding the overall level of risk associated with the project
   
• Controlled - This includes identifying appropriate responses to risks, assigning risk owners, and then executing, monitoring and controlling these responses.

PRINCE2 recommends that every project should have its own Risk Management Strategy and a means of control, i.e. the Risk Register. The Risk Management Strategy for the project is likely to be based on any corporate or programme policies and processes already in place. The Risk Register captures and maintains information on all of the identified threats and opportunities relating to the project.

Project Support will maintain the Risk Register on behalf of the Project Manager. The Risk Management Strategy will describe the procedure for registering risks.

Change

The Change theme identifies, assesses and controls any potential and approved changes to baselines. The aim of issue and change control procedures is not to prevent changes; it is to ensure that the relevant authority agrees every change before it takes place. Change is inevitable during the life of a project; hence a systematic approach to the identification, assessment and control of issues that may result in change is required. Therefore the captue of issues and risks in a controlled manner is vital.

Changes may arise from very many sources, PRINCE2 provides a common approach to issue and change control.

Without an effective issue and change control procedure, a project will either become totally unresponsive or quickly drift out of control. The term 'issue' covers anything happening during the project which, unless resolved, may result in a change to a baselined product, plan or performance target (time, cost, quality, scope, risk and benefits).

There are different types of issue that need to be dealt with during a project:

• Request for change - A proposal for a change from a baseline.
   
• Off-specification - Something that should be provided by the project, but currently is not provided (or is forecast not to be provided). This might be a missing product or a product not meeting its specification
   
• Problem/concern - Any other issue that the Project Manager needs to resolve or escalate.

A prerequisite of effective issue and change control is the establishment of an appropriate configuration management system that records baselines for the project’s products and ensures that correct versions are delivered to the customer. Configuration management is the technical and administrative activities concerned with the creation, maintenance and controlled change of configuration throughout the life of a product. A useful video describing PRINCE2 Configuration Management is available.

A configuration item is an entity that is subject to configuration management and hence change control. The entity may be a component of a product, a product or a set of products that form a 'release'.

A release is a complete and consistent set of products that are managed, tested and deployed as a single entity to be handed over to the user. Configuration Item Records provide a set of records that describe such information as the status, version and variant of each configuration item and any details of important relationships between items.

Progress The Progress theme establishes mechanisms to monitor and compare actual achievements against those planned in order to provide a forecast for the project objectives, including its continued viability. Progress and hence progress reporting, is the measure of the achievement of the objectives of a plan. It can be monitored at Work Package, stage and project level. Progress controls ensure that for each level of the project management team the next level of management can:

• Monitor progress
   
• Compare level of achievement with plan
   
• Review plans and options against future situations
   
• Detect problems and identify risks
   
•  Initiate corrective action
   
• Authorize further work

Tolerances are the permissible deviation above and below a plan’s targets. An exception is a situation where it can be forecast that there will be a deviation beyond the agreed tolerance levels. If tolerances are not implemented, there is no clear measure of discretion if things do not go to plan. Tolerances may be usefully applied to a number of different aspects of the project, such as:

• Time
   
• Cost
   
• Scope
   
• Risk
   
• Quality
   
• Benefits

Tailoring PRINCE2 to the project environment

PRINCE2 may be Tailored or Embedded into the work undertaken by an organization. Tailoring refers to the appropriate use of PRINCE2 on any given project, ensuring that there is the correct amount of planning, control, governance and use of the tailoring the PRINCE2 processes and theme tailoring, whereas the adoption of PRINCE2 across an organization is known as embedding The two should be considered separately:

• Embedding - Done by the organization to adopt PRINCE2, the focus is on:
   
• Process responsibilities
   
• Scaling rules/guidance (e.g. score card)
   
• Standards (templates, definitions)
   
• Training and development
   
• Integration with business processes
   
• Tools
   
• Process assurance.
   
• Tailoring – Done by the project management team to adapt the method to the context of a specific project. The focus is on:
   
• Adapting the themes (through the strategies and controls)
   
• Incorporating specific terms/language
   
• Revising the Product Descriptions for the management products
   
• Revising the role descriptions for the PRINCE2 project roles
   
• Adjusting the processes to match the above.

PRINCE2 can be used whatever the project scale, complexity, geography or culture. Some projects may claim that they do not need 'full PRINCE2' and therefore have only implemented portions of the method. This can reveal a flawed understanding of PRINCE2 as the method is designed to be tailored. So tailoring PRINCE2 appropriately is 'full PRINCE2'. Tailoring does not consist of omitting elements of PRINCE2.

Therefore tailoring is about adapting the method to external factors (such as any corporate standards that need to be applied) and the project factors to consider (such as the scale of the project). The goal is to apply a level of project management that does not overburden the project but provides an appropriate level of control given the external and project factors.

The method may need to be adapted to incorporate the terms and language of corporate or programme organization to improve understanding. All the PRINCE2 process activities need to be done, it may be though that the responsibilities for performing the activities may change.