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Project Problems and how PRINCE2 will fix them 

 February 27, 2023

By  Dave Litten

Project Problems –  and how PRINCE2 will fix them.

Unfortunately project failure is everywhere, either the entire project failing or some aspect of its deliverables, and typically these failures result in overspent and coming in late.  The statistics of failed projects are quite alarming and much focus has been made since the 1990’s in rejuvenating the way in which projects are run and managed.

Powerful tools are needed to remedy project failure.  The rise of methodologies such as PRINCE2 has helped spearhead improvement, but only if they are applied and tailored in a practical way.

The main causes of project failure are well documented and knowing where the key killers lie is a good place to start and will help provide part of the solution.

Project Problems in PRINCE2 

PRINCE2 identifies that there are six variables involved in any project;

  • cost or budget
  • timescales or schedule
  • quality
  • scope
  • risk
  • benefits.

It is vital therefore that the project manager clearly understands the purpose of the project and how it will enable benefit delivery and hence investment.

Although not an exhaustive list, the following areas are certainly among the top 10 of project killers:

Project Problems – Poor planning. 

This can either mean little or no planning, or a misunderstanding of the elements that are contained within a plan.  A plan should contain ‘how-to’ strategies and go on to embed these within the plan itself.  Another set of problems here is that the plan only contains task specific activities, fails to identify deliverables, and does not include management, and monitoring and control activities.

Project Problems – Lack of objectives

This is often misunderstood (and why they are so frequently in error).  The whole purpose of carrying out a project is to achieve objectives.  An objective is;

  • Something toward which work is to be directed
  • A strategic position to be attained
  • A purpose to be achieved
  • A result to be obtained
  • A product to be produced
  • A service to be performed

Project Problems – Unclear scope.

This is defined as the sum of the products, services, and results to be provided by the project.  The project scope needs to be defined, developed and verified.  Losing control of the project scope will lead to the project developing an incomplete plan, and this in turn will cause the project to get behind schedule and to over-run its budget.

Project Problems – Unrealistic budget.

The most common problem here is that senior management start by setting a budget without fully understanding what the project needs to achieve.  The project manager is then asked to plan and deliver the project with insufficient resources.

Project Problems – Unrealistic resources.

Even assuming that the delivery organization fully understands the size and scope of the project, very often a project is restricted on the number of resources that are available.  Resources include people, materials, equipment, facilities, goods and services, and tools.

The problems here are often not enough staff available, staff having to work and share their time on other projects, lack of staff knowledge, skills and experience, or simply that the project was much larger than was first thought (another example of unclear scope).

Project Problems – Poor risk management.

Risk management is a continuous activity throughout the whole of the project, and needs to start by identifying all risks and developing appropriate responses.  The risk environments for a given project should be owned by everyone and not just the project manager.  As a consequence of poor risk management, one or more of the project objectives are now at threat, then this situation could have been foreseen, controlled, or even prevented.

Project Problems – Lack of a business case.

Very often projects are started simply because senior management have agreed that it should be done without first ensuring that there was a reasonable balance between cost, risk and benefits.

Project Problems – Poor communications.

This problem usually starts because the project team and key stakeholders have no understanding of each other’s roles and responsibilities, and as a consequence no one knows what they are supposed to be doing, relation report to, and who has the authority to make decisions.

Project Problems – Lack of progress control.

Without a realistic plan they can be no control.  But assuming the plan is OK, progress control needs the right information at the right time to compare progress against such a plan so that corrective action can be taken.  Without this the project is sure to go off track.

Project Problems – Scope creep. 

Usually caused by a lack of change control resolving in the impact of many small uncontrolled changes causing the project to fail.  All changes should be agreed and be worth the effort, time and cost.

You can see in this article that I have spent most of the time advising where the problems lie and the reasons behind why so many projects fail.  I could give a simple answer here and say that PRINCE2 has all the mechanisms to fix all the above if it is applied flexibly and tailored correctly.

All I need to say is that if you replaced the sub-headings above with the word ‘do’ or ‘carry out’ then you would have a recipe for success.

In summary, PRINCE2 will help your project be successful, it will help you to manage and deliver the project, and it will ultimately help your organization or your customers realise their business benefits and their investment in the project in the first place.

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Dave Litten


Dave has spent 25 years as a senior project manager for USA multinationals and has deep experience in project management. He now develops a wide range of Project Management Masterclasses, under the Projex Academy brand name. In addition, David runs project management training seminars across the world, and is a prolific writer on the many topics of project management.

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