Update the PRINCE2 Project Plan and Business Case

 

The Project Plan and detailed Business Case first created in the initiation stage and form part of the Project Initiation Documentation.  It is important therefore that both these key documents are kept updated particularly at the end of each management stage. The project board uses the Project Plan throughout the project for them to measure progress, whereas although the project manager created the Project Plan, he or she uses the Stage Plan as their main progress document as the project is released to them one stage at a time.

 

Once the next Stage Plan has been created then the Project Plan is updated to include actual progress on the stage that is about to finish.  This will include information such as actual cost, actual timeframes, actual work effort, and products that have been completed and approved.

 

Once the actual data has been captured, then the Project Plan can now be re-forecast, to show the remaining duration, costs, resources, and products yet to be created.  

 

Because the Project Plan represents the high-level view of the project, then as the next Stage Plan is created and more day to day level detail is known, then this too is used to update the forecasted information within the Project Plan.

 

If the Managing a Stage Boundary process is being triggered as a result of a request for an Exception Plan, then the Project Plan will be updated as mentioned above but to include the detailed information from the newly created Exception Plan.

 

As part of updating the Project Plan, the Project Product Description should be checked and updated with any changes, for example the acceptance criteria may need to be refined. Also, any current issues on the risks arising as a result of planning should also be added to the Project Plan usually in the form of extra activities and resources.

 

It may well be that new or modified Product Descriptions and their related Configuration Item Records will also need to be created and included within the project plan.  

 

Any changes required to the information contained within the Project Initiation Documentation such as strategies, controls, or project management team structure should also be added as appropriate to the Project Plan.

 

One of the seven principles of PRINCE2 is that projects have continued business justification, and the project board are only authorised to continue providing that the project remains viable.  

 

However, projects do not take place in a static environment, and even if the project is progressing to plan, the outside world or business environment may be changing and the Business Case needs to be updated to reflect these changes and reviewed to ensure that it is still viable.

 

Since the executive of the project board is responsible for the Business Case then the project manager should consult with them, all business assurance,  when reviewing or updating the Business Case.

 

An important activity here is to check that the risk appetite of those organisations involved remains the same or whether risk tolerances need to be redefined, in which case the risk register needs to be assessed and updated.

 

The Benefits Review Plan was created immediately after the detailed Business Case, and this too needs to be updated at the end of each stage to record any results of possible benefit reviews undertaken during the stage just completed.  

 

It is likely that the benefits may be different in some way to those planned and this will include the impact of any approved changes or new and modified risks.

 

A key input to updating the Business Case is the Project Plan.  In particular implementation dates and project costs.  Another important part of the Business Case is the investment appraisal, and the relevant data from the Project Plan and ongoing operational and maintenance timescales and costs should be used to recast the full investment appraisal. 

 

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