PRINCE2 2009 – The method gets even better (in our opinion)!
Introduction
PRINCE2 represents a best practice process driven project management methodology which can be used on all types and sizes of projects. It first appeared in 1975 as PROMPT and has evolved ever since. Each of the revisions has improved on what went before as a result of international user feedback. The last major revision of PRINCE2 was in 2005 and there are now over 250,000 PRINCE2 certified individuals. It is definitely a major success story!
The latest step in the evolutionary process is now taking place. The PRINCE2 method is currently undergoing a refresh and is due for official release on June 16th 2009. Users were asked what they did and did not like in the 2005 edition and these views were the basis for this latest refresh.
The name PRINCE2 (instead of PRINCE3 or similar) is kept to demonstrate that the method remains faithful to its principles. Some of the words and packaging have changed, it is also smarter, lighter and much easier to navigate than the previous version, but it is still definitely PRINCE2! Great efforts have been made to integrate it with the other methods in the market place and also ensure that it can be easily adapted to a constantly changing business environment.
The new manual is much easier to read and includes case studies and examples to illustrate how the method can be applied and how it can be ‘scaled’ for different size projects.
In addition to the Managing Projects Using PRINCE2 manual there is a new product called Directing Projects Using PRINCE2. This is designed specifically for project board members including sponsors and senior responsible officers (SRO’s).
So what exactly has changed?
• There are 7 principles (guiding obligations and good practices) that make a PRINCE2 project
• There are 7 themes. These describe aspects of project management that must be addressed continually and in parallel throughout the project. They roughly equate to the components in the previous version
• There are 7 processes instead of 8. In addition, the sub-processes have become activities and are less prescriptively sequenced than before (also losing the alpha-numeric identifiers such as CS4).
• There is a chapter on tailoring. This chapter 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 flexible framework that can readily be tailored to any type or size of project.
• The old techniques have been subsumed into the ‘themes’.
• There is a companion guide, Directing Successful Projects with PRINCE2, which addresses the PRINCE2 method from the viewpoint of senior personnel, specifically Project Board members
How does this affect training and the exams?
• Training will remain exactly the same albeit with revised material and stronger links with other aspects of project and programme management. The method may have been updated but the fundamental principles remain exactly the same as does the need for trained and equipped project staff.
• The PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner examinations will remain very much the same as they are now. All candidates who have taken their examination on the earlier edition of the method will find their qualification remains valid until they need to re-register.
• The 2009 exams will be available from June 2009 but there will be a cross over period for exams – the examination board has yet to agree the period but it will be a minimum of three months after the launch - where exams will be issued on either the 2005 or 2009 version of the manual.
• Provek are committed to best practice and will be among the first to offer the new exam.
Should I wait to take the new exam?
You should not put off their training until the new exams are available for a number of reasons:
• the actual method has changed very little
• the current qualifications will continue to be valid
• projects need well trained and equipped project staff who understand how to use and apply a systematic and process led approach to project delivery.
Provek will be among the first training organisations to train using the 2009 manual.