Chapter 2 - Principles

Question 1

What are the seven PRINCE2 principles?

Answer 1

Ensure continued business justification, learn from experience, define roles, responsibilities and relationships, manage by stages, manage by exception, focus on products, tailor to suit the project

Question 2

How does a PRINCE2 project qualify as ensuring continued business justification?

Answer 2

A PRINCE2 project has business justification sufficient to warrant investment to initiate the project and ongoing investment through to successful completion. If it does not, it should be stopped.

Question 3

How does a PRINCE2 project qualify as learning from experience?

Answer 3

A PRINCE2 project team actively seeks, records, and implements improvements as a result of relevant lessons learned from prior projects and throughout the life of the project. It applies them in future projects and shares them for others to apply.

Question 4

Apply the principle of learn from experience when starting a project

Answer 4

Previous or similar projects should be reviewed to see if lessons could be applied. If the project is a ‘first’ for the people within the business or if there is any content which is new, then it is even more important to learn from others. This could include projects delivered by people or organisations external to the business to identify relevant lessons

Question 5

Apply the principle of learn from experience as the project progresses

Answer 5

The project team should continue to learn. Lessons should be included in relevant reports and reviews and included at the end of each stage. The goal is to seek opportunities to implement improvements during the life of the project. The retrospective technique is an example of gathering lessons in agile approach

Question 6

Apply the principle of learn from experience as the project closes

Answer 6

The project team should share the insights gained during the project

Question 7

What is the foundation for learning?

Answer 7

Data and the ability to gain insights from it. Projects should be clear about what data is required, how it will be analysed so that insights can be gained and applied, and what will happen to the data during the project and when the project closes

Question 8

How does a PRINCE2 project qualify as defining roles, responsibilities, and relationships?

Answer 8

A PRINCE2 project has defined and agreed roles and responsibilities within an organisation structure that engages the business, user, and supplier stakeholder interests. Moreover, a PRINCE2 project management team initiates and builds relationships with and between internal and external stakeholders

Question 9

Why is defining roles and responsibilities difficult in a PRINCE2 project?

Answer 9

Projects are cross-functional, may involve more than one organisation, often have a mix of full and part-time resources, and may be spread across multiple locations. The management structures of the parties involved in the project are likely to be varied, with different priorities, objectives, and interests to protect. The day-to-day line management structures of the business may not be designed for, or suited to, project work.

Question 10

How can a PRINCE2 project be successful, in the context of defining roles, responsibilities and relationships?

Answer 10

Projects must have an explicit project management team structure consisting of defined and agreed roles and responsibilities for the people involved in the project

Question 11

How does a PRINCE2 project qualify as managing by stages?

Answer 11

A PRINCE2 project is planned, monitored, and controlled on a stage-by-stage basis

Question 12

Define a stage

Answer 12

The section of a project that the project manager is managing on behalf of the project board at any one time

Question 13

How many stages does a PRINCE2 project have?

Answer 13

Minimum of 2 (initiation and one further stage). Many project benefit from having more than two stages.

Question 14

What are some of the advantages of managing by stages?

Answer 14

It enables adaptability to changes in the project or business context. It provides review and decision points. It provides the ability to ensure that key decisions are made prior to the detailed work needed to implement them. It allows clarification of what the impact will be of an identified external influence. It facilitates the principle of manage by exception by delegating authority to the project manager at each stage

Question 15

What factors influence how many stages there are in a project?

Answer 15

Minimising risk exposure through the project lifecycle, the size and complexity of the project, any significant decisions and control points, sector or business policies and standards

Question 16

Who authorises project stages?

Answer 16

The project board authorises one stage of the project at a time and delegates the authority for day-to-day control of the stage, within agreed tolerances, to the project manager. The project board only authorises the next stage if there is sufficient business justification and funds to continue.

Question 17

Example of managing by stages

Answer 17

Sprints or timeboxes

Question 18

How does a PRINCE2 project qualify as managing by exceptions?

Answer 18

A PRINCE2 project establishes limits of delegated authority by defining tolerances for performance against its plans

Question 19

Define tolerance

Answer 19

The permissible deviation above and below the plan’s target for benefits, cost, time, quality, scope, sustainability, and risk without needing to escalate the deviation to the next level of management. Tolerance is applied at project, stage, and team levels

Question 20

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:

Answer 20

Delegating authority from one management level to the next by setting tolerances against the seven aspects of performance for the respective level; establishing controls so if tolerances are forecast to be exceeded, they are flagged as being an exception and immediately escalated to the next management level on how to proceed; establishing an assurance mechanism so that each management level can be confident that the exception controls are effective

Question 21

How does a PRINCE2 project qualify as focusing on products?

Answer 21

A PRINCE2 project focuses on the definition and delivery of products, in particular their user quality expectations and requirements

Question 22

What are the four types of products in PRINCE2?

Answer 22

Management products, specialist products, the project product, external products

Question 23

Define a product

Answer 23

An input or output, whether tangible or intangible, that can be described in advance, created and tested

Question 24

What are management products?

Answer 24

Often documents or information needed to support the management of the project, such as a business case or a plan

Question 25

What are specialist products?

Answer 25

The products that are needed by the user to realise the benefits required of the project

Question 26

What is the project product?

Answer 26

Describes the total output from the project as defined in the project product description

Question 27

What are external products?

Answer 27

Products developed or provided outside of the project’s control but which the project is dependent on (e.g. new legislation/standards)

Question 28

Should projects focus more on products or work activity?

Answer 28

Products

Question 29

How does the focus on products support the project?

Answer 29

Ensures that the project only performs work that directly contributes to the delivery of a product; helps manage uncontrolled change (scope creep) by ensuring that all changes are agreed in terms of how they will impact the project products and the business case for the project; reduces the risk of user dissatisfaction and acceptance disputes by agreeing what will be produced by the project; assists a pause or closure of the project

Question 30

How does a PRINCE2 project qualify as tailoring to suit the project?

Answer 30

PRINCE2 is applied and tailored to suit the project environment, size, complexity, importance, delivering method, team capability, and level of risk

Question 31

What is the purpose of tailoring?

Answer 31

To ensure that: project management method used is appropriate to the project; project controls are appropriate to the project’s scale, complexity, importance, delivery method, team capability, and risk

Question 32

What can happen in PRINCE2 project is not tailored?

Answer 32

It is unlikely that the project management effort and management approaches would be appropriate for the needs of the project. This can lead to inattentive project management at one extreme, where PRINCE2 is followed without question, or ‘heroic’ project management at the other extreme, where PRINCE2 is not really followed at all.

Question 33

Who is responsible for tailoring the project?

Answer 33

The project manager

Question 34

Who is accountable for tailoring the project?

Answer 34

The project board