Principles Flashcards
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the record company requires the cost-benefit analysis of every project to be recorded in a document called a ‘project rationale’. The executive is preparing the draft ‘project rationale’ as part of the pre-project phase.
Which principle is being applied, and why?
Continued business justification’, because the justification for starting the project needs to be recorded in some form of a business case.
Correct. For all projects, PRINCE2 requires a justifiable reason for starting the project, which must be recorded. The format and formality of documentation may vary, depending on organizational standards, needs and circumstances. Ref 3.1
During the initiation stage, the Vice President stated that attendance at launch events held on Monday evenings is low, and on previous projects this had resulted in lower album sales. As a result, the launch event for this album will be held later in the week.
Which principle is being applied, and why?
Learn from experience’, because project teams should learn from what occurred on similar projects.
Correct. When starting a project, previous or similar projects should be reviewed to see if lessons can be applied. It is the responsibility of everyone involved with the project to look for lessons rather than wait for someone else to provide them. The project manager should communicate with the events coordinator to find out more about the timing of the previous event. Ref 3.2
Towards the end of stage 2, the project manager realized that not all of the ‘recorded sample songs’ would be completed before the end of the stage. The project manager decided to move the remaining work to stage 3. This enabled the project manager to report that stage 2 was completed within time tolerance.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘manage by stages’ principle, and why?
No, because the project board should assess project viability on completion of work planned for stage 2.
Correct. Application of the ‘manage by stages’ principle provides review and decision points for the project board at defined intervals, rather than letting the project run on in an uncontrolled way. This is why the planned work that remains in stage 2 cannot be moved to stage 3, without the approval of an exception. Ref 3.4
The executive has appointed the company’s finance manager to provide business assurance, to monitor whether the album sales will exceed the production costs as the project progresses through each stage.
How well does this apply the ‘manage by exception’ principle, and why?
It applies it well, because the executive needs to be confident that controls and tolerances are being implemented effectively.
Correct. As part of the ‘manage by exception’ principle, an assurance mechanism should be put in place so that each management layer can be confident that controls are effective. Ref 3.5
During the ‘initiating a project’ process, it was decided that the sound quality of the album should be the same, regardless of the delivery channel used. At the beginning of stage 4, the project manager agrees this requirement with the team manager responsible for delivering the album to the different channels.
Which principle is being applied, and why?
Focus on products’, because the work done will contribute to the products being delivered to the required standards.
Correct. Ensuring that the work package includes the equirements for the product(s) to be delivered is an application of the ‘focus on products’ principle. This helps to ensure that the team only carries out work that directly contributes to the delivery of the desired product(s). Ref 3.6
During stage 3, the Music Album Project board consists of the Vice President as the executive and senior user, with no senior supplier.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘defined roles and responsibilities’ principle, and why?
No, because the Vice President cannot judge if the project can be feasibly delivered by all supply streams.
Correct. The Vice President cannot represent all suppliers, especially as some are from third-party organizations. All three stakeholder interests must be represented - two out of three stakeholder interests are not enough. Ref 3.3
The work package to create the ‘artwork’ will commence in stage 3. The graphic design company uses their own development method to deliver products. They have appointed their Graphic Designer as the team manager to complete this work package. The project manager will review the appointment at the end of the stage.
Which principle is being applied by the review, and why?
Manage by stages’, because the project manager reviews the contents of the project initiation documentation when planning stage 4.
Correct. Applying the ‘manage by stages’ principle ensures that key decisions are made prior to the detailed work needed to implement them. For that reason, the project manager reviews the components of the project initiation documentation as part of planning the next stage. Ref 3.4, 19.4.1, A.20.2
The project is in the initiation stage. The Vice President requests that management products be produced in the form of slides, to be presented at project board meetings. This is in line with company policy.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘tailor to suit the project’ principle, and why?
Yes, because the controls applied need to be appropriate to the organization’s governance.
Correct. This is a correct application of the ‘tailor to suit the project’ principle. The purpose of tailoring is to ensure that the project controls are appropriate to the project’s scale, complexity, importance, team capability and risk. Ref 3.7
The record company’s finance director has asked the executive to ensure that work packages agreed with team managers are signed off by the project board before the team starts the work.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘manage by stages’ principle?
No, because the project manager should have authority to manage the project on a day-to-day basis.
Correct. The ‘manage by stages’ principle requires that the project board delegates the authority for day-to-day control of a management stage, within agreed tolerances, to the project manager. Requiring the project board to sign off work packages before the project board starts work breaches this principle. Ref 3.4
At the end of stage 2, the risk that production costs could exceed the sales for the music album is estimated to be high, as all of the cost tolerance for stage 2 has been used. As a result, the project manager has defined tight cost and time tolerances for the work packages to produce the ‘artwork’ and record the album during stage 3.
Which principle is being applied, and why?
Manage by exception’, because the level of control retained by the project manager must match the tolerance available.
Correct. Applying the ‘manage by exception’ principle enables appropriate governance by defining distinct responsibilities for directing, managing and delivering the project and clearly defining accountability at each level. This is achieved by delegating authority from one management level to the next by setting tolerances for the respective level of the plan. Ref 3.5
The Graphic Designer appointed by the external agency is the team manager responsible for creation of the ‘artwork’. Before assigning a work package to the Graphic Designer, the project manager ensured that the ‘artwork’ product description attached to the work package had measurable and prioritized features defined in it.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘focus on products’ principle, and why?
Yes, because it reduces disputes during handover, by agreeing what will be delivered.
Correct. Applying the ‘focus on products’ principle helps a PRINCE2 project to be more product/output-oriented rather than work-oriented. An output-oriented project is one that agrees and defines the project’s products prior to undertaking the activities required to produce them, thus reducing the risk of user dissatisfaction and acceptance disputes. Ref 3.6
The Music Album Project team has identified that another department within the company is producing a similar album of the same type of music. As it is only a small company, it cannot resource two similar album projects.
Which principle should have been applied more effectively to avoid this situation, and why?
Continued business justification’, because linking projects to the organizational objectives ensures benefits are aligned to strategy.
Correct. Organizations that lack rigour in business justification may find that projects proceed even where there are few real benefits or where a project has only tentative associations with corporate, programme or customer strategy. Poor alignment with corporate, programme or customer strategies can also result in organizations having a portfolio of projects that have mutually inconsistent or duplicated objectives. Ref 3.1
It was found that one of the songs approved for the album had quality issues even though a quality inspection was carried out. It was therefore decided that a further objective check of recording quality should be conducted by the studio for the songs that are yet to be approved.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘learn from experience’ principle, and why?
Yes, because lessons should be learnt and applied during a project.
Correct. In this situation, the project team are learning from an experience within the project. Lessons should be sought and learning applied throughout the project lifecycle, as well as being sought and passed on at the beginning and closure of a project. Ref 3.2
“Use the ‘Additional Information’ in the Scenario Booklet to answer this question.
The project’s products are being delivered by both external suppliers and record company staff. A member of the recording studio staff has been appointed as a senior supplier on the project board. It has also been decided that the Vice President of the record company, who is the executive for the project, will also be a senior supplier, representing the record company.”
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘defined roles and responsibilities’ principle, and why?
Yes, because the Vice President should be able to represent both the business and supplier interests.
Correct. One person can carry out more than one role, as long as that person has the capacity to undertake the combined responsibilities and there is no conflict of interest. In this situation it may be necessary to have two or more senior suppliers to represent different supplier stakeholders. The Vice President can carry out the role of executive and represent the record company, which is supplying some of the products itself. Ref 7.2.1.10, 7.2.1.4
The project manager has been recruited from a large, multi-national record company. To reduce the time spent on the initiation stage, the project manager decided to use PRINCE2 management approaches from projects at the previous company.
Is this appropriate, and why?
No, because the previous company’s project management approaches are unlikely to meet the needs of the project
Correct. Unless PRINCE2 is tailored to suit the project environment, size, complexity, importance, team capability and risk, it is unlikely that the project management effort and approach would be appropriate for the needs of the project. Using PRINCE2 approaches from a large multi-national record company are unlikely to be appropriate. Ref 3.7
