Projects and Principles

Question 1

what is the project board responsible for

Answer 1

Responsible for overall direction and management of the project. The executive is ultimately accountable for the project

• it consists of an executive, senior user and senior supplier.

Question 2

what is the project manager responsible for

Answer 2

runs the project on a day-to-day basis. Responsible for producing the required product to the required standard in quality.

Question 3

what are team managers responsible for

Answer 3

responsible for delivering the products that the project will create. They can be internal or external to the customers organisation

Question 4

Name the 4 elements that are integrated together in Prince2 project management

Answer 4

• Principles
• Themes
• Processes
• The project environment

note there are 7 each of the principles, themes and processes

Question 5

What makes a project a Prince2 project

Answer 5

To be considered as a PRINCE2 project the project must be able to demonstrate that it is:

• Applying all the PRINCE2 principles
• Meeting the minimum requirements set out in the PRINCE2 themes
• Using processes that satisfy the purpose and objectives of the PRINCE2 processes
• Using the recommended techniques suggested by the method or other equivalent techniques

Question 6

what does BAU mean

Answer 6

BAU = business as usual. These are the current business operations.

*note: BAU is different from projects because projects:
- introduce change (BAU remains the same)
- they are temporary (BAU is ongoing)
- They are cross functional (BAU tends to use the same skill set)
- Unique (BAU uses the same repetitive operation)
- Carry risk (BAU tries to eliminate risks)

Question 7

what is the definition of a project

Answer 7

a temporary organization that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to an agreed business case

Question 8

What are the 6 aspects of performance that need to be managed in a project

Answer 8

• Scope: everything we are going to buy or build, and all the work involved in doing it.
• Quality: the standards which the delivered scope must meet to be fit for purpose
• Risk: the things that might not go exactly to plan. Risks that happen can have negative consequences, which we call threats, or positive outcomes which we call opportunities
• Cost: the project’s budget
• Time: the duration of the project
• Benefits: the measurable improvement within BAU because of the project

Question 9

Describe the customer / supplier environment

Answer 9

This is when you have:
A customer: who will specify the desired results

AND

A supplier: who will provide the resources and skills to deliver that result to the customer

note: customers can also be called: corporate or programme management. They are the organisation that commission the project and provide the project’s mandate. They are responsible for governing the project and realising the project’s benefits. Sometimes it is not just a simple customer/supplier relationship, there may be a hierarchy of multiple suppliers due to several contracts/subcontracts in a project

Question 10

what is a project mandate

Answer 10

The trigger to start a new project. This can vary from a verbal instruction to a well-defined and justified project definition.
- This happens in the “pre - project” stage.

it is provided by the commissioning organization (corporate, programme
management or the customer)

Question 11

what is the definition of a programme

Answer 11

a group of related projects which deliver outcomes and benefits related to the organization’s strategy

Question 12

What is the Project initiation documentation (PID)

Answer 12

a document which defines the project, in order to form the basis for its management and
an assessment of its overall success. It gives the direction and scope of the project

• The project board review this to decide on whether to authorise the project

Question 13

Explain the Prince2 principle of: continued business justification

Answer 13

To start a project, you need a suitable business case (document with the justification for starting the project and any anticipated benefits / risks). If the business case becomes invalid, the project should be stopped.

Question 14

What is a business case

Answer 14

A business case documents the justification of undertaking a project based on the estimated costs against the anticipated benefits and risks. It should outline how and when the anticipated benefits can be measured.

note: most benefits of a project are usually seen after a project has finished

Question 15

Explain the Prince2 principle of: Learn from experience

Answer 15

We should record what went well and what didn’t go well from previous projects to use as lessons. These can be applied to new projects

• This is everyone in the team’s responsibility

Question 16

Explain the Prince2 principle of: Defined roles and responsibilities

Answer 16

projects have teams with cross functional skills so everyone must know what is expected of them.

All these groups and individuals involved in a project are known as stakeholders

Question 17

What is the definition of a stakeholder

Answer 17

Stakeholders are those who have an interest in the project, are affected by it, or can affect the project.

• This includes an groups or individuals involved in the carrying out the project (e.g members of the project team)

Question 18

Explain the Prince2 principle of: Manage by stages

Answer 18

Projects are broken down into discrete sequential sections known as management stages.

• team members execute assigned work packages (tasks that will deliver one or more products) throughout the project.

Question 19

Explain the Prince2 principle of: Manage by exception

Answer 19

Authority to work within specified limits is delegated through the project team structure. These limits are known as tolerance.

If the project is running in the defined tolerances there is no need for regular update meetings.

Question 20

Explain the Prince2 principle of: Focus on products (also known as outputs or deliverables)

Answer 20

Doing this ensures the project only undertakes work that directly contributes to the delivery of a product, helps manage uncontrolled change or “scope creep”.

Focusing on products also reduces risk of user complaints and acceptance disputes by clearly establishing what will be delivered at the start of a project.

Question 21

Explain the Prince2 principle of: Tailor to suit the project

Answer 21

It is making sure that the method and it’s use is appropriate for the size of the project and the project controls are appropriate to the project’s complexity, importance, team capability and risk.

The things that can be tailored in a project are: processes, themes, roles, product descriptions and terminology.

Question 22

Which aspects of a project be tailored

Answer 22

The things that can be tailored in a project are: processes, themes, roles, product descriptions and terminology.

Question 23

Who is responsible for tailoring a project and how can tailoring decisions be documented

Answer 23

It is the Project Manager’s responsibility to identify and document the level of tailoring for the project and make sure this is documented
in the PID (project initiation document)

note: Project assurance and project support can provide ADVICE on tailoring

Question 24

What are the tolerances that can be set for each aspect of performance in a project

Answer 24

• Cost: the allowable range to underspend or overspend compared to the budget
• Time: The amount of time either side of the target date within which the project
• Scope: The allowable variation in a projects outputs, for example differentiating between mandatory and desirable output
• Risk: The limits on the plan’s aggregated risk for example less than 10% of the project budget
• Benefits: The degree to which it is allowable to under or over deliver the benefits

Question 25

What is a ‘principle” in Prince2

Answer 25

a Principle is a core value that must always exist in a PRINCE2 project.

Think of it as a guide for good practice

Question 26

what is the purpose of a checkpoint report

Answer 26

to report, at a frequency defined in the work package, the status of the work package

Question 27

what is the purpose of a highlight report

Answer 27

to provide the Project
Board (and possibly other stakeholders) with a
summary of the management stage status at intervals defined by them

• it is used to monitor project progress by the Project Board and also allows the Project Manager to advise the Project Board of any potential problems or areas where the Project Board could help

Question 28

what happens in the final stage of a project

Answer 28

• time to decommission the project (this is part of the process of closing a project)
• The Project Board needs to be satisfied that the recipients of the project’s products are in a
  position to own and use them on an ongoing basis
• the project should be assessed for performance against its original plan (PID)