Pure PRINCE2 - Planning theme Flashcards
What is the aim of the Planning theme
Facilitates communication & control by defining the means of project delivery.
What is the Planning Horizon?
Length of time in the future that is set out in a detailed plan
What is a Plan?
A statement of how and when objectives will be achieved, including major products, activities and resources. It enables and aids the realisation of the project BC.
All plans have the same structure. It is the level of detail and scope that varies.
What are the seven requirements in PRINCE2 relating to the Planning theme?
- The whole project must have a rough plan and each stage a detailed plan
- A project must have two stages with detailed plans - the initiation and 1 Development stage - plus project delivery and project closure
- Define the roles and responsibilities around planning
- Use planning-related lessons to inform planning
- Use the product-based planning technique
- Produce specific plans for managing expectations
- All plans (project, stage and exception) kept up to date
What planning products are mandatory in PRINCE2?
A project plan and a stage plan.
If a project has only one MDP stage, only need a Project Plan.
What is the Project Plan?
Shows planned costs, outline of management activities, stages, the BC, and timelines. Part of the PID and is mandatory in PRINCE2. Sets a baseline on which to measure CBJ. Created by the PM during IP and approved by the PB
What is a Stage Plan?
Detailed breakdown of the activities, resources, workload and timescales of a particular stage. It is mandatory in PRINCE2. This is only for one stage, so has a shorter planning horizon that the PP.
Produced by the PM and approved by the PB close to the start of the planned stage (and always before the start) - it should take the performance of the previous stage into account.
The project progress should never proceed beyond the planning horizon of a stage plan. In shorter projects, the SP may be merged with the PP.
What is a Team Plan?
Produced by the TM to facilitate day-tp-day execution of a work package. Optional in PRINCE2 - depends on the resources available. Produced at the same time as the SP.
What is an Exception Plan?
Not scheduled, but rather triggered by a deviation from the plan or breach of tolerances. Shows actions required to recover from a realised risk (issue or opportunity) or tolerance breach. May be prepared in advance (just in case) or after the event. Prepared by the appropriate management level according to the triggering event (more serious the issue = higher the involvement in plan formation). Once approved, it replaces the highest level of plan that has been breached and becomes the new plan / baseline to measure CBJ . It should be as detailed as the plan it replaces.
What is a Work Package?
Information detailing the management and production activities of a set planning horizon - everything the TM or delegated authority needs to know to effectively run the project. It allows the PM to delegate authority of running a project to a TM or other elected authority. It’s planning horizon is shorter than the project or possible stage plan. These are optional in PRINCE2.
What is the Plan Relationship?
Document that outlines the different plans, who is responsible for each, their function, who they are for, and when they should be created and implemented.
This relationship must be documented and readily available.
How should the plan be created?
All project plans must follow one template - this allows different teams & companies to cooperate
The PM is responsible for creating each plan, except the TP which the TM is responsible for. Both can liaise with the assistance from the PS if needed.
All project plans must be approved by the PB and be in line with the BC.
What is a Product Breakdown Structure (PBS)?
This is a PM methodology that involves breaking the deliverables outlined in the PPD into more manageable workloads - in Agile, these are called Epics.
What is a Product Flow Diagram (PFD)?
The Product Flow Diagram (PFD) shows dependencies and development sequence of the products / workloads.
What are the key responsibilities of the Planning theme?
- PE - approves PP and SP’s and commits resources
- SU/SS - ensures plan is consistent with their party’s expectations & commits relevant resources
- PM - Designs and prepares PP, SP, EP’s and WP’s.
- PA - monitors the plans for deviation beyond the tolerances and risks to the BC
- TM - prepares the team plans and WP’s
