What is Prince?

Question 1

What is the purpose of tailoring Prince?

Answer 1

Appropriate to the project. Appropriate to the project’s scales, complexity , importance, team complexity and risk.

Question 2

What is a project?

Answer 2

A means of introducing change. A project is a temporary organisation created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to an agreed Business Case”

Question 3

What are the characteristics of a project?

Answer 3

Unique
Is temporal in nature
Introduces change
Manages risk
Introduces uncertainty
Cross functional

Question 4

What are the four levels of management?

Answer 4

1. Corporate, Programme Management and client
2. Directing: Project Board
3. Managing: Project Manager
4. Delivering: Team Manager

Question 5

What is project management?

Answer 5

Managing change an organisation needs to implement.
Planning, delegating, monitoring and control
Motivation of all those involved to meet objectives with expected performance targets, cost quality, scope and risk.
Control over specialist work produced.

Question 6

What is the role of senior management?

Answer 6

Most senior level. Accountable for the work they direct. They delegate management of project to PM. Review and approve exceptions. They manage by exception.

Question 7

What level of management sits outside the project management team?

Answer 7

Corporate, Programme Management and client

Question 8

What are project board duties and behaviour?

Answer 8

1. Accountable
2. Provide unified direction
3. Delegate effectively
4. Facilitate cross functional integration
5. Committ resources and funding
6. Ensure effective decision making
7. Support project manager
8. Ensure effective communication

Question 9

What is the role of the project manager?

Answer 9

Plan , delegate, monitor and exert control. Making information available at the right time. to aid decision making- e.g. make corrective action to improve performance.

Question 10

What 6 variables need to be controlled?

Answer 10

Costs, timescales, quality, scope, benefits and risks

Question 11

What are the 7 PRINCE principles?

Answer 11

1. Learn by experience
2. Continued business justification
3. Manage by stages
4. Defined roles and responsibilities
5. Manage by exception
6. Tailored
7. Learning lessons

Question 12

Name two types of delivery approaches?

Answer 12

Waterfall (sequential) and agile (iterative)

Question 13

Name examples of tolerances

Answer 13

time, expense, efficiency, scope, benefits and risk

Question 14

What is the minimum number of stages?

Answer 14

Two (first is initiation)

Question 15

What are the 4 integrated elements?

Answer 15

1. Processes- roadmap, step by step progression, each process has set of recommended responsibilities activities and products
2. Themes: things that must be addressed continually. Provide you with the tools to manage project.
3. Principles: Guiding obligations/good practice.
4. Environment : framework to tailor to the project.

Question 16

What makes a Prince2 project?

Answer 16

Applying principles, satisfy objectives of processes, meeting min requirements set out in themes and using recommended techniques

Question 17

What is the customer/supplier environment?

Answer 17

Customer: specifies result, defines customer quality expectations
Supplier: Provides resources, delivers result, responsible for the supply of specialist products
Programme manager, corporate or customer: commissions the project, provides the mandate, governs project, realises benefits

Question 18

Manage by exception

Answer 18

defines responsibilities for directing, managing and delivering the project
clearly defines accountability (tolerances against the 6 elements of control, when to escalate, assurance methods in place)
establishes a limit for when authority is delegated
defines tolerances for each project objective