Manage Projects - Choose a Sub-Process
These shortcuts will help you to navigate this page
introduction keep it simple establish direct execute contract execute plan more work close
Introductiontop
When a Proposal has been accepted and a Customer Contract or an End-User Agreement has been signed, the Bidding is over, and a Project will be launched. The work to be done may be internal or for a Customer, but the Bid will have produced the basis for the Project, including a Project Mandate, a Project Brief, a Business Case and a draft Project Initiation Document. Now it is time formally to set up the Project, to create the framework for managing and doing the work, and so to ensure that all the Project's objectives are met.
Keep it Simpletop
If you are new to project management (and even if you are not), this Core Process may seem to be complicated. It is comprehensive (rather then complicated), providing a coherent framework of the simple and practical disciplines that PRINCE2TM defines, to help you keep your Project on course to a successful outome. To use it effectively, each Process Step must be applied in a way that matches the scale of the Project to be managed. There is no need for a small project which has little risk to produce extensive and detailed plans and reports, informal notes and records will usually be sufficient. On the other hand to keep control of a large and/or risky project a more formal approach is vital.
Establish a Projecttop
This Sub-process is where Manage Projects starts. To launch the Project, the successful Bid Manager will have briefed the designated Project Executive, and handed over the Bid File, and the Provisional Project Materials (including the Project Mandate, the Project Brief and the draft Project Plan).
The senior members of the Project Management Team will be appointed formally. From the drafts in the Bid File, a Project Initiation Document, a Quality Plan, and the Plan for the first Phase will be produced and submitted for Authorisation. The assignment of the initial Resources including effort, accomodation and technical facilities will be confirmed, and the Team Members will be mobilised. Project kickoff meeting(s) will be held to brief the Teams.
Direct a Projecttop
The centre of a well-managed Project is the person, or the group of people, who have overall authority. This is the main role of the Project Executive and the other members of the Project Board. They are responsible for authorising their Project's expenditure, reviewing its viability, and agreeing Changes to the basis on which it was set up.
In addition to their formal role, the members of the Project Board will be a valuable source of experience and advice. They will play a continuing and essential role in guiding, advising, and supporting the Project Manager, from the start to the finish of the Project.
Execute the Contracttop
A Project will always have commercial and "political" features. The key ones will be what the Project is to achieve commercially: for the End User or the Customer, and for your organisation. The criteria for success will be defined in the Project's Business Case, in the Proposal, and particularly in the Contract with the Customer (or the agreement with the End User).
Ensuring that these criteria are met is a key responsibility of the Project Manager. He/she will need to be fully aware of the criteria, and will be expected to provide clear and accurate commercial feedback, ensure that the work is done properly, and that the necessary formal steps (e.g. Acceptance) are taken, to confirm and record that the Contract has been fulfilled. This Sub-process covers planning for this, taking the actions needed to achieve it, and keeping proper records (in the Project Control Folders) to show it has been done.
Execute a Plantop
At the heart of the day-to-day routine of a Project is the delegation, execution, tracking and return, of the lowest-level units of work for each Phase or Stage. The information about each unit of work will be consolidated, one level at a time, to produce the reports used by the Project Manager to manage the work, and to prepare his/her reports for the Project Management Team.
This Subprocess also sees the preparation for Approval and Acceptance of the item(s) the work unit has produced.
Prepare for More Worktop
Once a Project has been established, this Sub-process will be used to plan all subsequent Phases (or Stages - see "NOTE" below), to report the Project's status and prospects to the Project Board, and to recommend what should happen next. This might include moving on to the next Phase, replanning the current Phase, or even ending the Project prematurely. The Process Map for Manage Projects shows the continuing interaction between this Sub-process and Execute a Plan, as new or amended Phase Plans are produced and Authorised.
NOTE:
The word "Stage" is used instead of "Phase" in the case of Projects run formally according to the rules of PRINCE2TM. In this case only one Stage can be active at a time, and at the end of each Stage, the Project Board must review the Project Manager's report, the plan for the next Stage and his/her recommendations on the Project's progress and prospects. Only if the members of the Project Board are satisfied with the report and recommendations, will they authorise the start of work on the next Stage.
Close a Projecttop
As a Project is winding down, a final tidy up will be needed. Completeness of the delivery will be checked, End User or Customer Acceptance formalities will be completed, and outstanding invoices will be produced and sent. The last reports will be prepared and submitted, and the remaining Resources will be demobilised. The Project Control Folders (e.g. the accounts) will be marked as "closing". A review of the completed Project will be scheduled, and all the Project Files will be archived.