PRINCE2 PRINCIPLES

1. Definition of a Project and the Importance
of Projects
A project is a temporary organisation that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products
according to an agreed Business Case.
Characteristics of project works include:
• Change: projects are the means through which change is introduced
• Temporary: they are temporal in nature which means that they should have a defined start and a defined end.
• Cross-functional: projects involve a team of people with different skills working together to introduce change that
will impact others outside the team.
• Every project is unique –different teams, location and customers
• Uncertainty: the features above will introduce threats and opportunities

2. The Importance of Projects
• To maintain current business operations in terms of profitability, service
quality, customer relationships, brand loyalty, productivity, market confidence
etc.
• To transform business operations in order to survive and compete in future

3. Why have a Project Management Method?
• Project Management is the planning, delegating, monitoring and control of
all aspects of the project, and the motivation of those involved to achieve
the project objectives within the expected performance targets for time, cost,
quality, scope, benefits and risks.
• The purpose of project management is to keep quality control over the
specialist work required to create the project’s products. In other words, you
want to ensure that the roofing contractor does not arrive before the walls
are built.

4. What does a Project Manager do?
• The Project Manager monitors how well the work in progress matches the plan.
• What does the Project Manager control?
• Costs
• Timescales
• Quality
• Scope
• Risk
• Benefits

5. PRINCE2
method
addresses
project
management
with four
integrated
elements
The principles
The themes
The processes
Tailoring PRINCE2 to the
project environment

6. The Principles
• The principles are guiding obligations and good practices which determine whether the project is genuinely being managed
utilising PRINCE2. There are seven principles and unless all of them are applied, it is not a PRINCE2 project
• Continued business justification
• Learn from experience
• Defined roles and responsibilities
• Manage by stages
• Manage by exception
• Focus on product
• Tailor to suit the project environment