Lesson 03: Project timeline
- 00:05 - In this lesson, I’m going to give you a complete overview of how actually a PRINCE2 project works from a very high level
- 00:13 - So, what’s a good place to start?
- 00:15 - Well, a good place to start is by asking the question, and then answering it
- 00:20 - How do projects actually start?
- 00:23 - Well, let’s say we have high level management in the company and they will have some ideas for investments to do
- 00:29 - They will select one and they will give it to a person and say
- 00:32 - “Hey, can you start a project for this idea?”
- 00:36 - This is actually an instruction, we can call it a mandate, which we give to a person
- 00:41 - And PRINCE2 calls that person the Executive or Project Executive
- 00:45 - So, they will then try to make sense of this idea and see if it’s good or not
- 00:50 - And this is why before actually the project starts, we have this little phase called the Pre-Project Process
- 00:57 - Now, what do we need to do this? So, to actually check if the idea is good or bad
- 01:04 - Well, perhaps we need multiple skills are required and therefore certain people should be appointed to the project
- 01:12 - Then … this actually then needs to be coordinated and that’s why
- 01:17 - The Executive will actually select a Project Manager to help with this
- 01:22 - The Executive will also need to have access to a user representative and a supplier representative because to help make more reliable decisions
- 01:31 - So, a few people will join the Executive and together they are called the Project Board
- 01:37 - So, it’s a high level on the project
- 01:41 - Then we need to start investigating, okay, this idea to see if it’s worth doing
- 01:47 - So, how can we tell if this idea is worth doing?
- 01:51 - Well, we need to know some information
- 01:53 - We need to know roughly how much money we will need to do the project, how long it will take
- 02:00 - What type of people we need, the skills we need, how we can produce it, how risky it is
- 02:06 - And then our return on investment and so on
- 02:10 - And then we can package all this information into a document that we can call the Project Brief
- 02:16 - Now, as the name suggests, this gives us a brief overview of what we know about the project so far
- 02:23 - So that’s the Project Brief
- 02:25 - Then the Project Manager will actually send this Project Brief to the Project Board
- 02:31 - The Project Board will then check to see does actually the project make sense
- 02:37 - And they may discuss it with other high-level management people as well
- 02:41 - And if the idea is good, then they will give permission to the Project Manager to proceed
- 02:48 - Now, at this point then, we need to get a bit more serious about the project
- 02:53 - Because all we’ve done now is quickly analyse whether it’s a good idea or a bad idea
- 02:58 - For example, we don’t rush into creating a building immediately
- 03:03 - We need to take our time to actually think about it and plan our work first
- 03:09 - And this is why PRINCE2 has a planning stage that comes right after the pre-project
- 03:17 - And this is called Initiation or the Initiation Stage you can call it
- 03:22 - Now this planning effort has got two main advantages
- 03:26 - One, it will be the foundation for actually what we do in the project
- 03:31 - In that it helps us figure out the best sequence of activities and how to evaluate our progress during the project
- 03:41 - And the other, it helps us to examine the justification of the project again
- 03:48 - With more precise information because we have taken some time to break the project down more
- 03:54 - So we have more information about the project
- 03:57 - However, there’s something important here
- 04:00 - Now, normally in a PRINCE2 project, we don’t want to create a fully detailed plan upfront
- 04:06 - Because we usually cannot plan that far in detail
- 04:10 - We don’t have a crystal ball
- 04:13 - So, instead what do we do?
- 04:15 - Well, we create a high-level plan in the Initiation Stage
- 04:20 - And later on, we can add detail to that plan one stage at a time
- 04:27 - So, at the end of this stage, we will have a high-level plan
- 04:31 - And more reliable information about the justification of the project
- 04:37 - Now all of this information is packaged together into one document
- 04:42 - And this is called the Project Initiation Documentation
- 04:46 - So, it’s a document that brings together all the initiation information. That’s where the name comes from
- 04:54 - Do you remember the name of the package that we built at the end of the pre-project?
- 05:00 - Yeah, that was the Project Brief, which is very brief, but this will be a lot more detailed
- 05:06 - So, like before then, the Project Manager will send this information to the Project Board
- 05:12 - And ask them if they can continue with the project
- 05:16 - So, what will the Project Board do then?
- 05:18 - Well, of course, it will check the justification of the project
- 05:22 - Probably have a talk with more high-level managers and if the project still makes sense
- 05:27 - Then they will approve the project
- 05:30 - Now so far, we’ve talked about two partitions of the project
- 05:36 - The first one was the pre-project area and the second one, which is a stage which we called initiation
- 05:45 - So, how about the rest of the project?
- 05:49 - Well, the PRINCE2 approach is to break the project down into multiple stages
- 05:55 - And stages then will come one after the other and each one can focus on a subset of the work
- 06:02 - And each stage can be, let’s say, one to three months
- 06:06 - That makes it much easier to focus for the project and to manage the project as well
- 06:13 - Now do you remember that we normally don’t plan the whole project in detail?
- 06:18 - What we create in the Initiation Stage is something very high level, a high-level plan
- 06:24 - And then we create a relatively detailed plan for each stage before it starts
- 06:31 - So, we don’t count the pre-project as a stage and start numbering from there
- 06:36 - So, the initiation part is always the first stage and that’s why we call it the Initiation Stage
- 06:43 - And then we have more stages after that which will produce the output of the project
- 06:50 - Something else here we must do towards the end of the Initiation Stage
- 06:55 - Is to prepare a stage plan for the next stage, which is actually stage 2
- 07:01 - And this will be a relatively detailed plan because it’s just focused on that stage
- 07:08 - Now let’s say we’re actually in stage 2. What should happen here?
- 07:13 - Well, we go through the stage based on the stage plan
- 07:17 - So, we use the stage plan as a guide of what we should do in the project
- 07:22 - The Project Manager will then take contact with a team manager or more team managers
- 07:26 - To arrange the work and then monitor the work, so they’ll hand out work
- 07:32 - Then the team manager should keep their Project Manager up-to-date on their progress
- 07:36 - And the Project Manager then uses this information to check the status of the stage and the whole project
- 07:44 - If there’s any deviation like any problem, they will try to find a way to fix it to keep the stage on track
- 07:51 - And besides that, they also report the stage status to the Project Board
- 07:57 - Now the Project Manager should do this continuously
- 08:02 - And they should also look out for issues and risks, and when they find one
- 08:08 - First of all, they should add it to their relevant documents
- 08:11 - And then go through a process to react to them, so to deal with them
- 08:16 - Now if they come across an issue and the impact is low
- 08:19 - Then the lower team members in the project will decide how to react to that
- 08:26 - But if it’s a big issue, then this will be escalated to the Project Board because they will need to decide
- 08:33 - Okay, so the project goes on like this and when we approach the end of the stage, we do something special
- 08:41 - Can you guess what that is?
- 08:45 - Yes, you did
- 08:47 - We create a stage plan for the next stage
- 08:50 - And besides that, we also need to update the necessary documents, so based on what’s happened during this stage
- 08:58 - As we have a better forecast of time, cost and other variables in the project
- 09:04 - Now do you remember the name of the package that contains most of these documents?
- 09:09 - The one we put together at the end of the Initiation Stage?
- 09:13 - Yes, it’s the Project Initiation Documentation
- 09:17 - So, as usual, we send these updated documents to the Project Board and ask them
- 09:24 - “Hey, can we continue to the next stage?”
- 09:28 - And they will check it again, of course, and if everything is okay
- 09:31 - They will give the Project Manager permission to continue or to proceed with the next stage
- 09:39 - Alright, so you got the hang of it now
- 09:42 - We go through one stage at a time until one of two things happen
- 09:48 - I think you can guess
- 09:50 - One is that we’re done with everything we wanted to do in the project, so we’re ready to end the project
- 09:57 - And the other is to do with a checkpoint
- 10:00 - So, the Project Board realises during the project that the justification is not there anymore
- 10:08 - And it tells the Project Manager to end the project, okay, or to prepare the project for closure
- 10:14 - So, in both cases, there’s a closing process we need to go through
- 10:19 - Now, closing is not a separate stage
- 10:22 - It’s always the last part of the last stage, that’s a good way to consider it
- 10:27 - And to close a project actually what do we do?
- 10:30 - Well, we tie up loose ends
- 10:32 - We hand over the output to the customer, archive the documents, release the team and so on
- 10:39 - And the Project Manager is responsible for doing most of these things
- 10:44 - That’s why we say the Project Manager prepares the project for closure
- 10:48 - And then when everything is ready, we will ask the Project Board for permission to close the project
- 10:54 - So, it’s the Project Board actually, final decision is to close the project
- 10:59 - Now what happens after the project?
- 11:03 - Well, that actually depends on the project’s outputs
- 11:06 - But the project’s organisation will not exist anymore
- 11:09 - Because those people have moved on to other projects or gone back to their normal jobs
- 11:15 - But for the part of the project, in many cases, the responsibility is handed over to a maintenance team
- 11:24 - That’s the case, let’s say, in IT projects, process plant projects and so on
- 11:31 - Now, imagine that this product has been in use for a long time
- 11:36 - And the maintenance team are supporting this product and dealing with minor changes of that product
- 11:43 - Now what happens if the owner of the product wants to make a big serious change to the product?
- 11:51 - Well, then they will probably define a new project to do that
- 11:57 - And now you can see that projects are not only about creating something new that didn’t exist before
- 12:04 - But also about making major changes to something that exists already
- 12:10 - And that brings us to change and similar concepts
- 12:13 - Which is actually what we deal with in the next lesson
- 12:18 - So, I hope you’ve liked this high-level introduction to PRINCE2
- 12:22 - It’s given you an overview on how PRINCE2 projects work
Quiz
- What is the first role appointed to a project?
- What role is first appointed by the project executive to assist with the pre-project activities?
- What are some good questions to ask about a new project to see if the project is worth doing?
- Which document provides a brief overview of the project at the end of the pre-project phase?
- Who decides to continue to the Initiation Stage or not?
- Is creating a detailed project plan for the whole project in the initiation (planning) stage recommended?
- What is the name of the document created at the end of the initiation stage where we add the information gathered during the initiation stage?
- Why is breaking the project into stages a good idea?
- When is an excellent time to create the stage plans?
- Who hands out work to the team managers?
- What is usually done at the end of each stage in the ‘managing a stage boundary’ process?
- Which role prepares the project for closure and decides to close the project?
- What happens to the products created by the project during the closing a project activities?
- The project executive is appointed by the business level.
- The project executive role appoints the project manager.
- Some good questions are: how much money, how long it takes, what type of people we need, how we can produce it, how risky it is, and what is the expected return on that investment?
- The project brief provides an overview of what we know about the project.
- The project board reviews the ‘project brief’ and checks whether the project makes sense. If the idea seems OK, the project board will permit the project manager to proceed.
- Creating a detailed project plan is not recommended as we usually can’t plan the far future in detail. Instead, it is best to create a high-level project plan for the whole project, and more detail can be added in the following stages.
- This information from the initiation stage is packaged in the “Project Initiation Documentation” (PID).
- Breaking the project into stages makes it easier to focus and manage. Each stage will have a stage plan which details the deliverables to focus on.
- The project should create a relatively detailed plan for each stage before it starts.
- The project manager will contact team managers to arrange and monitor the work in defined packages.
- The project manager will report on the performance of the current state and plan the next stage, as well as update the project plan and business case with time and cost information.
- The project manager prepares for the project closure, and the project board decides to close the project.
- The products created by the project (project output) will be handed over to the customer.
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