Lesson 03: Delivering the Product
We’ve planned the project and we’re ready to start building the product. Let’s see how it works.
Based on AXELOS PRINCE2® material. Reproduced under licence from AXELOS. All rights reserved.
Note: PRINCE2 2017 edition is now called PRINCE2 6th edition.
- 00:07 – Delivering the Products
- 00:09 – Delivering the Products will cover how products are delivered
- 00:12 – So how requirements documents are handed out to the teams and products created
- 00:19 – We just finished with the IP process
- 00:21 – So the last decision, the Project Board authorized the stage
- 00:26 – And this was their third decision
- 00:28 – The Project Manager is now ready to start the first delivery stage
- 00:33 – So I use the name delivery stage as user products will be delivered here
- 00:38 – The Project Manager will use a Stage Plan as this is the day-to-day plan for the stage
- 00:45 – The Stage Plan lists all the stage deliverables and the expected delivery dates
- 00:51 – So the Project Manager will hand out work to the teams, so they hand out product descriptions, the requirements documents
- 00:58 – And there should be no surprises for the team manager as the team managers should have helped, or probably did help, with the requirements documents
- 01:09 – Actually, the Project Manager hands out work packages, which are packages of work
- 01:15 – So, what’s in a work package?
- 01:17 – Well, they contain one or more product descriptions with other information
- 01:23 – The team managers then receive these work packages and the Project Manager checks to make sure that the team manager understands what to do
- 01:33 – The team members will then start to work to deliver the product as described and this cycle will continue to repeat
- 01:41 – So this is the Managing Product Delivery process, or MP for short
- 01:46 – The Project Manager manages the delivery of the products, and the products are delivered by the teams
- 01:53 – So, MP is a process where the teams work to deliver the products
- 01:58 – And the controlling stage process is where the Project Manager runs each stage
- 02:03 – So, what type of work do you think a Project Manager does in each stage?
- 02:10 – Well, they do things like deal with issues as they arise, deal with change requests, document risks and monitor existing risks
- 02:20 – Check the status of the stage versus the Stage Plan, so how are we doing according to the plan?
- 02:26 – They hand out new work to the teams
- 02:28 – They monitor this work that has been handed out
- 02:31 – They read reports provided by the team manager
- 02:34 – And of course, they send regular reports to the Project Board to let them know how the stage is going
- 02:42 – So these reports from the team manager are called checkpoint reports
- 02:46 – And the frequency of these reports is decided by the Project Manager
- 02:51 – For example, once a week
- 02:53 – This can be a simple one-page report
- 02:56 – And it can even be in the format of an e-mail, a slide, a standup meeting, a Kanban board, and so on
- 03:03 – The team manager can also report issues and risks and the Project Manager will review these with the team manager and add these to the register files
- 03:13 – Some bigger risks and issues may also need to be reported to the Project Board
- 03:19 – So these bigger issues and risks will perhaps bring the stage out of tolerance
- 03:25 – So this is all done continuously during each delivery stage
- 03:29 – The Project Manager hands out work, receives the finished products, monitors the progress and deals with issues and risks as they arise
- 03:38 – When teams are finished creating the products, they are tested and proved
- 03:43 – Then they are handed back to the Project Manager
- 03:46 – The teams then can receive more work from the Project Manager
- 03:51 – So if all the products in this stage are complete or near complete, the Project Manager will start to think about the next delivery stage
- 04:00 – So let me give you a quick overview of the Stage Plan so far
- 04:04 – So, the first Stage Plan was created in the SU process for the Initiation Stage
- 04:12 – The second Stage Plan was created in the IP process for this current stage
- 04:17 – And the third Stage Plan will be created for the next stage
- 04:22 – The Stage Plans are now created in the stage boundary process
- 04:27 – The Project Manager will facilitate the creation of the Stage Plan
- 04:32 – Again, they will get help from the team manager with the product descriptions and estimates in scheduling
- 04:39 – Another output of the stage boundary process is the End Stage Report and this is also created by the Project Manager
- 04:47 – The End Stage Report is mainly a report about the performance of the last stage and usefulness for the next stage
- 04:56 – So there are two main documents created in the stage boundary process
- 05:00 – Again, the next Stage Plan and the End Stage Report
- 05:06 – Two other important documents are also updated in the stage boundary process
- 05:11 – And these are the Project Plan and the Business Case
- 05:15 – So, the Business Case is updated as costs will keep changing
- 05:19 – So, the return on investment calculation must be updated as well
- 05:24 – The senior user may also update the expected benefits as they learn more about the deliverables
- 05:31 – So this also has to be added to the Business Case
- 05:35 – The Project Plan is updated to show the current status, so a mark of what’s being done
- 05:41 – For example, the status of a product will change from to-do to complete and accepted
- 05:48 – I like to refer to the Business Case and the Project Plan as living documents
- 05:54 – The Project Manager is soon ready to ask the Project Board to continue to the next stage
- 05:59 – Again, this can be a yes or no decision by the Project Board
- 06:05 – So, what will the Project Board review to make this decision?
- 06:11 – Well, they will review the Business Case, the End Stage Report, the Project Plan, and of course, the next Stage Plan
- 06:19 – Note, if the Business Case is not good or doesn’t look good, the Project Board can decide to shut down the project
- 06:27 – However, if everything looks okay, then they can allow the next stage to continue
This is fine as far as everything goes well. But, what if we are behind schedule, over budget, etc.?
Quiz
- So far, we’ve talked about 4 decisions made by the Project Board. One at the end of starting up a project, two at the end of initiating, and one at the end of each stage. Can you explain them?
- The Project Manager and Team Manager’s agreement on each piece of work (it’s scope, quality, reporting requirements, etc.) is documented. What is the name of this document?
- What do we do when approaching the end of the stage?
- First the board checked the Project Brief to see if the project is worth initiating. The second decision is based on the output of initiating (PID), when they decide if it’s a good idea to start developing the project. The third decision authorizes the second stage (the first delivery stage), and then we have a similar decision at the end of each stage, when the board checks everything and authorizes the next stage.
- Work Package
- We prepare an End Stage Report and the next Stage Plan, and update the Project Plan, Business Case, and so on. Then these will be provided to the Project Board to make their decision (if it’s a good idea to continue the project).
Here you can submit your questions related to the content of the course. (For other questions, use the support system). The trainer's reply will be email to you in 48 hours.
The first lessons of the course, including this one, are available for free, even without registration.
You can purchase the course to access all lessons, additional material, and coaching:
More info and purchase options