Analysis of PRINCE2 Methodology for Project Management Success

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the PRINCE2 methodology for project management. It begins with an introduction to project management and then delves into the specifics of PRINCE2, including its seven stages, principles, and themes. The report identifies key issues affecting the usefulness of project management methodologies, such as undefined scope, project risks, poor communication, inadequate stakeholder engagement, inability to control cost-efficiency, and poor planning. It then explores how PRINCE2 addresses these issues through its standardized processes, risk management guidelines, stakeholder focus, and emphasis on planning. The report concludes by recommending PRINCE2 and highlighting its potential for improving project outcomes while acknowledging its limitations in terms of flexibility and scalability, suggesting the inclusion of more adaptive features. The report includes references to support its analysis.

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PRINCE2 Methodology

PRINCE2 Methodology for Project Management
Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
PRINCE2 Methodology........................................................................................................................2
Issues Affecting Usefulness of Project Management Methodologies & Project Deliveries...................3
Undefined Scope Statement & Goals.................................................................................................3
Project Risks & Uncertainties............................................................................................................3
Poor Communication.........................................................................................................................3
Inadequate Stakeholder Engagement.................................................................................................4
Inability to Control Cost-Efficiency..................................................................................................4
Poor Planning & Decision-Making....................................................................................................5
Resolution of Issues – Existing/Recommended PRINCE2 Features......................................................5
Recommendation & Conclusion............................................................................................................6
References.............................................................................................................................................7
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PRINCE2 Methodology for Project Management
Introduction
Project Management is a discipline that allows the project managers, administration, leaders,
and resources to effectively carry out the project activities to achieve project success. There
are different standards and methodologies defined to execute and implement project
management in the business organizations, such as Projects in Controlled Environment
(PRINCE2), Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK), Agile Project
Management, etc. These standards are applied as per the project categories and requirements
taken up by the business firms.
There are certain issues and problems that may come up in the implementation and utilization
of the project management standards that may make it difficult to gain the maximum benefits
out of the methodologies applied.
PRINCE2 Methodology
One of the most popular and widely used project management methodologies is Projects in
Controlled Environment (PRINCE2).
Stages in PRINCE2
There are seven stages involved in PRINCE2 as project start-up, initiating, directing,
controlling, managing project delivery, and closing a stage.
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PRINCE2 Methodology for Project Management
The methodology is based on seven principles as continued business justification, learning
from experience, defining roles and responsibilities, manage by stages, manage by exception,
focus on products, and tailor to suit the project environment. There are also seven themes that
regulate the project management guidelines suggested by PRINCE2. These include business
case, organization, quality, plans, risk, change, and progress (Pawar, 2017).
Issues Affecting Usefulness of Project Management Methodologies & Project Deliveries
Undefined Scope Statement & Goals
The scope of the projects refers to the set of the activities that will be covered by the project
resources during the project timeline. Out of the scope activities are also included in the
project scope statement to ensure that the clarity is maintained for the project resources and
for the client. A clear definition of project scope statement, project goals, and objectives
provide the project team with the capability to determine the project schedule, effort, and
costs adequately. Also, the flow of the project activities can be estimated easily to avoid any
major risks in the advanced stages.
It is often witnessed that some of the project lack clear definition of the project scope and
goals. The project management methodologies, such as PRINCE2 and others have the
mechanisms to handle these situations up to a certain point. However, scope creep may
become difficult or impossible to control in advanced project stages and may result in a lot of
re-work.
Project Risks & Uncertainties
There are several risks and uncertainties that may come up during the project execution and
other phases. These risks may be associated with the technical or operational aspects or may
be in the form of security attacks, legal obligations, ethical issues, resource risks, market
risks, environmental issues, and others. The occurrence of such risks and uncertainties may
adversely impact the project progress and continuity (Gloria Junior and Chaves, 2017).
The risks with higher impact and probability may become difficult to control and prevent by
PRINCE2 and the accountability of the consequences will come on the management and
administration. Such scenarios may disturb the project deliveries and success as well.
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PRINCE2 Methodology for Project Management
Poor Communication
Communication is the key for successful project. However, it is often observed that the
projects lack effective communication channels, especially with the external stakeholders and
remote resources. The lack of adequate communication leads to emergence of ambiguities
among the project resources and may also lead to poor dissatisfaction rates among the client
and other stakeholders.
Most of the project management methodologies promote and support the idea of enhanced
communications in the projects. The communication mechanisms also prove to be successful
in the resolution and handling of the project disputes and conflicts. The continued lack of
communication makes it difficult to handle the resulting outcomes (Zulch, 2014).
Inadequate Stakeholder Engagement
There are internal and external stakeholders associated with every project that contributes to
the project success and ability to achieve the goals. These stakeholders have varying degrees
of interest, contribution, and influence levels. However, it is necessary to ensure that the
engagement of these stakeholders is always maintained through the project life cycle (Ward
and Chapman, 2008).
The changing stakeholder expectations, lack of adequate communication, inadequate
transparency and clarity among the stakeholders, and project conflicts and disputes may lead
to drop in the stakeholder engagement. PRINCE2 and other project management
methodologies have an essential requirement of suggesting the mechanisms to efficiently
manage the project stakeholder and maintain their engagement in the projects.
Inability to Control Cost-Efficiency
Cost-savings and cost-efficiency is desired by every business organization and the strategic
project planning and management includes cost-efficiency as one of the core goals. There are
various costs that are associated with every project, such as cost of project resources,
execution and implementation costs, maintenance costs, cost of trainings, and likewise.
The increased frequency of project risks and other project situations, such as negotiation
issues with the suppliers, change in policies and regulations, inflation, interest rates, foreign
exchange rates etc. may make it troublesome to maintain the cost-effectiveness in the
projects.
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PRINCE2 Methodology for Project Management
The management methodologies may also find it challenging to deal with such factors that
may disturb the maintenance of cost-effectiveness.
Poor Planning & Decision-Making
Planning is the most significant activities that shall be carried out in all the projects
irrespective of their size, type, or requirement. There are projects in which the project
management and resources do not pay due attention to planning and estimation activities. As
a result, there may be enhanced issues and conflicts in the advanced stages. The decision-
making and problem-solving activities in the later stages may also have higher complexities
(Cunha, Moura and Vasconcellos, 2016).
The management methodologies shall, therefore, ensure that adequate project planning is
always involved.
Resolution of Issues – Existing/Recommended PRINCE2 Features
Standardisation is one of the most significant parameters of PRINCE2 that defines every
project stage and process. Due to the standardisation of the project tasks and activities, there
are lesser chances of miscommunications during the project timeline. Also, the methodology
includes seven stages, themes, and principles to manage the project activities, and planning is
one of the essential tasks involved in the same. As a result, the issues of poor
communications, planning, and decision-making can be easily avoided and handled
(Vanickova, 2017).
Another core feature of PRINCE2 is its risk management process and guidelines. The
methodology states that the project risks shall be identified in the initial phases and there are
controlling and directing stages that are applied in the projects to manage the risks throughout
the project timeline. The methodology defines the procedure for risks management by
including identification of the risks as the first step. It is then followed by the assessment of
the identified risks, analysis and evaluation, treatment and monitoring of risks, control and
closure tasks. The project risks and uncertainties can be handled through this process
(Lianying, Jing and Xinxing, 2012).
Stakeholders are given a lot of importance in PRINCE2 methodology. Stakeholder
assessment and mapping is one of the key activities suggested by the methodology so that the
engagement and satisfaction levels of the internal and external stakeholders are always
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PRINCE2 Methodology for Project Management
maintained. There methodology supports regular reporting and documentation tasks that also
assists in the enhancement of stakeholder engagement in the projects. The stakeholders are
provided with the project progress and status updates at regular intervals to keep them
involved (Pai, 2010).
The use of standardisation as suggested by the PRINCE2 methodology allows time and cost-
savings in the project. The unnecessary project activities are eliminated to save the effort of
the resources and to ensure optimum utilization of the project resources. There is lesser time
spent on the resources trainings and risk assessment and the activities are carried out in
parallel with the project execution. The methodology in itself is also open-source and does
not come with licensing issues or use of a lot many technical tools that may enhance the costs
for the business organizations.
PRINCE2 is a methodology that is being used and applied globally. There is a lot of
information and documentation that is available in association with this methodology. The
tried and tested nature of the methodology provides the pros and cons that can be easily
evaluated by the manager before deciding to implement the same in the projects. The best
suited project and applications can be identified to gain the maximum out of the PRINCE2
methodology (Jamali and Oveisi, 2016).
Recommendation & Conclusion
PRICNE2 is a project management methodology that is predictive in nature with lesser
flexibility and scalability. There are seven stages involved in PRINCE2 as project start-up,
initiating, directing, controlling, managing project delivery, and closing a stage. There are
seven themes and principles that are also involved. The projects that are taken up by the
business organizations in the current era include varied components and resources. Also,
these projects are subject to frequent changes due to ongoing developments in technology and
transforming nature of the market. The customer specifications and requirements may also
change frequently. It is necessary for the project management and other methodologies to be
adaptive and pro-active in nature to handle all of such changes and transformations. Some of
the methodologies that have been designed on these principles include Agile SCRUM
framework, Extreme Programming (XP), and others (Stare, 2014). PRINCE2 methodology
shall also incorporate features that may enhance its ability to be flexible and scalable for
achieving better results.
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PRINCE2 Methodology for Project Management
References
Cunha, J., Moura, H. and Vasconcellos, F. (2016). Decision-making in Software Project
Management: A Systematic Literature Review. Procedia Computer Science, 100, pp.947-
954.
Gloria Junior, I. and Chaves, M. (2017). Identification and Mitigation of Risks in it Projects:
A Case Study During the Merger Period in the Telecommunications Industry. Revista de
Gestão e Projetos, 08(03), pp.01-17.
Jamali, G. and Oveisi, M. (2016). A Study on Project Management Based on PMBOK and
PRINCE2. Modern Applied Science, 10(6), p.142.
Lianying, Z., Jing, H. and Xinxing, Z. (2012). The Project Management Maturity Model and
Application Based on PRINCE2. Procedia Engineering, 29, pp.3691-3697.
Pai, S. (2010). Project management (PRINCE2) foundation qualification. BMJ, p.c2140.
Pawar, R. (2017). Benefits and Issues in Managing Project by PRINCE2 Methodology.
[online] Ijarcsse.com. Available at:
http://ijarcsse.com/Before_August_2017/docs/papers/Volume_7/3_March2017/V7I3-
0134.pdf [Accessed 31 Mar. 2018].
Stare, A. (2014). Agile Project Management in Product Development Projects. Procedia -
Social and Behavioral Sciences, 119, pp.295-304.
Vanickova, R. (2017). Application of PRINCE2 Project Management Methodology. Studia
Commercialia Bratislavensia, 10(38).
Ward, S. and Chapman, C. (2008). Stakeholders and uncertainty management in projects.
Construction Management and Economics, 26(6), pp.563-577.
Zulch, B. (2014). Communication: The Foundation of Project Management. Procedia
Technology, 16, pp.1000-1009.
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