Study On Prince2 Project Management Method Information Technology Essay
PRINCE2- Project IN Controlled Environments which is basically describes how the project management method covering the organization, management and controls of the projects. It was first developed by central computer and telecommunications agency (CCTA) in the year 1989 and used as United Kingdom government standard for IT project management. This has emerged both private and public sectors to use widely in there project management. Apart from that it is showed that how prince2 project management have developed the needs of IT projects and as well as how it helped for the development of non- IT projects. Basically whenever we think of developing any project there will be some of the basic questions such as what are we trying to do?, when will we start? , what do we need? , Can we do it alone? Or do we need help? How long will it take? How much will it cost? These are the basic questions discussed before starting any project based on that structured project management is described which means how to manage the project in a logical and organised way. PRINCE2 is a method which describes the various stages used for controlling and monitoring the regular progress of the project. Thus prince2 project is motivated by business case which describes the organizations justification, commitment and fundamental reasons for the projects outcomes. To meet the changes which occur during the life of the project the business case is regularly reviewed in conjunction with the project progress to reach business objectives. Here there are different group of people involved in projects such as customer, suppliers and user, such that prince2 is developed to provide a common language for the development of the project management. Here it is discussed what is the use of using project management methodologies. There are lots of reason behind these, project failures are common they do have lots of reasons such as lack of co-ordination, lack of communications, inadequate planning and poor estimation etc. to overcome all this aspects we do use project management methodologies such that it will helpful in providing a clear idea about project roles such as responsibility, authority and accountability, without a good project management method projects are rarely completed on time and budget. Thus prince uses the principles of good project management methods for achieving successful project. Prince provides benefits to the managers and directors of a project at the same time for the development of the organisation. The basic role of prince2 says that project should have organise and plan things properly before starting and then the role is making sure that the project continues to be organised and controlled and at the end once we have finished the project try to tidy up the loose end of the projects. Prince2 has a series of processes which includes activities needed on a project from starting up to closing down. Here it describes how prince2 plays an important role in organising and controlling a project in which there are various roles such as project manager, customer, user and supplier, project board, project assurance and project support. Apart from describing the different roles involved in prince2 project the others most important method is how to manage risk, how to manage quality, and how to control change on the project. Thus risk and quality management are the two most important issues which effect the development of the project. This will leads to the changes during the project to overcome these aspects prince2 has technique of controlling things which affect the project developing. Prince2 is a method for managing projects; it helps to support for the development of the project apart from that prince2 doesn’t give guarantee for the project successful, for good project to be success on-time and budget it depends on the quality of people involved from project board to individual team members.(JISC InfoNet).
Here it is mainly discussed about the relationship between the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK) and the prince2 project management methodologies. PMBOK is a part of project management which helps for the development of the project management.it is clearly stated that PMBOK is knowledge-based approach whereas PRINCE2 is a process-based approach to project management. The main difference between PMBOK and PRINCE2 is that PMBOK offers information and proven practises in the required fields and invites project manager to apply whereas PRINCE2 offers set of steps which are helpful for project manager and team members to follow, thus they do have some basic similarities such as knowledge areas of the PMBOK and the processes and components of PRINCE2 covers many common topics between them. But both terminology represents best practice in the implementation of project management methodology. The main advantage of using prince2 approach is that it provides standardisation in an organisation, apart from that it has disadvantages too that is potentially restrict creativity in applying new varieties of methods to develop a project in different way it has to follow same step by step process for all projects. Due to which several organisations have recognised that there are benefits in following both PMBOK and PRINCE2 for the development of the project management. It has shown various ways of approach how PMBOK and PRINCE2 have steps to follow for the development of the project.(PMBOK and prince2 PPM ).
In this author wants to describe how project management tools, techniques and methodologies are used in Mauritius based on the survey. Here based on the several reports it has showed that how developing countries faces problems even thou they are developed in various fields. There are mainly two questionnaires analysed one of them is gathering required information for software development for companies/staff another aim is to target users of computer software. Based on the various surveys it has been observed that how western-oriented techniques of project management are how easy to learn and implement at the same time how cross-cultural problems approaches in non-western countries. The basic purpose of this survey is to analyse the situation of software project management in developing countries especially in Mauritius, where report showed that he information gathered from the entire source after analysis revealed that project manager is not comfortable with the methodologies used for the success of the project. For which various research methods adopted. Actually two methods were designed for the data collection activity for a particular period one of which is focused on software development companies/staff for gathering information about respondents awareness regarding commonly used project management methodologies in information technology, also they surveyed on tools and techniques used for the level of success of project within the organisation. Based on that most the response received is by Mauritius in particular compare to other countries. But many top project managers were contacted through phones to fill in the questionnaires but they were unwilling provided substantial information. Another questionnaire was to investigate user satisfaction with respect to software developed and supplied by the software companies in Mauritius, for which they did various surveyed form which they got positive response. At the same time they want to confirm whether software companies are making efforts to ensure the satisfaction of the users. Based on that they have analysed survey results of software developers and companies for which they have given rating to understand how they are helpful for development of project management. here the chart shows the various majority of methodologies have scored less than 50% regarding their awareness among software developers, they are Prince2, Euro method, BS6079, ISO12207 and PMBOK. Among which Prince2 has indicated that the most popular methodology used in Mauritius compare to all other methodologies. Apart from that they have discussed about the task addressed by methodology in use in the organisation such as planning, cost management, quality management, human resource management, communication management, risk management and procurement management each and every task is an important for the development of the organisation in which quality management have 100% role to play compare to other factors. At the same time it has discussed how software development approach, quality management standards, project affected by deadline, budget and failure to meet user satisfaction, In case of client survey results such as quality of software, cause of project failure to meet expected objectives all these factors where considered while dealing with the development of the project management.(Sukhoo A).
In this section author wants to discuss about the central core of understanding what manager has to address in order to manage project successfully. Where strategic, technical and commercial matters where need to analysed for managing project successfully. Here action work is the main task which includes “body of knowledge” need to be recognized and implement for the development of the effective management of projects, getting this action work accepted by manager in project- based industries is one of the major tasks of management professionals.it is stated over here that the existence of project management association since from 1960s and the developments taken place in this professional field showed that the overall impact was limited to project based sectors. There were various discipline actually refers the development of the projects. To understand properly what management as a professional discipline here it is examined four relative sectors they are IT, construction, Defence-aerospace and pharmaceutical drug development projects. The analysis suggests that
The discipline needs to be seen as a comprehensive management body of knowledge and skills.
Covers program and project definition as well as execution – the management of projects
Greater effort needs to be made to promote this discipline within the major project-based industries in particular.
Here author wants to discuss about what is project management? For which the membership of the project management institute (PMI) defined as “guide to the project management body of knowledge” even though accepted by many practitioners they do have serious drawbacks such as not having detailed on project strategy, nothing on project definition etc. for which to overcome all these aspects they use project management essentially as an execution discipline which will helpful for development of the project on time, in budget and to scope. There are many people says that this type of method would help them in the development of the project as separating project execution from project definition and development at the same time for others it is not they includes all the areas for the development of the project such as defining scope, budget, schedule, performance management, project management and strategy for which they have more benefits in developing project when compare to the previous methods. Here it showed that the main difference between projects and non-projects how they are developed using with the help of generic project development cycle which includes concept of the project, definition, development, execution and delivery. Thus, all projects have to go through same sequence whether project is easy or complex. But non-projects do not follow any development cycles sequence they have steady state operations. There were many project management practices available by the early 60s but they were limited to certain situation but the changes in the present socio-economic have changed the environment of the project management to a real challenge. To reflect this change a broader framework had developed which manages the factors that affect the development of project success they are association for project management, covering program management, strategy, technical and commercial matters and traditional PMBOK areas of control and organization. For which it has showed various steps how application project management (APM) works. By applying APM project management body of knowledge it has showed that how the construction industry, information technology projects, defence-aerospace and drug development projects were developed by using the APM project management body of knowledge were step by step process is conducted for the success of the project. At last project management is mainly considered as execution and implementation discipline only but there is a need of also covering project definition and program management.(Morris).
THE IMPACT OF PROJECT MANAGER ON PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLANNING
Here the author basically describes about how project is to completely successfully, what are the steps need to take for implementing project successfully. There are basically two methods included for implementing project successfully they are planning and execution without these measurement we can’t develop a successful project. Once the planning is not done properly it will not allow proper execution and to achieve project targets. The main objective of this report is that how project manager shows the impact on the quality of project planning process and they are effective. This process is basically done with the help of project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) with the help of PMBOK guide a project manager is mainly concerned with nine different knowledge areas which are further are divided into 39 different processes for properly managing, which are mainly grouped in four life cycles phases they are
Initiation
Planning
Execution
Closure
Out of which 21 process are identified by PMBOK which are mainly related for planning. Once project is properly planned then these 21 process need to be properly executed. The main nine knowledge areas described by the author are integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communication, risk and procurement these are the areas which help for the development of proper planning and execution. A field study was conducted to evaluate the involvement of project manager in planning process and in their quality. The main problem in this study was which planning processes were to use and what quality level. For this reason they did an assumption were participants in the study were project managers and other participants came from different project management were different rating was defined from 0 to 5 which defines the quality of major planning process with different PMBOK knowledge areas. At last it is stated that a good project manager has responsibilities to handle both positive and negative impact of project were they need to develop better tools and techniques for the development of the project. (Zwikael, 2002).
THE CASE STUDY
Here the case study mainly conducted on the NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE OF SOUTH WEST YORKSHIRE MENTAL HEALTH TRUST here it has showed that how PRINCE2 covers different types of NHS organisation on a variety of NHS projects which includes service development, organisational change and clinical governance at the same time application of PRINCE2 are not specific to NHS they are utilised beyond the value of NHS. The case study mainly includes series of interviews with NHS staff and different types of NHS organisations which covers PRINCE2 implementations issues and the benefits gained by using this application. To understand this case study they took one task that is Karen Holland- Head of QED was QED stands for Quality, Evaluation and Development at south west Yorkshire mental trust. The work of this department was project based and at 1995 QED department heard about the PRINCE2 until then they won’t know about PRINCE2 they think as “it was floating around and sounded ok”. But when time changes they had come to know the importance of PRINCE2 and they started using it. When it came to implementation of PRINCE2 which included a two-day training course as more people were trained in PRINCE2 they got common understanding “how we can run projects here” which helps managing project easier. Such that by using this method they came to known the project board responsibilities and the identified the different roles which are development and how to fill those roles. After which all new people to organisation has introduced to PRINCE2 and they handled an individual live project were they need to get one to one support from QED and have report back to their mangers on the outcomes of the projects . This helped for the development of local framework standards were QED helps project manager before starting any project the required project initiation document (PID) and how to make suitable for project in hand. When introducing new one to prince2 Karen’s approach them to think of this aspects they are
Expressing their objectives.
To think in terms of deliverables.
Think of benefits to patient.
Making shore creativity and structures are not divided.
Ensuring basics things such as objectives, deliverables, plan, risk management and funding of projects.
PRINCE2 scalability.
It has showed most of the projects undertaken by QED are small and don’t have fill time project manager such as
Trust Staff Opinion Survey
Patient Surveys
Clinical Audits relating to family health issues
Evaluation of Elderly Services
By this case study it is cleared that how PRINCE2 helps for the development of the project management in various ways. (PRINCE2 Case Study, 2003).
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PRINCE2
PRINCE2 PROCESSESS
The PRINCE2 processes are mainly helpful for the development of project management approach. PRINCE2 process models mainly define the objectives of each role processes model which will helpful to manage all types of projects. There are basically eight processes available in PRINCE2 process model, which are linked with each other they do have their part of representation in the development of PRINCE2 project management. They are
Directing a Project (DP)
Directing a project which runs from stating up to the end of closure of the project, which takes overall authority of the project as a decision maker they do have key processes for the project board they are
Authorise initiation(starting project on right foot)
Authorise Projects(checking for resources)
Giving Ad-hoc directions(monitoring, advice, guidance and handling exception situations)
Confirm project closure(checking project outcome)
Starting up a Project (SU)
This is the first process of PRINCE2 which is mainly targeted on the pre-projects process, is the project taken is worthwhile? What to do? Which method to approach? All these questions are handled by the SU before starting of the project. The key processes of SU are
– Required information for project team is to made available
– Appointing a project management team
– Plan Initiation stage
Initiating a Project(IP)
The main objective of initiating a project is check acceptance of the project, which includes checking’s of “Agreement” what you doing, build a “Contract” between project board and the project manager, plan quality and project, checks risks and setup project controls and project files which are required for initiating a project. All this processes checked before initiating a project (IP).
MANAGING STAGE BOUNDARIES(MSB)
This process describes the key feature of project board whether to continue with the project or not. It provides the project board with information needed for the start of next stage process, maintains record of information which can help in the further stages of projects. Also maintains next stage plan, risk information, business case and lessons learnt from this report.
Controlling a Stage(CS)
This s the process which handles day-to-day management of the project such as monitoring the projects, dealing with problems and keeping informed about all this tasks to senior management. Apart from that they also includes
Authorising work to done
Looking for any changes
Reporting and reviewing the situation
Taking corrective action
Managing Product Delivery(MP)
This process is mainly designed for team managers which mainly deal to ensure that planned products are created and delivered in the given time. MP also deals about how to Accept, Execute and Deliver a work package. Apart from that it checks quality log updates, checkpoint reports and ensuring that completed work meets quality criteria.
Closing a Project(CP)
The purpose of this process is to execute a controlled close to the project it means it checks whether it got input from the project broad to obtains confirmation base on that the project is close. It should have a clear and unambiguous end to a project. The objectives of CS are
Checks the objectives are set to project initiation document (PID) have met or not.
Follow- on action
Customer acceptance
End project report
Recommendations
Planning(PL)
Planning is a repeatable process also used for several other processes. Effective project management relies upon effective planning so planning is backbone of any project. The main objective of planning is
Designing a planning
Planning a project
Developing a complete plan
Analysing risk
(www.prince2.com)
PRINCE2 COMPONENTS
PRINCE2 project management consists of eight components which are basically used for supporting PRINCE2 processes were it work as a shield for development of the PRINCE2 project management. They basically consist of eight components which describes different roles. They are
Business Case
The business case is the one which forwards the projects. It is the one which covers the entire scope the project and checks continually to ensure the project is worthwhile. The business case always focuses on the benefits of the project outcomes and always takes measurable things to develop them. Actually business case contains all the information such as what? Why?
, Options, Benefits, Risks, Cost and Timescale which are effectively useful throughout the project.
Organisation
The success of project managed with PRINCE2 method is mainly depends upon the organisational structure. To have a good organisation structure they need to define the three roles which will have clear roles and responsibilities in organisation they are Business, User and Suppliers (BUS). Based on the size and complexity of a project they use of these roles depends such as combining or sharing. Apart from that they have 4 layers which support PRINCE2 organisation structure they are
-Programme Management
-Project Board
-Project Manager
-Team manager
From all this roles project manager has central role to play in day to day management of the project and reports to the project board.
Plans
A plan in PRINCE2 describes various different levels and their usage they are in terms of to see project in term of deliverables and timescale and also to control resources during a project. The information regarding activities and resources requirements must be supported in terms of documentation. The levels of plans included in PRINCE2 are Project Plan, Stage Plan, Team Plan and Exception Plan which are linked with Programme plan and also reflect different needs at different levels of project management.
Control
Here Control is all about making decision making it plays an important role in good project management. It includes ensuring that products are up to the acceptance criteria and carried out on schedule and within resource and cost plans. It got a control loop structure which has PLAN, MONITOR and CONTROL which forms loop formations for the development of the project management at different levels.
Management of Risk
Risk is one of the important component of PRINCE2 it do have uncertain outcomes for that sake to analysed and identified this types of risks in the projects to overcome this a risk log is created which will observe risks continually throughout the project.
Quality in a Project Environment
Quality in a project environment states that quality is identified as project products which makes them fit for satisfying the project needs. For that reason various checks are carried out to ensure products are delivered as per customer requirements. All this methods were tested in a quality review technique.
Configuration Management
Here in configuration management all the project products need to have track of information like unique identifier which includes name of project, Status, latest version number and owner of the project. All this information will helpful throughout the project where project manager can able to keep the track of products use through configuration management.
Change Control
Change control is one of the important task in project management where we do have many changes concerning about project scope, resources and quality for this sake PRINCE2 has to flexible to allow changes at the same time this changes must be along with configuration managements. The various changes occur in project outcomes are Costs, Benefits, Risks, Time, Resources and Priority. At the same time project board must re-approve to check any changes to a product where necessary steps taken to deal with such cases. (1012)
PRINCE2 TECHNIQUES
PRINCE2 works with most of the techniques which help for the implementation of project management in a success full way. There are basically three types of techniques which are used for the development of the project management.
Product- based planning
This is the one of the key feature of PRINCE2 it mainly focuses on the product to be delivered and upon their quality. It forms an involvement with other process such as planning and leads for developing of other techniques such as network planning and Gantt charts. It basically includes three steps to product-based planning technique they are
Product breakdown structure
Product description
Product flow diagram
This all together helps for the development of product-based planning.
Change Control
Change control is another essential part of project management. Which helps to fit with other PRINCE2 controls such as configuration management and exception report? It also changes types of project issues such as project deliverable, improves project product and record a failure to meet a requirement.
Quality Review
This technique is basically useful for reviewing document-based products and also used for other quality and testing techniques. It is use to check whether it is fit for purpose or not to requirements. A detailed review is conducted through quality manager. In case of large documents had split into a numbers of sections and them review methods are conducted on them.(Managing successful project with PRINCE2, 2002).