PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project Management

Project Management

Project Scenario

Task 1 (a): Project Initiation Document Using PRINCE2 Model

PRINCE was established in 1989 by CCTA (the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency), since renamed the OGC (the Office of Government Commerce). The method was originally based on PROMPT, a project management method created by Simpact Systems Ltd in 1975. PROMPT was adopted by CCTA in 1979 as the standard to be used for all Government information system projects. When PRINCE was launched in 1989, it effectively superseded PROMPT within Government projects. PRINCE remains in the public domain and copyright is retained by the Crown. PRINCE is a registered trademark of OGC.

Project failures are all too common - some make the headlines, the vast majority are quickly forgotten. The reasons for failure are wide and varied. Some common causes are...

* Lack of co-ordination of resources and activities

* Lack of communication with interested parties, leading to products being delivered which are not what the Customer wanted

* Poor estimation of duration and costs, leading to projects taking more time and costing more money than expected

* Insufficient measurables

* Inadequate planning of resources, activities, and scheduling

* Lack of control over progress so that projects do not reveal their exact status until too late

* Lack of quality control, resulting in the delivery of products that are unacceptable or unusable

Without a project management method, those who commission a project, those who manage it and those who work on it will have different ideas about how things should be organised and when the different aspects of the project will be completed.

Those involved will not be clear about how much responsibility, authority and accountability they have and, as a result, there will often be confusion surrounding the project. Without a project management method, projects are rarely completed on time and within acceptable cost - this is especially true of large projects. A good project management method will guide the project through a controlled, well-managed, visible set of activities to achieve the desired results. PRINCE adopts the principles of good project management to avoid the problems identified above and so helps to achieve successful projects. These principles are...

* A project is a finite process with a definite start and end

* Projects always need to be managed in order to be successful

* For genuine commitment to the project, all parties must be clear about why the project is needed, what it is intended to achieve, how theoutcome is to be achieved, and what their responsibilities are in that achievement.

PRINCE2 Process Model

PRINCE2 is a process-based approach for project management providing an easily tailored, and scaleable method for the management of all types of projects. Each process is defined with its key inputs and outputs together with the specific objectives to be achieved and activities to be carried out.



Directing a Project (DP)

Directing a Project runs from the start-up of the project until its closure. This process is aimed at the Project Board. The Project Board manages by exception, monitors via reports and controls through a number of decision ...