PRINCE2:2009 Project

PRINCE2 2009 Corporate Briefing

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:20:00 +0000

Yesterday we held our PRINCE2 2009 Corporate Briefing at the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum. We wanted to hold the event somewhere different, and we were not disappointed. The Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum is a fantastic meeting venue. We had three reasons for choosing it:

It's in the basement of the HM Treasury, the department that the owners of PRINCE2 (OGC) belongs to. In fact they occupy parts of the 6th floor
My grandfather worked their during WWII as an electrician
We liked it!

24 people attended our briefing representing the following organisations: APM London Branch Chairman, Bid2Win, BT, Cambridge University Press, Cancer Research, Change Director, Cheshire ICT Services, Computacenter, Creative Inn, FujiFilm, Lloyds Registers, Lingo, London Underground, Meat Hygiene Services, Nicholls Group, Oxfam, PearceMayfield, PM4NGO and Sun Microsystems.

The event focused on what organisations need to do to 'upgrade' to PRINCE2 2009 to get the most value from the revised method. We had some interesting discussions over the excellent lunch provided by our hosts at the war rooms - they even gave everyone a ration book as place settings!

The upgrade discussions included:

Understanding current PRINCE2 assets in the organisation
Understanding current levels of maturity and any underlying issues
Developing the business case for upgrading
Briefing Project Board members using the new directing guide (including training by stealth!)
Retraining of PM with existing PRINCE2 certification
Updating templates
Updating processes and tools
Deciding when to switch over projects to the revised method
What aspects of the revised method can be immediately deployed (e.g. the principles)

There was a lot of discussion around learning lessons - so I've decided that the 'learning from experience' principle will be the subject of my next blog!

Life after the launch!

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 05:09:00 +0000

It's been a busy couple of weeks since the PRINCE2 launch:

16th June - PRINCE2 2009 Launch in London - see footage of the launch
18th June - presented an overview of PRINCE2 2009 at the Dutch User Group in Utrecht - see details
20th June - Q&A on PRINCE2 2009 via twitter - see transcript of questions and answers
22nd June - interviewed by Craig Kilford the author of the OGC's Portfolio Management Guide - listen to this interview on www.hearbestpractice.com
23rd June - gave various presentations at the Best Practice Showcase in London - see copy of my presentation
24th June - presented an overview of PRINCE2 2009 at the French PRINCE2 User Group in Paris
27th June - continued to learn to ride the unicycle!

So what's next?

I'm in process of finalising Outperform's supporting products: PRINCE2 2009 mind-maps, PRINCE2 2009 templates and checklists, Project Board survival kit a PRINCE2 wiki (sharepoint compatible).

The mind-maps, templates and survival kit will be launched at our PRINCE2 2009 Corporate Briefing on 9th July. The PRINCE2 2009 Corporate Briefing is designed for those senior managers with a responsibility for Project Management within their organisation (Head of Projects, PMO Manager, Programme Managers, etc). It covers the PRINCE2 update from an organisation perspective rather than the individual project manager's perspective and answers the question, "What does my organisation need to do to 'upgrade' and get full value from the improvements to PRINCE2?" The event is taking place at the prestigious Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum (in the basement of HM Treasury - hence OGC!) and includes free copies of the templates etc and signed copies of the new PRINCE2 books. There are a few places left. See here for more details.

In addition to finishing off Outperform's supporting products and preparing for the corporate briefing I will also be:

participating in another 'twitter hour' where I will be answering your questions regarding PRINCE2. The next one will take place on Friday 3rd July at 11am. The event will be facilitated by Lindsay Scott of Arras People and captured on their excellent 'how to manage a camel' blog.
Appearing in more Vodcasts on www.best-management-practice.tv as part of a PRINCE2 global alignment series. Each Vodcast will be accompanied by a white paper exploring the topic in a bit more detail.
Writing a series of articles "PRINCE2 2009 revealed" on this blog. These will explore different aspects of the method in more detail. The first one will be posted next week

My work with PRINCE2 2009 concluded with the launch on 16th June, but for many organisations and people who want to apply the new and improved method to their projects it has just started for them. In some ways, my real work starts now too!

The Dutch PRINCE2 User Group

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 07:37:00 +0000

On Thursday 18th June I had the privilege to present at the Dutch PRINCE2 User Group in Utrecht. It was an excellent event with:

around 250 people attending
more than 20 exhibitors
6 parallel streams of seminars and tutorials
a networking event into the evening

The event demonstrated good planning in action as it was no coincidence that it was scheduled for 2 days after the official launch of PRINCE2 2009 in London. In addition to presenting an overview of the changes to PRINCE2 2009 I was also given the task on behalf of APMG-Benelux (the accreditation body) to hand over the first copies of the new publications to the user group's chairman, Hans Schneider. Ian Fik from TSO (the publisher) was also at the event having dropped in on his way back from the IPMA international congress in Helsinki.

While I was there I was well looked after by members of the user group committee and in particular Ruud Peltzer (from Fortes), Joost Nuyten (from Rabobank) and Robert Garskamp (from Everett). Being a football fan I couldn't resist a look round the stadium to get a photo to add to my collection.

The day concluded with a stand-up comedian kicking-off the evening networking event. It was clear from talking to people at the networking event that the Dutch PUG is a highly active of community that hold regular events throughout the year and continues to grow its membership. It is groups like this that help to advance best practices such as PRINCE2, and indeed the public consultation included a thorough report from the Dutch PUG back in October 2006. Once again well done to the Dutch PUG.

PRINCE2 Authors at the launch

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:40:00 +0000

Authors from left to right:

John Edmonds (PearceMayfield)
Nigel Bennett (Sun Microsystems)
Sue Taylor (Independent)
Bob Patterso (Fujitsu Services)
Andy Murray (Outperform)

We were joined by Mike Ashton (far right - also from Sun Microsystems) who led their pilot activity. One Author not at the event was Graham Williams (independent) who was at the IPMA congress in Helsinki presenting an overiew of PRINCE2 2009.

PRINCE2 2009 Launch event

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:46:00 +0000

My primary involvement in the 2-year project to refresh PRINCE2 has come to an end. The ceremonial conclusion to the project was at the official launch on 16th June in London.

It was a great event, with more than 150 people in attendance and more than 10,000 hits of the website where it was streamed as a live webcast.

If you missed the event you can watch it from the best management practice website...

http://best-management-practice.tv/live-event

There is also an interesting review of the launch from the 'Girls Guide to Project Management Blog', including analysis of the 'goody' bag that was handed out to the attendees...

http://www.pm4girls.elizabeth-harrin.com/2009/06/prince22009-the-launch/

For me the event was a fantastic opportunity to say thank you to all those people who had participated in the refresh project. Although I've had a high profile as the lead author it has truly been a team effort and it has been a pleasure to have been the public face of the team. The team involved:

Participants in the public consultation
Participants in the 'Reference Group' who created the mandate for change
The Project Board
Participants in the design review
Participants in the pilots
Quality Reviewers
Change control panel
The TSO marketing and production teams
The authoring team (Bob Patterson, Sue Taylor, Nigel Bennett, John Edmonds, Graham Williams and of course me!)
Our mentor (Colin Bentley)
Our Project Manager (Anne-Marie Byrne)

The networking event after the official launch was really useful too. One of the guests was Dave Purves - a former PRINCE2 examiner. It was Dave who taught me PRINCE2 back in 1997. So I guess he has a lot to answer for in the Murray household for being so enthusiastic about PRINCE2 that I went on to base a consulting career on it, culminating in being appointed as lead author - thank you Dave! It is often said that you never forget good teachers and trainers and it is very true on this occassion.

While I'm doing 'thank yous', I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank the other lead authors of MSP (Rod Sowden), P3O (Sue Vowler) and the Portfolio Management Guide (Crag Kilford) as the informal nework we have built between us not only helped with the integration of the OGC products but also on sharing lessons on undertaking projects of this nature. One final thank you I'd like to make is to Jennifer Stapleton who instigated the development of DSDM (and therefore the Agile approach to projects). It was her fond account of the work she did in developing a method that gave me the inspiration to apply to be Lead Author for PRINCE2!

I'm in Holland today where this afternoon I will be presenting the PRINCE2 2009 updates to the Dutch PRINCE2 User Group. There will be 250 people attending today, making the Dutch User Group the largest of its kind globally! So while my authoring work has finished, my PRINCE2 work continues.

Over the coming months I will keep this blog running to explore different aspects of the revised method and the experiences of people using it. So, watch this space!

Countdown to PRINCE2 2009 launch - 2 hours to go!

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:31:00 +0000

It's launch day! 2 hours to go. Around 150 have been invited to attend - most people who have been involved in the refresh in some capacity. But don't worry if you're not attending in person as the launch will be streamed live on www.best-management-practice.tv

See you there!

Countdown to PRINCE2 2009 launch - 1 day to go

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:44:00 +0000

The launch is now less than 24 hours away. I'm pleased to say that I survived my birthday celebrations,, especially as one of my presents was a unicycle (there's nothing in the risk log regarding that!)

As I mentioned in my last blog, PRINCE2 2009 is made up of three core publications:
- Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2
- Directing Successful Projects with PRINCE2
- PRINCE2 Pocket book

I've previously previewed the Managing guide, so it's the turn of the Directing guide in this blog. The Directing guide contains the following:

Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - Overview of PRINCE2
Chapter 3 - Project Board duties and behaviours
Chapter 4 - Starting up a project
Chapter 5 - Authorize initiation
Chapter 6 - Authorize the project
Chapter 7 - Authorize a Stage or Exception Plan
Chapter 8 - Give ad hoc direction
Chapter 9 - Authorize project closure
Chapter 10 - Reviewing benefits
Chapter 11 - Tailoring PRINCE2
Appendix A - Product Description outlines
Appendix B - Governance
Appendix C - Roles and responsibilities
Further Information
Glossary

So you can see that it is essentially based around 6 elements (with some supporting information):

PRINCE2 overview (12 pages) - covering the principles, themes and process that make PRINCE2
Duties and behaviours (14 pages) - the critical role the Project Board plays
Project Board activities pre-project (10 pages) - setting direction and appointing the PM
Project Board activities during the project (44 pages) - managing by exception
Project Board activities post-project (6 pages) - benefit reviews
Guidance on tailoring PRINCE2 (10 pages) -how to apply a generic method to a specific project

Feedback from the public consultation and the pilots indicate that getting the Project Board 'right' is one of the most important aspects for a successful project.

Launch day tomorrow, so just one more blog from me as 'lead author' before I become the 'former lead author'

Countdown to PRINCE2 2009 launch - 4 days to go

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:33:00 +0000

Although there are 4 days to go, this is my penultimate countdown blog as this weekend I will be camping (in the rain no doubt) as part of my birthday celebrations - I'm about to hit a life milestone!

So not long now for people to get hold of the new guides that make up PRINCE2 2009:

Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2
Directing Successful Projects with PRINCE2
PRINCE2 Pocket book

So what can people expect to find? Let's start by looking at the contents of the "managing" guide:

Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - Principles
Chapter 3 - Introduction to PRINCE2 Themes
Chapter 4 - Business Case
Chapter 5 - Organisation
Chapter 6 - Quality
Chapter 7 - Plans
Chapter 8 - Risk
Chapter 9 - Change
Chapter 10 - Progress
Chapter 11 - Introduction to PRINCE2 Processes
Chapter 12 - Starting Up a Project
Chapter 13 - Directing a Project
Chapter 14 - Initiating a Project
Chapter 15 - Controlling a Stage
Chapter 16 - Managing Product Delivery
Chapter 17 - Managing a Stage Boundary
Chapter 18 - Closing a Project
Chapter 19 - Tailoring PRINCE2 to the project environment
Appendix A - Product Description outlines
Appendix B - Governance
Appendix C - Roles and responsibilities
Appendix D - Product Based Planning example
Appendix E - Health check
Further Information
Glossary

So you can see that it is essentially based around 4 elements (with some supporting information):

Principles (6 pages) - the basis if what makes a PRINCE2 project
Themes (90 pages) - the aspects of project management that must be continually addressed
Processes (94 pages) - the step-wise progression through the project lifecycle
Tailoring (20 pages) - how to apply a generic method to a specific project

My next blog will provide an outline of what to expect from the 'directing' guide.

Countdown to PRINCE2 2009 launch - 5 days to go

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:40:00 +0000

The authoring team all received their personal copies of the manuals yesterday. Mine was sent to my home address and was opened by my wife.

She commented, "it's a bit thin, what have you been doing for 2 years?"

It reminded me of the great mathematician Pascal, who in 1656 apologised to his friend for writing a long letter as he did not have the time to write a short one. A phrase re-used by both Winston Churchill and Mark Twain.

One of our goals was to reduce the size of the manual, which was a significant challenge given that the mandate for the project requested a lot more topics to be included! The original page-count target proved infeasible and the Project Board sanctioned a revised target after the first draft was produced. But my wife's reaction is good indication that we delivered the spirit of the reduction!

You can pre-order your books from TSO (www-best-management-practice.com) which will be generally available from the launch date of 16th June. You can also watch the launch event as this will be live streamed from www.best-management-practice.tv

Only 5 days to go!

Countdown to PRINCE2 2009 launch - 6 days to go

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:54:00 +0000

The launch event on 16th June 2009 is hosted by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), the owners of PRINCE2. The event is by invitation only.

The good news is that TSO (the publisher) has arranged for the event to be filmed and anyone can watch it live for free on www.-best-management-practice.tv

Countdown to PRINCE2 2009 launch - 7 days to go

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:42:00 +0000

I can't believe that after more than 2 years the refresh project is coming to an end and the launch date gets ever closer.

My presentation is prepared and a clean suit is back from the dry cleaners.

Just 7 days to go!

PRINCE2 2009 Corporate Briefing

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:23:00 +0000

If your organisation uses PRINCE2 (or is thinking of adopting PRINCE2 2009) and you'd like to know the benefits you can expect from 'upgrading' to PRINCE2 2009 and what you would need to do to upgrade, then you may wish to attend the PRINCE2 2009 corporate briefing I will be delivering in July in London.

The event is hosted by Outperform and will be held at the the prestigious Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum on 9th July 2009. The event is designed for those senior managers who are responsible for project/programme within their organisation (Head of projects / project management / PPM, PPM profession, PMO Manager or Centre of Excellence Manager).

Participants at this event will:

Receive signed copies of the set of PRINCE2 publications (worth £120)
Understand the changes to PRINCE2 and the reasons for them directly from the lead author
Understand the benefits of PRINCE2 2009 and what's required corporately to gain the new version of the method
Network with other PPM heads
Enjoy a 3-course lunch, guided tour of the prestigious Cabinet War Rooms and receive a group photo (worth over £100)
Receive a copy of PRINCE2 2009 mind-maps, checklists and templates (worth over £100)

More details can be found on the outperform website here or you can meet me at the Best Practice Showcase on 23rd June (also in London) if you'd like to preview the content of the corporate briefing.

5 minute film on PRINCE2 2009 publications

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Wed, 27 May 2009 12:52:00 +0000

The second of the PRINCE2 2009 vodcasts is now available from www.best-management-practice.tv

In this video I explain:

the reason for the change
the key changes to the method
the contents of the new 'Directing' guide
where to get more information

Next week's film will be of the Cheif Examiner, Emma Jones, explaining the changes to the PRINCE2 exams qualifications.

PRINCE2 2009 Vodcasts

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:52:00 +0000

I mentioned a few posts ago that I attended a filming session for a series of PRINCE2 2009 vodcasts. I couldn't have been that bad in front of camera as I've been asked to do six more! Anyway, the first of the PRINCE2 2009 series, featuring Mike Acaster (from the OGC) is available to vew from www.best-management-practice.tv

The PRINCE2 2009 vodcasts will soon include a 5 minute overview of PRINCE2 2009 and a brief explanation from the Cheif Examiner, Emma Jones, on the updates to the associated exams.

The best management practice site also includes videos of workshops and seminars from various conferences over the past few months. I feature in three of them:

PRINCE2 2009 -ready, steady, go (from BPUG Congress - February09) - co-presented with Emma Jones
Best Practice in a recession (from Project Challenge - March 09)
PRINCE2 2009 seminar (from Project Challenge - March 09)

I'll keep you posted when more clips are added to the site.

To PRINCE2 or not to PRINCE2

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Wed, 13 May 2009 08:21:00 +0000

At the Public Sector Project Management Conference in Manchester yesterday I had the chance to meet the organisers of a forthcoming debate that I'm participating in.

The Centre for Project Management Practice (part of Aston Business School which focuses on “promoting knowledge sharing by exposing project management practitioners and researchers to each other’s experiences, concerns and expertise” ) is organising a debate "To PRINCE2 or not to PRINCE2" which will be held on 3rd June 2009 in Birmingham.

"2009 sees the introduction by the OGC of the 4th version of PRINCE 2 yet some academics decry the capabilities of formal ‘bodies of knowledge’ and practitioners can see them as strangling their projects in bureaucracy. The aim of this event is to stimulate a lively discussion led by world renowned experts; Andy Murray (PPM Registered Consultant and PRINCE2 Lead Author) and Harvey Maylor (Director of the International Centre for Programme Management at Cranfield School University)."

Having met the organisers and discussed how the debate is going to work I'm really looking forward to it. You can still book to attend by booking with the Centre for Project Management Practice or get involved by voting on the CPMP Big Ballot.

Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:41:00 +0000

I've started to use twitter and discovered that there are active PM communities using it to share experiences, ideas and useful information. Once PRINCE2 2009 is launched I will also be using it to provide some hints and tips on PRINCE2 2009.

You can follow me on twitter by clicking on the button below

Regards
Andy

PRINCE2 2009 - launch date set

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:56:00 +0000

The last time I updated this blog, the authoring team and I had handed over draft 4 for review and were waiting for feedback. Since then we've updated the manuscript and handed the final author draft to the publisher for copyediting. The copyediting process is now complete and the manuscripts are currently being typeset ready for OGC approval and then production.

Not surprisingly our efforts over the past few weeks have turned to the 'communication' elements of the project - briefing the accredited community, current users and potential users on the nature of the improvements to the PRINCE2 method. For example, 2 weeks ago Mike Acaster (OGC), Emma Jones (PRINCE2 Chief Examiner) and myself (PRINCE2 Lead Author) spent a day in a film studio answering questions regarding PRINCE2 2009 - this will soon be available to view as a series of podcasts (see www.best-management-practice.com). It's amazing how long it takes to make just a few minutes of film. Hopefully they've edited out the giggles, pauses and coughs!

This week I presented an update on PRINCE2 2009 at an eco conference centre (Our Dynamic Earth) in Edinburgh for the Project and Programme Management Scotland 2009 conference and at the annual Project Challenge spring conference in Birmingham.

It was at the Project Challenge conference that I had the pleasure to announce the launch date for the revised method - 16th June 2009 (two days after my birthday!)

The launch will be in London on an invite basis - more details regarding PRINCE2 2009 launch will be appearing on the official site www.best-management-practice.com

Following the launch I will also be presenting updates (and no doubt signing books) at:

The Dutch PRINCE2 User Group - Utrecht - 18th June
Best Practice Showcase - London - 23rd June
French PRINCE2 User Group - Paris - 24th June

I will post news of any further presentations on this blog as they are confirmed.

Final Authors' Draft

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:35:00 +0000

As I write I'm waiting for the Quality Review feedback of the fourth draft of "Managing a Successful Project Using PRINCE2" and I'm preparing for the feedback workshops for the pilots that have been running since August.

Armed with that feedback we will be updating draft 4 to hand over the final authors' draft to TSO's production team. The manuscript will go through a process of copy-editing and typesetting prior to the final cycle of quality review.

The work of the authoring team does not stop there! In parallel to the TSO production activity we will be:

Completing the final authors' draft of the companion "Directing a Project Using PRINCE2"
Creating first draft manuscripts for the pocket books
Updating the "Think PRINCE2" book
Creating templates, checklists and tutorials that will be available to download from the PRINCE2 knowledge centre
Working with graphics experts to review and improve the diagrams in both the Managing and Directing publications
Liaising with the project team responsible for updating the PRINCE2 qualification scheme
Producing release notes explaining the changes from PRINCE2 2005.

Over the coming months and in particular leading up to the launch next year, I can be found at a number of exhibitions and conferences providing an update on the PRINCE2 2009 project. If you want to come and have a chat, my current schedule is:

15th December – Using PRINCE2 & MSP together, hosted by the Best Practice User Group, Chester University
15th January - Wales PPM Community of Practice, Cardiff Hall
19th January – Middle East PPM Community of Practice, Abu Dhabi
5th February – Project Management in Practice, hosted by Hemsley Fraser, London
10th/11th February – BPUG International Project Management Conference, London Heathrow
24th February – Public Sector Project Management, hosted by Ten Alps, Manchester
26th February – PRINCE2 Maturity Model (P2MM) Workshop, London
5th March – PRINCEOPOLY, London
25/26 March – Project Challenge Expo, Birmingham

If you want to hear what other people have to say about the current draft of PRINCE2 2009, TSO have extracted some of the comments from the quality reviewers. This can be found on the official best-management-practice website.

Regards, Andy

Status Update!

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:55:00 +0000

Much progress has been made since my last blog in March:

My wife gave birth to our second child (Jason Alexander Murray, 11th July 2008) – hence the delay in updating this blog!
We incorporated the feedback from the reviews and pilots of the first draft and issued the second draft for review
We initiated the second round of pilots
The project to review and update the associated qualification schemes was kicked-off
We’ve just received and reviewed the feedback on the second drafts….

The feedback from both the quality reviews and the pilots generated nearly 3000 comments. They indicated that we were broadly on track and that the narrative style is a significant improvement over the current manual. In particular the addition of ‘principles’ and the ‘project environment’ were well received as was the guidance on tailoring.

However, the feedback highlighted two main concerns:

Overlap between the PRINCE2 Method (Method) and the PRINCE2 in Practice: Managing (Managing) publication and a debate as to what is core to the method and what is discretionary guidance. The approach to make the PRINCE2 in Practice: Directing (Directing) publication self-contained (i.e. readers do not need to also buy the Method) added to this issue I that the Method and the Managing publications effectively became an inseparable pair.
Although the content of Directing was universally well received the overwhelming feedback was that it was too large for the target audience.

Our approach to these issues was to (1) merge the Method and the Managing publications with some of the discretionary guidance being removed for possible inclusion as on-line content and (2) to reduce the size of Directing but also adding a 10-minute guide and quick-reference summaries at the beginning of each chapter.

The revised publications will be called “Managing a Successful Project Using PRINCE2” and “Directing a Successful Project Using PRINCE2”.

Further information can be found through the following links:

An Audio clip of Alan Harphum (APM Group Chairman) interviewing me at the Best Practice Showcase in London (June 2008)
A copy of a presentation I gave at the inaugural Best Practice User Group meeting in Denmark in September providing an overview of the changes to PRINCE2 2009

By the time of my next blog we should have the 3rd and final draft ready for review, so I’ll provide an update of what that entails!

Until then you can catch me at Project Challenge on 24/25 September in Londonpresenting an update to PRINCE2 2009 and also providing an overview of the new Directing a Successful Project Using PRINCE2. Come and say hello.

Regards
Andy Murray
PRINCE2 Lead Author

Progress Update

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:41:00 +0000

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't posted on this blog for nearly three months. That doesn't mean that no progress has been made. Quite the opposite. We have been busy writing!

We finished the first working drafts of the PRINCE2 method and the companion publications of "PRINCE2 in Practice - Managing a Project" and "PRINCE2 in Practice - Directing a Project" have been issued to a review group for early feedback.

The pilots are also underway too and early feedback is very promising.

Following good project management practice we will be conducting a lessons learned review of the work to date - some of which will be included in my next blog.

Project Title

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 12:56:00 +0000

The refresh for PRINCE2 kicked-off back in November 2006 when the six month period of public consultation started (at the Best Practice User Group conference).

The period of public consultation was actually pre-project (Start-Up in PRINCE2 parlance) and was used to help define the project's objectives, requirements and approach (Initiation in PRINCE2). The project is now in full swing and we are just nearing the end of its first delivery stage (design) and are about to finally start authoring (first draft stage).

One of the outcomes from the Initiation Stage was that the project was finally given a proper title - The PRINCE2: 2009 Project™ project (previously it had simply been referred to as the PRINCE2 Refresh by the various organisations involved).

As the project title implies, the first set of publications will be available in 2009 (in Q1). PRINCE2's name is not changing though. The method will still be called PRINCE2, but there will be much needed enhancements to the method.

To ensure you keep up-to-date will all aspects of the PRINCE2: 2009 Project™ project simply register at: www.best-management-practice.com/PRINCE2Register.

Not one, but three new manuals!

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:13:00 +0000

The Scoping Document and Product Descriptions for the PRINCE2 Refresh were presented at the Project Challenge Expo in London (21st September 2007) and are now available to download.

The Refresh Project started in November 2006 with a six month period of public consultation of more than 170 organisations and individuals culminating in the publication of a Public Consultation Report in June 2007. OGC assembled a Reference Group of users, academics, trainers and consultants to review the feedback and to provide guidance on the objectives for the refresh. The resultant OGC Mandate for Change was issued at the Best Practice Showcase on 27th June 2007.

To meet OGC’s requirements and address the public feedback it is proposed to produce three core guides:

The PRINCE2 Method – which will provide the principles, process model, key themes, product descriptions, role definitions and assurance checklists;
and two PRINCE2 in Practice™ publications – one for people who direct projects and one for people who manage projects.

While the PRINCE2 Method can be used by competent project personnel without the need for further guidance, the PRINCE2 in Practice publications will provide more detail on techniques and will include context based guidance (including using PRINCE2 in imperfect scenarios).

The publications will support the enhanced qualification scheme by aligning content to Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. The core guides will be supported by complementary publications and on-line content such as study guides, case studies, templates and checklists. The refresh will necessitate the withdrawal or update of existing PRINCE2 titles published by TSO.

Figure 1 - Public Feedback, OGC Mandate and Proposed Changes

To ensure the method meets its diverse set of requirements the PRINCE2 Refresh will include a number of quality checks: Design Reviews, Pilots, Proof of Concept, Demonstration, Document Quality Reviews and Surveys.

There will be phased releases. The first release by early 2009 will include the three core guides, the study guides and templates. The aim of this release is to facilitate a swift and co-ordinated transition for revised training, qualification and assessment products. The second release by mid 2009 will include updates to existing complementary publications and the provision of further on-line content in the form of case studies.

More information can be found in the Scoping Document.

Scoping Document & PD

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 11:26:00 +0000

The Scoping Document and Product Descriptions for the PRINCE2 Refresh have now been produced, submitted to the Review Group, and feedback received. As a result of the Review Group feedback a few changes are required. We will then be in a position to get Project Board approval, which we expect to gain in the next 2 week.

Once we've gained approval the Scoping Document and Product Descriptions will be published and made available to the public. The official release of the Scoping Document and PDs will be at the Project Challenge Expo in London, 19th and 20th September.

I will be presenting the an update on the PRINCE2 Refresh, entitled "PRINCE2, now and next". The presentation is sheduled for 12:45 on day one (19th September)

Co-author of the guide to the PRINCE2 Maturity Model and Lead Author for the PRINCE2 Refresh provides an overview of the publications to help organisations and individuals get the most from PRINCE2. The presentation will cover topics such as PRINCE2 with DSDM Atern (Agile), using the PRINCE2 Maturity Model, Business Benefits and PRINCE2 for the project executive. The presentation will also provide an overview of the feedback gained from the public consultation for the PRINCE2 Refresh, the OGC Mandate for Change and the proposed changes contained in the Scoping Document (to be published at the event).

It's not too late to register for Proect Challenge if you want to be among the first to find out what the next version of PRINCE2 will look like. Otherwise, keep tracking this blog as links to the documents will be provided.

PRINCE2 Maturity Model (P2MM)

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:37:00 +0000

The PRINCE2 Maturity Model (P2MM) has been available in draft form as a download from OGC's website since 2004. In April 2006 it was formally issued, and it is now possible for organisations to be assessed against the model as being mature at level 1 (initial), level 2 (repeatable) or level 3 (consistent / defined). But the maturity model can be used for many other things in addition to benchmarking.

To help implement PRINCE2 (first-time users)
To re-invigorate existing PRINCE2 implementations
To help organisations improve their project performance by going beyond training and templates (i.e. overcoming the issue of PRINCE In Name Only – PINO)
As a benchmark to assess organisational capability, plan improvements and to measure the success of such improvement initiatives
As a means for external recognition of organisational (rather than individual) PRINCE2 capability via the APM Group Ltd’s accreditation assessments
As part of a wider goal to improve Portfolio, Programme and Project Management performance using the OGC’s P3M3

The many uses of the PRINCE2 Maturity Model are described in the new book, Improving Project Performance Using the PRINCE2 Maturity Model (P2MM) which was launched by OGC's publisher, TSO, on 31st July. It is written by yours truly and my colleague, Mike Ward. It can be purchased via TSO's on-line bookstore.

PRINCE3?

noreply@blogger.com (Andy Murray) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 18:12:00 +0000

Since I've been appointed as Lead Author for the PRINCE2 Refresh I keep getting asked the same question:

"Will the new version be called PRINCE3?"

I've always suspected not, but at the first meeting of the authoring team last week, OGC confirmed that it will still be called PRINCE2. There are a number of reasons for this, the most notable being:

The move from PRINCE to PRINCE2 was to recognise the change from an IT Project Management method to a universal Project Management method. The new version of PRINCE2 will continue to be universal. In fact, the requirement for the method to be universally applicable is emphasised in the Mandate.
The cost to OGC, TSO (publisher), APM Group (accreditation partner), the accredited training/consulting companies and the numerous user organisations to change their collateral (e.g. domain names, website content, brochures, exam papers, training materials, handbooks etc) from PRINCE2 to PRINCE3 is considerable. As with most changes, there should be sufficient benefits to outweigh the costs. In this case there are very few benefits, if any at all.
OGC also own trademarks for PRINCE(R) and PRINCE2(tm) and have policies and mechanisms in place as to how they can be used by third parties. It is not good use of public money to change for change's sake.

So, PRINCE2 it will remain. What the new PRINCE2 will comprise will soon be revealed. Look out for the Scoping Document when it is published in September.

In the mean time, I look forward to receiving more questions. Just no more "Will it be called PRINCE3?" please!