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2.1

An Introduction to PRINCE
What is a project?
a management environment that is created for the purpose of delivering

PRINCE defines a project as: one or more business products according to a specified business case Another definition of a project might be a temporary organisation that is needed to produce a unique and pre-define outcome or result at a pre-specified time using pre-determined resources PRINCE additionally supposes that those responsible for the project will not have experience of working together to produce a similar set of outcomes or results for the same Customer in the past; that co-ordination between those working on the project will need to be well organised; and that the responsibilities between those undertaking the work, those managing it and those sponsoring it will need to be clearly defined. A PRINCE project, therefore, has the following characteristics: a finite and defined lifespan defined and measurable business products a corresponding set of activities to achieve the business products a defined amount of resources an organisation structure, with defined responsibilities, to manage the project.

Each project falls within a specific business context. A project may be stand-alone, or may be one in a sequence of related projects, or may form part of a programme or corporate strategy. A project, by its nature, is a temporary structure, created to achieve a specified business benefit or objective. When the work has been completed, the project is disbanded.

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Idea Study Trigger Specify Design Develop Test Change Over Assess the value/benefit Use Scrap
Project Life Cycle

Product Life Cycle

Figure 2-1 Product and project life cycles

A project has a life cycle, which is the path and sequence through the various activities to produce the final product. The term life cycle is also used to describe the life of a product. The two should not be confused. Figure 2-1 shows how a product life cycle might start from the initial idea or conception, through to the operation of the product, finishing with the eventual scrapping of the product when it comes to the end of its usefulness. The project life cycle covers the tasks of specifying and designing a product, through to its testing and hand-over into operational use. PRINCE cover the project life cycle plus some pre-project preparation.

2.2

The scope of PRINCE

Figure 2-2 shows where PRINCE fits into a business and project environment. PRINCE is not intended to cover all subjects relevant to project management. The project management techniques and tools needed will vary according to the project type and the corporate environment. There are also certain aspects of project management that are well covered by existing and proven methods and are therefore excluded from PRINCE. Examples of these aspects are: people management techniques such as motivation, delegation and team leadership generic planning techniques such as Gantt Charts and Critical Path Analysis risk management techniques the creation and management of corporate quality management and quality assurance mechanisms business case management, budgetary control and earned value analysis.

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