PRINCE2: 2009 Project - Background
- 29 Jan 2008 17:09
PRINCE2 is being refreshed as part of its lifecycle. Its name is not changing but there will be fundamental enhancements to the method. The refresh is being led by the UK's Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and involves OGC's two main partners for its Best Practice portfolio, TSO, the official publisher and the APM Group, the official accreditor.
Since its launch in 1996, there have only been two major updates (in 2002 and 2005) of PRINCE2. Both of these updates were in response to issues raised via the official Issue Log. The updates were mainly corrections to the manual, clarifications and a few incremental improvements. The method itself has remained largely unchanged whilst today's pace of change and level of connected communication mean that projects now face challenges that simply did not exist in 1996.
Methods of publication have also evolved. There is an appetite from both the users and the publisher to expand the ways in which people access the PRINCE2 methodology and complementary publications.
The PRINCE2 practitioner exam has recently been updated to make it more internationally acceptable and to speed up processing so that candidates get their results quickly.
The updated PRINCE2 Method should be available in the early part of 2009. There will be a core set of three publications which address public feedback and provide:
- A universally applicable and repeatable project management method - the principles, processes and techniques - that enable individuals and organizations to successfully deliver their projects within time, cost and quality constraints
- The standard against which individuals' knowledge and competency in applying the method can be examined and assessed.
The core set of publications will comprise:
The purpose of the PRINCE2 Method publication is to provide a reference book suitable for all types of user (Senior Managers, Project Board, Project Manager, Project Team) that:
- Explains the principles of PRINCE2
- Describes the PRINCE2 processes in their entirety
- Describes 'Key Themes' of project management, specific to PRINCE2, that are required for the processes to be effective
- Cross-reference techniques that may be applied
- Explains how to scale the method
- Provides context of when and how to use PRINCE2 for different perspectives (e.g. standalone or as part of a programme).
The PRINCE2 Method publication will provide the content for the Foundation Exam syllabus. This will be a closed book one hour objective test.
The 'PRINCE2 in Practice: Managing a Project' publication will provide a handbook describing how Project Managers, Team Managers and Project Support can apply PRINCE2. It will set PRINCE2 in the wider context of project management (but will remain non-specific for industry sector) and will describe or cross-reference techniques which support the PRINCE2 Method.
Used in conjunction with the PRINCE2 Method, the 'PRINCE2 in Practice: Managing a Project' publication will be the sole source of information for the Practitioner Exam syllabus. It will replace Tailoring PRINCE2 and PRINCE2 and People Issues. The Practitioner exam will remain a three hours examination and will provide a scenario or case study which candidates will assess and analyse before choosing one of several possible answers given to them. The exam is open book.
The 'PRINCE2 in Practice: Directing a Project' publication will provide a role specific handbook for senior managers and project board members describing how to oversee projects being managed using PRINCE2. This guide will also set PRINCE2 in the wider context of project management and will describe or cross-reference techniques which support the PRINCE2 Method. The guide may provide the basis for a possible future qualification for project board members.
The PRINCE2 Method publications will be aligned with the already refreshed OGC guidance: Managing Successful Programmes (MSP), Management of Risk ( M_o_R), and the OGC Gateway Review process.
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.
