PRINCE2 for Small Scale Projects

This section explains the rationale for a ‘light-touch’ approach to the management of small projects based on PRINCE2®. Since the launch of PRINCE2 in 1996 organizations have worked to embed the method and this introduction describes some of the outcomes.

Projects today

Most organizations recognize that the pace of change is increasing, but the sheer speed and scale of change today are greater than they have ever been. Whether change is brought about by funding constraints, new market opportunities, altered policies and regulations or continuous improvement, today’s senior management expects rapid results and succinct delivery from change projects.

There is pressure on organizations to deliver more for less in a shorter time period; this requires them to optimize the delivery of benefits from projects. This trend has given rise to shorter, lower-cost projects designed to achieve ‘fit for purpose’ solutions coupled with a focus on results and benefits. This type of project still needs to be managed, however; utilizing PRINCE2 without effective tailoring could prove too onerous for this scale of project.

In addition, the increased awareness of project management in general has encouraged organizations to classify a wide range of business change initiatives as projects which might not have been managed as projects previously. Inevitably, included in these will be far more small-scale projects than large. Even those organizations that have embarked on ‘transformation’ programmes also have a need for a simple-to-use approach to the myriad of (typically small) delivery projects that are used to implement the strategic changes the programme is designed to bring about.

Those new to project management are typically assigned small, low-risk projects that might not require the full application of PRINCE2 to manage them. These individuals will probably not have the experience or knowledge to be able to tailor PRINCE2 to their projects. This could lead to an ad-hoc approach to small projects, with potentially poor outcomes.

Since the introduction of PRINCE2 there has been an increase in the level of awareness of project management best practice and professional skills. This means that organizations and Project Managers still wish to use a best practice approach for their smaller projects, but wish to adopt a pragmatic, consistent, light-touch means of achieving this.

A key benefit of PRINCE2 is that it is an acknowledged standard and those working on small projects do not wish to compromise the quality of project management but instead simplify the project lifecycle to achieve the business benefits within the identified constraints. PRINCE2 has been designed to be easily tailored; however, this can prove to be a lengthy and difficult solution for organizations without the required project management expertise.

Therefore, there appears to be a market need for a best practice project management approach that would help organizations manage their smaller projects based on the excellent tailoring guidance spread throughout PRINCE2.

It is important that any light touch application of PRINCE2 fits within this structure and is able either to be used as a standalone approach to project management or to link with Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®) and Management of Portfolios (MoP™) to provide a coherent best practice structure.

This White Paper will demonstrate that a light-touch tailored PRINCE2 approach need not compromise portfolio, programme, project and risk management (P3RM) best practice principles. Furthermore, organizations that implement such an approach and integrate it fully into their working practices will still be able to demonstrate high levels of P3M3 maturity in their projects.