The other years we had to explain what the method was, and this year people knew.

We feel that our efforts are starting to pay off and that we are now truely in the first phase of development of the method in the french marketplace.

We will keep you informed of progress.

john higham
The french PRINCE2tm expert in France.
Le Spécialiste PRINCE2tm en France.

As most of you in Europe, our offices are completely covered with snow.

anyway, it doesn’t reduce our spirit which we keep high to work harder to help the development of PRINCE2tm in France.

see you soon at the RMP 2008 show in Paris (CNIT La Défense).

Happy Easter to all,

john higham
The french PRINCE2tm expert based in France
Le Spécialiste PRINCE2tm en France

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You will have to register to access the file.
I hope you will find this useful.
Also let me know of any comments you may have.

There is also a French version available here :
PRINCE2 Synthèse FR

john
pmguru.com

On m’a souvent demandé s’il était possible de mettre ma synthèse PRINCE2tm à la disposition de tous.
Voici donc la version française : PRINCE2 Synthèse FR

Vous devrez vous enregistrer pour accéder au fichier.
Il existe également une version anglaise pour ceux que cela interesse.
PRINCE2 Memo Chart EN

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J’espère que vous la trouverez utile.
A bientôt

John Higham
PMGURU.COM

Voor het ogenblik bestaat er nog geen vertaling van mijn PRINCE2 Overzicht.
Maar het bestaat wel in het engels en is hier te verkrijgen : PRINCE2 Memo Chart EN
U moet wel registreren om het document te kunnen bereiken.

Ik hoop dat jullie het interessant en nuttig vindt.
John Higham

The Project Manager may however not have all the knowledge or access to all the information required to create a full Business Case. But she/he must ensure it is done and ask the right people to give the right level of information to be able to finalise the document in IP3 (Refining the Business Case and Risks).

When you start using PRINCE2tm, the most difficult part of the Business Case is most likely going to be the identification and definition of Business Benefits of the project.

It helps to confirm what Benefits really are as often they are understood to be solely profits. This is not the case as there can be many more types of benefits beyond the simple profit defined as the result of turnover minus costs.
You can define legal benefits, technology benefits, human benefits, environmental benefits and many more depending on the exact nature of the project.

Some projects may never result in pure financial profits, some will even loose money to the company but they are nevertheless compulsory for the viability of the company.

A good example of this are projects of compliance with new legal or regulatory requirements, a new law or a new european directive.

Another example are data migration projects allowing various legacy systems to function together as one operational entity.
Projects of that nature will most of the time cost organisation money without bringing any direct profit. There are nevertheless essential to the good functionning of the business operation and should clearly be done.

When defining the benefits you’ve identified, ensure you make them as measurable as possible.
Don’t forget the Executive will do a Post Project Review of the project outside of the project once those benefits have become measurable, so we need to know how to analyse them in clear and unambiguous terms.

john higham
the french PRINCE2 expert based in France

One fun way is to resolve crosswords another is answering quizzes.

you’ll find a growing numbers of each of those as weeks go by.

simply choose Crosswords or Quizzes and see if you can solve them
i hope you’ll enjoy our weekly edition.

keep in touch,

john higham
the french PRINCE2tm expert based in France

For a while i have been thinking about a sentence that would help us remember the 8 components of PRINCE2tm.

Let’s first line them up :
1. the Business Case
2. the Organisation
3. the Plans
4. the Controls
5. Quality (in a Project environment)
6. Risk (Management)
7. Configuration Management
8. Change Control

i simply remember them as B-O-P-C Q-R-CM-CC

But Carlo, one of my participants, started a nice sentence which i added a variation to and so got the following :

Big Open Projects Can Quickly Return Companies’ Management Crazy Cash.

so, there you have it, a strange sentence maybe, but something that might help some of you easily remember the 8 Components of PRINCE2tm.

keep in touch,

john higham

This year the show is at the CNIT in Paris La Défense on the Tuesday 15 April and Wednesday 16 April 2008.

If you need a ticket, let us know and we will send you one free.

John Higham will also do a presentation about PRINCE2tm on the Tuesday 15 April in the afternoon.

Looking forward to meeting you there

Keep in touch,

PMGURU.COM
Le Spécialiste PRINCE2tm en France.
The French PRINCE2tm expert based in France.

In other circumstances, these quality checks are often called TAT or Technical Acceptance Test. In reality, PRINCE2 refers to those as product approvals (this can be applied to both management and specialist products).

The method of control for the final product will depend of the environment and will be defined in the Project Quality Plan (IP1) and confirmed for each simple product in the Product Description (in PL2). This Product Description is then added to the Work Package and agreed between the Project Manager and the Team Manager (if there is one) or the Team Member who will do the work (this happens in CS1-MP1).
Once products have been approved, they still need to be accepted by the Project Board.
This happens at the end of each stage during the End Stage Assessment (in DP3) for each product created during the previous stage, and at the end of the project for the final product (in DP5).
These are often referred to as UAT or Users Acceptance Tests.

There are many tools available, from pen and paper to the most sophisticated networkable collaborative application.

This choice is often made by the company’s quality and systems department who has decided once and for all on the tool of choice (mainly because had a good deal or a good price for a large number of licenses and not because it fits the company’s requirements…).

You really need to see the needs for the particular project you are working on more than which tool is available to you.
In fact, if the tool is a hindrance to you, change it as quickly as you can to adopt a more flexible solution. In some cases, management will expect the use of certain tools and you then have to comply to their expectations.

A simple rule though, keep your reporting simple and to the point. Remain flexible and use as many generic tools as you can.
This way you will be able to drive your project and not administer it.

The role of a project manager is to ensure the project is done (on Time, on Cost and on Quality …) not that it is beautifully documented.
If documentation is a requirement, ask for some project support to assist you.

john higham