PRINCE2 - Managing Product Delivery (MP) part 3
of the Cabinet Office under delegated authority from the Controller of HMSO.
Executing a Work Package (MP2)
Fundamental principles
Are that:
- Whatever the type of project, the actual task of creating the required products needs to be managed
- In the same way that work is delegated to a Team Manager, so the tracking of that work is also delegated
Context
This sub-process may occur at a level that is not using PRINCE2® – for instance, when a non-PRINCE2 third party is involved.
There is, therefore, no addition of specific standards or procedures to be used, just a statement of what must be done in order for the Team Manager to liaise within the project.
Process description
The work on an authorised Work Package has to be monitored at the depth required to provide feedback to the Project Manager as defined in the authorised Work Package.
The necessary steps are to:
- Manage the development of the required products / services
- Capture and record the effort expended
- Determine the status of each product in the Work Package
- Evaluate with the creator(s) the amount of effort still required
- Feed the progress and status information back to the Project Manager in Checkpoint Reports, in the manner and at the frequency defined in the Work Package
- Ensure that the required quality checking procedures are carried out and that the product(s) satisfy the quality standards defined in the Work Package
- Update the Quality Log with details of all quality checks carried out
- Advise the Project Manager of any problems that might impact the agreed tolerance levels for the Work Package. (Formally, this would be done via a Project Issue).
It is useful for a Team Manager to use a Daily Log, as described in Controls.
It can be used to remind the Team Manager to follow up on quality checks still not done or those revealing too many errors taking too long to remedy.
Items on the critical path due to start or complete can also be put in the Daily Log to remind the Team Manager to check that everything is on course.
Responsibilities
The Team Manager is responsible for this sub-process.
Project Assurance or their representatives will be involved in much of the quality checking.
| Management information | Usage | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Authorised Work Package | Input | Work agreed with the Project Manager. |
| Team Plan | Update | Record allocation, planned effort, actual effort and progress, plus any modifications required, are all used to update the Team Plan. |
| Quality Log | Update | Details of the checks carried out on the product to ensure conformance to quality standards are added to the Quality Log. |
| Checkpoint Reports | Output | Progress reports to the Project Manager at the frequency defined in the Work Package. |
| Completed Work Package | Output | Complete Work Package. |
These are given in tabular form in the file ‘MP2 executing a work package.doc’ in the product package.
Key criteria
- Is the work divided into sufficiently small segments to facilitate the required level of control?
- How will progress be monitored?
- Now will the final product(s) be checked?
- Does the Team Plan include the quality checking work?
- Are the team members’ progress-recording and reporting procedures at the right level for the project reporting requirements?
The Team Manager may need to add extra information to the Work Package to indicate version control or configuration management methods to be used within the team.
Procedures must be put in place to keep the Project Manager up to date on progress.
Even if the team is not using PRINCE2, it must provide the Project Manager with the required information in the format stipulated in the Work Package.
Therefore, it would be sensible to have recording and reporting procedures that match those of the project (or even use the respective PRINCE2 reports).
Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2 - 2005 edition
Managing successful Projects with PRINCE2 – 2009 edition
Directing Projects with PRINCE2.
plus:
The Complete Project Management package.
And much more besides - at a fantastic price.