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PRINCE2 2009 - Plans part 14

The PRINCE2® approach

Prerequisites for planning – design the plan

Write the Product Descriptions

A Product Description is required for all the identified products.

When creating a Product Description, consider the following:

  • Product Descriptions should be written as soon as possible after the need for the product has been identified. Initially, these may only be ‘skeletons’ with little more than the title and identifier as information. They will be refined and amended as the product becomes better understood and the later planning steps are done
  • A Product Description should be baselined when the plan containing the creation of that product is baselined. If the product is later changed, the Product Description must also pass through change control
  • Although the responsibility for writing Product Descriptions rests officially with the Project or Team Manager, it is wise to involve representatives from the area with expertise in the product and those who will use the product in question. The latter should certainly be consulted when defining the quality criteria for the product
  • Successful Product Descriptions may be reused for other projects within that programme or organization. For this to happen, a library of Product Descriptions for reuse will need to be established and a mechanism for Product Descriptions to be placed in the library will also need to be implemented. The Project Manager should therefore refer to the library in order to see if any of the Product Descriptions within it are suitable for reuse and/or modification for the project
  • If a detailed requirements specification for a product is already available, this may be used as a substitute for the Product Description as long as the requirements specification covers the components and meets the quality criteria expected of a Product Description. Alternatively a Product Description should be created referencing the requirements specification contents where appropriate
  • For a small project, it may only be necessary to write the Project Product Description
  • Quality criteria, aimed at separating an acceptable product from an unacceptable one, need careful thought.
  • One way of testing quality criteria is by asking the question: how will I know when work on this product is finished as opposed to stopped?

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Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2 - 2005 edition
Managing successful Projects with PRINCE2 – 2009 edition
Directing Projects with PRINCE2.
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