Progress

• Purpose
• Progress defined
  • What is progress?
  • What are progress controls?
  • Exceptions and tolerances
• The PRINCE2 approach
• Delegating authority
  • The four levels of management
  • Project Board controls
  • Project Manager controls
• Use of management stages for control
  • Overview
  • Number of stages
  • Length of stages
  • Technical stages
• Event driven and time driven controls
  • Overview
  • Baselines for progress control
  • Reviewing progress
  • Capturing and reporting lessons
  • Reporting progress
• Raising exceptions
• Responsibilities

Key sections

• Introduction
• Business case
• Organization
• Quality
• Plans
• Risk
• Change
• Progress
• Introduction to processes
• Starting up a projectDirecting a project
• Initiating a project
• Controlling a stage
• Managing Product Delivery
• Managing a Stage Boundary
• Closing a Project
• Tailoring PRINCE2 to the project environment
• Directing Projects with PRINCE2

The PRINCE2 approach

Use of management stages for control

Length of stages

PRINCE2® does not define how long a management stage should be.
Stages should be shorter when there is greater risk, uncertainty or complexity, for example at the beginning and end of projects.
They can be longer when risk is lower, typically in the middle of projects.
Further, the length of those management stages may vary depending on the point within the project lifecycle.

Factors that will influence this decision include:

• The planning horizon at any point in time The planning horizon may vary depending on the nature of the work being undertaken. For example, the work involved in installing a computer system during an application migration project may be better understood and less risky than the work involved with migrating the application itself
• The technical stages within the project The end of management stages do not necessarily need to occur at the same time as the end of technical stages, but there are often benefits if they do. For example, the Project Board may wish to be able to understand any effects on the Business Case of the results of a ‘proof of concept’ before committing to a full-scale deployment
• Alignment with programme activities It may be a requirement to align the end of a management stage with the end-of-tranche review within the programme. This will allow the project to contribute fully to the assessment of the ongoing viability of the programme itself
• The level of risk Management [see ‘The Complete Risk Management package’] stages can be very useful as a means of bringing Project Board control to risky projects. Stage breaks can be inserted at key points when risks to the project can be reviewed before major commitments of money or resources

PRINCE2® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries.