Prince2
Projects IN Controlled Environments is a structured method for effective project management developed by CCTA (The Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency) in UK and internationally used for guidance in project management.
PRINCE processes and components
The PRINCE process model consists of eight distinctive management processes, covering the activities from setting the project off on the right track, through controlling and managing the project’s progress, to the completion of the project.
Throughout the process model there are various project management products which are the inputs and outputs of each process. Planning in PRINCE is product-based. Each product is identified, defined. The responsibilities for the various activities, decision-making, the support requirements and its delivery are all controlled.
The product-based planning technique also enables the project to state the standard of quality to which each product must conform. In addition, quality testing mechanisms are specified in order to prove that the products are meeting their required quality standard. PRINCE describes a specific technique, Quality Review, which is particularly suitable for the quality testing of document-based products. There is a wide range of additional testing techniques that might be appropriate for the project. The Project Quality Plan and the Stage Quality Plans must state what these are, when and how they will be applied and by whom.
A PRINCE project has the following characteristics:
- a finite and defined lifespan
- defined and measurable business products
- a corresponding set of activities to achieve the business products
- a defined amount of resources
- an organization structure, with defined responsibilities, to manage the project
