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The new PRINCE2(r), manual for project managers, feels much clearer and more structured. The new PRINCE2(r), Managing Successful Projects, has more diagrams and provides more information about the themes and processes.
This makes the book visually more interesting than the previous versions. I’m sure it makes it easier to read and reference on a daily base.
The business case is more prominent, and the text spends more time evaluating and understanding project context.
Chapter 5 outlines the project’s organizational environment and provides advice on how to work with a project team, whether part-time or not. It also includes guidance on training and line management responsibilities.
This edition has a more detailed definition of the quality approach and a sample agenda for quality review meetings. The book provides more structured guidance about the ‘how’ to manage a project, with examples of how the techniques or criteria are actually applied within a project.
Each Theme chapter ends in a table that explains the responsibilities of each member of the team as they relate to that Theme. This is repeated in a similar manner in the Processes chapters.
The text mentions a daily log, but I’m not convinced that this concept is useful in an electronic business environment.
There are many useful checklists in the book. The Closing a Project checklist seems particularly useful, even though it overlaps slightly with the Authorize Project Closure check-list.
The Appendix E health check lists offer project managers the chance to assess the status of any project. This is especially useful if you are near the end of a major stage or feel it is time to schedule a review.
This chapter provides clearer guidance on how PRINCE2 (r) fits within the OGC family of texts. There are also references to Management of Risk in Chapter 8.
This, along with the advice on how to tailor PRINCE2(r), makes the manual more practical and coherent. The PRINCE2r methods were prone to being applied in an “all or nothing” manner. But this new version puts organizational maturity and appetite at the core of the project management process.
