Article by Andy Murray, PRINCE2 2009 Lead Author and Director of Outperform UK Ltd

I can’t believe that at the time of writing this article that 15 months have passed since the latest version of PRINCE2 was launched.  The refresh project itself took nearly 3 years to complete, running from the initial stakeholder workshops in October 2006 to the launch of the new publications in June 2009.  So, 15 months on from the launch and having worked with numerous organisations applying the revised method, I guess it is a good time to reflect on the impact that PRINCE2 2009 has made. 

Back in 2007, the authoring team were given the mandate of taking a fresh look at what was required from a project management method.  We were not constrained by what was already there (i.e. the content of the 2005 version of PRINCE2).  The conclusion from the 9 months of public consultation was that the core method was essentially ok and that most of the issues users had with PRINCE2 were to do with the way organisations, projects or individuals were applying the guidance.  Therefore the focus of the refresh was to incorporate a number of requested changes but in a way that preserved the core of the method with a real emphasis on making it easy to use and adopt.

With this in mind, the authoring team strived to produce an updated method that:

• is less prescriptive and more flexible
• is less theoretical and more practical – based on the input of over 170 organisations and validated through pilots
• included a set of clearly defined principles to help people involved in projects use their judgment as to how the method should be applied (rather than simply following a process without question)
• explicitly stated the need to tailor the method and provided guidance on how to tailor it
• is designed to align with other OCG products (MSP, M_o_R and P3O) enabling users to seamlessly integrate all four methods and frameworks
• clearly shows the linkage with other standards and BoKs
• emphasises the importance of the soft aspects of project management (but does not describe ‘how to’ apply the soft aspects as they are often culturally specific and therefore cannot be universally applied)
• stresses the method requires information and decisions, not documents and meetings – using PRINCE2 should not make project management bureaucratic

People already familiar with the previous 2005 version would instantly recognise these changes when they review updated 2009 version.  Gone are the codes such as SU1, SU2, DP1 etc that labelled the sub-processes and became the dread of many people when taking their exams.  In comes the use of plain English to describe PRINCE2’s principles, control themes, processes, roles and project management products.  The most noticeable change, however, is that PRINCE2 2009 comprises two guides:

• “Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2” is aimed at people who work on projects on a daily basis 
• “Directing Successful Projects with PRINCE2” provides a guide for those who direct or sponsor projects.

The reason for adding the companion ‘Directing’ guide was to address feedback from the public consultation that the biggest challenge most Project Managers faced was the Project Board not understanding their role.  Further consultation with people who sponsor or direct projects revealed that they did not want to read through a 400+ page guide to discover their specific responsibilities and they also felt that a Project Manager oriented guide used language and concepts that were alien to them.  They wanted their own guide, in their language and significantly more condensed than the 2005 PRINCE2 manual.

Since its launch in June 2009 I have received regular emails and read numerous blogs praising PRINCE2 2009.  Here are just a few of them:

• “This is a vast improvement over the last version. It’s clear, practical, and full of common sense. The links to MSP are clear and consistent throughout the book. It can truly stand on its own as a basic text on project management. I am encouraging all our PMs to read it, which is not something I ever said of the last manual.”
• “Thanks for dropping all those codes.  Nice to read a technical manual that’s nearly in plain English”
• “This book [Directing Successful Projects With PRINCE2] is long overdue: it’s a great idea to have a separate manual for those responsible for directing projects and sitting on the Project Board”

I’ve also been helping a number of organisation upgrade to PRINCE2 2009 or to adopt PRINCE2 for the first time.  During the course of such work I always ask my clients to say what they find most valuable in PRINCE2 2009.  The following summarises (in order of popularity) what organisations have told me:

• ‘learning from experience’ principle
• ‘tailoring’ principle combined with the Project Environment chapter
• Project Board guidance, in particular the ‘duties and behaviours’
• concept of salvage in the Closing a Project process
• revised treatment of benefits helps Project Managers focus on why they are doing a project, not just what needs to be delivered.

Recently the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) published a report Creating Value In Project Management using PRINCE2

“The research found that PRINCE2 is perceived as a very robust, comprehensive and pragmatic project management framework, which underwrites project success. Indeed, existing features of the PRINCE2 framework and manual ranked very high in mitigating perceived problems and issues”

However, QUT also found factors that constrain the success of PRINCE2. They found that Project Board members still do not understand their roles and responsibilities, often lack experience or do not possess the necessary competency to undertake the role.  “The problems with project governance do not lie with the PRINCE2 framework.  Indeed, the PRINCE2 participants ranked project governance features among the greatest strengths of the PRINCE2 framework.”

The QUT research backs up the conclusions made in the original Public Consultation Report we published in July 2007 – that the method is essentially sound, but it is the way it is used/adopted where the issues lie.  It is disappointing perhaps that 6-9 months after the launch of the Directing guide that senior management commitment and Project Board competences continue to be the principle weakness in applying a structured method such as PRINCE2. 

It is also disappointing that many Project Board members still feel the Directing guide is too big.  The good news is that there is now a complimentary guide called the Executive Guide to Directing Projects within a PRINCE2 and MSP Environment which is about half the size of the Directing guide.  I now suggest those people who support Project Boards (such as people undertaking project assurance roles or an organisation’s Centre of Excellence or PMO) to use the main Directing guide as an aide and get the Project Board members themselves to read and use the shortened (but broader) Executive guide.

There are encouraging signs though.  British Council in particular made great use of the Directing guide to engage with project sponsors and to get them to direct projects in the spirit of the role.  I’m also working with some of the London Councils on SRO/Sponsor training, with the vast majority of the guidance originating from the Directing guide. 

Overall I’m really pleased with the results that the authoring team achieved.  The feedback is showing that PRINCE2 2009 is making a real difference in improving its part (i.e. a method) in project management.

PRINCE2 2009 templates

• Developed by the lead author and members of the authoring team

• Embedded guidance to help those producing the documents

• Embedded checklists to help those reviewing and approving the documents

• 3 sets of templates to match PRINCE2 2009 recommendations on project scale – one for simple projects, one for normal projects and one for daunting

• The ‘simple’ and ‘normal’ sets use a Project Workbook to aid the build-up of information through the project lifecycle

• Available in different formats – MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel

10% discount available until 30^th September for subscribers to the Arras newsletter.

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Words: Dan Strayer, John Thorpe

Who are the candidates that appear to value and / or have invested in PRINCE2 in their quest for gainful project management employment? In this piece we are looking for the story behind the numbers to maybe uncover some hidden pointers about what is driving behaviours in the profession. In 2010, PRINCE2 is still seen by many as the crucial keyword in the project management recruitment marketplace, but in order for it to remain relevant and meaningful we must be sure that project managers can utilise it for long-term benefits, rather than use it as a buzz word that gives them short-term gains.

In our desire to get a look at who these people are, we decided to take a sample of candidates from our database and derive what they bring to the table in the larger picture of projects and programmes. The sample took a look at 100 candidates who had recently registered with Arras People and used the term “PRINCE2” in any way on their CV. We then tabulated facts and figures about their use of the term, levels of expertise in project management, PRINCE2 levels obtained and any other qualifications (including university or professional training) that might prove relevant in one’s professional development.

The picture that emerged can be seen below.
 

Prince 2 or Prince2 and a Little More?

Arras People have written previously that in our opinion PRINCE2 has won the marketing war amongst project and programme management certification, in spite of any inherent shortcomings the methodology may present. But the amount of other certifications available to PPM practitioners [Management of Risk (M_o_R), PMI, Managing Successful Programmes (MSP), Lean Six Sigma, APM, APMP] seem to have been viewed as less important to the PRINCE2 crowd we examined. Less than a quarter (23%) held one or more of those listed qualifications, even in the most basic of form.

The sample has a good fallback excuse: inexperience. Nearly half (41%) of the respondents had nil to 5 years experience in PPM. This would appear to support the view that earning the PRINCE2 badge is seen as a way in to the profession regardless of practical experience. Further evidence to support this being that 33% of these candidates are certified as PRINCE2:2009 practitioners (i.e. Taken in the last 12 months).
 

Market recognition for non-PRINCE2 Accreditation?

When reviewing the sample for non-PRINCE2 based accreditation we found that 2% of the group had PMI based accreditation with a further 5% having accreditation based on the APM syllabus. The fact that practitioners have invested in Prince2 accreditation on top of their professional learning begs the question why?

Many in the profession would argue that in lieu of professionalisation coming to fruition, this is the M.D. of the project manager’s world. If you take it further, it holds strong correlation to Malcolm Gladwell’s steam-gathering theory from Outliers on the rule of "10,000 hours" as a crucial factor in individual success. You can't fake your way through it: PMP and APMP requires time*, schooling (either college or university), passing an exam and a continuous cycle that incorporates all three of them. It is possibly the ultimate testament of one's conviction to the profession.

With 71% of this group having more than 5 years project management experience, the statistics may suggest that the market does not recognise the value of these paths and these practitioners had to supplement their learnings with the Prince2 badge to gain market recognition?

How did "they" end up in the search?

When skimming through the CVs in our sample (my pseudo shortlist), it became apparent that some of the 100 registrants are not certified in PRINCE2. They had not even taken the Foundation course yet, let alone passed it.

Yet 33 candidates ended up in the sample search primarily because they took time to mention that they had experience of working in a PRINCE2 type environment at some point in their career. Astute candidates that lack the certificate are jumping at the chance to show a significant alternate they bring to a candidacy; after all, if you've practiced it first-hand, you'll be earning and learning all at once, without the need to incur expense. We've often told candidates directly that it’s the best way for a non-certified PRINCE2 practitioner to get in the mix with other candidates from PRINCE2-friendly jobs.

Experience v Qualification?

Looking at the group in a wider perspective rather than just PRINCE2, consider risk management. Often, we find CVs from applicants lauding their degree of experience with risk management. Yet only one project manager stated in the sample that they in fact held a Management of Risk (M_o_R) certification, the leading risk management certification on the market under the same OGC governance umbrella as PRINCE2.

When we then looked at programme management, 11 registrants identified themselves as being involved in this field of work. Further examination of the sample identified that 11 had taken courses in Managing Successful Programmes (MSP), also under the OGC governance.  When we looked at how these samples overlapped it was astonishing to find that only ONE of those was from the aforementioned list of 11 programme managers/directors.

So based on these findings and assuming that these candidates have been working in the roles described in their CVs can we jump to a simple conclusion? Project Management = PRINCE2 in the minds of many employers but once out of this domain there is no similar equation for management of Risk, Programme management etc? If this is the case does that strengthen or depreciate the value of PRINCE2 if other PPM roles are being judged on experience?
 

Graduates vs. Non-Graduates: What’s the story?

Exactly 6 out of 10 (60%) of our sample of registrants held at least a Bachelor’s Degree of some kind, with 16** of those university graduates going on to obtain Masters Degrees. The numbers seem to indicate a healthy level of commitment to academic learning within the PPM community. Within this group 72% had also passed at least a Foundation course or further in PRINCE2. Almost exactly likewise, 12 of the 16 master’s earners (75%) had the minimum of a foundation in PRINCE2.

By contrast, the 40 registrants who had not earned a Bachelor’s degree seemed more heavily keen on the PRINCE2 certification as a notch on their belt: 90%, in fact, had passed the foundation course. Moreover, 85% were PRINCE2 certified. Although the sample size is small, it’s worth considering that non-graduates may in fact have a professional urgency to notch that achievement belt. Is there more of an urgency than with graduates? Perhaps, but keep in mind that there are other certifications we charted for both graduates and non-graduates that have been obtained, some more popular than others. Notably, graduates had the upper hand on qualifications such as M_o_R, PMI, ISEB, ITIL, APM, Scrum, Agile and Six Sigma certifications. Non-graduates held the upper hand on MSP.

Although the information is random, the figures from the study perhaps best illustrate not necessarily when or even how much you’ve learned, but how your learning applies in the grand scheme of your dedication to sound project & programme management.
 

CONCLUSIONS

For Employers

Although PRINCE2 has won the war of Project Management methodologies, the lack of equivalency for other elements of the project management domain leaves open questions about the quality of project management you’re getting for your PRINCE2 desires. Let the buyer beware, especially if they filter and then judge talent on this element alone.
 

For Candidates

There is a game to be played here in opening the door to that next career opportunity, PRINCE2 may today be the key. How long this will last is open to question and will depend upon how the market continues to be educated. Whatever the outcome some form of education to back up experience is bound to be required so maybe we all better get use to that!

*PMI states that Eligibility Requirements for a Project Management Professional certification as a non-university graduate, you need 5 years project management experience with at least 7,500 hours spent leading and directing project tasks and 35 hours project management education. University graduates are required to have three years of experience in project management with minimum 4,500 hours spent leading and directing project tasks and 35 hours project management education. Suffice it to say that such dedication is well within the 10,000 hour range.

**Technically its 18, but we’re disqualifying two candidates because of their lack of attention to personal detail. The registrants in question gave full details for the Master’s Degree they held, yet listed nothing in terms of any sort of Bachelor’s Degree or any other relevant education to precede it. Any smart recruiter will tell you that they wouldn’t feel comfortable putting forward a candidate who can’t get their personal details right; mess that one up, and you might miss other relevant work details just as easily.

For other articles on PRINCE2, visit the Camel blog

Words: Lindsay Scott

Author: Adryan Bell
Publisher: Gower
Size: 126 pages

Reviewed by Nicola Thorp

This book starts out talking about the changes in technology within the office workspace – a few quips about how emails are deemed “for old people” by the younger generation now as time moves on and the essentials we use in everyday life are perceived as dated. The text is focused on attitudes towards challenges within the professional environment and change management. Written in an easy to read format the book does tend to lean towards reiterating what is already generally known but with any good change concept; the key is to drive home the benefits and reasoning behind a move in how we do things.

Working through a “six ‘e’ theme”; Efficiency, Effectiveness; Engagement; Expression; E-work and Experience, Adryan talks through a step by step guide of concepts, implementing and embedding.

• Efficiency is based around the physicality of the workspace and use of hot desks and keeping down running costs – Adryan refers to personal experiences of challenges faced previously.
• Effectiveness is a more detailed chapter – talking around the functional aspect of an office space which not only works in regards to being cost effective but practical.  
• Engagement tackles the people elementdiscussing psychology, communication and resistance to change.
• Expression looks into the office space stimulating and motivating it’s users.
• E-work, Adryan describes as a “New word” and focuses on work models and practices.
• Experience is the last topic covered and covers areas such as atmosphere or culture and how this can be improved through nurturing a “buzz”.

Finally there is a short summary followed by a case study. When I first started to read this book I was skeptical about its content feeling that the detail or lack of it was already known – “It’s common sense”, but as I read on further felt that actually this is a good quick overview of the politics involved in creating a new environment. Personally I felt the re could be more detail around the change management aspect as this is always a tricky area within organisations; especially those that are long established. The book took an hour to read – it did not require deep concentration due to top level approach and no nonsense terminology.

Would I recommend it? Yes, to those looking at making a change to the work environment as a starting point to consider all factors at the higher level.

This book is available at a 20% discount to Tipoffs readers on our personalised page with Gower Publishing

ABOUT OUR REVIEWER: Nicola Thorp is a project management consultant with Arras People. With a background in operations and project management, she has previously created & embedded operational support processes and procedures within a globally-based central support office. She also a specialises in the field of P3O (Portfolio, Programme and Project Office) and can advise candidates wishing to develop in this field. You can book a careers clinic with Nicola online.

DO YOU WANT TO REVIEW A BOOK FOR TIPOFFS? Contact us today.

"I want to move to a programme manager role from my project manager level experience. I'm not sure if I have the right kind of  experience? What about MSP?" - Mark, Leeds

The key answer  when being asked about moving into a new role is to first look at what is being asked.  Programme Managers have responsibility for realising the benefits from a number of projects. Strategic in nature, the combined projects deliver the programme objectives (many of which evolve over the duration of the programme).

To make the move any professional must therefore demonstrate a solid project management experience, managing simultaneous large strategically important projects.  Experience of the programme environment is crucial as the demands of project and programme are different. As a Programme Manager you will have responsibility for project managers and therefore providing leadership and gaining the respect of your peers is important. You will be often reporting at board level so being comfortable providing strategic information ensures senior management concentrate on the key issues and add value appropriately.

Experience suggest that moving organisation to make the step from project manager to programme manager is more difficult than gaining an internal promotion.  This is not to say that it cannot happen but the persuasive argument needs to be much stronger.  The advice would therefore be gaining as much programme level experience as possible within your current organisation.  If your current environment does not operate programmes, then perhaps a sideways switch to an organisation that does have programmes might be worth considering (still operating as a project manager at this stage)

In relation to MSP (Managing Successful Programmes) accreditation our advice would be the same for any qualification.  Employers do not generally employ people for their qualifications but rather their experience.  This is not to say that qualifications are not important.  They provide core skills which can be developed through experiences.  Employers, where they have asked for MSP, are  looking for formal training in Programme Management and the MSP is the most well known.

In conclusion moving from project to programme manager requires demonstration of strategic overview and an understanding of benefits realisation. This is best achieved internally and underpinned by programme level qualifications although experience is the key criteria.

If you would like to put a question to Mick, contact us and it could end up in a future edition of the Tipoffs Q&A. Also, be sure to check out our Project Management Careers clinic / Project Management Careers Advice pages for more advice related to project management careers.

Got a question for us? Contact us today.