Project Management Principles and Closure

Project Context and Principles

• Project context should be understood by stakeholders to apply principles appropriately.
• Context guides from pre-project to project lifecycle stages.
• Context ensures stakeholder needs and relationships are understood.
• Projects differ from business as usual in that they conclude after the initial business activity resumes.
• Projects are unique, unlike ongoing operational management.

Project Characteristics

• Project work is generally riskier than business-as-usual work.
• Project completion ends after business activity is resumed.
• Every project is different from previous projects.

Project Closure

• A project can be prematurely closed if the external environment changes.
• The principle of "Tailor to suit the project" is applied in this scenario.

Roles, Responsibilities, and Relationships

• Project teams often involve external stakeholders, like suppliers.
• Day-to-day management structures are unlikely to control project work.
• Project boards should ideally include external supplier representatives.
• Suppliers are external stakeholders.

Performance Limits

• Setting limits for seven aspects of performance enables effective project management.
• The principle of "Manage by exception" is utilized for this.

Business Justification

• The principle of "Ensure continued business justification" maintains the project's desirability, viability, and achievability.
• The principle ensures stakeholders continually justify the investment.

Principle Application

• Principles allow for method application tailoring to project specifics.
• PRINCE2 is generic and adapts to different industries.
• Principles need to be applied consistently within an organization.

Project Leadership

• Leadership involves co-creation and collaboration within the project ecosystem.
• Project leadership facilitates shared attitudes, values, and goals.
• Leadership involves instructing tasks and ensuring aligned ways of working.

Co-Creation

• Co-creation involves working with key influencers to ensure agreed ways of working are adopted.

Leadership Aspects

• Leadership involves motivating people towards project objectives.
• Leadership involves influencing and co-creating with stakeholders.
• Leadership involves seeking frequent feedback.

Organizational Boundaries

• Securing funding from the business layer is an activity performed by people outside the project team.
• Gaining commitment for post-project benefits is a task often performed outside the project team.

Change Management

• Change management ensures stakeholders understand organizational impacts of the project.
• Change management ensures the project's ongoing justification.

Project Team Capability

• Project teams should reflect diverse capabilities and competencies.
• Team structure affects how team members perform.
• Standard roles and responsibilities adaptable to the project are used.

Change Management Purpose

• Change management describes processes and procedures for managing project uncertainties.
• Change management outlines how proposals for change to the project plan should be recorded and approved.
• Change management defines new business operational needs and procedures.

Project Principles and Elements

• "People", as an element, utilizes the principle of "Define roles, responsibilities, and relationships."

Project Board Approval

• Project board approval commits the project to scope and timescale through the project mandate.
• Project initiation documentation is committed to by the project board.
• The business case justifies project progression.

Business Case Purpose

• The business case helps the project executive decide on project continuation.
• The business case identifies user quality expectations.
• The business case considers dis-benefits and minimizes conflicts.

Project Justification

• Project justification is ensured by the business case and highlight report.

Business Objectives

• Business objectives represent measurable outcomes relating to an organization's strategy.

Project Requirements

• A government carbon footprint target should be documented as an outcome.

Risk Management

• Risk impact assessment relating to the business case is a part of the "Develop" step.
• The impact of new risks on the business case is assessed during the check step.

Organizational Feedback

• Project teams should adapt to stakeholder feedback about team structure using the principle of "Tailor to suit the project."

Accountability

• Sustainability targets should be tracked in role descriptions and project structures.
• Project board holds authorization for project execution within business parameters.

Post-Project Benefits

• Post-project benefit realization requires stakeholders committing to using the project products.

Project Team Additions

• New team members joining should be managed by the "Develop the project ecosystem" step.

Planning Purposes

• Project plans determine product deliverables and timelines.
• Project plans enable the project to respond to uncertainties.

Scope Changes

• Exception plans handle scope increases beyond business-agreed tolerances.

Project Planning Elements

• Project plans should account for iterative-incremental projects.
• Iterative-incremental projects use multiple delivery stages to refine acceptance criteria.
• Plans for iterative projects should break down work packages, detailing day-to-day project management.

User Requirements

• User quality expectations are captured when defining/analyzing products during planning.

Quality Assurance

• Quality assurance ensures that the project outputs meet user quality requirements.
• Quality assurance defines expected standards for project products.

Product Status Recording

• The product register records product status and needs, ideally with a clear approval status.

Project Assurance

• Project assurance is separate from the project manager and may be part of the user's quality management.

Changes to Plans

• Issue management should be used to respond to new requirements in subordinate plans.

Product Acceptance

• Product acceptance occurs when testing is complete and the user takes ownership.

Risk Practice Purpose

• Risk management identifies the likelihood and impact of potential project threats.
• Risk management establishes solutions to risks.

Risk Recording and Ownership

• Risk registers document project threats.
• Risk action owners address risks.

Risk Decision-Making

• Loss aversion can result in less effective risk decisions.
• Loss aversion causes prioritization of preserving existing situations over new opportunities.

Risk Management Stages

• Defining how to manage risk occurs during the risk "Plan" phase.

Issue Management

• The issues practice resolves uncertainties and addresses the root cause.
• The issue management approach outlines handling of the project issues.

Issue Definition

• Issues involve circumstances needing project management attention.

Issue Implementation

• Issue resolution requires implementation based on project board approvals.

Progress Management

• Progress practices forecast project time and budget adherence using project data.

Reporting

• The project board reviews highlight reports for project decisions.

Exception Definition

• Exceptions describe forecast deviations from agreed tolerance levels.

Data Management

• Project data supports progress predicting and accurate performance analyses.

Exception Levels

• Issues exceeding tolerances are most likely identified at the "Managing" and "Delivering" levels, during the "commissioning" and "directing" project stages.

Starting up a Project

• Starting up a project assesses project value to the organization.
• Initiation documentation planning is done before solid project foundations are set.

Project Process Purpose

• Starting up a project allows for an organization to validate the project worthiness.

Directing a Project

• Directing a project lets the project board oversee delegation.
• Directing ensures projects have a solid justification and feasibility.
• Project directing manages work stages with corrective actions.

Controlling a Stage

• Controlling a stage maintains approved products and ensures deliverables meet quality criteria.
• Controlling a stage ensures that only agreed upon products are worked on.

Closing a Project

• Project closure ensures proper authorization and post-project benefit review scheduling.

Project Initiation

• Project initiation authorizes the project team to begin; plans and estimates costs.
• Project initiation addresses changes to agreed project deliverables.

Managing Stage Boundaries

• Managing a stage boundary prepares the project for the next stage.
• Managing a stage boundary updates project initiation documentation based on quality changes.
• Managing boundaries reports on stage progress to the project board.

Premature Closure

• Premature closure is authorized by the project board when the business case is no longer valid.

Iterative Changes

• Project plans should accommodate iterative projects by utilizing multiple delivery stages to refine products.

Project Scope Changes

• Changes to the business strategy require updated project plans accommodating changes.

Product Quality

• Quality specifications define how products meet user expectations.

Product Reviews

• Quality changes to products should be recorded in project initiation documentation for next stage.

This quiz covers the foundational principles of project management, focusing on understanding project context, characteristics, and closure processes. It emphasizes the unique aspects of project work compared to ongoing operations and the importance of stakeholder involvement. Test your knowledge on how projects differ and how to adapt principles to suit various situations.