markr1963

My manager has just completed his practitioner's course and is almost evangelical. He wishes to implement this methodology henceforth. I know Prince 2 was developed for IT projects but does it actually work? In a world of moving goal posts and changing pitch shapes is it flexible enough? Or can it be used to reign in the ad hoc changes and scope creep that frequently occurs?

I'd be interested in any pros & cons that you guys may have come across.

TIA

Mark

Jonnip74

I did mine back at the beginning of the year... Great in paper, but as soon as the methods hit the real world, you've not got a hope in hells chance.

I work in IT for local government, and if you follow all the prince2 examples, i'd be in more meetings, and sending more emails than actually getting the job done.

It's certainly got some advantages, but it's a bit too long winded for my liking!

(The course / exam was the most boring week of my life as well!!)

DemonDave

iTrader: (13)

yes it works - but it is also best to apply it in the best way for your organisation - Prince 2 is the standard but you should always adopt a best practice that meets the need of the organisation.

PMBOK is another standard but you see the same prinicples

An Introduction to PMBOK & PRINCE 2

alistair

It works for the right projects in the right environment.

IMHO, whilst there are elements that can be usefully applied to any project, in its entirity it's best where there are formal contracts in place and the work can be properly defined up front.

I work in investment banking and it would be **** all use to us - things move too quickly (especially the last couple of weeks) and no-one gives a rats **** about the signed off requirements - if they're wrong you make the changes and don't bleat on about what the original spec said.

markr1963

Thanks for the comments, guys. It'll be interesting to see how it works out.

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

interesting thread as it is something I have been looking at doing recently due to upcoming redundancy. I have seen that prince 2 has now been adopted away from the IT industry, the NHS being a good example and they are good payers

DemonDave

iTrader: (13)

Most roles look for Prince 2 or related - so a registered practioner is a good cert to hold - Just the same as an ITIL qualifications.

ash1

iTrader: (2)

its a load of pants, think Agile !

DemonDave

iTrader: (13)

Prince 2 for projects --- agile for software development, 2 diff tools for 2 diff jobs - even agile has its own PM techniques (DSDM Atern)

interesting read here --- SiliconGlen, Scotland.: PRINCE2 + AGILE = Common sense?

"So it seems to me that you could effectively use PRINCE2 for the high level governance of a project, Atern for the structure of how the project development is to be organised and prioritised and scrum for the day to day elements of effectively organising the software engineer's time and daily priorities."

markr1963

What worries me is that my manager seems to think Prince 2 is the panacea of all things project management. I don't doubt it has it uses as do the other methodogloies mentioned - but right tool for the job, yes?
But hey, any PM training/certs I can get for my CV is fine by me.

DemonDave

iTrader: (13)

It is defo not

Its is just a tool - the mindset and desire is important