What is PRINCE2® 7 Project Management?

Initially developed by the British Government and later administered by AXELOS Limited, PRINCE2 (Projects IN Controlled Environments, version 2) is a globally recognised, process-based project management methodology.

It provides a highly structured, scalable, and adaptable framework for governance, risk management, and most importantly, benefits realisation. Today, it is widely regarded as the de facto standard in project management.

In September 2023, PeopleCert, the official PRINCE2 accreditation body, released the much-anticipated update to PRINCE2 6. PRINCE2 7 now stands as the defining standard for this industry-leading and globally accredited methodology.

This latest version was launched six years after the introduction of version 6, appropriately reflecting the evolving needs of modern project environments.

How PRINCE2® 7 Became a Global Standard in Project Management

Officially recognised as the de facto project management standard, PRINCE2 has undergone a remarkable evolution. With its roots in the 1980s, it was originally developed to address common project management challenges, such as meeting deadlines, staying within budget, and ensuring deliverables met quality standards.

Derived from an earlier IT-focused system called PROMPTII, PRINCE2 began as a government-developed methodology tailored for IT project management. Over time, it expanded well beyond its original scope.

From its first version to the latest release, PRINCE2 7, it has matured into a framework used to manage projects of all types across industries.

The PRINCE2® 7 Methodology Explained

For many, this might feel like venturing into uncharted territory. According to PeopleCert, the following offers a concise overview of the PRINCE2 project lifecycle.

1. Imagine this: you’re in a business role and find it challenging to navigate specific tasks or meet deadlines and budget constraints. This scenario often gives rise to an idea or identified need, documented as a project mandate. This marks the **start-up phase**, whose primary goal is to determine project management roles and whether the project is worth pursuing. Essentially, this process allows decision-makers to assess whether the project merits initiation.
2. Once approved, the project enters the **initiation stage**. The objective here is to define key aspects such as scope, quality, timelines, costs, risks, expected benefits and resource needs. All of this information is consolidated into the Project Initiation Documentation (PID), which is then reviewed by the project board to authorise the formal start of the project.
3. Following initiation, the project manager takes responsibility for **managing the project** on a stage-by-stage basis, reporting progress to the project board. During each stage, the project manager ensures that work progresses in alignment with the agreed plan. This involves a continuous cycle of assigning tasks, monitoring risks, gathering team updates, reviewing progress, reporting to stakeholders, and implementing corrective actions as needed.
4. As the project moves into product delivery, the focus shifts to ensuring that planned deliverables are completed by team members in accordance with the work packages. These outputs must meet defined quality standards and secure the necessary approvals.
5. At the end of each stage, the **stage boundary management** process enables the project board to evaluate whether the project should continue. The goal is to confirm that all agreed deliverables for the stage have been completed and to provide the board with updated information such as revised plans and a current business case to support the decision on whether to proceed. Importantly, any lessons learned should be documented to benefit future project stages or other initiatives.
6. The final phase is **project closure**, carried out in a controlled and deliberate manner. The purpose of closing a project is to assess whether the objectives outlined in the PID have been achieved, confirms that the end user is satisfied with the outcome, and formally closes the project. An **End Project Report** is produced, lessons learned are finalised, and project resources are reassigned.

PRINCE2® 7 Upgrades: How It Improves on Version 6

While still retaining the core structure (principles, practices, and processes), Version 7 now integrates a fourth ‘people element’. Compelling key updates include:

• An **enhanced focus on people**, emphasising the importance of individuals as a resource and the role they play in influencing a project’s success.
• The incorporation of **sustainability as a performance target**. In line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, PRINCE2 now recognises the importance of the SDGs in determining project management outcomes.
• In terms of digital and data management, Version 7 now incorporates a more **tech-forward approach** to address the increasing reliance on data-driven decision-making and digital transformation.
• Improved **flexibility and adaptability**, recognising that project management frameworks are not one-size-fits-all and can be tailored to various project types and delivery approaches.

Future-Proof Your Career with PRINCE2® 7

With over two million PRINCE2 certified professionals worldwide, this framework is both tried and tested. While projects may operate within varying contexts, the PRINCE2 framework, particularly Version 7, is designed to adapt to diverse project environments.

At HiLogic, an accredited PRINCE2 Training Organisation, we deliver public training programs in Melbourne and Perth, alongside flexible online learning options.

Our learning options include self-paced, Foundation, and Practitioner online courses to suit different learning needs and career stages.

Contact us today at 1300 793 334 or send us an enquiry here.

Who can use PRINCE2® Project Management?

PRINCE2® (Projects IN Controlled Environments, version 2), as a project management methodology with focus on improving project performance, has broadened its target audience since its original inception.

Newer iterations of the methodology have been updated to reflect trends and challenges in today’s business environment. The latest iteration of PRINCE2® has a greater focus on people interaction and integration of sustainability considerations into project management practices. The latest edition of PRINCE2® is referred to as PRINCE2® 7. PRINCE2 remains globally recognised as an industry-leading project management methodology that can be used across any industry.

Professionals who can benefit most from PRINCE2® as a method for the successful management of projects include:

Project Managers

Both certified and non-certified Project Managers can use PRINCE2® to refine and update their know-how and skills through an internationally recognised training and certification program, enabling project success and improved outcomes.

Project Leaders (Project Control Groups/Boards)

Accountable for the success of a project, Project Leaders need to ensure projects are appropriately structured, planned and managed. PRINCE2® provides Project Leaders learning and understanding of a best practice approach. Enabling effective controls and key ‘touch-points’ relevant to leaders to review the management, structure and performance of projects within their business environment.

Project Team Leads (Team Managers/Coordinators)

PRINCE2® can help contribute to ways of working and principles that Project Team Leads want their team members to adopt. PRINCE2® has a strong emphasis on collaboration, co-design and a team-based approach to management.

Project/Program Management Office (PMO) Staff

The method can help PMO professionals gain an understanding of a structured best-practice project management approach and acquire a strong foundation on how to apply PRINCE2’s practices and techniques to enable more effective structure and controls.

Professionals in a PRINCE2 environment contributing to projects through product delivery, advice and information

These professionals can benefit from PRINCE2® by understanding its structure, defined roles and terminology to improve the effectiveness of their interactions and contributions to enable the achievement of project outcomes.

Any individual seeking to hone their project management skills and  attain a recognised project management certification

The method and training are suitable for any individual seeking to:

• Enhance their project management skills
• Stay updated with the latest thinking, know-how and practices
• Explore new employment opportunities
• Learn more about the importance of being organised within each stage of a project’s lifecycle.

The Seven Principles of PRINCE2® Project Management:

To ensure consistency and effective use of the methodology, there are seven principles in PRINCE2® which act as ‘guiding obligations’. If followed, they ensure the foundations of PRINCE2® are adhered to.

To maintain controlled project delivery and maximise project benefits, the seven principles are:

Ensure Continued Business Justification

A project needs to have a clear justification from start to finish. PRINCE2® ensures the project’s aims are regularly reviewed to confirm they are worthwhile, of value and aligned with business goals.

Learn from Experience

Through the use of PRINCE2®, teams regularly discuss past and current ways of working, review past and recent performance and project issues. They also draw on insights from previous projects to identify lessons and implement improvements to ensure practices and the management of the project is continually improved.

Defined Roles, Responsibilities and Relationships

The method establishes clear roles and responsibilities for each member involved in the project to promote accountability and collaboration among team members and other stakeholders.

Manage by Stages

The method recommends mapping out each stage of a project to enable transparency of what needs to be done, by whom and when, but without excessive detail. This is followed by a stage-by-stage planning process with the aim of improving planning through regular reviews of objectives and performance, identification of variables that may impact a future stage, and allowing required refinements and adjustments. The overall outcome of this approach is improved management and control.

Manage by Exception

Tolerances, which are described by PRINCE2 as ‘an acceptable variation’ are applied to empower teams to make decisions within a pre-agreed limit. Tolerances can be set on costs, risks, quality and other parameters. Performance and issues are then regularly reviewed against these limits, with exceptions escalated to the next higher management level to review and ensure the project can still proceed and be successful. Tolerances and escalation of exceptions, enables issues that might impact the successful completion of a project and achievement of its outcomes, are addressed by people with the right level of authority.

Focus on Products

A project’s primary focus is on delivering a product that satisfies product and outcome expectations. Thus, the first step in PRINCE2’s planning process focuses on understanding and defining products. That is ‘what’ is needed to achieve project outcomes, as against, starting the planning process with activity identification, which tends to focus on ‘how’ to achieve outcomes.

Experience has shown that activity planning may not expose important product requirements or risks that may affect the realisation of outcomes.

Tailor to Suit the Project

To maximise the effectiveness of the methodology, it must be applied to each project independently. That is, the user should consider how best to apply and adapt PRINCE2® for each project according to the size of the project, its complexity, importance and risk level.

Adhering to these seven principles is fundamental to maximising the benefits received from your use of the PRINCE2® methodology.

Are your projects aligned with these 7 principles?  Contact us to learn more.

The Seven Practices of PRINCE2® Project Management:

These seven practices (formerly known as themes) of PRINCE2® refer to key aspects of project management that should be regularly applied to ensure maximum project success. Within each of the following practices, PRINCE2® presents concepts, techniques, roles and management documents to support alignment to PRINCE2’s principles, whilst also supporting the following aims of each practice:

The aims of the Practices are outlined as follows:

Business Case Practice

At the core of PRINCE2® is the Business Case practice with focus on ensuring projects remain beneficial and achievable by successfully justifying their value and alignment with business objectives on a regular basis.

Organisation Practice

Here the project team structure of those involved in the project is outlined by considering required roles and responsibilities, and relationships with stakeholders and users. This practice focuses on how people are organised within a project and encourages an emphasis on people management, which is an element of PRINCE2 that underwent particular review during the last update of PRINCE2®.

Plans Practice

The purpose of the plan’s practice is to facilitate regular communication and control by defining the products and the means for delivering them. The plan’s practice requires projects to undertake regular assessments and reviews of project stages, and make required adjustments to plans based on current learnings, required changes and performance information.

Quality Practice

Fulfilling user requirements is key to delivering a viable and acceptable project product. The key to this is ensuring that user requirements and expectations are clearly understood and that the project establishes a means to achieve these requirements and expectations, through a process of regular review, verification and acceptance.

Risk Practice

As risks may affect the viability or achievability of a project, it is important that a project has an agreed means to identify and assess risks throughout the life of the project and identify measures to improve the project’s ability to succeed.

Issue Practice

The focus of this practice is to provide a means to effectively collect and assess issues and control changes to the project’s baseline and ensure decisions are taken with the correct level of authority.

Progress Practice

PRINCE2® emphasises regular tracking and monitoring of the project’s performance against an agreed plan.  This enables a sound understanding of the project’s current progress, whilst also aiding decisions on the likelihood of achieving project objectives based on the most current forecast information.

These 7 practices serve as the backbone of the PRINCE2®  methodology.  They support the application of its principles and remain a key focus for project teams from the project’s beginning to its end.

What are the benefits of using PRINCE2® Project Management?

As a globally recognised methodology, an evident advantage of applying the above-mentioned project management practices is that the project and everyone involved in the project can easily align with a best practice project management approach.

Referencing a tried and tested framework to enhance your understanding of project management can lead to the following key benefits:

• The methodology requires projects to be divided into multiple delivery stages, enhancing the accuracy of planning and estimating of a project, enabling easier review of progress, and facilitating transparency and control of the many challenges faced by larger, more complex projects.
• By adopting PRINCE2®, the management structure adopted by a project becomes clearer, enabling discussions on how to ensure maximum success.
• Save time and money; there is no need to develop your own project management method. By using PRINCE2®, you can repeatedly reference an established and proven framework to align with best practice and enhance your project’s chances of success.
• Improved communications across your organisation, as the methodology adopts a consistent vocabulary that can be understood by project teams and stakeholders.
• PRINCE2® can be applied to any project regardless of its size or type, and is relevant across industry types. PRINCE2® encourages application and adoption based on the level of control needed and with consideration of the project’s aims and project environment. With appropriate guidance, the methodology can be adopted and adapted for a range of projects within a single organisation and maintain a consistent approach for project management for the organisation.
• Using PRINCE2® within your organisation will aid in defining and allocating roles, responsibilities and accountability for projects. PRINCE2® outlines project roles for each member of a project team to ensure accountability and clear communication across the life of a project. This significantly benefits people management aspects of any organisation as the correct use of PRINCE2® improves clarity and adoption of project accountability and responsibilities.
• The PRINCE2® methodology adapts a benefit-focused approach from the project’s conception through to its end. Review and assessment of the likely achievement of expected benefits of a project occurs at a minimum, at the end of each project stage. This is to ensure it can and will deliver to stakeholder expectations, and if not, decisions are made as quickly as possible

Offering a benefit-focused and structured approach to project management, PRINCE2® is designed to maximise project success rates and promote effective collaboration.

Why Choose HiLogic for your PRINCE2® Training?

At HiLogic, we are an accredited training organisation with a focus on delivering practical and easy-to-use project management methods.

We support individuals and organisations to achieve their project management aims through know-how and skills supported by internationally recognised practices designed to enhance project success.

Through our training and support services, we have different learning options, as we understand individuals and organisations have different learning preferences. These options include:

• Regular public in-person training courses
• In-house training programs that can be tailored to suit the needs of a project team or  organisation
• Self-paced e-learning, allowing individuals or teams to learn at their own pace and at a time that suits them best
• Foundation, and Practitioner level training
• Workshops aimed at supporting the use and adoption of project management practices
• Advisory and coaching services
• Helping organisations design and adopt best project management practices specific to their needs and strategic change objectives.

With our flexible range of learning and support options, learn and apply best practices to enhance project success.

The HiLogic prince2training.com.au team is dedicated to supporting you through your learning so you too can apply PRINCE2® project management with confidence.

Contact us today on 1300 793 334, or send us an enquiry here.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the difference between PRINCE2® and other project management methods?

Most project management frameworks focus on ‘what you need to know’, and may not outline a clear step-by-step guide on how and when to apply project management principles and practices. PRINCE2®, as opposed to other project management methods and frameworks, has a greater focus on the application of project management principles and practices. It provides a process of application supported by clear steps guiding how and when to apply PRINCE2’s practices. It also outlines the responsibilities of each project team member for these project management practices.

How long is my PRINCE2® certification valid for?

All individuals holding certification will need to renew the certification within three years from their original certification date to keep it current.  A certification can be renewed by being part of the Peoplecert Plus Membership program and accruing continuous professional development points or retaking and passing a PRINCE2 exam. The renewal program aims to ensure professionals remain appropriately skilled and knowledgeable.

Is PRINCE2® globally recognised?

Yes, PRINCE2® is recognised worldwide as a leading project management method, with over 2,000,000 professionals certified across more than 150 countries.