Why principles matter
The principles are the foundation of PRINCE2. Rather than prescribing exactly what to do on every project, PRINCE2 offers guidance through principles, and this is what lets the same method be used on very different projects. Each principle is a guiding obligation that ensures effective application and tailoring of PRINCE2 to any project. The principles guide how the method is applied on each particular project.
The seven principles are:
- Ensure continued business justification – keep a valid reason to continue
- Learn from experience – seek, record and apply lessons
- Define roles, responsibilities, and relationships – be clear who does what
- Manage by stages – plan and control one stage at a time
- Manage by exception – delegate authority within tolerances
- Focus on products – agree what will be delivered, and to what quality
- Tailor to suit the project – fit the method to the project
1. Ensure continued business justification
A PRINCE2 project must have a justifiable reason for starting, and that justification must remain valid, and be revalidated, throughout the lifecycle of the project. The project must have business justification sufficient to warrant the initial investment and the ongoing investment through to completion. If it does not, it should be stopped.
The business justification drives decision-making, so the project stays aligned with the benefits being sought and contributes to business objectives. Organizations that lack rigour here find projects continuing even when there are few real benefits.
Recognize it when: the project board closes a project early because the external environment has changed; someone reviews whether the project will still deliver valuable products; decisions are checked against the business case.
2. Learn from experience
A PRINCE2 project team actively seeks, records and implements improvements based on relevant lessons, both from prior projects and throughout the life of the project. It applies lessons in future projects and shares them for others to use. Learning is continuous, not something done only at the start or the end.
Recognize it when: lessons are incorporated during the project; a workshop is held to share experiences; lessons inform the team structure.
3. Define roles, responsibilities, and relationships
A PRINCE2 project has defined and agreed roles and responsibilities within an organization structure that engages the business, user and supplier stakeholder interests:
- the business sponsors endorse the project objectives and ensure that the investment gives value for money;
- the users will use the project's products to realize the benefits;
- the suppliers provide the expertise, people and resources the project needs, and they may be internal or external to the organization.
All three interests need effective representation in the project management team, and this is reflected in the design of the project board. A dedicated structure is needed because an organization's day-to-day line management structures may not be designed for, or suited to, project work.
Recognize it when: agreeing contracts and responsibilities with an external supplier; defining who represents which interest on the board.
4. Manage by stages
A PRINCE2 project is planned, monitored and controlled on a stage-by-stage basis. Managing by stages ensures the project is properly initiated before any work starts on delivering its outputs, and it gives the project board decision points at the end of each stage. Stages also keep detailed planning within a sensible planning horizon.
Recognize it when: the board authorizes one stage at a time; the project is reviewed at stage boundaries.
5. Manage by exception
A PRINCE2 project establishes limits of delegated authority by defining tolerances for performance against its plans. Tolerances are set against the seven aspects of performance (benefits, cost, time, quality, scope, risk and sustainability) for each level of plan.
PRINCE2 defines distinct responsibilities for directing, managing and delivering the project, with authority delegated from one level to the next:
- the level above the project board (the business that commissions the project) sets project tolerances;
- the project board sets stage tolerances for the project manager;
- the project manager agrees work package tolerances with team managers.
If a tolerance is forecast to be exceeded, the issue is escalated to the next level up. This makes efficient use of senior management time: it reduces their time burden without removing their control, and it ensures decisions are made at the right level.
Recognize it when: limits are set for the seven aspects of performance; a project manager agrees with a team manager that a work package may finish up to one week later than the team plan shows.
6. Focus on products
A PRINCE2 project focuses on the definition and delivery of products, in particular the user's quality expectations and requirements. Agreeing clearly what is to be produced, and to what quality, lets planning, quality control and acceptance be based on the products.
Recognize it when: product descriptions are written; planning starts by identifying the required products.
7. Tailor to suit the project
PRINCE2 is applied and tailored to suit the project environment, size, complexity, importance, delivery method, team capability and level of risk. The purpose of tailoring is that the method used, and the project controls, are appropriate to the project.
Recognize it when: the method is adapted to a small, simple project; controls are scaled up for a large, risky one.
Matching behaviour to principle
Exam questions often describe a behaviour and ask which principle it reflects. Look at what the behaviour is for:
| Behaviour | Principle |
|---|---|
| Stopping a project that no longer has a valid reason to continue | Ensure continued business justification |
| Capturing and applying lessons during the project | Learn from experience |
| Agreeing who represents business, user and supplier | Define roles, responsibilities, and relationships |
| Authorizing the project one stage at a time | Manage by stages |
| Setting tolerance limits and escalating forecast breaches | Manage by exception |
| Writing product descriptions with quality expectations | Focus on products |
| Adapting controls to a project's scale and risk | Tailor to suit the project |