Plan

A PRINCE2 plan provides a clear overview of how and when project objectives will be achieved within a specific timeframe. It outlines the products (scope) to be delivered and may include the activities and resources required to create them.

Levels of planning

PRINCE2 has three levels of plan, each serving a different audience and level of detail:

• Project plan: created by the project manager and primarily used by the project board to monitor progress at the project level.
• Stage plan: the detailed, day-to-day plan the project manager uses to control each stage.
• Team plan (optional): developed by the team manager, in any format they prefer, to plan the execution of assigned work packages. The project manager’s primary concern is not the specific format of team plans but ensuring that all products meet their quality criteria and are fit for purpose.

Purpose

The project plan supports the business case by providing a high-level view of estimated costs, timelines, key deliverables, management stages, and major control points. It acts as a baseline for the project board to answer, “how are we doing compared to the original plan?”

Stage plans define the products to be delivered during a stage, the required resources, and, where appropriate, the supporting activities. They should also include the control mechanisms (e.g. reporting frequency, tolerances, milestones) used to monitor progress and manage exceptions.

Team plans, if used, maybe a schedule attached to the work package(s). PRINCE2 does not prescribe a specific format — flexibility is encouraged.

Contents

A plan should include not just the activities to create the products but also the activities required to manage product creation, such as quality assurance, risk management, configuration management, communication and progress controls.

This broader view ensures that the management effort required to deliver the project successfully is not overlooked.

In predictive projects, it may be possible to define most deliverables upfront. However, in many projects — especially in dynamic or uncertain environments — trying to define every activity in detail too early can lead to a false sense of certainty.

As PRINCE2 teaches: plans should be flexible, appropriate to the context, and always focused on delivering usable products that meet business needs.

Timeline

This is the timeline of plans:

• The first plan created is the initiation stage plan, developed during the starting up a project process.
• The project plan, covering the whole project, is created during the initiation stage.
• A new stage plan is created for each upcoming stage during the managing a stage boundary process.
• Team plans, if used, are created by team managers, usually while supporting the project manager in preparing the stage plan.
• The project plan is updated at each stage boundary to reflect:
  • What has been delivered so far
  • What is yet to be delivered
  • The revised estimated end date of the project (as this may shift based on progress and new information)

Sources

PRINCE2 plans are built using information from several key management products and project-specific data sources:

• Project brief - mainly for the project plan and to get the scope of the project
• Quality management approach as a document provides information on quality management activities to be included in the plan
• Risk management approach for risk management activities
• Communication management approach for communication management activities
• Change control approach for configuration management activities
• Resource availability which can be tricky to get
• Project registers and logs

Format

PRINCE2 does not prescribe a specific format for plans, allowing flexibility based on the project’s and the organisation’s needs:

• A standalone document or a section within the project initiation documentation
• A spreadsheet, presentation slide deck, mind map, or other visual planning format
• An online plan within a project management information system.
• A standalone plan created in a project management application (e.g., MS project, primavera, or equivalent)
• A product checklist with associated activities (especially for product-focused, lightweight planning)

The key is that the format should support clarity, traceability, and appropriate control for the plan level.

Quality criteria

A high-quality PRINCE2 plan ensures clarity, realism, and alignment with organisational standards and control mechanisms:

• The plan is realistic and achievable, not overly optimistic.
• Estimates are based on consultation with the experienced resources who will do the work.
• Team managers agree that their plan sections are feasible without relying on overtime or unrealistic effort.
• The plan is developed to an appropriate level of detail — avoiding unnecessary micro-management or time-tracking at the expense of value delivery.
• The plan conforms to the business layer standards for planning and documentation.
• It incorporates lessons learned from previous projects, ideally reviewed or confirmed by the project board.
• All relevant legal and regulatory requirements are considered and included.
• It includes all required management and control activities, particularly quality-related tasks.
• The plan reflects the four PRINCE2 approaches: quality, change control, risk, and communication.
• It supports the management controls defined in the project initiation documentation, such as reporting, tolerances, and stage boundaries.

Tips

Here are a few practical planning tips to keep your PRINCE2 project focused, flexible, and product-oriented:

• Keep plans as simple as necessary — avoid overcomplicating them with unnecessary detail.
• The project manager should build a trusting relationship with team managers, enabling clear expectations without micromanagement.
• Avoid asking team managers for exhaustive lists of activities — focus instead on what products must be delivered.
• The priority is delivering products that meet their agreed quality criteria, not tracking every minute of activity.
• Use a physical or digital information radiator (e.g., wall boards, dashboards) to communicate progress and visibly align the team.

—o—

Written by Frank Turley.

If you have questions or doubts after using this wiki, you can ask for help on the Facebook or LinkedIn study groups.