Focus on products

When a product is not clearly defined, it can lead to confusion among stakeholders about its purpose and requirements. This can result in unnecessary meetings, delays, changing requirements, miscommunication about quality expectations, additional costs, and even an end product that serves no purpose.

Types of products

PRINCE2 defines four types of products:

• Management products: These are documents or information required to support project management, such as the business case or project plans.
• Specialist products: Users need these products to achieve the intended project benefits.
• Project product: This is the total output of the project, defined in the project product description.
• External products: These are products developed or provided outside the project’s control, but on which the project depends, such as the publication of new standards.

Management products

PRINCE2 focuses on clearly defining and delivering products, with particular emphasis on their user quality expectations and requirements. A well-defined project product description serves as a guiding document, setting clear expectations and helping to deliver the desired product. As stated in the PRINCE2 manual: “A PRINCE2 project focuses on the definition and delivery of products, particularly their quality requirements.”

A good product description clarifies the product’s purpose, composition, derivation, format, quality criteria, and quality method. It also simplifies the process of determining resource requirements, dependencies, and activities.

The focus on products principle highlights the importance of creating a clear and accurate product description early in the project. This ensures that all stakeholders know what to expect. The plans practice supports this principle, as product descriptions are part of product-based planning.

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Written by Frank Turley.

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