Tailor to suit the project

PRINCE2 should be tailored to fit the project’s size, environment, complexity, importance, capability, risk, etc. Whether your project is small, such as hosting a workshop for 10 people, or large, like constructing a nuclear power plant, PRINCE2 can be adapted to suit the project’s specific needs.

It’s important to note that many organizations find tailoring PRINCE2 challenging, as it requires a deep understanding of both the PRINCE2 methodology and effective project management practices.

Why?

The purpose of tailoring is to

• Ensure the project management methodology aligns with the project’s environment. For example, if the project is in a financial setting, the methodology should sync with the existing management structure.
• Adapt project controls and progress tracking to the project’s scale, complexity, importance, capability, and risk. (for projects with significant risks, more attention should be given to risk management.)
• Ensure the project initiation documentation (PID) outlines how PRINCE2 is tailored for the specific project.

The project initiation documentation should clearly outline how the PRINCE2 methodology has been tailored to meet the specific needs and characteristics of the project.

General approach to tailoring

Many people believe they don’t need a project management method because their projects are too small, or they think using a method adds unnecessary overhead. However, they may not realize that they can—and should—tailor the project management method to suit their specific project, rather than increasing the project complexity to fit PRINCE2.

A common misconception about tailoring is that it simply involves selecting pieces of PRINCE2 to apply to a project. However, this approach can lead to isolated elements that no longer reflect the full PRINCE2 methodology. The goal of tailoring is to apply a level of project management that provides appropriate control without overburdening the project with unnecessary complexity.

When the method is not tailored to a project, it can result in inefficient project management, often referred to as robotic project management—where the method is followed blindly without considering the project’s unique needs.

Tailoring involves determining how to best apply the PRINCE2 method to strike a balance between control and minimal administration. Some key areas to consider include:

• How to adapt the PRINCE2 practices for the project.
• Which terms and language should be used to ensure clarity and relevance.
• Whether product descriptions for the management products need to be revised to better align with stakeholder expectations.
• If role descriptions for the PRINCE2 project roles should be adjusted to match existing organizational standards.

What to change when tailoring

When tailoring PRINCE2 to suit a specific project, various elements may need adjustment. Here’s a breakdown of the major components and how they can be adapted:

• Principles: All 7 principles must be present in every project. There is no need to modify the principles themselves.
• Practices: Practices are usually tailored, especially through the customization of management strategies to suit the project’s needs.
• Terms and language: Organizations often use specific business terminology. For example, some companies may call a “project brief” a “project charter” or a “business case” a “project case”. It can be beneficial to use these familiar terms in place of PRINCE2 terminology during the project.
• Management products: PRINCE2 provides management products that help manage the project. These may need adjustments to fit the organization’s specific processes.
• Roles and responsibilities: PRINCE2 offers standard role descriptions, but these should be adapted for each project. For example, if a company doesn’t have a project support role, the project manager may need to assign someone else to handle configuration management. In another company with a project management office (PMO), a separate individual or team might handle responsibilities for areas like benefits management.
• Processes: While all processes should be tailored, the adjustments will vary depending on the project. For example, a project management office (PMO) may initiate the project with an outline business case instead of a project mandate, or a project might begin with a feasibility study whose outputs could include management products typically completed in the first two processes.

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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.