PRINCE2_LESSON_07.pdf

PRINCE2® Foundation Lesson 7—Plans Theme

Based on AXELOS PRINCE2® material. Reproduced under licence from AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved. Based on AXELOS PRINCE2® material. Material is reproduced under licence from AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved. PRINCE2® is a [registered] trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved. AXELOS® is a [registered] trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.

1 The Swirl logo™ is a trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under the permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2014, Simplilearn, All rights reserved. Copyright 2014, Simplilearn, All rights reserved.

Objectives After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

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●

Define the Plans theme

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Explain the PRINCE2® approach to Plans theme

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Define the roles and responsibilities in Plans theme

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Purpose of Plans Theme The purpose of the Plans theme is to facilitate communication and control by defining the means of delivering the products (the where and how, by whom, and estimating the when and how much).[1]

The plans are baselined to measure progress against it. The targets are:

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Time

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Cost

●

Quality

●

Scope

●

Risk

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Benefits Copyright 2014, Simplilearn, All rights reserved.

Plans Terms—Definitions The key definitions associated with Plans are:

Plan is a document describing how, when and by whom a specific target or set of targets is to be achieved. It is the backbone of the management information system required for any project. A plan requires approval and commitments of the relevant levels of the project management team.

Planning is the process of making and maintaining a plan. It should be product-based as

recommended by PRINCE2®.

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Levels of Plan Project Plan is created during Initiating a Project process. ● Initiation stage plan is created during the Starting up a Project process. ● PRINCE2® recommends three levels of plan to reflect the needs of the different levels of management involved in the project, stage and team. ● Team plans are created during the Managing Product Delivery process. 5

Figure 7.1 PRINCE2®’s planning levels. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2013. Material is reproduced under licence from AXELOS. All rights reserved. Copyright 2014, Simplilearn, All rights reserved.

Project Plan The Project Plan provides a statement of how and when a project’s time, cost, scope and quality performance targets are to be achieved, by showing the major products, activities and resources

required for the project.[2] It includes the following:

Costs

Efforts

Quality milestones

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Timelines

Baselines to monitor project progress Copyright 2014, Simplilearn, All rights reserved.

Project Plan (contd.) The salient features of a Project Plan are the following:

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Project Plan is created by the Initiating a Project process.

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It lists the management stages.

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It is used by the Project Board as baseline to monitor project progress stage by stage.

●

Project Plan is prepared in sync with the corporate or programme management plan.

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Stage Plan The Stage Plan is similar to the Project Plan in content, but each element will be broken down to the level of detail required to be an adequate basis for day-to-day control by the Project Manager.[3]

The salient features of a Stage Plan are as follows: ●

Stage Plan is required for each management stage

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It is based on the Project Plan and exists for a shorter duration than the Project Plan

●

It depends on the performance of previous management stages and is created for the next

management stage and at the near end of the current one ●

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Stage Plan is created by Managing Stage Boundary process except the Initiation Stage Plan

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Team Plan A Team Plan is produced by a Team Manager to facilitate the execution of one or more Work Packages.[4]

The different features of a Team Plan are as follows: ●

Team Plan are optional

●

They do not have a specified format

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They are produced by the Team Manager

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Team Plan is reviewed and approved by the Project Manager and Senior Supplier

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For composition of Plan please refer PRINCE2® Manual Appendix A. Copyright 2014, Simplilearn, All rights reserved.

Exception Plan Exception Plan is created to handle situations when the tolerances are forecasted to exceed or have already exceeded. Project Plan, Stage Plan, Team Plans and Exception Plans are different types of Plan. The salient features of an Exception Plan are the following:

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Exception Plan details the actions to be taken to control the situation in a project

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It is produced by Project Manager

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Project Board approval necessary for the Exception Plan if it replaces the Stage Plan

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It is prepared to the same level of details as the plan it replaces

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Exception Plan is not produced for Work Packages

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PRINCE2® Approach to Plans The products required are identified first, and only then the activities, dependencies and resources required to deliver those products identified. This is known as product-based planning.

Figure 7.2 The PRINCE2® approach to plans. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2013. Material is reproduced under licence from AXELOS. All rights reserved.

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Design the Plan The features of design the plan step are the following: ●

Decisions need to be taken about how the plan can best be presented to the audience who will

use the plan and how it will be used. ●

Where the project is part of a programme, the programme may have developed a common approach to project planning. This may cover standards, for example, levels of planning, estimation methods, presentation layout and tools. These tools will be the starting point for designing any Project Plan.

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Define and Analyse the Products PRINCE2®uses a technique known as product-based planning to identify, define and analyse the plans products.

Figure 7.3 Product-based planning technique. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2013. Material is reproduced under licence from AXELOS. All rights reserved.

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Identify Activities The activities required to create or change each planned product need to be identified to give a complete picture of the plan’s workload. ●

The activities should include management and quality checking activities as well as the activities needed to develop the specialist products.

●

A work breakdown structure is created, based on the product breakdown structure, to define the activities required.

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Identify Dependencies Any dependency between activities should also be identified. There are two types of dependencies: internal and external.

As part of a project to build a desktop computer in under 150 Pounds, the RAM cards will be designed only after the Motherboard is designed (internal

dependency). However, the mouse, supplied by the manufacturer, can be procured before the design (external dependency) as they will fit into standard USB slots.

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Identify Dependencies—Example

The 787 Boeing Dreamliner project involved multiple external dependencies including wing manufacture (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan), cargo doors, access doors and

crew escape door (Saab AB, Sweden), software development (HCL Enterprise, India) and floor beams (TAL Manufacturing Solutions Limited, India). Though the project was supposed to be over before August, 2007, the project was delayed more than 5 times. The reasons included fastener shortage and incomplete software.

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Prepare the Estimates A decision about the time and resources required to carry out an activity to acceptable standards of performance must be made by: ●

Identifying the type of resources required.

●

Estimating the effort required for each activity by resource type.

3 point estimating (best-case, most-likely and worst-case) and Delphi technique (Questionnaire based).

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Prepare the Schedule A plan can only show the ultimate feasibility of achieving its objectives when the activities are put together in a schedule that defines when each activity will be carried out. The steps to prepare the

schedule are: Define activity sequence (Critical Path Method)

Agree control points

Assess resource availability

Assign resources

Level resource usage

Define milestones

Calculate total resource requirements and costs

Present the schedule

Example of a scheduling tool: Gantt Chart. 18

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Prepare the Schedule (contd.) A schedule defines when each activity will be carried out in a plan. A schedule is best presented in a graphical form.

Figure 7.4 Simple activity-on-node diagram. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2013. Material is reproduced under licence from AXELOS. All rights reserved.

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Analyse the Risks The salient features of Analyse the Risks are the following: ●

Analyse the Risks is the planning activity that will usually run parallel with the other steps, as risks may be identified at any point in the creation or revision of a plan.

●

Each resource and activity, and all the planning information, should be examined for its potential

risk content. ●

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All identified risks should be entered in the Risk Register.

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Document the Plan Document the Plan: ●

A narrative must be added to explain the plan—its constraints, external dependencies, assumptions made, any monitoring and control required, the risks identified and their required responses.

●

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It is necessary to keep plans as simple as it is appropriate.

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Benefits of Product-based Planning Technique The key benefits of product-based planning technique are: ●

Comprehensive identification and documentation of the plan’s products and the interdependencies between them

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Reduces the risk of important scope aspects being neglected or overlooked

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Involves users in specifying the product requirements

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Increases user buy-in and reduces approval disputes

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Clarifies the scope boundary

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Identifies external products

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Helps in preparing the Work Packages for suppliers Copyright 2014, Simplilearn, All rights reserved.

Product-based Planning—Scenario

A project is required to organise and run a conference for 80 to 100 delegates. The date and the topics of the conference have been provided. The conference has been organised to bring members of a particular profession up-to-date on recent developments in professional procedures and standards. All delegates will be members of the profession, and a mailing list is available for use. The project team is responsible for: ● Identifying the venue ● Finding out availability of the venue and facilities ● Checking the price ● The venue will be booked depending on the availability and price ● The project team must identify the suitable speakers, contact them and book them for the conference

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Product-based Planning—Scenario (contd.)

A detailed agenda and programme must be identified after finalising the speakers.

Booking arrangements must be established, the programme must be agreed upon and the venue must be selected and booked before the direct mail is sent out. Once the venue is booked, a press release based on the programme must be prepared and issued. The attendance list will be updated with the responses once the press release has been issued and the direct mail distributed. Staff must be

recruited to help on the day, based on the finalised attendance list.

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Product-based Planning—Scenario (contd.)

For the conference, it is decided that hand-out packets will be distributed. A hand-

out packet should reflect the selected topic or subject matter. One hundred such delegate hand-out packets will be required. The packets must contain:

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A printed agenda covering the agreed upon program

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Copies of slides and notes used by the speakers

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A feedback form, based on the programme, to capture attendee reviews

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Example of Product-based Planning—Project Product Description Project Product Description is one of the management products. The various sections of Project Product Description are as follows:

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Purpose

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Composition

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Derivation

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Development skills required

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Customer’s quality expectations

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Acceptance criteria and project-level quality tolerances (in priority order)

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Acceptance method

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Acceptance responsibilities

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Example of Product-based Planning—Project Product Description (contd.) Purpose: ●

The Purpose of conference project states that the conference is organised to bring members of a particular profession up-to-date on recent developments in professional procedures and standards.

Composition:

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Conference venue

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Attendees

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Speakers

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Publicity

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Delegate hand-outs

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Conference logistics Copyright 2014, Simplilearn, All rights reserved.

Example of Product-based Planning—Project Product Description (contd.) Derivation: ●

Selected Subject Matter

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Marketing

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Public Relations

Development skills required:

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Conference management

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Marketing

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Public relations

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Example of Product-based Planning—Project Product Description (contd.) Customer’s quality expectations:

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Priority 1: o Professional in style, funded by attendees and address the needs of the range of members (from beginners to experienced professionals) o The event should provide a forum for networking o Repeat attendance at future conferences is generated from satisfied members

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Priority 2: o The speakers should be chosen on the basis of their knowledge, experience and expertise. They are not delivering a ‘sales pitch’ to the members o The conference should be interactive in style o The conference should be held at a central location, therefore minimising travel

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Example of Product-based Planning—Project Product Description (contd.) Acceptance criteria and project-level quality tolerances (in priority order): ●

The cost of the conference must be covered by the attendance fees

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Minimum 80 and maximum 100 delegates must attend the conference

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More than 50% of the presentations should be interactive

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The speakers and programme must be approved by the editorial board representing the interests of the members

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The attendees’ satisfaction survey should indicate that more than 75% will attend next year’s conference and/or recommend it to their colleagues

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The hotel venue should be within three miles of a main line train station Copyright 2014, Simplilearn, All rights reserved.

Example of Product-based Planning—Project Product Description (contd.) Acceptance method: As the conference cannot be rerun if it is proven to be unacceptable, the project board will grant: ●

Preliminary acceptance—based on approval of the agreed programme by the editorial board and independent assurance that the attendee numbers and conference costs re-forecast to be acceptable

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Final acceptance—based on the end project report providing evidence that the acceptance criteria were met

Acceptance responsibilities: ●

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The senior user and executive are responsible for confirming the acceptance

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Example of Product-based Planning—Product Breakdown Structure In the hierarchy chart, the product’s various components are shown in a hierarchical manner.

Project Product Description: Conference Project, contd.

Figure D.1 Product breakdown structure in the form of a hierarchy chart. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2013. Material is reproduced under licence from AXELOS. All rights reserved.

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Example of Product-based Planning—Product Breakdown Structure (contd.) Mind Map technique can be applied to prepare a product breakdown structure.

Figure D.2 Product breakdown structure in the form of a mindmap. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2013. Material is reproduced under licence from AXELOS. All rights reserved.

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Example of Product-based Planning—Product Flow Diagram A product flow diagram must be created to identify and define the sequence in which the products of the plan will be developed and any dependencies between them.

Figure D.3 Example of a product flow diagram for the conference project. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2013. Material is reproduced under licence from AXELOS. All rights reserved.

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Roles and Responsibilities in Plans Theme The table depicts the responsibilities of Corporate or programme management, Executive and Senior User in Plans theme. Role Corporate or programme management

Executive

Senior User

Responsibilities ●

Set project tolerances and document them in the project mandate.

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Approve exception plans when project-level tolerances are forecast to be exceeded.

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Provide the corporate or programme management planning standards.

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Approve the Project Plan.

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Define tolerances for each stage and approve Stage Plans.

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Approve exception plans when stage-level tolerances are forecast to be exceeded.

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Commit business resources to Stage Plans (i.e., finance).

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Ensure that Project Plans and Stage Plans remain consistent from the user perspective.

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Commit user resources to Stage Plans.

Text in box is from Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2®. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2013. Material is reproduced under licence from AXELOS. All rights reserved.

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Roles and Responsibilities in Plans Theme (contd.) The table depicts the responsibilities of Senior Supplier, Project Manager and Team Manager in Plans theme. Role Senior Supplier

Project Manager

Responsibilities ●

Ensure that Project Plans and Stage Plans remain consistent from the supplier perspectives.

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Commit supplier resources to Stage Plans.

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Design the plans.

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Prepare the Project Plan and Stage Plans.

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Decide how management and technical stages are to be applied and design Stage Plans.

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Instruct corrective action when work package-level tolerances are forecast to be exceeded.

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Prepare an exception plan to implement corporate management, programme management or the project board’s decision in response to exception reports.

Team Manager

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Prepare Team Plans.

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Prepare schedules for each Work Package.

Text in box is from Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2®. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2013. Material is reproduced under licence from AXELOS. All rights reserved.

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Roles and Responsibilities in Plans Theme (contd.) The table depicts the responsibilities of Project Assurance and Project Support in Plans theme. Role

Responsibilities ●

Project Assurance

Project Support

Monitor changes to the Project Plan to see whether there is any impact on the needs of the business or the project Business Case.

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Monitor stage and project progress against agreed tolerances.

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Assist with the compilation of Project Plans, Stage Plans and Team Plans.

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Contribute specialist expertise (for example: planning tools).

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Baseline, store and distribute Project Plans, Stage Plans and Team Plans.

Text in box is from Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2®. Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2013. Material is reproduced under licence from AXELOS. All rights reserved.

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Quiz

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QUIZ

Which of the following is used by the Project Board as a baseline against which project

1

progress can be monitored on a stage-by-stage basis? a.

Stage Plan

b. Project Plan

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c.

Exception Plan

d.

Team Plan

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QUIZ

Which of the following is used by the Project Board as a baseline against which project

1

progress can be monitored on a stage-by-stage basis? a.

Stage Plan

b. Project Plan c.

Exception Plan

d.

Team Plan

Answer: b. Explanation: Project Plan is used by the Project Board as baseline to monitor project progress stage-by-stage. 40

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QUIZ

Exception plans are not produced for which of the following?

2

a.

Stage Plan

b. Project Plan

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c.

Initiation Stage Plan

d.

Work Packages

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QUIZ

Exception plans are not produced for which of the following?

2

a.

Stage Plan

b. Project Plan c.

Initiation Stage Plan

d.

Work Packages

Answer: d. Explanation: Exception plans are not produced for Work Packages.

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QUIZ

Who is responsible for preparing the schedules for each Work Packages?

3

a.

Team Manager

b. Project Manager

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c.

Project Assurance

d.

Quality Assurance

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QUIZ

Who is responsible for preparing the schedules for each Work Packages?

3

a.

Team Manager

b. Project Manager c.

Project Assurance

d.

Quality Assurance

Answer: a. Explanation: Team Manager is responsible for preparing the schedules for each Work Packages. 44

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QUIZ

PRINCE2® recommends how many levels of plan?

4

a.

Two

b. Three

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c.

Four

d.

Five

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QUIZ

PRINCE2® recommends how many levels of plan?

4

a.

Two

b. Three c.

Four

d.

Five

Answer: b. Explanation: PRINCE2® recommends three levels of plan to reflect the needs of the different levels of management. 46

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QUIZ

Who approves the Project Plan?

5

a.

Executive

b. Project Manager

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c.

Corporate or programme management

d.

Project Assurance

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QUIZ

Who approves the Project Plan?

5

a.

Executive

b. Project Manager c.

Corporate or programme management

d.

Project Assurance

Answer: a. Explanation: Executive approves the Project Plan. Corporate or programme management sets project tolerances and documents them in the project mandate. 48

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QUIZ

Which of the following is not a correct step of product based planning technique?

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a.

Write the Project Product Description

b. Create the product breakdown structure

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c.

Write the Product Description

d.

Create the Work Packages

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QUIZ

Which of the following is not a correct step of product based planning technique?

6

a.

Write the Project Product Description

b. Create the product breakdown structure c.

Write the Product Description

d.

Create the Work Packages

Answer: d. Explanation: Create the Work Packages is not part of the technique. The correct four steps for product based planning technique are: Write the Project Product Description, Create the product breakdown structure, Write the Product Description and Create the product flow diagram. 50

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QUIZ

What is the advantage of product-based planning technique?

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a.

Reduces the risk of incorrectly scoping the project

b. Ensures the delivery of the product within agreed time and cost

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c.

Removes the need of activity sequencing

d.

Depicts how long the team would take to develop the products

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QUIZ

What is the advantage of product-based planning technique?

7

a.

Reduces the risk of incorrectly scoping the project

b. Ensures the delivery of the product within agreed time and cost c.

Removes the need of activity sequencing

d.

Depicts how long the team would take to develop the products

Answer: a. Explanation: The philosophy behind producing plans in PRINCE2® is that the products required are identified first, and only then are the activities, dependencies and resources required to deliver those products identified. This is known as product-based planning and is used for the Project Plan, stage plan and optionally, the team plan.

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QUIZ

Team Plans are optional: their need and number will be determined by the size and

8

complexity of the project and the number of resources involved. a.

True

b. False

53

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QUIZ

Team Plans are optional: their need and number will be determined by the size and

8

complexity of the project and the number of resources involved. a.

True

b. False

Answer: a. Explanation: A Team Plan is produced by a Team Manager to facilitate the execution of one or more Work Packages. Team Plans are optional. 54

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QUIZ

___________ is a plan prepared for the appropriate management level to show the

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actions required to recover from the effect of a tolerance deviation. a.

Stage Plan

b. Team Plan

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c.

Project Plan

d.

Exception Plan

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QUIZ

___________ is a plan prepared for the appropriate management level to show the

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actions required to recover from the effect of a tolerance deviation. a.

Stage Plan

b. Team Plan c.

Project Plan

d.

Exception Plan

Answer: d. Explanation: An Exception Plan is a plan prepared for the appropriate management level to show the actions required to recover from the effect of a tolerance deviation. 56

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QUIZ

In a(n) ________ Plan each element will be broken down to the level of detail required

10

to be an adequate basis for day-to-day control by the Project Manager. a.

Project

b. Stage

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c.

Team

d.

Exception

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QUIZ

In a(n) ________ Plan each element will be broken down to the level of detail required

10

to be an adequate basis for day-to-day control by the Project Manager. a.

Project

b. Stage c.

Team

d.

Exception

Answer: b. Explanation: A Stage Plan is required for each management stage. The Stage Plan is similar to the Project Plan in content, but each element will be broken down to the level of detail required to be an adequate basis for day-to-day control by the Project Manager. 58

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Summary Here is a quick recap of what we have learnt in this lesson:

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The purpose of Plan theme is to facilitate communication and control by defining the means of delivering the products

●

A Plan is a document describing how, when and by whom a specific target or set of targets is to be achieved

●

Designing the plan is a pre-requisite of planning

●

Hierarchy chart and mind map are the two formats of product breakdown structure

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Thank You

Based on AXELOS PRINCE2® material. Material is reproduced under licence from AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved. PRINCE2® is a [registered] trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved. AXELOS® is a [registered] trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved. The Swirl logo™ is a trade mark of AXELOS Limited, used under the permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved.

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References [1] Based on Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2®, by AXELOS. Risk, Purpose. [2] Based on Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2®, by AXELOS. Plans, The Project Plan. [3] Based on Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2®, by AXELOS. Plans, Stage Plans. [4] Based on Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2®, by AXELOS. Plans, Team Plans.

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