PRINCE2 practices
The seven practices
Business case (why), organising (who), plans (what, how much, when), quality (what does good look like), risk (what if), issues (what is happening now), and progress (where are we now, where going next). Each has a purpose, an approach tailored to the project, roles and responsibilities, and a set of management products.
Points examiners press
- Issues covers all concerns: a change request is a type of issue, but not every issue is a change. The issue register and lessons log sit here.
- Risk distinguishes cause, event and effect; the risk owner is accountable for managing the risk, the risk actionee carries out the response. Risks are not only threats.
- Quality distinguishes quality planning (product descriptions, quality criteria, quality methods), quality control (reviews, testing) and quality assurance (independent checking of the quality process).
- Progress owns the checkpoint report, highlight report, end stage report, end project report and daily log, plus tolerances and exception escalation.
- Plans distinguishes project, stage and team plans, and uses product-based planning (product breakdown, product descriptions, product flow diagram).
Traps: putting lessons in the risk register; calling the project manager the risk owner; treating the daily log as an issues practice product; confusing project assurance with quality assurance.
Worked example: a supplier requests an extra two weeks. It is an issue (a request for change), recorded in the issue register and assessed for impact on the business case, plan, risks and quality before being escalated against tolerances - it is not simply a scheduling note.