PRINCE2 7 Practitioner cheat sheet

The seven principles are: continued business justification; learn from experience; defined roles and responsibilities; manage by stages; manage by exception; focus on products; tailor to suit the project.

Principles are universal and apply to every PRINCE2 project regardless of scale, complexity, geography or culture; they are not optional.

Continued business justification: the business case is the documented justification and is reviewed at every stage boundary; if justification is lost, the project is stopped or changed.

Manage by stages: a PRINCE2 project has at least two management stages-initiation and the remaining work-each with a stage plan and an end stage assessment.

Manage by exception: the project board sets tolerances for time, cost, scope, quality, risk and benefits; the project manager escalates when forecasts exceed tolerance.

Focus on products: products, quality criteria and product descriptions are defined before work; this drives planning, quality control and acceptance.

Learn from experience: lessons are sought, recorded, shared and acted upon throughout the project, and lessons logs and reports are inputs to stage boundaries and closure.

Tailor to suit: PRINCE2 is adapted to the project context; tailoring decisions are documented, but all seven principles must still be applied.

Defined roles and responsibilities: the project management team structure has clear accountabilities, including project board, project manager, team manager, assurance and support.

People is one of PRINCE2 7's integrated elements, alongside principles, practices, processes and project context; projects are delivered through people.

Emotional intelligence components: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills; it supports leadership, communication and conflict handling.

Leadership sets direction and inspires; management plans, organizes, controls and coordinates resources; PRINCE2 roles need both.

Tuckman team development: forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning; teams can regress when membership or objectives change.

Thomas-Kilmann conflict modes: competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, accommodating; collaborating is useful when both task and relationship matter.

The communication management approach defines stakeholders, purpose, channels, timing, responsibilities and feedback for project communications.

Motivation theories often referenced include Maslow's hierarchy, Herzberg's hygiene and motivators, and McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y; PRINCE2 does not mandate one.

Culture affects project behaviour; tailoring should consider organizational culture, team diversity and stakeholder expectations.

People issues that exceed the project manager's authority are escalated to the project board through exception or issue reporting.

The seven practices are business case, organizing, plans, quality, risk, issues and progress; change control is handled within the issues practice in PRINCE2 7.

Business case practice outputs the business case and benefits management approach; the business case is reviewed at stage boundaries and at closure.

Organizing defines the project management team structure: project board, project manager, team manager, project assurance, project support and change authority.

Plans practice uses project, stage, team and exception plans; product-based planning uses a product breakdown structure, product descriptions and a product flow diagram.

Quality practice covers quality planning, quality control and quality assurance; product descriptions contain quality criteria and acceptance criteria.

Risk practice uses a risk management approach and risk register; risks are identified, assessed, planned, implemented and communicated, with risk owners assigned.

Issues practice uses an issue register and issue reports; issue types include change requests, off-specifications and problems or concerns.

Progress practice uses checkpoint reports, highlight reports, end stage assessments and end project assessments; tolerances enable manage by exception.

The benefits management approach defines how benefits are measured and reviewed after the project, including roles and timing.

The seven processes are Starting up a Project, Directing a Project, Initiating a Project, Controlling a Stage, Managing Product Delivery, Managing a Stage Boundary and Closing a Project.

Starting up a Project creates the project brief, project approach and outline business case, appoints key roles and ends with a request to initiate the project.

Directing a Project is the project board's process: authorize initiation, authorize the project, authorize stage or exception plans, give ad hoc direction and authorize closure.

Initiating a Project creates the project initiation documentation (PID), project plan, benefits management approach and project controls.

Controlling a Stage: the project manager authorizes work packages, monitors progress, manages issues and risks, and reports via highlight reports.

Managing Product Delivery: the team manager accepts, executes and delivers work packages and reports progress and quality results.

Managing a Stage Boundary: prepare the next stage plan, update the project plan and business case, report stage end, and produce an exception plan if required.

Closing a Project: prepare planned or premature closure, hand over products, evaluate the project and recommend closure to the project board.

Each process has activities, inputs, outputs and responsible roles; processes can be combined or scaled when tailoring, but principles still apply.

Tailoring is a principle: adapt PRINCE2 to the project context while applying all seven principles; it is not optional.

Context factors for tailoring include scale, complexity, risk, duration, team maturity, governance, regulation, commercial arrangements, geography and culture.

Tailoring decisions are documented in the project initiation documentation (PID), including how processes, practices, roles and documents will be applied.

Processes can be scaled, combined or simplified, but the principles remain; management stages and tolerances are retained where applicable.

Small projects may combine roles, such as project manager and team manager, and simplify documents, but must still have at least two management stages.

Agile delivery can be tailored with timeboxes, iterative product development and frequent reviews; PRINCE2 governance and stage boundaries remain.

Commercial or multi-organization projects require clear customer and supplier roles, contracts and project board representation across organizations.

Documentation should be product-based: use product descriptions and scale documents to fit the project; avoid unnecessary bureaucracy while meeting governance needs.

Tailoring must consider stakeholders and people factors, including culture, communication needs and team capability.