Princelite Project Delivery

Prince-lite puts voice of the customer into the delivery of projects. ...

... "The main point of PrinceLite is that it is oriented around the business community, and as such serves the project sponsors ­the people that pay the IT bill. " ...

Via WhatPC?: Lite relief

Vote of Confidence for Prince2

PRojects IN Controlled Environments, Prince2, offers a structured methodology for managing projects. ...

... "Prince2 is growing in popularity across all vertical sectors and is becoming the de facto project management approach. " ...

Via ComputerWeekly: IT Project Certification Options

Project Management Processes vs. Methodology

People tend to confuse processes and methodology. A set of project management processes is not a methodology. A methodology is how we "operationalize" our processes.

PMI offers processes for project management. PRINCE2 from the UK offers a full methodology, with stage gates, work authorization forms, and so on.

The trick is to keep our methodologies lean. I look at processes as a toolbox. They are the best practice inputs, outputs, and tools/techniques for the various elements of managing a project. And, if we follow IDEF process design standards, they also include controls.

But the methodology selects from among these processes and includes forms, templates, stage gate processes, and so on, so that project managers can have a basic foundation from which to manage all projects. Applying Jack Welch's organizational approach (see my previous blog), these methodologies MUST be lean, if project management is to come across as an enabler and not added bureaucracy.

Business Intelligence Project: Prince2 Methodology ...

Business Intelligence Project: Prince2 Methodology: Via Computing: Mayor's office testing performance software ...

... "The LDA is using the technology as part of a data warehousing and business intelligence project run under public sector best-practice methodology Prince2. " ...

Project Management Process Head Start

Need a head start defining your project management processes; or just want to get some methodology ideas? Check out TenStep.com, which offers a full project management methodology free on their website. It also offers some good comparison charts, comparing their model to PMBOK, PRINCE2, SIx Sigma, and Agile methodologies. Some interesting stuff here.

Home - TenStep Project Management Methodology

ITIL Leader: David Ratcliffe Pink Elephant

ITIL is the recipe for IT services management success. Philip Quinn catches up with David Ratcliffe, CEO of Pink Elephant. Pink Elephant is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with operations worldwide. Pink Elephant works with organizations, including many of the Fortune 500, to improve the quality of IT services through the application of established best practices, such as the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). ...

Via National Post: Flies around the world four times a year ...

... "We were the ones who launched this best-practice framework we support called the IT infrastructure library. If you think [in terms] of a restaurant ... it's the recipes you follow and the routines around how you keep the place clean... " ...

Additional PMThink References on ITIL:

• For Well-Rounded IT Project Management - Learn ITIL and PRINCE2


• IT Service Transformation Through ITIL Service Catalogs ...


• ITIL Certification BTO Software ...


• ITIL Helpdesk Transformation: Services Model


• ITIL IT Management Processes ...


• ITIL IT Service Management Differentiators


• ITIL Market Assessment: Podcast


• ITIL Microsoft Operations Framework Assessment ...


• ITIL Process Approach: Federated CMDB ...


• ITIL Process: Run IT Like Business ...


• ITIL Project: Cultural Implications ...


• ITIL Projects: Avoid Pitfalls ...


• ITIL Technology Standard Framework ...


• ITIL: IT Service Catalog: Alignment Focal Point ...


• Microsoft ITIL Sans CMDB ...


• Process Models: ITIL ITGovernance ...


• Ready or Not; Here comes ITIL


• Siebel CRM ITIL Ready: Helpdesk Capabilities ...

Prince2 Project Management Success Story ...

Imagine implementing a project management methodology (Prince2) and an ITIL transformation in your enterprise at the same time. Bryan Glick explores success stories of enterprises that are candidates for upcoming excellence awards in UK. The South Eastern Trains (SET) story is particularly notable. ...

Prince2 Project Management Success Story: Via Computing: Computing Awards - Company Awards ...

... "In less than 12 months, the company delivered 43 major projects plus some 150 others to fix more minor problems. Networks, servers and PCs were updated, and industry best practice processes were introduced, including Prince 2 for project management and ITIL (IT infrastructure library) for helpdesk services. " ...

Project Management Common Language: Prince2

Project Management Common Language: Prince2: Via InformationWeek: Tips For Doing The IT-Business Tango ...

Valerie Potter writes about techniques to improve communications between business and IT folks, such as establishing a common project management language, like Prince2 ...

... "Use a common language that everyone understands. Shimmin recommends using the Prince 2 project management standard. Have a corporate mandate that requires standardized language and elements, a risk log, a management log, a project plan, and enforce it. " ...

Instant PRINCE2 Methodology on the Web

There are several web-based project management offerings available, but ProjectProgress stands out as a good example of a web-based tool that adheres to the PRINCE2 methodology. While popular worldwide, PRINCE2 hasn't taken off in the U.S. as quickly as elsewhere.

Part of that is the misconception people have the PRINCE2 is meant to replace the popular PMBOK Guide from PMI. On the contrary, PRINCE2 is a project implementation methodology (with templates, forms, stage gates, etc.) , whereas PMBOK is a project management standard (with processes, inputs, and outputs). There are some differences, but each has some benefits that the other does not. They are not mutually exclusive and can be used synergistically, as some forward-thinking organizations are doing. For a good comparison of PRINCE2 vs PMBOK, see Max Wideman's report in PMForum.

It remains to be seen if the OGC's ITIL's wide acceptance in the U.S. as an IT services standard opens people's eyes to their PRINCE2 methodology. At any rate, here's a web-based tool that offers the full PRINCE2 methodology online--no hardware needed...

ProjectProgress: Overview

Project Management Lessons-Learned; A Lesson Learned

For a good writeup on Lessons-Learned, see this writeup as part of the OGC Successful Delivery Toolkit. The OGC (Office of Government Commerce) are the makers of the PRINCE2 project management methodology and the ITIL (IT Infrastructure LIbrary) service delivery management standard.

The OGC suggests questions that should be asked as part of a lessons-learned report, and raises the importance of reviewing prior lessons-learned at the beginning of all projects. They rightfully suggest that lessons-learned should be collected at a minimum after each project phase (ideally even more frequently - such as at regular status meetings).

They also raise the importance of having a quality control person or process owner be a recipient of all lessons-learned reports, in case standard processes need to be revised.

Lessons learned report

For Well-Rounded IT Project Management - Learn ITIL and PRINCE2

ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) is to IT Services what the Project Management Institute's standards are to project management. It has become the de facto standard for IT service delivery worldwide.

Established by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), the same people that brought us the PRINCE2 methology for project management, ITIL allows organizations to achieve excellence in IT services management. The standard metrics that ITIL provides also allows organizations to benchmark against other organizations.

The savvy IT project manager will want to learn about ITIL, as it makes an excellent compliment to project management skills (be it PMI or PRINCE2).

As an aside, PMI's PMBOK is meant to be a standard, whereas PRINCE2 is a methodology, complete with templates and predefined stage gates.

Check out the OGC's ITIL website...

OGC - IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL)