Principles

On the Axelos website I found a page discussing the importance of the PRINCE2 Project Initiation Document (PID), including offering a PID template. This is amazing. And so wrong. A template for the PID simply does not make sense, for several reasons. ...

The term "Sponsor" is used in many approaches to Project Management, Programme Management and Change Management. Not just in the theoretical approaches describing Best Practices or Common Practices, but also in real life a Sponsor is often mentioned as a key role.

This is a destructive practice. A Sponsor is a dangerous role; the term should not be used anymore. Sponsors are main threats to any form of change.

The PRINCE2 2017 edition contains many issues. More than ever, it seems to be largely written from a wrong perspective and as a result it often deviates from the own principles. For many years (IT) suppliers tried to pretend they used and even trained PRINCE2. But in their cases, it only resulted in the very ineffective PINO (PRINCE In Name Only). In the 2017 version, they now ...

Many projects struggle with (external) dependencies. Most of the time these dependencies can not be managed. They are simply out of the control of the project and the project management is only able to monitor and maybe influence. There are however often dependencies that are results of poor project design and therefor occur by choice. These are dependencies between projects (in programmes and in portfolios) and should often be managed by focus on quality.

AXELOS has published an extension of PRINCE2: PRINCE2 Agile. Many think they are two polar opposites, PRINCE2 - symbolizing control, accountability, order – and agile – symbolizing self-organization and equality. And they are polar opposites. But for very different reasons. They are opposites because real, proper PRINCE2 is very agile and the Agile movement is based on old-fashioned ineffective Command and Control.

In a LinkedIn discussion about my paper about PRINCE2 and the Waterfall approach I received the following response that I would like to discuss here.

The LinkedIn response showed a lack of understanding on several levels of PRINCE2, but was unfortunately very common.