
The remaining elements: planning, managing phases and controlling, form an iterative cycle that may repeat many times before the project is complete. Some elements, namely project start-up and project closure, occur only once. The diagram below shows the main components of our project management methodology. We aim to give due emphasis on the skills required to manage the people aspects and the organisational change that any project will inevitably bring about. They fail because of people’s perceptions of what to expect from technology or because of their belief that technology can somehow adapt to their way of doing things without the need for associated business process change. Few information systems projects fail for technical reasons. One thing that stands out in the analysis of all projects, whether successful or otherwise, is that projects are about people. Properly applied it should be a user-friendly framework that matches the size, risk level and complexity of your project.Īnother key difference about this approach is the emphasis on people and behaviour. The important thing is to make the methodology work for you.

We have tried to ensure that the method is scalable and hence we highlight areas where you may go into greater or lesser amounts of detail. This method pares down PRINCE2 to the bare bones of a framework suitable for managing any project. PRINCE2 is a very comprehensive methodology that can be applied to projects no matter how large and complex. They vary in scale and complexity but all are based around a small core of common sense principles.Ī methodology that is commonly used in the public sector and forms the basis of this infoKit is PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments).
BELBIN TEAM ROLES TEST PUBLIC DOMAIN SOFTWARE
Some are ‘proprietary’ approaches developed by consulting firms and software houses whilst others are in the public domain. There are many formal project management methodologies that combine a framework or approach with a set of project tools and guidelines. Project management gives you a framework – at certain points it prompts you to take a step back and think ‘have I done this?’, ‘have I considered that?’, ‘do I understand this fully?’, ‘what will we do should “x” happen?’, ‘how should I deal with this?’ Most of project management is plain, common sense and a lot of what we describe is simply a structured approach to what you would do instinctively. No one need feel daunted at taking on their first project – project management is not a ‘black art’, nor does it need to be a minefield of jargon and bureaucracy. There is no magic formula for ensuring that a project is successful, but there are well proven techniques available to help plan and manage projects.

‘The Accidental Project Manager: Coming in from the Cold’, 2003 What we are offering is a structured approach and a set of tools that help you to ‘get things done better Many of you may already be ‘accidental project managers’ who carry out many of the activities outlined here but view it as simply ‘getting things done’ whilst recognising that you also rely heavily on luck, perseverance and strength of will.
