Prince 2

[mustang]

Anyone here know about Prince2. I'm thinking of taking the course and I'm eager to hear what people think about it.

[SmallBizSoftware]

Mustang

Prince2 is pretty much a requisite if you are looking for a career in IT Project management. The methodology is an OGC best practice guide that applies to other disciplines as well as IT but has been embraced by the IT industry alongside other standards like ITIL, COBIT, 6SIGMA etc

Having seen IT projects go horribly wrong when Prince2 methodology is not used, I would reccomend its use.

Just make sure that it fits the culture of your organisation and remember that it is just a framework; poor planning, sloppy people, insufficient money etc will still cause the project to fail but hopefully prince2 will let you see it coming.

Thanks for the question, I'll add another jargon busting page to my website later in the month.

IT in Plain English (http://www.smallbizsoftware.co.uk)

[Richard Conyard]

Do you think these things really work? To be honest most of it just seems plan to get extra letters after your name.

[kyber]

Yes, these things do work. The problem comes when, as alluded to by smallbiz, they are not applied appropriately.

You can often apply these methodologies in a light weight manner to suit the culture and scale of the project. They are frameworks and have to be adapted to the situation.

If the programme/project manager is good, the methodology will be applied in such as way that it helps people and facillitates useful and effective communication as well as escalation and resolution of issues. If s/he is not good it becomes a burden on everyone and and industry in its own right.

I am a Management Consultant with IBM Business Consulting (previously for Pricewaterhouse Consulting) and before that I was an senior IT manager with the Kingfisher retail group and prior to that an IT Director in a major mutinational consulting engineering company (involved in huge civil engineering projects). Trust me, I have seen all styles of major project and methodology.

These methodologies really deliver if done right.

Stuart

[Astaroth]

I certainly believe that having a strong project management framework is essencial to ensure that projects succeed and prince2 is certainly a highly respected methodology.

In my employers company we use our own framework but it is very closely aligned to Prince2 but is a better fit for our company. Off the shelf products certainly have their place and it gives individuals transferable skills but bespoke can be better.

[JayGao]

If you are interested in PRINCE2 training, the prices has gone down a lot in the past couple of years. I have would recommend that you should always check the following when looking for a training provider:
1. Is the training provider accredited?
2. What's the max class size? Some training companies are stuffing 25 - 30 people in one class so that they can offer rediculously low price.
3. What's the trainer's experience?

[annethedonn]

One of my clients offers Prince 2 Foundation & Practitioner with free Six Sigma certification at a very good price and it's across the UK. www.projstudy.com (http://www.projstudy.com).

[Digital Ark]

Prince 2 or PMI are both good qualifications to have. I think PMI is more recognised internationally (partly because it originates from the US).

Over time I envisage that there will be an increase in employers asking for professionally qualified project managers. If you think about it. Lawyers, accountants, etc need professional qualifications yet anyone can call themself a project manager and run multi million projects (and people wonder why so many projects fail or overrun).

However, just because someone passes either Prince 2 or PMI, does not mean they are a good project manager who can deliver.

Personally, I have the PMI qualification. This requires a renewall through earning a set number of PDU's every 3 years (continous improvement).

Hope this helps.

Simon

[Seneca]

When I did the PRINCE2 course, there were people from all sorts of industries studying. Although it started as a way to improve success in IT projects, the method is starting to be accepted as best practice for managing projects in other sectors. It is also becoming increasingly recognised internationally.

As others have said, the course won't neccesarily teach you to be a good project manager but it will provide you with the specific language of what is essentially a common sense PM approach; the benefit being that if you're working in an environment that uses PRINCE2 you'll all speak the same language.

Definitely look for an AMPG Accreted Training Organisation. You'll find a list of these on the AMPG website. ATOs are allowed to invigilate exams and this is usually included in the cost of the course. Also, don't be fooled by cheap courses. Some may be OK but they can be oversubscribed as JayGao said. It may be worth paying the extra to be guaranteed a smaller class as the content is very in-depth and can get very confusing. With no guarantee of a pass (at least 2 of 11 on my course failed) smaller classes give you more individual time with the trainer to iron out any lack of understanding and reduce the risk of other more forceful delegates monopolising the trainer when you're desperate for help. Contact the ATO and ask them about max class sizes.

The courses are usually run over 3 days for foundation with an additional 1.5 to 2 days practitioner upgrade. There is pre-course study to complete and between 2 and 4 hours homework every night. Don't underestimate the need to do this. There is a lot of information to absorb to pass the exams so you need to fully commit and cancel everything else for that week.

I really enjoyed the intellectual challenge of the course and I'm now in the process of becoming an approved trainer so if you want any specific info or advice, PM me.

[Strontium Dog]

As with all of these things, employers dont just look for qualifications, but also appropriate experience.

If you have not got the experience you wont get a job, whether you have prince2 or not.

This is even truer in contract type environments, where the client is only interested in your past achievements.

[jdhingra27]

In UK, I think there's been a long debate about which one is more significant - PRINCE2 or PMP. I'd have to go with PRINCE2, coz that's my preference. And although its becoming world recognized, I think globally PMP holds more value for a project manager.

As people have said, it depends on your preference. Job opportunity wise, PRINCE2 exceeds PMP. Check at ITJobsWatch.co.uk if you don't believe me.

[bnt009]

Hi. I am currently in the the job market and was looking at consolidating my MBA and work experience with a Prince2, which I got suggested for the type of jobs I am looking for. This especially makes sense since I have quite a bit of IT project and change mgmt experience under my belt.

I was thinking of doing both courses solo (having access to materials from someone who did it recently) but realised that the exams fees alone are £615. For slightly more, there are accredited companies offering the course. I was pretty impressed by their Prince2 Foundation and Practitioner course (thanks, Annethedonn, for this) and may be going with them.

Any thoughts generally?

Thanks.

[Mike tells it like it is]

Anyone here know about Prince2. I'm thinking of taking the course and I'm eager to hear what people think about it.

I looked into it a few years ago. Project Management is an area where it seems unclear which qualification or software to train for.

Prince 2 seems to be common but there is something else they use in America.

[Mike tells it like it is]

Do you think these things really work? To be honest most of it just seems plan to get extra letters after your name.

In some vocations that's just how it is. The world is like that I'm afraid.

To be more frank than I should I have never rated CIM.

especially not for those who have Business degrees or marketing degrees.

Now there is a seperate qualification specifically in the communications side of marketing-again I am less than convinced.

[FreelanceSoftwareDeveloper]

I always thought Prince2 was generally limited to IT / Public Sector? I did APMP.

When I looked at them both I thought Prince2 was more of a system/methodology where AMPM was more about good project management concepts without forcing their implementation

[annethedonn]

Hi. I am currently in the the job market and was looking at consolidating my MBA and work experience with a Prince2, which I got suggested for the type of jobs I am looking for. This especially makes sense since I have quite a bit of IT project and change mgmt experience under my belt.

I was thinking of doing both courses solo (having access to materials from someone who did it recently) but realised that the exams fees alone are £615. For slightly more, there are accredited companies offering the course. I was pretty impressed by their Prince2 Foundation and Practitioner course (thanks, Annethedonn, for this) and may be going with them.

Any thoughts generally?

Thanks.

You're welcome! They're getting lots of bookings at the moment.

[bigbentrader]

I always thought Prince2 was generally limited to IT / Public Sector? I did APMP.

When I looked at them both I thought Prince2 was more of a system/methodology where AMPM was more about good project management concepts without forcing their implementation


My findings also when I looked into this. Full PRINCE2 accreditation is difficult and expensive and only vital if you work on projects where clients stipulate full PRINCE2. In order to run a project to full PRINCE2 project your whole organisation needs to operate PRINCE2.

There are lots of training courses and project management methodologies that are PRINCE2-compliant, at least parallel with it, which makes complete sense. Very few projects are managed to full PRINCE2 but the methodologies used will always be parallel with its guidelines, which makes complete sense. Beware of going for full PRINCE2 if you only need some trainign that is based on PRINCE2.

[JayGao]

I also find that this website is useful: What is PRINCE2