PRINCE2 seven principles

PRINCE2 derives its methods from 7 core principles. Collectively, these principles provide a framework for good practice and are the guiding obligations:

1. Continued Business Justification

A project must make good business sense. There needs to be a clear return on investment and the use of time and resources should be justified.

2. Learn from Experience

Project teams should take lessons from previous projects into account. A lessons log is kept updated for this purpose.

3. Define Roles and Responsibilities

Everyone involved in a project should know what they and others are doing. This includes knowing who the decision makers are.

4. Manage by Stages

Difficult tasks are better off broken into manageable chunks, or management stages.

5. Manage by Exception

A project running well doesn’t need a lot of intervention from managers. The project board is only informed if there is or might be a problem.

6. Focus on Products

Everyone should know ahead of time what’s expected of the product. Product requirements determine work activity, not the other way around.

7. Tailor to the Environment

PRINCE2 can be scaled and tailored. Projects that adapt PRINCE2 to their needs are more likely to succeed than projects that use PRINCE2 dogmatically.

Source: PRINCE2.com