Overview and Guidance

Authorisation

Action

Information

Technique

Template

1. Introduction

Company Name is committed to improving the successful delivery of services through effective project management and development of its staff.

The Company Name Project Management Guide has been created to enhance project management skills throughout the organisation. These guides are based on the industry standard PRINCE2® project management method. To support this initiative a number of other project management services are available.

Products	Explanation
Project Management Guides	A series of 5 guide books written specifically for Company Name to provide clear guidance for the effective use of the project management standards on different types of projects.
Project Management Online	Online reference and project templates to help complete the information required when managing projects.
Project Mentors	Key resources from a number of service departments to coach, mentor, and develop the skills of staff involved with project management.
Boardroom Briefings	Presentations to Senior Management to ensure there is understanding of the standards at all levels across Company Name .
PRINCE2® Accredited Training	Distance learning and classroom based training leading to recognised qualifications

1.1 What is included in this Guide?

This guide is the foundation of the Company Name Project Management Guides series and includes the following information:

Section 2 - What is Project Management?
Section 3 - Overview of the Project Management Guide series
Section 4 - Levels and types of Projects
Section 5 - What Next?
Section 6 - Information Checklist

2. What is Project Management?

These sets of reference guides are based around the practical use of PRINCE2® as a modern structured project management framework. The PRINCE2® definition of a project is:

“A project is a temporary organization that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to an agreed business case”

The Association for Project Management gives the following definition for a project and this is sometimes used across Company Name :

“A unique set of co-ordinated activities, with definite start and finishing points, undertaken by an individual or organistion to meet specific objectives within defined time, cost and performance parameters”

There are increasing demands to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources and that everyone's time and effort is focused on supporting the overall objectives of the business. Even very small, everyday, ventures need to be properly thought through before any work starts to ensure that no effort, money or other important resources are wasted. Purchase of a piece of office furniture or equipment, installation of a new computer system or re-location of a whole organisation - they are all projects that need to be planned and controlled in a professional manner.

What are the benefits?

Listed below are some of the many benefits to using a structured project management system.

Provides a clear start and end to each project
Helps to ensure the right people are involved
Establishes a common understanding of what is required
Reduces the need for re-work
Formalises the appropriate level of management control for the project
Provides a clear method of communication
Provides a clear end to the project
Ensures value for money, effectiveness and efficiency

A key benefit of managing by project is that you will be in control at all stages of the project - from the very beginning when deciding whether or not there actually is a project to be managed right through to proper close down. You will be viewed as someone able to plan and see through an undertaking in a professional and organised way - foreseeing problems and being able to make timely decisions to avoid or reduce their impact.

3. Project Management Guides Overview

The following outlines the five guides that form the complete set of the Company Name Project Management Guide.

	Title of Guide	Description
	Overview and Guidance	This is the foundation guide to the Project Management standards and provides advice how to use the guidance and how to assess your projects.
	Managing Level 1 Projects	A complete step by step guide for managing Level 1 projects. These type projects will typically be low value and low risk, and will have straightforward project management controls applied to them.
	Managing Level 2 Projects	This guide provides information and advice on managing Level 2 projects. Level 2 projects require significant commitment of resource, and therefore need closer project management applied to them.
	Techniques Guide	The Techniques Guide gives detailed information on how to complete particular areas of the project. This includes how to plan, manage risks, deal with issues and ensure the quality of products using the Quality Review technique.
	Templates Guide	The Templates Guide provides detailed information on completing the Management Products when managing projects. Every section in each template is complete with guidance on what information should be included.

The Company Name Project Management Guide is based on the PRINCE2® Method, and additional information can be found in the PRINCE2® reference manual “Managing Successful Projects Using PRINCE2®”.

You should also seek help and advice from colleagues and mentors who have completed the PRINCE2® training.

3.1 Symbols Used in the Guides

The following symbols are used throughout the Project Management Guides to give a clear indication on the information and actions required.

	Authorisation – This symbol represents a point in the project where authorisation from the Project Board is required.
	Action – This symbol indicates that the Project Manager needs to perform an action - such as creating a Management product or updating a plan.
	Information – Paragraphs throughout the guides that use this symbol contain information that can be advice, guidance or a specific topic relating to the chapter.
	Techniques – This symbol indicates that advice on how to complete the work can be found in the Techniques Guide.
	Templates – This symbol indicates that a template document exists. The template can be found online and in the Templates Guide.

3.2 Progress and Feedback

As the Company Name project management environment develops, the guidance will be updated to reflect experience and lessons learned.

Company Name are committed to developing the skill of its staff, and encourages all levels of personnel to feed information into the system. The best and most effective way to grow the capability of the authority and its staff is to continually monitor and grow the advice and standards of this guidance.

This can be achieved by sharing information on techniques, tips and use of the project templates and guidance.

4. Levels and Types of Projects

This guide has been created to aide the use of project management across all projects in Company Name . To maximise the benefits of using PRINCE2®, this authority needs the appropriate level of the method to be applied to each project.

To help achieve this, the following two project levels have been defined.

Project Level	Guidance
Level 1	Cost/Value: £50,000 - £100,000* (could be larger for construction) Effort: Up to 75 days Timescale: 6-12 months Risk Level: Low - Medium Nature: Simple / Informal Approach: Single Service; Internal Development
Level 2	Cost/Value: £100,000 - £5,000,000 Effort: 75+ days Timescale: 6 to 24 months Risk Level: Low, Medium and High levels of risk Nature: Complex / Formal Approach: Internal/external approved suppliers development; Cross department delivery

4.1 Level 1 Projects Summary

The following table provides a broad overview of how Level 1 projects will be managed. Detailed information on how to manage Level 1 projects is in the “Managing Level 1 Projects” guide.

Level 1 Projects	Guidance
Authorisation/Decision Points	Acknowledgement of the OGC Gateway™ Review Process Minimum of 4 End Stage Assessments – formal or informal Signed authorisation from the Project Board for approval of plans (time, cost, resource usage) Other meetings can usually be short and informal
Plans	Project level plan mandatory Stage level plan if required
Organisation Structure (People)	The Project Board should have a minimum of 1 person to represent Business, User & Supplier interests Project Manager reports to and takes direction from the Project Board Internal project staff only Internal and external specialist resource if required
Communication & Reporting	Most of the communication will be carried out on an informal basis Use of a Daily Log for recording daily events. Highlight Reports sent to Project Board via email as agreed End Stage and End Project reporting.
Project Issue Management	Use of an Issue Register to capture project issues Verbal/Email escalation where necessary to the Project Board, then documented Configuration Management on all key project documents and products.
Risk	Low-medium risk Does not expose the organisation to adverse criticism Medium-high risk to be escalated verbally or by email to the Project Board

4.2 Level 2 Projects Summary

The following table provides a broad overview of how Level 2 projects will be managed. Detailed information on how to manage Level 2 projects is in the “Managing Level 2 Projects” guide.

Level 2 Projects	Guidance
Authorisation/Decision Points	Application of the OGC Gateway™ Review Process Minimum of 5 End Stage Assessments. These should be formal, face to face meetings Signed authorisation from the Project Board for approval of plans (time, cost, resource usage) Other meetings should involve all members of the Project Board, or representation thereof
Plans	Project & Stage level plans mandatory Team Level Plans if required Project Product Description used to define the project Product Descriptions be used for all levels of plan
Organisation Structure (People)	The Project Board should include a minimum of 2 people to represent Business, User & Supplier interests – (ideally Business & Supplier should be combined). It is recommended that no more than 7 people in total are on each Project Board. External Supplier may take a Senior Supplier role on the Project Board Independent Project Assurance to be considered Project Manager reports to, and takes direction from the Project Board Use of internal and external project staff if required Internal & external specialist resource if required
Communication & Reporting	Communication to and from other sources (i.e. interested parties) should be agreed with the Project Board and documented in the Communication Management Strategy Day to day communication can be carried out on an informal basis if required Use of a Daily Log for recording daily events Highlight Reports sent to Project Board via email if agreed, otherwise printed, signed and sent Project Assurance to assure content of reporting Configuration Management on all key Project Documents.
Project Issue Management	Full use of the standard Project Issue Management system as described in the Techniques Guide Formal escalation where necessary to the Project Board using the Exception Report. All members of the Project Board should receive the Exception Report & discuss as required. Additional resources that may be required must be formally authorised by the Project Board
Risk	Low-medium risks handled by the Project Manager Medium-high risk to be escalated formally to the Project Board

4.3 Inherent Risk Questionnaire

The following questionnaire has been designed to help identify and measure the level of risk to any project. There will be areas of risk that are specific to your project that are not included in this list which will need to be dealt with in a workshop environment. Use this questionnaire as a guide - some areas within this questionnaire may not be relevant to your project.

<< Low Risk	1	2	3	4	High Risk >>
Full time, experienced Project Manager					Part time, inexperienced Project Manager
Customer Management experienced and likely to be active					Inexperienced Customer Management - little participation expected
Customer staff likely to be supportive and fully involved in the project					Little Customer staff involvement expected and little contribution
High standard of supervision & narrow span of control in the project team					Wide span of supervision and control expected to be poor
Good quality project team, experienced with the right skills					Inexperienced project team lacking the key skills
Staff assigned full time to the project					Staff have many other responsibilities
Low turnover of project staff					High turnover of project staff
Staff experienced at Quality Reviews					No experience of Quality Reviews among staff
An organisational commitment to quality exists					Staff take little interest in achieving a Quality Culture
Typical project with a straightforward lifecycle					A project lifecycle that has a number of inter-technical relationships
The project has no, or few novel features					Pioneering new approaches are being tried out in the project
Equipment being installed by the project is well known, tried and tested					Equipment is untried and its use is uncertain
Current main operations will be only minimally affected by the project					Significant impact on current main operations by the project
The Requirements are, or will be, well established and well documented by the Customer					Requirements are (expected to be) poorly understood, documented and presented by the Customer
Little or no modification needed to existing technical standards					Extensive modification needed to existing technical standards
Little project work is being undertaken currently					Other project work is being carried out in parallel with this project
There is little dependence on development facilities not under the control of the project team					There is a dependence on development facilities which are outside the control of the project team
Project duration is less than 6 months or there is only a small number of workdays required					Project duration is longer than 6 months or there is a high number of workdays
There is little or no constraint on the completion date					There is a mandatory completion date stated by the Customer
Plans and estimates are based on reliable data from similar projects					Plans and estimates are based on unreliable data - essentially “green field”
Estimates have been prepared using well tried and documented standards					Approximations have been used based on unreliable standards
This is the first or second attempt at this project - i.e. there is no history of consistent failure					There have been two or more attempts to complete this project – i.e. it has a history of failure
Few Customer Departments will be affected by the final outcome					Many Customer Departments will be affected by the final outcome
The project work will affect few Customer sites					Many Customer sites will be impacted by the project work
Sites which the project team will visit are easily accessible					Sites are remote and inaccessible
There will be only minor impact on the Customer’s day to day work during the project cycle					There will be significant impact on the Customer’s day to day work during the project
Well developed and understood Project Management Standards will be available to the project team					Few Project Management Standards will be available to the project team
There is a well developed and understood Quality Environment - ie an audited Quality Management System					Quality Management is ill-defined and/or not visible
Clear delegation of authority is practised by management					There is strict central management control with little empowerment or delegation
Project Staff will wish to make use of the published Project Management Standards					Project Staff are not expected to utilise any Project Management Standards that exist
The Customer demonstrates a full understanding of the Requirement and its impact					The Customer demonstrates a poor understanding of the impact of the Requirement
There will be little or no modification needed to the Customer’s existing facilities					Extensive modification to the Customer’s existing facilities is expected
An agreed contract is in existence					No formal contract is yet in place
There have been previous dealings with the Customer and previous contracts have been brought to a satisfactory conclusion					There have been difficulties when dealing with this Customer on earlier contracts
Suppliers are known, approved and have a satisfactory track record					The Suppliers are new and little is known about their capabilities
Only one, well established, approved Supplier will be used to provide the services					Multiple Suppliers (with Sub-Contractor elements) are anticipated
Suppliers have an established Structured Project Management Method based on PRINCE® or similar					Supplier project management arrangements are ad-hoc with little visible definition
A Supplier contract is in existence					Informal arrangements only exist
The main Supplier has a fully audited Quality Management System to ISO9001					The main Supplier has no published Quality Management System
The future level of Supplier performance is expected to be excellent					The future level of Supplier performance is un-assessable because too little is known

The overall assessment of risk can now be completed by adding all the scores together from the above table, and then dividing the sum by the number of risks that you have scored. Your project risk level will be classified as one of the following:

1-4 = Low Risk
5-8 = Medium Risk
9-16 = High Risk

4.4 How do I measure the Project?

The following diagram summarises the two project levels, and, based on the Cost, Risk and Duration, will help you to determine which level is most appropriate for your project.

Project scaling diagram

This aid to sizing your project is a three dimensional view of the key elements in sizing.

First, assess the likely time it will take to complete the project. This can be derived from the Project Mandate or Project Brief with regards overall timescales.
Second, assess the total cost to the proposed project. Again, this can be derived from the Project Mandate and the overall budget for the project.
Finally assess the overall project risk, either subjectively or using a risk analysis tool. An Inherent Risk Questionnaire can be found overleaf to help with this.

Where the figures converge, you will have the appropriate sizing level for your project. However, because there are so many questions that relate to the decision on what level your project will fall into, there will always be a judgement that will need to be made with the Project Board. For instance, a low-cost project may require an upper level of management due to its high level of risk.

To come to a final decision on the type of project you will be working on, there are several other elements to consider.

How much money is required?
How long will the project take?
What is the level of risk for this project?
Does this project affect one service?
Will other services be impacted by this project?
Will this project be impacted by other services?
Has this project been done before?
Have I worked on a similar project to this before?

A presentation to the Project Board prior to any significant project work is essential so that the appropriate level of project management can be applied to the project.

5. What Next?

When you have reviewed the information currently available, and have established the type of project that will be undertaken, the information should be presented to the Project Board Executive. This presentation may be either formal or informal.

You should use the checklist in Section 6 to help ensure that you have all the information required.

The Executive will either authorise the project type, or re-evaluate the project type, and give authorisation or direction on how to proceed.

6. Information Checklist – Project Type

The following form should be used to monitor and track the information gathered when establishing the project level.

Project Name: ………………………………...
Information	v	Completed By	Date	Authorised	Date
Project Mandate to include: Cost/Value Effort (time) Approach Executive Appointment Project Manager Appointment
Risk Questionnaire
Project Level 1 or Project Level 2
Authorisation: Gateway 2