ILX has launched its first podcast series, which takes a look at some of the best selling and most talked about courses in easy, 15-minute bites. First up is PRINCE2 in 15 minutes without of the most popular PRINCE2 trainers, Karen Turner
ILX podcast is available on Apple iTunes.
PRINCE2 derives its methods from 7 core principles. Collectively, these principles provide a framework for good practice
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
Field Security Management is set in a fictional East African country. The training is aimed at mainstreaming established security protocols and behaviors into the daily life of all field-based staff in a humanitarian response or hostile environment.
Remote Security Management is set in a fictional Middle Eastern country. The training is aimed at bridging the gap between HQ, regional and field staff communications on security challenges, decisions and practical actions throughout the project life cycle. The course is specifically designed for remote security managers, security focal points and staff whose security is being or will be remotely managed. The course is presently available in English and Arabic.
Both courses were developed by security experts from across the humanitarian sector, including EISF, War Child, Department for International Development, Operation Mercy, Oxfam, Save the Children and RedR UK, Mission Ready will get every member of your team thinking about and applying the essential security protocols needed to keep staff members safe while on mission. The theory and learning from Mission Ready is transferable and relevant to current global humanitarian challenges.
Mission Ready Courses are based on Near life immersive learning solution provided by Digital Training Solutions
This video looks at getting the project started with the activities, and any documents recommended and take you up to a point at the end of Initiating a Project and being ready (hopefully) to kick the delivery part of the project off in earnest. Run the plan!
The message is that we need to start with a broad yet formal understanding of the “Why What and How” of the project in “Starting Up a Project” and build on the that with more detail through “Initiating a Project.” At the end of “Starting Up a Project,” the next step is to go to “Directing a Project” (which is where the Project Board function for direction and decision) to “Request Initiate a Project” and kicks off this Process. Note that even though the Project Executive is on board from Starting Up a Project, it is only when “Starting Up a Project” is complete, and the Project Brief is ready along with the Initiating Stage Plan, does “Directing a Project” start.
“Step at a time” – “Detail builds with each step” so we can keep in control and by that I mean from a “Governance” perspective, so we do NOT have a “runaway train.” In “Initiating a Project” we look at Planning as this is the key activity here. We need to understand the products (product breakdown), so then we can prioritize, estimate and then Plan. This helps us update all the project documents we started in “Starting Up a Project” to provide the business with the best information they need to make an “informed decision” as to whether the project is worth the investment or not. The underlying point here is to understand and agree on the project “Scope”!
Should we get the “Green Light” at the end of “Initiating a Project” we then move into the “Delivery” part, “Controlling a Stage” and “Managing Product Delivery”.
Now for the product build part, there are some separate videos that you through “Scrum” and how the core of the “Product Deliver” approach, Iterative Development, and using “Timeboxes” (Sprints in Scrum) are used to control ID. The session also explains how to use this approach in a project as there need to be some changes! We also look at handling Risk and Issues, with escalation and the “Exception” route.
Finally, the video takes you through a recap of the previous videos and then leads into “Closing a Project,” with a look both aspect, normal and premature closure.
Please note: this is not a course in itself, its a “walkthrough” to provide you with a good and reasonably detailed understanding of the approach.
PRINCE2 is a guidance and a framework to guide you through the project.
The full accredited course can be found on http://www.d-p-c.net/courses.html
You will see the course card on the Landing Page.
All the courses are run as a “Classroom” with the details drawn on a whiteboard throughout the explanation
For a full image of the new life cycle follow this link: http://bit.ly/P2-2017ProcessMap
PRINCE2®, MSP®, M_o_R® and MoP® are registered trademarks of AXELOS Limited.
Amy Hamilton loves project management and believes you will, too, once you realise that your entire life is one big project in need of being managed.