comparing prince2 and the pmbok

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PRINCE2® and PMBoKPRINCE2® is a Registered Trade Mark of the Cabinet Office.

The Swirl logo™ is a Trade Mark of the Cabinet Office.

Knowledge Train Limited is a PRINCE2 accredited training organization (ATO).


History of PRINCE2

PRojects IN Controlled Environments

• A generic project management framework suitable for managing ANY type of project in any industry

• Owned by Office of Government Commerce (OGC)• PRINCE established in 1989 • 1996 – PRINCE redeveloped as PRINCE2• 2009 – Latest refresh • Now de facto standard for UK government


The structure of PRINCE2

PRINCE2 addresses project management with four integrated elements of: principles, themes, processes and tailoring to the project environment

PROJECT ENVIRONMENT

7 PROCESSES

7 PRINCIPLES

ProgressChange

Organization

Quality

PlansRisk

Business Case

7 THEMES

©Crown Copyright 2009. Reproduced under license from OGC


PRINCE2 qualifications• More than 1,000,000 PRINCE2 exams taken

worldwide since 1996 in 109 countries– ~650,000+ Foundation exams– ~350,000+ Practitioner exams

• 2 qualifications– Foundation – 1 hour exam – tests understanding– Practitioner – 2.5 hour exam – tests application– Professional – 2.5 day – assessment of ability to

manage PRINCE2 projects


Who uses PRINCE2?Private

Barclays BankBritish American TobaccoBritish CouncilBritish TelecomBritish PetroleumDHLING Bank AustraliaNorgine PharmaceuticalsNNIT DenmarkPaul Hartmann AGPort of RotterdamRabobank InternationalRolls RoyceSercoSkandiaSiemens Business Services

Private (continued) Standard BankTescosVisaVocalinkVodafone

OtherBritish GovernmentAustralian GovernmentUK Local governmentUK Health ServiceUK Post OfficeUK Olympic Delivery AuthorityNATOUnited Nations


Benefits PRINCE2• Based upon best practices and governance for managing projects• Can be applied to any type of project • Is widely recognised and understood • Provides a common vocabulary for all project participants• Focuses on what a project will deliver, why, when, by and for whom• Plans meet needs of different levels of project management team• Based on ‘management by exception’ – saves senior managers

time• Focuses on project viability by assessing its Business Case• Thorough but economical structure of reports• Stakeholders properly represented in planning and decision-making• Its adoption promotes learning and continuous improvement• Training is widely available• Using PRINCE2 is FREE!


Which is better - PRINCE2 or PMBOK?

• The wrong question to ask

• A better question to ask is …– Can PRINCE2 and PMBOK be used together?


PRINCE2 PMBOKProcess-based approach Knowledge-based approach

Processes define WHAT must be done, WHEN, HOW and by WHO

Describes core practices and a wider range of techniques

Prescriptive Descriptive

Defines the roles of EVERYONE on the PM team Focuses on PM role

PRINCE2 Accredited Training Organizations (ATO’s) must be accredited (licensed). Accreditation requires compliance with UKAS quality management standard for training.Trainers must pass independent assessment, renewed on annual basis.

PMP training organizations are not required to comply with an international quality management standard for training and/or certification.

PMP trainer’s competency to deliver training is not assessed.

Comparison of PRINCE2 and PMBOK


The student and the doctor• Imagine a student learning to

become a doctor (study anatomy, physiology, pharmacology etc)

• Being a good doctor requires more – Determine symptoms– Prescribe treatment & medicine– Maintaining records– Requesting support from physicians

• PMBOK describes the knowledge – PRINCE2 describes the WHAT, WHEN, HOW and WHO


Conclusion• PRINCE2 and PMBOK both have strengths• PRINCE2 can complement the strengths of the

PMBOK by shaping and directing the PMP’s knowledge

• PRINCE2 specifies the information, documents and roles required throughout the whole project, including project governance

• Using PRINCE2 and PMBOK together means taking advantage of the 2 most respected project management approaches in the world

• Gaining PRINCE2 qualifications can help your career


Click here for more PRINCE2Resources, ebooks and guides!

http://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/resources.php

http://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/resources.php

comparing prince2 and the pmbok

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