Projects In Controlled Environments
PRINCE2 stands for Projects In Controlled Environments and is a structured method of effective project management. It gives a written description of how to manage a project in a logical, organised way, following defined steps. It can be applied to all kinds of projects and situations. PRINCE2 is rapidly becoming an international standard, with organisations around the world using it as their preferred approach to managing projects.
A successful method for project management
One of the reasons for the rapid growth of PRINCE2 is that many organisations have recognised that writing their own customised set of standards can be a time-consuming and costly business. The savings in using an existing best practice standard and flexing it to the organisation's needs are highly attractive. The use of PRINCE2 is free. Users can employ the method for their own projects without being tied to specific consultants. As a result, there are already tens of thousands of people around the world who are fully qualified as PRINCE2 practitioners. This creates a virtuous circle - the more people who have taken the PRINCE2 exams, the more benefit there is in organisations adopting it; and the more organisations that adopt it, the more people there will be who become qualified to use it.
Benefits
There are many other benefits of PRINCE2. It embodies established and proven best practices in project management, and is widely recognised and understood, providing a common language for all project participants. It encourages formal recognition of responsibilities within a project and focuses on what a project is to deliver, why, when and for whom. By using PRINCE2, project managers can divide the project into manageable stages that enable them to plan accurately. That way you finish your projects on time, within budget and without those sleepless nights.
PRINCE2 2009 version
Since the launch of PRINCE2 in 1996, the project management industry had not stood still. That's why APMG launched the 2009 version. The key improvements to PRINCE2 2009 are: PRINCE2 is less prescriptive and more flexible, PRINCE2 is less theoretical and more practical, the need to tailor the method is explicitly stated and guidance on how to tailor is provided, the linkage with other standards and bodies of knowledge is clearly shown and the importance of the soft aspects of project management is emphasised.