Initiating a Project and Controlling a Stage

This week, learning is broken into two parts:

1. A summary of two processes is provided. The two processes are:
   1. Initiating a Project
   2. Controlling a Stage
2. Learning activities that will contribute to the development of a Project Management Plan.

Part 1 Initiating a Project

Initiating a project provides a foundation that enables an understanding of what needs to be done in delivering the projects, products to be shared. Initiating a project is a process that draws upon themes such is risk management, quality management, configuration management and, communication management. It producers the project plan and sets up the project controls. In this process the business case is refined, and it leads to managing a stage boundary and putting in a request to deliver a project to the project board. The request is part of the directing the project process.

Initiating a project is illustrated below:

Controlling a Stage

The purpose of controlling a stage is to:

• assign work to be done
• monitor the work that has been assigned
• deal with issues
• report progress to the project board

Controlling a stage is designed to ensure attention is focused on the delivery of the stage’s products, and risks are kept under control. PRINCE2 uses work packages to define what work is to be done. They set expectations and enables control because progress can be measured. Flexibility can be achieved by setting of tolerances, giving provide people opportunity to work without constant involvement from managers handing out instructions. This helps drive management by exception.

Controlling a stage begins with a stage plan that contains product descriptions for the stage. The project team develops a list of all the tasks to produce the products as described, and then groups the tasks together into work packages.

These work packages are distributed to the appropriate people to perform the tasks. These people work on the tasks and provide reports that might be informal or formal as to how they are progressing. The report provided in accordance with communication strategy. The work tasks should be designed to account for potential risks. The report’s being provided by people performing the tasks should also include information about the likelihood of potential risks occurring.

Controlling a Stage also includes the updating of:

• Configuration items records
• Quality register
• Risk register
• Issues register

What on completion of work package the project manager will seek authority to deliver the work package, from the Project Board.