I don’t know too much about Prince 2, though I know a lot of project managers use it. My concern about it would be an over emphasis on excel spreadsheets and not enough digging into the actual problem and how best to address it.

Kevin

The main criticism with developing detailed plans has always been “well – what’s the point, it will all change tomorrow” and it frequently does.

However, the discipline of writing a good brief and having the client approve and sign it (ideally in their own blood) is not to be overlooked.

I have recently been looking at the Prince2 project approach, one of its more attractive features is to do a light plan or outline at the start of a project, then a more detailed plan as each stage nears completion for the next ‘chunk’ or phase of work.

Some areas of it are administratively intense to the point of overkill and most clients would balk at this level of approval and re-approval, but as the method stresses, you don’t need to apply all of it all the time.

I would say that knowing some sort of methodology is definitely a worthwhile investment, but don’t become a slave to the system.

Regards,
Mike Wooles.