Many people ask me if there is any software available to help run a PRINCE2 project. One of the challenges of PRINCE2 is using all the management documents that the method recommends. A good piece of software would be ideal to help create and update the plans, the logs and the quality documentations. There are also a number of diagrammatical tools such as product breakdown structures (PBS) which once again would be useful to create in a piece of software.
I recently reviewed P2ware Planner. It has some very good features. One area I particularly liked was how the software dealt with PRINCE2’s product based planning approach. For those of you who’s PRINCE2 is a little rusty here’s a quick recap of how you use the method to plan.
- Firstly the project manager works with the delivery teams to create a product breakdown structure (PBS). This hierarchical diagram would show all the products that need to be delivered and also which products are components of other products.
- Secondly, the project manager works with the teams to create a Product Description for each product identified in the PBS. A Product Description is a specification for a product.
- Then the project manager and the teams create a product flow diagram that shows the sequence of delivery for the products
- Next the project manager creates a configuration item record for each product. A configuration item record tracks a product’s latest status information.
- Finally the project manager can create a gantt chart showing all the activities that need to be done to deliver the products, who will do them and what dates they will occur.
The PRINCE2 product based planning approach is far more rigorous and robust approach than the more traditional method of jumping straight to creating a gantt chart. It helps the project teams think carefully through what will be created and helps to reduce the risk of common project problems such as scope creep and forgetting to deliver essential products. Unfortunately, the most widely used planning software, MS Project, has no facilities do any of the product-focused steps such as creating PBS’s or Product Descriptions. This is where software products such as P2ware Planner are very useful.
Have a look at the figure below. It’s a screenshot from the P2ware product. It shows how you can create a PBS. A really neat feature is that you can click on any product in the PBS and create its product description and also it’s configuration item record. (You can see the Product Description and Configuration Item Record details on the left hand side of the screen shot). For me, combining the PBS, the Product Descriptions and the Configuration Item Records on one screen makes things very simple.
Another good feature is that once you’ve created all the product information – the software will start to create a Gantt Chart for you using the information in the product flow diagram.
I think the P2ware software is definitely worth a look if you’re running medium to large scale PRINCE2 project. As well as the planning tools it also has facilities for creating and updating all the PRINCE2 logs and registers.
The website is at www.p2ware.com . It has a number of videos showing what the product offers plus you can download a trial version. If you do use it – I would be very interested to see what you thought of it.
Cheers for now
David Hinde
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