This paper was submitted for publication 2/28/06 and is copyright to Colin Bentley© 2006.
Published hereJuly 2006.

Note | Introduction | The Guide, Chapter 1 - Introduction / General Scope of Project Management
Chapter 2 - Project Life Cycle and Organization
Chapter 3 - Overview of Project Management Processes for a Project / The Guide's Individual Processes
Chapter 4 - Project Integration Method | Chapter 5 - Project Scope Management
Chapters 6, 7 and 8 | Chapters 9, 10, 11 and 12

Chapters 9, 10, 11 and 12

Chapter 9 - Project Human Resource Management

This chapter compares to PRINCE2's Organization component. The Guide covers areas such as developing and managing the project team (improving competencies and tracking performance), areas that PRINCE2 does not touch. But PRINCE2 offers specific project roles, and links these to sub-processes in "Starting Up a Project", where the project management team is selected and appointed.

Chapter 10 - Project Communications Management

This Knowledge Area covers:

  • Communications Planning
  • Information Distribution
  • Performance Reporting
  • Manage Stakeholders

These items are covered in the PRINCE2 Controls component, although to a much lesser degree. PRINCE2 leaves most of the detail to the various sub-processes that do the communicating.

Chapter 11 - Project Risk Management

This equates to the PRINCE2 component "Management of Risk", and both methods have a similar approach. The Guide gives explanations of various risk techniques such as Decision Tree Analysis. PRINCE2 follows its usual line of excluding techniques that are in the public domain.

The Guide offers only three types of response to negative risks, as opposed to five in PRINCE2, but does offer three types of response to positive risks, whereas PRINCE2 offers none. Both use a similar record-keeping technique for risks: Risk Register or Risk Log. PRINCE2 makes more of the planning and resourcing for risk monitoring, whilst The Guide includes types of trend analysis and audit. PRINCE2 includes the concept of a Risk Owner, the person best placed to keep an eye on the risk.

Chapter 12 - Project Procurement Management

The Guide includes a large Knowledge Area on this subject, which PRINCE2 does not tackle at all.

Editor's Postscript Note

This review by Colin is a most valuable work, since we believe that it highlights opportunities to improve both The Guide and PRINCE2.

Chapters 6, 7 and 8  Chapters 6, 7 and 8

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