For Portfolio, Programme, Project, Risk and Service Management

PRINCE2® Business Benefits Dr. Ian Clarkson, QA

White Paper January 2010

2

PRINCE2® Business Benefits

Section 1

Introduction
As the pace, amount and complexity of change continues to increase, transforming operations so as to achieve a beneficial future state whilst maintaining ‘business-as-usual’ remains the crucial challenge for organizations. This challenge creates a natural tension which, in most cases, always requires more time and money to manage than anticipated. Projects provide the means by which organizations can transform their business operations. Project management, therefore, is the mechanism by which this transformation process is managed. This white paper discusses the business benefits that organizations can attain by adopting a structured, controlled, repeatable and robust project management method. The particular project management method ‘under the spotlight’ in this white paper is PRINCE2®. The content of this white paper is structured as follows. Section 2 discusses what PRINCE2 is and its place within the global project management industry, whereas Section 3 defines exactly what is termed ‘PRINCE2 Business Benefits’. Section 4 ‘makes the case’ as to why formal project management (and, indeed, a structured approach) is needed with Section 5 exploring the business benefits of adopting PRINCE2 from the perspectives of 1) the commercial sector, 2) the public sector, 3) the voluntary (or ‘third’) sector and 4) the individual. Section 6 provides some practical advice as to how organizations can adopt PRINCE2 and ‘exploit’ the business benefits of using this method, with Section 7 wrapping up the paper’s findings. Finally, Section 8 lists the referenced publications and provides recommendations for additional reading. Of course, it is recommended that this white paper