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What are the benefits of PRINCE2 to the Australian public service?

Posted by Marbenz Antonio on July 20, 2022

The Australian public sector is one of the world’s most consistent supporters of PRINCE2. Tanner James executive director John Howarth discusses why it’s become so important to successful project delivery and the benefits of PRINCE2.

Since the ideas of the PRINCE2 project management technique were conceptualized in the late 1990s, there has been a desire to use them in the Australian public sector.

Today, the Australian government and its ministries are among the most active supporters of the PRINCE2 framework worldwide. It is widely used at the state level, not simply at the federal level. According to the Victorian Government’s IT dashboard 85 projects have used the PRINCE2 technique, accounting for 30% of all projects – the highest for any single method.

The financial scale is also quite large. According to the same data, the overall lifecycle cost of active projects is $851 million, while the cost of completed projects is $27 million. It also did not happen by chance. The adoption has been encouraged by a clear knowledge that using a consistent framework to manage projects results in good outcomes. As a result, it’s employed in everything from local government projects to multibillion-dollar defense programs.

This breadth of application has assured PRINCE2’s nationwide adoption. Over 20,000 individuals have been trained, and every government department has embraced it. It’s a way that public workers trust, whether they work in IT, policy, or business, and it ranges from taxation, social services, and health to law and order, defense, and agriculture. They usually use it throughout their careers, moving from department to department.

What are the benefits of PRINCE2 that have led to its significance?

Benefits of PRINCE2 for some reasons:

1. It brings everyone to the same pagePRINCE2 provides the structure for agreeing on a common understanding of the result (‘product’), allowing for more autonomous decision-making and reducing red tape. I like to refer to it as the “digital camera moment.” It’s that single snapshot of the objective that everyone is striving towards.As a result, individuals at all levels of the organization are clear, empowered, and supported in making decisions. Also, persons with the necessary talents and capabilities have been assembled for the project. As a result, not only is project delivery smoother but there are fewer problems.
2. The importance of a shared languageRegardless of the project or department, terms like product, activity, resources, stages, project boards, and service users are all defined, understood, and utilized as a part of everyday language. This consistency in terminology is effective. It eliminates ambiguity and allows projects to get off to a quick start.
3. The procedure for dealing with change is well definedThis is well recognized and always felt. Everyone follows a structure and governance. From the sponsor and project executive board to the project manager, roles are clearly defined. This means that roles and project expectations are specified and backed by a governance structure that outlines the step-by-step steps that constitute the agreed-upon path to achieving the goal.

The Truth About Using PRINCE2

It’s a common misperception that training and templates guarantee project success. In my experience, the opposite is often true. While they are both required for using the benfits of PRINCE2, they cannot deliver the project on their own. It’s a trap that far too many businesses fall into.

Instead, keep to the following three-step philosophy:

1. People – Understand. Individuals must be trained and understand the framework, as well as learn from global best practices and become acquainted with the repeating parts. When an organization has a trained cohort of accredited PRINCE2 practitioners, it establishes a great base for long-term success.
2. Projects – Apply. There are no two projects or departments alike. Introducing a tax reform is not the same as providing a bush fire readiness strategy. There are various specialists and technology involved, as well as different support systems and environmental pressures. As a result, a personalized approach is required. This enables PMOs to manage the complexities of the business, the people involved, and the work at hand with care.
3. The Organisation – Embeds. While PRINCE2 provides templates for managing processes and tracking milestones, project managers must adjust and customize it to meet their organization’s existing processes and culture. It’s pointless to try to fit a square peg into a round hole. This requires expertise and experience and is usually improved by focused coaching.

It is recommended that any organization, public or private, contemplating adopting the benefits of PRINCE2 follow these steps. However, it must also have top-level executive support. The most effective PRINCE2 implementations are those that have integrated it throughout the organization and use it to underpin strategic delivery.

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