Project Management Professional / PRINCE2 The Seven Processes Syllabus

The Seven Processes syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for The Seven Processes in Project Management Professional / PRINCE2, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Pre-Project and Initiation Processes

   3 topics

   • Starting Up a Project (SU)
     • Appoint Executive and Project Manager; capture previous lessons
     • Design and appoint the project management team
     • Prepare the outline Business Case and Project Product Description
     • Select the project approach and assemble the Project Brief; plan initiation stage
   • Initiating a Project (IP)
     • Prepare the four management approaches (Risk, Quality, Change, Communication)
     • Set up project controls and create the Project Plan
     • Refine the Business Case and assemble the Project Initiation Documentation
   • Trigger and outputs of pre-project work
     • Project mandate as the trigger for Starting Up
     • Request to initiate a project handed to the Project Board
2. 2

   Directing and Controlling Processes

   3 topics

   • Directing a Project (DP)
     • Authorise initiation and authorise the project
     • Authorise a Stage or Exception Plan
     • Give ad hoc direction and authorise project closure
   • Controlling a Stage (CS)
     • Authorise, review and receive completed Work Packages
     • Review stage status and report highlights
     • Capture, examine and escalate issues and risks; take corrective action
   • Managing Product Delivery (MP)
     • Accept a Work Package and agree tolerances with the Team Manager
     • Execute a Work Package and maintain Team Plans/Checkpoint Reports
     • Deliver a completed Work Package back to the Project Manager
3. 3

   Stage Boundary and Closure Processes

   3 topics

   • Managing a Stage Boundary (SB)
     • Plan the next stage and update the Project Plan
     • Update the Business Case and report stage end
     • Produce an Exception Plan when directed
   • Closing a Project (CP)
     • Prepare planned and premature closure
     • Hand over products and evaluate the project
     • Recommend project closure to the Project Board
   • Process model relationships
     • How CS, MP and SB interact within a delivery stage
     • Mapping the seven processes across the project lifecycle

The Seven Processes flashcards for Project Management Professional / PRINCE2

22 of 51 cards from the The Seven Processes deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the seven processes of PRINCE2?

   Starting Up a Project (SU), Directing a Project (DP), Initiating a Project (IP), Controlling a Stage (CS), Managing Product Delivery (MP), Managing a Stage Boundary (SB), and Closing a Project (CP).

2. What is the purpose of the Starting Up a Project (SU) process?

   To ensure the prerequisites for initiating a project are in place by answering whether the project is worthwhile and viable. It is a pre-project, lightweight process that prevents poorly conceived projects from being initiated.

3. What event (trigger) starts the Starting Up a Project (SU) process?

   The project mandate, supplied by responsible (corporate, programme management or the customer) authority. It triggers the pre-project work.

4. What is the main output/deliverable produced at the end of Starting Up a Project (SU)?

   The Project Brief (which incorporates the outline Business Case) and the initiation Stage Plan. These are submitted to the Project Board via the request to initiate a project.

5. Name the key activities of the Starting Up a Project (SU) process.

   Appoint the Executive and the Project Manager; capture previous lessons; design and appoint the project management team; prepare the outline Business Case; select the project approach and assemble the Project Brief; plan the initiation stage.

6. In SU, which two management products combine the project mandate's information into a fuller statement of the project?

   The Project Brief (a fuller version of the mandate) and the outline Business Case (showing the justification for the project).

7. What is the purpose of the Initiating a Project (IP) process?

   To establish solid foundations for the project, enabling the organisation to understand the work to be done before committing significant spend. It produces the Project Initiation Documentation (PID).

8. What triggers the Initiating a Project (IP) process?

   The Project Board's authority to initiate (the 'authorize initiation' decision in Directing a Project), given in response to the request to initiate a project from SU.

9. What is the primary output of the Initiating a Project (IP) process?

   The Project Initiation Documentation (PID), assembled from the project strategies, controls, plans, refined Business Case, and the project management team structure. It also produces the request to deliver a project.

10. Which four management strategies (approaches) are created during Initiating a Project (IP)?

    The Risk Management Approach, the Quality Management Approach, the Change Control Approach, and the Communication Management Approach.

11. Which key registers/logs are set up during Initiating a Project (IP)?

    The Risk Register, the Quality Register, and the Issue Register are established (and the Daily Log and Lessons Log, started in SU, continue).

12. During IP, the detailed Business Case and the Project Plan are created. What is the difference between the Project Plan and a Stage Plan?

    The Project Plan is a high-level plan covering the whole project (major products, timescale, cost, resources), used by the Project Board as a baseline. A Stage Plan is the detailed, day-to-day plan for a single management stage, used by the Project Manager.

13. What is the trigger and what are the outputs of the pre-project work in PRINCE2?

    Trigger: the project mandate from corporate/programme/customer. Outputs of pre-project work (SU): the Project Brief, the outline Business Case, the initiation Stage Plan, and the request to initiate a project.

14. Why does PRINCE2 separate Starting Up a Project (pre-project) from Initiating a Project?

    To keep SU lightweight (a quick viability check using minimal resources) and to defer the larger investment of detailed planning in IP until the Project Board has confirmed the project is worthwhile and authorised initiation.

15. What is the purpose of the Directing a Project (DP) process?

    To enable the Project Board to be accountable for the project's success by making key decisions and exercising overall control, while delegating day-to-day management to the Project Manager (management by exception).

16. Over which span of the project lifecycle does the Directing a Project (DP) process run?

    From the end of Starting Up a Project (when the Project Board authorises initiation) to the end of the project (authorising closure). It does NOT cover the SU process itself.

17. What are the five activities of the Directing a Project (DP) process?

    Authorize initiation; authorize the project; authorize a Stage or Exception Plan; give ad hoc direction; authorize project closure.

18. In DP, which activity authorises the move from the initiation stage into the first delivery stage?

    'Authorize the project' (based on the PID), and 'authorize a Stage or Exception Plan' for the next stage. These can happen together at the same Project Board review.

19. What is the purpose of the Controlling a Stage (CS) process?

    To assign and monitor work, deal with issues, report progress to the Project Board, and take corrective action so the stage stays within its agreed tolerances. It is where the Project Manager spends most of their time.

20. What triggers the Controlling a Stage (CS) process for the first delivery stage?

    The Project Board's 'authorize the project' and 'authorize a Stage Plan' decisions in Directing a Project, which give the Project Manager the go-ahead to begin managing the stage.

21. Name the three groups of activities within Controlling a Stage (CS).

    Work Packages (authorize, review status, receive completed); Monitoring and reporting (review stage status, report highlights); and Issues (capture and examine issues/risks, escalate, take corrective action).

22. What is a Work Package in PRINCE2 and which CS activity authorises it?

    A Work Package is the set of information about one or more required products given by the Project Manager to a Team Manager to authorise and control production. It is created by the 'authorize a Work Package' activity in Controlling a Stage.

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