Revising the Directing a Project Process

As you revise the process, make sure that you’re clear on how the activities are triggered. Most activities happen in response to something from the Project Manager. For example, the first activity, ‘Authorize Initiation’, is triggered when the Project Manager finalises the Project Brief and submits it to the board together with a ‘Request to initiate a project’.

To help plan your revision, have a look at the following checklists – one for each exam – and make sure that you’re clear on every point. If you can’t tick off an item with confidence, that will warn you that you need to go and have another look at that area. If you’ve already passed the Foundation and are focusing on the Practitioner, still have a look at the Foundation checklist to be sure you’re still clear on that information.

Revision checklist – Foundation

Check out the items on the following list. If you’re not confident on any of them, don’t tick them off until you’ve revised them again.

The purpose statement, to the point that you can quickly recognise it and associate it with this process, and so that you can identify phrases belonging to it for ‘missing words’ Foundation questions.

The fact that this process is overwhelmingly about making decisions – four of the five activities are entirely that, and the fifth is largely that.

What each of the five activities are.

The nature of the decisions being made in each of the four activities, other than ‘Giving ad hoc direction’.

The nature of the ad hoc direction in responding to the Project Manager’s referral of something to the Project Board, or to receive reports, or to ‘push’ something into the project that has been received from outside it (such organisational instructions or a change in the business environment).

The use of ad hoc direction to trigger a premature close of the project if, for example, circumstances change and the project isn’t needed any more.

The function of the Project Board to ‘manage’ the project and not ‘do’ it.

How the board roles lock on to the ‘BUS’ viewpoints: business, user, supplier.

Clarity on each of the board roles and its main responsibilities.

How board responsibilities fit with Project Assurance and a Change Authority – that board members can do this work themselves or delegate some of it to others.

Board meetings at end stage and also if something goes off track to the point where a stage must be re-planned.

Revision checklist – Practitioner

For the Practitioner exam, make sure you’re still up to speed on the Foundation topics by looking at the Foundation checklist in the previous section, then check out these further points:

How the process will be used in the context of a project. Make sure you’re clear on the time-based things such as authorising the brief and, later, the Project Initiation Documentation (PID), as opposed to the ad hoc things that can come at any time during the delivery stages.

The responsibility of the board, the responsibility of the Project Manager, and when the Project Manager needs to refer something.

The use of the ‘Give ad hoc direction’ activity for inbound information coming in from the organisation and outbound information such as telling organisational management about project progress.

The working of the exception mechanism, to the point of re-planning a stage or even the whole project if necessary. If you’re reading this while you’re learning PRINCE2 and haven’t got as far as exception management yet, don’t worry but mark this point to check up on later.