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Getting Started with PRINCE2

PRINCE2 Beginner Project Management

PRINCE2 (Projects IN Controlled Environments) is one of the most widely used project management methodologies in the world. Whether you’re new to project management or looking to formalize your approach, this guide will help you understand the basics. In future blogs we’ll go over what smallChange adopts and what we opt to leave up to you, the user.

What is PRINCE2?

PRINCE2 is a structured project management method that provides a step-by-step approach to managing projects. It’s based on seven key principles, seven themes, and seven processes.

The Seven Principles

  1. Continued Business Justification - There must be a justifiable reason to start and continue the project.

  2. Learn from Experience - Teams should seek lessons from previous projects and apply them.

  3. Defined Roles and Responsibilities - Everyone knows what they’re responsible for.

  4. Manage by Stages - Break the project into manageable stages.

  5. Manage by Exception - Set tolerances and only escalate when they’re exceeded.

  6. Focus on Products - Define and deliver tangible outputs.

  7. Tailor to Suit - Adapt PRINCE2 to your project’s needs.

smallChange doesn’t adopt every PRINCE2 principle into its process and workflows. For starters, we don’t prescribe rigid Defined Roles and Responsibilities. We provide three core roles — Change Manager, Approvers, and Contributors — and leave the rest to you.

If your organisation has a Project Board that must sign off on stage gates, add them as Approvers. If your Change Manager has the authority to approve gates themselves, that works too. You can still notify a Project Board or CAB either way — the autonomy is yours.

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