PRINCE2 Project Board

PRINCE 2 Project Board focuses on supporting the SRO, i.e., senior responsible owners, in project management and direction. The project board must develop in-depth knowledge of the agility concept, emphasizing dynamic scope and requirements management method.

The project management methodology was first established in 1989 by the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency. It was originally based on the methodology used by the United Kingdom’s government, known as Project Resource organization management planning techniques. PRINCE2 began as just the PRINCE name; here, iterations were used to manage the projects. 

In earlier times, IT managers found that PRINCE’S techniques could be applied to any project; afterwards, they removed any mention of IT-related jargon. Then PRINCE2 was launched in 1996.

Structure of the PRINCE2 Project Board

The PRINCE 2 project boards remain accountable for the project's success or failure. This provides proper direction to the project manager regarding where the project is and helps provide the project with resources. The project board is solely responsible for authorizing the project funds and also offers sustainable and visible project leads.

The structure of the PRINCE 2 project board is made according to the requirements of the following requirements. If these requirements haven’t been fulfilled, the project lead will be inefficient. These are the requirements such as

• Credibility 
• Ability to delegate
• Authority to get things done
• Availability to aid the project manager.

PRINCE 2 Project board members are always busy and running, by the concept, management by the exception. The project manager is responsible for keeping them informed regarding the project's status and any key decisions they make. The project manager prepares the highlight report to communicate with the project board and offer progress metrics at the current stage.

The PRINCE2 project board is the project management team, comprising three main members: the executive, the senior supplier, and the senior user. They play an integral role in project management and are responsible for resource allocation, authorizing funds, and even giving projects the green signal to commence operations.

Here, one individual can be the executive, while the senior supplier and senior user roles are assigned to numerous individuals. The Executive owns the business case and possesses the authority to give the final word on all the decisions. Also, the board doesn’t have a democratic nature.

Roles and Responsibilities of PRINCE2 Project Board

The PRINCE2 project board members are allocated leading roles in project management. They have a lot of work on their shoulders, from comprehending the project plans to keeping track of progress against the set plans. They also help set up project managers' benchmarks in the operation. 

The managers are required to understand and operate on the said factors to ensure the seamless delivery of the project.

 Let’s understand the roles and responsibilities of the significant board members, such as 

1. The Executive

• The executive holds the topmost rank in the project's management board. He is solely responsible for ensuring that the project does not lose track of its primary goals and objectives. 
• Their role involves monitoring the progress of delivering products, where you can see the benefits the manager had forecasted initially.
• The individual offers proper accountability.
• The executive is responsible for the product design and appointment of the project management team, which includes project board members and the project manager.
• The executive is responsible for creating the business case at the initial stage of the project. They own the business case, which concerns the value for the money the project is bound to return through its operations. The responsibility of updating falls on the project manager business case, but ownership lies with the executive.
• The executive is the face of the project to the external people who are involved in the project.
• The executive is responsible for conveying the project proceedings and metrics to external stakeholders and other management teams.

2.  Senior Responsible Owner

The senior responsible owner is the representative owner of the entire business change who is accountable for the final delivery of the project. When the project is successfully delivered, they are the first to get recognized. They represent the board chair and have certain responsibilities.

• The individual allocates the role of a project manager and delegates the authority.
• The individual signs and approves the project initiation document and project brief or equivalent, which leads to agreeing to all major plans relevant to the project.
• They authorize the major changes from the stage plans that have been previously agreed upon.
• They convey the necessary information which si relevant to the project, stakeholders and organizations. 
• Ensuring there are required resources available for use where they act as a mediator who resolves conflicts among the project team, supplier, client, and delivery agent.
• They are responsible for approving the project tolerance for quality, time and cost.
• They focus on offering strategic guidance on every project they handle and establishing a foolproof risk management plan.
• They establish quality assurance arrangements that are efficient enough to give directions and advise the project manager.
• They are responsible for mapping out the post-project review with proper strategy and resolving any hurdles that affect the decided plans.

3. Senior User

The senior user plays an important role in managing the projects where they provide a command to the executive and are responsible for the following purposes

1. Ensuring the project meets the desired expectations from the project.
2. Ensuring consistency of the project as per the user perspective.
3. The maintenance and promoting focus to receive the expected project results.
4. It’s the manager's responsibility to ensure necessary user resources are available. If not, make them available.
5. They prioritize the user decisions over board decisions and contribute to the project and make it effective, too.
6. Based on that, they offer a viewpoint from the user's perspective and recommendations, too.
7. Begin by briefing the user management on every aspect relevant to the project.

4. Senior Supplier

The senior suppliers focus on representing the designer as well as project facilitators who play an important role in the management and commencement of the project. They hold major responsibilities such as 

1. Focusing on approving the goals for supplier activities
2. Ensuring the progress should be parallel to consistency according to the supplier’s perspective.
3. Promoting and keeping focus on expected project outputs.
4. Ensuring there are enough supplier resources available for use also products should be signed off upon completion.
5. It also contributes to the opinions of the suppliers on the board decision; also, they resolve conflicts related as per supplier’s priority.

Why is the Project Board significant in PRINCE2?

The project board is highly important in the structure of PRINCE2 project management. The project board leads the project as it tends to approve the project ideas and is responsible for the project outcome.

The project manager is entirely responsible for the success or failure regardless of the instructions they have received from the corporate and project management. The project board is responsible for setting the benchmarks and establishing the constraints within which the project manager is required and expected to operate to receive high results.

Some organizations consistently work on and undertake various projects, and keeping track of their progress can be quite challenging. The project board is responsible for bridging the gap and ensuring projects run effectively.

Here, we have outlined a few reasons why a project board is mandatory in every business, regardless of how big or small they are, such as

1. The project board acts as a visual aid to stakeholders and other members who can easily and quickly communicate the proceedings in the different areas of the projects.
2. The reliable project board helps maintain progress and follow up with stakeholders; it also knows when and how to intervene.
3. The help from the project board allows the team members to know the project's status at that particular point, what the next steps are, and what needs to be done soon. It allows for managing and preventing the project from getting sidetracked with consistent monitoring,
4. The project board is a major part of the work process, which relies on continuous feedback and helps identify project problems.
5. The most important aspect of the project board is encouraging real-time updates and also focusing on making changes in process management.

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Conclusion

Project management is one of the highly reputed responsibilities in the corporate world. Suppose you are looking to become a project management or project board member. In that case, it is essential to learn everything in depth, from operations to proceedings, in accordance with project management.

Simpliaxis has best-in-industry PRINCE2 training courses and certifications for project management. You can learn everything in detail, from basics to advanced concepts, and how to apply them in any framework to retain the best results. Learn the skills and advance your career with simpliaxis courses. Enroll now.

FAQ

What is the PRINCE 2 Project Board?

The PRINCE 2 project board is one of the fundamental governing bodies. It is solely responsible for providing direction, decision-making, and ensuring the project's results are retained throughout its lifecycle.

What are the key roles within the project board?

The project board consist of three major key roles such as executive, senior users, and senior suppliers. The executive is solely responsible for the project’s overall success, while the senior user showcases the interests in project management and the senior supplier shows the supplier's interests.

How does the project board add to the project's success?

The project board focuses on aligning with the business objectives, developing effective risk management strategies, managing stakeholders, and ensuring quality control from project initiation to completion, all contributing to the project’s successful outcomes.