Chap.

16

Controlling a Stage
 Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Purpose & Objective
3. Context
4. Introduction to Activities
4.1 Activity 1: Authorize a Work Package
4.2 Activity 2: Review Work Package Status
4.3 Activity 3: Receive complete Work Packages
4.4 Activity 4: Review the stage status
4.5 Activity 5: Report Highlights
4.6 Activity 6: Capture and Examine Issues & Risks
4.7 Activity 7: Escalate issues and risks
4.8 Activity 8: Take Corrective Action
 1) Introduction

The Controlling a Stage process includes 8 activities;

The Work Package Activities:
• Authorize a WP– Assign a WP
• Review WP Status – Check on WP progress
• Receive completed WP– Check if WP is complete and signed for
The Monitoring and Reporting activities:
• Review the stage status – Continually check how the stage is going
• Report Highlights – Send Highlight Reports to the Project Board
The Issues activities:
• Capture and examine issues and risks
• Escalate issues and risks – Escalate to the Project Board
• Take corrective action – take action to solve small issues or risks
 2) Purpose & Objective

Purpose: (for Project Manager)

 Assign the work to be done
 Monitor this work
 Deal with issues
 Report progress to the Project Board
 Take corrective action to ensure that the stage remains within tolerance
Objective:
To ensure that:
 Attention is focused on the delivery of the products
 Keep Risks and Issues under control.
 Keep the Business Case under review
 Deliver the products for the stage to the agreed quality within agreed cost and time & achieve the
defined benefits.
 3) Context

During a stage the Project Manager will repeat the tasks:

 Authorize the work to be done.
 Monitor progress information about this work using Checkpoint Reports and the Quality
Register.
 Review the current situation in relation to the Stage Plan, sign off completed work and issue
new WPs.
 Report to the Project Board using the Highlight Report.
 Watch for issues, assess issues and deal with issues and risks
 Take any necessary correct action.
PM will keep repeating these tasks until all the planned products for the stage have been
completed and then start to prepare for the Stage Boundary process.
At the end of the last stage, the Closing a Project will be invoked and PM will start to prepare
the project for closure.
 3) Context

During a stage the Project Manager will repeat the tasks:

 Authorize the work to be done.
 Monitor progress information about this work using Checkpoint Reports and the Quality
Register.
 Review the current situation in relation to the Stage Plan, sign off completed work and issue
new WPs.
 Report to the Project Board using the Highlight Report.
 Watch for issues, assess issues and deal with issues and risks
 Take any necessary correct action.
PM will keep repeating these tasks until all the planned products for the stage have been
completed and then start to prepare for the Stage Boundary process.
At the end of the last stage, the Closing a Project will be invoked and PM will start to prepare
the project for closure.
 4) Introduction to Activities

The Controlling a Stage process includes 8 activities;

The Work Package Activities:
• Authorize a WP– Assign a WP
• Review WP Status – Check on WP progress
• Receive completed WP– Check if WP is complete and signed for
The Monitoring and Reporting activities:
• Review the stage status – Continually check how the stage is going
• Report Highlights – Send Highlight Reports to the Project Board
The Issues activities:
• Capture and examine issues and risks
• Escalate issues and risks – Escalate to the Project Board
• Take corrective action – take action to solve small issues or risks
4) Introduction to Activities
 4.2 Activity 1: Authorize a Work Package

•WPs provide a way for the PM to group tasks and control how these are assigned, executed, followed up and
delivered.
•A WP contains the work required to create one or more products or sub-products.
•
•PRINCE2 recommends this Activity for PM:
 Check the Stage Plan for the next products to create and the effort required.
 The PM will have already examined the PID to understand project controls, quality standards required and
how products should be handed over when complete.
 Defining a WP involves gathering the product descriptions and providing other relevant information to the
Team Manager, such as:
o techniques to use,
o Configuration Management requirements,
o maintenance, tolerances,
o key milestones,
o reporting,
o escalation arrangements.
 All future WPs in the stage or in the project can use a similar definition of a WPs.
Just change the format as needed.
 The PM can then review the WP with the Team Manager, so they understand what needs to be done and accept
it. Then they can be authorized to start.
4.2 Activity 1: Authorize a Work Package
 4.2 Activity 2: Review Work Package Status

•This is where the PM reviews the work being performed by the teams.
•The name of this activity is Review Work Package Status, so the PMs review the
work that has been assigned in the WPs.
•The main input file will be the Checkpoint Report created by the Team Manager on
a regular basis.
•The PM will review the Checkpoint Report and can compare it with the Team Plan.
•They will also review entries in the Quality Register to see if products have passed
quality tests and to update the Configuration Items Record where necessary – that
is, to show that a product has been developed, tested and accepted.
•The PM will also update the Stage Plan to show that products have been delivered,
or perhaps to show a delay.
4.2 Activity 2: Review Work Package Status
 4.3 Activity 3: Receive complete Work Packages

•The PM ensures that the Teams have completed the work defined in the WPs by
checking the Quality Register and seeing if products have been checked &
approved.
•The PM can then update the Configuration Item Records for each approved product
and update the Stage Plan to show the WP has been completed.
•Then the Stage Plan is updated to show that products in the WP are complete.
•Once these products have been approved, they cannot be changed without using the
change control process.
•This is normal, as the products have been created, tested, approved and accepted.
•The completed products are stored as described in the Configuration Management
Document.
4.3 Activity 3: Receive complete Work Packages
 4.4 Activity 4: Review the stage status

•PM reviews what has happened so far and compares it with what is likely to happen.
•This gives an accurate picture of the current progress.
•PM do in this activity, do the following:
 Review current stage, check Configuration Management information, check Quality Register for
issues, check Risk Register for new or revised risks, capture and examine issues using the issues
register, and check status of corrective actions if in progress.
 If there is an issue or risk that needs to be escalated, or a corrective action that needs to be taken,
the PM will use other activities in the Controlling s Stage Process to do this.
 PM check the Benefits Review Plan to see if it needs to be updated and if the products have been
correctly handed over.
 Due to the range of tasks carried out in this Activity, the PM update the Risk Register, Issue
Register, Stage Plan, Lessons Log and Issue Report
4.4 Activity 4: Review the stage status
4.5 Activity 5: Report Highlights
4.6 Activity 6: Capture and Examine Issues & Risks
 4.7 Activity 7: Escalate issues and risks

Project Managers should escalate an Issue or Risk if they believe that the Issue or the Risk will take
the stage out of tolerance.
An “Exception Report” is used to document the Issue or Risk, but it could take some time to
investigate and gather the required information;
therefore, there are two steps:
•The Project Manager will first send an Early Notification to the Project Board which will be
followed by the Exception Report.
•The early notification can be an email. In some companies, reporting risks or issues may not be the
cool executive thing to do for the Project Manager, especially if you work in an environment where
they like to shoot the messenger.
•the earlier you escalate, the more time is available to implement corrective actions.
 4.7 Activity 7: Escalate issues and risks

PRINCE2 recommends to create the Exception Report:

 PM begins with examining the effects of the issue or risk on the Stage Plan &
Project Plan.
 Determine different options to get the stage back on plan and assess against the
Business Case, as these options are bound to cost more.
 Assess the impact on the project for each option.
 Put this information into the Exception Report and recommend one of the
options.
 Ask for more information so the PM may update the Exception Report.
 Choose the option recommended by the PM or another option.
 Raise the tolerances so the stage can proceed.
 Instruct the PM to create an Exception Plan.
 Advise the PM to close the project prematurely.
4.7 Activity 7: Escalate issues and risks
 4.8 Activity 8: Take Corrective Action

The PM is able to solve some minor issues and risks on their own and that doesn’t put the stage out
of tolerance.
Taking corrective action is managed by the PM, as they implement the advice usually given by the
Project Board to correct the issue or risk while keeping the stage within tolerance.
Once the corrective actions have been taken, the PM checks the work and updates the normal
documents:
• Issues Register and Issues Report if there is an Issue or update the Risk Register if there is a
Risk.
• They could update the Stage Plan to show extra work done and Configuration Item Records to
show what has changed in a product.
Taking Corrective Action is used when extra work has to be done and the stage stays within
tolerance.
An Exception Plan is used when the Stage will go out of tolerance, so the stage can take much
longer than originally planned.
4.8 Activity 8: Take Corrective Action
thanks for your attention