The choice of format of the management product can help reduce the project management effort for a small project, for example:
Consideration should be given to creating documents that physically include more than one management product.
It is possible to manage a small PRINCE2® project with just four sets of documentation:
The following management products may not be needed:
Stage PlanIf there is only one delivery stage, then the Stage Plan details can be included in the Project Plan.
Checkpoint ReportsIf there are no Team Managers, there may be no need for Checkpoint Reports (although the Project Manager may request individual team members to provide them).
Work PackagesMay only be appropriate when the project has Team Managers.
When there is only the Project Manager, then the Stage Plan may suffice.
However, even in such cases, the Project Manager may choose to use Work Packages as a control for individual team members.
If there is only one delivery stage, then the end of that stage is also the end of the project and only an End Project Report is required.
Issue ReportIf the details of the issue are adequately captured in the Issue Register (or Daily Log), there may be no need for an Issue Report.
Having decided to combine the Starting up a Project and Initiating a Project processes for a small project, no Project Brief was produced; instead, the project management team used the project mandate to produce simple Project Initiation Documentation.
The Project Initiation Documentation included a basic Project Plan, with several Product Descriptions and the details of all the strategies and controls to be applied.
The Project Manager elected to use the Daily Log to record risks, issues, lessons and quality results.
Following the initiation stage there was just one more stage, during which a small number of Work Packages were authorized.
As these were being managed, the Project Manager held regular checkpoints, which allowed the production of the regular Highlight Reports to the Project Board.
At the end of that stage (and hence the project) an End Project Report was produced that also included the information for the Lessons Report, follow-on action recommendations and Benefits Review Plan.
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