We all know what happens when a project goes wrong in a big way: staff whistle blowing on poor policies or cover ups, huge overspends, and worse: not delivering the results that were so achievable at the start if everything was organised and controlled properly. Now, we're not saying that if you don't stick to PRINCE2 like glue, you're going to come unstuck, but these larger disasters are rare, even with the worst project management! Naturally, being a good project manager and fully adept at PRINCE2, you're likely to be running a smooth project - IF you spot these usual errors or bumps in the road.

The start of the Project

"Prepare to fail, if you've failed to prepare" could be another way of putting this. The first person in place should be the project manager. You simply can't start a project without someone pulling it all together to manage staffing, drawing up a budget and defining objectives. If you start off without a manager, it could derail very early on. If you start off without a clear objective, you're going to end up spending money on things you come to realise you don't need, or not leaving enough money for the things you do. If you don't plan in advance for workload and workforce, both could either be under or over staffed. Never start a project without the PRINCE2 methodology in place at the start, with your Project Manager at the helm!

While the Project is running

The key to keeping the project running smoothly is to check in on it: so you have the workforce and the budget, do you have the correct spread of skills? Some types of skills are needed at different stages of the project. If you were building a house, for example, you don't hire the builder at the same time as the architect as one must come before the other and there's no point paying for both at the same time. Remember that you're also responsible for performance management. Is someone letting the team down, or is someone excelling? Are your team getting too much or too little responsibility?

Another thing to remember is that budget control is usually the first thing to slip that can cause the most damage. Keeping track of spend is an absolute essential to any project. Have you allowed for ad hoc costs such as getting (potentially expensive) outside contractors if a key manager goes off sick? Are elements of the project insured (did you buy laptops for the team and consider if they got stolen?). You can't - and shouldn't - save too much money for every eventuality, but spending right up to your budget line may leave you scuppered if an unexpected expense crops up.

The end - or is it?

Whether it's paying suppliers, checking user and customer satisfaction, or winding up the team - projects are rarely over when you think they are. The first thing is to see if you met all your targets, deliverables and achieved all the outcomes needed. If you didn't - yet the results are enough to finish - remember that feedback and analysis in hindsight can be a good thing. You can improve your success next time by seeing what issues were insurmountable this time, or what held you up, or caused you to spend more.

Conclusively though, if you stick to the PRINCE2 principles and keep track of your project at set stages and steps to completion, you are almost sure to have a successful project achievement. However, we can all learn from our past projects - iron out these bumps now, and you'll get things done faster, in less time and more efficiently than before.