Lesson 3 - Blending PRINCE2 and Agile

PRINCE2 Agile® Foundation and
Practitioner
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Blending PRINCE2 and Agile
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
List the strengths and benefits of PRINCE2 and the agile way
of working
Outline the eight guidance points about PRINCE2 Agile
Explain how PRINCE2 controls and governance can enable

agile to be used in many environments
Describe PRINCE2 project journey in an agile context

Strengths and Benefits of PRINCE2 and Agile
Strengths of PRINCE2 and Agile
PRINCE2 and Agile have their own strengths.
When combined, they complement each other and create a holistic approach to manage
projects in an agile way.
PRINCE2 Agile
Focuses on project direction

Focuses on project delivery
and management
Strengths of PRINCE2 and Agile
Figure 3.1 Blending PRINCE2 and agile together
Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2018. Reproduced under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved. Page 16
Who Is PRINCE2 Agile for?
This guidance helps and supports the existing PRINCE2 community and PRINCE2 practitioners.
Who Is PRINCE2 Agile for?
Organizations and individuals outside the PRINCE2 community can also benefit from this guidance.
• People with current agile experience who want

to adopt an internationally recognized
standard for project management
• People who are new to agile and want to

become familiar with an internationally
recognized standard for project management
PRINCE2 Agile may provide additional guidance to the people outside the PRINCE2 community to help
them adopt PRINCE2 for all of their projects.
Benefits from PRINCE2 Agile for Communities
Focus of
Community Description Possible goals
PRINCE2 Agile
They wish to integrate agile into their
PRINCE2 wanting
PRINCE2 organizations, departments or existing PRINCE2 working practices in
Primary to adopt (more)
individuals who wish to adopt agile. order to benefit from this way of
agile
working.
PRINCE2 organizations, departments or They wish to understand what agile is

PRINCE2
individuals who are encountering other and how it works so that they can
Primary encountering
organizations, departments or tailor PRINCE2 appropriately and
agile
individuals using agile in some form. integrate with it.
PRINCE2 organizations, departments or

PRINCE2 They wish to adopt a formal standard
Primary individuals who are practicing agile in
practicing agile for using agile in a PRINCE2 context.
some form.
Table 3.1 The communities on which PRINCE2 Agile is focused
Benefits from PRINCE2 Agile for Communities
Focus of
Community Description Possible goals
PRINCE2 Agile
They wish to adopt an industry
Organizations, departments, or standard approach to project
Agile wanting to
Secondary individuals who have some agile management and project governance
adopt PRINCE2
experience and wish to adopt PRINCE2. to complement their existing agile
working practices.
Organizations, departments, or
They wish to become familiar with
Possible area of individuals who have adopted agile and
Mature agile PRINCE2 Agile in order to add to their
focus have reached high levels of maturity for
existing body of knowledge.
both BAU and project work.
Table 3.1 The communities on which PRINCE2 Agile is focused
Applying PRINCE2 Agile
Situation Description Suitability of PRINCE2 Agile
Either agile is not used for projects, or an

agile way of working and is evolving with a
Agile is not used for
limited level of maturity in terms of Suitable for organizations, departments, and the
projects, or is at a
processes and behaviors. For example, individuals working within them.
basic level
how formalized and documented they are
and how predominant they are.
Not suitable for organizations and departments.

An agile way of working exists for use with However, it is suitable to support and enhance this
Agile is used for
ongoing routine development of an style of working in a project context as some work
BAU (business as
existing product. Most, if not all, work is may be better suited to being managed as a project.
usual)
handled this way. Additionally, it may help individuals’ career
progression.
Table 3.2 The situations for which PRINCE2 Agile is suitable
Applying PRINCE2 Agile
Situation Description Suitability of PRINCE2 Agile
Suitable for projects, but may be of limited use.

Could be of use to support information to enhance
An agile way of working exists that is an existing body of knowledge.
A mature level of taking place in a mature agile
agile is used for environment where processes are Organizations, departments and individuals who
projects and BAU formalized and repeatable and agile are conversant with PRINCE2 Agile will be
behaviors are predominant. suitable for this situation as they will understand it
quickly and integrate with it easily, albeit using
different terminology.
Table 3.2 The situations for which PRINCE2 Agile is suitable
Elements of PRINCE2 Agile
PRINCE2 comprises an integrated set of principles, themes, and processes that are tailored
to the specific needs of a project.
PRINCE2 Agile provides guidance on tailoring PRINCE2 in an agile context. It covers:
How to
How to map the What areas are
incorporate the
How to apply the How to produce common agile of particular
fundamental
principles and the PRINCE2 roles to the significance
agile behaviors,
tailor the themes management PRINCE2 project when using agile
concepts, and
and processes products management and need
techniques into
team structure specific focus
PRINCE2
Agile encapsulates a wide collection of frameworks.
PRINCE2 Agile incorporates and references several of them.
Kanban Scrum Lean Startup
These methods and approaches receive particular attention in PRINCE2 Agile as they are
seen as very popular practices.
Figure 3.2 Tailoring PRINCE2 by blending in the agile ingredients
Eight Guidance Points of PRINCE2 Agile
PRINCE2 Agile Guidance Points
PRINCE2 Agile
Implemented in a wide variety Is similar to PRINCE2 but comes

of situations in many different forms
To understand PRINCE2 Agile correctly, be aware of the eight guidance points.
These points are intended to provide clarity where there is potential for ambiguity, and
accuracy where there may be misconceptions.
1 All references to PRINCE2 refer to the edition created in 2017
• Managing successful projects with PRINCE2 version is enabled to work with agile.
• Configuring PRINCE2 in the most effective way for agile is a matter of where to put
emphasis and where to add further levels of detailed guidance.
• Nothing needs to be removed or changed. This is achieved through blending agile into
PRINCE2 and tuning PRINCE2 appropriately.
PRINCE2 is suitable for any style of projects including those with high levels of informality,
2
collaboration, and trust.
• PRINCE2 should not be thought of as a traditional project management approach in the

stereotypical sense of being predominantly waterfall, big design up front, bureaucratic, and
using a command and control culture.
• PRINCE2 does not suggest that a project should be run in this way, and much of its
guidance is to the contrary.
3 PRINCE2 Agile is used for any projects.
• PRINCE2 Agile does not assume an IT context.
• PRINCE2 Agile can be used in an IT context, but it is not an IT framework or an IT method.

4 Many agile approaches and frameworks are created solely for IT situations.
• IT-only frameworks and techniques such as eXtreme Programming (XP) and the Scaled
Agile Framework (SAFe) are mentioned in PRINCE2 Agile but not extensively.
• PRINCE2 Agile will only make passing reference to IT-only frameworks.

5 There is much more to agile than the Scrum framework.
• PRINCE2 Agile is written with the view that although Scrum can rightly be described as
being agile, the converse is not the case: agile is not scrum.
• Other frameworks exist and a framework is only part of the agile way of working.
Commonly used agile approaches, like Scrum and Kanban, are not suitable for managing a project
6
in isolation, but can be used in a project context.
• There are many other frameworks and approaches in agile.
• Note that Scrum and Kanban are not project management frameworks, and a project
manager role is not defined in either.
• On their own, and in isolation, they cannot be used to manage a project. However, they
can be used on a project as part of an approach to deliver products.
7 The term agile refers to a family of behaviors, concepts, frameworks, and techniques.
• The term agile is widely accepted throughout the agile community as being part of the
agile way of working.
• The terms behaviors, concepts, frameworks, and techniques encapsulate other similar terms
such as methods, principles, values, mindsets, and approaches.
8 Using agile on a project is not a question of yes or no, but about how much.
• PRINCE2 Agile does not see working in an agile way as a binary condition.
• It always sees agile as a question of how much or how little it can be used according to
the situation that exists.
• PRINCE2 Agile does not refer to agile projects as this would infer that some projects are
agile whereas others are not.
• PRINCE2 Agile is written with the view that agile behaviors, concepts, frameworks, and
techniques can be applied to any project.
Summarizing Guidance Points
No. Key points

1 PRINCE2 is already enabled for use with agile.
PRINCE2 is suitable for any style of project and is not a traditional project management
2
approach as is typically contrasted to agile.
3 PRINCE2 Agile is for any project and not just for IT projects.
4 IT-only frameworks and techniques are mentioned in PRINCE2 Agile but not extensively.
5 There is much more to agile than the Scrum framework. Agile is not Scrum.
The most commonly used agile approaches are Scrum and Kanban, but they are not
6 suitable for managing a project in isolation. However, they can be effectively used in a
project context.
7 The term agile refers to a family of behaviors, concepts, frameworks, and techniques.
8 Using agile on a project is not a question of yes or no, but about how much.
Table 3.4 Summary of the key points
Beware of Prejudice
Most think that bringing more

control and governance into the agile
domain could prove
counterproductive.
PRINCE2 Agile represents that control and governance allows agile to be used in
complex environments.
Beware of Prejudice
A fighter aircraft with unstable airframe gives it agility and allows it to change direction easily and
adapt quickly to situations.
However, this requires control and governance that personifies PRINCE2 Agile.
PRINCE2 Journey
PRINCE2 Process Model
PRINCE2 provides a process model for managing a project that can be easily scaled and
tailored to suit the requirements of all types of projects.
They consist of a set of activities to direct, manage, and deliver a project.
Figure 4.1 The life of a PRINCE2 project
Pre-Project
The trigger for the project may come from new business objectives,
responding to:
• Competitive pressures
• Changes in legislation
• Recommendation in a report or an audit
In PRINCE2, this trigger is called project mandate.
The project mandate is provided by the commissioning organization and can vary in form from a
verbal instruction to a well-defined and justified project definition.
Pre-Project
It is important to verify the project is worthwhile and viable prior to the activity of scoping the project.
These activities culminate in the production of a project brief and a stage plan for project initiation.
The project board:
● Reviews the project brief

● Decides whether to initiate the project
● States the levels of authority to be delegated
to the project manager for the initiation stage
Initiation Stage
When decisions are made to start the project:
• Plan it at an appropriate level of detail

• Obtain funding
• Define appropriate controls
These ensure that the project proceeds in accordance with those people paying for the
project and those who will make use of what the project delivers.
Initiation Stage
Initiating a project process covers:
• Planning
• Establishment of the project management
approaches and controls
• Development of a robust business case
• A means of reviewing benefits
During the initiation stage, the managing a stage boundary process is used to plan the next
management stage in detail.
Initiation Stage
The initiation stage culminates in the production of the project initiation documentation (PID),
which is reviewed by the project board to decide whether to authorize the project.
As the content of the PID are likely to change throughout the project, this version of the PID is
preserved as input for later performance reviews.
Initiation Stage
Tip
The guidance uses the terms output and deliverable synonymously with the term product.
Project product is used to describe the output from the project, including its component
products, as defined in the project product description.
The term project’s products refers to the specialist and management products created during
the project.
The Pre-Project and Initiation Stage
Pre-Project and Initiation Stage
Plan, monitor, and control Behavior
Process Products
Figure 4.1 The life of a PRINCE2 project
Plan, Monitor, and Control
• Project-level planning focuses on sets of features and

intended releases.
• There is strong engagement from all levels of the team in
planning and estimating.
• Stage-level planning is carried out collaboratively with the
customer.
• Plans are timeboxed in some form.
Feature
It is a generic term that is widely used to describe something a product does, or the way in which a
product does something. It can be at any level of detail and can be related to a specific requirement,
user story, or epic. Another similar term is function.
Behavior
• The use of self-organizing teams and people-centric

values may be explicitly defined as part of the project
approach.
• Mandating or recommending the use of specific agile
approaches may be explicitly defined as part of the
project approach.
• The PID may have been created collaboratively in a
workshop.
Process
• Information on what constitutes a minimum viable

product (MVP) is defined.
• The trigger for the project may have come from a product
roadmap.
• There may be an indication of the appropriate use of agile
for the project.
Products
• The project product description is defined to show the

mandatory requirements.
• The project product description purpose is outcome based as
opposed to the delivery of a specific solution.
• Product descriptions are captured using user stories or epics.
• The business case is defined in a flexible way to allow for the
amount of what is being delivered to change to a degree during
the project.
• The benefits management approach focuses on how to deliver
value regularly and as early as possible.
Products
• The PID is a less formal document as some of the baseline

information is in the form of an information radiator.
• The PID is less detailed since the solution is not necessarily
defined at the start.
• The communication management approach is created using the
concept of minimum viability.
Information radiator
It is a general term used to describe the use of walls or boards containing information that can be
readily accessed by people working on the project. It can contain any information, although it would
typically show such things as work to do and how work is progressing.
Products: User Story and Epic
User story
It is a tool used to write a requirement in the form of who, what, and why.
Epic
It is a high-level definition of a requirement that has not been sufficiently refined or understood yet.
Eventually, an epic will be refined and broken down into several user stories or requirements.
Subsequent Stages
• Work assignment is performed collaboratively with the customer

to address their needs.
• High levels of trust and transparency mean that work packages are
defined informally.
• Self-organizing teams are responding rapidly to change to ensure
the accuracy of the products being delivered.
• Progress is supported by the use of reviews and demonstrations
by the project management team and the delivery teams.
• A burn chart visualizes the progress, measured by the work

completed.
• Tracking of time and cost still takes place but it is less
prominent than the tracking of features or work completed.
• Scope and quality criteria are the primary focus of any
tolerances used.
Burn chart
It is a technique for showing progress, where work that is completed and work still to do are shown
with one or more lines that are updated regularly or daily.
Behavior
During the managing a stage boundary process, the key baseline information that needs to be
updated focuses on:
What has been delivered The level of change taking place
The benefits realized

Process
If an exception arises, it is because the amount being delivered was forecast to go outside the
agreed tolerance level, as opposed to other aspects being forecast to exceed tolerance.
Products
• Quality tolerances in product descriptions are written in such a

way as to allow for change without compromising the product’s
purpose.
• There is less formality for registers at both the project
management and delivery levels.
o Risks may be written on a whiteboard
o An issue could be shown as a sticky note on a Kanban board
and then be photographed to safeguard against accidental
loss of the information
Kanban board
It is a tool used in Kanban to visually display the work in the system (or timebox). It is usually made
up of a series of columns and possibly rows where work items move from left to right as they move
through various states in order to be completed.
Products
• Highlight reports are low-tech and focus primarily on how

much is being delivered.
o They appear on information radiators where information
can be pulled without the need for a formal meeting.
• Checkpoint reports are usually informal and they may also
appear on information radiators.
o They may be replaced by stand-up meetings if the delivery
team is happy for the project manager to attend.
Stand-up meeting
It is a short meeting to assess progress. Typically lasting 15 minutes or less, they involve describing
work that has been done, work still to be done, and any problems being encountered.
Final Stage
When formal checks are made against the project baseline defined in the PID, the key aspects
that are assessed include:
The amount that was What was removed

delivered
What extra was delivered

Behavior
• Some products that the project intended to deliver were not

created and were replaced by others that were not part of
the original plan.
o This was communicated throughout the project and will
not come as a surprise to the project board when they
authorize project closure.
• The customer is already in ownership of several products
that have transitioned into operational use and is now
realizing the benefits.
• Tidying up and archiving is a routine task by this point, as it
has been taking place regularly throughout the project.
Process
• Closing and decommissioning a project is not a significant

event. Archiving and handover were started as at this stage
several releases have taken place.
• Project closure involves a retrospective.
• There is an assessment of how appropriate the use of agile
turned out to be to help with guidance on the use of agile for
future projects.
• Outstanding work still exists on backlogs of some kind.
Retrospective
It is a regular event that looks at how the process of doing work can be improved. In keeping with the
agile concept of inspect and adapt these events help teams to continually improve their working
practices, little by little, over time.
Products
• Lessons may be handed to project support informally.
• Project support were included in retrospectives if the

teams were happy for them to be in attendance.
Backlog
It is a list of new features for a product. The list may be made up of user stories which are structured
in a way that describes who wants the features and why. It is also a generic term that can be defined
in terms of releases, sprints, and products.
Key Takeaways
PRINCE2 and Agile when combined, complement each other

and create a holistic approach to manage projects in an agile
way.
Eight guidance points of PRINCE2 Agile are intended to provide

clarity where there is potential for ambiguity, and accuracy
where there may be misconceptions.
PRINCE2 Agile represents that control and governance allows

agile to be used in complex environments.
PRINCE2 provides a process model for managing a project that

can be easily scaled and tailored to suit the requirements of all
types of projects.
Knowledge Check
Knowledge
Check
Which of the following focuses on project direction and management?
1
PRINCE2
A.
Agile
B.
Mature Agile
C.
PRINCE2 Agile
D.
Knowledge
Check
Which of the following focuses on project direction and management?
1
PRINCE2
A.
Agile
B.
Mature Agile
C.
PRINCE2 Agile
D.
The correct answer is A
The strength of PRINCE2 lies in the areas of project direction and project management. However, it provides little
focus on the field of product delivery.
Knowledge
Check
Which of the following is not a guidance point?
2
PRINCE2 is already enabled for use with agile.

A.
There is extensive use of IT-only frameworks and techniques mentioned in PRINCE2 Agile.
B.
The most commonly used agile approaches are Scrum and Kanban, but they are not suitable
C.
for managing a project in isolation.
Using agile on a project is not a question of yes or no, but about how much.
D.
Knowledge
Check
Which of the following is not a guidance point?
2
PRINCE2 is already enabled for use with agile.

A.
There is extensive use of IT-only frameworks and techniques mentioned in PRINCE2 Agile.
B.
The most commonly used agile approaches are Scrum and Kanban, but they are not suitable
C.
for managing a project in isolation.
Using agile on a project is not a question of yes or no, but about how much.
D.
The correct answer is B
IT-only frameworks and techniques such as eXtreme Programming (XP) and the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) are
mentioned in PRINCE2 Agile but not extensively.
Knowledge
Check In which of the following is information on what constitutes a minimum viable product
3 defined?
Plan, monitor, and control

A.
Behavior
B.
Process
C.
Products
D.
Knowledge
Check In which of the following is information on what constitutes a minimum viable product
3 defined?
Plan, monitor, and control

A.
Behavior
B.
Process
C.
Products
D.
The correct answer is C
Under process, information on what constitutes a minimum viable product (MVP) is defined.

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PRINCE2 Agile® Foundation and

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Outline the eight guidance points about PRINCE2 Agile

Explain how PRINCE2 controls and governance can enable

Describe PRINCE2 project journey in an agile context

PRINCE2 and Agile have their own strengths.

Focuses on project direction

Figure 3.1 Blending PRINCE2 and agile together

• People with current agile experience who want

• People who are new to agile and want to

PRINCE2 organizations, departments or They wish to understand what agile is

PRINCE2 organizations, departments or

Table 3.1 The communities on which PRINCE2 Agile is focused

Table 3.1 The communities on which PRINCE2 Agile is focused

Situation Description Suitability of PRINCE2 Agile

Either agile is not used for projects, or an

Not suitable for organizations and departments.

Table 3.2 The situations for which PRINCE2 Agile is suitable

Situation Description Suitability of PRINCE2 Agile

Suitable for projects, but may be of limited use.

Table 3.2 The situations for which PRINCE2 Agile is suitable

PRINCE2 Agile provides guidance on tailoring PRINCE2 in an agile context. It covers:

Agile encapsulates a wide collection of frameworks.

PRINCE2 Agile incorporates and references several of them.

Kanban Scrum Lean Startup

Figure 3.2 Tailoring PRINCE2 by blending in the agile ingredients

Implemented in a wide variety Is similar to PRINCE2 but comes

To understand PRINCE2 Agile correctly, be aware of the eight guidance points.

1 All references to PRINCE2 refer to the edition created in 2017

• PRINCE2 should not be thought of as a traditional project management approach in the

3 PRINCE2 Agile is used for any projects.

• PRINCE2 Agile does not assume an IT context.

• PRINCE2 Agile can be used in an IT context, but it is not an IT framework or an IT method.

• PRINCE2 Agile will only make passing reference to IT-only frameworks.

5 There is much more to agile than the Scrum framework.

• There are many other frameworks and approaches in agile.

No. Key points

Most think that bringing more

They consist of a set of activities to direct, manage, and deliver a project.

Figure 4.1 The life of a PRINCE2 project

In PRINCE2, this trigger is called project mandate.

The project board:

● Reviews the project brief

When decisions are made to start the project:

• Plan it at an appropriate level of detail

Initiating a project process covers:

Plan, monitor, and control Behavior

Figure 4.1 The life of a PRINCE2 project

• Project-level planning focuses on sets of features and

• The use of self-organizing teams and people-centric

• Information on what constitutes a minimum viable

• The project product description is defined to show the

• The PID is a less formal document as some of the baseline

• Work assignment is performed collaboratively with the customer

• A burn chart visualizes the progress, measured by the work

What has been delivered The level of change taking place

The benefits realized

• Quality tolerances in product descriptions are written in such a

• Highlight reports are low-tech and focus primarily on how

The amount that was What was removed