There are many different ways to manage something and the methodologies of PRINCE2®, Agile, SCRUM and ITIL® help. In this post our expert John A G Smith explains how a system or 2 can keep our world spinning on the correct axis!

It’s all about systems. Whether you’re looking at something as small as an individual business task or as large as a whole company, they’re all systems. We’re surrounded by the things. We live on a planet within the solar system. Our shower is supplied by a hot water system. I’m writing this on a computer system. Indeed we are each our own individual system: the human body.

Image - Panel 6 Solar Systemm, Ralph Buckley

So what, I hear you say, is a system? And what qualifies each mentioned above as one of them?

It is generally accepted that a system has five components: Inputs, outputs, processes, stores and a boundary.

We have created our comprehensive downloadable PRINCE2® Practitioner Exam Tips eBook to help delegates who will be taking the PRINCE2 Practitioner examination.

Just knowing the PRINCE2 syllabus is not necessarily enough to get you through the PRINCE2 Practitioner Exam – learning some good exam techniques can significantly increase your chances.

This guide is used by delegates on our PRINCE2 Practitioner Training course and we have now made it available to download here for all those who are interested in the PRINCE2 Practitioner Qualification.

Please note that this guide alone will not prepare delegates to sit the PRINCE2 Practitioner Exam! It is intended to be used in conjunction with our PRINCE2 Training courses. We offer both thePRINCE2 Foundation Training course andPRINCE2 Practitioner Training course.

In this guide you will find helpful hints on how to manage the booklets and read the information you are provided with, as well as how to manage time during the examination, and some techniques you can use for answering the different styles of questions.

We hope that this will be a helpful guide for completing the sample PRINCE2 Practitioner papers you will be provided with. If  you have any of your own tips you would like to add - feel free to add them in the comments section below.

For more help learning PRINCE2, download our other project management eBook Managing a Project - Getting Started.

We have created our comprehensive downloadable PRINCE2® Practitioner Exam Tips eBook to help delegates who will be taking the PRINCE2 Practitioner examination.

Just knowing the PRINCE2 syllabus is not necessarily enough to get you through the PRINCE2 Practitioner Exam – learning some good exam techniques can significantly increase your chances.

This guide is used by delegates on our PRINCE2 Practitioner Training course and we have now made it available to download here for all those who are interested in the PRINCE2 Practitioner Qualification.

Please note that this guide alone will not prepare delegates to sit the PRINCE2 Practitioner Exam! It is intended to be used in conjunction with our PRINCE2 Training courses. We offer both thePRINCE2 Foundation Training course andPRINCE2 Practitioner Training course.

In this guide you will find helpful hints on how to manage the booklets and read the information you are provided with, as well as how to manage time during the examination, and some techniques you can use for answering the different styles of questions.

We hope that this will be a helpful guide for completing the sample PRINCE2 Practitioner papers you will be provided with. If  you have any of your own tips you would like to add - feel free to add them in the comments section below.

For more help learning PRINCE2, download our other project management eBook Managing a Project - Getting Started.

Change management is the most significant leadership challenge of this decade. We are operating in an environment of fast paced change frequently driven by technological innovation. The scale of the change is far reaching often because business processes and system usage are so inter-dependent that a change in one can affect many others across different departments and functions.

For this reason effective change management requires matrix management, as the authority to change a process in all the departments that it moves through cannot be delivered through a silo based management structure.

We've been running Change Management Courses for years but recently added APMG's Certified Change Management Practitioner Course which is set to take off in 2014.

Change management brings together two distinct streams of work:

• Delivery of structural change through the introduction of new systems, processes, people, product and service innovation and the creation of new markets, suppliers, customers and competitors.
• Behavioural change leading to a new emphasis, new culture and values, and changed priorities for each individual impacted by the structural change.

Delivery of structural change can be “mechanised”, relying upon a foundation of project management processes and skills. Activities can be identified, their duration estimated, and schedules and plans developed with a reasonable level of certainty.

Behavioural change though requires an understanding of how the organisation operates as a living being, the power plays operating beneath the surface of the organisation structure, the values that individuals apply to their work and the forces that generate commitment, loyalty and motivation. Behavioural change can generate resistance, confusion and stress, decreased productivity and distancing of the individual from the ‘organisational good’.

As with structural change, resources in behavioural change must be assigned to take responsibility for developing and applying the change management methodology, communicating throughout the change, continuously measuring progress, recognising and rewarding results, and reinforcing change so it becomes embedded in the culture.

Change management is the most significant leadership challenge of this decade. We are operating in an environment of fast paced change frequently driven by technological innovation. The scale of the change is far reaching often because business processes and system usage are so inter-dependent that a change in one can affect many others across different departments and functions.

For this reason effective change management requires matrix management, as the authority to change a process in all the departments that it moves through cannot be delivered through a silo based management structure.

We've been running Change Management Courses for years but recently added APMG's Certified Change Management Practitioner Course which is set to take off in 2014.

Change management brings together two distinct streams of work:

• Delivery of structural change through the introduction of new systems, processes, people, product and service innovation and the creation of new markets, suppliers, customers and competitors.
• Behavioural change leading to a new emphasis, new culture and values, and changed priorities for each individual impacted by the structural change.

Delivery of structural change can be “mechanised”, relying upon a foundation of project management processes and skills. Activities can be identified, their duration estimated, and schedules and plans developed with a reasonable level of certainty.

Behavioural change though requires an understanding of how the organisation operates as a living being, the power plays operating beneath the surface of the organisation structure, the values that individuals apply to their work and the forces that generate commitment, loyalty and motivation. Behavioural change can generate resistance, confusion and stress, decreased productivity and distancing of the individual from the ‘organisational good’.

As with structural change, resources in behavioural change must be assigned to take responsibility for developing and applying the change management methodology, communicating throughout the change, continuously measuring progress, recognising and rewarding results, and reinforcing change so it becomes embedded in the culture.

Having to close a project earlier than anticipated can be a big disappointment and source of concern for Project Managers.

On the other hand, premature closure should be considered as a learning opportunity and even a chance to salvage useful products other than those planned.

With this in mind, the PRINCE2 methodology is focused on controlling every aspect of a project, including its closure, and gleaning as much use out of work done as possible.

Closing a project early can become the best course of action in a number of situations, e.g.

• If an unforeseen dependency comes into play
• If the budget for time or cost goes too far beyond agreed tolerance
• If the budget has to be reconsidered due to reasons beyond the project itself (e.g. programme or corporate budget cuts)

Having to close a project earlier than anticipated can be a big disappointment and source of concern for Project Managers.

On the other hand, premature closure should be considered as a learning opportunity and even a chance to salvage useful products other than those planned.

With this in mind, the PRINCE2 methodology is focused on controlling every aspect of a project, including its closure, and gleaning as much use out of work done as possible.

Closing a project early can become the best course of action in a number of situations, e.g.

• If an unforeseen dependency comes into play
• If the budget for time or cost goes too far beyond agreed tolerance
• If the budget has to be reconsidered due to reasons beyond the project itself (e.g. programme or corporate budget cuts)

Once that is agreed and decided there are several options that may be available to us...

• We could “do nothing”
• We could move to a larger house
• We could build an extension on side of the existing house
• We could grow into the loft
• We could adapt the existing room layout

Each of these OPTIONS would, of course, have different costs and timescales attached to them... but we would consider them all, and decide which of them could be discounted and capture why that decision was made. We may be left with a couple of alternatives which need further investigation, but eventually, we come to a decision on the way forward... and that is our chosen OPTION.

Learn more about the Business Case in PRINCE2 on our PRINCE2 Foundation and PRINCE2 Practitioner Training Courses. One of our most popular training methods is applying PRINCE2 to everyday examples to help you understand them and pass your exam!

In a project such as the above, the costing and timescale would almost certainly have been supplied by a builder and their associated trades, and all of these costs added together will form the basis of the COST heading in our Business Case. Equally the overall timescale from their various trades will equate to the TIMESCALE  heading in our Business case. It should be noted here that the builder (and other trades) are all in business to make a profit, and therefore they will all have their own Business Case... our focus is on OUR Business Case.