Directing a Project with Agile Delivery is one of the seven PRINCE2 processes, owned by the Project Board, and it takes on specific characteristics when combined with agile ways of working. In PRINCE2 Agile, the Project Board provides governance and decision-making at key points while empowering te…Directing a Project with Agile Delivery is one of the seven PRINCE2 processes, owned by the Project Board, and it takes on specific characteristics when combined with agile ways of working. In PRINCE2 Agile, the Project Board provides governance and decision-making at key points while empowering teams to self-organise and deliver value incrementally. The board 'directs' rather than manages day-to-day work, applying the principle of 'manage by exception' more liberally to give delivery teams greater autonomy within agreed tolerances. In an agile context, tolerances are set primarily around scope and quality (using techniques like MoSCoW prioritisation) rather than time and cost, which are typically fixed. This allows teams to flex what is delivered while protecting deadlines and budgets. The Project Board authorises initiation, authorises the project, authorises stage or exception plans, gives ad hoc direction, and authorises project closure. With agile delivery, the board benefits from richer, more frequent information through techniques like information radiators, burn charts, and regular reviews, enabling faster, more informed decisions. The board must embrace agile behaviours such as trust, transparency, and collaboration, avoiding excessive interference in self-organising teams. During Agile Workshops, the board's role is discussed in terms of supporting frameworks like Scrum or Kanban, understanding how sprints or releases map to management stages, and how the Senior User and Senior Supplier engage with product owners and delivery teams. The board also ensures that the focus remains on delivering business value and that the project stays viable through continued business justification. Ultimately, Directing a Project with agile emphasises servant leadership, empowerment, and lean governance, ensuring that decisions add value without creating unnecessary bureaucracy. The board balances control with flexibility, allowing teams to respond to change while maintaining strategic oversight and alignment with the project's overall objectives and expected benefits throughout its lifecycle successfully.
Directing a Project with Agile Delivery
Directing a Project with Agile Delivery
The Directing a Project (DP) process is one of the seven PRINCE2 processes, and it is owned by the Project Board. In a PRINCE2 Agile context, this process retains its core purpose but adapts its style to support agile ways of working. Understanding how DP operates within an agile delivery environment is essential for the PRINCE2 Agile Foundation exam.
Why It Is Important
Directing a Project provides the senior management oversight and decision-making authority that keeps a project aligned with business objectives. In agile delivery, teams work in an empowered, self-organising manner, but this does not remove the need for governance. The Project Board still needs to authorise the project, provide direction, and make key go/no-go decisions.
The importance lies in achieving the right balance: giving delivery teams enough freedom to be agile and responsive, while ensuring the project remains under control and continues to deliver value. Without effective direction, agile teams risk drifting from the business vision or losing sight of the tolerances that protect the organisation.
What It Is
Directing a Project spans the life of the project, from the end of the Starting up a Project process to the end of the project. The Project Board carries out this process through five key activities:
1. Authorise initiation - deciding whether to allow the project to be planned in detail. 2. Authorise the project - approving the Project Initiation Documentation and committing resources. 3. Authorise a Stage or Exception Plan - reviewing progress and giving permission to proceed. 4. Give ad hoc direction - providing guidance and responding to escalations throughout the project. 5. Authorise project closure - confirming the project has met its objectives and can close.
The Project Board manages by exception, meaning it does not get involved in day-to-day work but sets tolerances and intervenes only when these are threatened.
How It Works in an Agile Context
In PRINCE2 Agile, the Directing a Project process is applied with an agile mindset:
- Empowerment: The Project Board empowers delivery teams to self-organise and make decisions within agreed boundaries. This reduces the need for constant escalation.
- Flexing what is delivered: Instead of flexing time and cost, agile projects typically fix these and flex the scope. The Project Board must understand and accept this approach, focusing on delivering the most valuable features first (using techniques such as prioritisation with MoSCoW).
- Tolerances: The Project Board sets tolerances that allow agile teams flexibility, particularly around scope. Quality criteria and the minimum viable product are protected, while lower-priority requirements can flex.
- Rich communication and information radiators: The board relies on transparent, timely information from the delivery level, often through frequent, lightweight reporting rather than heavy documentation.
- Trust and less intervention: By managing by exception and trusting empowered teams, the board reduces bureaucracy, supporting agile principles.
The Five Behaviours Link
PRINCE2 Agile emphasises behaviours such as transparency, collaboration, and trust. Directing a Project supports these by keeping the board informed while allowing teams the autonomy to work in an agile way.
How to Answer Exam Questions
Foundation-level questions on Directing a Project with Agile Delivery are typically multiple-choice and test your recall and understanding rather than application. Focus on:
- Knowing the five activities of the DP process. - Understanding that the Project Board still governs but should empower teams. - Recognising that scope (features) is usually the variable that flexes, while time and cost are fixed. - Appreciating the concept of managing by exception and setting appropriate tolerances.
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Directing a Project with Agile Delivery
Tip 1: Remember the Project Board's role does not disappear in agile - governance and authorisation still apply. Beware of answer options suggesting the board is removed or has no control.
Tip 2: Look for the word empower. Agile delivery encourages the board to empower teams within tolerances rather than direct day-to-day activity.
Tip 3: If a question involves what should flex, recall that in agile projects scope/features usually flex, while time and cost are fixed. Quality is protected.
Tip 4: Associate DP with managing by exception. Correct answers often emphasise setting tolerances and intervening only when needed.
Tip 5: Watch for distractors that describe micro-management or excessive reporting - these contradict agile principles of trust and transparency.
Tip 6: Read each question carefully for negative wording such as 'which is NOT an activity' and eliminate options methodically.
Tip 7: Link concepts to the five PRINCE2 Agile behaviours (transparency, collaboration, rich communication, exploration, self-organisation) as these often underpin correct answers.
By combining solid knowledge of the standard PRINCE2 DP activities with an understanding of how agile principles adjust the board's behaviour, you will be well prepared to tackle exam questions on this topic.
