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Starting Up a Project Process

Apply and tailor pre-project startup activities.

Covers the activities, inputs, outputs, and roles within Starting Up a Project: appointing executive and project manager, capturing previous lessons, designing and appointing the project team, preparing the outline business case, selecting the project approach, and planning the initiation stage. Focuses on appropriate tailoring to the project environment and context.
5 minutes 5 Questions

In PRINCE2 7, the Starting Up a Project (SU) process is the pre-project preparation phase designed to determine if the project is viable and worthwhile before significant resources are committed. It effectively acts as a filter to prevent poorly conceived projects from beginning. The process is tri…

Concepts covered: Appoint Executive and Project Manager, Capture Previous Lessons, Design and Appoint Project Team, Prepare Outline Business Case, Select Project Approach, Plan Initiation Stage, Tailoring Startup Activities

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PRINCE2 Practitioner - Starting Up a Project Process Example Questions

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Question 1

A regional healthcare provider is considering a project to implement a digital patient records system across 12 clinics. The Project Board has been appointed, and the Executive has requested an Outline Business Case. Initial discussions reveal: annual operational costs of the current paper-based system are £480,000; the proposed digital system requires £2.1 million capital investment; ongoing maintenance would cost £180,000 annually; estimated efficiency savings are £520,000 per year; patient satisfaction surveys indicate 68% dissatisfaction with current record access times; regulatory requirements mandate digital record-keeping within 36 months; three potential suppliers have been identified with varying implementation timelines (8, 12, and 15 months). The Finance Director questions whether sufficient detail exists to justify the project. What should the Outline Business Case emphasize to appropriately support the decision on project authorization?

Correct Answer: The strategic fit with regulatory mandates and the projected net benefits over a defined period, acknowledging that detailed costings and supplier selection will be refined during subsequent planning stages.

The correct answer emphasizes strategic fit with regulatory mandates and projected net benefits over a defined period, while acknowledging that detailed costings and supplier selection will be refined during subsequent planning stages.

This is correct because according to PRINCE2 7, the Outline Business Case is developed during the Starting up a Project process and is intended to provide sufficient justification to proceed to the Initiation Stage. It is NOT meant to be a comprehensive, detailed document. The Outline Business Case should:

  1. Demonstrate strategic alignment - The regulatory mandate requiring digital record-keeping within 36 months provides clear strategic justification
  2. Show indicative benefits - The £520,000 annual efficiency savings versus £180,000 maintenance costs indicates positive net benefits (£340,000 annually)
  3. Acknowledge uncertainties - At this early stage, detailed supplier analysis and precise costings are premature and will be refined during initiation
  4. Provide sufficient justification to proceed - Not to make final investment decisions

The key PRINCE2 7 principle here is proportionality and the progressive elaboration of the Business Case throughout the project lifecycle.

The second answer is incorrect because it demands comprehensive financial analysis of all supplier options with detailed implementation schedules and resource allocations. This level of detail is inappropriate for an Outline Business Case and belongs in the detailed Business Case developed during the Initiation Stage.

The third answer is incorrect because it requires precise cost-benefit calculations across multiple scenarios and confirmed supplier commitments. This attempts to create a definitive business justification at outline stage, which contradicts PRINCE2 7 guidance that the Outline Business Case should be high-level and subject to refinement.

The fourth answer is incorrect because while it mentions preliminary financial indicators and acknowledges further analysis is needed, it overemphasizes operational benefits and reduced costs without sufficiently highlighting the critical strategic driver (regulatory compliance mandate). The Outline Business Case should lead with strategic fit rather than operational details.

Question 2

What is the primary focus when establishing the duration and resource allocation for the Initiation Stage Plan?

Correct Answer: Allocating sufficient time and resources to produce adequate information for the Project Board to authorize the project, commit resources, and establish viable baselines for controls

The primary focus when establishing the duration and resource allocation for the Initiation Stage Plan is to allocate sufficient time and resources to produce adequate information for the Project Board to authorize the project, commit resources, and establish viable baselines for controls.

This is correct because in PRINCE2 7, the Initiation Stage has a specific purpose: to establish a solid foundation for the project by developing the Project Initiation Documentation (PID). The emphasis is on 'adequate' information - not exhaustive or comprehensive, but sufficient for the Project Board to make an informed decision about whether to proceed with the project. The key deliverable is enabling authorization and establishing viable baselines for project controls.

The Initiation Stage should be appropriately sized - not too short that insufficient planning occurs, but not so long that excessive detail is developed before the project is formally authorized. The focus is on producing enough information to support decision-making and establish control mechanisms.

Why the other answers are incorrect:

The second option incorrectly suggests developing detailed delivery schedules and complete technical specifications for all major components across the entire timeline during initiation. This goes beyond the purpose of the Initiation Stage, which should establish the foundation and approach, not complete detailed planning for the entire project. Detailed planning typically occurs closer to when work will be performed.

The third option incorrectly emphasizes 'comprehensive' outcomes and 'establishing consensus on all technical approaches before delivery commences.' PRINCE2 promotes progressive elaboration and appropriate levels of detail at each stage. Requiring comprehensive outcomes and complete consensus before any delivery work begins would create excessive delay and goes against the principle of tailoring.

The fourth option incorrectly focuses on 'thorough analysis of all alternatives,' 'exhaustive documentation,' and 'detailed baselines' for everything. The use of terms like 'exhaustive' and 'all alternatives' suggests a level of analysis and documentation that exceeds what is necessary or appropriate for the Initiation Stage. PRINCE2 emphasizes proportionate planning and avoiding analysis paralysis.

Question 3

A regional water utility company has authorized a project to upgrade its billing and customer information system serving 180,000 customers. The Project Manager is planning the initiation stage and has been allocated 5 weeks and £65,000. The Customer Service Director has requested that initiation include comprehensive user acceptance testing scenarios for all 47 customer-facing transaction types, estimating this work at 4 weeks and £28,000. The IT Operations Manager wants disaster recovery procedures and business continuity protocols fully documented during initiation, requiring 3 weeks and £22,000. The Data Migration Lead insists on completing full data quality audits across all legacy databases during initiation, needing 6 weeks and £38,000. The Training Manager requires complete training needs analysis surveys from all 240 customer service staff during initiation. The Customer Service Director argues that since customers will be directly impacted, every user scenario must be thoroughly planned before any development begins. The Project Manager recognizes that accommodating all requests would require 12 weeks and £142,000, far exceeding available resources. How should the Project Manager determine what level of detail and which activities should be included in the Initiation Stage Plan?

Correct Answer: Include sufficient planning activities to establish clear project baselines, governance structures, and management approaches that enable informed Project Board commitment decisions while deferring detailed specialist deliverables to subsequent delivery stages where they can be developed at the appropriate time

The correct approach focuses on establishing sufficient planning to enable informed Project Board decisions while deferring detailed specialist work to appropriate later stages.

This answer aligns with PRINCE2 7 principles regarding the purpose and scope of the Initiation Stage:

Why this is correct:

The Initiation Stage exists to establish a solid foundation for the project by creating:
- Clear project baselines (scope, time, cost, quality, benefits, risks)
- Governance structures and controls
- Management approaches and strategies
- Sufficient information for the Project Board to make an informed commitment decision

The Initiation Stage is NOT intended to:
- Complete detailed specialist deliverables
- Perform all detailed planning for the entire project
- Develop comprehensive technical solutions or documentation

In this scenario, the Project Manager has been allocated 5 weeks and £65,000 for initiation. The requested activities (comprehensive UAT scenarios, full disaster recovery documentation, complete data quality audits, and full training needs analysis) total 12 weeks and £142,000 - clearly exceeding authorized resources.

These detailed specialist activities should be:
- Identified and outlined at initiation
- Scheduled for development during appropriate delivery stages
- Planned in sufficient detail to inform estimates and risks
- Not fully developed during initiation

Why other approaches are incorrect:

Focusing on customer-facing elements first creates an arbitrary prioritization not based on PRINCE2 principles. The Initiation Stage should establish foundations for ALL aspects of the project, not prioritize certain deliverables for detailed completion.

Prioritizing activities based on risk level misunderstands the purpose of initiation. While risk identification is crucial, the Initiation Stage should establish risk management approaches and identify key risks - not execute detailed risk mitigation activities like complete data quality audits.

Including detailed planning for all critical path activities during initiation conflates stage planning with project planning. Initiation establishes the overall project framework and management approach; detailed planning for specific deliverables occurs in the stages where that work will be performed, following the principle of managing by stages.

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