Describing the Whole Project
One Product Description is slightly different from all the rest, and that’s the Project Product Description (PPD). This defines what the whole project is to deliver, rather than an individual product within it – and consequently, while the headings are similar to a normal Product Description, they’re not identical. The important thing to keep in mind with the PPD is that it’s about the whole project. The PPD is created before the project begins and in the process Starting Up a Project where it forms part of the Project Brief. It does have a life beyond the brief, though, and will be maintained throughout the project, starting in Initiation, where it becomes part of the Project Plan, which in turn is part of the Project Initiation Documentation (PID). The PPD will be reviewed at the end of each stage and also checked at the end of the project to ensure that the project has delivered what it was supposed to.
About the Author
Nick Graham is a project methods specialist and has been involved with PRINCE2 since before it was even called PRINCE. As a Project Manager he was trained in PROMPT II, the method on which the PRINCE versions have been based. He started originally with a systems method where he caught the bug for highly productive application of methods and moved on to project management methods. More recently he has been the joint author of PRIME, an alternative project management method which is designed to be wider in scope and more business ...
