The web site for Robert Buttrick and Project Workout Limited

Methods and processes

Love them or hate them, processes and methods are critical to efffective project, programme and portfolio management on all but the smallest situations.

BT PPM Method - case study 1

Project Manager Today

Case study article on the BT PPM Method, serving 100,000 people of whom 5,000 are project professionals.

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BT PPM Method - case study 2

Project (APM magazine)

Case study article on the BT PPM Method, with top ten tips for getting your enterprise method right.

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On the right track?

Project Workout whitepaper

How to combine key elements of engineering and programme management into a single method for infrastructure programmes.

Updated January 2020.

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Enduring lessons?

PM World Journal

This paper goes through the ten lessons from the Workout books and compares them to the 12 principles which were derived from a paper published iin the Project Management Journal in 2023.

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Hybrid project management - a meaningless term?

PM World Journal

This article describes why ''hybrid' is an unnecessary term and goes on to suggest how the good intentions relating to this often contentious word has been and can be made a reality.

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Project life cycles

Powerful when used right but unfortunately people's knowledge of using them in practice is pretty sparse. I introduced them in the 'Fundamentals' articles and showed how they help manage risk (in 'Harnessing the staged framework' under the 'Risk' articles); here is more advice to help you use them properly.

Project gates and stages

PM World Journal

Project life cycles are powerful yet rarely used to best effect. This article derived from The Project Workout tells you how to get the best out of them.

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Project life cycles and PRINCE2

AXELOS whitepaper

Where do people go wrong when defining project life cycles? How do the different methods and standards bodies compare? What are the characteristics of a good life cycle?

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Standards

Once enough people had realizedt that programme and project management is actually a very useful approach to directing and managing business change, the demand for public standards and methods started to grow. In 2012, we saw the first international standard on project management, ISO21500, which was recently replaced by ISO21502:2020. In 2010 BSI did a complete revamp of BS 6079 which was updated in 2019. The first article on this topic is is an explanation of how PRINCE2 (a method) matches up to these two new standards. You can use the same approach to demonstrate how your own tailored methods match up. The third article is an overview (and update) of the standards taken from The Project Workout. The last two articles look at principles and at that contentious term, 'agile'.

PRINCE2 and the national and international standards

AXELOS whitepaper

An analysis comparing the PRINCE2 method against BS6079 Part 1:2010 and ISO 21500:2012.

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PRINCE2 and BS6079:2019

AXELOS whitepaper

A analysis comparing the 2019 version of BS6079 with PRINCE2's 2017 edition.

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An overview of the current standards

The Project Workout update

This article describes the current standards, BS6079, ISO21502, GovS002 and others sources. It is an update to Appendix C in The Project Workout 5th edition. [April 2023]

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Adressing agile in the standards

PM World Journal

This article examine how the term ‘agile’ and its derivatives are used in a range of standards and other authoritative project management related publications with a view to understanding and reconciling the apparent differences.

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In search of project management principles

Project Management Journal

Twenty two authoratative sources were analyzed to come up with 12 principles which all project sponsors, managers and their teams should comply with. Do you follow these? Also view the introductory video.

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Portfolio & programme management

Gradually there is an emerging concensus of what a portfolio and a programme are and why they are different . . . but it could be a long time before everyone agrees. Generally, ISO in the ISO 21500 series and the UK government in GovS 002 have it right and their approach is proving practical to use.

An interview with Robert Buttrick on programme management

PM Review

Robert's views and key pronciples, which you might not agree with!

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Project Workout News

UK government launches The Teal Book on portfolio, programme and project manageme. See the NEWS page.

Hybrid project management? eh? Read a new paper explaining why this term is meaningless. See the NEWS page.

The Project Workout has been around since 1997 and the new paper Enduring lessons, shows how far ahead it was in its thinking . . and still is! See the NEWS page.

In search of project management principles - a new paper. See the NEWS and Videos pages.

Confused about standards and methods? Download the update to Appendix C of The Project Workout. See the NEWS page.

Articles on 'agile' and on portfolio, programme and project management published. See the NEWS page.

AXELOS sold! See the NEWS page.

Editor's Choice Award for article on governance. See the NEWS page.

An interview on programme management and two new articles on portfolios and programmes published.

See the NEWS page to download them.

ISO 21502 launched - update to The Project Workout released

The latest international standard on project management was launched at the end of December 2020. Read about it here.

The Programme and Portfolio Workout, 1st edition launched! Read all about it and look at the introductory videos and companion website.

More detail see our NEWS page!

Blog

See the Project Workout blog covering a wide range of project management topics.

For the blog, click here!

Companion website

Access the companion website to the The Programme and Portfolio Workout and the 5th edition of The Project Workout, including interactive process model and downloadable supporting documentation.

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