Why do PRINCE2 training? It’s an obvious question if you are moving to a project or organization that uses PRINCE2. And it’s obvious what the answer will be if you ask a provider of PRINCE2 training. Or is it?

Someone said to you: “you should do the PRINCE2 training”

Let me guess. Something just happened in your working life – you left a job, got a new job, moved to a new area of your organisation etc. You mentioned your changed situation to a friend or colleague and they said to you “you should do the PRINCE2 training”. You are now trying to figure out whether to follow that advice.

I see a lot of people in this situation, so here are some pointers for when you should or shouldn’t contemplate PRINCE2 training.

I want to enhance my professional skills

Perhaps you have been working on projects a while but have never obtained a formal qualification. Or you are a contractor looking to make your skills more marketable. Or you are working in a project-based organisation and would like to know more about project management.

Whatever your situation, if your main driver is professional development, my recommendation is:

Yes, do PRINCE2 training.

My organisation uses PRINCE2

PRINCE2 has been widely adopted as a corporate standard, and therefore many people find themselves moving into an organisation which uses the method, either as an employee or a contractor.

People in this situation can find themselves faced with unfamiliar jargon and ways of doing things. This can be particularly unsettling if you are an experienced project manager. You may feel that you are not being as productive as you would like to be or that you are unable to operate to your full potential.

Should you do the PRINCE2 training? Probably a better question is “what is the best way to find out how this organisation uses PRINCE2 and what is expected of me?” It might be that everyone is expected to arrange their own PRINCE2 training, but it might be that the organisation has an induction program or similar in place. That might include for example a briefing from the PMO and an in-house course.

My recommendation is: Talk to your manager, your Project Executive (Sponsor) or the corporate PMO. They should be able to let you know what arrangements are in place for PRINCE2 training in your organisation.

I have been given a project to run

Projects are now the accepted way to introduce change into organisations, and as the amount of change increases more and more people are finding themselves being given the task of running a project.

If you are in this situation you might be wondering whether PRINCE2 can help you, or whether you should start with a more general grounding in project management.

My recommendation is: Do PRINCE2 training, but be realistic in your expectations (see blog – Beyond the Classroom). In all probability you will need to find someone else in your organisation to provide further assistance post-training.

I want to be certain my project will succeed

I am sorry, I have some bad news: there is nothing that can guarantee project success. If you have read through this blog so far, and you have most closely identified your need as being aligned to this heading, then I think you must reflect carefully on your need.

What is driving you to focus on success? Do you have a concern that for whatever reason – e.g. scale, complexity, risk, resources etc – your project might fail? Or is the project simply so important that you cannot afford for it to fail?

My recommendation is: Carefully consider what you are seeking to achieve; although PRINCE2 training might help, there are may other ingredients that contribute towards maximising your chance of project success. PRINCE2 training is not a panacea.

If you are undecided about PRINCE2 training

If having read this you are still undecided about undertaking PRINCE2 training, I suggest you do two things:

1. Think about what it is you are seeking from the training – perhaps have a chat to colleagues.

2. Talk to some PRINCE2 training providers about what they offer – and yes, sometimes their answer should be that they can’t help you!