Strategy squared

Prince 2 is arguably one of the most well known Project Management methodologies around – and is fast becoming a must have in terms of both experience and professional certification for those looking for a career in Project Management.

Prince 2 embodies years of best practice and provides users with a framework and approach for managing projects of all shapes and sizes. It’s arguable that following a tried and tested methodology cannot only help reduce risks on project delivery but can also be a considerable influence over project cost and duration.

Luckily the internet is awash with valuable resources on Prince 2 – here’s some of our favorites – if you’ve got others you’d like to share please use the comments section below.

1. OGC Prince 2 portal – everything you need to know about Prince 2 – from online articles through to templates and benefits.

2. Commercially run support site with bags of content and downloadable templates.

3. Excellent in depth case study of Prince 2 in action

4. Prince 2 Project Management Software

5. Various white papers on the difficulties with Prince 2 and how to overcome them

6. Best Management Practice - Prince 2 Resources

7. Project Management demystified

8. Andy Murray’s Prince 2 Blog

9. Prince 2 training courtesy of Youtube

Don’t forget that if your into Prince 2 – you shouldn’t be without official OGC book “Managing successful projects with Prince 2″ - this really is the bible for the method with all the tools and concepts that you’ll need to get you going check it out at Amazon here: Managing Successful Projects With Prince 2, 2005

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We all know that corporate culture has a significant impact on how businesses are perceived by customers, so its interesting to see how BA are reacting following the difficulties with the launch of Terminal 5 and UK’s Heathrow airport.

With two of its senior management “falling on their swords” following recent difficulties it seems that the culture seems to be one of accountability however BA Boss Willie Walsh seems to be ensuring he remains in post for the foreseeable future.

Whilst the BBC report Walsh to not be out of the firing line and with him openly admitting responsibility for the companies failings with T5’s launch, Walsh faces a rough ride over the coming weeks as he in talks to shareholder groups. However with people in some corners citing continuity of management as a route out of the problem it will be interesting to see what happens – BBC has put the current cost of T5 problems down to $32 Million (£16M) in the 3 weeks since it opened

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The BBC are running a news story today (here) that puts the cost of the worldwide credit crunch at approximately $1Trillion dollars.

These figures come from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) who has warned that as the credit crunch seeps into other areas such as business debt, consumer credit and commercial property losses will deepen.

Now while $1 Trillion dollars is a lot of money - quite how accurate the calculation is remains to be seen however the IMF have certainly put the issue into context.

The most interesting thing about the article is its attempt to find someone to pin the blame on. The IMF report that “regulation by governments and poor supervision by banks for allowing the situation to develop.” Complacency about the risks involved has led to worldwide problems.

There seems to be little commentary about recovery plans or how long the situation will last - certainly lending is under increasing pressure with various mortgage providers around the world reducing (or in some cases completely withdrawing) products from the market).

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A few days after city analysits are bigging up Apple (analyst rates iphone sales up whopping 350% comes news that RIM makers of the infamous exec tool the Blackberry has reported an increase in profits for the first 3 months of its trading year.

While we’re sure this doesnt have anything to do with the reported news that Madonna sleeps with her Blackberry (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7327084.stm) I suppose it goes to show how much the gadget has become part of the mainstream. Indeed mobile access to email is now seen as an essential business tool and as a smart phone - the Blackberry certainly has the corporate edge.

With the strong results looking set to continue it will be interesting to see how RIM reacts if, as is expected, that the widely rumoured iPhone 2.0 features broader business tools including access to corporate mail - Blackbeery have had a strong footing in the business sector for a long time and it will be interesting to see if a strong challenger emerges within 2008.

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While we all love a gadget – sales of Apples must have iPhone look to continue to soar says the NY Post. Seems that analyst Piper Jaffray is estimating that upto 45 million iPhones will be sold in 2009.

Apple have expanded its international offering of the iPhone considerably in recent months and this goes someway to contributing towards the growth. Whilst a broader product range will also help.

It certainly seems that there’s no stopping iPhones march in terms of market share but it will be interesting to see whats around the corner for the device as the rest of the market catches up – to be sure consumers will be after more business integration with email – and higher specs (improved camera, access speed, storage space) next time around with iPhone 2.0 – and it will be interesting to see how apple develops its device.

In the meantime the iPhone continues to sell in truckloads clearly outstripping sales growth of its iPod predecessor.

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