How Global is PRINCE2?How Widely-Recognised is the PRINCE2 Qualification?
As a PRINCE2 Accredited Training Organisation, we frequently hear the question: "Where can I use PRINCE2?"
The answer is: everywhere.
PRINCE2 is a method of organising projects. You can use it to organise your daughter's birthday party, to implement a new filing system in your office or to build a primary school in Africa. You could even use it to organise the washing-up rota in your kitchen.
PRINCE2 is not tied to a specific industry or organisation. It is not even incompatible with other project management methods, such as PMBOK (see below). While it is certainly true that familiarity with PRINCE2 terminology is beneficial when project management jobs in organisations that do use PRINCE2, it is also the case that training in PRINCE2 is an advantage in organisations that do not.
The widespread requirement of a PRINCE2 qualification in project management job specifications has trained us to think only about PRINCE2 as a key to employment within PRINCE2 organisations, rather than as a way of demonstrating project management ability or as a useful guide in its own right.
PRINCE2 is familiar to project managers the world over. Courses run in almost every country, from Australia to Africa and from China to Brazil. While PRINCE2 may have started in a UK civil service department, it has now (like cricket, football and tennis) been exported across the globe.
However, PRINCE2 is just one of several formats available for teaching and applying project management methodology. The most prominent alternative format is PMBOK (the Project Management Body of Knowledge), developed by the American Project Management Institute (PMI®).
Max Wideman, who served in the 1980s as PMI President and Chairman of the Board, wrote a paper comparing PRINCE2 and PMBOK, and came to the conclusion that:
“the Guide [PMBOK®] takes the best approach for purposes of teaching the subject content of each knowledge area, but is not so effective when it comes to providing guidance for running a particular project. Of course the corollary is also true. In a life-cycle based presentation like PRINCE2, it is difficult to do justice to each knowledge area.”
Accordingly, many project management experts advocate using both approaches: PMBOK for delivering knowledge of specific best practices, and PRINCE2 for creating a framework through which the knowledge can be applied to a project.
The ability of project managers to combine different methods and practices and to transfer skills learnt through PRINCE2 into a non-PRINCE2 project means that a project management qualification in any specific methodology demonstrates understanding of certain aspects of project management, and is recognised as such.
Even organisations that do not use or require knowledge of the PRINCE2 methodology recognise the value of the PRINCE2 qualification. This is why job specifications sometimes state: “professional qualification PRINCE2, PMI or equivalent.”
Areas where PRINCE2 is a popular project management methodology
UK - standard government practice, most popular method in private sector
Netherlands - 2nd biggest user of PRINCE2
Australia - standard in the Ministry of Defence
Hong Kong - standard in the Post Office
Poland - the first translation of the PRINCE2 manual was into Polish
Germany - especially in the financial sector
United Arab Emirates
South Africa
Go to the official PRINCE2 website to see the list of over one hundred countries where PRINCE2 training courses and exams take place.
PRINCE2® is a trademark of the Office of Government Commerce. PMI is a service and trademark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. which is registered in the United States and other nations. PMBOK is a trademark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. which is registered in the United States and other nations.
