What is the Difference Between PRINCE2 and Agile?

There are a plethora of different project management approaches and options out there. Many continue to evolve, and new ones are being introduced all the time. PRINCE2 and Agile are two of the terms you’ve probably come across — but what do these actually mean? And what’s the difference between PRINCE2 and Agile? 

An overview.

What’s Agile?

‘Agile’ is actually an umbrella term that encompasses numerous product delivery methods, frameworks and techniques used by development teams. Agile approaches emerged from the software industry in the 1990s in an effort to combat common development hurdles: late delivery, over budget, low quality, and so on. Although it was founded in the software space, today Agile practices are followed by many companies outside this industry.

There are many different Agile approaches. The most famous is Scrum, with Kanban, Extreme Programming, and Lean also being popular. Although they differ slightly and have their own advantages and disadvantages, all Agile frameworks are founded on the 12 Agile Principles (see the Agile Manifesto for more information).

Okay, so what’s PRINCE2?

PRINCE2 stands for Projects In Controlled Environments and does not fall under the Agile umbrella. Launched in 1996, PRINCE2 is based on seven principles (listed below) and is now the most widely used project management methodology in the world. So much so, that PRINCE2 qualifications are a standard requirement (or desire) of project management jobs for many companies. 

PRINCE2 is a customer-focused project management system. With a relational set of principles, practices, processes, people management PRINCE2 helps management think critically about and justify a project. It helps them ask and understand whether they should take on a particular project, and weigh up project performance of benefits, scope, costs, time, quality, risks and sustainability. The methodology also focuses on effective, efficient project and people management. Success on a PRINCE2 project is measured by how well it enables the project’s benefits to be realised by the customer. 

The seven principles in PRINCE2 are:

  • ensure continued business justification
  • learn from experience
  • define roles, responsibilities, and relationships
  • manage by stages
  • manage by exception
  • focus on products
  • tailor to suit the project.

Key focus points.

Agile focus points.

Unlike PRINCE 2, Agile approaches are not concerned with big-picture questions surrounding project viability or its great impact. Instead, they hone three major areas: delivery of products, collaboration and organisation. 

There’s an enormous emphasis on ensuring customer value by delivering products incrementally and highly efficiently. For example, delivering products that do what the user needs because the customer has been heavily involved in defining and prioritising requirements. Throughout the project, customers are regularly consulted for feedback and testing. The delivery team will ask questions like, “what needs to be done today?”, “What steps do I need to have completed by the end of this week?”. 

Agile’s most well-known point of difference is perhaps the strong focus on collaboration. People and teams must work together internally, and with the customer (or end-user). Self-organisation is also one of the Agile principles. Rather than using tools and techniques mandated by a project manager, Agile teams have flexibility in determining what they use. This provides more freedom and enables the team to utilise the methods they know work well for them. 

PRINCE2 focus points.

Everything in PRINCE2 revolves around its seven principles. These describe the roles and responsibilities of all members of the project management team (from the project board to the team manager). Key project management practices and factors include organisation, change, risk, planning, quality, and progress. 

PRINCE2 also includes a full project management lifecycle. This cycle clearly outlines and defines which role is responsible for key decisions at different times during a project. This clear distinction means responsibilities can easily be passed between teams and individuals, minimising confusion around who is doing what, and when (which often happens during complex projects with many moving parts).  

However, PRINCE2 does not try to govern how teams should work — only guidance on what they should work on and when, with accountability. The framework recognises that there are many different kinds of projects, produced by teams of people with many different personal strengths and specialist skills. PRINCE2 provides flexibility in enabling teams to work in the ways they feel are most effective and efficient. 

A quick summary.

Agile
PRINCE2
Main driver
Utilises a process-based framework through incremental interactions which range from 1 – 4 weeks. This helps ensure development processes are aligned with the customer’s needs at all times.Guides project development by clearly identifying and assigning roles and tasks to different teams and/or team members are different times in the project.
Emphasis
Strong connection to the customer with their involvement and feedback throughout the project.Strong focus ensuring management and individuals are certain of their tasks and responsibilities, with linear steps.
Approach
Adaptive approach that is often changing and evolving as the project progress.Predictive approach that leaves room for flexibility where needed.

Agile and PRINCE2 online courses at ELLUMINA

As an experienced training provider, ELLUMINA provides online courses for PRINCE2 and Agile methodologies, such as Scrum. Explore our PRINCE2 course here, Scrum Master here, or discover the best of both worlds with PRINCE2 Agile.

Not sure which course to take on? Please contact us for more information on the different courses as well as personalised recommendations for which course is right for you, your career goals, and general line of work.