On project management methodologies: The cases of PRINCE2 and PM2

I never meant to write an article on this one, but since I could not provide an answer to a question through a normal exchange (character limitation), here we go...

The link to the question I'm replying to is this one.

Dear Craig,

To start with, I’m very happy that you acknowledge the contribution of PM2 in the Project Management landscape.  

Coming to your question, I have to admit that if you were asking about a comparison between PM2 and PMBoK or IPMA ICB, the answer would have been very short: PM2 is a Methodology, whereas the other two aren't. 

But PM2 and Prince2 are both Methodologies, so my answer has to be slightly longer. 

If you look at the ‘House of PM2’ (p.13 of the PM2 Guide), which brings together, both the history and the structure of the Methodology, you will notice at its foundation the ‘Project Management Best Practices’ which come from other standards, frameworks, Methodologies, organizational experience, rules and procedures. 

The PM2 methodology is structured in a way that allows project teams to: 

• Quickly get oriented within the project world 
• Communicate efficiently and effectively 
• Assume clearly defined project roles and responsibilities 
• Quickly kick start a project by using the available and extensively elaborated artefacts(project documentation) 
• Deliver value driven outputs by remaining focused on desired outcomes and anticipated benefits 

 Of course, one can say that PRINCE2 provides all the above as well…. but… there is indeed a ‘but’ here! 

PM2 has been proven to be much easier in terms of adopting it while at the same time delivering on its promise.  

And as a project management Instructor and consultant I assure you that the above statement is true. And that is both my professional experience and that of my training audiences or clients. 

It's a pragmatic, usable, user friendly methodology that is fit for propose. It provides organisations and project managers what they need without intimidating them. It's a methodology that helps me run my project, not a book that teaches me what I should know about project management, or everything that has ever been discussed about project management techniques. 

 PM2 has a very steep learning curve (which is good) and this allows the implementing organization to reap the fruits of its adoption in a very short time.    

 Contributing factors to that are: 

1. Its lean structure 
2. Its strategic simplicity 
3. Its role driven approach 
4. The fact that all information within the guide is communicated following the logical evolution of an actual project  
5. The supporting artefacts (project teams just love these) 
6. The driving Mindsets 

 Prince2 is a great methodology, very mature, and teaches us many things. But when it comes to choosing a methodology for my organisation or project, I chose PM2. 

 I hope that all the above provide good enough justification to further invest on the PM2 Methodology. 

 The community is exponentially growing and the timing for Europeans (but not only) to come aboard is ideal. 

 If you need any more information on the topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to the PM2 community. 

 PM2 is not just a methodology, it also carries a vision of becoming a common methodology for Europe.