PRINCE2 training, a system of project management
accreditation which offers a structured, priority-focused working structure for
project managers, found itself in the news this month following suggestions
that formalised training such as PRINCE2 was becoming obsolete. A report by
Computerworld UK considered the response of training professionals,
particularly those specialising in PRINCE2 and other schemes, to the criticisms
which are emerging.
Industry analysts have been suggesting that a new, more
informal “social” way of working would soon render the more rigidly-structured
curriculum-based training programmes unnecessary. The theory is that such
structured forms of training would die out in the project management world,
because a more social and open-ended form of working would be more flexible,
easier to enter, and significantly more iterative.
PRINCE2 trainers in the UK and abroad, however, have
united to reject claims that flexible, social working schemes will replace
rigidly-structured training schemes such as PRINCE2. Trainers and industry
analysts have claimed that social working, while an attractive concept, is
entirely unproven in the project management field, and untried in a practical
sense.
Organisations, companies and businesses which choose to
go with a more social, less rigid way of working, would be responding to a new
cultural trend whose effect on professional productivity is, as yet, unknown.
There is an emerging trend for businesses, inspired by big names in the tech
world and elsewhere, to consider a business model with a “flat” hierarchy and
fundamentally different, informal organisational model. Experts suspect that
the move may be a PR exercise, suggesting a sensitivity to a political and social
zeitgeist rather than dedication to tried-and-tested training schemes.
The problem, according to PRINCE2's advocates, is that
only the most radical and informal of companies will embrace the new 'social
working' model; companies which, for better or worse, do not adhere to normal
professional codes, including dress-codes, typical business hierarchies, or
British social and professional culture.
Analysts in the field have insisted that social project
management cannot, and will not, replace the practically proven PRINCE2
training model, which is based on pragmatism, practicality and results. Not only is PRINCE2 far more flexible and
industry-adaptable than its critics suggest, it is a globally-accepted training
scheme, providing a common language and shared vocabulary among international
business communities, allowing for widespread collaboration. Far from dying out
in the face of a more sociable and intuitive way of working, PRINCE2 is in more
demand than ever, accepted by companies and clients worldwide and becoming more
popular by the day.
Tony is a professional writer within the world of project management, and also advises customers on the latest industry training techniques and courses.
