PRINCE2^® & PMBOK^® – Complementary rather than in competition

A lot of debate is generated about which of PRINCE2^® and PMBOK^® is the best, as if they are in competition.  An excellent case can however be made for organisations to use the two approaches together to complement one another’s strengths and weaknesses.  By using both PRINCE2^® and PMBOK^®, the project managers are using the best project management approaches from both worlds.

Essentially PMBOK^® provides a comprehensive knowledge base for effective project management (the “What”), while PRINCE2^® provides a more “How To‟ approach. 

Comparison of PRINCE2^® & PMBOK^®

Processes Comparison:

Knowledge Area Comparison:

Both approaches can be tailored to suit an organisation’s specific circumstances and environment.  This allows for better integration into the level of project management maturity the organisation is currently at and wants to move towards in the future.  An optimal tactic for success would therefore be to adopt both, i.e. create an organisation-specific framework based on the PMBOK^® standard, as well as the “How to‟ guide based on the PRINCE2^® methodology.

By combining PMBOK^® and PRINCE2^® to establish an integrated solution, organisations can take advantage of the best of the two most respected project management approaches in the world today. Such a strategy should allow those organisations to achieve better performance on all project outputs and business outcomes.

Companies that are using both PRINCE2^® and PMBOK^®:

IBM, HP, Sun Microsystems, Getronics

References:

1.      Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2^®, TSO, 5^th ed, 2009.

2.      The Marriage Proposal of PRINCE2^® and PMBOK^®, Dr A Yeong, 2009.

3.       Providing Clarity on PMBOK^® and PRINCE2^®, Project Plus Ltd, 2008.