Author: Dorothy Tudor
Date: 2006-09-22

PRINCE2 and DSDM Atern

Why should I use both?

Executive Summary

Most organisations have accepted the need to adopt a project approach to the way they address business change. Organisations are also under increasing pressure to deliver business benefit as early as possible, and Agile approaches are proving irresistible, with their promise of early, iterative project delivery, within budget.

This short article considers the case for an organisation to adopt both PRINCE2 and DSDM (Agile Project Management) in combination. It examines the similarities, differences and potential inter-operability issues related to PRINCE2 and DSDM. It also addresses the commercial & business compatibility of PRINCE2 and DSDM.

It contains:

• An overview of the PRINCE2 approach, its key features, main benefits and limitations;
• An overview of the DSDM/Agile approach, its key features, main benefits and limitations;
• How each brings its own strengths and moderates the limitations of the other;
• How they fit together to deliver more successful projects.

The Rationale for using both DSDM and PRINCE2 together is that:

• The structures of PRINCE2 and DSDM do not conflict: Process models, Components, Techniques and Project Management Team roles are all complementary;
• DSDM would benefit from the governance strength of PRINCE2
• DSDM could adopt elements of PRINCE2;
• PRINCE2 would benefit from the team, communication and delivery culture of DSDM;
• PRINCE2 could adopt elements of DSDM.

The premise of this paper is that PRINCE2 and DSDM can not only be used effectively together to gain the benefits of both, but that their combination produces a result where the whole is greater than the sum of the constituent parts.