Comparison PMBOK - Prince2

In the PMBOK the chapter "Context as part of the Framework" describes roughly what is demanded of project management and what the prerequisites are. Sadly there is hardly any attention for processes and the roles that can be identified within the organisation of a project. Prince2 puts a lot of emphasis on these subjects. In the PMBOK terms like "project manager" and "project leader" are used, but there is no clear definition of these terms. It seems that the PMBOK "project manager" can be compared to a combination of the Prince2 Executive and the Prince2 project manager, while the PMBOK "project leader" can be found somewhere between the Prince2 project manager and team manager.

It is noticeable that the PMBOK very quickly descends to the level of techniques, which is obviously very concrete en where Prince2 pays far less attention to. On the process-side of project management can not be found much detail. The PMBOK does not go further than some very high level descriptions. No wonder that a number of US companies turn that work according to PMBOK turn to Prince2 for processes.

The relationships between Prince2 and the PMBOK can be presented in the following way:

The Framework of the PMBOK can be seen as a collection of policies to which a method for project management should comply. In Prince2 terms the Framework can be seen as a Project Brief for the development of a method.

The Knowledge Areas of PMBOK overlap with the Components of Prince2. Also in this part of the PMBOK several techniques are discussed. Prince2 pays far less attention to techniques.

Concluding: PMBOK is an overview of subjects that matter to project management. It follows the existing practice. Prince2 has a strong visions (Customer / Supplier), which the PMBOK lacks and also this document lacks a description of roles and the importance of these roles. The PMBOK gives a feeling of fragmentation. It describes several techniques but the usefulness or the aim of the technique is not described sufficiently.

Prince2 discusses best practice where PMBOK describes common practice. Several recent reports show that common practice fails (about 70% of projects)! On this website I talk about the reasons as I see them for failing projects.

PMBOK can not be seen as an integral method, where Prince2 certainly is one. So again it is no wonder that in the USA interest is rising for the Prince2 method, filling the methodical gap and the lack of processes that the PMBOK leaves.

Please follow these links for more information on the PMBOK and the Prince2 manual.