PRINCE2 Fundamentals

with Claudine Peet

Project Specification
Project Name: BG Apps Flexible Working

Date: Today Release: Draft

Author: Project Manager

Owner: Senior User, Charlotte White

NOTE: This document is a sample document intended to demonstrate the typical contents required.
All names and information relate to the fictitious scenario provided.

Revision History
Date of next revision:

Revision Date Previous Revision Date Summary of Changes Changes Marked

Today None

Approvals
This document requires the following approvals. A signed copy should be placed in the project files.

Name Signature Title Date of Issue Version

Matt Wills Executive

Francesca Lomas Senior Supplier

Charlotte White Senior User

Distribution
This document has been distributed to:

Name Title Date of Issue Version

John Franco CEO V1.0

Michael Treville HR Director V1.0

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Overview
Purpose The Project Requirements Document is a high-level specification that defines what the
project must deliver in order to gain acceptance. It is used to:
• Gain agreement from the user on the project’s scope and requirements
• Define the customer’s quality expectations
• Define the acceptance criteria, method, and responsibilities for the project
The Product Requirements for the final deliverable is created in Starting Up the Project
process as part of the initial scoping activity, and is refined during the Initiating the Project
process when creating the Project Plan. It is subject to formal change control and should be
checked at stage boundaries to see if any changes are required. It is used by the Closing the
Project process as part of the verification that the project has delivered what was expected of
it, and that the acceptance criteria have been met.

Advice The Project Requirements Document is derived from the project mandate, discussions
with the Senior User and Executive— possibly via scoping workshops and the request for
proposal (if in a commercial customer/supplier environment).

A Project Requirements Document for the final product or deliverable can take a number
of formats, including document, presentation slides, or mind map, or entry in a project
management tool.

The following quality criteria should be observed:

• The purpose is clear
• The composition defines the complete scope of the project
• The acceptance criteria form the complete list against which the project will be assessed
• The acceptance criteria address the requirements of all the key stakeholders (e.g., operations
and maintenance)
• The Project Requirements Document defines how the users and the operational and
maintenance organizations will assess the acceptability of the finished product(s):
o All criteria are measurable
o Each criterion is individually realistic
o The criteria are realistic and consistent as a set (e.g., high quality, early
delivery, and low cost may not go together)
o All criteria can be proven within the project life (e.g., the maximum throughput
of a water pump), or by proxy measures that provide reasonable indicators as
to whether acceptance criteria will be achieved post-project (e.g., a water
pump that complies with design and manufacturing standards of reliability)
• The quality expectations have considered:
o The characteristics of the key quality requirements (e.g., fast/slow, large/small,
national/global)
o The elements of the customer’s quality management system that should be used
o Any other standards that should be used
o The level of customer/staff satisfaction that should be achieved if surveyed

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Title
(Name by which the project is known)

BG Apps Flexible Working

Purpose
(This defines the purpose that the project’s product will fulfill and who will use it. It is helpful in
understanding the product’s functions, size, quality, complexity, robustness, etc.)

This project will deliver a new flexible working environment for the employees of BG Apps.

Composition
(High-level description of the major products to be delivered by the project)
1. Revised office space

2. Flexible working procedures

3. Upgraded hardware and software

4. Upgraded phone system

5. Upgraded office equipment

Derivation
(What are the source products from which this product is derived? Examples include existing products to
be modified, design specification, a feasibility report, or project mandate.)
1. Revised office space will be designed from the existing office plans

2. New working procedures will be derived from discussion and research undertaken with other
organisations that have undergone flexible working

3. Upgraded hardware and software will be derived new from an external supplier

4. The upgraded phone system will be derived from a telecommunications supplier

5. Upgraded office equipment will also be sourced new from an external supplier

Development Skills Required

(An indication of the skills required to develop the product, or a pointer to which area(s) should supply the
development resources. Identification of the actual people may be left until planning the stage in which
the product is to be created.)
• Facilities management

• IT knowledge and skills

• Telecommunications skills

• HR knowledge and skills

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Customer’s Quality Expectations
(A description of the quality expected by the customer of the final deliverable or product, and the
standards and processes that will need to be applied to achieve that quality. The quality expectations
are captured in discussions with the customer and are usually fairly vague statements. Where possible,
expectations should be prioritized.)
• Staff will be able to work more flexibly
• Staff can make and receive calls wherever they are based
• There will be adequate security provided for staff working remotely
• The reduced office space is adequate for our needs
• The project is delivered on time and on budget
• There will be adequate storage for staff

Acceptance Criteria1 Project-Level Acceptance Acceptance

Quality Tolerance2 Method3 Responsibility4

On completion of the project, staff None User acceptance Users

must always be able to connect testing by staff
remotely when working from home

Staff can only access remotely None Remote access VPN Ventura (external experts)
using a secure dongle (SCAP) testing Signed off by Senior User
upon confirmation

There will be 30 hot desks -2/+3 Check Office Manager

available for staff to use

The phone system must enable None User acceptance Office Manager
staff to work at any hot desk and testing
divert their phones to cell landline
when working from home

There must be 2 meeting rooms None Check Office Manager

available in the revised space

Each member of staff will have +5/-0 Check Office Manager

their own locker

The project is delivered within 6 There are +2 weeks Actuals provided on Executive
months from today time tolerance project completion

The project is delivered for a There is + $15,000 Actuals provided on Executive

budget of $150,000 cost tolerance project completion

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Measurable criteria against which the quality expectations can be measured when the project is finished. Examples: ease of
use, ease of support, ease of maintenance, appearance, major functions, development costs, running costs, capacity, availability,
reliability, security, accuracy, or performance. Ask yourself: Can I measure this when the project is finished?
2
Specifying any tolerances that may apply for the acceptance criteria.
3
Ask: How will I measure that this criteria is met? This may simply be a case of confirming that all the project’s products have been
approved or may involve describing complex handover arrangements for the project’s product, including any phased handover of
the project’s products.
4
Defining who will be responsible for confirming acceptance

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