Agile Project Management (AgilePM) or PRINCE2 Agile

Update (11 December 2024):

This article was written in 2020 with Agile Project Management (AgilePM) V2 as baseline. In October 2024, Agile Business Consortium announced the launch of Agile Project Management V3 (AgilePM3). Though parts of the article below are still relevant, the topics covered may not be referring to the latest guidance on Agile Project Management.

This is not the easiest of questions to be answered but this question is always the first thing on the minds of project management professionals looking to enhance their qualifications, so we tried to put together a guide here. Four to five minutes of investment in reading below should help one reach a decision.

If you are still interested in knowing, please keep on reading.

Similarities?

PRINCE2 Agile and Agile Project Management (AgilePM) both have things in common. Some of them are:

• Both PRINCE2 Agile® and AgilePM® principles based
• Both present a process model
• Both present various techniques (e.g: MoSCoW, Timeboxing, etc)
• Both promote a project organisational structure recommending roles and responsibilities

Differences?

Instead of using the term “difference” we would refer to uniqueness of PRINCE2 Agile® and AgilePM® as “features”, some of them are:

Agile Project Management (AgilePM®):

• No attempt to reinvent the basic concepts of project management, PRINCE2 or PMBoK (by PMI) or any other approach/ framework can very well be used providing the core of project management concepts while keeping the agility in the hands of AgilePM framework
• Project Approach Questionnaire (PAQ), guiding project managers with how to tailor the method for a specific project context and environment.

PRINCE2 Agile®:

• Agilometer is one unique concept presented by PRINCE2 Agile, which guides the project manager in understanding how much agility is needed in a project
• Anyone having the experience of trying agile techniques on “traditional” environments would understand that there need to be specially drafted contracts for Agile projects. PRINCE2 Agile attempts to help out here by providing guidance around agile contracts.

Conslusion:

PRINCE2 Agile has its roots emerging from PRINCE2 2017 and (more so) SCRUM Guide Nov 2017. PRINCE2 Agile should be preferred approach for professionals and organisations having experience in IT (software, infrastructure) and/or organisational transformations. Most of the public sector organisations (at least in the UK) prefer PRINCE2 Agile.  

AgilePM has its origins in Software Development (DSDM, previously Atern software development framework). However, it has evolved and emerged as a project management framework that is completely neutral to any domain or specialist knowledge. Hence it is equally suitable for use on projects initiated by local government as it is for software development projects.  

None of the frameworks will be providing all the answers any project professional needs, there is no one shoes that fits all. Hence, there may be a need to sum up with an organisational project management framework according to the context and environment of an organisation which will provide much more stable and flexible ground to deliver projects. 

PRINCE2 Agile® OR Agile Project Management (AgilePM®) First?

It is highly recommended to go for AgilePM trainings and certifications before attempting to train yourself or your staff on PRINCE2 Agile. 

What next?

Agile Programme Management (AgilePgM) certification is the natural next step for project managers having already achieved Agile Project Management (AgilePM®) Foundation and Practitioner certifications. Similarly, on the outset it appears that Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) is the ideal next step for project management professionals having already achieved PRINCE2 Agile® Foundation and Practitioner certifications.

However, both Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) and Agile Programme Management (AgilePgM®) certification are equally suitable for project management professionals looking to earn qualifications in programme management.