As a leading provider of PRINCE2 Training, we get asked a LOT of questions about the PRINCE2 Methodology, and there are some pre-conceived ideas and misconceptions that people often come to us with. In this article we debunk some of the main misunderstandings people tend to have about PRINCE2

Our PRINCE2 Training Courses run on a public basis in Brighton, Sussex – we run both PRINCE2 Foundation Training and PRINCE2 Practitioner Training courses

5 Misconceptions about PRINCE2:

The only difference between PRINCE2 courses is the price

Because all PRINCE2 training providers have to be accredited by the same body (APMG), it’s easy to assume that all courses are the same. That’s not true – and we explain more about it in our post about how to differentiate between PRINCE2 training providers.

PRINCE2 is a software tool
This still crops up from time to time. Because PRINCE2 was originally conceived as a method for managing IT projects, it’s association with IT is hard to shake. We still sometimes get asked things like “how much does the PRINCE2 software cost?”
PRINCE2 isn’t a piece of software (and never has been) – it’s a method for managing projects (read more on our What is PRINCE2 page). If you are looking for a software tool to manage your projects we would recommend Microsoft Project.

PRINCE2 is inflexible
People are often put off PRINCE2 because they think they will have to adopt all of the PRINCE2 Processes and Themes wholesale, which will be a lot of work for very little benefit. This is especially the case with smaller organisations who value the flexibility that being small gives them. In truth, PRINCE2 is a toolkit. You can take the elements of PRINCE2 which will be of most benefit to your particular project and introduce what works for your organisation slowly.

Read our tips for Applying PRINCE2 to Small Projects

You only need to study PRINCE2 if you’re looking for a job
A lot of people look to PRINCE2 when they are looking for work in project management as it is the most widely recognised project management methodology around, and many Project Management jobs ask for PRINCE2 as a qualification. This sometimes give people the impression that PRINCE2 Training courses are just full of unemployed people looking for work. 90% of the delegates attending our PRINCE2 courses are sent by their employers as they recognise it as a beneficial project management methodology for their organisation

PRINCE2 is only used in the public sector
As PRINCE2 was developed in the public sector, many people believe it is not a suitable methodology for private organisations that are more efficient and less concerned with red tape. In reality, PRINCE2 is taken up just as much by private companies – as we mentioned above PRINCE2 is flexible and scalable, so it can be applied to any size and type of project.