5.2 The principles

The seven PRINCE2 principles are the guiding obligations for good practice that a project should follow if it is using PRINCE2. They are:

• A PRINCE2 project has continued business justification.
• PRINCE2 project teams learn from previous experience (lessons are sought, recorded and acted upon throughout the life of the project).
• A PRINCE2 project has defined and agreed roles and responsibilities within an organization structure that engages the business, user and supplier stakeholder interests.
• A PRINCE2 project is planned, monitored and controlled on a stage-by-stage basis (management by stages).

A PRINCE2 project has defined tolerances for each project objective to establish limits of delegated authority (management by exception).

• A PRINCE2 project focuses on the definition and delivery of products, in particular their scope and quality requirements.
• PRINCE2 is tailored to suit the project’s environment, size, complexity, importance, capability and risk.