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Card 13 of 15 Roles, and what the 7th edition added ●○○ Foundational

Project manager and team manager

The project manager has day-to-day authority within the stage tolerances set by the board and is accountable for the project's products. The team manager produces products to the quality, time and cost agreed in a work package.

Why it is like this

The work package is the delegation contract. Making it explicit is what lets delivery be done by another organisation without changing anything about how the project is run.

Not to be confused with

A seniority gap. The team manager role is optional — on a small project the project manager performs it — and the project manager role, like the executive, cannot be shared.

In practice

Work package tolerances are the team manager's exception trigger, just as stage tolerances are the project manager's.

Source: Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2, 7th edition (PeopleCert, 2023) — PRINCE2 7, §7 — roles. Read on .

PRINCE2® is a registered trade mark of the PeopleCert group. ytyk.org is not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed by PeopleCert. These cards are independent commentary written in our own words; no part of the PRINCE2 manual, and no PRINCE2 diagram, is reproduced here.

Predict Check yourself

On a small project with no team manager, who handles the work packages?

  1. The project manager performs the team manager role as well — the role is optional, the responsibilities are not.
  2. The role is omitted and work packages are not used.
  3. The senior supplier takes the role on the board's behalf.
  4. A team manager must always be appointed.
Show the answer

The project manager performs the team manager role as well — the role is optional, the responsibilities are not.

PRINCE2 distinguishes roles from people throughout: roles can be combined, responsibilities cannot be dropped.