How Long is a PRINCE2 Stage?

A PRINCE2 stage is a section of a Project the Project Manager is managing on behalf of the Project Board.  There is no recommended duration of a PRINCE2 Stage. The shorter a stage is, the more control you apply. Longer stages will give you a project with less overhead, but it is also more risky.

In unclear or high risk environments, your stages should be short. In known terrain with a group of experts you trust, the stages can be long.

It is difficult to come with a specific recommendation, but for an average project with total duration of approximately 12 months, this could make sense:

• You should count Starting up a Project duration in unit of days – something like 10 days.
• You should count Initiation Stage duration in unit of weeks – something like 6 weeks.
• You should count duration of delivery stages in number of months – but usually not more than 2-3 months per stage.

At the end of a PRINCE2 Stage, the Project Board will wish to review progress to date, the state of the Project Plan, the Business Case and risks.

The first stage in a PRINCE2 Project is always the Initiation Stage. Note that there is no such thing as a closing stage, there is just the last stage including the "Closing a Project" process.

Related articles:
PRINCE2 Plans
Scaling PRINCE2

Copyright © PRINCE2How2 - How to implement PRINCE2 in your organization