Lesson 5 - What To Fix and What To Flex

PRINCE2 Agile® Foundation and
Practitioner
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What to Fix and What to Flex
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
Use the hexagon in relation to the six aspects of project performance
Explain the use of tolerances in terms of what to fix and what to flex
Outline the five targets that underpin the use of the hexagon
Identify why the fix and flex approach is good for the customer
The Concept of Flexing What Is Delivered
Flexing What Is Delivered
PRINCE2 focuses on one of its most important concepts, flexing what is being delivered as
opposed to focusing on flexing time and cost or flexing time and resources.
However, understanding how to flex what is delivered is not enough. It is essential to understand why.
Historically, the competing constraints on a project have often been shown graphically as a shape, such
as a triangle, with constraints of time, cost, and quality pulling against each other.
Time
Cost Quality
PRINCE2 does not have a limited view of the variables on a project. It identifies six aspects
that need to be controlled and managed:
Time Cost Quality Scope Benefits Risk
PRINCE2 does not place emphasis on any of these aspects over and above the others.
The most effective use of PRINCE2 and agile is achieved when progress is managed within an appropriate
set of responsive and flexible tolerances that cover the six aspects of the PRINCE2 Agile hexagon.
Figure 6.1 Applying tolerances to the six aspects of a project
Copyright © AXELOS Limited 2018. Reproduced under permission of AXELOS Limited. All rights reserved. Page 38
PRINCE2 Agile, however, defines what to emphasize. It provides guidance on the use of tolerance
levels for the six aspects in terms of what should be fixed and what should vary or flex.
Aspect Tolerance guidance Summary
Time • Zero tolerance for extra time on all levels of plan Fix
Cost • Zero tolerance for extra cost on all levels of plan Fix
Table 6.1 How PRINCE2 Agile views tolerances for the six aspects of a project: fix or fix and flex?
• Not all acceptance criteria and quality criteria are of equal

importance, so they can be prioritized
Project product description
• Zero tolerance for the customer’s quality expectations and
acceptance criteria that are essential
Quality • Tolerance may be used for the customer’s quality expectations Fix and flex
and acceptance criteria that are desirable but not essential
Product descriptions (in general)
• Zero tolerance for the quality criteria that are essential
• Tolerance may be used for the quality criteria that are
desirable but not essential

• Not everything the project aims to create is of equal
importance, so they can be prioritized
Scope • Zero tolerance for products that are essential Fix and flex
• Tolerance may be used for products that are desirable but
not essential
• Zero tolerance for the level that is defined as minimum

viability in the business case
Benefits Fix and flex
• Tolerance may be used above the level that is defined as
minimum viability in the business case
• Zero tolerance for risks above the level that the project
Risk board decides must be escalated Fix and flex
• Tolerance may be used for risks that are below this level
The Five Targets
The Five Targets
Understanding the rationale behind flexing what is being delivered to is essential for the
correct use of PRINCE2 Agile.
The Five Targets
Target Description
1 Be on time and hit deadlines Being on time and hitting deadlines has many significant advantages.
Ensuring that the level of quality is protected and regarded as vital is of

2 Protect the level of quality paramount importance to a project. This will lead to a lower cost of
ownership throughout the lifetime of the final product.
Embracing change by seeing it not only as inevitable but also as a

3 Embrace change
positive influence on a project allows for a more accurate final product.
Keep teams stable: do not add Keeping a team stable over the short term removes the temptation to
4 people to a team in order to try to add people to a team in order to catch up with work when in reality it is
go faster more likely to have little or no effect.
Accepting the premise that not everything defined in the initial stages of
Accept that the customer does not a project must be delivered is wise. It inevitably turns out that many
5
need everything things do not add enough value to warrant delaying the project because
of them.
Table 6.2 The five targets behind flexing what is delivered
Be on Time and Hit Deadlines
For any project or piece of work, being on time is naturally seen as desirable.
However, the advantages of meeting deadlines should be considered essential as

opposed to just desirable.
Be on Time and Hit Deadlines: Advantages
• Deliver early realization of benefits

• Help with planning
• Give confidence
• Provide no choice
• Reduce the likelihood of cost overruns
• Improve reputation
Being on time and hitting deadlines applies to short-term, medium-term, or long-term projects.
Protect the Level of Quality
Any framework for projects or product delivery strives to ensure that the appropriate
level of quality is achieved.
• In a waterfall method, there is a frequent risk of

materializing the earlier phases to overrun,
resulting in compression of the later phases to
deliver on time.
• The most common example of this is where

quality checking or testing is reduced in order to
meet deadlines.
Note: PRINCE2 is built around management stages and not technical stages.
Reducing the quality checking or testing to meet deadlines may lead

to short-term gain but long-term pain.
A product goes into operational use on time. However, it contains

errors that were missed during quality checking and testing. As a
result, several products need to be recalled.
The concept of flexing what is being delivered ensures that the emphasis is on delivering less scope or using
lower-priority quality criteria, as opposed to compromising the overall quality level of the final product.
Tip
Acceptance criteria are commonly used in agile to assess whether a user story has been completed.
They are the equivalent of quality criteria in PRINCE2.
Compromising the quality level of anything delivered

during a project may result in situations such as:
• Reduced testing
• Incomplete documentation
• Suboptimal design
• Lack of appropriate training
• Noncompliance with standards
The result of any compromise to the level of quality can have damaging long-term effects in
terms of the total cost of ownership of the final product as it may suffer from:
• Reduced usability
• Significant support requirements
• Degraded performance
• Lack of engagement with the user community
PRINCE2 Agile protects the level of quality. It ensures that the deadlines are met by reducing the
amount delivered by the project but not reducing activities that ensure the quality level is met.
Embrace Change
Change is inevitable when working on anything difficult. Therefore, it is

best to expect it and prepare for it.
• Change can take the form of a new idea that has not
previously been thought of or a misunderstanding
where an assumption proves to be incorrect.
• Change should be seen as positive as a more accurate

final product is likely to be produced.
Embrace Change
• Distinguish between minor change and major change
• Only the minor change can be handled dynamically and

with little overhead
• The importance of setting the project baseline in the

PID at the correct level
Embrace Change
Minor change Major change
It can be handled by flexing what It would require more formal change

is being delivered through control processes. It may even
prioritization and trading. necessitate going into an exception or
stopping the project if the business
case is no longer viable.
Trading or swapping
It is the act of handling change by replacing one or more requirements with others of a similar size in
terms of effort.
Keep Teams Stable
If a project falls behind schedule, a traditional response would be to consider the option
of increasing the number of people involved to speed up progress.
• If the work being undertaken is reasonably

straightforward, this can solve the problem.
• However, when the work is more challenging it
probably will not, particularly in the short term.
This is the primary reason why the tolerance for cost is set to zero.
Keep Teams Stable
Changing team members or adding to the team can have a far more detrimental effect
than normal for reasons such as:
• Time is spent bringing new team members up to speed

• The number of communication lines in the team grows
exponentially
• There is an opportunity cost incurred to the areas
providing the new people
• The team dynamics change and need to be reestablished
Keep Teams Stable
Team dynamics
It is the interpersonal interactions between the individuals on a team. This relates to the culture and
attitudes of the people in the team and needs to be managed carefully as it can be a very positive
and powerful force when it is working well, but it can be destructive when it breaks down.
The team members may need to change throughout the life of a project as the needs of a
project change.
However, the concept of avoiding the use of extra people to improve progress applies primarily
to short-term projects.
Accept That the Customer Does Not Need Everything
The customer may not realize that they do not need everything they have asked for
at the start of the project.
This point can be easily demonstrated by looking at the frequently used products and
analyzing how many of the functions and features are rarely used or never used.
Accept That the Customer Does Not Need Everything
The importance of this concept lies in the PRINCE2 Agile belief that the features of
the product are the safest and most sensible area to compromise on.
• A project using PRINCE2 Agile does not set out

with the intention of not delivering everything.
• However, it aims to hit the deadlines and

protect the level of quality by reducing what is
delivered accordingly.
• This, in turn, can result in the early delivery of a

minimum viable product (MVP).
The Five Targets: Summary
The five targets do not operate in isolation. They are interwoven and together they provide a
lot of the reasoning behind the agile way of working.
Be on time and hit deadlines
Protect the level of quality
Embrace change
Keep teams stable
Accept that the customer does not need everything

Flexing what is being delivered represents an alternative deal to the way people have
traditionally worked.
Figure 6.2 On balance, what is more important to the customer?
Getting an appropriate balance of what is essential and what is not essential becomes
important when working this way.
If the balance is not conducive to flexing what is being delivered, it creates a risk to the way of
working and, in extreme situations, it may make the use of agile on a project inadvisable.
For customers to understand that this is for their

benefit:
• They need to see the holistic view that is
supported by flexing what is being delivered.
• They may feel that flexing will not deliver
everything they want, if this is not achieved.
Tip
To deliver more, deliver less!

Key Takeaways
PRINCE2 Agile provides guidance on the use of tolerance

levels for the six aspects in terms of what should be fixed
and what should vary or flex. These six aspects include:
1. Time
2. Cost
3. Quality
4. Scope
5. Benefits
6. Risk
Key Takeaways
The five targets that underpin the use of the hexagon are:
1. Be on time and hit the deadlines
2. Protect the level of quality
3. Embrace change
4. Keep teams stable
5. Accept that the customer does not need everything
The five targets do not operate in isolation. They are

interwoven and together they provide a lot of reasoning
behind the agile way of working.
Knowledge Check
Knowledge
Check Which of the following is NOT an aspect of PRINCE2 that needs to be controlled and
1 managed?
Time
A.
Cost
B.
Acceptance
C.
Quality
D.
Knowledge
Check Which of the following is NOT an aspect of PRINCE2 that needs to be controlled and
1 managed?
Time
A.
Cost
B.
Acceptance
C.
Quality
D.
The correct answer is C
The correct answer is acceptance. Acceptance criteria are commonly used in agile to assess whether a user story has
been completed. They are equivalent to quality criteria in PRINCE2.
Knowledge
Check Which of the following situations may arise as a result of compromising on the quality
2 level of anything delivered during a project?
Suboptimal design
A.
Decrease in confidence
B.
The likelihood of cost overruns

C.
Loss of reputation
D.
Knowledge
Check Which of the following situations may arise as a result of compromising on the quality
2 level of anything delivered during a project?
Suboptimal design
A.
Decrease in confidence
B.
The likelihood of cost overruns

C.
Loss of reputation
D.
The correct answer is A
The correct answer is suboptimal design. Compromising the quality level of anything delivered during a project may
result in reduced testing, incomplete documentation, suboptimal change, lack of appropriate training, and
noncompliance with standards.
Knowledge
Check
Which of the following defines team dynamics?
3
A description of the rate of progress a team is making

A.
B. The act of handling change by replacing one or more requirements with others of a similar
size in terms of effort
Interpersonal interactions between the individuals on a team
C.
Understanding the rationale behind flexing what is being delivered

D.
Knowledge
Check
Which of the following defines team dynamics?
3
A description of the rate of progress a team is making

A.
B. The act of handling change by replacing one or more requirements with others of a similar
size in terms of effort
Interpersonal interactions between the individuals on a team
C.
Understanding the rationale behind flexing what is being delivered

D.
The correct answer is C
Team dynamics is defined as the interpersonal interactions between the individuals on a team. This relates to the
culture and attitudes of the people in the team and needs to be managed carefully as it can be a very positive and
powerful force when it is working well, but it can be destructive when it breaks down.

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PRINCE2 Agile® Foundation and

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Use the hexagon in relation to the six aspects of project performance

Time Cost Quality Scope Benefits Risk

Figure 6.1 Applying tolerances to the six aspects of a project

Aspect Tolerance guidance Summary

Aspect Tolerance guidance Summary

• Not all acceptance criteria and quality criteria are of equal

Aspect Tolerance guidance Summary

• Zero tolerance for the level that is defined as minimum

Ensuring that the level of quality is protected and regarded as vital is of

Embracing change by seeing it not only as inevitable but also as a

However, the advantages of meeting deadlines should be considered essential as

• Deliver early realization of benefits

• In a waterfall method, there is a frequent risk of

• The most common example of this is where

Reducing the quality checking or testing to meet deadlines may lead

A product goes into operational use on time. However, it contains

Compromising the quality level of anything delivered

Change is inevitable when working on anything difficult. Therefore, it is

• Change should be seen as positive as a more accurate

• Distinguish between minor change and major change

• Only the minor change can be handled dynamically and

• The importance of setting the project baseline in the

Minor change Major change

It can be handled by flexing what It would require more formal change

• If the work being undertaken is reasonably

• Time is spent bringing new team members up to speed

• A project using PRINCE2 Agile does not set out

• However, it aims to hit the deadlines and

• This, in turn, can result in the early delivery of a

Be on time and hit deadlines

Protect the level of quality

Keep teams stable

Accept that the customer does not need everything

Figure 6.2 On balance, what is more important to the customer?

For customers to understand that this is for their

To deliver more, deliver less!

PRINCE2 Agile provides guidance on the use of tolerance

The five targets do not operate in isolation. They are

The correct answer is C

The likelihood of cost overruns

The likelihood of cost overruns

The correct answer is A

A description of the rate of progress a team is making

Understanding the rationale behind flexing what is being delivered

A description of the rate of progress a team is making

Understanding the rationale behind flexing what is being delivered

The correct answer is C

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