PMI vs Prince2

PMI and Prince2 are some of the most widely used standards in Project management circles. PMI is actually the Project Management Institute, which is the official publisher of the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge). PMI is a nonprofit professional organization that provides stream-lining processes to the profession of project management. Therefore, a comparison between PMI and Prince2 would actually focuses on PMBOK (from PMI) and Prince2 (Projects in Controlled Environments).

PMI’s PMBOK is a collection of processes and knowledge areas commonly accepted by general consensus in the field of project management as best practice. PMI’s PMBOK is recognized internationally and outlines the basics of project management, regardless of what type of project whether manufacturing, engineering, software or construction. It is generally a guide, a collection of accepted standards, only indicating how things could be done, but its not binding.

The Project Management institute (PMI) offers a number of certification levels in project management including CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management), PMP (Project Management Professional), PMI-SP (PMI Scheduling Professional), PMI-RMP (PMI Risk Management Professional), and PgMP (Program Management Professional). PMP was PMI’s first certification after its launch in 1984.

On the other hand, Prince2 is a set of successive processes and techniques that focus on the ‘nitty-gritty’ of a project, and is suitable for any size of project. Although it has processes in its structure, Prince2 is much more centered on what is to be done and when. It is a methodology with clear and concise steps to follow. Prince2 has two qualification levels, the foundation and the practitioner levels. The foundation level basically is an introduction to the terminology and basics of the methodology, while the practitioner level is in-depth and suitable for managers who need to take on projects within the Prince2 environment.

Prince2 is sponsored by the UK government and it’s the default standard that is widely used in the UK private sector, and although it is also used internationally, it is not as widely spread as PMI’s knowledge guide. Prince2 also was much aligned to IT projects initially, hence the procedural approach. PMI activities are sponsored by the Project Management Institute of the United States.

Summary
PMI is Project Management Institute while Prince2 is Projects In controlled Environments.
PMI publishes guides to project management while Prince2 is itself a project management methodology.
Prince2 originates and is sponsored by UK government while PMI is from the United States’ Project management Institute.

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