PRINCE2's seventh principle is to tailor the method to the project context. This explicitly permits using simplified, scaled-down templates and processes — but there is an important caveat that practitioners often overlook.
What the Tailoring Principle Says
PRINCE2 does not mandate the use of full, comprehensive management products for every project. A small internal project does not need the same level of documentation as a complex, multi-supplier programme. The method provides templates as a starting point; tailoring them to the project's scale, complexity, and context is entirely appropriate.
Simplified templates are explicitly supported: you can combine documents, reduce their content to what is genuinely needed, and omit sections that do not add value for the specific project.
The Important Caveat: Simplify After, Not Instead
The risk with simplified templates is that they can become a shortcut to avoiding the thinking that the full template prompts. A one-page Project Brief may be perfectly adequate for a simple project — but only if the person writing it has internalised what a full Project Brief is trying to achieve and is consciously omitting what is not needed.
Simplifying because you understand the method and have judged that less is needed is good tailoring. Simplifying because the full template looks complicated and you'd rather not engage with it is a governance shortcut that will eventually create problems.
The practical recommendation: work through full templates for your first few projects. Understand what each section is trying to achieve and why. Then simplify from a position of knowledge — knowing what you're removing and why it's safe to do so for this project.
What Cannot Be Simplified Away
Some elements are non-negotiable regardless of project size:
- A documented Business Case (even a brief one)
- Agreed tolerances and escalation routes
- Defined roles and accountabilities
- Stage boundaries with explicit authorisation
- Lessons captured for future projects
These are not template sections — they are PRINCE2 principles. They cannot be tailored away; they can only be simplified in how they are documented.
Download our recommended simplified templates from the PRINCE2 Templates page — each designed for different project scales.