A SWAT team is a small group of certified, experienced PRINCE2 practitioners who lead the implementation effort and serve as internal experts. This team is your implementation engine.
Who Should Be on the SWAT Team?
Select people who are credible, well-connected, and genuinely motivated to improve how projects are run. The team should include:
- At least one senior project manager with Practitioner-level certification
- A mix of Foundation and Practitioner certified members
- Representatives with influence across different parts of the organisation
Certification Matters
SWAT team members should hold, at minimum, the PRINCE2 Foundation certificate. The team lead should hold Practitioner. Certification ensures a shared language and consistent understanding of the method — without which the implementation will drift. See the PRINCE2 Certifications page for details on each level.
The PM Must Be a SWAT Member
The Project Manager responsible for rolling out PRINCE2 must themselves be a member of the SWAT team. This is non-negotiable. A PM implementing PRINCE2 without being part of the expert group creates an immediate credibility gap.
Implement PRINCE2 as a PRINCE2 Project
This is perhaps the most important point in Step 6: the implementation of PRINCE2 itself must be run as a PRINCE2 project. This means:
- A Project Mandate authorising the implementation initiative
- A defined Executive and Project Manager
- A Project Brief and Business Case
- Stage planning and stage-gate reviews
- Regular Highlight Reports to the Project Board
Running the implementation as a PRINCE2 project does two things: it proves the method works in practice, and it gives the SWAT team hands-on experience before rolling out to the wider organisation.
Build Internal Knowledge
Over time, the SWAT team's role evolves from doing to enabling — coaching other project managers, reviewing project documentation, and mentoring new PRINCE2 practitioners. Plan for this transition from the start.