PRINCE2 Suggested Role Description-Senior User

What is this?

The Senior User(s) represents the interests of all those who will use the project’s products (including operations and maintenance), those for whom the products will achieve an objective or those who will use the products to deliver benefits.  The role is therefore responsible for specifying requirements of the product(s), which includes functionalty and the quality that makes them acceptable.

The Senior User(s) specifies the benefits and is held to account by demonstrating to corporate or programme management that the forecast benefits which were the basis of project approval have in fact been realized. This is likely to involve a commitment beyond the end of the life of the project.

Senior User(s) commit user resources to the project and monitors products against requirements to make sure the solution will meet those needs. This role may require more people than one person to cover all the user interests. For the sake of effectiveness, the role should not be split between too many people.

Why it’s useful? 

This is a PREMIUM Role Description as defined by the PRINCE2 Project Management methodology.

Whilst you can find this role description in Appendix C of an official PRINCE2 manual, of course you may not have purchased a manual, or prefer to have an electronic version of it.

How to use it?

This is a ‘vanilla’ role description that accompanies the PRINCE2 methodology. Whilst you can use it in its vanilla format we recommend that you tailor it (as suggested by the method itself) to incorporate the following:

• Any relevant industry specific terminology
• Organizational terminology & competencies
• Align with Organizational role grades