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Your Start Guide to Methodologies of Project Management
Various teams, businesses, and industries start and finish thousands of projects daily. Unsurprisingly, multiple strategies exist to manage projects considering the broad spectrum of project types and processes. Before adopting a project management technique, it is vital to understand each strategy’s pros and cons fully.
Project managers use project management methodologies which consist of an assortment of rules, processes and tools to plan and carry out and manage projects. Multiple project management methods exist, each with specific benefits and drawbacks. The scope and difficulty level of the task, the team working on it, and the organisation’s culture will all impact the optimum project management strategy.
Prominent Project Management Methodologies
Given the different management processes, it soon becomes apparent that only a few people can agree on suitable methods. That depends on the kind of institution in consideration.
In this blog, we can learn about a few clearly stated project management techniques that are highly sought after.
Agile Methodology
Allows your businesses and teams to work on extremely specific outcomes vitally. Teams must complete the exact result by the end of a short time or iteration. This allows teams to alter their focus when objectives and need for features change, pivoting when customers change their minds mid-product development and adjusting their focus as required.
In actuality, Agile doesn’t constitute a methodology. Rather, it is considered as a project management principle.
The basis of an Agile strategy is:
- Collaborative
- Fast and productive
- Iterated and backed by data
- Prioritises humans over processes
Teams often choose specific approaches they will use alongside Agile while executing the Agile manifesto.
Scrum, Kanban extreme programming, Crystal, and Scrumban are among the alternatives. A well-balanced project management approach and an achievable strategy to deliver outstanding results could be achieved by combining Agile methodology with a more comprehensive policy.
The Kanban Methodology
Contrary to other agile methods, this method emphasises an efficient workflow, highlighting a cyclical process. By showing the flow of work on a Kanban board, constraining the work that can be in progress, and tracking the flow to make continual modifications, kanban strives to better the workflow.
The Waterfall Methodology
A top-down approach in project management is a waterfall approach. Project managers set all the project plans in advance, including the timeline, scope, and budget, in the initial stages of the waterfall project. Waterfall involves investing a lot of time in planning the start of a project to set up requirements and minimise the potential of issues. While adopting the waterfall approach, the project’s current phase must be finished thoroughly. While this method is considered conventional by a few modern organisations, it is effective when creating a predictable and thoroughly planned project.
Scrum methodology
The scrum methodology relies on sprints, which are identical to other agile methods. Teams adopting the scrum methodology create realistic project deadlines and organise their projects around the sprint timeframe. Each day, during the scrum, special meetings are held, where each team reports on the tasks they have completed the previous day, the jobs they will be working on that day and any barriers hanging in the way of achieving the tasks.
After completing the sprint, a sprint review meeting is held to debate performance and accomplishments.
Agile vs Waterfall
Due to its efficacy and other versatilities in software development, Agile is increasingly favoured among marketing teams over other project management methods. Agile-driven marketing and creative teams believe it promotes creativity while alleviating them from the complex development cycle that often happens with more conventional task-management approaches.
Hybrid Methodologies
Individuals should give up a waterfall or other traditional project management methodologies to take advantage of the Agile approach. There is that there is only one effective strategy for some. Both agile and waterfall provide benefits in specific situations. If you’re contemplating moving from waterfall to agile, you may consider applying a hybrid combination of both. In the above scenario, you may use Agile whenever its dynamic nature can shine and Waterfall when more deliberate approaches make sense.
Using Agile project management software that can handle both Agile and Waterfall, or both Scrum and Kanban in Scrumban, in addition to integrating and allowing communication, can significantly reduce the challenge of implementing a mixed methodology approach even though it still faces certain challenges.
Project Management Body Of Knowledge(PMBOK)
If there is truly a thing as a methodology, this is it. The Project Management Institute (PMI) is a non-profit membership organisation providing project management standards and certification.
The Project Management Body Of Knowledge is a book developed by this organisation.
Project planning, scheduling, executing and controlling are all included in the PMBOK’s definition and best practices. For example, the 10 Project management domains describe how to manage a project, whilst the project management process groups describe the project lifecycle.
The Critical Path Method(CPM)
The Critical Path Method (CPM) helps project managers create a model for a project using the four elements, a list of each step required to finish the project, the time necessary to complete each task, connections between jobs, and milestones or deliverable goals. By assessing the latest study that can be completed while not postponing the end time for the entire project, project managers can figure out which duties are essential and which are not.
Steps to use the CPM
- Specify each step needed to finish the project task.
- Figure out the way how each activity is reliant on the other. This involves deciding which tasks need to wait for the finishing of others before commencing.
- Determine the amount of time each task will require.
- Construct a diagram for the network. A visual representation of a project’s task and connections is a network diagram.
- Create a critical path analysis. The longest sequence of tasks that need completion to complete the project is called the critical path.
- Maintain a watchful eye over the critical path as the project progresses and take necessary actions if there are any delays.
Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM)
This framework is one of the detailed selections and is somewhat comparable to the Critical Path Method (CPM) but substantially more complex.
CCPM features a work breakdown structure similar to CPM and exact duration limits for each activity. Making it apparent when tasks take longer than anticipated facilitates task tracking. It also benefits resource levelling, which allocates work across the resources to lessen the intense workload.
Additionally, it improves productivity and efficiency and helps link the work that needs to be completed with project goals.
Software applications for project management include graphic elements which allow team members to perceive these goals while creating a comprehensive roadmap.
CCPM is an excellent tool for small and large teams but mostly benefits when dealing with project efficiency. It is also considered an effective way to reinforce leadership on the job status.
Extreme Programming (XP)
Extreme programming is an agile software development aiming to develop software with superior quality and higher living standards for the team’s development. Amongst the different kinds of agile frameworks, XP is the most comprehensive, with the appropriate engineering practices for software development.
A set of values, principles and methods form the foundation of XP.
- The subsequent values,
- Communication
- Simplicity
- Feedback,
- Respect,
- Courage
The principles,
- Planning
- Test-driven development,
- Refactoring
- Constant integration,
- Pair programming,
- Joint responsibility,
- Modest releases,
- Considering the customer’s foremost
The practices,
- Coding requirements,
- Unit examination,
- Testing for validity,
- Zero overtime,
- and No red tape.
Thanks to XP, Software development can be safer, more effective, and of greater quality. Several companies have embraced it, including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. A great way to start is through the Extreme Programming Website. Further information on XP can be obtained from books, articles, and videos.
Extreme programming is ideal if you’re looking to improve your software development process’s quality, efficiency and predictability.
Event Chain Methodology
A project management technique termed an Event Chain Methodology (ECM) is used to find and manage events and the relationship among those. The CCPM and CPM illustrate typical project management methodologies modified to incorporate ECM.
ECM can be used to identify potential risks and delays and additionally improve the project’s time duration. ECM can also boost stakeholders’ involvement and interaction on projects.
Crystal Methodology
The crystal family of project management approaches emphasises the individuals involved in the project more than the processes and tools. Alistair Cockburn devised this in the early 1990s.
The following theories form the basis of the Crystal family of methodologies.
- First and foremost, it’s about the people involved in the project.
- For a project to be considered successful, communication must be straightforward.
- Regular stakeholder feedback is vital in sustaining the trajectory of the project.
- Projects should be built in phases and published periodically.
- Projects should be flexible for alterations along the way.
The five levels of the crystal family of methods are clear, yellow, amber, orange, and red. A group suitable for a particular job depends on its size and complexity and the team’s knowledge and expertise.
The most basic and appropriate Crystal technique for small, self-organising teams is crystal clear. For groups of 10, Crystal yellow, with a little more weight, is best suited. Units having up to 20 individuals must use crystal amber, and teams of up to 50 can use crystal orange. Large and complex projects can use crystal red, the most durable of the crystal techniques.
The crystal family method is an adaptable way to manage projects that could be used to control various assignments successfully. This is because it focuses more on team members and how they communicate with each other than on tools and processes.
The crystal methodology derives significantly from the agile process, which makes it an excellent choice for teams who require something “lightweight” and customisable. Work gets finished within the specified time frames. Afterwards, feedback is collected and utilised for the advancement of the project.
Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a data-driven method used in refining processes and reducing failures. It is an organised strategy that can be used for any procedure, whether it is information-based, manufacturing based or a combination of both.
Six Sigma can be implemented in project management to enhance project quality, reduce expenses and expedite timeframes. Furthermore, it can boost project teams’ productivity and ensure the efforts fulfil the stakeholders’ needs.
The five steps of the Sigma approach are as follows
- Define – Describe the project outcomes and the important characteristics to qualify (CTQ).
- Measure – Assess the process’s present state and determine the sources of variability.
- Analyse – study the data to identify the root cause of the variations.
- Improve – Altering the processes to eliminate the root cause for variation.
- Control – Setting controls into effect to ensure the advantages are intact.
Project managers who seek to improve the standard of the quality and productivity of what they do might discover six sigma to be an efficient tool. It is a tried and tested methodology many organisations have adopted, intending to be noteworthy.
Lean Project Management
The objective of Lean Project management is to identify and eliminate waste in the overall process of the project. It is centred on the concept of lean manufacturing created by Toyota in the 1950s.
Lean project management strives to offer projects that fulfil customer satisfaction while minimising waste. Anything that is not beneficial to the project, such as futile actions, tasks or resources, is considered waste.
There are multiple ways to carry out Lean project management. But there are a few general rules that are adhered to by all lean projects.
Project managers who look to improve their effectiveness and productivity will find Lean project management to be a useful tool. Timelines can be decreased, quality can be increased, and costs can be cut.
Prince 2
Stages within the project are determined by following the standard waterfall method via Prince2, also known as PRojects In Controlled Environments. It was created by the UK government for IT projects, and it remains to function better for large IT initiatives over traditional projects, which are primarily target or market-focused.
The seven core tenets of Prince2 are
- Commencement of a project
- Project management
- Introduction of a project
- Responsibility for a project
- Oversight of project delivery
- Regulating a stage’s boundary
- Halting a project.
These 7 tenets create an in-depth methodology and an effective business project process. It intends to lay out the management roles. Likewise, Prince2 can streamline many project management functions, including overseeing project delivery, managing a stage, and initiating and completing a project.
Conclusion
There is a type for each kind of team; whether your team members prefer a visual process like Kanban or a more typical project management technique like the waterfall methodology, look into employing a work management tool to see more effectively over and carry out development projects to develop the project management strategy further.