Project management methodologies
What is project management methodologies?
Project management methodology is a strictly defined combination on practices regarding logic,
methods and processes that determine how best to plan, develop, and control a project along
the continuous process of its implementation and successful completion. It is a scientifically
proven, systematic, and disciplined approach of the project regarding the implementation and
completion. The aim of the project management methodology is to allow the control of the
whole process of management through effective decision-making and problem solving, while
ensuring the success of specific processes, approaches, techniques, methods, and technologies.
Basic layout of pmm
Framework project management
Framework-project management is a structured collection of all relevant knowledge, on how to
make a difference in terms of methodology. It does not describe an exact algorithm of the
management of the specific project but provides a broad overview of the variety of methods,
rules, processes, and standards. In this respect, the methodology of project management can
be defined as a special level of framework-project management. Hierarchical structure of the
project methodology is given below:
Types of pmm
In project management there are various approaches and methods that can be used in
managing different types of projects. All types of project methodologies can be divided into
traditional and modern approaches.
Traditional approaches:
A traditional approach involves a series of sequential steps in the process of project
management. It is a process that takes place step by step to design, develop and deliver a
product or service. In the IT and software development field, this type of methodology is called
“Waterfall” – a working stage after another in linear sequence. Steps for traditional pmm is:
initiation (tender specifications requirements)
planning and design.
implementation (construction and coding)
control and integration.
validation (testing and debugging)
closing (installation and maintenance).
Modern approaches:
Modern methodologies do not focus on linear processes, but they provide an alternative
approach to project management. Some of the methods are best for IT and software
development, while others may be implemented in production, to improve the processes in
various other fields, in production technology etc. Modern approaches to project management
use different models of the management process. The most popular project management
methodologies are:
PMBOK guide
PRINCE2
CPM
Six Sigma
SCRUM
Project specific methodology
This level emphasizes that the methodology must be scalable to cope with the various natures
and project sizes within an organization. Project specific methodology should help the project
team to clearly understand the scope of their work; what they need to accomplish; how the
project fits in the overall goals of the organization and provide tools and techniques to help
guide them on how to deliver. Thus, the project specific methodology must map to the normal
flow of work within the company and this may require separate branches of the methodology
being developed for projects which differ widely in the nature of their work e.g. marketing vs.
manufacturing. It is impractical to develop a completely new methodology for each new project
within an organization.
Project management technologies
Agile method
Basically, agile method is nothing but a project which can be managed into several pieces and it follows
iterative and incremental style of development that dynamically adjust to changing requirements and
enable better risk management. Like traditional way there is no central control in agile method. There
are four basic principles of agile manifesto:
1. individuals and interactions over process and tools
2. working software over comprehensive documentation
3. customer collaboration over contract negotiation
4. responding to change over following a plan
Reason to choose agile method
1. High customer satisfaction
2. Reduce the risk
3. Better and faster return on investment – as the project is run by several sprints and each sprint
it has its better version. So, after couple of testing the product is ready for market release.
4. High product quality
Principle of project management
We followed the principles of project management in terms of our work.
1. Highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable
software.
2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for
the customer's competitive advantage.
3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a
preference to the shorter timescale
4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need,
and trust them to get the job done.
6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development
team is face-to-face conversation
7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.
8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should
be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
10. Simplicity - the art of maximizing the amount of work not done - is essential.
11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts
its behaviour accordingly
Waterfall method
Compare with agile method
The waterfall methodology is a linear project management approach, where stakeholder and customer
requirements are gathered at the beginning of the project, and then a sequential project plan is created
to accommodate those requirements. The waterfall model is so named because each phase of the
project cascades into the next, following steadily down like a waterfall. Part of these fundamentals are
still applicable today.
Issues with waterfall:
Projects can take longer to deliver with this chronological approach than with an iterative one,
such as the Agile method.
Changes and new features are harder to accommodate as it is a systematic approach
Clients are not involved in the design and implementation stages.
As all the phases relate to each other, so delaying in one phase in the process mean the rest of
the phases are also delayed
Choosing agile over waterfall
The Waterfall Model is more of a process, with progress visible as it passes through many stages. It's a
step-by-step process that includes requirement analysis, design, implementation, testing, production,
and ongoing maintenance. When Agile is used as the foundation for development, it gives transparency,
flexibility, responsibility, and value at the start of the process while reducing project risks.
Project reflection
Points to discuss
1. Introduction
2. Objective
3. Challenges: The project is based on group work. So, before initiating the project we were facing
various challenges. The first challenges that we have was
availability of team members.
Conflicting in sharing ideas
Location of team members
Communicating among team members
Not going in the same direction
For the project:
4. Observation
5. Feedback
6. Evaluation
7. Cause and effect
8. Explain and critique - what happened, what are you trying to resolve here, what you have learnt
and how you would move forwards
9. Lesson learned
10. Improvements
11. Interpretation
12. Outcome
13. Communication: For the deliverable 1 team members shared the work and it was observed that
everyone was using multiplate templates and illustrations. To overcome this, during the team
meeting, it was decided to use unify template with standard color coded.
For deliverable 2, everyone has different opinion to do the cost calculation based on the Farlys
scenario and agreed to do the calculation part to check whether we can find out a final result
from the calculation.
Links
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew-Spowage/publication/
233835849_Classifying_Defining_Project_Management_Methodologies/links/
02e7e518734eb2bdb3000000/Classifying-Defining-Project-Management-Methodologies.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
319229966_Methodologies_used_in_Project_Management
https://www.port.ac.uk/student-life/help-and-advice/study-skills/written-assignments/
reflective-writing-introduction
https://libguides.hull.ac.uk/reflectivewriting/reflection4a1
https://15writers.com/reflective-essay-report-writing-guide/
Introduction.
What is the report about?
How have we done the project?
What we have been used to conduct the project? Like method, tools & techniques
What was the experience
