Project Management Methodology for Body of Knowledge

Discuss about the Project Management Methodology for Project Management Body of Knowledge.

Project management methodology

Methodology is a term that refers to a set of guidelines or methods with respect to particular activity. Projects have also highly benefitted from a number of project management methodologies such as PMBOK, PRINCE2, Waterfall model, agile methodology and Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). These methodologies define the steps and the approach that must be used to effectively manage the project and the same aids in estimation of budget, schedule and risks at the required time. It is essential to make use of an applicable project management methodology as the same is crucial for the success or failure of the project.

Project methodologies

Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is a project management methodology that defines the phases to manage a particular project. It includes feasibility study of the project in the initiation phase and proceeds on to the planning, execution and closure phases. Projects In Controlled Environment (PRINCE2) is another project management methodology that adheres completely to the project life cycle for managing a project and includes stages as initiation, starting, delivery, control, closure and planning in between. Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) is based upon a number of different models such as Waterfall, Iterative Waterfall, Prototyping and many others.

Waterfall methodology for project management comprises of a number of different stages to manage the project and allows the movement to the succeeding stage only when the predecessor has successfully been executed (Bowes, 2014). Agile methodology, on the other hand is based on incremental and iterative model which is much more flexible in nature. Both of these methodologies have a common objective which relates to the effective management of the project. However, there are a number of striking differences between the two. Flexibility is one key difference that sets these two methodologies wide apart from each other. Waterfall approach is fixed and non-flexible in nature, that is, the steps that are defined in the waterfall model do not change as per the project requirement. Also, the flow between the stages does not change as well. Agile, on the other hand is based on an ad-hoc model which can easily mould as per the project requirements and needs. This is the reason that the customers prefer Agile over Waterfall in the present era as the former involves lesser changes of re-work due to the inflation in the requirements. The same flexibility reflects in the activities that are carried out by the resources. In Agile, the teams are self directed and self motivated and are free to deviate from the regular path as long as the agreed rules are followed. Waterfall does not provide such freedom and the teams are much more bounded in its case. Customer involvement is another area of difference between the two methodologies. Customer is involved only during the beginning and the end of the project in case of Waterfall methodology as there is no customer involvement during the intermediate stages (www.mindtools.com, 2016). Agile, on the other hand is completely opposite as customer involvement and customer feedback is a regular activity along with user testing. The level of transparency is also much higher in Agile as compared to the Waterfall methodology (Method, 2016). Testing activities are carried out only after development is completed in case of Waterfall methodology whereas it is an ongoing process in case of Agile and goes parallel with the development of the project. Documentation is an area where Waterfall scores higher than Agile as the latter involves much lesser documentation. The projects where the requirements are certain to remain unaltered prefer Waterfall methodology over Agile.

Project methodology and project life cycle

Project Life Cycle (PLC) defines eight key stages for successful management and delivery of the project. The adherence to the stages in PLC is far higher in Waterfall methodology as compared to Agile Project Management. Waterfall methodology begins with the initiation phase which comprises of assessment and feasibility study. It is then followed by planning which delivers a number of documents and includes estimations. Design, development, implementation and test are the phases that come thereafter. The last two phases of Waterfall methodology include production and support which deal with release and post-production issues and activities. All of these stages are a replica of the PLC stages. Agile, on the other hand deviates a bit from the PLC stages. The initiation, progress and completion phases are included in agile methodology as it works in iterations to achieve an end product (Lotz, 2013). Agile works on the phases which are termed as sprints in the agile terminology. A set of planned activities are executed in each sprint and the customer is reported after the end of the same. The next sprint involves the customer feedback received using the product and sprint backlog and works towards completion of the project to attain the end result.

The choice between Waterfall and Agile Methodology in Project Management depends upon a number of factors such as requirements definition and scope certainty during the project timeline, time allotted to complete the project, resources allocated to complete the project, level of documentation demanded by the project client, reporting activities and many more. 

References

Bowes, J. (2014). Agile vs Waterfall - Comparing project management methods. Manifesto. Retrieved 9 August 2016, from https://manifesto.co.uk/agile-vs-waterfall-comparing-project-management-methodologies/

Lotz, M. (2013). Waterfall vs. Agile: Which is the Right Development Methodology for Your Project? | Segue Technologies. Segue Technologies. Retrieved 9 August 2016, from http://www.seguetech.com/waterfall-vs-agile-which-is-the-right-development-methodology-for-your-project/

Method, C. (2016). Comparing Agile Project Management and the Traditional Waterfall Method - For Dummies. Dummies.com. Retrieved 9 August 2016, from http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/comparing-agile-project-management-and-the-traditi.html

www.mindtools.com,. (2016). Agile Project Management: Organizing Productive, Flexible Projects. Mindtools.com. Retrieved 9 August 2016, from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/agile-project-management.htm