How to choose Project Management Methodology? To achieve and succeed a project, it is important to follow a suitable methodology. It is a tool that helps you to accomplish your project step by step, from planning to implementation, for efficiency and profitability.
There are a multitude of project management methodologies, and making the right choice is not always easy because there is no single methodology for a project, company or industry. One methodology will work in one situation, but not in another, and sometimes it will combine different elements of several methodologies to create your own.
Your decision must take into account many parameters: the type of project, its characteristics and constraints, but also the context, the experience of the team and the corporate culture.
Advantages of a Project Management Methodology
A methodology is therefore like a geographical map or a construction plan. It provides you with a framework and specific instructions to effectively manage your team and increase the chances of success of your project.
It is essential to determine what methodology you will follow before launching your project. So you and your team will save time by starting to work directly rather than think about how to effectively accomplish the different tasks.
A project management methodology offers many benefits. She allows to:
- Find the best way to plan and execute your projects;
- Improve decision-making as the roles of each are clearly defined;
- Saving time and money because it is reusable for other projects;
- Manage the scope of the project;
- Meet customer’s exact expectations and needs;
- Better solve problems through the implementation of risk management;
- Controlling project expenditures;
- Quickly identify problem projects;
- Have a motivated, efficient and autonomous team.
A good project management methodology must be easy to use and understand, scalable, customizable, measurable and perfectible to ensure the achievement of expected results.
How to Choose the Project Management Methodology
To choose the right project management methodology, you have to ask yourself the right questions.
- What is the Ultimate goal of the Project?
You need to visualize the project as a whole: size and cost, final objectives, skills and tools needed, context, constraints, potential risks, core values, customer requirements, etc.
- How Complex is the Project?
If your project is long, complex and needs to be divided into sub-projects, you can follow the agile method. This method allows you to split the project into mini projects that must be validated by the client to proceed to the next step. It allows a greater flexibility and a better reactivity of the project team to the requests of the customer.
The agile method is perfectly adapted when the project is evolutionary and requires frequent modifications. Thus, the customer can validate each step of the project and the final result will exactly meet his needs.
For a simpler project with a single clearly defined final objective, the application of the traditional method (called cascade or waterfall in English) will be quite appropriate. This methodology is a logical, step-by-step approach that aims to create the best possible final product. When the vision of the final product is precise, the customer knows exactly what he wants, without risk of evolution or modification, the traditional methodology is the most appropriate.
- What Methodology was used in Previous Projects?
Do not hesitate to consult the archives and to refer to the projects previously carried out. Analyze the method used and the results obtained (failures and successes). Determine if this same method can be applied to your project.
- What is the level of Client Involvement in the Project?
There are two types of customer involvement:
The customer who gives you the specifications at start-up and discovers the project completed on delivery. It does not intervene or very little in the process;
The client who wishes to follow the evolution of his project and validate each step of the realization, then it intervenes throughout the process and does not hesitate to communicate its changes and changes according to its needs or the evolution of the market.
You guessed it, in the first case; you will use a cascading method, while in the second you will opt for an agile methodology.
Consider asking your client if he has a preferred method. It is important to consider the client’s wishes in choosing the project management methodology.
- How does your team Work?
Analyze the environment in which your team performs best.
If your employees are more comfortable in a structured and orderly framework that leaves little room for change, a traditional methodology will be perfectly adapted.
On the other hand, if your team is flexible, creative, likes to innovate and works more efficiently in collaboration, the agile method will be the ideal method.
To Conclude
Managing a project without a clear methodology means building a house without a plan and it is difficult to be efficient while respecting deadlines and the budget.
Choosing the right project management methodology is therefore a necessary step to successfully complete your project. Choose a method that values your project goals and your team’s strengths. You can also create a hybrid methodology that assembles elements of different methodologies. Traditional, agile or other, the key is that you and your team find the work method that suits you best.
Hello everyone! This is Richard Daniels, a full-time passionate researcher & blogger. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics. He loves to write about economics, e-commerce, and business-related topics for students to assist them in their studies. That's the sole purpose of Business Study Notes.
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