Overview of Project Management Methodologies

The project management institute defines project management as the use of knowledge and skills together with tools and techniques in performing project activities in order to attain project requirements. The whole process of managing projects involves a series of phases namely initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and finally project closure (Kerzner, 2017). With the growth of the project management field and increase in complexity of projects, project management methodologies were developed. Methodologies in project management are basically guidelines and procedures that guide the processes that are involved in managing projects. The methodologies are tailor made to be applied in different projects and thus should be chosen carefully and modified to best suit the project at hand .The major project management methodologies used in different industries include the Prince2, Agile, Method123, Waterfall, and PMBOK. It was amazing to learn that, the methodologies and procedures have undergone great evolution since their inception so as to be able to meet the ever changing project management environment. Having been following the changes in management of projects in the telecommunication, and construction industries, I noted that methodologies have been changing with time. This paper analyses the importance of methodologies, their impact on stakeholders, and elements of the Prince2 project management methodology in line with the course and my personal experiences.

Organizations have adopted the use of project management methodologies due to the huge benefits that they bring to project management. In the past project managers used simple approaches based on their intuition and experience in management. Recently, I have witnessed the use of the project management systems and methodologies in the construction and telecommunication industries since project managers are interested in ensuring that projects meet the scope, time schedule, and cost that had been originally projected. The methodologies are wisely chosen and modified to meet type of project, organization culture and also aligned to the company strategy. The agile methodology and other methodologies aim at delivering value and making management and control of project activities easier and effective (Kerzner & Kerzner, 2017). The Agile approach is based on the values of enhancing stakeholder interaction, change management, customer collaboration, and working software over too much documentation. The Prince2 approach which is mainly used by the United Kingdom government on the other hand is based on a product- based planning. This resultantly gives project teams more control over the project resources and enables them put in place strategies to mitigate risks more successfully.

Benefits of Project Management Methodologies

Project management methodologies provides a structure that ensures that capacity of the project team is built continuously. Through PM methodologies, the roles of different team members are defined clearly and the chain of command clearly stated to ensure that everyone understands his duty. The team is empowered through trainings in order to boost their proficiency in the current and future projects. The organization also benefits from continuous improvement of deliverables since continuous learning enables the team to be more proficient in handling projects using a similar approach. From my experience with projects, individuals tend to work better and produce better results after repeatedly handling similar projects. When the team organizational structure clearly stipulates the roles of different individuals, conflicts at work are minimized and even if they arise, they are resolved faster using pre-defined conflict resolution procedures such as negotiation, arbitration, and mediation (Too & Weaver, 2014). It is also worth noting that there exist Methodology certifications that project managers can undertake to improve service delivery.  Organizations also benefit from employing people who are skilled in particular PM methodologies used by them.

PM methodologies provide a structure where alerts are automatically and critically generated for timely intervention through performance tracking. They track the schedule, resource optimality, and errors in project management and alert the handlers. The project managers or the project team leaders would then respond effectively and timely to prevent escalation of petty problems to huge hazards. This therefore, reduces the incurrence of costly losses that would render the project unprofitable or make redundant by failing to fulfil its expected objectives. Effective communication is essential to successful project management (Binder, 2016). When stakeholders especially project teams have a structure that enables them to share information timely and efficiently, project objectives are highly likely to be successful.  Through the course, I have also appreciated the importance of efficient management of project risks. Projects are faced with both foreseen and unforeseen risks which the manager should ensure that they are managed holistically. Agile, Prince2, and PM methodologies promote communication and risk management in management of projects.

Summary

It is worth noting that project management methodologies are highly beneficial to organizations that make use of them. It offers consistency in project quality, ensures effective communication between stakeholders, and also provide a way for proper conflict management. From the course and my experience with projects, use of similar methodology overtime boosts practitioners experience thus enhancing project quality.

Impact of Project Management Methodologies on Stakeholders

Evidence

Course materials, secondary sources, and experience.

Stakeholders in project management are those individuals and institutions who are impacted by the project. They include the project team, sponsors, contractors, suppliers and also the client who is the ultimate beneficiary of the project. When project managers make decisions concerning projects, they have to rationally consider the impact of the methodologies on interested parties (Martinelli & Milosevic, 2016). From my practice and learning of Project management, I appreciate that project management methodologies impact the different stakeholders in the project. Some stakeholders such as the project manager, project teams, functional managers are the key implementers if methodology. Prudent managers are always interested in knowing how methodologies affect stakeholders and predict how likely they would react to the change. This is consistent with the concepts of week three portfolio that defined a good project manager as team builder, conflict solver, technically skilled, planner, and a team supporter. It is also in line with week four concepts that the success of a project depends on the actions of all the stakeholders involved in the project.

The use of a common project management methodology such as agile or Prince2 within an organization by the same project team for a number of projects make the team more experienced. This leads to continuous improvement and make subsequent projects better than their predecessors. From the portfolios, clients shall enjoy higher satisfaction due to high quality results derived at a low costs of quality by the experienced team. The project manager as the leader in project management and his team leaders will use little time and resources carrying out inspection because team members can work effectively by their own without much supervision. From experience, I understand that workers can work effectively with little supervision when they had a similar experience before provided they are well motivated through good remuneration and encouragement. Changing methodologies regularly or using a methodology without consulting stakeholders especially the implementers might lead to resistance (Mitra, 2016). I learnt that resistance in project management can come from different stakeholders. Sponsors might cut their funding to frustrate a methodology the are against. The knowledge of change management is therefore important in bringing all stakeholders to support a common goal.  Stakeholders should therefore, be educated on the importance of the change early enough so as to minimize the resistance which negatively affects the project.

Summary

From the concepts presented by the weekly study portfolios and other secondary sources, I appreciated that project management process involves a number if stakeholders such as the project manager, his team, sponsors, suppliers, and end users. The people are impacted by methodologies in some way. The methodologies if imposed on these stakeholders might pose resistance to financing, implementation, and even use.

Elements of the Prince2 Project Management Methodology

Evidence

Course materials, secondary sources, and experience.

Different project management methodologies have basic elements that make them complete, consistent, and effective guidelines for project management. Through studying the course, I noted that organizations select appropriate methodology based on company strategy, project scope, priority, risk profile, cost, and flexibility. The organization should align the methodology with the strategy in order to yield better results. The Prince2 is used mostly by the government of the United Kingdom although also adopted by private companies in the United Kingdom and internationally (Warner, 2014). The methodology focus on business justification, organization structure, flexibility, and applies the product based approach.

The Prince2 approach consists of four major elements namely seven principles, seven themes, seven processes, and finally tailoring the methodology to project environment. The principles are the basis under which the methodology operates. They are universal to all projects and thus independent of culture, or geography (Turley, 2018).  Project managers have supported the principles in practice noting that they are not just theoretical since they can work even in real life in delivering projects. The 7 principles include continued justification, learning lessons from previous experience, clear definition of stakeholder roles, management by phase and exception, product focus, and tailoring the project to methodology to the relevant business environment.

The seven themes on the other hand include the case of business, organization, quality which answer the why, who, and what questions respectively. Plans describe how the project would be carried out, the costs, and finally sets the timelines. The risk theme calls upon project managers to manage possible risks effectively while the change theme enables the project managers to note the changes that arise from the project and implement change management procedures (Schwalbe, 2015). Finally, the progress which defines the current position and future path of the project and thus enabling the manager to plan future activities efficiently. The Prince2 approach defines processes that should be followed in project management just like the PMIBOK approach. The processes include starting up, directing, initiating, controlling, managing the delivery of products, managing the boundaries of different stages, and finally project closure.

Summary

Considering that project methodologies are many and vary, organizations have to choose the appropriate methodology that suits the project at hand. From my study of PPMP 20009, I appreciate the various methodologies that are available. The Prince2 approach is one of the most used approach by governments and private sector. The approach consists of seven elements.

Evidence

Course materials, secondary sources, and experience.

Discussion and Conclusion

Throughout 12 weeks of learning about project management methodologies, I have understood the fundamental knowledge of project management using methodologies. In the first week, I developed a detailed understanding of the project management life cycle processes that include initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and finally project closure. I also learnt about the roles and traits of a project manager in order to successfully manage projects. In the subsequent weeks, I appreciated the need to align project methodology to project objectives and company strategy.  There exist a number of project management methodologies that an organization can choose from depending on project type, its culture, cost among other factors. These methodologies include Prince2, Agile, Prism, waterfall and PMIBOK. They possess elements that define procedures and processes that should be followed while managing projects. Their benefits in project management include consistency, project quality, effective communication, and effective management of change. The course also defined types of projects based on complexity, defined features of complex projects and proposed how to manage such projects.

References

Binder, J. (2016). Global project management: communication, collaboration and management across borders. Routledge.

Kerzner, H. (2017). Project Management Methodologies. Project Management Case Studies, 1-27.

Kerzner, H., & Kerzner, H. R. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Martinelli, R. J., & Milosevic, D. Z. (2016). Project management toolbox: tools and techniques for the practicing project manager. John Wiley & Sons.

Mitra, A. (2016). Fundamentals of quality control and improvement. John Wiley & Sons.

Too, E. G., & Weaver, P. (2014). The management of project management: A conceptual framework for project governance. International Journal of Project Management, 32(8), 1382-1394.

Turley, F. (2018). PRINCE2® Foundation Training Manual. Van Haren.

Schwalbe, K. (2015). Information technology project management. Cengage Learning.

Warner, J. (2014). PRINCE2 60 Success Secrets-60 Most Asked Questions On PRINCE2-What You Need To Know. Emereo Publishing.