Project Management Methodology for Organisation A

Discuss About The Particular Organization Responds Challenges.

A business needs to be innovative and creative in order to survive in a long run. With the increase in competition, the survivability of an organization largely depends on the process by which the particular organization responds to the challenges. One of the possible solutions to these problems is to adopt proper project management methodology as it helps the organization in better planning, organizing, managing and controlling the work (Parker et al. 2013). A good project management methodology helps an organization in better planning, organizing and controlling all the project based tasks, which in turn helps in improving the performance and the productivity of the organization (Harrison and Lock 2017). The choice of project management methodology may vary from organizations to organizations. The project management methodology can be defined as a set of rules or standard that can be used to properly manage a project. A well planned project and its structured implementation is expected to reduce or eliminate the various risks associated with a project thus helping an organization in developing an error free product. Project methodology can therefore be considered as a systematic, structural and theoretical analysis of the different project processes and the project methods that are associated with an organization. The essay discusses the various management problems that three chosen organizations are facing and recommendation of an appropriate project management methodology for each of the three organizations. The choice of a project management methodology mainly depends on the problems that the organization is facing. Since the issues in those three organizations are different, the choice of project management methodology will differ as well (Kerzner and Kerzner 2017). The use of proper project management methodology further helps in proper decision making and since the project is implemented in a structured approach there are less chances of schedule or budget risk. The choice of project management methodologies in organization A, B and C are discussed in the following paragraphs.

Organization A is a manufacturing company that manufactures high tech, high volume memory chips. It is a large organization with 2100 employees and the organization is aiming to develop markets in North and South America. The company wants to expand its manufacturing operations particularly in Brazil. The company will be setting up a sales and marketing division and then will be establishing a low cost and high tech manufacturing plant. For a speedy implementation of the project, the staffs of the company will be on secondment for 6 to 12 months. One of the main criteria of implementation of the project is its speedy implementation. Therefore, the choice of the project management methodology should be such that the project is implemented within the scheduled time and there is no chance of scope creep in the project. Furthermore, the project is to be implemented in low cost and therefore, the project is to be completed within the set project budget.

Project Management Methodology for Organisation B

The choice of project management methodology for organization A can be selected from Project Management Body Of Knowledge (PMBOK) and Project in controlled environment (PRINCE2) project methodology. The PMBOK project methodology is developed by the project management institute and the PRINCE2 is developed by the office of government commerce in UK. In PRINCE2 project methodology the phases are long as each phase is implemented in a controlled environment. This increases the cost of implementation of the project as well. Therefore, it cannot be used in the projects of organization A. Therefore, PMBOK is chosen as the recommended approach of project management methodology in organization A.

The choice of the project management methodology is a management level activity as the decision business expansion was taken by the management. However, in the decision making process, the project manger must be involved. This is essential as the project manager generally has the knowledge about the different process and tasks associated with a particular project. The project manager will therefore help the management in making the choice of a particular project management methodology.

The project management body of knowledge or PMBOK is widely used across the globe and therefore it is expected that the local project team will have a proper knowledge about the methodology (Deshpande, Beecham and Richardson 2013). The project management body of knowledge manages a particular project by dividing a project into five phases. This helps in easier management of the different phases of the project, which are project initiation, project planning, execution, control and project closing (refer to appendix 1). It is an advanced project management methodology, and is capable of managing the high technology projects. One of the major limitations of this project management methodology is the scope of the project should remain unchanged throughout the project implementation phase. The PMBOK project management approach should be implemented entirely on the project since any delay in the project is not acceptable. The implementation plan for implementing the project with project management body of knowledge is as follows-

• In the initiation phase of the project, all the requirements of the project are gathered and the project plan is made that will be followed throughout the project implementation phase (Obrutsky 2015). In project management body of knowledge project methodology, the project scope should remain unchanged and therefore, the initiation phase is very important.
• In the planning phase of the project, the project plan and the project implementation plan is prepared. The cost and the schedule estimation of the project are also done in this phase.
• In the execution phase of the project, the project is implemented under the proper project governance. This helps in completion of the project within a set project schedule.
• In the closing phase the post implementation work of the projects are done.

These are the major stages of project implementation with the help of project management body of knowledge project methodology. Certain assumptions are made while choosing the PMBOK project management approach for implementation of the project in organization A.  It is assumed that the employees and the team members are accustomed and experienced with the project management body of knowledge. It is further assumed that the local team that will be set up has a proper knowledge about the project management body of knowledge or proper training will be provided to the team members. Since in the projects that are implemented with project management body of knowledge no change in scope is permitted, it is assumed that the scope of this project is clear. The scope and the project requirements are gathered at the beginning of the project and therefore, there is very less chances of change in project scope.

Project Management Methodology for Organisation C

Although the PMBOK project management approach is recommended for the project implementation in organization A, there are a number of issues associated with the use of PMBOK in project implementation. The project management body of knowledge is more of a project guide than a project methodology and therefore, proper knowledge about the 10 process groups of PMBOK is essential in implementation of the project. Prior knowledge about the project management approach is therefore necessary in order to properly implement a project with the help of PMBOK project management approach (Rose 2013).

There are a number of benefits of implementing a project with PMBOK project methodology. The project can be completed within a set schedule and set budget of the project. The project management body of knowledge is a plan driven approach and therefore there are less chances of project delay (Remington and Pollack 2016). The planned approach of project implementation further helps in implementing the project within the set budget. Therefore, the project management body of knowledge is the recommended approach of project implementation in organization A.

The Organization B is mainly working on the European government infrastructure projects. It is a small construction company with 300 employees. The main aim of organization A is to increase the number of infrastructure project undertaken by the company in Europe. However, the company director of the organization is concerned with the increase in project risks. Therefore a particular project methodology is to be chosen that will reduce the risks of implementation of the project. Since the aim of the organization is to increase the number of projects undertaken by the organization, it is necessary to manage the project risks. The suggested project methodology for the organization is PRINCE2 project methodology. This is this project methodology has a separate phases of risk management. Projects with the help of PRINCE2 are implemented in a controlled environment and the risk management is done at the beginning of the project. Furthermore, since the project is implemented in a controlled environment, there are very less chances of occurrence of risks in a project.

The choice of the project management methodology for organization B is a management level activity as the company director is involved in taking the decision. Along with the company director, it is essential for the project and the program manager to be involved in the decision of choosing a proper project management methodology for Organisation B along with the director of the company. Since the risks are associated with the present and the future projects undertaken by the organization, it is recommended that this project management methodology is implemented entirely on the projects. In PRINCE2 project methodology, the project risks are accesses by the likelihood of occurrences and the severity of the impact of the risk on that project (Lianying, Jing and Xinxing 2012). In PRINCE2 the risk management process is a set of five steps that identifies and mitigates the risks associated with a project. These steps include identification of the risk, accessing the risk, planning the risk mitigation approach and implementation or mitigation of the risks (refer to appendix 2). The implementation plan for risk assessment using PRINCE2 project methodology is as follows-

• The Risk assessment is to be performed at the beginning of the project.
• It is at first necessary to identify the risks associated with the project.
• After identification of the risks, the likelihood of occurrences of the risk and the severity of the risk is accessed
• In the next step, the risk mitigation approaches are identified and implemented.

Conclusion

The risk mitigation process is documented as it will be followed throughput the project implementation phase so that the risks that are mitigated in the initial stage of the project does appear in the implementation phase. Furthermore, the entire project is divided in a number of controllable phases so that the project can be implemented without any risks. PRINCE2 is a structured project management approach and is widely recognised and used in the private sector both in UK and internationally.

The suggestion of the PRINCE2 project management approach is mainly based on a number of assumptions. It is assumed that all the project team members have a proper knowledge about the PRINCE2 project management methodology. It is further essential to have a few experienced team members on board who have a proper knowledge about the risk mitigation process of PRINCE2 (Bentley 2012). Therefore, it is assumed that the project team has certain experienced team members who will guide the project team in proper risk mitigation. It is further assumed that the PRINCE2 project methodology is appropriate for the infrastructure projects undertaken by the organization B. This project methodology is chosen as PRINCE2 checks the viability of a particular stage before moving on to the next stage (Rose 2013). This makes the process of risk identification and risk mitigation easier.

There are a number of issues associated with the use of PRINCE2 project methodology. Since each phase of the project is implemented in a controlled environment, the duration of the phases increases, which in turn can result in delay in project implementation. Furthermore, the employees of the organization should have a proper knowledge about the PRINCE2 project methodology. These issues can be mitigated by proper project plan.

There are a number of benefits of using PRINCE2 project methodology. This is because, the underlying project problems can be easily identified and the project risks can be mitigated. The organization C needs a project management approach that will manage the financial risks associated with the project. Since the project will be implemented in a controlled environment, it is expected that the quality of the project will improve as well. With the use of PRINCE2 project management approach, the organization can not only mitigate the risks associated with the project but also develops a chance for getting more projects in future. Therefore, it is recommended that the Company director undertake the PRINCE2 project methodology for the current and the future project in the organization.

References

The Organization C is a well established and mature organization which was established 11 years ago. It is a medium sized organization with 800 employees and operating in Australia. It has a successful business model that is looking to improve and enhance the project delivery capabilities (Akpolat 2017). This organization provides financial services to the different areas such as taxation, financial planning, fund management and the retirement planning. The team members of the organization remain highly motivated and are always looking for new ideas for improving the status in the organization. The employees are trained to operate with a mindset of continuous improvement. The company therefore is in a need of a project management approach that will improve the products that are developed by the organization. The team members furthermore want to improve the product performance and therefore, a project management methodology is to be chosen that will improve the performance of the project.

The choice of the project management approach is a management level activity as it is a well established organization and it is the decision of the organization to undertake a project management approach that will improve the performance and quality of the projects undertaken by the organization. The project team members should be involved in this decision as they have a proper knowledge about the different projects of the organization (Manville et al. 2012). In order to improve the performance of the projects undertaken by the organization, the Six Sigma project methodology is recommended (Antony, Gijo and Childe 2012). The projects will be implemented entirely on the project. The Six Sigma project methodology was developed by the Motorola Company in order to maintain the original specification of their products. The Six Sigma project methodology is based on quality control and therefore it is capable of improving the projects undertaken by the organization C. There are mainly four processes of Sig Sigma (refer to appendix 3). In six sigma project management methodology, the demands of the customers are identified and measured with the help of appropriate metrics (Pyzdek and Keller 2014). Followed by that, the needs of the customers and the product to be developed are analysed in order to improve the project.

While suggesting the six sigma project methodology, certain assumptions are made. It is assumed that the projects of organization are not subjected to any major risk as this methodology will be used only in project improvement (Drohomeretski et al. 2014). It is further assumed that the team members have a proper knowledge about the Six Sigma methodology, which will make the process of implementation of project quite easier (Kaushik et al. 2012).

There are a number of issues associated with the use of Six Sigma project methodology. The six sigma project methodology lacks leadership commitment in the project and therefore its improper execution can delay the project execution process (Pamfilie et al. 2012). The use of this project methodology is a time consuming task and the improvement in the project will take time. These challenges can be mitigated by researching about this methodology (Evans and Lindsay 2014).

The benefit of implementing a six sigma project methodology is that it helps in better management of the project in order to improve the project performance (Hilton and Sohal 2012). Therefore it is a recommended approach for organization C.

Conclusion

The essay gives an overview of the problems associated with three organizations in order to suggest proper project methodologies for each organization. The choice of the project management methodology is mainly based on the needs and requirements of the organization. Since organization A is in need of a project management approach that will help in speedy implementation for the project, the PMBOK project management methodology is proposed. The organization B was in need of a project management methodology that will address the risks associated with a project and therefore PRINCE2 project methodology is proposed. The organization C was in need of a proper project management methodology that will improve the project performance and therefore Sig Sigma project management methodology is proposed.

References

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