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Understanding the 7 Methodologies in Project Management

Project management is the act of leading a team to achieve target goals within a particular timeframe. The professionals who manage projects are known as project managers.

Project management methodologies are necessary for many fields, such as education, healthcare, business governance and so on.

The technique offers a methodical way to complete activities and achieve desired goals on time. In a nutshell, it has its methodologies, rules, and best practices.

For proper project governance, the following aspects are involved;

• Cost
• Integration
• Time
• Quality
• Scope
• Procurement
• Human resources.
• Communication
• Risk management.
• Stakeholder management

All the above components are important in ensuring a complete project process.

Why Project Management Matters

The following are critical roles of project management methodologies in the project process;

1. Enforcing teamwork and communication. The flow of communication is essential in project success as it contributes to the team’s organization and self-regulation.

2. Organizing a work environment. Without set protocols on how to run a project, a team can easily lose focus. Project management methods offer specific ways to make teams work efficiently.

3. Scheduling and planning for the future. Resource allocation, schedules, roadmaps, and other planning activities ensure project delivery within the agreed time and prevent cost overruns.

4. Managing change. Project management tries to identify changes and adjust project course accordingly to make a project a success.

5. Handling risks. One of the project management principles is to assess dangers and work to manage them.

6. Quality Control. Project management methodologies focus on customer satisfaction by achieving goals within the stipulated time and ensuring proper resource management.

7. Learning from failure. One of the strengths of project management is learning from past bad experiences, and working on the mistakes to improve future performance.

The following are the crucial requirement for the successful delivery of a project:

• Time, the total duration of the project, from start to end.
• Cost, the total amount of money allocated to accomplish the project work.
• Scope, this describes how the project should be done and giving guidelines on how to perform the project for a desirable end product.
• Quality, a requirement for the project outcome.

 Project Management Methodologies

A methodology is a system of practices, techniques, procedures, and rules used by those who work in a discipline.

The following are some of common project management methods:

1. Agile 

Agile is a set of principles, applicable mostly for software development. It focuses on collaboration, self-management of teams, and iterative delivery of solutions.

Agile is made up of values and a few key principles.

Values:

• The value of individual interaction over processes and tools.
• Agile principles value customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
• Respond to change over following a plan.

Principles:

• Self-organizing teams encourage great architectures, requirements, and designs.
• Agile processes to support a consistent development pace.
• Enable face to face interactions.
• Support, trust, and motivate the people involved.
• Collaboration between the business stakeholders and developers throughout the project.

            2. Lean

The lean methodology seeks to improve the efficiency of work processes. It is about striving to deliver more value by cutting out everything that is dysfunctional and not essential.

It aims to create more value for the customer by using fewer resources.

           3. Kanban

Kanban is a methodology designed to optimize the work process, divide it into specific steps, increase its efficiency, make it more flexible, and add self-regulation.

           4. Scrum ban

Scrum ban is a methodology that combines Scrum and Kanban approaches. It mixes Kanban’s flexibility and Scrum’s structure to achieve a clear and efficient work process.

             5.  Customer-centric Extreme programming

It focuses on teamwork and collaboration and prescribes mandatory technical practices to achieve the best result in the shortest terms.

              6. The waterfall methodology

This is probably one of the most common project management methodologies.

Waterfall methodology implies planning a project before any works start and then executing work through defined project phases.

Projects in Controlled Environments is a process-oriented methodology that suggests a thorough and controlled approach to project management.

It divides projects into multiple steps, each one with its methods and procedures. This leaves nothing to chance and makes project progress predictable.

               7. Scrum

Scrum is almost similar to the Agile approach, and it suggests ways to improve project delivery. It implies defining a set of roles and responsibilities within the team.

Scrum is targeted to small and cross-functional teams and includes procedures that ensure self-organization and process optimization: daily meetings, sprints, and retrospectives.

Selecting the right methodology is not the most important thing. Focusing on the right problem is an important factor in a project since the project’s key element in solving a particular problem.

 Skills Requirements of a Project Manager

All professions require skills. Project management is a tactical field; both theoretical skills and experience are necessary to be a successful manager.

The following are some of the essential skill needed to be a manager;

 Subject expertise

The past old saying that a project manager only needs to know how to manage is now a thing of the past.

To be a successful manager, one needs to have skills in the field you will lead. Having theoretical literature on management, and some experience will give you confidence in dealing with your clients.

It will also help you find better ways to configure the work process and streamline communication with customers and stakeholders as an expert.

 Planning

Without proper planning skills, it’s barely possible to work as a project manager. It is still important to pay attention to proper planning because it’s the core part of a manager’s job.

In project management, planning applies not only to time but also to resources and budgets. It’s not just knowing what’s next, but also organizing work in the right order, setting reasonable deadlines, and staying on track.

 Time management

Time is one of the most needed resources in a project, and must be spent wisely. Prioritizing work and optimizing schedules is the manager’s responsibility.

Having exact data at hand allows us to eliminate time-wasting activities, reduce distractions and multitasking to a minimum. It allows us revise work distribution on the team if necessary.

Leadership

Being a leader is not about just inspiring and giving instructions.

It’s about translating the company’s vision to the team, setting long- and short-term goals, motivating people, preventing and solving conflicts, and improving the team’s performance.

 Communication

To be a successful manager, one must hone their communication skills. Communicating means understanding and being understood, which is the key to meeting requirements and expectations.

For a project manager, communicating with team members, stakeholders, and customers is an essential part of the job.

Project management requires agility, swift reaction, and self-control. The following are some of the skillsets you need to run projects smoothly;

Learn theoretical knowledge on:

• Project management Methodologies
• Approaches
• Recommended procedures
• Best approaches.

Develop practical skills in:

• Management;
• Planning;
• Risk time management;
• Change management;
• Team management and leadership.

Acquire the necessary personality traits such as:

• Ability to communicate with others comfortably and efficiently;
• Ability to work under pressure;
• Ability to perform multiple roles.

Getting the necessary certification is an important prerequisite for starting your career in project management.

You can get your certificate by getting a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

 The Importance of Project Management

The fundamentals of managing a project from start to finish require a team of individuals with different talents and skills.

Those people are responsible for planning and executing the project objectives, which takes more than just labor and materials. Each project follows a Project Life Cycle.

A sound project plan can mean the difference between success and failure.

The following are some of the main pros of project management:

1. Projects are naturally chaotic. The primary business function of project management is organizing and planning projects to tame this chaos. A clear path mapped out from start to finish ensures the outcome meets the goals of your project.
2. A project brings people together to share ideas and provide inspiration. Collaboration is the cornerstone of effective project planning and management.
3. Resources, whether financial or human, are expensive. By enforcing project management disciplines such as project tracking and risk management, all funds are used efficiently and economically.
4. Some projects can cost a significant amount of money, so on-budget performance is essential. Using project management methodologies greatly reduces the risk of budget overruns.
5. Projects happen in an environment prone to changes. Managing change is a complex and daunting task. It is not optional. Project management methods are developed with change in mind.
6. Projects do fail. When they do, it is important to learn from the process. Project management ensures that lessons are learned from project success and failure.

Final Words

Managers must choose a method depending on the project at hand. Using the right project management methodologies can also ensure you achieve the best results in your endeavors.6+