Small scale projects are easy to execute manually. Tough using a suitable project management method you can manage the project in a more organized manner and in time.
If it’s about a large scale project that is going to be developed in phases, then it is very essential to execute it efficiently. Here you need to follow the right project management methodology that helps streamline the project development, organize the project in a structure, and make the collaboration more efficient across the teams.
With the right project management method, you can plan who does what and when. It’s about dividing the work, sharing the responsibility, and making the project development effective in order to deliver a quality project on the promised time.
Project Management Institute (PMI) has defined Project management methodologies as a system of techniques, practices, rules, and processes that help teams and project managers to work in a discipline.
While selecting a project management method make sure it matches your strategy as each methodology has its own way of managing the projects. So choose smartly and wisely.
Let’s delve into the most popular ten project management methods that add value to your step by step project execution.
Top 5 Project Management Methodologies You Should Consider in 2021
#1. Agile
Agile is the highly trending and widely adopted project management method that allows project managers and teams to adapt to ongoing iterations, and changing situations. It is a set of processes that allow for incremental and iterative work sequences for software development. Agile manifesto enables IT organizations with different values.
- Focusing more on interactions and individuals over tools and processes
- Considering customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Instead of following the plan, it responds to the changes
- Rather than comprehensive documentation, it prefers software development
It is the best suit for the projects that are having a high level of uncertainty or complexity and required a great level of flexibility. The methodology has other methods within itself that are known as Scrum and Kanban.
#2. Scrum
As mentioned above, Scrum is a part of the Agile methodology. It has its own set of processes for effective project management. It allows developers to build the project with the values of commitment, focus, openness, respect, and courage.
The method makes the project managers and teams compatible to develop, deliver and sustain the complex project with accountability, iterative progress, and collaboration. Scrum requires the active participation of three parties that include stakeholders, development teams, and scrum master.
Scrum involves a five step process: sprint creation, sprint planning, daily scrum, sprint review, and sprint retrospective. Moreover, the methodology contains two different artifacts.
Backlog – where stakeholders can list down tier requirements in order of priority
Sprint Backlog – where the development team can list down the tasks that they need to complete during the next sprint.
#3. Kanban
Technically, Kanban methodology is a part of Agile. It provides allows the project management team to manage time, budget, and project scope to ensure successful and on-time delivery of the project.
The method uses a board view to visualize map team progress on assigned tasks. Project managers can assign the tasks and create a backlog for the team members. They can also track the progress of each task. Six best practices of Kanban allow the project management team to manage the entire project seamlessly those are
- Work visualization
- Limit the tasks listed in Work in Progress (WIP)
- Workflow management
- Implement feedback loops
- Experimental or collaborative evolution
- Make policies explicit
Kanban helps improve operational inefficiencies and produce high-quality results by providing a workflow process. It allows project managers to identify the bottlenecks in the software development process and resolve them on an urgent basis.
#4. Lean
Lean methodology is popular for delivering the next level of operational efficiency. It works on the concept of doing more with less. The methodology identifies the value in the project and then maximizes it through continuous improvement by eliminating the wastage and optimizing the flow of value.
To allow developers to do more with less, Lean addresses the three dysfunctions that create waste. These functions are known as Muda, Mura, and Muri.
Muda removes the rounds of revisions in software development and eliminates any process or practice that does not add value to the customers.
Mura standardizes the various processes by removing the variances in them.
Muri removes the overload in project management and optimizes the capability of working. It helps project managers to stop imposing the unnecessary stress on the employees due to poor work organization, using inefficient tools, and unclear ways of working.
#5. Waterfall
Rather than a method, it is more like a Software Development Life Cycle. Waterfall values solid planning and doing it once doing it right. It is quite opposite than Agile, the incremental and interactive project management method. It’s a linear and sequential model where each piece of the project builds on the next.
Project managers are the in-charge of the project and responsible to plan the project development roadmap extensively and execute the project in a strict sequence based on the gathered requirements. Waterfall projects are delivered in a single and very long cycle.
In the waterfall method, all the requirements have to be defined at the beginning of the project. Each phase must be completed before moving towards the next phase. Project managers have to be sure there is no overlapping in these phases.
The entire project flows in a sequence. Once the requirement gathers the team moves to the design phase. Once the software design is ready, then the team will start writing the code. After the completion of the development part, the QA team applies different testing to the software. The passed test scenarios get implemented and rest of the scenarios need to send to the design phase.
For failed scenarios, the development team has to repeat all phases start from design, development, testing, and implementation.
How to Choose the Right Project Management Methodology for Your Project?
It is quite difficult to decide which project management methodology proves to be highly efficient for you in one go. You need to define requirements and analyze which method can address it effectively. Sometimes, you can pick any one of the methods described above while other times you need to go with the hybrid approach by combining any two or three methodologies.
Consult an experienced web and mobile app development company that can guide you which methodology is the best fit for your project needs and ensures the successful execution of your project.
