Managing Projects A Team Based Approach Download
Miina Hunker
Before long, other teams and industries started to adapt those new project management methods to fit their unique needs and concerns. And on and on, with different project management methodologies being repurposed and adapted for different industries and tweaked to fit specific use cases.
Cost and budget: On a scale of $ to $$$, what sort of budget are you working with? Is there room for that to change if necessary, or is it essential that it stays within these predetermined limits?
Ability to take risks: Is this a huge project with a big impact that needs to be carefully managed in order to deliver Very Serious Results? Or is it a smaller-scale project with a bit more room to play around?
The Waterfall method is a traditional approach to project management. In it, tasks and phases are completed in a linear, sequential manner, and each stage of the project must be completed before the next begins.
The concept of agile project management has gone on to spark several specific sub-frameworks and methodologies, such as scrum, kanban, and lean. But what do they all have in common? The key principles of agile project management methodologies are:
In many agile methods, all of the work to be done is added to a backlog that teams can work through in each phase or cycle, with project managers or product owners prioritizing the backlog so teams know what to focus on first.
Kanban is great for giving everyone an immediate visual overview of where each piece of work stands at any given time. (You can use kanban boards for everything from your content marketing process to hiring and recruitment.)
It emphasizes teamwork and collaboration across managers, customers, and developers, with teams self-organizing. It has a defined set of rules that teams should follow, which are based on its five values: simplicity, communication (face to face is preferred), feedback, respect, and courage.
The adaptive project framework (APF) methodology, also known as adaptive project management (APM), is a type of agile project management methodology that was designed with the inevitability of change in mind.
The adaptive project framework knows that, as John Steinbeck might say, even the best-laid projects of mice and men often go awry. So the fundamental attribute of APF is that teams need to be able to adaptively respond to change.
That means that using adaptive project framework methods, teams must try to anticipate the risks and prepare for the unexpected in their project. They need to understand that key components are constantly in flux, and be able to constantly re-evaluate results and decisions with these moving parts in mind.
While this originally referred to reducing physical waste in the manufacturing process, it now refers to other wasteful practices in the project management process. These are known as the 3Ms: muda, mura, and muri.
While the critical path method defines the length of time needed to get each critical activity done from the beginning of the project to the end, it can often be, well, unrealistic when the time comes to actually put it into practice.
The project follows a single product through the entire development process. This process involves multiple phases or a stage-gate process, which can vary from organization to organization, but usually include things like:
As the requirements for a successful new product introduction span a number of departments across an organization, from leadership to product managers to marketing and more, it requires a lot of cross-functional collaboration and communication.
Package enabled reengineering (PER) is a project management methodology that aims to help organizations redesign products or processes with fresh eyes. It focuses on facilitating business transformations quickly and strategically, whether through redesign of processes or realignment of people.
There are a few different flavors available, such as Lean Six Sigma and Agile Sigma, but ultimately Six Sigma is a business methodology that aims to eliminate defects and reduce variation by using its defined methodologies.
The project management methodology that allows some of the phases and tasks to overlap is known as "Agile" or "Agile Project Management." Agile is a flexible and iterative approach to project management that tends to be divided into "Sprints", which are time-boxed periods of work. Within each Sprint, cross-functional teams work on various tasks and features, allowing for a degree of overlap between different project phases.
The project management methodology that typically requires the team to complete the previous phase before the next phase starts is the "Waterfall" methodology. Waterfall is a traditional, linear, and sequential approach to project management. In a Waterfall project, each phase must be completed in its entirety before the next phase can begin.
Project managers use project management methodologies to bring structure and organization to their projects, ensuring consistency, risk management, resource allocation, and quality assurance. These methodologies promote effective communication, change management, and scope control, leading to increased efficiency, client and stakeholder satisfaction, and overall project success. They also foster a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability, allowing project managers to navigate changing requirements and uncertainties effectively.
There are numerous project management methodologies, with dozens of well-known approaches like Waterfall, Agile, Scrum, PRINCE2, Kanban, Lean, and Six Sigma, among others. Custom methodologies are also created by organizations to meet specific needs.
Agile is a broader project management philosophy that emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and customer feedback, while Scrum is a specific Agile framework. Scrum introduces roles (Scrum Master, Product Owner, Development Team), fixed-time sprints, and defined ceremonies (Sprint Planning, Daily Standup, Sprint Review, Sprint Retrospective) to guide project teams. It also includes key artifacts like the Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, and Increment.
Agile methodology is a project management approach that prioritizes cross-functional collaboration and continuous improvement. It divides projects into smaller phases and guides teams through cycles of planning, execution, and evaluation.
Agile project management is a process for managing a project that involves constant collaboration and working in iterations. It works off the basis that a project can be continuously improved upon throughout its life cycle and adapt to changes quickly.
Agile project management is not a singular framework but an umbrella term that includes a wide range of methodologies, including Scrum, Kanban, Extreme Programming (XP), and the Adaptive Project Framework (APF).
Scrum: It is ideal for projects with rapidly changing requirements, using short sprints.
Kanban: It visualizes project progress and is great for tasks requiring steady output.
Lean: It streamlines processes, eliminating waste for customer value.
Extreme Programming (XP): It enhances software quality and responsiveness to customer satisfaction.
Adaptive Project Framework (APF): Works well for projects with unclear details, as it adapts to constantly evolving client needs.
When working with this traditional methodology, teams would follow a strictly linear sequence: requirements gathering, design, build, test, deliver. They are required to complete one phase before moving on to the next one. Changes are difficult to incorporate once a stage is completed and customer interactions are limited. As a result, Waterfall suits projects with fixed guidelines and minimal changes.
By comparison, Agile methodologies are far more fluid in nature. Every Agile framework emphasizes a degree of adaptability, breaking projects into phases and embracing changing requirements. Through iterations and incremental efforts, they incorporate collaboration and customer feedback, leading to continuous improvement.
With an iterative and adaptive approach, the aim is to produce the highest-quality software product that puts the customer at the heart of the process. By prioritizing flexibility, Agile teams can quickly react to changes, deliver products faster, and thrive in a collaborative environment.
One of the most compelling reasons to adopt the Agile approach in software development is the dynamic workflows and work systems that contribute to a better end product. By listening to customer feedback and carrying out several iterations and rounds of software testing, you can iron out any kinks along the way and build the best possible software.
By bringing together designers, marketers, writers and colleagues from other departments, you can build a cross-functional team ready to tackle marketing campaigns. Using sprints and a task backlog, you can identify the highest-priority tasks and streamline the execution.
Agile methodologies lend themselves well to event planning, as each part of the event can be broken down into a sprint, and daily standups or Kanban boards can help you maintain a clear strategic direction at all times.
Generally, to get the best out of any of the Agile methodologies for non-software projects, you should always aim to keep the customer in mind. Just as Agile software development must factor in the end user, non-software use cases benefit from a customer-focused approach.
You might also draw up a product backlog during the planning phase, which is most common in software development projects. The product backlog allows you to assign a priority level to your tasks so everyone on the team knows what they should focus on.
Depending on the level of their involvement, your project stakeholders may then want to be kept in the loop throughout the process or at least receive regular updates. Creating feedback loops eases any uncertainty on the stakeholder end and allows you to stay open to change should it be necessary at any stage of the process.
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