By Jason Roys
There are many types of project management: Which is best for you?
Project management comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. You might want to use one that follows a strict timeline, or you might want one that allows some “give” in its march to completion. To choose the best one for your business, and for a given project, you need to know about the different project management methods. Then you can consider a project’s specific objectives, its complexity, the size of your team, and the environment it will be working in. Weighing all those factors, you can find a project management process that suits your needs.
What is project management?
Before we talk about project management methods, let’s be clear about what a project is. A project is a short-term task to create a product or service. It’s most likely part of an ongoing, larger effort, typically called a program. Project success criteria include the timing (has the project has been brought in on time?), the budget (both resources and finances), the performance of the project team doing the work, and the quality of the submitted work (is the client happy?).
In this article, we will look at some of the different types of project management and the ways they can help boost performance and productivity. The most obvious way is that wading into a project with no plan is likely to generate costly missteps – including working through the entire project only to have it rejected by the client.
As you look for the methodology that will work best for your project, you’ll want to consider its sophistication, the amount of flexibility that it offers (regarding both the scope of the project and the finished product), and how much you expect your client or stakeholder to be involved throughout the project.
There are, at root, two strands of project management: those that are plan-driven and those that are adaptive. Plan-driven (or predictive) project management offers a linear development plan with a specific result to be achieved within a set timeline. Adaptive project management, on the other hand, breaks a project into smaller project components to be achieved over an indeterminate timeframe. We’ll begin with some of the more plan-driven methodologies.
Plan-driven project management
Plan-driven, or predictive, project management defines the scope of the project from its very inception. This method works best in an environment in which there is a set timeline and a specific delivery date. It provides predictability and control. Businesses often use it for smaller projects – those with a clear definition, few variables, and a limited scope. It works well on projects that have been done before and will present no surprises.
There are some big names in the plan-driven camp, including: Waterfall, PMBOK, PRINCE2, the Critical Path Method (CPM), Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM), and Six Sigma.
Waterfall
In the Waterfall methodology, each phase is completed before the next one begins. Things are done sequentially, with no overlap among these phases:
Analysis
Design
Implementation
Testing
Deployment
Maintenance
When the project management process is working well, the workflow cascades from top to bottom, just like with an actual waterfall. But things can go awry if one step goes uncompleted (or is badly completed). Just as with a real waterfall, there’s no swimming back up. The Waterfall method is most often used for short, team projects that have very specific standards. It’s a popular choice for military and government projects.
In this project management methodology, the project is completely planned out before the work starts – so that team members can be aware of their specific responsibilities. However, the client can be at a disadvantage, unable to see the project during its creation, and therefore unable to request modifications or revisions as the project is being developed.
While some dismiss the Waterfall method as “old school,” its well-documented and clear approach can be an asset to many projects. It boosts the performance and productivity of team members because they know what to expect, when to expect it and what their roles are.
PMI PMBOK
The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), developed by The Project Management Institute (PMI), is an approach to project management that is under constant refinement. Rather than being an actual methodology, it serves as more of a guide to best practices and best policies. The Project Management Institute is a nonprofit professional organization for project management based in Newton Square, PA, near Philadelphia. It developed PMBOK as a standard for the project management industry to give users a set of guiding principles for their projects. In fact, its conventions form the basis of PMI’s Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
The PMBOK method encompasses these five steps:
Initiating
Planning
Executing
Monitoring and controlling
Closing
PMBOK urges a complete review of every aspect of a project’s management. PMBOK’s best practices can serve as a strong foundation, when used in tandem with another project management method, to assure compliance with conventions and with governance.
PRINCE2
PRINCE2, the Projects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2) methodology, is extremely structured and process oriented. The project manager plans each phase at first, offering specific requirements and guidelines, and then includes the input of various team members who perform project tasks on large efforts that have been broken into smaller parts.
The focus of PRINCE2 is on these four components:
Principles
Themes
Processes
Tailoring
This project management methodology is ideal for larger projects with a strong project manager who will set the path for the team members.
PRINCE2 is considered a full-stack Waterfall project management method, since it divides each project into several different stages. Each stage has its own plans and processes, inputs and outputs for team members to complete. Like PMBOK, PRINCE2 provides a common vocabulary that is used by each of the smaller processes in completion of the project.
Critical Path Method (CPM)
The Critical Path Method, sometimes known as Critical Path Analysis, offers a way to categorize each task that makes up a project and to keep track of their dependencies. The critical path is the longest sequence of activities that must be done on time to finish the project. CPM targets milestones to be met. Upon one milestone’s completion, the path arrives at the next milestone and completes it.
When using CPM, managers will:
Specify each activity
Identify the dependencies, which tasks depend on others
Create the critical path diagram
Estimate the completion time of each project activity
Identify the critical path
Update the critical path as the project progresses
The timing of the tasks is vital, so the project is divided into three categories: The tasks that will be completed first, tasks that can be complete together, and tasks that will be completed last. This allows the project to be done as quickly and efficiently as possible.
CPM offers a method of prioritization, using shared charts, so that each team understands exactly what it is working on and how long that work should take.
Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM)
Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) moves a bit further down the CPM path. CPM is designed to deal with uncertainties by specifying the length of time needed to complete each critical task, from the start to the end of the project, even as it offers a bit of “wiggle room” by considering the human elements of the project (things like resourcing issues or delays), and by building in extra time to cover the eventualities that will inevitably occur.
CCPM places its focus on resources and on conservation. Project managers create objectives and then carefully choose their team members and resources, operating within a specified budget. The goal of CCPM is to increase throughput, the flow of projects throughout the organization. It is thought to be best for teams that are only working on one specific project at a given moment.
Its proponents say that by better accounting for uncertainties that can cause delays, CCPM shortens delivery time without adding resources; improves delivery reliability; gives clear early-warning signs of trouble; and enables better responses to problems.
Six Sigma
Six Sigma is designed to maximize quality and efficiency by reducing waste and error. Six Sigma actually offers two methods: DMAIC is used to improve business practices, while DMADV is used to design new business practices.
The steps that make up the DMAIC acronym are:
Define
Measure
Analyze
Improve
Control
The steps in DMADV are:
Define
Measure
Analyze
Design
Verify
The Six Sigma method works to eliminate waste and defects through a strong focus on both the organization’s financial performance and the reducing of cost because of improved project processes. In fact, Six Sigma is more of a set of techniques and principles than a methodology. It is often used in tandem with other project management methodologies. Because its focus is on data interpretation, organizations that use Six Sigma are often better at evaluating and organizing the data generated within the project.
Adaptive Project Management
Adaptive Project Management is the other overarching category of project methodologies. It can accommodate the surprises that arise during a project. The choice of which methodology to use – plan-driven or adaptive – depends on many variables, some of which are beyond the control of the project manager. But remember: these methodologies are only tools that help to deliver bigger projects. The focus should be on the project – not on the method of bringing it to fruition. Here are descriptions of some of the adaptive methodologies.
Agile
Agile is a commonly used approach, one that offers project managers that chance to segment the project and to complete each segment before moving on to another. It stresses the values and principles to be used in completing the project. Agile’s chosen values are prioritized in this way:
Individuals and interactions weigh more than processes and tools.
Working software is more critical than comprehensive documentation.
Customer collaboration is more important than contract negotiation.
Responding to change weighs more than following a plan.
The Agile methodology grew from users’ lack of satisfaction with the linear approaches. Plan-driven approaches simply couldn’t adapt to changes along the way, and users had to wait until they got to the end of the project to amend it. Agile aims to include the team’s input, as well as the customer’s, while the project is being created. That allows users to explore a project’s feasibility as the project is in development, and to adapt quickly, based on feedback from the team or the customer. The work that is yet to be completed is listed in a backlog, and project managers can continually reprioritize the list.
Agile projects are considered, developed, and adapted to meet the needs of the current situation, rather than in a pre-planned process. This helps teams and project managers respond to unpredictability. The term “Agile” has emerged as a kind of umbrella term for several different methodologies, including: Scrum, eXtreme Programming (XP), Kanban, and Scrumban.
Scrum
Scrum is more of a framework than an actual project management methodology. The Scrum framework enables small, cross-functional teams to deliver quickly by dividing the workload into a series of short cycles – sprints – which can usually be completed in a week or two. The work itself is drawn from a backlog. Teams are small and team members are led by a Scrum Master (not the same person as the project manager) as they complete their sprint. Afterward, the work is reviewed in a sprint retrospective and any necessary changes are made before the next sprint is begun.
Scrum emphasizes that decisions should be made collaboratively in teams, with consistent feedback offered to the parties involved all throughout the process.
Kanban
The Kanban methodology keeps its focus on visualization and on project efficiency. Users have a Kanban board that lists the columns of work through which the teams progress. Work to be completed is pulled from the backlog, and each column represents a phase in the project: To Do, In Progress, or Done. This visual representation generally allows for easier prediction of timelines.
Kanban’s focus is flexible; is low on process; doesn’t consider prescribed roles; and works to continually improve the process by focusing the team.
Kanban’s visual display allows teams to see what’s coming up, so they can prioritize, determine any bottlenecks, and keep tasks from stalling the process. It also allows them to predict the impact of a new task on ongoing work, to assure a successful project.
Scrumban
Scrumban, as its name suggests, is a hybrid that melds the flexibility of Kanban with the structure of Scrum. Instead of working in sprints for a set time, Scrumban offers planning-on-demand to complete the backlog; teams set to tasks as they can. Like Scrum, there’s a daily review, but without the constricted timing that a sprint demands. Scrumban is, basically, Scrum with more flexibility. Or perhaps it’s Kanban with collaboration meetings. Using Kanban’s work-in-progress limits during Scrum’s cycle, Scrumban offers a continuous flow to the work that incorporates reviews and retrospectives, when needed.
Lean
Lean project management is simple: do more with less. It represents a refinement of manufacturing principles developed by the Toyota Production System in the mid-20th century. Its aims are efficiency and maximizing value while minimizing waste by focusing on the 3Ms:
Muda (or wastefulness) – the elimination of waste by removing any procedure that doesn’t provide value.
Mura (or unevenness) – the elimination of excess variables so that the workload can be balanced.
Muri (or overburdening) – the elimination of excess workloads so that employees won’t get burned out.
But, while the Lean methodology improves efficiency and reduces costs (because unnecessary processes and procedures are eliminated), it doesn’t really allow for mistakes.
Lean helps organizations shift their focus from separate technologies and the use of vertical departments to optimize a new flow, horizontally, throughout their technologies, assets, and departments, directly to their consumers.
Adaptive Project Framework (APF)
The Adaptive Project Framework (APF) is often called Adaptive Project Management (APM). It works to accommodate unknowns – those factors that can suddenly pop up during a project. It allows teams to “learn by doing” as team members incorporate a more flexible mindset into their project work. APF can best be described by its five phases:
Develop the project scope and the conditions of satisfaction (CoS).
Plan the cycle, establishing dependencies and assigning work.
Build the cycle, monitoring and adjusting, recording and tracking any problems.
Check with the client and schedule any adjustments or course corrections needed.
Review to evaluate the project’s success and to define any needed improvements for the future.
APF allows for adaptability. As in more traditional project management methodologies, the scoping and planning phases outline the work to be done – but the APF’s adaptability allows collaboration with project stakeholders at all levels during the project’s evolution, rather than just at the completion of the project.
eXtreme Programming Methodology (XP)
eXtreme Programming (XP) is agile project management specifically designed for software development. Its teams self-organize, and it features collaboration among managers, customers, and developers, based on five specific values:
Communication (preferably face-to-face)
Courage
Feedback
Respect
Simplicity
XP is quick, too. Project completion can take only a few months. The XP methodology makes sure that all team members understand the project’s goals and guidelines as well as the customer’s wishes; this tends to keep teams motivated to succeed.
Successful projects
Regardless of which methodology you choose to help bring your project to fruition, it’s important to bring the decision down to the one standard that won’t change: doing good work that meets your user’s needs and delivers solid value. With so many options to consider and so much at stake, it might help to confer with the project management and program management experts at SDV International.