Posted by Kim Barnes, PMP, Project Management Lead
Implementing a project management methodology will provide numerous benefits for your organization, including
- higher client satisfaction,
- more scalable project structures and
- a streamlined delivery process.
These improvements help projects become more organized and deliver the right outcomes, faster. They instill in the organization reusable common processes and templates, better organizational communications, an improved work environment, more efficient team collaboration and happier employees and clients.
There are more than a dozen common project management methodologies that can be considered for implementation by your organization. Each provides a blueprint of a structure and steps needed to produce successful project outcomes. The selection of a methodology that will work for your organization should be based on your strategic goals and core values, key business drivers, risk and change management, project complexity, availability of supporting tools and the skillsets and training of the people involved.
Popular Project Methodologies to Consider
When it comes to the delivery of information technology and digital transformation solutions like Salesforce, CPQ and SpringCM, there are several project management methodologies that are popular today.
- Agile project management focuses on adaptability to changing situations and constant, regular feedback. It is comprised of “sprints” – short delivery cycles, allowing for rapid adjustments throughout a project. Agile may be best-suited for smaller software projects and/or those with accelerated development schedules. While Agile is effective for ensuring that late requirements can always be considered, managing project cost can be challenging because emerging requirements can introduce scope creep.
- Waterfall methodology is sequential in nature, from the concept and planning phase through the development and quality assurance and finally project completion and maintenance. It’s used across many industries, most commonly in software development. Waterfall allows for increased control throughout each phase but can be highly inflexible if scope changes are introduced later.
- Critical Path Method (CPM) is a step-by-step methodology for process planning that defines critical and non-critical tasks with the goal of preventing time-frame problems and process bottlenecks. The CPM is ideally suited to projects consisting of numerous activities that interact in a complex manner.
- Six Sigma is a data-driven, three-step project management method designed to take a project from the planning stage through to completion. The three essential components include DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve and control) DMADV (define, measure, analyze, design and verify) and DFSS (which stands for “Design for Six Sigma” and can include the previous options, as well as others, like IDOV – identify, design, optimize and verify). Six Sigma is sometimes debated as a methodology in the PM community.
Customizing a Methodology for Your Organization
Different project management methodologies have their strengths and weaknesses so your organization may want to consider a combination of project management methodologies. The customization will allow your organization to incorporate the specific needs of your clients and develop some standardized best practices that can be tweaked as various factors change in your industry.
Buan Consulting recommends that the selection of an appropriate project management methodology be guided by a Project Management Professional (PMP) who has been specifically trained in a variety of the methods and has years of experience using them to deliver projects successfully. Once a methodology has been crafted to meet the organizational needs, move quickly to develop the training and deploy the tools that are required to execute it successfully.
Commitment from executives also is essential, as the adoption of a successful project management methodology will force significant organizational, team and individual change – something that many organizations will find difficult to remain committed to in light of the “we’ve never had to do it that way” mentality that often occurs within an organization when implementing new processes.
Buan Consulting itself utilizes multiple project management methodologies, because as a consulting organization, we have to “fit” into the world of our clients and make sure that our services can be delivered seamlessly into the fabric of their world. Whether it’s Agile, Waterfall or no well-established methodology at all, Buan’s consulting teams are adept at creating a set of project management best practices that ensure the project requirements are fulfilled and our clients are completely satisfied with our work.
If you’d like to talk to us more about our solutions and the approach we take to our work, please contact Kim Barnes, Buan Consulting’s Project Management Lead at [email protected] or Keith Schmidt, VP of Sales at [email protected] or give us a call at 410-263-2707.