Project Management Methodology Set of Methods

Question: Describe about the Report for Project Management Methodology of the Set of Methods . Answer: Methodology - definition Methodology is defined as a set of methods which are used to provide guidelines to carry out a particular task. There are a number of methodologies to manage the projects in an organization such as PMBOK, PRINCE2, Agile, Waterfall, SDLC and many more. These methodologies have extremely important significance in better organization of the project as these present a streamlined approach for all the activities during the project timeline. These methodologies also suggest measures to overcome the challenges during the project such as those related to budget issues, schedule overrun and other potential risks. Project Methodologies Waterfall methodology for project management comprises of defined stages for carrying out the same. The stages that are present in a Waterfall based approach include Initiation and Planning, Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Testing, Monitoring and Closure. The flow moves on to the next stage only when the one prior to it has been successfully completed. Agile project management methodology on the other hand is a value based approach that is incremental and iterative in nature. It is carried out in the several iterations or sprints and involves customer feedback throughout. Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) also manages the project on the basis of a number of different models such was Waterfall, Prototyping and many other. Two of the most popular and widely used project management methodologies include Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and Projects In Controlled Environment (PRINCE2).These two approaches define their own set of methods to manage the tasks in the project. These two methodologies are similar in nature in terms of the objective that they serve. These have been designed and defined in order to manage the projects with the required effort and to overcome the challenges that come up during the same. However, there are a number of key features that set these two wide apart from each other. PMBOK PRINCE2 Knowledge based methodology Process based methodology PMBOK mainly keeps the focus on the Project Manager and his/her responsibilities (Duncan, 2016). The role of every single resource is well defined and covered in PRINCE2 Project Manager is the prime resource who is held responsible for any activity that goes wrong in a project. The risks such as scope creeps, schedule overrun, technological changes, resource scarcity and many others are the responsibilities of the PM and are held accountable for the resolution of the same. The role of PM in case of PRINCE2 is more of a mediator between the board members or the senior officials and the team members. The cycle of reporting an issue flows from team members who report it to their respective Project Managers and the PM takes it forward to the senior management who discusses and come up with a resolution and the same flows back to the team via PM (Collet, 2016). Feasibility study is considered to be an important phase in PMBOK (Rankins, 2016). Feasibility study is not covered in this case Terminology and documentation varies between the two. For instance, project initiation phase includes Project Charter Document. Project initiation phase includes Project Brief document. Project life cycle and project methodology Project Life Cycle (PLC) comprises of well defined project stages right from the beginning till the end of the project. Stages such as initiation, planning, delivery and closure form an important part of PLC. PRINCE2 methodology and its methods are extremely close to the stages of PLC. It begins with the project initiation that determines the objectives and goals of the project along with the project brief and risks estimation. Planning, directing and controlling stages define the methods that need to be adapted for successful project management which finally leads to the project delivery and closure (www.advantagelearning.co.uk, 2016). PMBOK also adheres to the stages of PLC but has its own set of methods which are termed as phases. The first phase in PMBOK methodology is the initiation phase which includes the feasibility study of the project. Next comes the planning phase which includes scope definition, activity planning, stakeholder identification, resource allocation, budget estimation, schedule estimation and risk assessment. It is then followed by the execution phase which involves the activities that are related for the development of the project as per the requirements. There may be a number of challenges that may appear in this phase and the same are handled by the methods defined in PMBOK to manage the same. Next phase is the control phase. There may be a number of changes that may arise in terms of implementation and resource activities. These changes are managed and effectively controlled in this phase of PMBOK. The last in the list is the closure phase which marks the completion of the project. The two project management methodologies viz. PMBOK and PRINCE2 have their own benefits and cons. It depends upon a number of factors which marks the selection or preference of one of these methodologies for a particular project. These factors include project client, schedule for the project, requirements definition and likewise. References Advantagelearning.co.uk. (2016).PRINCE2 2009 Methodology: Principles, Themes and Processes | Advantage Learning. [online] Available at: https://www.advantagelearning.co.uk/prince2/what-is-prince2.html [Accessed 11 Aug. 2016]. Collet, B. (2016).Bruno Collet: Comparing PMBOK and Prince2 in 1000 words. [online] Brunocollet.com. Available at: https://www.brunocollet.com/2013/01/comparing-pmbok-and-prince2-in-1000.html [Accessed 11 Aug. 2016]. Duncan, W. (2013).A Guide to Project management Body of Knowledge. 1st ed. [ebook] USA, pp.22-24. Available at: https://www2.fiit.stuba.sk/~bielik/courses/msi-slov/reporty/pmbok.pdf [Accessed 11 Aug. 2016]. Rankins, G. (2009).Comparing PMBoK and PRINCE2 in 2009. 1st ed. [ebook] Australia, pp.22-26. Available at: https://goalgroup.com.au/SiteFiles/goalgroupcomau//C007_ComparingPMBoKAndPRINCE2In2009.pdf [Accessed 11 Aug. 2016].