How Effective Are Project Management Methodologies?

Explain reasons why organisations adopt Project Management Methodologies

How Effective Are Project Management Methodologies?

Projects are undertakings that are aimed at creating products or services. They are conducted in business and daily lives of individuals. For the projects to meet the objectives they are intended, effective project management strategies are put in place. Project management involves directing, planning, organising, and controlling organizational resources for achieving short, medium, and long term objectives of the organization (Charvat 2013, p.23). Project management helps the organization to make good customer relationships by designing and managing organizational resources and delivering the project within assumed budget and time. This paper reviews the learning outcomes of the project management methodologies course by highlighting the concepts learnt through the twelve week portfolio.

Project management methodology is a system which is a combination of inter-related phases, activities, task and procedures used for defining project process from initial to completion stage.  They include the Prince2 methodology, BMBoK, Agile, and many other methodologies.  Ozmen (2013) notes that failure by organizations to apply project management methodologies might lead to failure in effectiveness, repeatability, product or service quality, comparability, and achievement of future goals. This implies that the methodologies are beneficial and thus every organization should adopt. The role of the project manager has changed over the years as projects have also increased in complexity and increased in technology dependence. This has thus led to the development of methodologies that guide project management processes.

Through studying the course and my professional experience, I have come to realize that project management methodologies are instruments that clarify what actually organizations have to perform. The organizations are able to achieve project success characterized by quality on time and within budget deliveries ((Ansari, Shakeri &Raddadi 2014, p.15). The success of projects are not only guaranteed by an experienced team, adequacy of resources, and proper management. The need for an efficient project management methodology cannot be assumed because it brings together the resources and defines how they should be used married together to deliver results. The methodology provides a common standard and similarity of procedures which enables consistency and provides an avenue for bench marking.

Consistency in project management is obtained through the use of a standard methodology supported by proper guidance of experienced project managers. Following a common method boosts the experience of the stakeholders and thus promoting continuous service improvement (Ozmen 2013, p.6). This consistency offers the organization a brand based on its customer satisfying project deliveries. Methodologies also promote knowledge management within the organization because it would be rational to predict future outcomes based on past experiences. Organizations can also compare their processes and products with organizations that use a similar methodology in order to determine their areas of weakness and strength. This comparison would boost competitiveness since the organization can learn from the positive processes implemented by similar entities.

Critically analyse the impact of Project Management Methodologies upon stakeholders

Summary

Project management methodologies provide companies with consistency, comparability, and customer satisfaction. Ozmen (2013) discusses the benefits that organizations accrue from adopting project management methodologies.

Evidence

The paper, Project Management Methodology: How can PMM serve organisations today? In Proceedings of PMI Global Congress EMEA. By Ozmen describes the benefits of a methodology to an organization in detail.

Project stakeholders are typically individuals or entities impacted by the project. From experiences and the teachings of the course, I noted that project stakeholders include project sponsors, the project manager, project team, clients, and end users. Project success is achieved through an effective collaboration between the stakeholders towards a common goal (Kerzner 2017, p.26).  I believe that effective communication is the main tool that ensures that all stakeholders perform their roles efficiently in order to achieve the goals of the project. The project manager for instance should be skilled in communication so as to effectively mediate and communicate project activities with the team and the sponsors. Previously at the work place, I witnessed a project manager who strained with communication and thus had a hard time communicating his views. Therefore, I concur with the teachings of the course that the project manager should have a set of soft skills including good communication skills in addition to the technical skills.

Sponsors and project team might resist the adoption of a project management methodology especially when they are not adequately consulted. Project sponsors are majorly organization executives and managers who provide leadership and support to the project manager. They can frustrate the implementation of the methodology either by withdrawing funds or any other way available to them.  Project team on the other hand might resist the methodology especially when they are unskilled on the methodology (Hornstain 2015, p.38). The project manager should therefore select a methodology that the team are conversant with or involve a team that is conversant with the methodology. Resistance to change is a common occurrence among people. Therefore, the project manager should be experienced in change management and group dynamics.

Project managers enjoy an easier management of projects when the methodologies are used. The methodology outlines the procedures that should be followed and thus it is the duty of the project manager to ensure that they are aligned to the culture, structure, and strategy of the organization for them to be more effective. The consistence, and learning derived from using a common methodology builds the experience if the manager and project team in undertaking projects and thus making subsequent projects better than their predecessors. This would promote continuous improvement which is the aim of every prudent   individual or organization (Wells 2012, p.46). The adoption of methodologies makes it possible for institutions to offer project management methodology certifications and thus spread similar knowledge. The customers also benefit from higher satisfaction as a result of good project quality.

Explain and justify the major elements of a Project Management Methodology that might meet the needs of an organisation

Summary

Project stakeholders are those parties that take part in one way or another in project management process and are affected either positively or negatively by the project.

Evidence

My experience at work together and the course weekly portfolio notes provided knowledge on project stakeholders,

As noted earlier, there exist several project management methodologies that are organizations and project managers can select from. The best methodology for a project is selected based on the basis of project factors and requirements (Kerzner & Kerzner, p.40). The factors include project type, flexibility, and resources available. Having learnt about the Prince2, and Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) methodologies in the course, read about them in books, and used them practically in practice, I choose to present the elements of the PMBoK approach to project management.

The PMBok approach is a set of widely accepted standards and guidelines that define how projects, programs, and portfolios should be managed. The Project Management Institute notes that a consistent use of the methodology in an organization to achieve project success. The PMBoK project methodology has five process groups as initiation, planning, execution, control, and closure (PMBoK 2014, p.8). The initiation stage involves the organization committing to undertake the project. At this phase the organization appreciates that the project is worthwhile and conforms to organizational objectives. The project is then forwarded to the planning stage where a workable scheme of how the project would be undertaken to accomplish the business goal it was established for. Planning of resources in form of capital and labour is done to ensure that it is conducted economically to yield the required quality.  

Execution is the third process where stakeholders and resources are put in to work as per the plan. This is the actual part of the project which is followed by monitoring and control where the progress of the project is reviewed to ensure that they are in line with the plan (Kerzner 2017, p.32). Abnormal variations are corrected through means of corrective action. The final stage is closure, where the phase or whole project is closed after it is acceptance is formalized.  The application of this methodology in an organization for an appropriate project promote the achievement of project success, promote consistency and continuous improvement.

Summary

I learnt about the several project management methodologies that companies can choose from. These include Prince2, and PMBoK approaches. The Prince2 approach consists of seven elements and processes. PMBoK project management process involve initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and finally closure.

Evidence

The PMBoK guide outlines the methodology in detail. The course material on week six portfolio discusses the PMBoK methodology.

Conclusion 

Throughout 12 weeks of learning about project management methodologies, I have understood the fundamental knowledge of effective project management methodologies. On the first three weeks, I gained knowledge about importance of project management, roles of project stakeholders, need for planning and impacts of proper project management on productivity of organizations, importance of effective communication, team work, and conflict management practices. During the fourth to sixth week, I understood the role of project management in project development life cycle, organizational change, project classifications and the roles of various project management stakeholders. I have also horned great skills in communication plan development, importance of project plan, configuration management, resource management in project management, and quality management.

References

Ansari, R., Shakeri, E. and Raddadi, A., 2014. Framework for aligning project management with organizational strategies. Journal of Management in Engineering, 31(4), p.04014050.

Charvat, J., 2013. Project management methodologies: selecting, implementing, and supporting methodologies and processes for projects. John Wiley & Sons.

Guide, P.M.B.O.K., 2004. A guide to the project management body of knowledge. In Project Management Institute (Vol. 3).

Hornstein, H.A., 2015. The integration of project management and organizational change management is now a necessity. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), pp.291-298.

Kerzner, H., 2017. Project Management Methodologies. Project Management Case Studies, pp.1-27.

Kerzner, H. and Kerzner, H.R., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Ozmen, E.S., 2013, March. Project Management Methodology (PMM): How can PMM serve organisations today? In Proceedings of PMI Global Congress EMEA.

Wells, H., 2012. How effective are project management methodologies? An explorative evaluation of their benefits in practice. Project Management Journal, 43(6), pp.43-58.