Project Management Methodologies

According to Jason, "A methodology is a set of guidelines or principles that can be tailored and applied to a specific situation. In a project environment, these guidelines might be a list of things to do. A methodology could also be a specific approach, templates, forms, and even checklists used over the project life cycle."

Managers say that "Adopting an incorrect methodology or having no project framework in place can very easily cause you to have:

• Schedule and cost slippages
• Miscommunication within the team
• Wasting [of] time on administrative tasks that have no purpose
• [Reliance] on technical wizardry to get projects done [and]
• Project management burnout"

Methodologies

1. Rational Unified Process (IT/software development methodology)
2. Rapid Application Development (RAD)
3. Agile Software Development
4. Extreme Programming (XP)
5. PRINCE2
6. TenStep Project Management Process
7. SCRUM
8. Waterfall
9. Spiral
10. Joint Application Development (JAD)


1. Rational Unified Process (IT/software development methodology): The Rational Unified Process attempts to capture many of modern software development's best practices in a form suitable for a wide range of projects and organizations.

2. Rapid Application Development (RAD): Name itself says Rapid; this methodology is used for fast development and deliver of a high quality system at a relatively low investment cost.

3. Agile Software Development: Agile development methodology attempts to provide many opportunities to assess the direction of a project throughout the development lifecycle. This is achieved through regular cadences of work, known as sprints or iterations, at the end of which teams must present a shippable increment of work.

Most agile methods attempt to minimize risk by developing software in short timeboxes, called iterations, which typically last one to four weeks. Each iteration is like a miniature software project of its own, and includes all the tasks necessary to release the mini-increment of new functionality: planning, requirements analysis, design, coding, testing, and documentation. While iteration may not add enough functionality to warrant releasing the product, an agile software project intends to be capable of releasing new software at the end of every iteration. At the end of each iteration, the team reevaluates project priorities.

4. Extreme Programming (XP): Extreme Programming is a discipline of software development based on values of simplicity, communication, feedback, and courage. It works by bringing the whole team together in the presence of simple practices, with enough feedback to enable the team to see where they are and to tune the practices to their unique situation.

The main goal of XP is to lower the cost of change in software requirements with traditional system development methodologies.

5. PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments): It’s a Process-based approach; PRINCE2 is a de facto standard used extensively by the UK Government and is widely recognized and used in the private sector, both in the UK and internationally.

PRINCE2 focuses on the products to be produced by the project no the activities to produce them. Process, Components and Techniques form a structure for this methodology.

6. TenStep Project Management Process:




Tom Mochal is the owner of TenStep Project Management. TenStep Project Management Process suits for all types of projects varying small to large. It is designed to be as flexible as you need to manage your project.

7. SCRUM:
Source: Daffodil software
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SCRUM Process flow diagram

SCRUM Principles:
• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

8. Waterfall:


Waterfall Principles:
• Project is divided into sequential phases, with some overlap and splashback acceptable between phases.
• Emphasis is on planning, timely schedules, budgets and implementations of an entire system at one time.
• Tight control is maintained over the life of the project through the use of extensive written documentation.


9. Spiral:

The spiral model was defined by Barry Boehm in the year 1985. Spiral model is also referred as spiral lifecycle model. The spiral model is favored for large, expensive, and complicated projects.

The spiral model is actually a risk-driven process model generator

Source: http://accuracyandaesthetics.com/


Major steps:

1. Determine Objectives--- Objectives are determined
2. Identify and resolve risks--- Identify the possible risks and resolve them
3. Development and Test--- Development and Testing is done in this step
4. Plan the next iteration--- Next phase planning will be done here

10. Joint Application Development (JAD):
The Joint Application Development (JAD) methodology aims to involve the client in the design and development of an application. In contrast to the Waterfall approach, JAD is thought to lead to shorter development times and greater client satisfaction, both of which stem from the constant involvement of the client throughout the development process.