Project Management Methodologies

Describe the benifits and limitations of using a methodology to manage a project

There are many benifits of using methodologies to manage projects such as:

• Using a methodology is simply a set of guidelines to get something complete, so by using a methodology it makes the project much easier to complete as all the people that know what the methodology is can be much more organised.
• Another benifit of a methodology is that if it is followed very well, and the project is done on time or before, and also under the budget, it means that the customers will be much happier. When you get a happy customer it usually means that the customer will tell friends or family about the project which means more customers in the future.
• If the methodology produces a positive result, then it promotes a positive mood around the people involved in the project, which has a very good chance to give motivation to the team for more success in other projects.

There isnt many disadvantages of methodologies in project management however there are a few limitations:

• One disadvantage of a methodology is that a methodology will be almost pointless for tiny projects, or for smaller projects it may just not work.

Describe the PRINCE2 methodology

PRojects IN Controlled Environments 2 is a type of project methodolgy endorsed by the United
Kingdom. It is available for the public to have guidance when under-going a project.
There are 7 steps to the PRINCE2 methodology, these are:

1.       Starting up a project

2.       Initiating a project

3.       Directing a project

4.       Controlling a project

5.       Managing stage boundaries

6.       Managing product deliveries
7.       Closing a project



Describe one other current methodology

The other methodology i am going to describe is scrum. Scrum was originally produced for managing product development projects, however it then turned its attentions to managing software development projects, and also to run software maintanance teams.

Scrum is simply a type of software development methodology used for:

• Management Methodology
• Enhancement Methodology
• Maintanance Methodology

The benifits of using Scrum Methodology are:

• Fast moving, cutting edge developments can be quickly coded and tested using this method, as a mistake can be easily rectified.
• Agile scrum helps the company in saving time and money.
• It requires continuous feedback from the user.

The disadvantages of Scrum are:

It is good for small, fast moving projects as it works well only with small team.
If any of the team members leave during a development it can have a huge inverse effect on the project development

Compare the two methodologies

In comparison to PRINCE2 and Scum, Prince 2 is mostly used for larger projects, however scrum is used for smaller groups of people for smaller projects.

Scrum                    07/10/11               Describing Scrum                     http://www.scrummethodology.org/


BrightHub              26/09/11               Benefits of Methodologies                http://bit.ly/7AOpLE