9 Of The Most Popular Project Management Methodologies Made Simple
The ever-evolving project management methodology list of agile, scrum, kanban, lean, xp, waterfall PRINCE2 and PMBOK can be confusing. In this complete guide to project management methodologies, we’re going to make it all super simple to understand.
There are stacks of different project management methodologies you could apply to different projects, but knowing the differences between them, and how to know which is the right methodology to use can be tricky.
Read this guide to give yourself an overview of the most commonly used project management methodologies and consider how they can be best leveraged for delivering projects in the world of digital agencies.
Project management methodology overview:
- Agile — collaborating to iteratively deliver whatever works
- Scrum — enabling a small, cross-functional, self-managing team to deliver fast
- Kanban — improving speed and quality of delivery by increasing visibility of work in progress, and limiting multi-tasking
- Scrumban — limiting work in progress like Kanban with a daily stand up like Scrum
- Lean — streamlining and eliminating waste to deliver more with less
- XP — Extreme Programming methodology– doing development robustly to ensure quality
- Waterfall — planning projects fully, then executing through phases
- PRINCE2 — controlled project management that leaves nothing to chance
- PMI’s PMBOK — applying universal standards to waterfall project management
Or just jump to discover:
Introducing Project Management Methodologies
Let’s take a stab at understanding what a project management methodology is. The PMI’s broad definition of project management methodology is helpful — ‘A methodology is a system of practices, techniques, procedures and rules used by those who work in a discipline’ — but a methodology has to be rooted in something more fundamental that dictates why we choose to do things a certain way, so I’d suggest it should also include themes.
As project managers, there are many different ways to deliver projects. Broadly speaking, these ways are our methodologies — applying different principles, themes, frameworks, processes and standards to help provide structure to the way we deliver projects.
Some project management methodologies simply define principles, like agile. Others define a ‘full-stack’ methodology framework of themes, principles, and processes, such as Prince2. Some are an extensive list of standards with some process, like PMI’s PMBOK, or XP and some are very light, and simply define process, like Scrum.
Maybe controversially, rather than debating what’s a methodology and what’s not, I’m using the broad (yes, mis)understanding of project management methodologies to mean simply the best practice frameworks we mash together to get projects done. I don’t think a methodology has to be a complete full-stack implementation ‘system’ to be considered a methodology.
It’s a good and helpful definition because in reality, as project managers we use a hodgepodge of principles, themes and processes tailored for our clients and projects.
And let’s get one thing straight before we start, while there are many methodologies, there is no ‘right’ methodology. There is no one-size-fits-all one methodology that is the methodology that should always be used for every project.
Ultimately, the best methodology is what makes sense and is most suitable for the project, team and client. Let’s first take a look at some of the more popular project management methodologies and understand some of the valuable takeaways for delivering projects in the world of digital.
Read the full article to learn about the common project management methodologies.
Originally published at www.thedigitalprojectmanager.com on March 2, 2017.
