Using a tool like farmerswife, will enable you to organise and track project resources, plan, and control the project lifecycle, manage day-to-day tasks, create customised budgets and analyse financial performance in a practical way that drives informed creative decisions. In this blog, we will define what project management methodology is and outline the types of project management methodologies you can use.
What is a project management methodology?
Project management methodologies are essentially different ways to approach a project. Each one has a unique process and workflow. Project management is very important to organizations and teams, but in order for it to be very effective, you will need to make sure you are correctly mapping your project management methodology to your team type, project, organization, and goals. Using a post production scheduling software can really help you.
How do you choose the right project management methodology?
Finding the right project management methodology to manage your work can be a complicated task, as you will need to find the best methodology that suits your business’ needs. We have compiled a list of different project management methodologies to help you figure out which methods, principles and approaches you can use for each team and project.
Main factors – that influence on the decision to choose:
- Budget and cost
- Team size
- Timeline
- Clients
- Flexibility
The project management methodologies list
Find below the types of project management methodologies you can use:
1. Waterfall methodology
The power of the waterfall project management methodology consist in every step being preplanned and laid out in the proper sequence. While this may be the simplest method to implement initially, any changes in the stakeholders’ needs or priorities will disrupt the series of tasks, making it very difficult to manage. This methodology excels in predictability but lacks in flexibility, you have to complete one task before the next one begins. It’s an ideal method for projects that result in physical objects and you can easily replicate project plans for future use.
The classic implementation of the waterfall project management involves phases of project development in the following order:
- Requirements analysis
- Design
- Development
- Testing
- Operations (Maintenance)
Waterfall relies on teams following the steps set and never moving forward until the previous phase has been completed. This methodology leaves no room for unexpected changes or revisions. If your team is small and your projects are predictable, then Waterfall could provide the ideal framework.
2. Agile methodology
The Agile methodology is a way to manage a project by breaking it up into several phases. It involves discovering requirements and developing solutions through the collaborative effort of self-organizing. Once the work begins, teams cycle through a process of planning, executing, and evaluating. It advocates adaptive planning, evolutionary development, early delivery, and continuous improvement at every stage. This methodology, encourages flexible responses to changes in requirements, resource availability, and understanding of the problems to be solved.The four values of the Agile project management are:
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
3. Scrum methodology
Scrum methodology's core is to help teams work together. It encourages teams to learn through experiences, self-organize while working on a problem, and reflect on their achievements and losses to be able to improve. The scrum project management emphasised on productivity, focus and collaboration. Scrum teams build high-quality deliverables and can easily adapt to changes.In the Scrum project management, a small team is led by a Scrum master whose main job is to clear away all obstacles to working efficiently. The team works in short periods of two weeks called “sprints,” the team members meet daily to discuss their work and any problems they have encountered to find a solution. This methodology allows quick development and testing, especially for small teams.
4. Kanban methodology
While using the kanban project management methodology, project teams create visual representations of their tasks, moving the tasks through predetermined stages to see progress as it happens and identify where problems could appear. Kanban helps visualize your work and quickly move work from "Doing" to "Done. Using a task management app, like Cirkus can help you organize and track your individual or team tasks.
When used as part of an agile project management methodology, it’s also common to implement work in progress limits. Work in progress limits restrict the amount of tasks given at the same time, meaning that you can only have a certain number of tasks assigned. This way of working, will prevent your team from spreading their energy across too many tasks, and instead ensures that they can work more productively by focusing on each task individually.
Conclusion
The correct project management methodology can elevate your project and help the project manager to get the best out of each team member.
No matter which methodology you decide to go for, you will need a collaborative, flexible, and easy-to-use project management software that can smooth the process and help you organise your projects and teams.
Choosing a scheduling software that supports multiple methodologies like farmerswife means that every team in your organization has the freedom to work the way that suits them best.
No matter how you like to work, farmerswife helps your team achieve the goals that have been set for them, and improve their processes.
