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Fr[agile]
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How to Compress Project Schedules
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Critical Chain Project Management: History and Value
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A Computational Formulation of WBS in Construction Project Management
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Project Manager Value Brain Dump
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Agile and the PMO Working Together
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How to Prepare for a Project Sponsor Meeting
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Managing Project Scope
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Ten Things to Look For When Reviewing a Project Plan
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The Generic Project Schedule
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Prince2, PMP, or Your Own Project Management Methodology?
March 23, 2009 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: PMP, PRINCE2
Prince2, PMP, or Your Own Project Management Methodology?
By John J Owens
A question much asked at the moment is which is the most effective Project Management Methodology, PMP or Prince2?
Prince2 is very formulaic - some might say bureaucratic - and most be followed strictly if it is the defined methodology for the project.
PMP is more of a guide of best Project Management practice.
All good Project Managers will follow a good Project Management Methodology, even if it is their own. But a good methodology will not make a good Project Manager. This person will need a broad range of skills.
On small projects they will have to play many roles themselves, such as activity planning, estimating time and resources, progress tracking, etc.
On a large project the real skill that a Project Manager must have is the ability to select a team with all of the aforementioned skills.
On IT projects a Project Management Methodology on its own will not guarantee success. An essential ingredient for success is a good Development Life Cycle. Without this success will be elusive. It is of little use to effectively manage the wrong activities!
The methodology will, as a minimum, have four stages:
- Analysis and Modeling
- Design
- Build
- Implement.
The project methodology must be able to effectively execute each of these phases in order to produce the required quality deliverables. Some development methods will try to merge all of these stages together under some ‘exotic’ name but they all must be done.
If the team has not got the skills to get it right first time you will resort to an agile or iterative approach.
This only happens in the world of IT where you are allowed to build the wrong thing first time and then spend the rest of your time putting it right - not only that, such an approach is now described as ‘advanced’!
Can you imagine if builders always built the wrong house in the wrong place first time and then charged you more money on an ongoing basis to move it and try to turn it into the right house? And then, to add insult to injury they would also blame you, the customer, saying that you were not able to tell them what you wanted!
John J Owens is a specialist in business process modeling, business systems modeling, integrated modeling methods. He can be contacted via email at john@integrated-modeling-method.com. His website is http://www.integrated-modeling-method.com.
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5 people have left comments
The last part probably wraps it all, screw-ups by IT Project Managers are usually tolerated by clients/stakeholders.
However, the problem with IT projects is that they’re extremely dynamic in nature, vs. the static, forseebable nature of construction projects.
I totally agree with John regarding the idea that a good methodology is needed, and if there is none a PM must utilize it ont his/her own. There are some well known facts in the article, you would otherwise find them in general project management literature, I feel however that the core of the article might deviate from good practice methodologies since John equals the product development life cycle with project management methodology, even if he’s using a certain IT project. A good methodology must be standard-based and not technology dependent: you would be able to use it either for boyscout projects or in high tech projects. Of course, with a great deal of consideration about the non-product parameters as the team, enterprise environment etc. A good project methodology should integrate all project-wise core and supporting processes into an easily visible and defined businees process owned by the performing organization.
A well written article John, and a perennial question.
I think it’s a question that ought to be considered rhetorical. The answer is PRINCE2; or perhaps it’s PMP - or perhaps the answer is neither?
I think you allude to real answer in your second and third paragraphs; PRINCE2 is a method for tackling projects while PMP is a guide as how to manage a project. The true answer is that each offer many things to a Project Manager in their quest for managing projects, and they can co-exist - they are not mutually exclusive.
I think the real problem is that they’re commercially exclusive. PMI want the world to use PMP, and the APM Group want the world to use PRINCE2. I feel that the real position can only be reflected when the two organisations decide to stop fighting each other for world supremacy.
As an aside, PRINCE2 is absolutely not “very formulaic” or indeed “bureaucratic”, and the opposite of “most be followed strictly” (sic) is true. This is a commonly held mis-conception. The very first chapter of the PRINCE2 discusses how the method should be tailored to meet the needs of the project or organisation.
Actually, the APM don’t want the world to use PRINCE2, as it’s not owned by them. You may be thinking of the APM body of knowledge, which isn’t a methodology at all.
This rhetoric is a bit of a categorical jumble, as in “which wallpaper is best, paint or plaster?”
All projects need a successful process, and it is mostly obvious that the process should be tailored to the project organisation, the customer and the technology. I say mostly, since the elephant trap of not tailoring is always present.
You could then ask whether that tailored process should be based on a defined methodology like PRINCE2, a body of best practices like PM-BOK or APM-BOK, or on a system such as Six-Sigma, and on how systems integration and the lifecycle ought to be managed (the V-diagram, prototyping, requirements etc). Most of these approaches overlap, so you need some overview model such as CMMI to guide you.
Jeff A., you’ve obviously never had to plan and execute a construction project!
Having a sound plan and considering risk mitigation strategies ahead of time just leave your mind and stress levels some spare room to deal with all the things that you didn’t believe could possibly happen.