CMGT week 2

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Comparison of Project Management Models

CMGT/410 – Project Planning and Implementation

Primer

Despite numerous project management models at our disposal, the project manager must adopt an optimal Project Management Life Cycle (PMLC) model based on multiplicity of factors or circumstances. The project team should evaluate the type of project it is managing at the initial planning process and assess the project’s requirements, management methodology, and culture required to complete the project (Wysocki, 2014). It is essential to understand the various aspects of the four quadrants of the project landscape as this allows the project manager to deduce the optimal PMLC to adopt on the project. Similarly, it is important to evaluate the vulnerability of each model in terms of failure and risks.

Traditional Project Management (TPM) Waterfall Method

The TPM Waterfall method is a series of procedures and techniques used for an operation requiring a complete terminated product, result of service. It requires application of tools, techniques, knowledge and skills to project activities to meet project requirements (PMI, 2004:8). Putting succinctly, waterfall methodology is essentially a sequential design process with the project team evolving into the next step with the completion of the previous stage in a sequential order. That is, the design process follows a sequence of stages, and once a stage is completed, the developer does not have the luxury of going back to it. Although, this method stresses meticulous record planning and offers the client the opportunity to know what to expect, however, it deprives the developer to make amendment to a stage once it is completed. Similarly, this methodology relies essentially on initial requirement. As such, if the initial requirement is faulty, the whole project is doomed.

Agile Project Management Approaches

However, Agile methodology serves a solution to the seemingly limitation of the waterfall methodology. Rather than the sequential design process in waterfall methodology, Agile explore an incremental approach. This assists the team responds to unpredictability through, incremental and iterative processes. This methodology does not only offer an opportunity to make relevant changes after the initial planning, it also keep the project up to data with the latest development in the industry since new features can easily be added. While Agile allows project teams to deliver projects piecemeal and allow rapid adjustments as needed, it includes scrum, extreme programming (XP), and lean.

Scrum – This is an agile method of project management especially software development. While this method is often as a methodology, however, however, it is a process management framework. In Agile Scrum, rather than providing a complete detailed descriptions of a project, much of it is handled by the Scrum software development team since the team are in a better position to solve the problems as they are presented.

Extreme Programming – This is an agile software development technique which advocates frequent releases in short development cycle. This frequent releases is intended to enhance productivity and enable checkpoints for new customer requirements to be adopted. One of the essentials of extreme programming is its ability to improve software quality and enhance responsiveness with an evolving customer requirements.

Comparing and Contrasting TPM and Agile Methods

While agile project management is characterized by its feature based, allowing the project manager to develop a work-breakdown structure along with the team, however, TPM assumes that requirements are fixed with variable cost and time. This subtle difference highlights the strengths and weaknesses of each method as tabulated below:

Project Appropriateness of TPM and Agile Approaches

While each of these two methodologies – TPM and Agile – has their pros and cons, however, both are optimally suited for different projects. Recall that which approach will be best suited for a project is an important strategic decision since wrong choice would lead to disastrous results of catastrophic proportions.

As a result of the linear sequential flow characterization of TPM, it would be most appropriate for projects with the following characteristics:

· Requirements are clear, very well documented, and fixed.

· Stable product definition

· Static and well understood technology

· Unambiguous requirements

· Sort project

In contract, since agile methods break the product into small incremental builds, it would be most appropriate for projects with the following characteristics:

· Aggressive deadlines

· High level of complexity, and

· High level of uniqueness to them. 

Selecting a Project Approach for Different Types of Projects

Despite overwhelming choice of different project management approaches, selecting an optimal approach for different types of projects can be as challenging as the project itself. While there is no optimal approach that works for all project types or project size, however, selecting a good approach requires considering the following factors:

Realism – An effective approach much reflect organization’s strategic goals and mission as well as taking into consideration constraints such as money and personnel. Similarly, the approach must take into consideration technical and commercial risks including cost, time and performance.

Capability – The optimal approach should have a flexible response to changes in the conditions under which the projects are carried out. For instance, the approach should enable the organization to compare different types of projects and their various commercial objectives

Flexibility – The should be ease pf modification to the adopted approach if the project application requires changes

Ease of Use – The approach should be simple enough for the team member to be easily adapted to. This should be for both in specific project roles as well as related functional positions

Cost – The approach should be cost efficient and this cost is related to both time and money

Converting a large enterprise from using IPv4 to IPv6

As the world evolves to intelligent, networked devices, many organizations are converting from IPv4 to IPv6. However, with the rapidity of conversion to IPv6, there are few steps project team across all organization must consider before making the switch.

Security – Security is unarguably very important and the project managers must realize that the firewall must be reconfigured before making that transition. The project team must realize that if the firewall is open, the system is susceptible to breach.

Communication via e-mail – It is essential for the project team to investigate if the organization’s messaging platform supports IPv6. This is essential because the organization has set up its messaging platform will impact the transition

Investigate Current Provider – The project team should not be in a hurry to transit to IPv6; rather, it should investigate if the current network provider offers IPv6 capabilities. This will not only assist the network provider of rising demand for IPv6 to be met but also assist the project team to sought for a more capable network provider

Managing a Business Process Reengineering (BPR) Project

BPR involves the radical redesign of core business processes in order to obtain optimal improvements in productivity, cycle times and quality. This approach offers an organization the opportunity to rethink its business process in order to dramatically improve customer service and cut operational cost. Despite the enhancement offers by BPR, it is also fraught with consequences, and there is need for the organization to weigh these consequences before engaging in BPR project. Hence, it is essential for the project team to set in place information systems that can deal with the magnitude of the change before embarking on a radical BPR project. Davenport (1992) highlighted the following steps to be followed by an organization and project team for a successful BPR projects.

Business Vision and Objectives – BPR project must begin with a clearly defined and measurable objectives, and this goal might include cost reduction, improved product quality or increased efficiency

Identification and Slacking Processes – It is important to study and identify those processes that require improvement

Understand and Measuring the Slacking Processes – The project team must craft how the slacking processes are optimally identified

Building a New Data Center for an International Business

The advent of Internet and business evolution has driven the way data centers are organized and managed with virtualization, cloud and big data being key factors leading organizations to completely rethink how they handle their critical IT resources.

Conclusion

Although critical analysis should be deployed while dealing with both TPM and Agile, however, the strengths and weaknesses of each should be considered before utilizing them for any project.

Reference

PMI (2004) A Guide to The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) Third Edition. Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute, INC. pp.5, 8, 377.

Wysocki, R. K. (2014). Effective project management: Traditional, agile, extreme. (7th ed.). Indianapolis, IN: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.