Understanding Project Methodologies

Many project management methodologies used today are either the wrong methodologies or are not applied fully. Some project managers see methodologies as impractical and bureaucratic, relying on their gut instinct when it comes to managing projects. This book will reassure you of the importance of methodologies. If project management methodologies come across as too complex to use in real world projects, project managers will look for their own shortcuts. Given enough time, anyone can be trained to adhere to a project methodology. Good project management is the key throughout this book. There is no right or wrong project methodology—provided you apply it in the right situation.

Miyamoto Musashi, a seventeenth-century samurai, stated:

One can win with the long sword, and one can win with the short sword as well. For this reason, the precise size of the sword is not fixed. The way of my school is the spirit of gaining victory by any means.... (p. 20)

If an organization's business is project orientated, it must master project management to be successful in the marketplace. This applies to construction, engineering, finance, education, government, information technology, or any other type of industry. The key point is: How can we build and deploy quality projects or services? Just look at Disney, Nokia, J&J, Vodafone, and Virgin as prime examples of how companies have produced phenomenal products, starting with innovative ideas, designed and built against their own project/development methodologies, and then deployed globally. What is the secret to their success? These companies used project/development methodologies that allowed them the innovativeness to deliver their projects more quickly to market than their competitors. If a methodology looks orientated to information technology (IT), you can use it effectively elsewhere, in the energy, aeronautical, social, government, construction, financial, or consulting industries.

Using project methodologies is a business strategy allowing companies to maximize the project's value to the organization. The methodologies must evolve and be "tweaked" to accommodate a company's changing focus or direction. It is almost a mind-set, a way that reshapes entire organizational processes: sales and marketing, product design, planning, deployment, recruitment, finance, and operations and support. It presents a radical cultural shift for many organizations. As industries and companies change, so must their methodologies. If not, they're losing the point
What is a Methodology?
In my quest to define methodology, I started by asking colleagues and associates some questions with the intent of "stirring the pot." I received at least 20 different definitions of what a methodology is and used only those definitions that seemed helpful. The questions I posed were: What is a methodology? Should there be many methodologies? Is one better than another? How would you know which phases to adopt? How can we apply these results to a project? The answers to those questions resulted in the following definition of a methodology:

A methodology is a set of guidelines or principles that can be tailored and applied to a specific situation. In a project environment, these guidelines might be a list of things to do. A methodology could also be a specific approach, templates, forms, and even checklists used over the project life cycle.

A methodology can also be defined in other ways; for example:

A process that documents a series of steps and procedures to bring about the successful completion of a project.

A defined process for accomplishing an end.

A series of steps through which the project progresses.

A collection of methods, procedures, and standards that define a synthesis of engineering and management approaches designed to deliver a product, service, or solution.

An integrated assembly of tasks, techniques, tools, roles and responsibilities, and milestones used for delivering the project.

A formal project methodology should lead the work of all team members throughout the life cycle of a project. All members of a team should be familiar with and use the chosen methodology throughout their projects. Many project management methodologies address the management of a single project, without appreciating that many other projects in a company compete for the very same resources and attention. The project management methodology should also provide project managers with the perspective that there is a project management framework and associated methodologies present in the company. It may be useful to think about what a project management methodology is not:

A quick fix.

A silver bullet.

A temporary solution.

A cookbook approach for project success.

How Many Methodologies Are There?
There is no one-size-fits-all methodology. Some companies have methodologies that cover everything from an initial sales call to operational support, while others cover merely the aspect of design and development. Most published books discussing methodologies focus on one role—the IT community. These books elaborate on how specific IT designs should be performed, discussing a few techniques and a few drawing standards for a specific methodology. Fitting this into your company's idea of a project methodology framework is sometimes difficult to understand, impractical, and not always easy to implement.

There is an additional problem with the single universal project methodology approach. Many project managers have found that, in practice, you cannot simply use a methodology exactly as it stands. They soon realized that they needed to modify and tailor whichever methodology they selected to suit their own company project needs. They followed a "pick-and-choose" approach, using what they needed.

When examining methodologies later in this book, we see that a methodology is "larger" when it contains more elements. Because a methodology exists primarily for project managers to coordinate project team members, coordination is appropriately larger on a large project. The methodology grows proportionally to the number of roles and work product types. Therefore, we should not expect a small-team methodology to work properly for a big team, or a big-team methodology for a small team. Thus, you need to be practical about selecting an appropriate methodology.

Shortcomings of Many Project Methodologies
There are shortcomings to any methodology. Before we start by describing the best way to proceed with project methodologies, we need to first understand where methodologies can possibly go wrong. In my search for the über-methodology to recommend, I realized that many project methodologies:

Are abstract and high level.

Contain insufficient narratives to support these methodologies.

Are not functional or do not address crucial areas (i.e., QA, CM, testing).

Ignore the industry standards and best practices.

Look impressive but lack real integration into the business.

Use nonstandard project conventions and terminology.

Compete for similar resources without addressing this problem.

Don't have any performance metrics.

Take too long to complete because of bureaucracy and administration.

Projects Influence Methodologies
Not one single project methodology can solve every project across all industries. For example, the Channel tunnel project linking the United Kingdom to France came with many problems and had major cost and schedule overruns. Project methodologies were developed to prevent such problems. Many project methodologies come close to preventing problems, and many are tailored to specific uses, but it finally boils down to applying solid project management principles. Methodologies affect project management; they affect any project universally in the sense that each methodology:

Contains project phases.

Measures progress.

Takes corrective actions based on defects found.

Assigns resources to various phases.

Project methodologies are useful to companies only when the tasks are appropriate and applicable. In many project studies, project plans are seldom updated. Why is this? Many projects focus only on satisfying clients during the initial deployment phases instead of conforming to the actual plan as the project proceeds throughout the project life cycle.

In Figure 1.2, we see that Project A has no methodology and is filled with process issues as well as problems that actually increase as the project moves along. Additionally, Project B, which has a structured methodology with defined and operational project processes, minimizes the number of problems that may occur on the project. I do not contend that there will never be any problems if a project methodology is in place; it does, however, mean that you have planned for all areas of the project to function while trying to meet the objectives.


Figure 1.2: Difference in using a methodology.
In assessing any company, we see that project management (PM) methodology does not exist in isolation. Instead, there are other interrelated, connected methodologies, which have a dependency on one another. Figure 1.3 illustrates that there is more than one methodology in an organization, and you need to be prepared for the one you will be using or interacting with. There is a relationship between the various methodologies, including:

Sales and marketing methodology.

Recruitment methodology.

Project management methodology.

Development methodology (i.e., specific technical build). This implies that the software or product is built more from a technical perspective than the way a project methodology is managed (e.g., when you think about building a new car, you think about the project methodology you'll be using, but hidden within the project methodology is the specific development methodology, which is precise technical steps).

Operations and support methodology.


Figure 1.3: Typical methodologies used in an organization.
It is crucial to understand the bigger picture of what is involved before undertaking any project. For example, the fastest house builders in the world—Habitat for Humanity International—broke the world record in 1999 by building an entire four-bedroom house in 3 hours 44 minutes and 59 seconds in Auckland, New Zealand, including electrical and plumbing systems. However, the planning and coordination of this project took 14 months, which is another matter. You should not focus just on the actual "build" phase, which the record focuses on, but see which other methodologies contributed toward making this possible. Habitat for Humanity International used the following methodologies to build this house:

A marketing methodology to market the idea to their stakeholders.

A recruitment methodology to recruit the necessary volunteers to build the house.

A basic project management methodology to estimate and plan this effort.

A well-orchestrated development methodology emphasizing teamwork and multiple tasks being performed at the same time.

Defining a Project
Although this book focuses primarily on various project management frameworks and development methodologies, we first clarify what a project is—a temporary effort of work, a one-time event that meets the following criteria:

Has a start and an end date.

Has schedule, cost, and quality constraints.

Is a unique endeavor and contains risk.

Has a certain scope that needs to occur.

Typical everyday examples of where we could apply a project management methodology and a development methodology include:

The development of a new freeway as part of an existing road network.

The creation of a new business unit in an organization.

The design and development of a new computer system.

The search for a pharmaceutical drug for a life-threatening virus.

The development of a naval or space vessel.

The creation of a new political party.

Project managers should realize that any repetitive continuous process is not a project. They should be focusing on a one-time event. Traditionally, a business unit decides that an organization should develop a product and turns it over to the relevant project group to establish a plan and manage the project. Additionally, the project manager must ensure that the project actually fits into the project plan that was built. Executives or clients then routinely scrutinize this plan to check for variances and request the necessary corrections or deviations. Project management thus has an important role to play. Project changes and new requirements will always be present because of legislative, regulatory, technological, or new strategic initiatives. We see why in the next section.

Project Management Demystified
Before looking more closely at methodologies, we need to be aware of the key tasks that a project manager performs on any project (see Table 1.1). These are not all the objectives that you might encounter on a specific project, but the list will give you a basic feeling for what objectives are to be met.

Table 1.1: Project objectives Objectives
Responsibility
How

Obtain the user requirements
Analyst/PM, client
Interviews, URS

Define the project
PM, Client
Definition report, Business case, Feasibility study

Plan the project
PM
PBS/WBS, Gantt

Negotiate for resources
PM, Sponsor
Resource plan

Create the project team to perform the work
PM
Team contract, R&R

Execute the project, including changes
PM
Implementation plan, Change requests

Control and monitor the actual versus planned
PM
Status reports, Issue and Risk logs

Close the project and release the resources
PM, Client
Closure report

Review project and support postproject
PM, Client
Questionnaire review


Many companies don't have sufficient resources to perform multiple projects concurrently because of (1) turnover, (2) untrained staff, (3) unavailable staff, or (4) functional restrictions in their departments. It is important that project managers be aware of the resource commitments to other projects in their organization. A complete project management framework can determine these requirements upfront and well in advance of any crippling resource problems.

Project Management Responsibilities
Throughout the life of any project, project managers are responsible for the key areas. Some of these responsibilities, which tie in directly with any project methodology, follow:

Obtain approval for the project to proceed.

Determine the project scope and its feasibility to the overall business.

Ensure the necessary project resources are identified and allocated.

Plan the project to the relevant detail it requires.

Ensure that the project methodology and associated processes are adhered to.

Monitor the project in terms of cost, quality, and schedule.

Identify and monitor project issues and risks.

Provide updated reports and summaries to key stakeholders.

Provide leadership to the project team.

Status of Projects Today
Across all industries—whether IT or construction—we are encountering many of the same problems time and time again, irrespective of geographic location. I have heard project managers in China, Brazil, Amsterdam, and Munich complain bitterly about similar issues on their projects. Problems such as cost and schedule overruns, poor sponsorship, no user involvement, and many other problems are encountered daily. These project managers either don't use their project methodologies effectively or don't use them at all. Project management is not simple; our primary role is to resolve or eliminate daily challenges. We now examine some of the universal challenges facing project managers, which are listed in Table 1.2.

Table 1.2: Challenging project issues Challenge
Questions Facing Project Managers

Competition gaining ground
How do we develop projects faster than before?

Constantly changing requirements
What do we need to meet both project and client needs?

Larger and more complex projects
How do we ensure quality is built into our projects?

Inaccurate designs
How do we ensure our methodology captures an effective design?

Ineffective documentation
How do we know which templates to use per project type?

Inadequate resources
How do we address resource requirements and plan for them?

Postproject support
How do we address handoff of our project to operations?

Why do Projects Fail?
One of the best project management oracles of all time—Dr. J. Davidson Frame—states that projects fail mainly because of two reasons: (1) a failure of estimation and (2) a failure of implementation. The following are reasons projects fail:

Initial cost and schedule estimates are not revised when more information becomes available as the project progresses.

Plans are not used correctly or used to guide the project forward.

Project managers are not trained to acquire the necessary skill base; subsequently, the same mistakes are made repeatedly.

The theory of project management is not put into practice. This point can be seen in the attitude of many managers who view theory as a waste of time—yet time is found to repair errors later. Isn't that a sure sign of the wrong approach?

The project scope changes.

The incorrect project methodology is used.

Requirements have major changes.

Communications are poor.

Testing and/or inspections are poorly done.

Figure 1.4 shows familiar issues that cause problems on projects. However, any problem can be resolved by carefully drawing a problem matrix. If we have a project that is "over schedule," we can follow this through on the matrix and see that it was caused by a "waterfall approach." The solution to this problem is selecting an iterative methodology.


Figure 1.4: Problem resolution and fault-finding technique.
Examining the Need for Methodologies
Today, projects require much tighter integration and innovativeness than what we have seen during the past decade; this alone necessitates the use of more creative ways to design, build, test, and deploy products and services. A manager can no longer create a project schedule by filling in one or two templates. Companies require more out of their projects than ever before. One way to achieve a more efficient result is to adopt newer, swifter, and "lighter" project methodologies. Gone are the days of using a bureaucratic life-cycle approach, unless you have a very simple project that requires serious coordination and control. Table 1.3 shows us that project managers and executives have to be innovative and creative if they want to resolve historical problems.

Table 1.3: Drivers for using methodologies Reasons for Change?
What Do We Want to Change?

Shorten project schedules
Improve the planned schedule.

Reduce project costs
Improve the overall project profits without affecting quality.

Be flexible on project execution
Adjust the project within the boundaries.

Improve customer support
Address client needs.

Be able to fast-track projects
Perform common tasks simultaneously.

Increase project quality
Introduce quality and testing from day one.

Improve client participation
Improve requirements gathering and client participation.

Constant changes
Reduce constant change by defining a change process.

Unpredictable results
Have repeatable results and be able to measure performance.


Companies are increasingly looking to project management teams to provide solutions to many of the challenges listed previously. Methodology can assist in the sharing of information across a "virtual project enterprise." Projects have significant technical, resource, and data components that require management through their life cycle. Projects must comply with the correct standards and guidelines to protect the users' investment in such systems.

How do we select a comprehensive project management methodology that is very useful to anyone managing projects? A methodology that can be applied to a cross section of industries can be customized to reflect a specific project environment in an industry. When implementing a project, a multitude of areas should be investigated to determine what course of action to pursue. The many variables that require management in the complex environment also represent areas that can be exploited to achieve productivity and cost advantages during project execution.

Projects have definite life cycles that determine how the projects are actually managed from the initial discovery phase through detailed design, construction through to the delivery, and eventual operation of the product. The secret to the success of any methodology is this: It uses solid, repeatable processes that serve as the foundation for any successful project initiative, supported by sufficient documentation and relevant processes providing (1) repeatable best practices, (2) consistency of results, and (3) a quicker path to results.

Project managers often ask: "How can we speed up the development or execution process?" Many times, they see the process as slow and painful with too many policies and procedures. The answer is either (1) by selecting a more agile methodology or (2) by cutting back on your heavyweight methodology to make up lost time and cost. Have you ever heard key staff say: "We considered developing our own methodology, but we rejected that idea after not being sure what methodology was right for us"? The best answer is to first look at your overall company strategy.
Understanding Organizations
In 210 B.C., Petronius Arbiter wrote, "We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up in teams, we would be reorganized. I was later to learn in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and what a wonderful method it can be" (Roman author, The Satyricon, 210 B.C.). Many projects are instigated from the top down. Just look at how Toyota has turned its organization around and created product lines using efficient project methodologies and processes to become a virtual powerhouse. Toyota produces one of the best-selling cars in America. Every other auto manufacturer has tried to replicate this turn around.

Harley Davidson's organizational chart has three overlapping circles—a Create Demand circle responsible for marketing and sales, a Produce Products circle for engineering and production, and a Support circle for all other functions. However, where these three circles intersect is a Leadership and Strategy Council that oversees general management functions such as planning and budgeting. This overlapping of the circles emphasizes the interdependency between areas that encourage participation and growth.

Executives and project managers who need to understand how projects are going to be managed in the organization should first understand the company structure. Figure 1.7 shows three main types of organizational structures you might encounter when managing projects. First is a matrix structure, which is extremely difficult to work in, where project coordination and follow-up is mandatory. Second is the functional structure, which relies on the functional managers to manage their projects. Third is the projectized structure, or the project approach, which has the ability to rapidly formulate the project team and move forward.

Lessons Learned
The following lessons learned are crucial in understanding project management methodologies:

Sometimes, it is not feasible to adopt another methodology and reintroduce it into your current environment. A thorough assessment and gap analysis needs to be performed before implementing such a methodology.

Don't try to sell a Rolls Royce to an organization that requires only a Jeep. Sometimes they really don't need all the flash.

Gaining executive support for moving ahead with a project management methodology is paramount to the success of any organization. Without executive support, it becomes increasingly complex and time consuming to sell the idea of project methodology.

Determine your business strategy first, and then focus on the tactics you wish to employ