Project management is a relatively new discipline. Although projects have been managed throughout our history, it was not until the 1960s and 1970s that we began to study how to manage them in a more rational and structured way.
Today, we do not have a "science of project management" but we have managed to identify a set of good practices that facilitate the success of any project , thanks to the design of ways of working that provide positive results. In other words, we have "frameworks" or "good practices".
Each of these reference frameworks or good practices corresponds to different approaches, depending on where the emphasis is placed in the life cycle of a project. This is why they are very different and may even seem incompatible. Depending on the type of project we want to manage, we must know how to choose the most appropriate formula and, if necessary, choose one reference framework or another. Our goal must be to try to guarantee the success of our project.
The predictive approach and the agile approach in project management
Due to their international acceptance and the huge number of people who follow them, there are two essential references for project management: the PMBoK guide , of North American origin, and Prince2 projects , which are less widely used, although they are the reference in the British environment. Both respond to the category of what we could call predictive methodologies . The characteristic that defines them is that, according to them, the most efficient way to develop a job is to do it well the first time, which we will only achieve if we are able to define in detail the result we want to obtain and we work in a stable environment.
If we manage a project with a predictive approach, we will have to meticulously plan all the tasks that we will have to carry out throughout the project, the duration and cost of each of these tasks, as well as the quality standard that we will apply, the resources needed and the risks that we will have to face. Once the project has been planned, we will have to try to follow the plan set out by all means. In addition, if any kind of deviation occurs during the project, we will have to try to correct or minimise it, so that we can adjust it as much as possible to the initial plan; and, if it is evident that this cannot be maintained, we will have to reschedule it, with the associated drawbacks.
In contrast to this predictive model, which is often known as "waterfall" because everything that needs to be done must be included in a schedule full of tasks and milestones that occur over the duration of the project, other methods have emerged, especially in software development companies , based on agile, iterative and incremental development , which try to minimize the effects of the risks inherent to any project, thanks to very short developments.
The goal of the agile project management approach is not to build a large, "complete" product over a "long" project, but to gradually create a "small" product with minimal functionality in a very short iteration, and then add more and more functionality in each subsequent iteration of the project management. The main characteristic of this type of approach is that each stage adds value, right from the start of the project, thanks to user and/or customer feedback , so that the overall scope of the project is constantly evolving. In fact, this continuous evolution and improvement can have the perverse effect of the project "never ending".
It is important to note that, although the origin of this type of methodologies (or best practices in reality) stands out in software development , where it has achieved the best results, this is not the only area where it can be applied. Among the agile proposals, the best known are Scrum , which is fundamentally an agile teamwork framework for project management, and Kanban , which, in essence, is an agile way of managing work , putting the emphasis on "just in time" delivery .
Reference works
As an essential reference work for a project manager, the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) stands out , edited by the Project Management Institute (PMI), the largest international organization focused on project management (more than 600,000 members in nearly 170 countries). The PMBoK is the only standard recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and is aligned with the ISO 21500 and ISO 9001 standards .
The guide contains an overview of the fundamentals of project management landline number format philippines that are recognised as good practices and are constantly updated. Currently, the sixth edition is in force, where reference is made to agile, iterative and adaptive environments, describing how these practices are integrated into a project setup.
If you've chosen the agile model, you should check out Scrum , written by Jeff Sutherland , one of its creators. The book, according to the author, "is designed to tell the why of Scrum" and, in the final appendix, explains how to do it and where to start.
Conclusion
One of the keys to ensuring the success of any project is to identify existing methodologies, choose the right approach and align our management with its principles.
To learn about the alternatives for project management, you can read this article on " Standards and methodologies ", among which the proposals of PMBoK and Scrum stand out, which we can learn about in courses related to Project Management , such as the Free 40-hour online course on Project Management.
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