To be able to answer that question, it is necessary to say that you’re probably looking to bring some structure and cohesiveness to your workflow. Project management methodologies provide an infrastructure for accomplishing projects. They’re a blueprint for how tasks and projects are planned, managed, and executed, from start to finish.

But with so many different approaches, that in some cases overlap, to manage the complexities of any project, how can you know which project management methodology is the best?

Project managers can help their organizations improve the way they implement methodologies in the most effective and efficient way while reducing the risks. But this requires much more than recognizing organizational priorities. You must have a deeper understanding of how each project management methodology can create the greatest positive impact, and how each can derail the likelihood of success for your organization.

Next we are going to review the most popular methodologies:

Waterfall:

The waterfall has been a fundamental project management methodology for years. It is sequential in nature and is used in many industries, most commonly in software development. It comprises static phases (requirements analysis, design, testing, implementation and maintenance) that are executed in a specific order. The waterfall allows for greater control in each phase, but can be very inflexible if the scope of a project changes after it is already underway.

Agile:

Initially it was developed for projects that require great flexibility and speed. To achieve this, Agile is composed of short delivery cycles, also known as “sprints”. Agile may be best suited for projects that require less control and real-time communication within self-motivated team environments. As a project management methodology, Agile is highly interactive, allowing quick adjustments throughout a project. It is commonly used in software development projects largely because it makes it easy to identify problems quickly and make changes early in the development process, rather than having to wait until the tests are completed.

Hybrid:

Although many teams will favor cascade or agile, the benefits of both approaches can create a hybrid project management methodology solution, in which the planning phase and requirements are carried out under a cascade approach and the design, development, implementation and testing phases follow the agile methodology.

Critical path method:

The critical path method (CPM) is a step-by-step methodology used for projects with interdependent activities. It contains a list of activities and uses a work breakdown structure (WBS) and a timeline to complete, as well as dependencies, milestones and deliverables.

Critical chain project management:

Critical chain project management (CCPM) differs from CPM in that it focuses on the use of resources within a project rather than project activities. To address potential problems with resources, buffering is integrated to ensure that projects are on time and that security is not compromised.

Six Sigma:

It was originally developed by Motorola to eliminate waste and improve processes and profits. It is based on data and has three key components: DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve and control), DMADV (define, measure, analyze, design and verify) and DFSS (Design for Six Sigma).

Scrum:

It is a part of the agile development framework and is also interactive in nature. “Scrum sessions” or “30-day sprints” are used to determine the prioritized tasks.

Many companies feel that they invest too much in their projects (resources, people, and technology) and the end results are not what they expected. This, added to the speed of the changes in the environment and the needs of consumers, can make a company lose focus easily. So, it is important to ask ourselves how we can optimize instead of just give up on project management.

In this environment of uncertainty, project management becomes a necessity for companies to implement the necessary changes to adapt to the current market conditions. This is how projects stop being a tool to develop services and become a system for creating value.

Companies must be aware in this way of working their projects and develop a good methodology to manage them effectively to the extent that they are able to reduce delivery times, improve cost control and reduce the project risks. This will help organizations be more competitive in the national and international markets. Different project management methodologies provide enormous benefits in terms of costs, quality and control for Companies, as well as being a powerful organizational change management tool.

Now, to implement these methodologies in the company it is essential to convince senior management about the benefits of this way of working, so that it is not only a passing fad, but actually a way to make the company sustainable over time.

These are some of the benefits you should consider before implementing project management in your company:

Efficiency in the Delivery of Projects:

It provides a “roadmap” that those involved can follow with ease and leads to completing the project under the expected time, cost and scope.

Knowledge Management:

The same strategies that allow us to successfully complete certain projects, often serve to complete new ones, it helps save time and increasing the certainty of the result. Developing these skills and knowledge from scratch can require a lot of resources.

Greater Competitive Advantage:

Clients feel more satisfied because the results are delivered over time and with the stipulated budget, it provides better relations with clients and enable success stories to spread quickly and far, generating a stronger reputation in the market.

Improves the Flexibility of the Company and its Orientation to the Market:

Possibly one of the greatest benefits that project management brings. In an era of so many and so rapid changes, being able to take the most intelligent direction for each moment and each project is essential to stay oriented towards the demand.

Greater Control of Project Risks:

Risks and issues can always appear without previous announcement, so having a strategy in which risks are identified, calculated and planned brings a lot of stability, tranquility and, above all, capacity to reduce its effects or even avoid them.

Increase in Bandwidth:

Having a systematic methodology, with fewer contingencies and greater customer satisfaction, means that each time there is more capacity to execute new projects, generating the greatest benefit for the company while taking maximum advantage of resources.

Web development is a term that before was used when people referred to the creation of web pages of private  intranets. Today, it has a totally different meaning and is more likely to be used when people refer to web applications that rival the size and complexity of desktop applications.

As the internet started, connection speeds were awful and so design was not an issue since complex purposes were not even allowed then. At the time, there wasn’t even the term web developer, instead the job title was referred as webmaster. Around this time, web design started to incorporate features like background images, columns with text, real time analytics, animated gifs and so on. All these features helped enhance the design and until today, some of these components are still in use.

Two big game changers were introduced on the late 90’s: Flash was introduced as a graphic editor for desktop computers and became colossal being not only used as an interactive display tool for web pages and games but also as a music and video player. Microsoft introduced Ajax to the market as an idea of using JavaScript to enhance performance in web browsers, but this idea wasn’t heard of as much as flash since most of the developers didn’t know that you could program with JavaScript.

Later, in the early 2000’s, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) was launched and came into the picture to play a huge role allowing developers to determine their website layout on each page. HTML contained the text and CSS focal point had the visual presentation. CSS made website customization easier, ensured quicker page load times and  easier maintenance.

At this point, social media began to appear, the creation and mass reach of Windows messenger, MySpace, Facebook, Gmail and YouTube granted a big change on web development because it made programmers integrate those platforms into their web strategies.

In order to improve usability and responsiveness, John Resig invented jQuery, which is a lightweight , “write less, do more”, JavaScript library. What it does is basically to wrap up lines of code through methods that can be coded with a simple line. 

Then, in 2007, Apple released iPhone, making developers think more in responsive designs so websites could work well on cell phones. After this, in 2008, Apple came out with the App Store twisting the aim of the market and creating a new culture within the IT community. So, with the introduction of smartphones and fast internet connectivity, web developers were focusing more on loading time, security and usability.

Today unlike before, web developers and web designers are more aware of the bigger picture and the potential that internet poses. As a matter of fact, we can’t forget that there are other technologies that also influenced the evolution of web development such as gadgets or the internet of things that gave new perspectives to design and technology in general.

In Kambda we are always looking for new trends, we stay up-to-date so we can provide our customers with the best products and services. Take a look at our main services or contact us for more information.

Web development is a term that before was used when people referred to the creation of web pages of private  intranets. Today, it has a totally different meaning and is more likely to be used when people refer to web application development that rival the size and complexity of desktop applications.

As the internet started, connection speeds were awful and so design was not an issue since complex purposes were not even allowed then. At the time, there wasn’t even the term web developer, instead the job title was referred as webmaster. Around this time, web design started to incorporate features like background images, columns with text, real time analytics, animated gifs and so on. All these features helped enhance the design and until today, some of these components are still in use.

Two big game changers were introduced on the late 90’s: Flash was introduced as a graphic editor for desktop computers and became colossal being not only used as an interactive display tool for web pages and games but also as a music and video player. Microsoft introduced Ajax to the market as an idea of using JavaScript to enhance performance in web browsers, but this idea wasn’t heard of as much as flash since most of the developers didn’t know that you could program with JavaScript.

Later, in the early 2000’s, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) was launched and came into the picture to play a huge role allowing developers to determine their website layout on each page. HTML contained the text and CSS focal point had the visual presentation. CSS made website customization easier, ensured quicker page load times and  easier maintenance.

At this point, social media began to appear, the creation and mass reach of Windows messenger, MySpace, Facebook, Gmail and YouTube granted a big change on web development because it made programmers integrate those platforms into their web strategies.

In order to improve usability and responsiveness, John Resig invented jQuery, which is a lightweight , “write less, do more”, JavaScript library. What it does is basically to wrap up lines of code through methods that can be coded with a simple line. 

Then, in 2007, Apple released iPhone, making developers think more in responsive designs so websites could work well on cell phones. After this, in 2008, Apple came out with the App Store twisting the aim of the market and creating a new culture within the IT community. So, with the introduction of smartphones and fast internet connectivity, web developers were focusing more on loading time, security and usability.

Today unlike before, web developers and web designers are more aware of the bigger picture and the potential that internet poses. As a matter of fact, we can’t forget that there are other technologies that also influenced the evolution of web development such as gadgets or the internet of things that gave new perspectives to design and technology in general.

In Kambda we are always looking for new trends, we stay up-to-date so we can provide our customers with the best products and services. Take a look at our main services or contact us for more information.

Project management has become an important role in today’s professional challenges for any type of business or industry, making it important for us to be able to measure its success. Managers often differ on how to keep track of it as they define success according to their own experiences, knowledge or context. For some, success can be something tangible like allocated budget or customer satisfaction while others consider effective communication, stakeholder involvement or even collaboration as successes.

The above means that in order to have a holistic view on how to measure project management, we need to consider objective and subjective criteria; however, we will start by defining what success is since without understanding it, we will not be able to measure it properly.

What does project management success look like?

It’s obvious that success should be partly defined by hard metrics but they should not be the only focus of it. That is because there are many other intangible factors to consider such as the project’s capacity to contribute to the company’s overall strategy, customer satisfaction and more.

Here is a list of items that need to be considered while measuring project success:

1. Project Schedule

   Project management is often measured by whether you are capable or not of keeping up with the original timing of the project. Project managers are often concerned about time management and find that achieving a positive outcome around it is especially difficult but a better way of evaluating time frames and your work is to do it on the go. Our recommendation is to schedule a regular update of your work schedule every week.

2. Budget

   Us and basically most executives think that cost is one of the highest priorities in a project, so appraising your financial performance is crucial. Did you deliver the project within budget? Are you over or under the budget at a particular phase of the project? What can you do to follow the budget and not over spend?

   Delivering a project on budget should be considered one of the greatest factors of success.

3. Quality

   The goal is not only to deliver the project under the quality standards set at the beginning of the project but to go the extra mile and exceed expectations. Even when the project is finished, it is always good to do a quality assurance test (QA) to compare the original set of goals to the delivered project.

   In addition, you have to consider if the project was delivered smoothly, or if the stakeholders and team members are satisfied with the end result.

4. Customer satisfaction

   This is the stage when you know if the software or web development project is ready for the market. Your team has to await for the the client’s feedback. This review process has to take into account several aspects to really understand the overall quality of the product or service. You should expect feedback about the product’s perceived reliability, the compliance of the customer’s needs and their continued use and behavior. Would your customers buy or perform the desired goal of the product again?

If you reached this point, you’ve achieved your ultimate goal and have an attractive product ready for the market.