Project Management Methodologies

This article discusses different project management methodologies like Agile, Waterfall, Scrum, Kanban, Lean, Six Sigma and PMBOK. It explains the features of each methodology and their applications. The article helps project managers to choose the right methodology for their project and achieve success. The article is relevant for students studying project management, business management, and related courses.

Running Head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES
Project Management Methodologies
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................2
Agile............................................................................................................................................2
Waterfall......................................................................................................................................2
Scrum...........................................................................................................................................3
Kanban.........................................................................................................................................3
Lean.............................................................................................................................................3
Six Sigma.....................................................................................................................................3
PMBOK.......................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................5

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Introduction:
The topic of discussion of this assignment is project management methodologies.
Organisations today has to deal with a lot of projects that need to be organized and structured for
its accomplishment. These methodologies solve the problem by structuring and guiding the
project in a proper direction. Project managers follow one of the available methodology as per
the requirement of the project. The following paragraphs will deal with different methodologies
that will facilitate fast accomplishment of the project.
Discussion:
Methodology is the infrastructure that the project managers follow to structure projects
according to a particular sequence. Different methodologies follow different sequence. The
methodologies briefly described in the following paragraphs.
Agile:
This method is applicable to projects where fast delivery of products to the customers are
required. Unlike waterfall framework, the products are not defined in the beginning of
structuring. They are planned throughout the project (Cubric, 2013). This approach is most
commonly used in software development however, can also be powerful for other projects as
well.
Waterfall:
In waterfall method, the products are defined at the beginning of project that is in
requirement stage and the end products are the same as designed in the beginning. The
framework follows a certain sequence and they are determining the requirements of the project,
designing the project as per the requirements followed by constructing, integrating, testing and

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debugging, installing and finally maintaining them. This method is mainly used for structuring
the software development and construction projects.
Scrum:
It is a type of agile methodology that breaks down the project deliverables into 30 days
(Permana, 2015). The projects that cannot be accomplished due to pressure is made easy by the
scrum methodology. In scrum, the project managers are called scrum masters who facilitates
communication among team members of the project and tackles any kind of distraction that
interfere in working of the project. It adds additional value to the project like commitment, focus,
courage and respect.
Kanban:
It is another type of agile project management methodology like the scrum that focuses
on early delivery of the project. The six general steps followed by the kanban methodology are
proper visualization, limiting the progress of the work, managing the flow of the project, making
explicit policies, using feedbacks and finally evolution (Ahmad, Markkula & Oivo, 2013). Like
scrum, kanban is also used in small teams where flexible approach is required to deliver a service
or a product.
Lean:
This methodology mainly focuses on customer satisfaction, by minimizing the waste. The
wastes are classified as muda, mura and muri (Bosch et al., 2013). Muda is the waste in the
manufacturing system, mura is the waste generated due to overburden and muri is the waste
generated due to uneven workloads.
Six Sigma:

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The engineers in Motorola first discovered the Six Sigma framework of project
management in 1986 (Banawi & Bilec, 2014). It mainly aims at improving the quality of the
project by reducing the number of errors in the process. It first identifies the non-working areas
of the project then removes it. Six Sigma is composed of two methodologies, which are DMAIC
that is used for improving business processes and DMADV that is used for innovating new
processes, products or services.
PMBOK:
This is the short form of Project Management Body of Knowledge. It provides a
generalized view for project management. All projects follow certain steps like initiation of the
project, followed by planning, execution of the project, controlling the processes and finally
closure of the project (Hornstein, 2015). This type of methodology cannot be applied to any
project because it provides a reference guide to the project. However, it can be used to compare
among the other frameworks to find out the best one.
Conclusion:
From the above discussions, it can be concluded that all projects require a proper
structure to follow. It is the duty of the project managers to decide which methodology to choose
according to the demand of the project. If the correct framework is chosen, then the goals of the
project met at a faster rate and leads to greater customer satisfaction.

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References:
Ahmad, M. O., Markkula, J., & Oivo, M. (2013, September). Kanban in software development:
A systematic literature review. In Software Engineering and Advanced Applications
(SEAA), 2013 39th EUROMICRO Conference on (pp. 9-16). IEEE.
Banawi, A., & Bilec, M. M. (2014). A framework to improve construction processes: Integrating
Lean, Green and Six Sigma. International Journal of Construction Management, 14(1),
45-55.
Bosch, J., Olsson, H. H., Björk, J., & Ljungblad, J. (2013). The early stage software startup
development model: a framework for operationalizing lean principles in software
startups. In Lean Enterprise Software and Systems (pp. 1-15). Springer, Berlin,
Heidelberg.
Cubric, M. (2013). An agile method for teaching agile in business schools. The International
Journal of Management Education, 11(3), 119-131.
Hornstein, H. A. (2015). The integration of project management and organizational change
management is now a necessity. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2),
291-298.
Permana, P. A. G. (2015). Scrum method implementation in a software development project
management. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and
Applications, 6(9), 198-204.