Project Methodologies: PRINCE2 vs. PMBOK

[Name]
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
METHODOLOGY

Table of Contents
Introduction..............................................................................................................................3
Methodology.............................................................................................................................3
Organization A......................................................................................................................3
Organization B......................................................................................................................3
Organization C......................................................................................................................4
Implementation........................................................................................................................5
Organization A......................................................................................................................5
Organization B......................................................................................................................5
Organization C......................................................................................................................5
Issues in Implementation.........................................................................................................6
Organization A......................................................................................................................6
Organization B......................................................................................................................7
Organization C......................................................................................................................7
Addressing Difficulties.............................................................................................................8
Organization A......................................................................................................................8
Organization B......................................................................................................................8
Organization C......................................................................................................................8
Benefits......................................................................................................................................9
Organization A......................................................................................................................9
Organization B......................................................................................................................9
Organization C......................................................................................................................9
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................10
References...............................................................................................................................10

Introduction
If a business wants to create a niche in the market, it needs to be innovative such that is able
to survive in the competitive business world. One possibility is adoption of a project
management methodology for planning, organizing, managing and controlling work such that
the productivity of team is improved and performance of the organization is enhanced.
However, one project management methodology may not always fit all companies and thus,
decisions are required to be made after studying the organizational structure. Two standard
methodologies that are used by organizations worldwide are PMBOK and PRINCE2. In this
report, there are 3 organizations including a financial organization, a residential society, and
an international IT organization that are in the process of deciding a project management
methodology out of the two. This report would explore the three cases from the perspective
of project management methodology implementation to understand the likely problems that
companies can face such that an appropriate choice can be made.
Methodology
Organization A
Existing Methodology: It is a Financial Services organization that is operating with 80
employees in Australia and New Zealand. The company uses Australian Prudential
Regulation Authority – Regulator Performance Framework for managing its business
operations. The project manager can have a direct influence on the senior manager in the
company. The management was fast in deciding the project management methodology.
Proposed Methodology: The company needs project management methodology for
managing its financial projects that are specialized. PRINCE2 is a methodology that is most
suitable for general projects and thus, a PMBOK methodology may be more suitable for the
Organization A. Moreover, PMBOK is more focused on the work of project managers as they
are given the authority of decision making, the methodology would fit the organizational
structure in which project managers are already given priority (Karaman & Kurt, 2015).
Organization B
Existing Methodology: It is a Building Society that houses 600 people. The society uses
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority – Regulator Performance Framework for
managing its operations. The company is using a project management methodology that was
developed by the company internally.
Proposed Methodology: However, the methodology has not been efficient which is why the
company want to adapt to a new and more organized methodology. As PMBOK guide
provides a very detailed view of projects management processes, it can be chosen for the
Organization B (PMI, 2010).
Organization C

Existing Methodology: It is an international technological services organization operating
with 1200 people worldwide. The company uses Capability Maturity Model Integration
(CMMI) for managing its operations and is certified with CMMI.
Figure 1: PRINCE 2 Methodology for Organization C (Turley, 2012)
Proposed Methodology: As the company is already using a standardized methodology for IT
project management, what is now needs is a methodology that helps the company explore
best practices of the industry. It does not need very detailed process guidance but something
that is flexible and can be tailored based on the projects being managed. Thus, PRINCE2
would an appropriate project management methodology which is also popular with IT
projects worldwide. The project would be divided into 4 major stages including pre-project,
initiation, execution, and closure. In the pre-project stage, all the information that is required
to initiate the project is collected and an initial plan is made. During initiation, project is
authorized to start and an initiation document called PID is approved. During the stage of
execution, project deliveries are managed as per the identified work packages. At this stage,
the control measures would be established to manage the stage boundaries and deliverables as
per the project plan. The last stage of a project is closure which involves development of the
end project report.
The IT projects taken by the company would be carried out in four stages including pre-
project, initiation, execution and project closure. First the information needed for respective
project would be gathered and an initial plan would be made which would be approved by the
management for project initiation. The project would then be executed as per the project plan
in a controlled environment that ensures taking care of the project boundaries. Once, the
entire project activities are finished, project closure report is prepared along with lessons
recorded for final sign off.