Project Management Methodologies: A Comparative Analysis and Plan

This report examines various project management methodologies, including PRINCE2, Agile, and Rapid Application Development (RAD). It discusses the advantages, disadvantages, and areas of application for each methodology, highlighting their suitability for different types of projects. The report emphasizes the importance of structured planning, scoping, and scheduling in IT projects to ensure high-quality deliverables. It also delves into the concept of a risk mitigation plan, outlining a five-step process for identifying, assessing, prioritizing, tracking, and mitigating project risks, particularly focusing on cost-related risks. The report underscores the significance of these methodologies in delivering projects on time and within budget, ultimately satisfying all stakeholders. It also references the increasing adoption of project management techniques in IT projects and the complexities they address.

Project Management Methodologies

Introduction
In this present paper, we will discuss the advantages, disadvantages, and area of application of
the project management methodologies. The methodology is defined as the set of principles
which can be tailored according to the particular situation. The methodologies of IT projects are
characterized by the high structured planning, scoping and scheduling in order to deliver the high
quality of products and services to its customers. The reasonable project management
technologies act as a bridge between the rough project plan and technical matter in detail. The
aim of the successful project management methodologies is to structure the leading process of
the project to a satisfy end by taken into account logical sequence and a right perspective of the
process in the project development life cycle. There are two broad categories of project
methodologies, namely, project management methodologies, and application development
methodologies. The methodologies help to deliver the project on time with the respective budget
in order to satisfy all the stakeholders of the project. The component of the project management
methodologies includes planning, execution, and monitoring of the project which ensure the
delivery of the project on time.
Following are three project management methodologies:
1. Prince 2
It is defined as the structural approach which is majorly used by all the industrial sectors as
an element in order to deliver the project successfully. It is the process driven project
management technology which mainly focuses on high level activities for example
management, control and others.

Advantages
The methodologies help to identify the cost overrun quickly, or the project is not on track which
enables to deliver the project on time successfully. The project management methodologies help
to successfully understand the scope of the project by developing the roadmap to achieve the
goals of the project. It helps to control the cost of the project which enables to build the
competitive advantage to the company. It defined roles and responsibilities with continues seek
and drawn of previous experience. It helps to manage the exception at every stage and tailored to
suit the project environment.
Disadvantage
The disadvantages of project management methodologies are categorized into three segments,
namely, cost overhead, communication overhead and time overhead (Fewings et al., 2013).
Areas of application
According to the KPMG international, the project management techniques are increased in the
new IT projects by 81% in the past few years (Schwalbe et al., 2015). The IT projects are more
complex than other projects, so the project management technologies help to reduce the
complexities in the projects.
2. Agile project management
It is the iterative and incremental methodology in which the work is carried out through iterative
phases. It helps to get the feedback constantly and refine the needs between two iterations.

Advantages
The methodologies can be used to improve the performance of the project, and it can be used to
control the project in order to successfully deliver the project (Kerzner et al., 2013). It guides the
team to perform their task in an appropriate manner.
Disadvantage
The disadvantage is communication overhead in which the new layer is added to the team
members and management instead of the direct flow of information from functional manager to
team members who create miscommunication of information, and it directly impacts on the
overall performance of the project.
Areas of application
It is suitable for small projects such as graphic designing and software development.
3. Rapid application development
It is defined as the technology which is mainly used for software development where the
objective is to develop the application with high quality.
Advantages
The project management methodologies can be used to accomplish the project management
goals within the specific time period. It helps to reduce the roles and responsibilities of an
individual which enables to manage the project in an effective manner. The methodologies help
to resolve the problem by managing the risk in an efficient and effective manner in order to build
the competitive advantage to the company (David et al., 2016).

Disadvantage
The communication overhead is one of the causes of time overhead. For example, Wrong
requirements of the projects are ordered due to miscommunication between the project manager
and the procurement manager and it leads to the waste of time by changing the material required
in order to start the project (Kendrick et al., 2015). It may lead to poor quality of code and
require client involvement at the time of execution. It is not suitable for large software projects.
Areas of application
The methodologies are used to develop the application in IT projects. It is applied by a large
number of organizations in order to successfully deliver the project on time with high quality.
Risk mitigation plan
The risk mitigation plan is defined as the process of developing options and actions in order to
enhance the project opportunities and minimize the threat in order to deliver the project within
the particular time-bound successfully. The risk mitigation plan assumes the risk of over cost.
Following are the five steps of risk mitigation plan:
1. Risk identification
The first step is to identify the risk and risk events which impact on the overall performance
of the project. In which various type of risk is determined such as high-cost risk.
2. Risk impact assessment
The risk is identified through assessing the consequences and probability of various risk
events. The consequences of the project include schedule, cost, technical performance,
capability, functionality impacts and others. The various risk related to the project are

critically assessed in order to determine the risk mitigation strategies. (Liel et al., 2013) Then
the over cost is prioritized.
3. Risk prioritization analysis
Then the priorities of the risk are analyzed in order to rank the risk events from most to least.
The analytic decision rules are used to analyze the priorities of the risk. Then over cost is
ranked on high.
4. Risk tracking
The overall tracking of the risk is done in order to check the progress and track on risk
mitigation strategy. Then strategy to minimize the cost is formulated.
5. Risk mitigation planning, implementation, and progress mentoring
Then after assessing the priorities of the risk, the plan is formulated in order to mitigate the
high-cost risk after developing the risk the plan is implemented in order to mitigate the risk
and then the risk mitigation progress is monitored in order to control the process.
6. Reassessment of new risks
Then the cycle continues by reassessing the new risk in order to formulate the new risk
assessment strategies.

References
Kerzner, H. R. (2013). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and
controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Schwalbe, K. (2015). Information technology project management. Cengage Learning.
David, F., & David, F. R. (2016). Strategic Management: A Competitive Advantage Approach,
Concepts and Cases.
Fewings, P. (2013). Construction project management: An integrated approach. Routledge.
Kendrick, T. (2015). Identifying and managing project risk: essential tools for failure-proofing
your project. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.
Liel, A. B., & Deierlein, G. G. (2013). Cost-benefit evaluation of seismic risk mitigation
alternatives for older concrete frame buildings. Earthquake Spectra, 29(4), 1391-1411.