Project Management Methodologies: Agile Scrum and Waterfall Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of project management methodologies, focusing on Agile Scrum and Waterfall approaches. It begins by defining project management methodologies and their crucial role in project success. The report then delves into a comparative analysis, highlighting the similarities and differences between Agile Scrum and Waterfall, including their approaches to project life cycles, flexibility, and stakeholder involvement. The report also examines the distinct phases within the project life cycles of both methodologies, illustrating their practical application. The report concludes by offering a clear understanding of each methodology's strengths and weaknesses, aiding in informed decision-making for project managers.

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Assignment – 1 (Project Management Methodology)
Table of Contents
Task 1 (Definition & Role of PMM)..........................................................................................3
a. Definition of Project Methodology.....................................................................................3
b. Role of Methodology in PM...............................................................................................3
Task 2 (Similarities & Differences)...........................................................................................3
a. Similarities among Agile Scrum and Waterfall Methodologies.........................................3
b. Difference between Agile Scrum and Waterfall Methodologies.......................................4
Task 3 (Project Life Cycle of 2 Methodologies)........................................................................4
a. Agile Scrum Methodology.................................................................................................4
b. Waterfall Methodology......................................................................................................5
References..................................................................................................................................6
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Assignment – 1 (Project Management Methodology)
Task 1 (Definition & Role of PMM)
a. Definition of Project Methodology
The project management methodologies are nothing but a set and sequence of few processes
and activities which are developed by the experts from the lessons learnt of past projects to
deliver the customer's satisfaction throughout the project lifecycle (Artech, 2003). This is
such a sequence of activities which does not gets fit for all the projects as same, and so it
should be selected very strategically by the project manager.
b. Role of Methodology in PM
Project management methodology plays a very vital role in the project management because
it can have very crucial impact in the project outcome. Various roles that a methodology can
play in the project are as explained below (Aston, 2017):
a) The chances of having scope creep gets reduced substantially because they can be
finalized right at the planning stage by providing information related to past
experiences
b) The cost overrun does not happen as the methodologies always provide the right
estimation of the resource requirement
c) Resource requirement can be finalised initially itself so that the recruitment and their
mobilization plan can be well set
d) The project manager can invest less man-hour towards managing communication with
manpower because the roles and responsibilities of each resources get finalized during
the initial stage and so the team can concentrate more on technical matters.
Task 2 (Similarities & Differences)
a. Similarities among Agile Scrum and Waterfall Methodologies
The similarities between Waterfall and Agile Scrum methodology are as explained below:
a) The concept of managing the project with the sequence of discover, plan, build, and
review happens in the Waterfall and Agile Scrum both (Kukhnavets, 2016).
b) The target of both the methodology is to deliver high-value product to its customer
which is developed with a minimum project cost and maximum project quality.
c) The risk of project gets increases as the project phase moves towards the end because
of the rise in the chances of the acceptability of the product by the customer.
d) Both the methodologies pose processes to manage the scope properly (Larson, 2010).
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Assignment – 1 (Project Management Methodology)
e) In the case of managing virtual team for developing the project, both the
methodologies struggle because the communication barrier becomes the main
problem.
b. Difference between Agile Scrum and Waterfall Methodologies
The differences between Agile scrum and waterfall methodology are as explained below
(Guru99, 2019):
Agile Scrum Waterfall
a) Project life cycle gets divided into
several sprint cycle
a) The life cycle consists of fixed processes
and no sprint cycle is allowed
b) It allows the increment of scope, cost,
and resources during the project
b) It does not allow any increase in the
parameters
c) It is much flexible as it can get modified
during the project
c) It is very rigid and follows strict
sequence
d) The plan is reviewed after every cycle of
sprint
d) The test plan is not discussed during the
project development, as it is finalized at
the beginning
e) Customers and other stakeholders can
always contribute in the project meeting
after every sprint cycle
e) Customers and all stakeholders meet to
develop the requirement and plan at the
beginning and are not entertained during
the development of the project
f) Like the name, the team members are
also Agile and can be shifted to many
projects at the same time
f) The project manager is very essential for
project development and is not allowed
to move anywhere during the project
Task 3 (Project Life Cycle of 2 Methodologies)
a. Agile Scrum Methodology
The overall life cycle of the project is divided into 5 stages (SCRUMstudy, 2017). The 1st
stage is initiate; in this stage, the vision of the project is developed in case it is the first cycle
of sprint, else, the backlog of the past sprint is carried over. The 2nd stage is plan & estimate;
in which the planning of further activities in the sprint is performed. The 3rd is, implement, in
which the execution of the plan is performed. The 4th is retrospect after review; in which the
validation of the developed system is performed and the backlog is calculated to carry over
the next sprint. The last and 5th stage is release; in which the product is released.
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Assignment – 1 (Project Management Methodology)
Figure: Project Life Cycle: Agile Scrum Methodology (Ambler, 2012)
b. Waterfall Methodology
To cover the overall life cycle of a project, the Waterfall methodology is divided into 6 stages
(Powell-Morse, 2016). The 1st stage is requirement identification. The requirements are
identified to deliver the project. The 2nd stage is analysis, in which the planning to develop
the requirement. The 3rd stage is related to design, in which the overall technical requirement
to develop the program is finalized. The 4th stage is coding; in this stage, the codes as per the
design criteria are developed to meet the program requirement. The 5th stage is testing; at this
stage, the testing of the developed program is performed. The last and 6th stage is
maintenance; in this stage, the final hook-up with the existing service is performed.
Figure: Project Life Cycle: Waterfall Methodology (Powell-Morse, 2016)
References
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Assignment – 1 (Project Management Methodology)
Ambler, S. W. (2012). The Agile System Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Retrieved March
23, 2019, from http://www.ambysoft.com:
http://www.ambysoft.com/essays/agileLifecycle.html
Artech. (2003). Project Management Methodology. Artech Information Systems LLC.
Retrieved from http://www.artechinfo.com:
http://www.artechinfo.com/News/Artech's%20Project%20Management
%20Methodology.pdf
Aston, B. (2017, March 2). 9 Project Management Methodologies Made Simple. Retrieved
March 22, 2019, from https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com:
https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/project-management-methodologies-made-
simple/
Guru99. (2019). Waterfall Vs. Agile: Must Know Differences. Retrieved March 23, 2019,
from www.guru99.com: https://www.guru99.com/waterfall-vs-agile.html
Kukhnavets, P. (2016, November 24). Agile vs Waterfall: Pros and Cons, Differences and
Similarities. Retrieved March 23, 2019, from https://blog.ganttpro.com:
https://blog.ganttpro.com/en/waterfall-vs-agile-with-advantages-and-disadvantages/
Larson, E. (2010, July 6). Scrum vs. Waterfall: The Fight Continues. Retrieved March 23,
2019, from www.watermarklearning.com:
https://www.watermarklearning.com/blog/scrum-vs-waterfall-pt2/
Powell-Morse, A. (2016, December 8). Waterfall Model: What Is It and When Should You
Use It? Retrieved March 23, 2019, from https://airbrake.io:
https://airbrake.io/blog/sdlc/waterfall-model
SCRUMstudy. (2017). Scrum Phases and Processes. Retrieved March 23, 2019, from
www.scrumstudy.com: https://www.scrumstudy.com/whyscrum/scrum-phases-and-
processes
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