Comparing Project Management Methodologies: ITC218 Essay Assignment

This essay explores project management methodologies, defining their role and significance in project success. It focuses on comparing and contrasting two prominent frameworks: PRINCE2 and Waterfall. The essay delves into the similarities and differences between these methodologies, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses in managing projects. Furthermore, it examines how each methodology aligns with the project lifecycle, demonstrating how they influence project planning, execution, and control. The analysis includes an understanding of the structure, phases, and principles of each methodology, as well as its impact on project outcomes and customer satisfaction. The essay utilizes the provided resources and frameworks to offer a comprehensive overview of project management methodologies.

Running Head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES
Project Management Methodologies
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................2
Definition of methodology..........................................................................................................2
Role of methodologies in project management...........................................................................2
Benefits....................................................................................................................................2
Demerits...................................................................................................................................3
Methodology 1.............................................................................................................................3
Prince2.....................................................................................................................................3
Methodology 2.............................................................................................................................4
Waterfall..................................................................................................................................4
Comparison between Prince2 and waterfall framework..............................................................5
Similarities...............................................................................................................................5
Dissimilarities..........................................................................................................................5
Relationship of project lifecycle with waterfall and Prince2 methodology....................................6
Relationship of waterfall framework with project life cycle.......................................................6
Relationship of Prince2 framework with life cycle of the project...............................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction:
This essay mainly focuses on the methodologies of project management. Choosing the
correct methodology is significantly important before starting of a project. Each methodology
has its own advantages and disadvantages. Depending on the analysis of the available
methodologies, the project manager chooses the best method that is required to manage his
project. The following paragraphs will deal with the definition of methodologies and its role in
project management. Then a broad discussion on any two methodologies will be done followed
by comparing the two.
Discussion:
Definition of methodology:
Methodology of project management is the structure of the project that is followed by the
project manager for proper implementation and execution of the project (Špundak, 2014). Each
project has its own methodology. Following a particular method will help to organize and
structure the project that will directly lead to accomplishments of the project goals.
Role of methodologies in project management:
Benefits: There are various benefits of using methodologies in managing a project like efficient
decision making, high risk assessment accuracy, reduction of time spent to design a project and
improvement of communication. Some of the methods are broadly explained. They are as under:
 A methodology helps to have a clear idea of the factors that play an important role in
projects. Therefore, it helps the project managers to take decisions effectively.
 Framing a method that projects should follow saves both time and money that is required
to complete the project. The methodologies are designed in such a way that several

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projects fall under the same structure. Therefore, structuring the projects under the same
methods repeatedly will help to reduce the time spent on them.
Demerits: The demerits of project management methodologies are as follows:
 Increased cost of training: To implement the new frameworks the manager in charge of
the project needs to be trained well so that he can efficiently manage the project
following the structures of the methods. This requires a huge amount of money.
 Increases the complexity of the projects: Some of the methodologies has proven to
increase the complexity of small projects. Small projects can be handled in a simple way
rather than following a particular structure, that makes the design of the project more
complex.
Methodology 1:
Prince2: Project In Controlled Environment is the full form of the Prince2 methodology (Matos
& Lopes, 2013). It was developed in United Kingdom therefore, all the projects under the UK
government are accomplished in accordance to this framework.
1. Directing the project
2. Starting of the project
3. Initiation of the project
4. Managing the stages
5. Controlling
6. Managing the deliveries of products
7. Closure of the project

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Figure 1. Prince2 framework of project management
(Source: Methodology, 2018)
Methodology 2:
Waterfall: Another framework that the project manager follows is the waterfall methodology. It
consists of distinct phases, no phase can proceed without the completion of the previous one, and
each phase terminates on its completion (Saxena & Upadhyay, 2016). The phases of waterfall
are:
1 Identification of the requirements
2 Design of the system
3 After identifying the requirements and designing the systems comes the implementation
of the system.
4 Verification is followed by the implementation of the project. This process includes
verifying requirements and design of the project.

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5 The last process of the waterfall framework includes the maintenance process.
Figure 2. Waterfall framework of project management
(Source: Sperberg & Sperberg, 2018)
Comparison between Prince2 and waterfall framework:
Similarities:
There are a lot of similarities between Prince2 and waterfall methodologies. While
handling a project both the methodologies require a clear idea of requirements of the project
before implementation. Controlling processes of the project is common to both the framework.
Dissimilarities:
Prince2 framework can be changed when and wherever it is required, that is it is more
flexible whereas, waterfall framework is rigid and cannot be changed according to the situation.
Waterfall framework mainly focuses on reducing the time and cost of the project whereas,
Prince2 focuses mainly on the quality of the project, time and cost is not so important for this

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framework (Tomanek & Juricek, 2015). The role and responsibilities of waterfall framework are
not clear whereas, Prince2 describes the roles based on the Customer/Supplier model clearly.
Relationship of project lifecycle with waterfall and Prince2 methodology:
Relationship of waterfall framework with project life cycle:
The waterfall framework helps to simplify the project life cycle by structuring the
methods of its accomplishments. In a waterfall method, as the previous phase of the life cycle
needs to be completed to move to the successor phase, the design is significantly disciplined.
This helps the project to be competed fast and reduces the time of the life cycle. The
requirements of the project are specified in the requirements phase and therefore, there is no need
to review it at the end of the life cycle.
Relationship of Prince2 framework with life cycle of the project:
In case of Prince2 framework, the project life cycle is planned in such a way that the
previous stage plans are always reviewed in the successive stage plans. This provides accuracy to
the life cycle. There are distinct phases in the particular framework that manages the product
deliveries and the stages. Therefore, the project life cycle using this framework will be able to
gain customer satisfaction.
Conclusion:
From the above discussions, it can be concluded that frameworks are required to maintain
proper structuring of the project. Different projects requires different frameworks. According to
the demand of project, a particular framework is chosen. They help to reduce time, cost and
improve the efficiency of the project. Therefore, it leads to greater customer satisfaction.

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References:
Matos, S., & Lopes, E. (2013). Prince2 or PMBOK–a question of choice. Procedia
Technology, 9, 787-794.
Methodology. (2018). PRINCE2 - Methodology. Retrieved from
http://www.processexam.com/prince2-methodology
Saxena, A., & Upadhyay, P. (2016). Waterfall vs. prototype: Comparative study of
sdlc. Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 2(6).
Sperberg, L., & Sperberg, L. (2018). Sometimes it’s OK to "Waterfall" - SogetiLabs. Retrieved
from http://labs.sogeti.com/sometimes-its-ok-to-waterfall/
Špundak, M. (2014). Mixed agile/traditional project management methodology–reality or
illusion?. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 119, 939-948.
Tomanek, M., & Juricek, J. (2015). Project risk management model based on PRINCE2 and
SCRUM frameworks. arXiv preprint arXiv:1502.03595.