Evaluating Project Management Methodologies for Enhanced Efficiency

The document discusses the challenges faced by a PMO Manager in overseeing various functions within an organization, highlighting issues such as communication breakdowns, unclear responsibilities, and inefficient processes. It suggests that adopting specific organizational strategies and project management techniques, particularly agile methodologies like XP (Extreme Programming), could significantly improve efficiency. The analysis includes potential advantages and disadvantages of these methods, emphasizing the need for clear client understanding and continuous communication in software development. Ultimately, it proposes that implementing these strategies can empower project managers with greater authority to align projects with company goals while maintaining high standards of quality and customer satisfaction.

Running head: ISSUE WITH THE PROJECT METHODOLOGIES
ISSUE WITH THE PROJECT METHODOLOGIES
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1ISSUE WITH THE PROJECT METHODOLOGIES
Table of Contents
The issues faced.........................................................................................................................2
Issues to focus on.......................................................................................................................4
Recommendation........................................................................................................................4
Alternative solution one.............................................................................................................5
Advantages and disadvantages...................................................................................................5
Alternative solution two.............................................................................................................6
Advantages and disadvantages...................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

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The issues faced
The food company is experiencing a number of issues while running the project
operations. The issues are mainly being faced due to the internal coordination problems
across different departments, and since the post of the Project Management Office (PMO)
Manager has only been created recently, the job description of the manager is not clearly
defined yet to many of the employees. The company has 23 currently active projects in
Australia. 18 of those projects have IT components and have an IT support team to facilitate
in the research and development process. An array of tools is used to help the teams in the
process of moving ahead with the projects.
Although some of the projects have representatives from every stakeholder group,
there are some projects which do not have any sponsors. Problems arise in these projects the
most, as without any particular supervisor or coordinator, the internal communication of the
departments face significant problems regarding moving ahead together or distribution of
vital information. Before the creation of the post of the PMO manager, the project managers
oversaw the projects under the head of the specific department which sponsored the projects.
This present a lot of problems as the departmental heads have many responsibilities and they
do not like to be involved in day-to-day operation details. The project managers, without any
proper guidance, developed their own set of tools to carry out the projects over time. These
uncoordinated projects often become a point of dissatisfaction for the stakeholders as they are
not properly informed about the progress of the project and communication or documentation
are not done properly, which renders the stakeholders unable to express their own point and
suggestions or inputs for the projects. These situations often result in the project managers
being blamed. The management also, seeing the competition among the project managers,
allocate resources based on how aggressive a manager is, rather than making proper priorities
and deciding which manager is more efficient. Many managers also refrain from getting their

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team members involved in the project tasks as those often overburden them with work,
making the working environment stressful for them.
The lack of cohesion in the IT department itself often is a headache for the company
and the stakeholders. The department, often to meet the requirements, order software firms to
develop software and then customize those themselves. This has lead a large number of
software to become uncoordinated, which do not have any correlation or are not aligned
properly. The maintenance of these software is a huge task which is causing annoyance. The
hardware department has also ordered large amount of products worth millions, from a single
company without even going through the tender process. A dispute has risen over the scope
of the supplies between the company and the vendor for this specific reason.
The biggest issue that the office is having right now is not adopting any specific
management methodology that would help the staff to efficiently manage the situations that
are surfacing. Several tools and instruments from different methodologies are being used
including PMBOK, PRINCE2 and Agile. This issue needs to be resolved as soon as possible
by using one specific method.
The attempt to come up with a global payroll system to keep a tab on the pay sheets of
each employee has also sparked confusion as the South African office was mistakenly sent
the details about the payment of the Australian office.
When the PMO Manager asked the project managers of the twenty-three active
projects to submit the business case, project plan and a current status report of the projects,
only ten of them were able to do so. This poses a significant problem, as keeping track of the
projects or having a clear idea regarding the intended time schedule of the projects are
becoming hard.

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Issues to focus on
The first and foremost issue that need to be addressed is the point of communication.
Every department and team must be on the same page and the information that is gathered by
each team must be shared with others (Cornelissen 2004). The success of any organization
depends on the information they have and if the information is withheld from one another,
teams or groups cannot hope to succeed in a collective way, and the ultimate goals of the
company as a whole will not be reached (Mishra, Boynton and Mishra 2014). Even
stakeholders need to be communicated to give them idea about where the project is headed
and ask them about their opinions.
Another issue that the stakeholders must resolve is the blaming of the managers. If the
initial procurement process itself is at fault, the managers cannot possible deliver the projects
on time or according to the specifications of the customers (Huang, Baptista and Newell
2015).
Recommendation
The company can help its own functions in many alternate ways by using one single
type of project management methodology. At this moment, the project managers are all using
many inputs from different methodologies and developing and compiling them according to
their own needs. There are a few methodologies that may assist the company in this aspect:
PMBOK: The Project Management Body of Knowledge, also called the Waterfall
methodology, is a collection of every processes, practices, terms and basic guidelines that are
used to efficiently manage industries. This is a very important tool for those who are aiming
to become project management professionals.
PRINCE2: This is the world’s most widely accepted project management method. This
methodology is used when projects are very clear and has a clear heading with a definitive

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goal in sight. In these projects, responsibilities are allocated based on the importance and the
higher posted staff are given more important tasks.
Agile: This is an umbrella term that has many other methodologies to assist industries and
organisations to manage its functions and projects.
Alternative solution one
Using PMBOK methodology can be of help for the company in order to manage the
projects that they are supposed to take on and execute. This method identifies the generally
accepted and core principles or guidelines which can be applied to a wide variety of markets.
The methodology revolves around the key processes that are used in different market
segments to efficiently manage projects. Initiating, planning, executing, controlling and
closing – these are the five ways which is used by this method to execute projects (Chong and
Preece 2014).
Advantages and disadvantages
There are several advantages of using PMBOK to manage projects in companies and
organisations. This methodology is used in places where the goals of the project are very
clearly defined and a proper upfront requirement is presented to the members of the group.
Using this methodology, the responsibilities can be divided according to the designation of
the staff: the people at the higher position are given to play a more crucial role in the process
of completion of a project. This ensures that there are no disparities and the properly efficient
people are given the tasks that are up in their forte. This is a methodology that deals with
how, aiming to give the tools that would be helpful to solve any issues regarding the project
(Chong and Preece 2014). This is a descriptive methodology, which gives a detailed idea
about how to face a situation.

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The biggest disadvantage of PMBOK is that it may seem too perfect for a layman.
The evident culture of using this methodology is something that most cannot cope with
easily. PMBOK is designed for a project environment that is almost too perfect to be true.
PMBOK claims to have a strategy if any kind of problem is faces while the execution of the
project is underway. But every possible risk and obstacle cannot be perceived beforehand,
which does not make this methodology foolproof. This tool is good to be applied to be used
for large projects, but when it comes down to smaller ones, it is just too sophisticated and too
expensive to be applied.
Alternative solution two
Agile is a type of incremental model, where software is developed in rapid cycles.
Every incremental release that results are built on the previous functionality and every single
of these releases are tested to maintain a standard of quality in the software. Extreme
Programming (XP) is one of the most widely known and used Agile methodology currently
and is used for projects where time has to be used in a very critical and efficient manner.
Advantages and disadvantages
The biggest advantage of this methodology is that it delivers quickly and the software
are all efficient mostly. Customer satisfaction can be harnessed easily if this methodology is
used. It is possible to make changes very late into the process of software development
(Schmidt 2016). Software can be delivered quickly, developed in weeks and not months. The
clients and the business software developers communicate daily, which helps to keep a track
of the demands of the clients and what is being developed. Alterations are easier in this
methodology.
It is very difficult to predict how much effort it will need for specific software dev
elopement before the developing itself starts. Designing and documentation are not given

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enough emphasis. If the person who is representing the needs of the client does not have a
clear understanding of the project, it is very easy to lose track of the projects (Schmidt 2016).
Conclusion
If all these possible steps are taken, there is a chance that the PMO Manager can
successfully keep a tab on every function of the company and the project managers can be
bestowed with more freedom and authority to run the projects according to the overall needs
of the company. The two above mentioned methodologies may be used successfully to
manage the future projects in a very efficient manner.

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References
Chong, H.Y. and Preece, C.N., 2014. Improving construction procurement systems using
organizational strategies. Acta Polytechnica Hungarica, 11(1), pp.5-20.
Cornelissen, J.P., 2004. Corporate communication. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Garrett, R.P. and Covin, J.G., 2015. Internal Corporate Venture Operations Independence and
Performance: A Knowledge‐Based Perspective. Entrepreneurship Theory and
Practice, 39(4), pp.763-790.
Huang, J., Baptista, J. and Newell, S., 2015. Communicational ambidexterity as a new
capability to manage social media communication within organizations. The Journal of
Strategic Information Systems, 24(2), pp.49-64.
Kuratko, D.F., Hornsby, J.S. and Covin, J.G., 2014. Diagnosing a firm's internal environment
for corporate entrepreneurship. Business Horizons, 57(1), pp.37-47.
Men, L.R., 2014. Strategic internal communication: Transformational leadership,
communication channels, and employee satisfaction. Management Communication
Quarterly, 28(2), pp.264-284.
Mishra, K., Boynton, L. and Mishra, A., 2014. Driving employee engagement: The expanded
role of internal communications. International Journal of Business Communication, 51(2),
pp.183-202.
Prajogo, D., Oke, A. and Olhager, J., 2016. Supply chain processes: Linking supply logistics
integration, supply performance, lean processes and competitive performance. International
Journal of Operations & Production Management, 36(2), pp.220-238.

9ISSUE WITH THE PROJECT METHODOLOGIES
Schmidt, C., 2016. Discussion. In Agile Software Development Teams (pp. 115-124).
Springer International Publishing.
Zhang, M., Zhao, X., Lyles, M.A. and Guo, H., 2015. Absorptive capacity and mass
customization capability. International Journal of Operations & Production
Management, 35(9), pp.1275-1294.