Project management methods: features of the most popular approaches
The implementation of the task depends on how well the project was organized. And it is not affected by the scale of the company – for effective activity it is necessary to apply some methods of project management.
This concept includes all the necessary activities that will allow to achieve the set goals, but taking into account the designated budget. Project management is applied in all areas, regardless of the product or service offered. Different methods and approaches have been developed for this type of activity, which will be effective in one case or another. It should be understood that solutions for one industry may not work for another, which means you need to familiarize yourself with different techniques in order to choose the best one for a particular case or area.
Classic models of project management are considered Scrum, Kanban, Agile, Six Sigma, Lean and PRINCE2. These methods have different levels of control, a rigid or flexible system of resource allocation and other features. Agile models include Kanban, Agile and Lean, Scrum and Six Sigma can improve deadline and workforce management. Agile is based on regular interaction of employees in teams where specialists from different areas are gathered. Thanks to self-organization, the teams achieve the goals set for them, and the requirements can be modified in the process. This method became the basis for other approaches, including Scrum and Kanban, its solutions are included in Lean. In the latter, the issue of phased execution of operations is studied in more depth in order to make their implementation equal and of the highest quality.
The Six Sigma method of management was created at Motorola, with special attention to planning actions in terms of saving resources, but not to the detriment of quality. Here the approach includes a comprehensive analysis, and then selects ways to achieve the set task. All this is formalized in a clear scheme, which allows to achieve success without wasting time searching for a solution in a new stage of work.
The PRINCE2 method takes the best aspects of Six Sigma and Agile. It includes seven principles, seven project themes and seven processes for implementing them. The principles imply a common set of rules, the processes are expressed in terms of steps that specialists move through during the project cycle. Themes are the key points that need to be controlled.
Choosing the optimal method for project management, it should be understood that there is no universal option. Each company or even a separate team should choose the approach that will be most convenient and effective for them. And it can be a hybrid solution using several techniques.
