The following project management assignment aims to study project management fundamentals, project integration and scope, time and cost management. In this assignment, project management methodologies and approaches will be compared and discussed to analyse the retained benefits of project management approaches through personal experience.
A project is defined as an inimitable, temporary based endeavour that begins with a definite objective and set of goals. Project management is defined as a set of application of skills, knowledge, techniques to initiate the activities needed to meet the project requirement (Joslin and Müller, 2015). However, there are a variety of project types and organisational structures that require a different approach to project management. Therefore, each project demands a different project management approach to be successful (Svejvig and Andersen, 2015). There are various project management approaches that are commonly being used contemporarily, such as Agile project management, Waterfall project management, Scrum, PRINCE2, Pert, Kanban, and PMBOK.
In the contemporary business world, organisations are found increasingly outsourcing their projects or hiring the professionals to manage the projects effectively. Due to industrial change, it has become difficult to look for the qualified professional to manage project efficiently. Therefore, organisations consider the relative pros and cons of a project management approach. Regardless of the size, all businesses do not find it easy to manage all type of projects by themselves. Some projects require specialised skills, tools and resources that become difficult for businesses to manage successfully.
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Part A - Compare Project Management Methodologies
2.2 Pros and Cons of Using Project Management Approach
The following section discusses the advantages and drawbacks of the project management approach adopted by the organisation.
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Advantages of Project Management
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- Project management enables the organisation to set its goals and objectives efficiently. In many situations, organisations fail to carry out a project due to unclear goals. For this reason, organisations are encouraged to set SMART goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. SMART goals are prepared to ensure the project success within allocated budget and time (Chih and Zwikael, 2015). However, project management specialists acquire certain expertise and knowledge needed to forecast, manage cost and determine the risks across the project life cycle.
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- Project management enables organisations to maintain effective communication between the project manager and the employees involved in the project (Zulch, 2014). Specialised project managers give importance to communicate project details to the employees to ensure the project success. Project managers try to maintain the team cohesion, monitor feedback timely, brainstorming ideas and facilitate team meeting to assure project clarity.
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- A successful project can offer new opportunities for the organisation to offer new products and services that increase customer satisfaction (Mir and Pinnington, 2014). Seeing that, project management prioritize on maintaining quality, organisations may enjoy greater customer satisfaction, which in turn results in greater revenue and business growth.
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- To initiate and manage a project, organisations hire professional project managers who offer a high level of expertise throughout project completion (Reich, Gemino and Sauer, 2014). Organisation also tends to learn skills and techniques from the experts.
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- An effective approach to project management enables organisations to assess the risk involved in the project. Organisations find it difficult to manage excessive rework, poor communication and unclear project goals at the same time (Picincu, 2018). Therefore, effective project management enables the organisation to assess the risks and allocation of resources more efficiently (Picincu, 2018). It enables the organisation to identify risks even before the project starts. In this way, organisations may plan contingency actions and smarter decisions for the project.
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- Proper project management enables the organisation to initiate a project through the least costly way (Stark, 2015). Since project management aims to look for alternatives in order to reduce project costs.
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- Effective project management leads to higher productivity of an organisation. Project management allows organisations to improve its operations to achieve the target objectives which ultimately results in high productivity (Stark, 2015).
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Disadvantages of Project Management
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- Project management is an intricated process of multiple activities at a time. Organisations often hire a project manager who has a tendency to complicate the process, which leads to confusion and delays in the project (Joslin and Müller, 2015). Generally, the projects with the lengthy scope are more exposed to such complexities.
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- Project management is a complex process which inclines to follow strict standards and measures in actions. Therefore, it leaves no room for creativity and discourages innovation which can be beneficial for the project (Sage, Dainty and Brookes, 2014).
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- Excessive communication may lead to communication overheads and confusions among the extensive project team. Therefore, the experts believe in keeping the limited team members to avoid communication overhead (Picincu, 2018).
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