PPM
- How To Select Project Management Methodology
There is no universally good project management methodology. Your selection of your project management methodology should depend on your specific situation or the following:
- Tolerance level of time-and-cost unpredictability – A new product development project usually has a considerably higher tolerance level of time-and-cost unpredictability than a production project. An internal system implementation project usually has a considerably higher tolerance level of time unpredictability than a client delivery project or a government project. Although almost all methodologies claim that they can be tweaked to fit special situations, you would have the least risks if you select the methodology that was originally designed match your situation best.
- Learning curve affordability – The complexity and learning curves of different project management methodologies can be quite different. Also, some methodologies such as Prince II require more formal certification than others. Of course, there are benefits for the extensive training and formal certification. But the important question is whether that is what your project truly needs and can afford. Some projects would give weight to the methodology that some team members had used and succeed in their previous projects because selecting it would lower the learning curve and also increase the buy-in from the team members.