1
Q
What is a project management methodology?
A
a set of rules and processes that define how you manage a project
2
Q
What is the best methodology?
A
there isn’t one best option—the best methodology is the one (or combination) that best fits your project, team, and company
3
Q
What is Waterfall methodology?
A
a project flows through a series of steps or phases. Generally, each must be completed before the next can begin.
4
Q
Stages of the waterfall model
A
- Requirements
- Design
- Implementation
- Verification
- Maintenance
5
Q
When to use waterfall?
A
- for short, predictable projects
- where you have a clear vision of the finished product and fixed requirements that are not likely to change.
- It’s best suited for teams and PMs that excel at planning and documentation.
6
Q
What approach to PM does Agile take?
A
Agile takes an iterative approach to project management.
7
Q
Is Agile a full methodology?
A
While not technically a full methodology — it won’t give you a comprehensive plan for how to manage your projects — Agile does offer a series of values and principles to promote agility and efficiency in the development process.
8
Q
Four foundational values of Agile
A
- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
9
Q
When to use agile?
A
- works well on creative projects where requirements might change along the way and the final details of the product are not yet established
- for projects where clients or stakeholders prefer to offer feedback regularly, rather than only when the final product is delivered.
10
Q
What is Scrum?
A
Scrum is a lightweight Agile framework designed to help self-organizing teams develop more complex projects.
11
Q
What is Sprint?
A
Short (usually one month or less) development cycle where a team creates a useable and (hopefully) releasable product increment
12
Q
Who is Scrum master?
A
Team leader responsible for coaching the team in the Scrum method, organizing Scrum meetings and events, and ensuring team members have the support they need to succeed
13
Q
What is Daily Scrum?
A
15-minute stand-up meeting held each day of a sprint where the team plans work for the next 24 hours
14
Q
What is Product backlog?
A
Prioritized list of work still to be done on a product
15
Q
What is Product owner?
A
Person responsible for maximizing the value of the product by managing the product backlog
16
Q
What is Development team?
A
Roles responsible for the actual development work of a project
17
Q
What is Sprint review?
A
Informal session where the development team presents their finished iterations to stakeholders for feedback
18
Q
When to use Scrum?
A
- best for self-managing teams and a culture open to innovation
- can help bring products to market more quickly
- The short development cycles and frequent stakeholder involvement can often lead to a better-quality product.
19
Q
What is Kanban?
A
Kanban is an Agile method of project management that helps visualize workflow to improve efficiency.
20
Q
When and where kanban was developed?
A
The word ‘kanban’ means ‘billboard’ in Japanese. The method was developed by Toyota in the 1940s.
21
Q
What is Kanban board?
A
At the center of the Kanban method is a Kanban board—a physical or digital tool that divides workflow into columns organized by development stage, such as to-do, in-progress, and completed tasks.
22
Q
Six kanban practices
A
- Visualize the workflow. The Kanban board visualizes a team’s workload in a way that’s easy to understand and execute.
- Limit work in progress. Restricting the number of tasks a team is working on at any given time helps maintain focus.
- Manage flow. This method switches the focus from managing people to managing a smooth flow of work.
- Make policies explicit. Keep them simple, visible, and easy to understand.
- Use feedback loops. Revisiting project goals regularly helps the team respond to changes and take advantage of new opportunities.
- Improve collaboratively. Teams with a shared vision can work together to achieve continuous improvement. These evolutions should be based on metrics and experimentation.
23
Q
When to use kanban?
A
- If you want to limit planning and meetings and focus on continuous improvement
- It’s particularly effective in helping teams work through big backlogs or deal with frequent requests from stakeholders.
24
Q
the top Kanban benefits include:
A
- Improved visibility of flow
- Increased speed of delivery or throughput
- Improved predictability
- Improved alignment between business objectives, key results, and delivery of work
25
Other key concepts in Kanban include:
| 3 concepts
* Definition of Workflow (DoW): The DoW defines key parts of the Kanban workflow, such as what units are moving through the board, what “started” or “finished” means, and how long it should take for an item to progress through the columns.
* Work in progress (WIP) limits: Teams can set WIP limits in a column, groups of columns, or the entire board. This means a column with a WIP limit of five can’t have more than five cards in it at a time. If there are five, the team must tackle the tasks in that column before new ones can be moved in. WIP limits can help surface bottlenecks in the production process.
* Kaizen: Meaning “improvement” in Japanese, kaizen encourages a mindset to continually better the process. This encourages all team members to share their insights and work to improve the team, not just managers.
26
Scrum is built on three pillars:
* Adaptation: Scrum is adaptive, meaning it embraces change. Scrum can easily accommodate a project changing tactical directions.
* Transparency: Transparency ensures everybody on the team knows what is going on and why.
* Inspection: Team members and stakeholders inspect projects consistently. This encourages a culture of improvement.
27
Scrum also has five core values:
courage, focus, commitment, respect, and openness.
These values emphasize the importance of clear and honest communication, as well as a sense of ownership by each member of the team.
28
Artifacts of Kanban and Scrum
Kanban: Kanban board
Scrum: Product backlog, sprint backlog, product increments
29
Delivery cycle of Kanban and Scrum
Kanban: Continuous
Scrum: Sprint cycle lasts one to four weeks
30
Kanban Tools
Jira Software, Kanbanize, SwiftKanban, Trello, Asana
31
Scrum Tools
Jira Software, Axosoft, VivifyScrum, Targetprocess
32
What is Scrumban?
Scrumban is a hybrid method that combines both Kanban and Scrum. Scrumban uses the processes of Scrum and the visualization tools of Kanban. Scrumban can be a good way for teams familiar with either Scrum or Kanban to incorporate the other into their process.
33
What is Lean methodology?
The Lean methodology focuses on maximizing value by reducing waste and improving efficiency.
34
Two methodologies came from Toyota
Lean
Kanban
35
Five core principles of lean
1. Understand value. Think about value from the customer’s perspective. What are they willing to pay?
2. Identify the value stream. Use visual techniques to map out the actions required to develop and launch a product. Use this map to identify areas of waste.
3. Create value flow. You can achieve this by eliminating waste due to things like excess inventory, time spent waiting, or performing more work than is necessary.
4. Use a pull approach. Deliver value as the customer requests it. This keeps the focus on delivering what the customer actually wants while eliminating time spent on features that might not be wanted or needed.
5. Continuously improve. Always be seeking perfection by assessing the project regularly for ways to reduce waste and enhance value.
36
When to use Lean
* The focus on waste elimination makes Lean a natural fit for more traditional manufacturing projects.
* it can also be effective in other industries, particularly when you want to keep the focus of development on the customer first.
37
What is Critical Path Method (CPM)?
The Critical Path Method defines the longest sequence of tasks that must be completed to successfully complete a project. These are the tasks that, if stalled, could cause delays in the entire project.
38
Critical Path Method help to establish... what?
The method maps out the dependencies between tasks and an estimate of how long each task will take to complete.
Mapping out these elements can help establish important project deadlines and define a more accurate project schedule.
39
When to use CPM
* best for projects with a well-defined series of tasks that need to be performed in a set order (construction projects, for example)
* It’s a good option to keep projects with a fixed deadline on schedule.
40
What is Critical Chain Management (CCM)?
Where CPM focuses on time, the Critical Chain Method (CCM) shifts the focus to the supply chain. This method is used to map out a critical path based on resource availability.
41
Unlike a CPM map, a CCM map includes... what?
Unlike a CPM map, a CCM map includes scheduled “buffers” to remind a project team that a certain resource is necessary to finish a critical task.
42
When to use CCM
* is well-suited for projects that rely on limited or time-sensitive resources to complete.
* Overestimating task durations by building in buffers helps teams meet deadlines even in the face of unforeseen circumstances.
43
What is PRINCE2?
PRINCE2 stands for Projects in Controlled Environments. It’s a process-based project management methodology used to answer certain basic questions in product development:
* What are you trying to achieve?
* When will you start?
* What do you need to complete it?
* Do you need help?
* How long will it take?
* How much will it cost?
44
When to use PRINCE2
* If your project involves multinational stakeholders, it might be worth considering this method.
* The focus on robust organization makes it more appropriate for complex yet predictable projects.
45
What is PMBOK?
The **Project Management Body of Knowledge**, or PMBOK for short, isn’t so much a methodology as a collection of best practices and guidelines outlined by the Project Management Institute (PMI).
46
What are the project stages according to PMBOK?
1. Introduction
2. Growth
3. Maturity
4. Decline / Retirement
47
When to use PMBOK
* Just about every company and project can benefit from the standardized practices outlined in PMBOK.
* Project managers who pursue the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification will want to be familiar with the material.
48
What is PRiSM?
The Projects Integrating Sustainable Methods (PRiSM) model of project management places an emphasis on environmental sustainability. Specifically, the method focuses on minimizing the ecological risks and increasing benefits that may impact the five Ps: people, planet, prosperity, process, and products.
49
Six principles of PRiSM
1. Commitment and accountability: Organizations should take responsibility for a clean environment, employee wellbeing, and equal opportunities.
2. Ethics and decision making: All decisions should take into account the short and long-term impacts on both society and the environment.
3. Integrated and transparent: Projects should promote financial, environmental, and social benefits at all policy levels.
4. Principal and values based: Projects should use technology to use resources more efficiently.
5. Social and ecological equity: Project managers should evaluate any impact a project many have on vulnerable populations or environmentally sensitive areas using demographic data.
6. Economic prosperity: Fiscal planning should balance the needs of company stakeholders and future generations.
50
When to use PRiSM
is best for projects with an established environmental impact, such as real estate and industrial projects.
* It’s not as useful for things like software development, where environmental impact is less of a concern.
51
What is Six Sigma?
Six Sigma, a quality management process developed at Motorola in the 1980s, comprises a set of tools and techniques to eliminate errors in development. This can help reduce costs and customer complaints stemming from errors.
52
A five-phase approach to improving existing processes in Six Sigma?
1. Define: Analyze a business problem from a customer perspective.
2. Measure: Measure the problem in terms of data and define a performance metric.
3. Analyze: Quantify your goals and determine if your process is efficient and effective.
4. Improve: Find ways to improve process implementation.
5. Control: Implement and maintain the solution.
53
When to use Six Sigma
Six Sigma tends to be most effective in large organizations with several hundred or more employees.
54
What is Extreme Project Management (XPM)?
“the art and science of facilitating and managing the flow of thoughts, emotions, and interactions in a way that produces valued outcomes under turbulent and complex conditions.”
55
When to use XPM?
* works best for short development cycles with less-defined product specifications.
* Teams that like to experiment to see what works could thrive with this method.
56
How to choose a project management methodology
| 4 steps to consider
1. Evaluate the project. Does your project have fixed or flexible requirements? Is the finished product well-defined, or will the team take a creative approach to defining it? How complex is it, and how long will it take to complete? What physical resources are involved? Will the stakeholders or clients be readily available, and how involved would they like to be?
2. Consider your team. Some methods work well with small, self-managing teams. Others lend structure to larger cross-functional teams. Also take into account what method your team might already be used to. Would the benefits of implementing a new method outweigh the time cost of teaching it?
3. Look at the organization. What are your company’s goals and values? You’ll want to choose a methodology that aligns with these elements. Some companies may prefer and employ a particular approach that you’ll need to adapt to.
4. Think about your tools. Some project management tools are flexible enough to work with various different methodologies. Others might be more specific to a particular approach. Make sure the tools and software you’re proficient in are a good match for whatever methodology you select.
Project Management
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