Agile Project Management And PMBOK

Summary

Project management involves planning and organizing the resources of a company to move towards the completion of a specific task, event or task. Project management processes can be divided into five groups: initiating, planning, execution, monitoring, and closing. Project management knowledge is based on 10 areas: integration, scope, time, cost, quality, procurement, HR, communication, risk management, and partnership management. Also, Project management sets a clear direction determined by the goals, resources, and timing of each project. (Atkinson, R. 1999). There are several processes by which a project team chooses to organize a project. Therefore, these processes are called project management methods. The methods used in project management can help to determine the scope of a project, time frames, available resources when a project is delivered. Depending on the scope and requirements of your project, different methods of project management can be used. If some methods worked on one project does not mean that it works in another project. Each method and framework is suitable for different types of projects. Since there are several types of projects, there are various types of methods. Each method and structure have its own advantages and disadvantages. Some are better for business, others for small self-directed teams. Some programs are for software developers, while others are for other sections. The most commonly used methods of project management are Agile methodology, Waterfall methodology, Scrum methodology. (Palmquist, M. S., et al. 2013).

Introduction

In order to properly follow the methods in the agile project “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)” Third Edition is used. Firstly, we discuss the different methods of project management. Then, we identify project lifecycle and implementation followed By PMBoK in the agile project. After that, differences between the methods are clearly explained.

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1. Agile methodology: The agile project management process is a value-based project management method that enables you to process projects in small cycles. Agile planning methods are complemented during the work period from the design phase to test and quality control, dividing the project into smaller parts. These periods are often called sprints. Sprints are usually short and can last for days or weeks, usually 2-4 weeks. Agile methods allow teams to release completed parts. This ongoing introductory program will allow the team to demonstrate that these disciplines are successful and fix errors quickly.
2. Waterfall methodology: The waterfall methodology is a traditional approach to project management and is commonly used in the construction sectors. Waterfall” is an approach to project management where a project is completed at each stage and gradually shifts to a final consumer release. Many experts believe that this was the first model adopted in software engineering. The model adopts a linear approach to project management in which the project is divided in sequence with the start of a stage that depends on the completion of the first phase.
3. .Scrum methodology: The Scrum Phase is a management framework for product development, each employing 7 people using one or more cross-functional self-organizing teams. Scrum is a metaphor that reflects how everyone must work to complete a project. It provides a set of roles, meetings, rules, and deliverables. Scrum uses fixed-length iterations called sprints. Sprints should be less than 30 days and should be shortened if possible. (Top project management methods)

Analysis

This report also describes that agile projects continuously follow the project lifecycle and process as described in the PMBoK Guide.

Project life cycle: The project lifecycle describes the beginning and end of the project, including all the middle tasks. All stages within the life cycle communicate and are connected by the results they produce. The PMBOK® guide describes its sequence as beginning with an initial phase, followed by a series of intermediate phases and ending with a final phase.

Many software project managers started to associate the waterfall model with the process described in the PMBoK Guide. (PMI, 2004). In traditional software development methods, these phases of the project life cycle usually follow the waterfall method. The waterfall model is a model of continuous development. The requirements must be clarified before proceeding to the next design phase. When the code is fully ready, the test runs. Each product or activity is completed before proceeding. Each phase of development moves in a continuous manner without duplication. Schedule each phase for tasks to be completed in a timely manner. Documentation and testing are done at the end of each step to help maintain the quality of the project. (Flahiff, J. 2011).

All tasks in a waterfall project are gathered by activity type and each project follows the same steps:

System requirement------ software requirement---- Analysis-----program design-----coding---------testing----------operations

The waterfall method describes the process of analysis, design, coding, testing, and deployment, all of which were performed as part of the project. (project management institute, 2004)

Waterfall projects must carry out operations in a particular order, and a process cannot be initiated until the completion of the previous project. Therefore, waterfall project planning is the most important: If you do not plan properly, one phase will be delayed, and every subsequent phase will be forced, thus the entire project will be put on a deadline. Waterfall project management is rooted in non-software software industries, such as manufacturing and construction. where the system is created by necessity. In these areas, the project phases must be sequenced. (Sliger, M. 2008).

The waterfall is always mentioned as the opposite of agile. However, waterfall projects face severe difficulties in dealing with the changes, while agile plans appreciate these changes. The main difference between the cascade method and the agile method is that in the waterfall method the clients are involved at the beginning of the project, and then their involvement drops. In an agile model, the user is constantly engaged. (Balaji, S., & Murugaiyan, M. S. 2012). In a dynamic environment like Dodd's, the traditional world is always struggling for supply as it always has specific needs and preferences in place. But Agile accepts this because of his constant preparation to develop world needs and priorities. Sometimes lost in the traditional/agile world debate is the fact that both groups have the same goal-providing products in a predictable, efficient and responsive way is. (Palmquist, M. S., et al. 2013). Both worlds define the same 'type' of things and assemble, analyze, design, code, test, release, maintain and retire. This is how to do these different things. Both traditional and agile worlds operate on the same basic program building blocks (scope, cost, schedule, performance). In its simplest form, the traditional world can be pre-scoped (via requirements) and then change costs, schedules, and performance. Again, in simplest terms, Agile World can pre-determine cost, schedule, and performance and change the scope. We will examine the applicability of agile methods in various design and development dimensions to analyze the suitability of agile methods in large systems. (Rao, K. N., Naidu, G. K., & Chakka, P. 2011).

Agile development is based on the idea of step-by-step and repeated development, which is often reviewed during the developmental life stages. It repeatedly improves software that can replace a solution using consumer analytics. In agile development, traditional lifestyles are called 'increments' or 'repetitions' in smaller sections, rather than the single largest process model applied to the traditional SDLC, in which all these increments touch on each of the conventional stages of growth. According to the Agile Manifesto, the major agile factors include the following four: Early customer involvement, Iterative development, Self-organizing teams, and Adaptation to change. (Leau, Y. B., et al. 2012).

The life cycle of an agile project involves sequential project phases, called repetitions, that has a deliverable work code in each iteration. However, all processes running one by one (analysis, design, code, test) to produce an increment of code that executed simultaneously in agile projects.

In the early phase of agile projects, there is a preparation process that is part of the first iteration. The agile software development lifecycle has many iterations, and each follows its own workflow. Middle phases in agile projects are the releases and/or iterations where extra features are distributed in the form of working code. The final phase in an agile project is the production phase, where process activities are carried out to prepare the product for delivery, as well as reviewing the final project and other closing processes. Flahiff, J. 2011).

The PMBOK® Guide states that generally, the transformation from one stage to another contains some type of technological transmission. This is a phrase that assures the reader that a cascade methodology is suitable while following the practices of the PMBOK® Guide. At the end of each iteration, the code increment is completed by the team and verified by the customer. Regardless of the outcome, the next iteration begins as planned (unless the project is discontinued) - only the work content can be changed for that iteration.

Due to this regular incremental delivery rate, many people have suggested that each iteration of an agile project is a project, which has a start and end date. The waterfall methodology outlines the processes of analysis, design, coding, testing, and deployment, which were all completed as part of a project. Because these are the things that are done within an iteration in agile, the reasonable supposition for several was that an iteration made a project. But an iteration accurately stated as a phase or subphase of the project, while using PMBOK® Guide language. Projects are “commenced to generate long-term results” and the project team commonly remaining the equivalent until the end of the project. (Project management institute, 2004).

PMBoK guide describes that the agile project life cycle is basically a fractal, as demonstrated through the different stages. An agile project can contain several calendar publications or periods, which involve repetitions, that add a workgroup code. Each has the beginning phase in which preparation is the main method, middle phases, and ending phase in which evaluations and retrospectives are important processes. Agile iterations commenced with a scheduling conference to outline what will be completed in the iteration and finished with an evaluation to learn from the procedures and attain client acceptance of the features that are distributed. (Rose, K. H.2013).

One part in which agile projects and the PMBOK® Guide disagree is the participation of the shareholders. In agile projects, there is an expectancy of the active participation of a client or customer representative during the period of the project. The PMBOK® Guide states that stakeholder impact arises and then drops during the project break. In agile projects, however, the shareholders’ effect remains strong and not declined until the product is released and finished. (Sliger, M. 2008).

The main benefit of agile project management is the ability to respond to problems that may be completed during the project. Agile methods are known for emphasizing communication and customer engagement. For each iteration that can be offered, the development team and customers meet, where team members summarize and discuss the work done in this iteration. But users can comment on distributed software to improve existing features or add additional features to the system.

Agile software development practices have been developed to ensure customer satisfaction, reduce the development lifecycle, reduce error rates, and adapt to changing business needs throughout the development process. This is a very useful tool in the modern software development process to replace the traditional heavyweight development cycle. However, it is not yet completed and faces many obstacles to implement it. (Leau, Y. B., et al. 2012).

Conclusion

Agile and Waterfall are different methods of software development and excellent in their own way. Agile also follows the PMBOK guide project life cycle model. It divides the life of project development into sprints and gradually follows the incremental procedure. The cascade software development process is a sequential design process and used in the manufacture or construction sectors. Agile development is a process in which requirements are expected to change and evolve so it is suitable for projects that do not anticipate clear requirements and changes.

References

1. Project Management Institute. (2004). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) ---Third Edition. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
2. Leau, Y. B., Loo, W. K., Tham, W. Y., & Tan, S. F. (2012). Software development life cycle AGILE vs traditional approaches. In International Conference on Information and Network Technology (Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 162-167).
3. Rao, K. N., Naidu, G. K., & Chakka, P. (2011). A study of the Agile software development methods, applicability and implications in industry. International Journal of Software Engineering and its applications, 5(2), 35-45.
4. Balaji, S., & Murugaiyan, M. S. (2012). Waterfall vs. V-Model vs. Agile: A comparative study on SDLC. International Journal of Information Technology and Business Management, 2(1), 26-30.
5. Sliger, M. (2008). Agile project management and the PMBOK® guide. Project Management Institute.
6. Project Management Methodologies and Frameworks, 2019. Retrieved from https://activecollab.com/project-management-guides/project-management-methodologies-and-frameworks.
7. Rose, K. H. (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)—Fifth Edition. Project management journal, 44(3), e1-e1.
8. Top project management methods. Retrieved from: https://www.nutcache.com/blog/8-top-project-management-approaches-methods-techniques/.
9. Atkinson, R. (1999). Project management: cost, time and quality, two best guesses and a phenomenon, its time to accept other success criteria. International journal of project management, 17(6), 337-342.
10. Flahiff, J. (2011). Integrating agile in a waterfall world. Project Management Institute.
11. Palmquist, M. S., Lapham, M. A., Miller, S., Chick, T., & Ozkaya, I. (2013). Parallel worlds: Agile and waterfall differences and similarities (No. CMU/SEI-2013-TN-021). CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIV PITTSBURGH PA SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INST.